Chapter 15: My Heart Has No Place But You
Gibnen arrived in Soboster via teleportation, but he couldn’t meet Riley immediately.
The only teleportation device available in Soboster, the large city, was just one. There were no magical tools powered by mana to be found, and transportation relied on carriages or rickshaws—an environment far less advanced compared to Blessedgi.
Riley’s home in Luphla was quite a distance from Soboster.
For Gibnen, who had lived enjoying the conveniences of a magically advanced civilization, this was unbearably inconvenient.
Of course, Gibnen could freely wield teleportation magic, but the vast land made it impossible to travel in a single leap. And since it was his first time here, unfamiliarity with the geography made it an unsuitable situation to use magic.
“Taking a carriage now should get us to Luphla in about half a day.”
“…Half a day.”
“If you plan to use magic, you’d have to request permission from the Magic Department. But even receiving a response there would probably take half a day as well.”
“…”
“Or you could just pull out the control needle. Of course, once you do, inspectors from the Magic Department would come to check on you… that’s all.”
Ordinary mages weren’t implanted with control needles. While unauthorized use of magic was officially illegal, most mages were often tolerated when using simple spells for convenience.
However, strict magical regulation applied to a select few—the elite mages capable of high-level, dangerous magic, not just casual convenience spells. The state controlled this minority to set an example. Every time these mages used magic, their mana data was transmitted to the Magic Department. Minor spells were overlooked occasionally, but if deemed to exceed a certain threshold, inspectors would arrive, interrogate them relentlessly, and impose heavy fines.
Fines weren’t the real issue—it was the stress of having inspectors hound you.
“…Let’s take the carriage.”
Feeling a deep disillusionment at this ironic world—where even in an age of extreme magical convenience, a mage’s freedom to use magic was restricted—Gibnen resigned himself to the carriage.
He arrived at Luphla, Riley’s home, near dawn.
Sak had gone ahead to book the best hotel room in Luphla, while Gibnen headed to the Barony of Eadalin to check that Riley was safe.
He lightly leaped onto a tree and used his clairvoyance magic from outside.
Riley wasn’t visible in any room. But one room disturbed him.
“…Signs of a break-in.”
The room was in disarray, the windows wide open. Dirt and leaves littered the floor.
The anomalous state of the room, combined with Count Ermenz’s movements and Riley’s absence, confirmed to Gibnen that she was in danger.
He forcefully removed the control needle from his ear, expanded his mana, and widened his clairvoyance radius. Then, he hurried off to find Riley, sending a telepathic message to Sak as he moved.
A dramatic moment, and a dramatic figure appeared.
Count Ermenz, so shocked, staggered backward, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. Gibnen, however, walked calmly through the floating assassins and stopped before Riley.
She was tied up, covered in dirt, and utterly disheveled. A cold, steely aura enveloped his face. Carefully, he untied her ropes, dusted off her clothes, and cradled her trembling, tiny frame in his arms.
“Are you okay?”
“…”
Of course, she wasn’t. Riley was too shocked to respond.
“Now, what brings you here?”
Gibnen didn’t answer directly. Holding Riley, he turned his gaze to the floating figures above. With a flick of his finger, the suspended assassins were hurled into trees, unable to withstand the immense force, and fell unconscious.
“I came all the way here to see my wife.”
“…”
“Yet my beloved wife is gone, and all I find are these trashy people who dared abduct her in the dead of night.”
“…Wife?”
“Didn’t you know? I thought you’d know. Weren’t you the ones who published that article linking our marriage to some scandal?”
Count Ermenz was speechless.
Marriage? Wife?
“Are you really going to marry that woman?”
“Yes, I am.”
“…Why?”
Count Ermenz couldn’t comprehend their union.
“What do you possibly gain from this?”
“I don’t think it’s your concern whom I marry.”
“…I truly don’t understand. Someone like you, with nothing to lack, marrying the daughter of a lowly baron’s family? Does Alton know?”
“Since when have you been on familiar terms with my father to casually use his name?”
“…Then why did you commit such a foolish act, traveling all this way despite your impaired condition?”
“Th-that is…”
Count Ermenz stammered in embarrassment. His face, usually sallow, had turned bright red with anger and shock.
“If you’ve lost your wits, stay quietly at home.”
Gibnen twisted the corner of his mouth and sneered at Ermenz. The composed, gentlemanly facade he usually held was gone.
“A man once praised as a national hero hires professional assassins to take a fragile lady’s life. Pathetic, truly pathetic.”
“…”
“Now I can see why the public had to understand that I had to ‘take someone else’s woman.’”
Gibnen gestured, and with Sak emerging from hiding, more people appeared—mostly armed knights, a few with pens, notepads, and cameras.
Journalists.
Count Ermenz’s face went pale as a sheet.
A barrage of camera flashes lit up in his direction. Gibnen smiled faintly.
“Sir, dirty media tactics aren’t only your specialty.”
“…”
“They’re mine too.”
“You… are you really trying to pick a fight with my family?”
“That’s for you to decide.”
“…”
“Either stay quiet and accept this, or pick a fight. I wonder which will cost more blood. Aren’t your heirs still competing for the position of Magic Tower Lord?”
“…”
“They say your Magic Tower successors are strong… do you think you have a chance?”
Count Ermenz’s expression twisted with frustration. But in this situation, the young man’s relentless words left him powerless.
Those watching hesitated. Even a once-hero of the nation shouldn’t be spoken to so harshly, they thought.
“Well then, let’s move you quickly.”
At Gibnen’s command, the knights quickly lifted Ermenz. He struggled helplessly, like a butterfly with torn wings—pathetic in the extreme.
Shouting in desperation, he cried:
“Why am I the only one being taken? He used magic on people! That’s illegal too, why only me?”
The knights paused. Gibnen shrugged.
“Then go willingly. There are plenty of witnesses here.”
The knights subdued Ermenz and the remaining unconscious assassins, and left. Only then did Gibnen finally release Riley from his arms. She clutched his coat tightly, her thin, pale fingers trembling.
Seeing her so terrified, Gibnen held her gently and soothed her.
“You were scared, weren’t you.”
“…”
“It’s okay now.”
Covered in dirt and blood, dressed only in thin pajamas, she looked fragile and vulnerable. Gibnen took off his coat and wrapped her in it.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
“…”
“Let’s move first.”
A blue portal appeared at his gesture—connected to the hotel room Sak had booked.
Before stepping in, Gibnen gave Sak an order:
“Keep them all detained.”
“Yes, sir.”
Cradling Riley, Gibnen disappeared into the portal.
Riley looked around, still in his arms.
“…Where is this?”
“A hotel we’re staying at for now.”
“…Why here?”
“This place seems more comfortable than that house for you.”
Riley nodded slightly. Indeed, the Eadalin mansion was not a comfortable place.
“It’s late, so we’ll go back once dawn comes.”
“…Okay.”
“Drink this first.”
He handed her warm tea. It smelled wonderfully fragrant, relaxing her tense body.
“But how did you even know about this place…”
“Count Ermenz showed suspicious movements, so I came to check—and see you as well.”
“…I can’t believe that old man would do something like this.”
“…Thank you for saving me. I don’t even know how to repay this debt.”
“It’s not a debt. Protecting the woman who will become my wife is what a husband should do.”
“…”
“Anyway, it’s nice to see you again.”
He smiled faintly and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“How long has it been? Almost a month and a half.”
He looked handsome—more so than before.
“…Have you lost weight?”
“Maybe? I’ve been busy lately.”
“…”
“Did you not want to see me?”
“…”
“That hurts.”
He pouted slightly, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
Riley impulsively hugged his neck. Gibnen chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Being clingy?”
“…Stay with me.”
She buried her face into his neck, whining like a child. Gibnen didn’t push her away.
The warmth from their close bodies was intense. Just moments ago, the cold had been unbearable—but now, a heat that went beyond warmth enveloped him.
His broad arms felt tailor-made, supremely comfortable. No bed or blanket could rival this warmth.
“…I thought I was going to die.”
“…”
“…I was so scared.”
Experiencing true, unimaginable fear for the first time, a panorama of her life flashed before her eyes. She felt the reality of death, letting go of the will to live. She had heard that life’s panorama is visible only at death’s brink.
And in those final moments, the image that surfaced wasn’t her father, nor her uncle of ten years—but the beautiful face of a man she’d spent only three days with.
“In the end, it wasn’t my father I thought of… it was you. I wanted to see you so desperately.”
“…”
“…I guess I unconsciously leaned on you. We barely know each other, only a single—maybe two—favors between us. And yet it’s your face, not my father’s, that lingers. It’s absurd.”
“…”
“…But you really came.”
Her voice was weak, like a baby babbling. Gibnen considered every word carefully.
He lifted her face to meet his eyes, seeing her terrified expression. He smiled gently, stroking her bloodied lips with his thumb.
“Poor thing.”
“…”
“My heart has no place but you.”
For some reason, he looked genuinely happy. His eyes gleamed with a hint of something fierce, but the touch on her lips was soft.
“Yes, keep relying on me.”
“…”
“Look only at me.”
“…”
“Trust only me.”
“…”
“Love only me.”
Live for me alone.
His gentle voice soothed her like a child, yet his words carried a firm command. What seemed like childish whim was actually desire and possessiveness.
“Then I’ll protect you.”
“…”
“For life.”
Their lips met in an instant.
