Chapter 84
Philome seriously wondered how Kaien had come to have such a personality. No matter how much the original story had deviated, it was so different that she couldn’t help but think about it.
When Kaien noticed Philome staring at him intently, he cautiously asked, “Did you dislike it? I thought it was nice.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Philome checked Kaien’s expression and then closed her mouth.
Kaien was glancing at Philome as if gauging her reaction. If their hands hadn’t been slightly damp, she would have had no idea that he was nervous.
Philome had briefly shot Kaien a glare at his brazen words, but upon noticing his tension, she spoke softly.
“…Next time, please ask for permission.”
Kaien smiled brightly and immediately asked, “So can I kiss you now?”
“No, you can’t.”
“That’s a shame; you’re not letting me have even one chance.”
“Then how do you, Duke, not miss a single opportunity?”
“That’s my charm.”
In the end, Philome let out a small laugh.
“I suppose that’s true.”
“Are you acknowledging my charm? Then can I kiss you?”
“I said no. Look at the aurora.”
Kaien clicked his tongue softly and turned his head away.
But after a short while, he looked back again, prompting Philome to immediately say, “I mean the aurora, not me.”
“My eyes want to look at you more.”
As Kaien stubbornly insisted, Philome turned her head away. When she met his eyes, which drew a curve, she opened her mouth a beat late.
“Thank you for showing me something so beautiful.”
“I originally wanted to show it to you as soon as we arrived in the North. It feels a bit late today, but somehow I thought that if I didn’t show it to you today, I might not have the chance again.”
“I almost missed seeing something this beautiful.”
“You can look at it more. I’ll be watching you.”
“Your gaze is too much for me; I can’t look any longer.”
Philome lightly laughed and then glanced around.
“But where is this place?”
“It’s the castle wall tower.”
Philome leaned her head over the edge of the tower.
The tower was positioned so high that, unless there was a blizzard, it offered a good view, allowing one to see far into the distance.
Seeing the castle below looking small, Philome gasped briefly.
“It’s really high.”
“It plays a very important role in spotting enemies from afar. Most importantly, you can see the aurora best from here.”
“But it felt like we got up here quickly. How did you come up?”
“Do you know that you can use aura on your feet?”
“…Is there no other way to get up here?”
“There are stairs, but it takes a long time. I wanted to show you the aurora quickly.”
Philome felt dizzy at the thought that one of the few transcendent beings in the world had used aura just to show her the aurora a few minutes earlier.
“So that’s why it was fast.”
“Yeah. Oh, but Philome, why didn’t you swing your sword earlier? If it had been a real situation, it would have been a big deal.”
“I was flustered, and I realized it was you, the duke, shortly after.”
Kaien narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
“How?”
“It was your body temperature.”
Kaien always had a high body temperature.
No matter how cold or hot the weather was, his hands and the body that touched hers were always warm.
Philome, though sensitive to the cold, had never thought her own body temperature was low until she met Kaien.
“You know my body temperature?”
“Yes. You’re always warm.”
And Philome found it most pleasant when their temperatures mingled and reached a comfortable warmth while holding hands with Kaien.
Stealing a glance at Kaien, who was staring at her intently, she asked, “Why are you like this?”
“The fact that you know my body temperature… it’s fascinating and makes me feel good.”
As the corners of Kaien’s mouth curved into a smile, Philome let out a small laugh.
“What’s so good about that? Anyway, you have a unique side to you, Duke.”
Kaien shrugged his shoulders.
“Anyway, if that situation happens again, even if it seems like me, just stab. If it’s really me, I’ll be able to dodge.”
Since it was something Kaien could easily do, Philome nodded without further comment.
“I’ll do that next time.”
“Come here.”
Kaien opened his cloak. Feeling the cold creeping in, Philome didn’t hesitate and nestled into his embrace.
Even though he wore a cloak thinner than hers, Kaien’s arms were incredibly warm.
If she hadn’t known his body temperature, she would have suspected he was wrapped in heated stones.
As her stiff body relaxed, Philome comfortably rested her face against his chest and gazed at the aurora.
“Philome.”
“Yes.”
“It’s going to be tough moving forward. There are many schemes we don’t know about yet, and eventually, we will get tired.”
“That’s true.”
“When that time comes, just stay by my side. That’s enough for me.”
Philome lifted her head.
Just a moment ago, Kaien had been watching the aurora with her, but now he was gazing at her.
“I feel the same way. I think I would be happy no matter what happens next to you, so you have to stay by my side too.”
Kaien smiled.
“I’ll definitely do that. I promise.”
Philome also smiled.
The aurora shimmered and rippled, emitting a radiant light. Under that glow, the two of them painted smiles solely for each other.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Three days had passed since the news of the saint’s appearance reached them.
Tension lingered, but it was a peaceful time without any major incidents.
After seeing Kaien off as usual, Philome and Liazell finished a simple breakfast and entered a room.
“Liazell, please put the food on the desk.”
“Yes!”
While Liazell carefully set down the food, Philome approached the window and drew back the curtains.
As bright light poured in, the dark room lit up. The room, with scrolls scattered everywhere, was truly a mess.
And among the piles of paper, Philome discovered Harnen, sound asleep.
“Harnen, wake up.”
“Ugh…”
As Harnen stirred and covered his ears, Philome reached out.
“Liazell, can you give me that?”
“Here you go!”
Philome splashed the cold water Liazell handed her right onto Harnen’s face.
“Whoa! Ah, that’s cold!”
At the same moment, Harnen shot up from his spot.
“You’re awake?”
“Boss? Wh-what’s going on?”
“What do you mean, what’s going on? You asked me to wake you up by splashing water on you yesterday morning.”
“Oh, right…”
Harnen blinked in confusion with his drenched face.
‘Cold water works well, huh? I should use this again next time.’
There was no need to shout and strain his voice. Feeling good about discovering a great method, Philome set the cup down while Liazell handed Harnen a handkerchief.
“Harnen, wipe your face.”
“Thanks.”
Harnen rubbed his face, which was stinging from the cold.
Noticing the dark traces of fatigue under Harnen’s eyes, Philome asked, “What time did you go to bed last night?”
Two days ago, the spirit scroll sent by Sebastian had arrived. Harnen had locked himself in his room, saying he needed to harness the spirit’s power while he still had energy.
He was even skipping meals, so Philome had been bringing him food whenever she could.
“What time is it now?”
“It’s 7 o’clock.”
“I only got two hours of sleep.”
Harnen pressed the damp handkerchief against his eyes, applying pressure.
“But I feel relieved since I got everything done before sleeping.”
“You finished all that yesterday?”
Philome recalled the scrolls that had been packed in the carriage and was taken aback.
“Yeah. I had to get it done in advance because I have something important today.”
“What are you doing today?”
“I decided to go to the snowy field with Lord Theodore.”
Philome offered Harnen his meal.
After taking a sip of steaming milk, he continued speaking.
“I think he wants me to see if I can find any more traces of the spell since I’m a spirit master.”
“That’s true. There hasn’t been anything found besides that piece of cloth.”
Since discovering the piece of cloth with the spell inscribed on it, Kaien had been going to the snowy field every morning, trying to find other traces.
However, by the late afternoon when he returned, he always came back empty-handed.
As this repeated over several days, even Harnen, the spirit master, ended up going to the snowy field out of a glimmer of hope.
