BMPEW 30

Chapter 30

“What do you think you’re doing right now…?”

Ah, I need to check his condition first.

Before Abelus could push me away, I quickly placed my palm on his forehead.

It was slightly warm, but thankfully, not burning up like before.

“Your fever’s gone!”

It seemed like it would never go down, but finally, it had.

Not realizing—or not caring—about any of this, Lord Abelus used his left hand to push me away.

“Ah!”

I fell with a soft thump onto the fluffy blanket.

“Why are you here?”

“Um, I came to bring down your fever, Abeluth-nim.”

Still lying down, I grinned and pointed to the parchment scroll wrapped around my waist.

Only then did Lord Abelus notice the scroll and silently tugged it toward him.

“H-hey, wait…!”

With each roll of parchment that unraveled, my body turned and rolled to the side.

Eventually, the scroll of ice magic was fully undone and ended up in Abelus’s hand.

Still collapsed in the corner of the bed, I sneezed once.

“Achoo!”

“No wonder your hands were so cold. Did you stay like that all night?”

“Yes!”

“Who told you to do something like this?”

As I struggled to sit up, I shook my head.

“So you came on your own?”

“Yes. I heard Abeluth-nim was sick, so I said I’d come help.”

I raised my chin proudly, expecting praise.

“Why?”

But instead of praise, all I got was a cold, piercing stare.

My chin quietly lowered again as I tried to read the mood.

“I thought I told you I was uncomfortable with you. And you still thought doing this was a good idea?”

“…”

“Did someone tell you to cling to me or something?”

That was shocking. So that’s what he’d thought all along?

Still, I didn’t waver and replied clearly.

“No. I just like you, Abeluth-nim.”

“…Huh.”

Lord Abelus let out a short sigh, as if he’d given up.

“There you go again.”

I couldn’t tell what he meant by that mumble.

“Don’t go near the ice scroll ever again.”

He ordered with his usual cold tone.

He doesn’t even know how worried I was…

Feeling upset, I curled up in the corner of the bed. Then suddenly, the air around me warmed up.

…Fire magic?

Startled, I turned to look at Abelus.

He was pretending not to notice and looking elsewhere, but the magical energy I felt was definitely his.

What’s going on? Is it because I looked cold?

But he seemed so angry just now. Maybe he just wanted to change the room temperature.

Still, just in case, I decided to move a bit.

I carefully crawled to the other side of the bed, and the warm magic followed me.

…No way.

Just then, Lord Abelus glanced at me from the corner of his eye.

I waved my hand dramatically as if fanning myself, and the magic weakened slightly, lowering the temperature.

No doubt about it. He was pretending not to care while controlling the magic.

But why? He just said he didn’t even want to look at me.

Looking at Abelus’s frozen face as he tried to keep track of my movements, a thought occurred to me.

Could it be… this attitude… is his way of saying thank you?

“Abeluth-nim?”

“What now?”

So different on the outside than what he really feels.

For some reason, I suddenly wanted to hear him say how he really felt.

Smiling brightly, I crawled toward him.

“Abeluth-nim! Did I do a good job?”

“No. That was a dangerous thing you did.”

“But I worked hard to hold onto the scroll… and you’re better now…”

“What exactly do you want to hear?”

I looked straight into his eyes, twinkling mine.

“Tha!”

“Tha?”

“Thank…!”

After I repeated it a few more times, Abelus finally seemed to understand and nodded.

“Sleep well.”

And just like that, my body was gently pushed down onto the pillow.

Wait, that’s not what I meant.

“But I already slept a lot…”

I muttered in protest, but the moment my head hit the soft bedding, I yawned.

I could probably sleep for several more hours.

Such a child… always sleepy.

Abelus stood up from the bed as if he was about to leave the room, leaving me be.

In the end, I didn’t get to hear a thank-you…

As I listened to the sound of his footsteps getting farther away, I opened my mouth one last time.

“I know why Abeluth-nim hates me.”

His footsteps came to a sudden halt just as he reached the door.

“But you know, the people who used to hang around Angkoo said so. That my mom did something wrong, but my dad was a really amazing Ignitutu.”

“So?”

His voice trembled slightly. He still wasn’t looking at me.

“So since one parent did something bad and the other was good, please like me just half as much…”

“…I’ll consider it.”

With that short answer, the door shut with a loud thud.

✧ ✧ ✧

“Sir, a letter has arrived from young master Skyvola’s side.”

Annex building.

The man’s face hardened as he accepted the letter that a servant discreetly handed over.

“Why didn’t he come himself?”

“A banishment order was issued last night. He can no longer set foot in Ardentluna.”

“How rash.”

Erasinus.

The one and only savior the exiled ones had desperately pleaded to meet in person—he never got the chance to hear their appeals.

“What’s that, Father? Is it about the training field?”

As Erasinus unrolled the hastily scribbled papyrus, his three children approached with curious eyes to read over his shoulder.

Though the letter was long-winded, the message was clear.

He was about to be expelled for damaging the young lord’s scroll—please help.

As Erasinus read through the details of the incident, his grip on the scroll tightened.

“Foolish boy. I warned him so many times, but he couldn’t control his temper.”

Erasinus snorted.

Abelus was never someone to make the same mistake twice.

From now on, he would surely develop the lifelong habit of checking the scroll before using magic.

This meant one of the most effective strategies against Abelus’s overwhelming powers had been lost in vain.

But instead of showing his anger, Erasinus smiled and ordered a reply to be prepared.

“How will you respond, Father?”

His daughter, Vivia, asked.

“Tell them I’ll do everything I can to help.”

“I knew it! I knew you’d help! That kid’s too talented to just be thrown out like this!”

Vivia said brightly, clueless.

But in truth, Erasinus had no intention of helping his nephew.

He knew full well that once the head of the house was enraged, there was no bringing someone back.

The only reason he gave a positive response was to keep the exiled ones quiet.

To make them wait in silence, clinging to hope—so they wouldn’t make reckless moves that might disgrace the family name.

As the servant brought over the parchment, Erasinus read the incident report again from beginning to end. Then he stopped at a certain paragraph with a puzzled expression.

“A child participated in the trial? That kid is only four years old.”

“Oh, I heard that from the servants too. They said it’s true. She even gave clear testimony right in front of the head of house!”

The unbelievable news made Erasinus frown.

She had been a crying toddler who could barely speak.

He hadn’t even bothered to keep an eye on her, thinking she was far inferior to the other children in the family.

And yet, now she stood in front of Velikiyama, who scared even adults, and spoke confidently?

“I’ll write the reply for you, Father. Any special greetings you want to include?”

“No need. More than that… I’d like to meet that child myself.”

As Erasinus looked around at his children, there was a subtle anticipation in his voice.

The three siblings, eager to win their father’s favor, immediately sprang into action.

“No problem. I’ll find her and bring her right away.”

The quick-tempered eldest son, Nonus, answered first.