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Chapter 66
The two of them decided to rest for the night at the edge of the forest at dawn.
They tied ropes around the surrounding trees to create a makeshift fence and only after lighting a campfire did they finally take a break.
By that time, Redria’s forearm wound had completely healed, and she was delighted, thinking that the consciousness of Ashtalt, which had been fading, must have healed her wound.
Immediately after, Redria volunteered to keep watch first, but Shien firmly stopped her.
“Then I’ll get some sleep first. Wake me if I seem tired.”
Redria lay down beside him, using his arm as a pillow, and soon fell asleep.
Shien sat in front of the fire, watching the flickering flames.
The sounds of the forest and the crackling fire soothed his ears peacefully.
After a while, he slowly blinked and turned his head.
He saw her delicate face and her silver hair glowing faintly red.
“Are you asleep, Ria?”
“……”
“Can I… kiss you?”
“……”
Shien raised his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly.
She really must be asleep.
Even after all this, there was no reaction, which said it all.
By her personality, if she were awake, she would’ve grabbed him by the collar and told him to keep watch quietly if he didn’t want trouble.
Shien quietly watched her sleeping form.
“Ria, thank you.”
For letting him know that being loved by his foster father wasn’t the only kind of love.
For protecting him.
For letting him live.
Suddenly, his hand reached toward the place where his gaze fell. The silver hair of Redria, sparkling in the firelight, seemed almost otherworldly in its softness.
He bowed his head and reverently kissed her silver hair.
Raising his head lazily, he let the strands slip through his fingers.
Her shadowed, elegant face and her silver hair glinting in the firelight were breathtakingly beautiful.
Her violet eyes flickered like candles in the red glow.
“I hope the person who will love me… is you, Ria.”
Crackle, crackle. The fire crackled.
He stayed by her side throughout the night, watching over her sleep.
She opened her eyes.
The fire had just died down, and smoke rose from the charred embers.
“Did you sleep well, Ria?”
That sweet voice greeted her as always.
Shien was extinguishing the remaining branches with his feet.
Suddenly, Rapo, who had been hiding in the bushes, jumped and rubbed his face against her legs.
She patted Rapo and cleared her hoarse voice.
“Hmm, I told you to wake me… did you sleep at least a little?”
“I’m not tired, so I’m fine.”
Shien smiled brightly and averted his gaze politely.
She wiped away some sleep from her eyes, dampened her handkerchief, and washed her face like a cat.
“Ah, I want a shower.”
She realized she hadn’t been able to wash at all since leaving.
She resolved to clean her body, soaked with rain and sweat, once she returned home, and sighed while tidying the sleeping area.
She was packing her pouch with a water bottle, blanket, and handkerchief when she heard:
“Ria, Ria.”
She turned her head to see Shien standing under a tree. Rapo sat beside him, looking up at him with raised paws. With only an apple in his hand, he looked like a lost Snow White in the forest.
“Look at this, Ria.”
Shien tucked a flower behind his ear and tilted his head to show her. Under his fluttering sleeve, his smooth wrist was visible.
“How do I look?”
Beautiful.
But it was hard to say it outright, because Shien’s eyes were filled with confidence, making her feel a strange urge to rebel.
“Not really.”
Shien made a soft hissing sound, like air escaping a balloon.
“…Liar. I know you like my face, Ria.”
…That cheeky man, full of confidence.
Well, with a face like that, even looking in a mirror would give him confidence.
She had no choice but to admit it, laughing in resignation.
“Alright, fine. You’re beautiful.”
“Really?”
At that moment, a ray of sunlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating his cheerful smile.
‘Ah. So dazzling.’
It felt like this was something money couldn’t buy.
‘From now on, if a pretty girl acts pretty, let’s call it art.’
Lost in her own musings while admiring his looks, she was suddenly startled when Shien approached and tucked a flower behind her ear too.
‘Isn’t this weird for my messy hair?’
As she looked at his head, she felt a twinge of betrayal.
Unlike her, his hair was soft and fluffy.
Seeing that, she felt a little dejected.
Male lead buff? Being reincarnated into an apocalypse was sad enough, and now I have no buffs.
‘I’m a reincarnated novel protagonist too, you know.’
When they return to the empire, she’d be a hooligan.
No mana either.
Sigh.
Feeling disheartened, she shoved the flower Shien had given her into her pants pocket.
Still, she appreciated the gesture enough to keep it.
Then, their eyes met.
“……”
His gaze slowly fell to her pocket.
“……”
“……”
‘Ugh. Annoying.’
She carefully unfolded the bent stem and pulled the flower out from her pocket.
Shien finally smiled beautifully, his violet eyes like crescent moons, and she felt that her annoyance had been worth it.
‘I’ll keep it in a vase if it stays fresh until we get home.’
She tapped the bulky pocket where the flower was tucked and noticed her shirt, torn and stained with blood.
She touched the wounded area, remembering the events of last night.
“Magic is really amazing.”
To heal such excruciating pain in an instant.
‘I wish I had mana too.’
Then I could build a house in a snap, let brooms clean automatically, cook, teleport… it would be perfect.
She indulged in a happy daydream, imagining creating a doll resembling the crown prince to exploit its labor.
Shien, wearing a slightly embarrassed smile, spoke:
“I’ve wanted to tell you since yesterday, but what healed your wound wasn’t magic.”
“……? Not magic?”
She asked with her eyes, surprised, and Shien still had a flower tucked behind her ear as he nodded slightly.
She was thoroughly flustered.
“On what basis are you so sure?”
“When the conversation with your father ended, the combined relic—the ossuary—disappeared, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did the gravestone we talked about earlier disappear before that?”
“I didn’t check.”
“Even if you didn’t see it, by the time you were brought to the duke, it must have disappeared. All its mana would have been depleted. So—”
“The ossuary disappeared and then I was healed, so it wasn’t the previous tower master’s influence?”
“Exactly.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”
She recalled how she had been praising magic almost embarrassingly yesterday and squinted her eyes.
Shien smiled faintly, as if she looked cute.
“I couldn’t tell you because you liked magic too much.”
No way, I didn’t like it enough to ignore Shien’s words.
Recalling yesterday briefly:
‘Wow, magic is really amazing. The wound healed instantly.’
‘I’m glad Ria isn’t hurt anymore. But actually—’
‘The magic tool is really inconvenient. You don’t need to carry magic with you.’
‘Yes. But Ria’s wound—’
‘I’m really jealous. I wish I could use magic too. Mana is innate, right?’
‘Yes, but the wound—’
Right, that’s true.
She had been unusually excited and talkative, and he couldn’t find the right time to tell her the truth.
‘But it was understandable to be excited.’
She didn’t show it, but the penetrating wound had been excruciating. Miraculously being healed, at that moment, nothing else mattered.
“So, how was my wound healed?”
Shien tilted his head, arms crossed.
“You were historically one of the first two saints chosen, right?”
“Yes.”
“After that, your holy power disappeared?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Do you know that saints can self-heal using their own holy power?”
“Yes.”
Shien, speaking as if teaching a young pupil, reached out and tidied the stray hair near her ear.
“So, the conclusion is simple. Somehow, the damaged channel of your holy power started functioning again.”
Hearing that, her mind went blank as if bleach had been poured into her brain.
