Chapter 37

“My lady!”

Yurina appeared in front of the inn when the sky was colored red by the setting sun. Betsy rushed to her side as soon as she saw her. 

Betsy looked Yurina up and down with wet eyes before sighing in relief as she confirmed Yurina was uninjured. 

“We were so surprised when you suddenly disappeared! Dave told me not to worry since you were with Raynald, but….”

Betsy dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve as her emotions got the better of her again. Looking closely at Betsy’s eyes, Yurina could see they were bloodshot as if she’d cried once already.

Yurina followed Betsy to grab a handkerchief for her tearful eyes. 

“I’m fine. I’m sorry. You were worried, weren’t you?

“How could I not be? You were trembling all of a sudden as something was hurting you.”

Betsy must have been very worried if she wasn’t even saying ‘it’s okay’ to be polite. Yurina laughed even though it was no laughing matter.

“Thank you for being concerned.”

“It’s not something you need to thank me for.”

“Still, thank you.”

Betsy started chattering brightly again to calm herself in front of Yurina.

“Of course, I was worried about you. But I’m glad you’re okay. I’ve never seen so much blood before, so my heart is also pounding. You must have been even more surprised. But don’t worry too much, miss. Dave treated him with magic right away! I knew he was talented, but I didn’t expect him to be able to fix such a big wound!”

Betsy unknowingly answered the questions Yurina couldn’t ask aloud herself. Hearing that the person in the accident was safe, she felt the tension leave her body. Yurina let out a relieved sigh she didn’t know she was holding in. 

‘So he’s safe.’

She trusted Dave’s skills, but she still had her own skepticism. She witnessed a lot of deaths from traffic accidents in a world where the medicine was far more advanced.

“Where’s Dave anyway?”

“He hasn’t returned since he went to see the mayor of the town with the person who was in the accident. I don’t know what he meant, but he said that even though he treated the wound, the person wasn’t completely healed. Oh, that’s right! He lost too much blood, so he has to see a doctor.”

“Oh, blood… I see.”

Yurina nodded and followed Betsy to the inn.

“So where’s Raynald? Didn’t you leave with him earlier?”

Betsy asked abruptly while throwing fragrant petals into the warm bath. The topic shifted to Raynald, but since he wasn’t around Yurina suddenly felt a bit lonely without him. 

“Ray had some business he needed to see to.”

“It must be urgent then since he left you alone.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Yurina looked to the entrance of the room, recalling his departure. He said he would go with her, but he instead headed to the place where the accident occurred. He thought it was better to solve the issue quickly himself. 

Before he left, he told her he would come back as soon as possible, but not to worry if he was delayed and just slept normally. 

‘I hope everything’s all right.’

With Ray’s skills, she wasn’t worried about him being physically harmed. It was his mental state that Yurina worried about.

Even though he wasn’t hurt by petty insults anymore, someone still might say something overly harsh to him. Even if she was weak, she should have followed him. 

Betsy was surprised to see Yurina’s sullen expression after she finished preparing the bath. Yurina just shook her head and headed to the bathroom.

Betsy tried to persuade her to stay by boasting about how good the flower-scented bath smelled. Despite her insistence to stay and rest after her bath, Yurina went to visit the mayor anyway. 

Dave came running in surprise when Yurina showed up even though he was in the middle of speaking with the mayor.

“My lady, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Why ask about me? There was someone else who was in an accident.”

Yurina glanced over Dave’s shoulder trying to be casual. Understanding her intentions, Dave stepped aside to let her see. Yurina smiled at him and approached the bed the patient was lying on.

The woman lay sleeping with a pale face. She seemed to be in her early 20s at most.

It was hard to tell whether she was sleeping or unconscious. Dave was quick to notice and explained she was just sleeping to help Yurina relax.

Yurina examined the woman a little more carefully. She couldn’t check properly because she was covered with a blanket, but Yurina didn’t see any small wounds on the arms, face, or head that was left exposed by the blanket. The sleeping woman didn’t look like someone who’d lost so much blood not too much earlier. 

“How is she?”

It was a question directed at Dave, but the middle-aged man mayor who kept looking between the two came up and explained.

“Fortunately, the wizard treated her before it was too late, so she’s fine now.”

“But why is she still so pale?”

Dave answered her this time.

“It’s because she lost too much blood. To make up for the blood loss, she needs to rest. There’s no magical cure for blood deficiency. 

“Even if you healed the wound, wouldn’t a lack of blood make it all for naught?”

Dave replies cautiously as Yurina looked worried from thinking about the excessive bleeding. 

“There’s no magic to replenish blood, but there’s a medicine that can help. I couldn’t get it in this town, so I sent someone to a nearby village. I’ll be able to get the medicine by tomorrow or the day after.”

He patted Yurina’s head since it seemed she still felt uneasy

“Don’t worry, miss. If she eats and rests well, she’ll be better in no time. I can assure you that.”

Only after receiving the final confirmation from him was Yurina able to smile weakly.

‘I’m so glad.’

The heavy burden on her shoulders seemed to have been lifted. She felt so free as if she could fly away at any moment.

Perhaps it was the wounds of her past that kept her mind weighed down.

Twenty-two-year-old Yoon Senna, struggling alone and in pain, never saw twenty-three, but was finally healed five years later.

Yurina held the unknown woman’s hand and murmured quietly.

“Thank you for living.”

* * *

The Kingdom of Crohn was located further north than the Empire which the days were not only colder but also shorter.

It seemed sunset was only a moment ago but the sky was already dark above the small village. There wasn’t a single person seen walking on the street. Everything was still.

Betsy prepared Yurina’s bed earlier than usual since it was an especially tiring day.

“My lady, you’re very tired, aren’t you? I think you’d better go to bed now. We have to leave early in the morning tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

“And I heard that Dave will reach the capital by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Yurina answered and looked out of the window from where she was sitting. In her hands, she fiddled with the flower crown Raynald made. Thanks to the preservation magic, the flower remained perfect even through the rough handling it endured.

‘When will you come.’

Raynald left after the carriage accident but had yet to return. 

Even though he was not her child, Yurina somehow felt like a mother worrying over her kid. As time went by, the nervousness still hadn’t subsided.

“Good night, my lady.”

Yurina tried to shake her head again saying she didn’t want to sleep, but she found Betsy’s face full of fatigue and decided to head to bed.

Yurina was not a child anymore, so Betsy didn’t have to stay next to her until she fell asleep. However, sometimes she still insisted on staying to watch Yurina fall asleep. Looking at Betsy’s expression, Yurina felt Betsy wouldn’t go leave unless she slept.

“I’m going to bed. You can go now.”

“I won’t leave until I see you sleeping.”

“You’re tired too. Go to bed.”

“I’m not tired.”

To her shame, Betsy couldn’t stifle the oncoming yawn. Yurina laughed out loud and lay on the bed, closing her eyes. She was only going to pretend to sleep until Betsy left, but turns out she was actually really tired and fell asleep.

It was still the middle of the night when she woke. Betsy had blown out the candle when she left, so the room was pitch black.

Yurina fumbled around the bed and made a sphere of floating light.

Yurina yawned while sitting up in bed. She buried her face in the flower crown Raynald made earlier. The flowers had a soothing scent since they were still fresh with magic.

‘Is Ray back?’

Yurina put on a robe over her pajamas and headed to his room. She wanted to make sure before heading back to sleep.

Knock, knock, knock. 

In response to her knock, the door opened to a surprised Raynald. He hadn’t even changed out of his outfit from the day.

“Yurina?”

He looked around a few times and lowered his voice.

“What the hell are you doing up at this hour? I told you to go to bed first.”

“I woke up in my sleep.”

“If you woke up, you should go back to sleep. Why are you here?”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re here. When did you return?”

“A little while ago.”

Reynard stepped aside, opening the door wide.

“It’s chilly, would you like to come in and talk?”

“No, it’s okay. It’s late. I’ll go back to my room and sleep.”

“Then I’ll tell you quickly.”

Leaning against the door he began rolling up his sleeve with a slightly more serious expression. Yurina waited for him, rubbing her arms, cold from the wind.

“He wasn’t a noble, but a trader from the Empire. When I asked about what happened today, he got mad at me for bringing up something like that.”

What do you mean “with something like that”? Even if she hadn’t met him in person, she could easily imagine the expression and tone of the trader when he said that.

Yurina was about to say something in anger, but she saw Raynald’s stiff expression and closed her mouth.

He didn’t show it, but he seemed to be struggling to contain his anger.

‘Is he still suffering from guilt?’

Yurina gently rubbed his rough cheek. It felt like he was tightly clenching his teeth. Only then did he look into her eyes and relax a bit.

“I’m here to make sure you don’t do anything rash.”

Yurina looked at him playfully and poked his arm with her elbow.

“With just your words?”

“Well….”

With his ambiguous smile, Yurina suddenly felt unable to ask about the whole story.