Chapter 8 Part 9
‘Will I ever be able to tell him?’
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. She just didn’t want to drag Aksion into something burdensome.
‘But…’
Right now, she wanted to say this.
“I promise.”
Elia nodded, and his lips twisted into a smile. His body, seated on the couch, collapsed onto the soft velvet.
“If there are secrets between us as a married couple… I would be deeply hurt.”
A dark shadow covered Elia’s body. The still-damp moisture on her neck dripped down her skin. With the deepening shadow, their lips met. The kiss, hotter than body heat, felt like the signal of a long dawn.
* * *
The next afternoon, a meeting was held about the issues on the plains and a new subjugation plan. Elia, as a spirit shaman, attended the meeting. Surprisingly, there was an unexpected face present.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re still here?”
Rien sat there with a pristine face. She knew he worked as a mercenary on the side, but still, wasn’t he the branch manager of a massive guild?
‘How is it okay for a middle manager of such a large guild to wander around like this?’
Unable to bear her suspicious gaze, Rien responded curtly.
“Everything’s taken care of, so you don’t need to worry.”
“You must have been paid a lot, right?”
At her words, Rien rolled his eyes briefly. Elia shrugged at his lack of response.
“Well, alright then.”
It wasn’t her business anyway. He seemed to have extracted everything he could from the situation.
‘Should I ask Aksion to change the mage?’
While she was contemplating, Rien lowered his voice.
“If you pay me more than I got, I can disappear right now.”
“Hmm, no. Just do your best.”
Elia turned her gaze away as if she wasn’t interested. She heard Rien smack his lips in disappointment next to her.
‘It’s absurd that such a handsome man is a penny pincher.’
The heavens can be indifferent sometimes. While Elia shook her head, the Duke and Aksion entered together. Following them, the Crown Prince appeared. The knights who had already been seated, Elia, and Rien stood up in turn.
“Let’s begin the meeting.”
At the Duke of Tartan’s command, everyone took their seats. The leader of the Order of Gold spread out a map of the north on the large table. The Duke moved the pointers and placed differently colored markers on the eastern, western, southern, and northern parts of the Mahart territory.
“The Crown Prince will take charge of the Phucas Forest.”
The golden marker represented the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince, who had been silently observing the map, spoke up.
“Where will the spirit shaman go?”
Elia flinched at the sudden mention. Aksion moved a red marker to a region next to Phucas.
“She will move with me.”
Aksion was in charge of the area around the valley.
“Then I’ll go there too.”
The Crown Prince, who had been staring at the map for a moment, suddenly declared.
“The two regions are adjacent. Combining forces will speed up the subjugation.”
His argument was reasonable. It wasn’t a bad idea, and the Duke nodded in agreement.
“Let’s do that.”
It was a sort of insurance in case any issues arose from leaving the Crown Prince alone.
‘Uncomfortable…’
But Elia had no right to speak.
‘Why is he showing interest in the spirit shaman?’
Was it because spirit shamans were rare? Mental-type spirit shamans were even rarer, so it made sense.
“Let’s proceed without mistakes until the end.”
“Understood.”
The meeting concluded that way.
* * *
The morning of the third subjugation day dawned. As decided in yesterday’s meeting, Aksion and the Crown Prince headed to the same destination.
Two hours after leaving the castle, Elia kept glancing at the Crown Prince.
‘He isn’t showing much interest.’
Contrary to her worries, the Crown Prince maintained the formation and kept his gaze forward. Elia felt a small sense of relief and urged her horse forward. Her place was right next to Aksion. She saw Rien across from Aksion, counting money while riding.
‘Impressive.’
He was so focused that his pretty eyes were bloodshot.
‘He really does love money.’
Why were his fees for requests and interior work so cheap then? Observing this side of him, she was even more convinced that the reconnaissance fee in the Valunize guild was a set rate.
Elia clicked her tongue. Meanwhile, Chelsid, who had been bickering with Jacob, approached her.
“Spirit shaman, are you staying with our unit?”
“This time?”
“No, I meant after this subjugation. Are you staying in the north?”
At Chelsid’s question, the other knights’ attention turned to Elia. Even Jacob joined in, their eyes filled with anticipation.
‘I don’t know what will happen after the subjugation.’
But she didn’t want to disappoint them by saying no, so she couldn’t answer easily.
‘Getting too close is also a problem.’
After pondering for a moment, Elia looked at Aksion.
“Well, I guess it depends on what the young lord decides.”
Since she was here based on her contract with Aksion, the decision was his.
At her words, the dozens of expectant gazes turned to Aksion. However, his response was cold.
“The spirit shaman will move out of the north after the subjugation.”
“Really? Isn’t she a great help to our forces?”
Chelsid stammered at the unexpected response. Aksion’s red eyes turned to the knights.
“It seems you all have enough free time to be interested in things outside the mission. After the valley subjugation, everyone will run 100 laps around the training ground. That’s an order.”
“Eek!”
The knights scattered, screaming. Some still whispered, seemingly disappointed.
“Looks like he’s not in a good mood.”
“Does the young lord dislike the spirit shaman?”
Elia almost laughed at their murmurs.
‘Despite appearances, they’re all quite affectionate.’
After just a few weeks together, they didn’t want her to leave. Seeing the muscular, large knights looking downcast was somewhat endearing.
Elia nudged her horse closer to Aksion, pretending it was accidental. She whispered in a low voice.
“Don’t be so harsh on them.”
Aksion kept his face forward but gave her a sidelong glance.
“Elia, don’t be too kind to them. I get jealous.”
Elia widened her eyes, then burst out laughing. She was delighted to learn that he felt the same way she did.
Hearing her cheerful laughter, the knights, who had been crestfallen, began talking to her again.
“Spirit shaman, why are you laughing?”
“Oh, it seems a leaf got into my hood. My neck feels itchy.”
Actually, something was indeed making her neck itch. As Elia fumbled with her hood, Chelsid reached out to help.
“Hmm? Let me see.”
But his hand was intercepted before it touched Elia’s neck.
“I’ll take it out.”
Aksion’s large, gloved hand reached into Elia’s hair. He pulled out not a leaf but a pink petal.
“Ah, thank you.”
Elia bowed her head. She seemed to catch a fleeting look in his eyes. She noticed Aksion placing the petal into his pocket.
As she pretended not to notice and turned her head, she met a pair of cool purple eyes watching her. The Crown Prince, who had been observing the two, spoke up.
“You seem to get along well.”
His words were directed at Elia and Aksion.
But the response came from an unexpected source.
“Right? The spirit shaman is close with all of us. I guess you could call it comradeship.”
Chelsid beamed proudly. When she first mentioned she was a mental-type spirit shaman, he had been scared, but now he seemed unafraid of the Crown Prince.
“Comradeship, huh?”
The Crown Prince only muttered those words and turned his gaze away. Chelsid scratched the back of his head, looking awkward.
The rest of the journey proceeded smoothly. After a long ride, they reached their subjugation site for the day. Below the cliff lay a vast forest and a valley with a waterfall, creating a picturesque scene.
Aksion pointed below and explained the terrain again.
“The entire valley and forest are filled with Kroaskes. According to reports, a large monster with horns has been spotted there as well.”
