Chapter 13
“I’m going to die! I’m seriously going to die!”
“Hey.”
Squeeze.
Every time Lucy panicked and wrapped her arms around Edward’s head, something soft pressed and rubbed against the side of his face.
…It was surprisingly soft.
Far softer than he would have expected from someone so skinny.
Edward felt strangely unsettled.
‘I thought she was nothing but skin and bones.’
And shamelessly enough…
She was practically burying herself against him so much that she blocked his entire view.
But Lucy herself didn’t seem to realize what she was doing.
“Big Sis! Big Sis!”
She kept calling for someone as if she’d lost her mind.
Her voice was full of desperate longing.
‘Big sister?’
Edward frowned slightly and considered it objectively.
‘Was the person she purified before… a woman?’
She had claimed she’d only purified him.
Had she lied?
Her voice sounded far too affectionate to think otherwise.
He had never heard of women purifying other women…
But that didn’t necessarily mean it was impossible.
Still, the thought didn’t last long.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
A rapid heartbeat echoed in his ears.
It was coming from the soft chest pressed tightly against the side of his face.
‘Even this is just like a mouse.’
He remembered holding little mice in his hands.
Their tiny hearts would race.
They would cling to the warmth of his hands, calming down as their heartbeat became steady.
“…”
To his surprise…
Edward felt happy.
Happy enough to completely forget how annoyed he had been that the temple had chased after them.
Her thin body was much softer, warmer, and gentler than he had expected.
The thigh he was holding securely…
The bony back beneath his hand…
Most of all…
The soft chest pressed against his ear, letting him hear her heartbeat…
Squeeze.
Without realizing it, he tightened his grip.
“Gah!”
Lucy gasped when he grabbed her thigh more firmly.
Only then did she realize she had been hugging his head.
She immediately jumped back in embarrassment.
“A-Ahem!”
The warmth that had filled the side of his face disappeared.
The sudden emptiness made Edward’s brows knit together slightly.
Lucy never noticed.
‘So… he wasn’t trying to kill me.’
For a moment she’d thought he was going to throw her from the sky.
But he was actually holding her tightly so she wouldn’t fall.
‘Then maybe when he covered my nose and mouth earlier…’
‘He wasn’t trying to kill me either?’
Maybe she’d simply overreacted.
Knowing Edward wasn’t planning to hurt her made her feel a little relieved.
She still shivered every time she looked down from such a height.
Even so…
She glanced at the temple’s flag growing smaller in the distance.
Then she smiled awkwardly and gently wrapped her arms around Edward’s neck.
“S-Sorry… I was just… really startled. Haha.”
Edward’s frown finally relaxed.
He looked calmly into her eyes.
“You’re flying, right? I won’t bother you. I’ll stay completely quiet… like a dead mouse…”
“Why would the mouse be dead?”
“Ah… then I’ll be as quiet as… a mouse that just ate honey.”
Lucy trembled slightly, afraid she had annoyed him again.
Edward interpreted it differently.
‘She must be afraid of heights.’
Clicking his tongue softly, he slid the hand supporting her back a little higher.
“…?”
Then…
He gently pushed her head against his chest.
Lucy blinked in confusion.
But obediently rested her face against his armor.
Watching her comply so easily, Edward sighed quietly.
‘I was going to let her enjoy the view…’
‘But she’s more timid than I thought.’
Still…
Seeing her quietly follow his hand made him feel strangely pleased.
The warmth of her slender arms around his neck wasn’t unpleasant either.
Edward spread his golden wings once more.
Then continued flying.
* * *
‘Is this torture…?’
Several hours later…
Lucy finally stood on solid ground.
She stretched her neck after keeping her head lowered for so long.
Crack.
Her neck made an alarming sound.
‘I thought it was going to snap.’
At first…
She’d been grateful that he’d made her keep her head against his chest.
She had been terrified of flying high in the sky with no safety equipment, relying only on a male lead who could change his mind at any moment.
But that feeling lasted only about three minutes.
Later…
Her neck became numb.
She had already gotten used to the height and wasn’t scared anymore.
She even wanted to look around while flying.
Yet…
“Um… Your Grace.”
“…”
“My neck is…”
“Shh.”
He whispered softly…
Like soothing a child…
And pushed her face even deeper into his chest.
‘And why did he keep squeezing my cheeks?’
He kept poking and kneading them as though testing something.
Almost like he was checking whether she’d try to grab his head again.
Every time he did that…
Lucy had no choice but to bury her face even deeper into his chest.
As a result…
The Duke’s family crest engraved on his armor was stamped clearly onto her cheek, just like when she’d woken up that morning.
Her neck also hurt from being bent the whole time.
‘Still…’
‘Thank goodness.’
They had escaped the temple.
And…
‘I think he’s really taking me to the Duke’s estate.’
He had left immediately after she asked him to.
Most importantly…
The moment Edward had firmly pressed her head against his chestā
Crack.
She heard something like a tiny crystal breaking behind her neck.
At the same time…
She felt something that had been connected to her all this time suddenly snap.
The refreshing feeling she experienced for that brief instant made her certain.
‘He must’ve destroyed the temple’s tracking spell.’
Lucy shuddered.
So her suspicion about the tracking magic had been correct.
She quietly looked around.
Chirp. Chirp.
Small birds flew over the roof of a luxurious inn.
The blue sky had already turned red with sunset.
“The checkpoint is closed for today! Come back tomorrow!”
“Maintain order!”
Outside the walls…
Many people were waiting to pass through the northern gate.
Beyond this gate lay the vast Tesseron territory.
Larger than any land owned by the Imperial Family.
A land containing both rich fertile fields and harsh wilderness.
Lucy suddenly remembered…
That Tesseron Castle itself was much farther north.
‘I guess it’ll feel like one of those Grand Duke castles in the frozen north.’
…Though its owner looked more like a blond playboy crown prince.
She glanced at Edward, who was talking to the innkeeper.
“O-Of course! We’ve emptied the entire inn! Since it’s Duke Tesseron himself, naturally every room belongs to you!”
Ever since Edward landed in the courtyard…
The innkeeper had been completely flustered.
He bowed over and over again.
Without even being asked…
He chased away every guest in the inn.
Golden wings.
Armor engraved with the Duke’s crest.
And above all…
That beautiful face.
The innkeeper had recognized Edward immediately.
‘So that’s what being famous is like.’
It wasn’t just the innkeeper.
“Is that the Hero Duke?”
“It’s my first time seeing the Dragon Incarnation…”
“I love you, Your Grace!”
Even the guests who’d been forced out…
And the travelers passing through the gate…
Crowded against the inn’s fence just to watch him.
Many had forgotten all about being thrown out.
Each time Edward casually glanced in their direction after removing his helmet…
They stared at him with open mouths, completely captivated.
The crowd seemed to grow larger by the minute.
‘This is kind of overwhelming.’
Since she was traveling with him…
Lucy naturally became part of the spectacle too.
“Who’s that woman?”
“A maid?”
“Did His Grace pick up a homeless girl?”
…She suddenly felt like a monkey in a zoo.
‘Seriously, couldn’t he cover his face?’
‘People keep gathering because he’s unnecessarily handsome.’
While Lucy secretly grumbled…
Edward walked into the inn.
Then gave her a small signal with his eyes.
“…Yes, sir!”
“H-Hey!”
“Don’t close it!”
“We love you, Your Grace!”
Lucy hurried over…
And slammed the inn doors shut, blocking everyone’s view.
Then she trotted after Edward.
Clasping her hands like a flattering servant, she whispered,
“By the way, Your Grace… can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“Why are we stopping to rest?”
There was a reason she asked.
Honestly…
She had never expected them to reach the checkpoint this quickly.
If they’d traveled from the capital by carriage…
It should have taken several days.
‘But we got here in only a few hours.’
If they had simply kept flying for another day or two…
They would probably have reached Tesseron Castle.
There was no need to stay somewhere crowded like this and attract attention.
Even if the tracking spell had been broken…
What if the temple still managed to find them?
‘We’ll only be truly safe once we’re deep in the north.’
Lucy looked around anxiously.
Edward let out a quiet snort.
“You should take a look at your own condition before saying that.”
