A lush forest trembled with black flames.
The rainstorm burned even more fiercely as it poured down.
“How far should I show you to earn your trust?”
John flicked his fingers lightly. The black fire that had spread through the forest exploded, sweeping away the Crawlins.
KWAANG-! BOOM!
Everywhere the black flames flew sparked with enormous explosions.
The monsters were things the Empire’s order knights would come out to capture.
‘That Crawlin…’
John was slaughtering them.
My sensitive ears twitched, and I frowned unconsciously, so John covered my ears.
“Soon done.”
A Crawlin enveloped in the black flames let out a painful scream and rolled on the ground. But the black flames did not go out.
“Kwa-aaaah-!”
Until it turned to ash.
Even as a terrifying sight to behold, I found I couldn’t look away for some reason. A vague unease made me ask John.
“Is it really okay to do this like this?”
“What’s there to be afraid of?”
John shrugged his shoulders and asked.
“I’m getting rid of anything that could hurt you.”
My gaze swept over the violent aura around John. His unrestrained dark mana ran wild without control.
“I feel like you’re overdoing it.”
Until just a moment ago, it was difficult to capture Crawlins. And this is a Monster Forest; it wouldn’t be easy to exert this much power here.
“Besides, you’ve only just recovered… and there was even a protective magic back then.”
Now, without protective magic, I can only imagine how much pain John would be in.
John gave a sly smile and draped his own cloak over my shoulders.
“I’m more worried about you. Even though you’re worn out, it’s better than not wearing anything at all.”
One sleeve of his coat had vanished, stained with monster blood. Yet I could still feel his warmth, which was comforting.
“Let’s go back together now.”
John picked me up in that state. I nestled quietly in his arms.
In the downpour, the black flames burned fiercely, the forest lay ruined, the ground split, and monsters wailed as they burned.
‘It feels like the world is about to end.’
Only John and I were seemingly fine around us.
John walked away in apparent indifference as if such turmoil meant nothing at all.
How long had we walked? A group of knights on horseback appeared in the distance. They wore the banners of the Blanchet Duchy.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
The Crawlin mob was not all there was.
In various corners of Blanchet Duchy, sudden incidents involving monsters had broken out.
Still, the duchy itself remained safe; their preparations were excellent, having endured many ordeals.
Of course, it was also because John had swept the Crawlin horde away in one go.
‘Why does Crawlin seem to target me?’
I couldn’t explain it, but that thought kept nagging at me.
‘Could it be because I’m a fairy?’
Are fairies related to monsters?
-Well, if a fairy is a descendant of the gods, then monsters are beings of chaos opposed to the divine. Perhaps that’s it.
-But nothing ever happened until now.
-That’s true. We’ve lived in the Monster Forest; it doesn’t make sense for there to be such a connection… It seems even the trees aren’t sure about this incident.
-Tree beings in the Monster Forest cannot communicate with us. They’ve been too stained by corrupted ground to bless the summer.
-‘Blessings of summer’?
-Yes. We prayed to heal you and shared the Blessings of Summer we had.
The Blessing of Summer. The primal blessing the gods gave to trees.
-But could you really grant me such a precious blessing?
-You worry too much. It wasn’t a big deal to share!
-Yes. Besides, this Blessing of Summer was originally a gift the fairy bestowed on the trees. We used it for you, so we’re actually quite happy.
The trees and fairies seemed a close pair, yet it was hard to get information about fairies from the trees.
-If you were so close, why is there no one who knows details?
-Well. We’re not sure either. We might have forgotten because we’re trees…
-We knew someone had been waiting for you, though we didn’t know who it was until we met you. And the moment we looked at you, we understood.
-We have been waiting for you all this time.
‘There must be a secret here somewhere.’
Lost in thought for a moment, John urged me.
“Estelle, hey.”
“Understood. Here.”
I fed John more soup to help him recover. He accepted my touch with bare skin drawn with bandages.
‘It feels like taming a wild beast.’
That is how I came to look after John.
When we arrived, the duchy’s estate was in an uproar.
“No, Master, what is this?”
“Bring a doctor right away! The master—”
John, the only master of Blanchet, was in grave condition.
There were injuries beyond what I could see with my eyes. But John was resolute.
“Estelle first, examine her.”
“…Yes? But the master’s injuries are more serious—”
“Didn’t you hear my orders?”
Thanks to John doing his best to protect me, I was not hurt. But the doctor could only treat John after inspecting whether I had fallen ill from the long rain.
“Master. Even a master should rest for at least one or two days.”
“That’s right. You’ll manage, I suppose, but it’s medical advice.”
Still, no one dared to speak bluntly to John. He seemed fearsome. Then I stepped forward carefully.
“May I look after John? It doesn’t seem like a big procedure.”
“My lady? If you say so, we’d be very grateful.”
Fortunately, John also welcomed my nursing.
“I’d prefer Estelle to take care of me. It would be nice to spend time together.”
So I ended up taking care of John’s meals and his room’s needs too.
Of course, I didn’t have to go to extra trouble; Blanchet Duchy had prepared everything in advance.
“Thinking about it, Blanchet Duchy people are rather surprising.”
I was sure the people of Blanchet Duchy wouldn’t like me. Even though I stayed by John’s side, I could sense that kind of resentment.
But I didn’t feel their resentment. It was more like hospitality.
‘Could it be because John’s a wily one?’
That cunning black-masked man is indeed versatile. After a certain amount of killing, I asked John.
“Is there anywhere you’re hurting?”
“The wound area is a bit uncomfortable.”
“Is it because of the pain? I’ll take care of it now.”
I bent to check John’s wound. At that moment, he suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace and laid me on the bed. He pressed his tall nose against the back of my neck and breathed a lazy, satisfied sigh.
“I was uncomfortable without you by my side.”
“What’s this? You were feeding me right in front of us, anyway.”
“But it’s not the same as holding you.”
John wore no shirt over the bandages on his upper body. The bandages rustled as his body was clearly visible. When I wriggled to escape, John gave a small laugh and didn’t loosen his grip.
“Are we going to sleep like this?”
“Since it’s already evening.”
A strong body pressing into mine, his lips brushing near my ears, a bittersweet, heavy scent of John.
“Shall we sleep like this?”
In a teasing, honeyed voice, he teased my ear.
My face warmed, but I tried not to show it.
‘Being with John always makes me waver.’
Honestly, I didn’t think I was someone easily swayed by others.
“Fine. Let’s sleep like this.”
I turned to face John and locked eyes with him.
The pillow between us, close enough to hear each other’s breaths. Lying and looking into each other’s eyes felt strange.
John gazed at me and whispered as if it were a dream.
“But I can’t sleep. Tell me your story.”
“Mine?”
“Anything. As you like.”
There is a lot I could not reveal about what happened in Libertan. But there was one thing I could share.
“I don’t have an interesting story to tell.”
In the Levantine Orphanage, a place where I grew up, a noble John might enjoy hearing about my life as a commoner.
John pulled me onto the bed and held me in his arms, patting my shoulder.
“Still, do tell me. I want to know about you.”
“In the orphanage, we lived dozens of children together. It was a chaotic place, with so many kids.”
As in any era, there were many abandoned children in the world. I was one of them. A child with unknown parents. Abandoned and never adopted.
No one knew how I ended up in that orphanage. Not even the director or the teachers. Too many kids were abandoned and ran away.
“I was the weakest and smallest in the orphanage. The director would throw me out, perhaps thinking I wouldn’t bite back, or perhaps because I was too small or dumb to argue back.”
“That was probably because you were dumb.”
“Right? I wasn’t very bright. When I got angry, I took it out on the other kids, and one time I almost got beaten to death…”
John’s crimson eyes flashed with life.
“Tell me more. What did that director do to you?”
“That’s all in the past. I don’t care about it anymore.”
I was not an angel protecting the director.
‘But that was such a long time ago.’
And when I think back to the time in Libertan, the orphanage didn’t feel all that bad.
“Orphans in the orphanage are often targets. Among the boys and girls there, many bullied me.”
Looking back, I was disliked in many places.
“Estelle.”
His pale, elegant fingers lightly touched my cheek.
“Should I avenge you?”
“Huh?”
“That bunch who bullied you when you were little. I’ll find each of them and make them pay.”
He spoke with quiet anger.
Then I realized. I shook my head and declined.
“Don’t be angry.”
“Not at you. I’m angry at the foolish bastards who bullied you.”
I couldn’t even recall how I’d been bullied. The orphanage was a harsh place, and children had to bite and scratch each other to survive.
So I didn’t feel like seeking revenge.
“I’m okay now. Because I have John by my side.”
John let out a sigh at my naïve words. He slowly pulled me into his arms. His whole body wrapped around me.
“If only I had been by your side back then, it would have been better.”
He spoke like a sigh, half-drained.
“I wish I could have protected you then.”
“Would that have helped?”
If I hadn’t been adopted by Libertan and had met John then, we might not have ended up like this.
We would not have betrayed each other to seek revenge, and there would be no fear between us.
The more I thought about it, the colder my chest felt. Reality would not change anyway.
I became an adopted child of Libertan, and he grew from the ground up into Libertan’s avenger.
With hands clasped tightly, he gave a light, almost tender smile.
“Back then, could we have been husband and wife like this too?”
“Of course. I would have found a way to marry you.”
But John never told me the truth, and I never revealed my secrets to him either.
We each saw our own illusions.
Even if this warm, affectionate state is just a fake that will one day disappear.
‘Please, save me!’
You felt real then.
‘If you cry and beg, I’ll grant it all.’
I am a fake.
So I have never known the real thing.
Yet if someone truly loves the real me, they would surely say so with that kind expression.
John kissed my smile on the cheek.
“Estelle, what are you thinking?”
“Your story—another us, told just now.”
After so many betrayals, I still wanted to trust John.
But I could not completely abandon the idea of escaping. So I would trust John while staying prepared.
“If John finds me, I’d be happy.”
I buried myself in John’s firm embrace, focusing only on the warmth he gave.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Estelle fell asleep like that.
John gently stroked Estelle’s back as she slept.
‘Sleep well.’
She was truly a rabbit-like, endearing woman.
Even when she lowered her guard, she would soon open her eyes wide and scamper toward him.
‘What do you think you’re capable of doing?’
In John’s mind, a Libertan tradition surfaced with a slight smile.
‘You’re hearing about protective magic for the first time.’
To someone ignorant of magic, that reaction is understandable. But for a Libertan, it’s not hard to understand.
Libertan has a lineage of guardian magic passed down through generations.
John held a faint magical power in his hand. He shouldn’t use magic, but handling this level of power was fine.
Carefully, he lifted Estelle’s sleeping collar and breathed magic under Estelle’s collarbone.
A place where Libertan descendants inscribe guardian magic.
But nothing emerged from Estelle.
Then, beneath that, a blurry scar like a knife cut appeared faintly.
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
