Chapter 30
This was bad.
Caesar had already been overflowing with energy, and now, after absorbing her divine power, he was probably even stronger.
But more importantly… how am I supposed to face him now?
Odette made her way toward the river near the camp.
She hadn’t washed before falling asleep the night before, and after spending the night kicking under the blankets in frustration, she felt sticky all over.
Her only option was to clean up and then act as if she had completely forgotten everything from the previous night.
That seemed to be the only way forward.
They said we’d leave for Count Anderson’s estate after breakfast.
Once Caesar and the Count met, they would undoubtedly go for each other’s throats, using every weakness to their advantage.
Should I try to escape now?
Odette glanced toward the mountains and fields but quickly shook her head.
She wouldn’t get far before they caught her.
“No point in making things worse,” she muttered.
Scooping up the cold river water, she splashed it onto her face, hoping to snap herself out of it.
But instead of clearing her mind, her breath hitched in her throat.
“Ugh—!”
The divine power Caesar had absorbed was now surging back into her body.
It coiled within her, more concentrated than before, swirling near her navel with an electrifying sting.
“Haa… Haaah…”
Clutching her chest, she gasped for air, then lifted her head, setting her gaze on a tree across the river.
Perhaps if she released this overflowing energy and shattered the tree, she would feel better.
Crackle—
Bright light flickered from her fingertips.
It spiraled like a luminous thread around her wrist, stronger and more vivid than before.
“If I fire this…”
“I wouldn’t recommend that.”
“Ahh!”
Startled by the voice behind her, Odette spun around—
Boom!
She had accidentally unleashed her divine power toward the source of the voice—Caesar.
“Ack—!”
The blast struck the rock where he had been sitting.
Fragments shattered into the air like sharp shards of glass.
In an instant, Caesar surged forward, wrapping his arms around her to shield her from the flying debris.
Thud!
The sound of jagged stone striking his back landed in Odette’s chest like a heavy weight.
She was horrified, but Caesar merely looked at her with an unreadable expression and muttered,
“Troublemaker. If you keep using your power like that, the High Temple will come after you. Do you want to be captured?”
“N-No…”
The dust from the explosion swirled behind him before settling, as if something had forcefully suppressed it.
It was as if Caesar himself had absorbed and neutralized the energy she had unleashed.
“Um… but…”
She was still pressed against his chest, unsure where to look.
And of all things, her gaze landed right on his exposed collarbone, visible between the folds of his shirt.
Images from the previous night flashed through her mind—Caesar, shirtless, his face flushed as he leaned toward her.
Ughhh.
Her heartbeat pounded so loudly it felt like her eardrums might burst.
The freezing river water lapped against her calves, enough to numb her skin, yet she still couldn’t think straight.
In moments like this, saying anything was better than silence.
“G-Good morning—”
“I didn’t sleep.”
“…I see.”
She should have just kept her mouth shut.
Trying to shift the conversation to something completely useless, she spoke again.
“Did you get hurt just now?”
“I did.”
“Would you like me to—treat it?”
“You might as well try.”
Caesar finally released her and turned his back toward her.
His white shirt was soaked in blood.
The shattered rock fragments had ripped through the fabric and embedded themselves into his back.
“Oh, no… what do we do?”
“Isn’t healing part of your power?”
“Um… I don’t specialize in healing.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never tried it before.”
“Then try now.”
Caesar unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off.
Blood trickled from between the ridges of muscle on his back, where small shards of stone remained lodged.
Odette took a deep breath, focusing her energy.
A soft glow formed at her fingertips as she pressed them against his skin, pouring all her will into healing him.
“Please, just heal properly…”
The moment she touched him—
“Argh—!”
Caesar flinched, jerking forward.
A vivid red handprint burned into his skin.
It was as if she had scorched him.
Caesar turned his head, a cold sweat breaking out on the bridge of his nose.
Oh no! It must have hurt a lot.
Odette raised both hands in surrender.
“S-See? I told you! I can’t heal people!”
“I didn’t expect you to iron me instead.”
“I-Ironing?”
Looking closer, she saw a red burn mark in the shape of her palm, as if she had scorched him.
“Are you… by any chance, a demon?”
“…What?”
“I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it? You got burned just from coming into contact with divine power.”
Now that she said it aloud, the logic seemed almost too precise. She nodded as if convincing herself.
“It’s because your divine power is meant for attack,” Caesar explained in a low voice. “You touched me with the intent to harm.”
Apparently, if she unleashed her power deliberately, she could kill multiple people at once.
Caesar’s voice deepened as he continued,
“The Empire’s first emperor was said to have executed dozens of traitors with just the flick of a finger.”
That reminded Odette of something Erik had once mentioned in passing.
He said my divine power was similar to the one the first emperor possessed.
Caesar, who had been wincing in pain just moments ago, now spoke with surprising composure.
“Well, in any case, it just stung a little.”
“Then… there won’t be any scars, right? Since it was just a slight sting?”
“That’s uncertain.”
Caesar stepped closer, radiating an air of effortless seduction.
Or perhaps, he had simply leaned in slightly, staring at her.
But because he was naturally exuding that dangerous allure, she felt as though she were being drawn in.
Was it some kind of magic he possessed?
Suddenly, the entire atmosphere shifted.
The golden sunlight filtering through the leaves, the cool, flowing river, the vast field that looked as soft as a carpet—all of it seemed like the perfect setting for a romance.
This is insane. Why am I thinking about this now?
“There’s a way to heal it,” he murmured.
His breath ghosted over her lips, lingering there.
Odette instinctively leaned her head back.
“A-Are you saying… a k-kiss is the cure?”
“That’s right.”
“I-I don’t quite understand…”
Caesar slid his arms around her waist, gently pulling her closer.
“Then, let me show you.”
“Wait, w-wait a minute! Holding me like this… a-and kissing me… I don’t think this is right!”
Her eyes darted downward, locking onto the firm dip between his pectoral muscles.
“We’re not lovers,” she muttered. “We don’t even like each other. I don’t want to be Amelia’s replacement.”
The situation felt unfair to her.
I just took a better-paying job—why am I getting dragged into all of this?
Memories of the past few days—the countless times she had nearly died—flooded her mind. Her vision blurred.
“I’m a free person,” she whispered. “I can go wherever I want.”
“……”
“Can’t you just let me go? I swear, I’ll never tell anyone about what happened. Please… just let me leave.”
“You can’t.”
“W-Why not?!”
“Because when you’re near me, I grow stronger.”
Caesar’s hand slid down her back.
His touch sent a shiver through her, and her entire body trembled like a fragile leaf in the wind.
As if trying to still her shaking, he pulled her even closer, whispering,
“I was cursed to absorb the energy around me. The verdict was that I’d either die when my heart gave out… or turn into a monster.”
In the original story, Caesar had only revealed this secret near the very end.
So why is he telling me now?
With her head pressed against his chest, Odette could hear his erratic heartbeat.
She could also feel her divine power flowing into him.
Come to think of it… I feel better too.
The overwhelming strength that had been too much for her body to contain—the suffocating sensation of being on the verge of bursting—
It was all being absorbed into him. And as it left her, she felt lighter.
“But when I absorb the sacred power you release,” Caesar continued, “it feels as though it cleanses what’s inside me.”
He paused briefly before taking her hand and placing it against his back.
The wounds had vanished.
Beneath her fingertips, his skin was smooth and unblemished.
“Now do you understand why I need you?”
“…Oh my god.”
Her divine power had no healing properties.
But once Caesar absorbed it, he could heal himself.
