Chapter 10

“You carry around a lot of curious things.”  

“My second sister and Ramande are total worrywarts…”  

But thanks to them, I could at least treat Esadien’s wounds.

“Come here.”

I quickly soaked a handkerchief with the potion and gently dabbed it onto his wounds.

“Ugh.”

“Does it hurt a lot? I’m sorry…”

Watching someone get hurt because of me—it was far more painful than I expected.  

As I blew softly on the wounds drying and healing over, Esadien’s shoulders noticeably flinched.

“I’d rather you just hurry up and finish it.”

“Ah, yes!”

I must’ve made it sting more instead of letting it dry naturally.  

I was about to pout when we suddenly heard a faint noise beyond the wall.

“The knights must be here!”

I frantically hit the call device again and resumed treating Esadien even faster than before.

“Could you roll up your pant leg?”

“T-That… I’ll do it myself.”

“This isn’t the time to be shy, you’re not some delicate maiden.”

“……”

Without further protest, Esadien bent down and rolled up his pants.  

That’s when I noticed the tips of his ears had turned red.

‘Oh. He really is embarrassed.’

I felt bad… but also found it adorably endearing.  

My heart fluttered and tingled again, but that tended to happen whenever I was near Esadien, so I brushed it off.

I shouldn’t have.

“Minuelle?”

It wasn’t just the tips of his ears that were red.  

When he looked up, as if puzzled by my silence, the corners of his eyes were also flushed pink.

‘Ah…’

So what? And yet—

Thump.

My heart pounded.

“Minuelle.”

“Y-Yes! Yeah.”

Flustered beyond belief, I moved like a broken wind-up doll, awkwardly finishing the treatment on his ankles, wrists, and even the cut on his palm.

‘What the heck? Why does he look even more handsome?’

Had I finally adapted to the level of beauty that could shatter the Earth? Now he looked like he was going to blow up the sun.

“Give it here.”

Esadien took the potion bottle from me and instinctively reached for a handkerchief, then clicked his tongue when he remembered.

“No choice then.”

He poured the remaining potion onto his hand and applied it to my wrist.

“I’m fine—ow.”

“You don’t look fine at all.”

My wrist was chafed and bleeding where the rope had rubbed against it.  

Funny how I hadn’t even noticed until the pain suddenly came flooding in—only to be chased away by the potion.

Then Esadien’s hand brushed my cheek.

“Here too.”

“Ugh…”

Ordinarily, wounds like these should be cleaned first—but divine power didn’t care. It sterilized and healed everything in one go!

Trying to distract myself, I endured the sting once again and asked, “All done now, right?”

“There’s one more.”

Esadien raised a potion-soaked finger.

“T-There…?!”

“Shh.”

He pressed it gently against my lips.

‘I see, so that’s why it stung when I bit the pendant earlier.’

That tiny motion—his finger applying the potion—stretched out like time itself.  

My heart pounded like a hammer against my eardrums, thud thud thud, until I couldn’t take it anymore and shut my eyes tightly.

At that exact moment, a door I hadn’t even realized was there—because it looked just like the wall—burst open.

“……!”

“Minuelle, get behind me.”

Esadien immediately pulled me behind him and drew his sword toward the intruders.  

The pendant dagger had already shifted into a longsword.

‘These bastards… They’re the ones who trapped us?’

Three people had entered—all cloaked in black with deep hoods.

“What a lovely atmosphere.”

One of them, wearing a plain mask, sneered mockingly.

“You were having a little lovefest, huh? While we were busting our asses outside.”

The nerve of these people. My jaw clenched tight with fury.

‘Anyone hearing this would think we’re the kidnappers!’

But while I was shaking with rage, Esadien simply dismissed the nonsense with a cold, emotionless glare.

“State your identities.”

“Can’t you tell just by looking?”

“Who hired you?”

“It’s a rule not to speak of the client.”

The exact same line as the assassin who had appeared at the secret garden.

‘They must be from the same group.’

Maybe he sensed I was trying to memorize every word, because the masked man turned his irritating voice on me.

“Hey, pink-haired lady, quit rolling your eyes. You and that idiot over there aren’t getting out of here anyway.”

“……”

“Dying tragically on the same day as your fiancé—how romantic, huh? You should be grateful.”

To irritate someone this much with just a few words—he had to be talented at it.

Naturally, my response was anything but polite.

“Don’t kid yourself. Do you really think death is the end?”

“What was that?”

“Do you think killing us will keep your identities hidden? Don’t fool yourself. Karnian’s blade has already found its mark.”

“……”

I tried to sound composed, lowering my voice and sharpening my gaze—but the guy didn’t react.

‘Did that fall flat?’

So I tried dragging in another power.

“…So has the hand of Plendena.”

That one, I probably shouldn’t have used. The moment the words left my mouth, the masked man burst out laughing.

“Wow, this one’s a riot. I’m shaking in fear over here, hiding behind your boyfriend while you chatter on.”

‘Tch.’

It wasn’t like I wanted to hide. It’s just—Esadien’s grip on me was too strong!

“Karnian’s sword needs eyes to find its mark, sweetheart.”

The masked man tapped his foot on the floor.

“This entire place is rigged with explosives.”

He said it like he was talking about a body buried under a cherry tree.

“It means you, and all your fancy family knights, are about to be vaporized.”

“What?”

I felt all the blood in my body freeze.

If only I were the one to die, I could bear it. I might even accept it as bad luck.

But Esadien, who came just because of me?  

The knights, who only responded to my call?

My fingers trembled. That’s when Esadien spoke.

“Don’t listen to that nonsense.”

“But…”

“Minuelle, you just stay put.”

The commotion outside was growing louder by the second.

“There’s an entrance on this side!”

‘Our knights!’

Finally—relief surged through me, and I clasped my hands tightly together.

But Esadien wasn’t one to just wait for the door to open.

Thud!

The sound of our knights slamming against the door became his signal. He lunged forward, striking with his sword.

The masked man, however, wasn’t so easily beaten—he countered at once. The clash of metal rang sharply, again and again.

‘He can’t get hurt again…’

I had only one healing potion—and it was already gone.

While I watched in anxious agony, I noticed movement behind the masked man—those who had been standing still like shadows.

Both of them were mouthing something.  

One pulled a scroll from his coat.  

The other formed strange shapes with his hands.

‘A scroll… a magic scroll?’

“Then don’t tell me—”

They had anticipated Esadien would charge in.

‘While the masked man holds Esadien off… those two plan to set the fire?’

Fire. The acrid smell of smoke etched into my memory resurfaced, and my knees went weak.

Ramande had told me to ignore the threat of fire.  

‘He’s right. What can you even do? You can’t even walk straight.’

A part of my mind whispered coldly.

‘Just wait. Let Esadien take care of it.’

I knew. I couldn’t possibly get through that brutal storm of blades.

But even so—I couldn’t give up.

Because I knew how hot, how terrifying, and how agonizing fire could be.

Fear weighed down on me like iron chains.  

Yet—perhaps because of that—I didn’t want anyone else to suffer it.

Unlike me, who had lived comfortably as a beloved noble lady, the people outside the door had probably spent their whole lives striving to become knights. And so had Esadien.

“…It’s only natural to want the person you like not to get hurt.”

I muttered, squeezing my eyes shut—then opened them again.

The masked man’s sword aimed for Esadien’s shoulder. Behind him, the caster’s grotesquely twisted hands began to bloom with sparks.

As the growing flame swelled larger, I threw myself forward.

‘Plendena… or anyone—please, lend me strength.’

Adrenaline had to be surging through me. Everything slowed down.

Even the arc of the sword, even the fireball—now the size of a watermelon—creeping toward Esadien’s back, appeared in slow motion.

“Hey! Attacking someone who’s half-naked—how underhanded!”

I enlarged the cotton fluff and flung it to block the masked man’s view, then barely managed to intercept the fireball.

I couldn’t believe it myself.

‘Wait… did that actually work?’

I felt Esadien turning to me in shock.

“Minu—!”

At the same moment, time returned to normal speed—and the fireball engulfed me.

‘This time I’m really going to burn to death.’

The burning sensation of gripping the overheated object came first, followed by a wave of searing pain.

“…?”

Or—it should’ve.

‘Huh?’

It wasn’t hot?

I should’ve been in agony, but even after several seconds, there was no pain. I looked down—there wasn’t even a single scorch mark.

Buuurp—

Somewhere, a loud burp echoed.

“Is this… a dream?”

Still dazed, I murmured as I clutched my chest. Then I turned to the assassins, who looked just as horrified.

“Or maybe your magic just… didn’t work?”

“…Minuelle.”

Esadien’s voice trembled. I, still confused, kept rambling.

“Did you hear that just now? Was it just me? Who just belche—UWHAAACK.

‘Huhhh?’

My eyes widened. Even with my vision reddening, I couldn’t believe it.

Why was I suddenly… coughing up blood?

“Minuelle!”

The stench of blood finally hit my nose. My knees gave out, and I collapsed. More than anything, I was overwhelmed by confusion.

There’d been no warning signs—no heat, no nausea. It was truly sudden.

“Ugh, kah—!”

As I kept coughing up blood, Esadien stepped protectively in front of me, swinging his blade with deadly fury at the masked man.

“What curse did you cast?!”

“Are you blind? That lady absorbed the fire herself!”

Still retaliating with his sword, the masked man gave a signal to the caster with the scroll. But Esadien didn’t give him a second chance to use magic.

Thunk!

The sound of a blade piercing through the scroll—and flesh—rang out. The already blood-scented room grew even more pungent with the fresh iron tang.