ENGDB 11

Chapter 11

The lazy nighttime reading sessions had naturally become part of their daily life.
Calid was spending another peaceful evening together with Whitey.

But as if mocking their peace, one night a completely different kind of pain suddenly attacked Calid.

“Ugh… ngh….”

The problem was that he had relaxed too soon, believing things were finally stabilizing.

As though reacting against the early stability, his mana suddenly began raging wildly again even though it was not yet close to the full moon.

And the pain that returned was far worse than before.
So terrible that he could barely breathe.

“Ugh… ngh… ah…!”

‘Calid?’

Irene, who had been quietly enjoying the nighttime scenery outside the window, jumped in shock at the sound of his painful groans.

‘What’s wrong?’

Panicked, she quickly flew over to him.

The sight of him clutching his head in pain overlapped with what happened last time.

Just like before, golden mana slowly began flickering around Calid again.

‘Why are you hurting again? Is it the same symptom as before? What should I do?’

Strangely, whenever night came, everyone disappeared from the castle.

With desperate hope, Irene hurriedly passed through the castle walls and searched inside, but she could not find anyone.

Since Irene knew nothing about the rules between Calid and his retainers, the situation left her completely helpless.

She soon returned to the room and quietly approached Calid with a sorrowful expression.

‘This is the only thing I can do for you right now. Don’t be in pain anymore, Calid….’

Irene gently placed her hand over his.

Seeing his face twisted in agony made her instinctively frown.

‘I wish I could heal you with my power….’

Even though her healing ability was weak to others, today she desperately wished she could at least use that much.

Irene lowered her forehead onto their overlapping hands and prayed sincerely in her heart.

That Calid would no longer suffer….

Only when dawn slowly began chasing away the night did Calid finally manage to pull himself out of unconsciousness and sit up.

As he tried to steady his hazy mind, he noticed Whitey resting on top of his hand.

“…….”

As he silently stared at Whitey, memories of last night slowly resurfaced.

It had been a night where pain several times worse than usual forced his eyes open.

‘Ugh… ngh……!’

The headache felt as though his skull was splitting apart, leaving him no room to even call for help.

‘Kh… my mana might go berserk…. Whitey can’t stay in this room…!’

Even in that state, he worried about the danger of a possible mana rampage and thought about Whitey somewhere in the room.

But the extreme pain paralyzed both his thoughts and reason.

Calid, who had always endured pain alone, instinctively poured all his strength into simply surviving it.

After struggling in agony for a long time, a sudden change came.

Starting from his hand, a warm and gentle energy slowly spread through his entire body.

At first the energy was faint, but it gradually grew stronger.

And little by little, the unbearable pain tormenting Calid began fading away.

‘Calid, don’t be in pain. Please don’t hurt anymore….’

Then someone began whispering softly beside his ear.

It was a whisper that felt strangely warm and nostalgic.

The desperate voice continued gently, but before he could hold onto it, it slowly began drifting farther away.

‘Wait, don’t go. Who are you? Why are you praying for me like this?’

Calid desperately struggled to regain consciousness and catch the owner of that voice.

His eyelids slowly opened, and within his blurry vision he saw a pale white figure.

‘Ah… thank goodness. Whitey seems safe.’

Relieved to see Whitey apparently unharmed, Calid soon witnessed something unbelievable.

Every time he blinked, his blurry vision became clearer, and the pale white lump before him gradually transformed into the shape of a person.

Then finally, the pale figure became a beautiful woman.

Golden hair shining faintly under the moonlight.
Pure white skin.
Long eyelashes casting soft shadows.
A sharp nose.
And cherry-like pink lips.

As though enchanted, Calid slowly reached out and gently touched her cheek.

‘!’

Calid flinched at the sensation beneath his fingertips.

Unlike ordinary humans, she looked slightly transparent, yet she undeniably existed here.

As if asleep, she breathed softly while tightly holding onto Calid’s hand.

Feeling the faint warmth from her hand, Calid carefully observed her face.

‘…She really is alive. Can a person truly look this beautiful, like a painting…?’

Although Calid had spent most of his life on battlefields, he had once been raised as a prince and had seen countless beautiful things in his childhood.

His standards for beauty were naturally high.

Yet even to Calid, this woman seemed extraordinarily beautiful and mysterious.

Unable to take his eyes off her, he noticed warm energy still flowing through their joined hands.

And at the same time, his unstable golden mana was naturally flowing into the woman.

‘Don’t tell me….’

Even in his hazy state, a memory and sudden realization flashed through his mind.

Calid remembered experiencing something similar recently.

The mysterious intruder who naturally absorbed his mana.

And he realized that this woman was the same intruder who had suddenly appeared in his room a few days ago.

The only difference was that now, unlike then, she had gained color.

‘Then… does that mean the intruder was Whitey?’

Calid stared at the woman in confusion, unable to process the situation.

But the woman remained peacefully asleep, unaware of everything.

“Whitey… what exactly are you?”

Calid quietly asked the unanswered question while endlessly staring at her.

Then someone buried deep within his memories suddenly came to mind.

‘If that child were still alive… she probably would’ve grown up to look this beautiful….’

Someone he wanted to meet again but never could.

Someone he had buried deep inside his memories while pretending to forget.

A bitter smile appeared on Calid’s lips.

The golden mana flickering throughout the quiet and peaceful room gradually stabilized as well.

Listening to the woman’s soft breathing, Calid finally relaxed completely.

And before long, overwhelming exhaustion dragged him back into sleep.

And now that he had awakened, Calid stared at Whitey lying motionless on his hand in the familiar form he knew.

‘As expected…. That woman really was Whitey.’

Calid became certain that Whitey was hiding some kind of special secret.

At the same time, countless questions began forming in his mind.

Why was he the only one who could see Whitey?
What exactly was the warm energy coming from her?
Why did his mana naturally flow into Whitey?
What was Whitey’s true identity?

Was she a monster capable of imitating human form?
Or perhaps something created before the mages disappeared?

Unable to find answers, Calid’s frustration and suspicion toward Whitey slowly grew.

‘If she truly is a monster… then she’s no ordinary monster. I must find a way to control her. And if she’s human….’

Calid recalled the woman he saw last night.

Surrounded by slowly flowing golden mana, she had looked mysterious and unrealistically beautiful.

‘…No. A being like that cannot possibly be human. She must be an undiscovered monster. One born to comfort and tempt people.’

Calid forcefully denied the lingering image of the woman.

But contrary to his thoughts, the way he looked at Whitey had already softened greatly.

He even seemed somewhat nostalgic.

Afraid that Whitey might wake up, he could not even move his hand carelessly, and he carefully controlled even his breathing.

Resting his chin on one hand, Calid quietly watched Whitey sleeping peacefully while clinging tightly to his hand as if purring softly.

Though he believed he should stay wary of this mysterious existence, a smile unknowingly formed on his lips.

Irene rolled her eyes awkwardly, still unable to adjust to the sudden changes over the past few days.

‘N-No. Did he really need to place a chair here?’

Irene stared blankly at the incredibly soft-looking chair placed beside Calid’s seat in the office.

It clearly did not look like a chair meant for a pet, but Irene was too confused by his sudden behavior to realize it immediately.

“What? You don’t like it?”

‘No, I like it…. That’s not the point! I’m a ghost, so I can’t even sit in a chair. Why would I need one here?’

“It was made by a famous craftsman, so it shouldn’t be uncomfortable.”

Calid pointed at the chair while stubbornly staring directly at Whitey.

Seeing that he clearly had no intention of backing down, Irene finally raised both hands in surrender.

‘Sigh… alright, I’ll sit! I’ll sit, okay? Does he seriously think I’m some kind of puppy?’

Her body normally passed through objects anyway.

She only planned to pretend to sit down to humor Calid.

But strangely—

Thunk.

She actually sat on the chair.

‘Huh? What? I’m not passing through the chair?’