TWLW 54

chapter 54

Kels struggled, trying to push Ruddels’ hand away.

“Listen to me, you fool. Our teacher is struggling because of you.”

He spoke in a grumbling voice and removed his hand from his head.

Kels glared fiercely at Ruddels and shook his head violently.

Watching them, I felt worried and looked at Kels with sympathetic eyes.

Then I briefly explained Kels’ condition to the attendant standing nearby.

She nodded and cheerfully said she understood.

After taking Kels back to his room, Ruddels and I stepped outside together.

With the clattering sound of the door closing behind us, we walked down the hallway in silence.

Amid the echo of our footsteps, I felt unnecessarily tense and glanced at Ruddels.

“Why are you glancing around like that, Eriel?”

Startled by his words, I quickly looked forward and pretended not to notice.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing.”
“But it is.”
“Uh, that’s not it…!”

I gave a mischievous smile, too shy to meet his gaze directly, and hesitated.

Seeing this, Ruddels turned his body slightly toward me and bent at the waist.

“Teacher Eriel? Could you look at me for a moment?”

At his words, my already pounding heart raced uncontrollably in all directions inside my chest.

Arrhythmia… Yes, I should get it checked by Teacher Haol and have Teacher Curail prescribe some medicine. If I leave it like this, I could have a heart attack and die quickly.

Thinking about my rapidly worsening heart, I finally managed to look at Ruddels’ face.

He noticed my expression and looked at me with a questioning gaze.

“Teacher, are you sick? Why are your cheeks so red…?”
“I… it’s… hot…”
“Hot? The temperature is only about 5 degrees; it shouldn’t be that high.”
“No, no! It’s not hot… it’s… cold! I’m cold! I misspoke!”

Because my lips were moving according to the flow of my thoughts, I was beyond embarrassed.

Shut your mouth! Mouth, shut up, Eriel Lottis!

Ruddels watched me babbling nonsense, and then he removed his coat.

“Here. Wear this. It will keep you a little warmer until we reach your room.”

He said this, draping the coat over my shoulders, and then placed his hand on my forehead.

“You seem to have a slight fever…”

I froze at his actions.

Who would do something like this for their doctor? And it wasn’t even a lover—it was my employer?!

I widened my eyes and stared at Ruddels.

I barely managed to suppress a scream that wanted to escape from my trembling lips, staring frozen at him.

“Eriel?”

Noticing my odd behavior, Ruddels called my name again.

“Are you alright?”
“I-I’m fine.”

I managed to part my lips and speak.

He looked at me with a worried expression.

“Are you really okay? Your face is…”
“It… I’ll be fine in time… really!”

I rambled, emphasizing that I was fine.

After I clenched my hands and looked at him, he sighed and withdrew his hand.

“Alright. If it’s hard… just say it. Don’t suffer in silence.”
“I really am fine… so you don’t need to worry.”

I gave an embarrassed smile and lowered my head.

Ruddels looked at me with mild displeasure but didn’t comment further and returned to walking beside me.

I lightly touched the edge of the coat he had draped over my shoulder, unable to say anything—no “thank you” or “I appreciate it.”

I didn’t know why. Even if it was due to embarrassment, it didn’t feel like the usual kind.

Something… is tingling in my chest and overloading my brain.

Before I could process the strange sensation I couldn’t define, we reached my room.

As we stopped walking simultaneously, I felt a slight pang of disappointment.

Huh? Why do I feel disappointed?

While I was internally confused, Ruddels called my name.

“Teacher Eriel?”
“Y-yes, yes?”

Startled, I looked at him, and he spoke seriously.

“I have something I want to discuss.”
“Uh…”
“It’s about the new contract.”
“Ah…”

I quickly understood that the new contract referred to finding the culprit here and nodded slightly.

“Can we step inside and talk?”

I nodded.

“Of course. Please come in.”

I opened the door and guided him to the table in the center of the room.

Ruddels closed the door and blinked.

He sat down and glanced around the room.

“Is there… something wrong?”

I asked, and he placed a finger on his lips, signaling me to be quiet.

Following his gesture, I closed my mouth and rolled my eyes.

“Silph.”

At his command, a being appeared in the air.

Puu~!

A white fairy appeared, tilting its head and smiling at Ruddels and me.

“Please take care of this.”

Puu!

Silph assumed a pose as if ready to obey Ruddels and surrounded us with a white barrier.

It was neither magic nor divine power, and I was shocked as I watched the white barrier forming around us.

“W-what is this…!”

Ruddels calmly explained while I panicked.

“It’s a spirit. A minor wind spirit, a Sylph.”
“H-how…?”
“I requested this from my mother. And thanks to her influence, I was able to summon a Sylph successfully.”

I was stunned by his nonchalant claim that he could now freely use a spirit.

He could use magic and had an affinity to summon spirits?

“Is that even possible?”

He smiled faintly.

“It works if you can do it.”

Watching him say that so casually, I felt psychologically defeated.

I had always thought he was talented, but this was too much.

How rare is it to have both affinity and magic simultaneously?

I could guarantee that even if we searched the entire population, it would be less than 1%.

Magic and natural energy—an affinity—usually conflicted with each other.

Although magic, natural energy, and divine power exist simultaneously in the world, it was unheard of for someone to possess more than one.

Scholars said those with two of these powers often died young due to the energy conflicts.

Yet Ruddels possessed two powers, making him an extraordinary case to me.

Ruddels smiled at my dazed expression.

“It’s surprising, isn’t it? It’s not an everyday occurrence.”

I nodded and reached a trembling hand toward the white barrier.

“But… what is this?”

Ruddels tapped the white barrier and smiled.

“It’s a kind of noise-prevention barrier. If we put it in magical terms… maybe a silence spell?”
“Wow… that’s amazing.”
“Right? I didn’t know the spirit had this much power either.”

At his words, Silph proudly placed its hands on its waist and declared itself.

Puu~ Puu! Puu!

I giggled at the adorable Silph.

“Yes. It’s truly amazing.”

Ruddels smiled at me and clasped his hands on the table.

“Eriel. Did you notice anything suspicious?”

I turned to him.

“No. I checked both inside and outside the house… no traces of magic at all.”
“I see. It seems no magic has been used yet…”
“But there was something odd.”

His eyes flickered with interest.

“When I found Kels in the maze in the backyard… it wasn’t related to magic, but…”
“Go on.”

I hesitated and then explained the suspicious part.

“Kels’ hind leg wasn’t an ordinary wound.”
“That’s correct. According to Marquis Bolepino, a trap covered in Kels’ blood was found not far from the maze. But the trap had no other scent except the blood. Usually, it would have a human scent as well.”

“I see… as I thought.”
“As you thought?”

Ruddels looked at me curiously as I stated it with certainty.

“When I carried Kels, I subtly sensed a sweet scent from his body.”
“A sweet scent?”
“Yes. Didn’t you notice it?”

Ruddels shook his head.

“Marquis Bolepino didn’t notice either?”
“Yes. If there was any unusual scent from Kels, he would have detected it immediately. The same goes for Radience, who was nearby.”

Ruddels frowned slightly at the name Radience but looked at me directly.

“If even the highly sensitive beast-kin couldn’t smell it, then it was probably a sedative mixed with Kerenian blood.”
“Kerenian… blood?”

Ruddels tilted his head in confusion as he looked at me.

For him, the name might have been unfamiliar. Most beast-kin likely wouldn’t know it either.

Because Kerenians are a type of minor magical creature known among witches and wizards.