THJDM 40

chapter 40

‘Thi… s long?’

Elion was walking down a dark forest path.

From the short arms and legs within his field of vision, it seemed like he had returned to his childhood in this dream.

‘Damn it.’

Even knowing this was a dream didn’t mean he could easily wake from it.

Elion walked and walked along the forest path.

At some point, a woman appeared ahead, walking before him.

‘Mother!’

Elion instinctively knew.

The child pumped his short legs as hard as he could, running to catch up with the woman.

But the distance between them did not shrink.

Still, little Elion did not give up and ran with all his might.

His insides burned as he came so close, yet never quite reaching her.

He stretched out his hand.

“Mother! Please wait! Let’s go together.”

He called desperately, but nothing changed.

The woman did not wait. She just kept walking swiftly ahead.

Elion bit his lips hard and ran as if his life depended on it.

At last, he managed to catch up, and he grabbed her hand.

Yet even then, the woman didn’t look down at him, only kept walking forward.

“Mother, it’s me. It’s Elion. Mother!”

The boy gathered courage to call her again.

It was the face he had always longed to see.

The word he had always longed to say.

But nothing changed.

She only stared forward and walked quickly.

In a last desperate attempt, little Elion seized her hand with both of his own.

He stopped walking and clung with all his weight to her arm.

Dragged for several steps, the woman at last couldn’t bear the weight and sank down.

“Mother!”

The boy cried with joy as he looked into her face.

But there was no face.

Where eyes, nose, and mouth should have been, there was only the gaping black of a skull.

“Aaagh!”

The boy’s face twisted in horror.

The hand he had been holding was now a skeletal hand.

“AAAAH!”

Startled, Elion threw the skeletal hand away.

The skull collapsed into pieces on the ground.

“Hhh… hhhhk!”

Tears he had been holding back spilled down his cheeks.

“Ughh… nghhh!”

At the faint sound of groans, Rubiana opened her eyes.

The window outside was already dark, and in the room the fireplace crackled quietly.

‘Ah… I fell asleep.’

Still, she was glad she had fallen asleep holding Elion’s hand. She turned to look at his face.

Seeing him drenched in cold sweat, Rubiana gasped.

“Oh my…!”

She softly wiped his forehead with a dry towel.

She gently rubbed his furrowed brow.

“Uuugh… khh!”

Pained groans slipped from his twisted lips.

What terrible dream was tormenting him so much?

This mighty Swordmaster, struggling helplessly against nothing more than a nightmare, looked so pitiful it hurt her heart.

Rubiana stroked his shoulder gently and whispered:

“It’s okay, Your Highness. Everything’s okay. I’m here with you. And it’s only a dream. Just a dream you won’t even remember when you wake. So don’t worry.”

After a brief hesitation, Rubiana pressed her lips softly to his forehead, his cheek, then his lips.

If his nightmares came from unstable mana, then perhaps this kiss could bring him a little comfort.

And it seemed her wish was granted.

Soon Elion’s brow eased, and the groans subsided.

‘It’s working!’

Then his eyelids quivered and slowly opened.

His damp, unfocused blue eyes soon rose to meet Rubiana’s.

“Li… dy?”
“Your Highness, you’re awake!”
“…You woke me from the nightmare. Thank you.”
“Are you feeling better? Should I call Hailey?”

She asked quickly.

But Elion shook his head slowly.

“No. I’d like to stay like this a little longer.”
“…Alright.”
“While you keep doing what you were just doing.”
“…What? Oh…”

Rubiana’s face flushed red.

By “what you were just doing,” he meant the kiss.

Was he reproaching her for kissing him in his sleep?

“I-I’m sorry. You looked so distressed, I just thought…”

Her rambling excuse was cut short as his large hand reached for her cheek.

Cupping her face gently, Elion drew her in and pressed his lips to hers.

Mana, which had been surging wildly in his head, flowed softly into Rubiana through their joined lips.

The fever, the headache, even the lingering nightmare vanished in an instant.

The familiar, intoxicating sensation pulled Elion under completely.

As if to make up for the two days of torment without her, he held her even tighter.

He couldn’t let her go.

Only Rubiana could pull him out of his suffering.

Though it had started with Rubiana leaning over him, at some point their positions reversed.

Now she lay back against the bed while Elion hovered over her, enclosing her body.

Their parted lips tangled with hot breaths and desperate tongues.

Half-losing his reason, Elion delved deeper into her mouth.

It was warm yet cool, wet yet refreshing.

Everything he wanted was there.

No—he realized he was wrong.

It wasn’t something inside her he wanted.

It was her.

Rubiana.

‘I want her!’

His desire for Rubiana wrapped around his entire being.

There was no room for reason.

An unfamiliar thirst, fiercer than anything he’d felt before, consumed him.

His lips trailed down her neck, teasing her slender throat, slipping past her collarbone and lower still.

He knew he should stop—but he couldn’t.

Every part of her pulled him stronger and stronger.

Then—

“Y-Your Highness!”

Her trembling cry broke his frenzy.

Elion jerked back, startled, pulling away from her body.

Their startled gazes clashed in midair.

His eyes, dark with burning desire, and hers, bewildered by strange sensations, both quivered.

Thump, thump—heartbeat after heartbeat pounded, filling the air.

Rubiana’s chest rose and fell in ragged gasps.

‘I don’t know what’s happening!’

She too struggled to stay in control.

It was painfully clear what Elion wanted.

His eyes, his touch, his kisses all spoke the same truth.

But what confused her was herself.

She wanted it too.

‘This… this is impossible…!’

The force of his mana was overwhelming.

Every breath infused with his mana made her body tingle strangely, as if heat shimmered through her.

So warm, so blissful—if she could keep receiving his mana like this, she felt she could do anything.

No—she had to do anything.

She almost wanted it more than Elion did. Though she hated to admit it.

‘This can’t happen… it really can’t…!’

Her mind tangled in chaos.

Elion kissed her forehead and cheek gently, whispering—no, pleading:

“Rubiana… I’ll give you my mana… so please, give yourself to me.”

Everywhere his lips touched, mana burst like fireworks.

She longed for him as one longs for a festival.

Whatever it was, she wanted to share it with him.

‘Why not? There’s no reason why not. This is just… the exchange of mana. My incomplete body craves Elion’s mana.’

Reason could not overcome instinct.

Her weary body longed for his mana more than ever.

Rubiana cradled his face in both hands.

Then, kissing his lips, she whispered softly:

“Alright. I want it too. I want you, Elion.”
“…Rubiana!”

What followed happened all at once.

All her hesitation vanished. Rubiana accepted every touch, every sensation Elion gave her with joy.

The burning eyes that looked at her as if she were a wonder, the hot breath across her skin, the insistent lips nibbling her flesh, the strong hand caressing her waist—she loved it all.