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~Chapter 17~
Before I joined Luche, I thought about things for a few days. And then I realized something.
‘There’s no way Leana would set the time limit to one year for no reason.’
‘Something is definitely going to happen within that year. To me, to you, or to this world.’
Leana once asked me to guess what she was planning. Maybe if I don’t stop her, it will hurt someone—maybe everyone.
It’s all just guesses so far, but even if I can’t know exactly, I can’t just pretend I don’t know.
That’s why I decided to use the saying, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
That’s why I chose to join Luche, so I could watch Yushen up close.
‘Surviving comes first, of course.’
If I can blend in perfectly as a Luche knight, I’ll be surrounded by holy knights who can protect me! It’s exactly what I wanted—safer than any temple.
There is nowhere safer in the Empire for me.
Yushen, on the other hand, still looked like he couldn’t believe any of this. If someone saw, they’d think I’m a liar all the time.
‘…Well, that’s not exactly wrong, is it?’
Anyway, I could read Yushen’s thoughts clearly now. He was thinking my reason was ridiculous, that it couldn’t be the real reason.
“You don’t have to hide your true self from me anymore.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not hiding anything. This really is my reason.”
Maybe Leana did even worse things in the novel that I don’t know about. Maybe that’s why Yushen chases after me like he wants to kill me, and never believes what I say.
“If we’re just going to talk about pointless things, I’ll go. I have a lot of work piled up.”
It might sound funny, but I really did have a lot of work. Or at least, I probably did.
My supervisor Taila hands me so many documents to stamp!
Yushen stayed silent, and I had nothing more to say.
As I stared at his face, thinking about the pile of paperwork up to the ceiling, I was about to leave.
“Why Aydin, of all people?”
Yushen stopped me with a very complicated look on his face.
He looked so serious I wondered if there was some hidden story between them that I didn’t know.
Well, I guess the novel didn’t cover everything about the two of them. But still…
Maybe it’s just because I used the person he cares about most as my shield. Or maybe something else.
Yushen is too difficult for me to figure out.
“Is it a problem if it’s Aydin?”
“…Are you two close enough to call him by name?”
“No? I’m just calling him that since he’s not here.”
Yushen’s mouth dropped open a little, and he made a strange face.
Hmm, does he look a bit sulky?
Why is that? He doesn’t seem mad, but he looks a little upset.
Today, Yushen showed a lot of different expressions. It was so unusual, I wondered if I was even guessing right.
“…I mean, why did you approach Aydin?”
When I looked at him weirdly, Yushen added this, almost like an excuse.
But it didn’t work on me.
“Aydin was just the first one I saw.”
“That’s a lie.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Why do you keep lying—”
Bang!!
Just as our voices got louder, a loud explosion shook the ground.
It happened so fast I couldn’t keep my balance. As I reached out for something to stop myself from falling—
“Ah?”
The wall cabinet, which I thought was attached to the wall, tilted toward me, in the direction I was falling.
I realized there was no way I could stop myself from falling backward. I closed my eyes tight and covered my head with both arms so it wouldn’t break.
If I fell and the cabinet collapsed on me, I’d probably break my arm. I thought it was hopeless.
At that moment, a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me hard.
I was suddenly held tight against something solid and warm.
It didn’t take long to realize I was in someone’s arms—Yushen’s arms.
Soon, the shaking and the explosion stopped, and everything went quiet.
‘…Was that an earthquake?’
Floods and droughts happen here, so there’s no reason an earthquake couldn’t happen too.
I slowly opened my eyes. I saw the white uniform, messy from saving me.
As my tension melted away, all my senses loosened up. My sense of smell was the sharpest.
I noticed Yushen’s scent for the first time.
It was a very clean, pure soap smell—but not a common scent.
Maybe because it was a smell I liked, my heart fluttered.
‘…No way, I can’t be feeling butterflies!’
My heart was racing not because of Yushen, but because of the sudden accident.
“Are you okay?”
Yushen pushed me away from his chest and checked on me with a serious face.
“Uh… yeah.”
I answered in a dazed voice.
As soon as I stepped away from him, I couldn’t believe what I saw behind me.
One wall was completely destroyed. At my feet were broken pieces of the wall and fallen things everywhere.
It was a total disaster.
It looked like a typhoon had passed through.
Even though I said I was okay, Yushen turned me around to check for injuries.
When he finished, he turned away. I squinted and looked carefully at his back.
Yushen’s uniform was not only dirty, but also ripped, as if it had been scratched by something sharp.
If I thought about that explosion, it wasn’t a normal blast.
‘Then his wounds must be pretty bad…’
Normally, I would be glad, but he got hurt saving me, so I felt guilty.
But Yushen only cared about my injuries, not his. He started kicking away the debris and walked toward the broken wall.
“Y-Yushen!”
Even if I’m on the medical team, there’s nothing I can do right now. But I couldn’t just let him go.
So I called his name urgently… and quickly covered my mouth.
Even I was surprised. Even though his name was familiar, it felt strange to say it out loud for the first time.
Yushen also paused in surprise.
I was embarrassed, but I didn’t let the moment pass.
“…Your back is hurt.”
“……”
“Let someone else clean this up. You should get treated first.”
I knew I was meddling, but as a Korean, I don’t know how not to meddle.
I took a step toward Yushen.
“Don’t move. It’s dangerous here.”
Could there be enemies outside? Did Leana attack us? But… it’s way too quiet out there.
Was everyone outside wiped out in an instant?
“It’s not a big deal.”
Before my imagination could get any worse, Yushen stopped me at the right moment.
“Then why…”
“There are just some troublemakers outside.”
“Troublemakers?”
He nodded.
No, wait. That’s not what I meant by troublemakers…
As I was about to ask again—
“I’ll handle it and then get treated.”
Yushen disappeared through the hole in the wall.
After he left, I went back to my department.
It felt weird to stand alone in a broken supply room, and waiting for Yushen to come back seemed silly.
But I had forgotten something important.
“…Miss Montrose?”
As soon as I entered the office, everyone stared at me in shock, and I finally looked down at myself.
There was no way I could look clean after being in all that mess.
My hair was a mess, and my white uniform was dirty with dirt and cement.
I must have been really out of it to not even notice.
I sighed and explained what happened to Leher, the manager.
I didn’t explain why the two of us were in the supply room, so he looked a little confused, but he still gave me a private room in the treatment area.
“I’ll bring a kit for your hand injury, so just rest.”
When Leher closed the white sliding door, I realized my right hand was hurt.
It stung when I closed my hand because of the cut.
Even though Yushen protected me, it was hard to avoid the blast completely.
If my injury is like this, Yushen’s back must be worse. Shouldn’t he get treated first? He’s the head of the knights!
‘He has so many people under him!’
I didn’t even know who the troublemakers outside were, but apparently, they were more important than his own wounds.
Anyway, he said he’d get treated, so I trusted a good healer would take care of him.
I lay down on the white bed. Since Leher told me to rest, I should listen as his subordinate.
Even though I went to bed early last night, after all the chaos today, I felt sleepy.
Chara-rak—
Just as I was about to fall into a deep sleep, I heard the sliding door open loudly.
I forced my heavy eyelids to open.
