IBWCD 52

Chapter 52

The moment she sucks in her breath as she sees the foam of a wave stopped in midair.

*Pow!*

The energized shard of magic shattered, and the apple wick fell gently into Leon’s hand.

Evelyn’s lower lip dropped in surprise, along with her wide eyes.

“Whoa. What was that…?”

“It’s nothing.”

“No, it wasn’t it looked like something big!”

“Well, I thought you looked a little depressed, so I thought I’d play a little joke on you.”

Scratching his head, Leon held out a necklace that glimpsed through the collar of his shirt as it fluttered in the breeze.

A bluish-silver magic stone glinted in the afternoon sun.

She’d heard once that carrying a highly refined magic stone allows people to perform simple magic.

“…That’s a bit much for a joke, isn’t the most you can cast with a magic stone is a fire spell?”

“I can actually stop time, just for a moment, in the blink of an eye. A young lady who can draw on the power of light without fear is not something to be admired.”

“It’s not me.”

Leon, who had just tossed an apple wick into the trash can, turned serious.

“I guess you mean…”

* * *

After a few moments, the two of them concluded their conversation and got up from the bench and walked toward the carriage.

Leon invited her to stay for dinner since it was so late, but she declined, remembering her unsuccessful conversation with the Duke of Parminion.

She couldn’t wait to get back and finish the conversation.

She also wanted to see Kalian.

As she walked, Evelyn thought about Leon’s words.

“I think you… awakened.”

“What do you mean, awakened…?”

“Awakening is a state of growth, of breaking the limits of the powers that surround you.”

But isn’t that a special power reserved for wizards who can control the elements, or swordsmen and guardians who have mastered extreme swordplay?

Mages are a rare breed.

Of course, ordinary people can perform simple magic by wearing a magic stone.

But that’s about as far as one can go with magic, and Evelyn didn’t even know how to do that. Leon seems to be a more special case.

“If I don’t know how to use the elements, how am I supposed to… awaken?”

Evelyn sighed at the question that popped into her head.

“It’s all in my head.”

But there was no point in prying, especially since Leon stubbornly denied that she was the one who had performed the miracle.

“I’ll have to ask Kalian when I see him later.”

With that thought in mind, she stumbled down the harbor road as the sun began to set.

Bam!

“Are you crazy? Drive straight!”

Evelyn thought she heard a commotion among the unsuspecting crowd, but the sound of uneven hooves, creaking cart wheels, and panting horses gradually grew closer.

Apparently, the horse pulling the cart had run away.

“Evelyn, come here.”

Evelyn hastily moved aside as Leon pushed her back into the road.

“Get out of the way, everyone! Get out of the way! What’s wrong with this horse all of a sudden, uh, uh…!”

Just then, the shouting coachman turned to look straight ahead and squinted.

Evelyn followed his desolate gaze and saw the back of a child squatting in the middle of the road.

The child, who looked to be four or five years old, was busily playing as if he hadn’t noticed anything.

“No! Kid!”

BANG!

It happened in an instant.

Time seemed to slow down, and when she came to, she was sprawled across the floor with the little boy in her arms.

Her body moved before her mind as she realized she had to save the little girl.

Evelyn rolled and rolled, only to be stopped by an intangible force that reached out and grabbed her.

“Ugh!”

The erratically veering carriage was also stopped in its tracks, its wheels tangled in a mountain of fishing nets.

“What the hell is going on?”

The crowd began to gather, shouting.

Evelyn turned toward the shadow that had so gently enveloped her a moment ago, but there was no one around.

“What, what?”

In the midst of the panic, the child seemed to be fine and unharmed.

Just then, the coachman jumped out of the carriage and rushed over to her, carrying the child.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“You almost got yourself into trouble! Where were you thinking, driving at such a speed on a narrow street!”

It was Leon who came running up, breathing heavily.

He was very surprised by the sudden turn of events. Frighteningly angry, Leon raked his hand roughly through his red hair and helped Evelyn to her feet.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? I’ll carry her, give her to me.”

“I’m fine, she looks scared, I think I’ll just let you hold her, by the way… what happened?”

Evelyn asked the coachman as she soothed the child, who had begun to cry.

The coachman looked at Leon, who was red in the face, and frowned in embarrassment.

“Well, I watched the saint give her blessing for a while, and then I started to drive the cart, and my horse suddenly went crazy and started to run away…”

A saint’s blessing.

That must mean she’s close by now. She must have seen the carriage run wild.

“And yet she never comes here.”

Evelyn turned her head at the sudden gaze.

She could feel the alley-headed, all-white woman staring at her.

As if checking to see if she was hurt.

But maybe that was just the ugly part of her mind trying to undermine the saint.

Evelyn broke the gaze and looked at the child, who had buried her face in the crook of her arm and was sobbing desperately. The child’s tiny body was hot.

‘Is she hurt?’

Evelyn quickly reached for the child, but was stopped in her tracks by Leon, who grabbed her wrist and shook his head.

‘I suppose that means I shouldn’t show my strength here.’

It was then.

“My dear, my dear, my dear, what is the matter?”

An elderly woman with a slight bend in her back rushed over and reached for the child in Evelyn’s arms.

‘Was this her grandchild?’

‘Should she hand the child over to the unidentified woman?’

Her arms grew uncharacteristically light as she pondered. Leon snatched the child out of her arms and hugged the old woman tightly.

“Mrs. Allen, don’t be alarmed. Vivi’s fine, she’s just a little shaken up, go home and get some rest, she’ll be fine in no time.”

Ah, so Leon knows.

She breathes a sigh of relief.

“…….”

But for some reason, even though she was sure her granddaughter was safe, the panic on her face didn’t go away.

Mrs. Allen rushed over to Evelyn and grabbed her hand in surprise.

“Do you think…”

Evelyn’s mind went as white as a sheet of paper at the words that came straight out of Mrs. Allen’s mouth.

“Marcella? Is it really Marcella, is it you…?”

* * *

Moments later, the Duke of Parminion’s castle.

After completing his unwanted schedule at the Emperor’s behest, Kalian soaked in the bathtub as soon as he entered his bedroom.

He knew that his first priority should be to visit Evelyn and explain how he felt and what had happened, but he felt a strong need to wash away the unpleasant sensations that had been crawling across his skin all day.

Fatigue had set in from the multiple spell circles he’d unexpectedly activated earlier.

“Huh.”

As Kalian washed his tired body neatly, Benjamin, who had pulled up a stool and sat down beside the tub, gave a brief report of the day’s events.

“It’s true that her mother worked in Mrs. Allen’s tavern, but the story of her selling herself to mercenaries is a rumor. The tavern seemed perfectly normal, except…”

“Only?”

“They were strangely wary of me, from the moment I mentioned Marcella’s name, their eyes changed, and later they beat me with a broom.”

Pulling up his shirt, Benjamin nudged him, revealing a long bruise on the underside of his wingbone.

“Hmm.”

At this, Kalian’s brow furrowed deeply.

Lately, the Blackwood Knights had been treated as heroes in Parminion, especially in the town of Litchev.

The seas, which had been so polluted that even they had given up hope, had been cleaned up by a miracle of the Sun God.

It’s no wonder they’re revered, as it’s said that it was all thanks to the prayers of a saint to help the Grand Duke.

Which meant that even they had good reason to remain vigilant.

Running a hand through his damp hair, Kalian nodded as if he had guessed something.

“Looks like you have something you want to protect.”

Like the way he’d had to look away from Evelyn and pretend he wasn’t at all pleased to see her.

A few hours ago.

As the carriage pulled into Duke Parminion’s castle, the saint suddenly began to complain of dizziness.

“I have not yet recovered my strength…”

Cedric glared at him, but he didn’t seem to mind, tugging at the hem of Kalian’s robe and rolling his eyes.

“Grand duke, anywhere is fine, but would you mind taking me somewhere to lie down for a while?”

He was reluctant, but he knew better than anyone what the consequences of disrespecting a holy woman would be.

‘I doubt Evelyn will be passing through there…’

Kalian frowned and sighed.

He frowned and sighed, remembering Evelyn turning away from him with a look on her face that said the world was falling apart.

There was no excuse for it, but it still bothered him.

When he didn’t say anything, Benjamin continued his report as shrewdly as if he’d read his mind.

“They say there was a small accident at lunch.”

“An accident?”

“They say your ladyship suddenly became unsteady and collapsed, breaking her wine glass, which cut her.”

Leaning back in the tub, Kalian rubbed his forehead with his fingertips.

“And yet she followed the Count, knowing what else might happen, and without fear.”

“She followed him because he’s a councilor, and I’m sure you didn’t want to confront her in that situation.”

“Yeah, I guess I had no choice.”

Even with the logical understanding of the whole situation.

Kalian’s stomach twisted at the thought of the pale-faced woman being carried away by another man.

“So, where are the two now, and what are they doing?”