Chapter 36

apter 36

John’s house was on the outskirts of Hakun city. The child, who had just ridden a carriage for the first time in his life, was at a loss. Daisy comforted him in a friendly manner.

“You can sit comfortably.”

Although she was dissatisfied with the current situation, she didn’t seem to have any intention of taking her frustration out on the child. Aiden, on the other hand, was still keeping his mouth shut as if he was still unhappy about going to his house. I spoke to Aiden on purpose.

“Sir Aiden, are you going to stay silent?”

“I’m usually quiet.”

“Not really. Sir Aiden used to be very good at talking.” As I replied with a smile, Aiden let out a deep sigh.

“I don’t have the confidence to handle the aftermath. If your Excellency knows later, I’ll die.”

“If he tries to kill Sir Aiden, I will tell him to kill me first.”

“Milady!”

Aiden shouted in shock. I shrugged.

“I’m serious.”

“…I understand your feelings well enough, so you shouldn’t say such things in front of His Excellency.”

“Then, Sir Aiden, please do your best for today’s secret mission.”

“It sounds like you’re going to do something that needs to be kept a secret.”

“Who knows…”

I rolled my eyes and avoided answering. I couldn’t be sure about what the book would ask me.

‘First, we need to look at the woman’s condition and call a physician.’

Aiden said again as if giving up on my answer.

“You should never, ever, ever get caught.”

“Of course! John will keep it a secret. Right?”

“Yes! Madam. My lips are sealed!”

John replied with a very nervous voice. Apparently, Aiden’s face was too stiff, and he seemed to have noticed. When I winked at Aiden to smile, he reluctantly loosened his expression.

“We’re here.”

Just then, the coachman stopped the carriage. John jumped first and pointed to the shabby house.

“That’s the place!”

After we got off, we were at a loss for words as we looked at the crumbling houses around. With an innocent face, John pulled my skirt and headed home. Just entering the house, the child led me to the bedroom where his mother was lying. He shook her body to wake her mother up.

“Mom, wake up. She’s the lady who gave me gold coins last time.”

“…”

The woman was motionless. Moments later, the woman opened her eyes. Her pale face heated up in an instant.

“Cough!!!”

“M-mom!”

John moved frantically from side to side in a hurry to find his medicine. The child was in a hurry to give the medicine, but Aiden stopped him.

“Hold on! This is opium.”

“Yes? My brother said it was a painkiller…”

John looked at Aiden in surprise. Meanwhile, the woman continued to cough. It was a hoarse, dry cough.

“Quick, a physician…” As I was just about to call a physician to come, the guide spoke in a mournful voice.

—Don’t you feel sorry for the kid? Please use Ejis to heal your child’s mother right now. If rejected, the woman dies immediately, and the child is beaten to death by his brother.

“…”

‘Use Ejis? Does it mean she’s a patient in such a critical state that I can’t call the physicians?’

I took turns looking at the dying woman and the bewildered John, without answering the guide’s request. When I did not use my power, the book

warned me.

―The countdown starts. Please carry out the prescribed actions.

I couldn’t tell which decision was correct. ‘Should I act according to the will of the book in a situation where I don’t know what’s behind it?’

It was even more difficult to decide because the forced development seemed to be related to the ‘unexpected accident’ mentioned in the Preview.

—10, 9, 8…

However, the book started the countdown without giving me a chance to think.

‘What do I do?’ I was restless, biting my nails. Then Aiden called out urgently.

“We can’t do this. First of all, I will call a physician!”

“Excuse me, are you okay?! Breathe with this!”

Then Daisy brought her a wet towel and lifted her.

“Mooom…”

John, wet with tears, grabbed the blanket of the bed on which the woman was lying.

—5, 4, 3…

I tried to find out what the best way was. The more the penalties I received, the stronger the intensity became. Therefore, it is better to move in a direction that doesn’t get penalized as much as possible. As long as I decided to save Lexion, there is a high probability that my penalty would lead him to being in danger. I didn’t want to endanger Lexion with my own hands. Besides, Lexion was currently subjugating. If the book intends to put him in danger, it will be possible.

‘Okay. Let’s do it. I’m feeling a lot better these days. This should be fine.”

[tl/n: No gosh! Please no! No! Tia no! Damn..!]

I made up my mind and approached the woman who was vomiting blood. Daisy noticed it too late and tried to dissuade me, but I acted even faster. I took off the ring and recited the words.

“Ejis.”

“Miss!”

“Lady Tiarozetti!”

Daisy and Aiden shouted at the same time. John looked up blankly at my hair that turned silver. I felt less dizzy than the last time I used my powers, perhaps because using Asta on the evil dragon used more vital strength. I was getting a little tired. Eventually, the woman’s face, who was acting like she was going to die, gradually gained a healthy color. Her pale face lit up, adding warmth to her fingertips and toes. New flesh was growing over her wounds.

“Isol?”

The woman murmured with hazy eyes. It seemed that she had found out by seeing the bright silver hair and brilliant blue eyes. I quietly brought my index finger to my lips. It meant to pretend not to know. She immediately shook her head as if she had understood right away. John was stunned and stiffened with his mouth open.

I put my ring back on and turned around. Aiden brought his hands to his face at my sudden actions.

[tl/n: actually the Korean word for his action here is literally translated as ‘washing your face dry’ meaning basically facepalming yourself lol]

“Lady Tiarozetti, isn’t this different from what we talked about? If I called for a physician…!”

“Then it would be too late.”

“Even so…”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it either.”

I smiled awkwardly and rolled my eyes. It was an unexpected act. If the book hadn’t told me to do so, I wouldn’t have used my power so recklessly, so I had no excuses. It was natural for Aiden to be angry.

“Aaaaaah…” He let out a long breath to quench his anger.

John didn’t know what had just happened, so he just rubbed his eyes. I approached him and lowered myself to meet his eyes.

“What you saw today should be kept secret.”

“I-I will! Tha-thank you, madam!”

John belatedly regained his senses and bowed his back 90 degrees to express his gratitude. The woman who was supported by Daisy also showed her gratitude by bowing her head. Aiden spoke coldly to both mother and son.

“If you’re grateful, you must keep your mouth shut. If this leaks to anywhere else, we won’t be able to stand still.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, my Lo-ord.”

The woman promised in a dry voice. Even so, Aiden did not release his expression feeling his heart troubled. Daisy, knowing that every time I use my power, my life is drained, pleaded with me in a pitiful tone.

“Please. No matter what happens, think of your body first, please.”

“I’m sorry, Daisy.”

“Now we must go, milady,” Aiden said sternly.

I couldn’t walk away easily and constantly looked back at John. He was in tears as he asked his mother if she was okay. Seeing him like that, I felt like I did a good job. Of course, if I had not dealt with the evil dragon before, it might have been a little overwhelming for me.

‘After all, the book forced me to do it because it knew I could handle it.’

I said goodbye to John.

“Goodbye.”

“Take care, ma’am!”

John sent me off with a smile on his face and I nodded back at him. We went back to the hotel, leaving him and his mother behind who were seeing us off in front of the house.

 

Not long after I returned to the hotel, Lexion returned home from the raid. I pretended nothing had happened and talked about the zoo I went to today at the table. Lexion nodded as if my story was good music to listen to.

“Did you go straight to the hotel after visiting the zoo?”

“Of course.”

I replied in a slightly awkward tone and averted my eyes. It was because I thought that I would be found out if our eyes met. Lexion spoke without noticing my reaction.

“It must have been fun.”

“Daisy really liked it.”

“How about you, Titi?”

Lexion asked, placing a finger in his chin. I answered, still avoiding his gaze.

“Ah… I had fun too. The smell of the camel’s mouth was a bit disgusting, though.”

“The smell?”

“Yes. The camel’s breath smelled really awful.”

When I spoke while pretending to cover my nose, Lexion laughed out loud. After a while, he said with a look of regret.

“It’s a pity we couldn’t go together.”

Come to think of it, Lexion was having a hard time subjugating, but I proudly talked about how I went out to play. I belatedly apologized for not being considerate.

“I, I’m sorry I went out alone.”

“It’s good to go sightseeing while you’re here. What I meant is that I want to go out with you, too.”

Lexion corrected my misunderstanding and smiled.

‘He wanted to hang out with me…?’ I was a little shy because I had never thought of it that way. I said softly.

“Then let’s go out together next time.”

His eyes widened at my suggestion and then answered with a smile on his face.

“Great.”

A few minutes later, Lexion spoke calmly.

“I think the subjugation will be over sooner than I thought.”

“Already?”

I asked with a surprised face at the unexpected words. I thought it would take quite some time because all the close areas were blocked.

“There were fewer scattered evil energy fragments than I expected. Since it’s not an area where monsters are infested, the Lord must have felt intimidated.”

“I see, it’s near the capital, so it’s an area where there are few monsters.”

As soon as I understood and responded to him, he smiled.

“The purification stones installation is almost finished. If we deal with the rest of the remaining demonic beasts, the doors will be opened again.”

“I’m glad it didn’t take long.”

When I answered with a bashful smile, Lexion smiled wide. For a moment, he hesitated before continuing.

“When the subjugation is over, come with me.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere.”

A soft smile was drawn on his mouth when he responded softly. The corners of my lips rose at the same time as the answer that seemed to say that anywhere was good as long as it was with me.

I responded with a quiet, shy nod. I didn’t want to get caught being excited, so I put a ripe cherry tomato in my mouth and chewed slowly.