Chapter 20
“Hah… ha…”
After an intense flash of light filled the room and disappeared, Alice opened her eyes with a labored breath.
The first thing she saw was Kylus’s face.
Color had returned to his previously pale complexion, and his blue-tinged lips had regained their normal reddish hue. He was no longer emitting pained, harsh groans.
“As I thought… it worked…”
Alice felt her body becoming extremely heavy. It was as if some great power had been suddenly drained from within her, leaving her unable to stand.
She needed to return to her room.
This fleeting thought crossed her remaining shred of consciousness, but it was futile. Staggering precariously, Alice finally lost consciousness and collapsed onto the bed.
* * *
Kylus, who had been wandering in agony, saw an intense light in the endless darkness.
The bright light enveloped his entire body.
And at that moment, as if by magic, the pain that had been tormenting him vanished.
It was a warmth he had never experienced before in his life.
Kylus didn’t want to let go of this miraculous, fulfilling warmth. He even thought he wanted to live in this warmth forever.
But then, he felt a heavy weight around his waist.
With the keen instincts honed on the battlefield, Kylus’s eyes snapped open.
He reached for the knife hidden between the bed’s headboard, until he noticed the pink hair scattered across the blanket.
Kylus blinked slowly as he observed the back of the woman who had collapsed onto his body.
The woman, wearing the thin silk nightgown typical of noble ladies and sprawled across his waist, certainly didn’t look like an assassin.
The lustrous pink hair spilled over the blanket.
Kylus slowly reached out towards the woman.
He gently turned her shoulder to the side.
With a soft rustling sound, her hair fell across her cheek.
After carefully laying her body straight, he brushed aside the hair covering her face.
This revealed the woman’s slightly pale face.
She wasn’t an extraordinary beauty, but her delicate features made her look quite cute.
Who on earth is she?
Kylus furrowed his brow, then recalled someone.
“…Alice Fordley.”
Kylus’s gaze deepened as he realized the woman collapsed on top of him was her.
Until now, he had only heard Alice’s voice and never seen her face directly.
He only knew from the butler that she had pink hair and golden eyes.
“…So this is what she looks like.”
He had tried imagining her appearance while hearing her voice before.
But strangely, he couldn’t quite picture her in his mind.
Kylus slowly traced Alice’s eyes, nose, and lips with his increasingly intense gaze.
As if etching her into his vision.
Then suddenly, he realized.
The fact that she shouldn’t be here right now.
He had been writhing in pain after taking the antidote, and the current time was well past 1 AM.
“…Why are you here?”
Kylus furrowed his brow as he withdrew his hand from her.
Alice should be in her own bed right now, not his.
Why was she collapsed on top of him in his bed when she should be fast asleep?
As he raised an eyebrow at the incomprehensible situation, a chilling thought crossed his mind as he looked at her motionless form.
Is she breathing?
His face hardened as he hurriedly checked Alice’s pulse.
For a moment, he felt a chill down his spine at the thought she might have been thrown onto him dead, but fortunately, Alice was still breathing.
Then why…
As Kylus furrowed his brow, an important fact crossed his mind.
The fact that his pain had completely disappeared.
And the fact that he had seen a bright light similar to when he regained consciousness at the moment the pain vanished.
Once might be a coincidence, but twice is not.
It was clear that the light that had awakened him had also eliminated his pain.
And… Alice Fordley was here.
“…No way.”
Kylus’s gaze wavered as he looked at Alice.
Was it you who saved me?
He had vaguely thought she might be involved.
He just wasn’t certain.
But now, having the same experience as before, Alice was right in front of him like evidence.
The pain that had disappeared as if by magic, just like how the scar on his left arm had healed cleanly.
It was clearly Alice Fordley’s power.
Alice had saved him.
“…To think it was really you.”
The fact that Alice had saved him strangely stirred his heart.
The indescribable feelings he had felt towards her until now.
Perhaps it was an instinctive goodwill he felt because she had saved him.
Thinking of it that way made his complicated mind feel a little lighter.
He took a deep breath and slipped his hands under Alice’s neck and lower back.
After lifting her limp form, he carefully laid Alice down next to him.
Then he gently tucked her flowing pink hair behind her ear.
It was a delicate touch uncharacteristic of someone who wielded a sword.
He couldn’t treat Alice roughly since she was his lifesaver, so his touch was infinitely careful, as if handling something small and precious.
After adjusting her to a comfortable position, he gazed at the deeply sleeping Alice with a strange look in his eyes.
“So you saved me…”
Kylus’s voice softly echoed in the room.
It was surprising enough that she had saved him, but even more astonishing was Alice’s holy power.
Kylus immediately realized that the power Alice used to save him was holy power.
The light and warmth he saw were different from magic.
Moreover, not only was the pain gone, but his body felt light as if all his senses and strength had returned.
He felt like he could wield a sword on the battlefield right away.
Recovering a person’s body to this extent in such a short time was impossible with magic or medical techniques.
It was God’s blessing. And not just ordinary holy power, but power comparable to that of a High Priest, or perhaps even a Pope.
To think Alice possessed such strong holy power.
She always exceeded his expectations like this.
“…I could never kill you now.”
Not only could he not kill her, Alice had now become an indispensable existence to him.
Her tremendous ability.
He desperately needed her ability.
No, he was desperate for it.
He never wanted to be trapped in darkness again.
But was that all?
For a moment, a question echoed in Kylus’s mind.
For some reason, the question ringing in his head made Kylus’s insides churn.
Perhaps that’s why it was even difficult to look at Alice.
Because of a strange, inexplicable feeling that was not just goodwill towards his lifesaver.
As he turned his head away from Alice as if avoiding her, he noticed a piece of paper.
A folded paper seemed to have fallen where she had collapsed.
“What’s this?”
He grabbed the paper and unfolded it.
When he saw the words written on the neatly unfolded paper, his eyebrows shot up sharply.
[Application for Priesthood]
“Applying for priesthood…”
‘I’m someone who’s going to leave this place.’
Her words flashed through his mind.
“…So this is what you meant by leaving.”
She, with her holy power, was planning to become a priest and truly leave the duchy.
She’s leaving his side.
This paper confirmed that fact to him.
You’re leaving me…?
The moment he thought about her disappearing from his side, he felt like endless darkness was engulfing him again.
The warmth of the light that had gently embraced his body turned chillingly cold.
The warmth he had felt for the first time in his life.
He desperately needed that warmth.
But if she left, he might be left alone in the cold darkness again.
He might never again hear even Alice’s strange greetings that he had grown accustomed to.
If he had never known, it might have been different, but he had already experienced the warmth she gave.
And at that moment, he realized.
That he could never go back to how he was before knowing her.
He crumpled the paper in his hand beyond recognition and stuffed it into the drawer of the bedside table so Alice wouldn’t find it.
His dangerous emotions seemed to have already surpassed mere goodwill towards his lifesaver, but now only one fact came to mind.
That he couldn’t lose her.
Because Kylus desperately needed her holy power.
“Yes, holy power… I need your holy power.”
So you can’t leave me. Never.
He whispered softly as he gazed at Alice.
* * *
“Mmm, ugh…”
My body feels so heavy.
Alice struggled to open her eyes, her body feeling like it weighed a ton. Her eyes felt sticky, but after blinking a few times, her blurry focus started to clear.
And seeing the sculpture-like face right in front of her, Alice smiled contentedly before panicking.
“Ah! What the-!”
Why is Kylus next to me??
Alice bolted upright, her eyes wide open as if they might pop out.
Without even fixing her messy hair, she whipped her head around like a madwoman.
“This is…”
Kylus’s bedroom.
And she was lying in Kylus’s bed, no less.
This is insane.
“What on earth happened…”
Alice tried to recall the night’s events as she tidied her disheveled hair.
She came looking for the priesthood application form… Kylus was in pain so she called for Helkin…
But that didn’t work, so she used her holy power.
“Right… I used my holy power.”
But she couldn’t remember anything after that.
The last thing she remembered was her whole body going limp and weak.
Did she fall asleep here after that?
And end up taking the spot next to Kylus while sleeping?
If it were someone else, they might think, “Ha, no way I’d do that,” but for Alice, it was entirely possible.
Her sleeping habits were quite severe, after all.
She had never woken up in a proper position on the bed even once.
Besides, if she hadn’t moved herself, there was no one here who could have laid her on the bed.
It would have been impossible for Kylus to come to his senses and put her to bed.
“I’m crazy, I’m crazy.”
Alice smacked her forehead.
As she shook her head, she turned to look at Kylus, worried about whether he had recovered.
“Ah, Kylus…”
Fortunately, Kylus’s peacefully sleeping face didn’t look bad.
He seemed to have remained stable after she used her holy power.
Just in case, she placed the back of her hand on Kylus’s smooth forehead, but he didn’t have a fever.
“He’s… recovered. Thank goodness.”
Alice let out a sigh of relief as she withdrew her hand.
And Alice had to admit.
That at least while she was by his side, she couldn’t ignore him.
It’s good that I could at least do this much for him.
Later, when I hear the news of his death, I’ll at least be able to take comfort in knowing I did my best.
Yes, that’s enough.
Until the day she leaves comes, Alice decided to just do her best and stop trying to draw a line with Kylus due to her confused feelings.
After adjusting Kylus’s blanket, Alice carefully got off the bed.
“Sleep well, Kylus.”
I hope you don’t suffer in your dreams.
After bidding him goodnight, Alice left the bedroom with quiet steps.
And the moment the door closed, Kylus opened his eyes.
He slowly brushed his forehead where Alice’s warmth lingered, then gently closed his eyes again.
