Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, as soon as the academy’s expedition was organized, Andra and Dustin set off for the Aslan Ruins again in less than a fortnight.

The journey went smoothly. At first, the distance between Aslan Ruins and Ishlan Academy was not very far, so it was possible to get there in two days by horse or carriage. And today was already the second day.

Today, just like yesterday, Andra was in the middle of a heated conversation with the academy graduate, Archaeologist Shamune. The story of Shamune’s experience of being in the field for several years was like a breath of fresh air that made Andra forget the pain of her butt from travelling for a long time.

Most of all, he was very good-natured.

“But it’s okay, right?”

Andra raised her eyebrows at the sudden question.

“Huh?”

“Lord Airak.”

Shamune glanced at Dustin, who was following from behind, and whispered to Andra in a whisper. Oh, we just made eye contact. So scary! Shamune, who accidentally met Dustin’s eyes, turned his head quickly. It was a bitter eye that made his throat clench. He was the most terrifying person he had ever met.

“Did you know that Lord Airak has been glaring at Miss Avellin terrifyingly since yesterday?”

Have you ever committed a mortal sin against the Lord? Shamune murmured carefully. At those words, Andra almost snorted.

“Don’t mind it. Because he’s hard to even deal with.”

“No, but… He’s been looking at you for a while…”

To be honest, from Shamune’s point of view, it felt like he was sitting on a cushion of thorns. Since yesterday, Dustin’s eyes have been focusing on this way every time he and she have a conversation. It’s a gaze full of hostility.

Of course, because the hostility was directed towards Andra, he did not seem to have been hated by Lord Airak, but it was still unpleasant. Besides, Shamune couldn’t completely relax to the extent that if he accidentally met his eyes, goosebumps ran all over his body.

“If he wants to look at me, tell him to keep looking. I won’t even look at him.”

“Uh, why do you hate the Lord so much?”

“Looking at it, he looks like bad luck. He’s really bad luck.”

To Shamune’s question, Andra answered calmly, as if it was not a big deal.

“Is that all? Also, is it because of the family? Because the environment is important.”

Because of the family. It wasn’t wrong. Because her own family, Avellin, and Dustin’s family, Airak, were known to be hostile to each other. This had not changed for hundreds of years, and in fact, Andra grew up listening to what the elders of her family had to say about Airak.

But it wasn’t the only reason Andra and Dustin had an irreversible hatred of each other. To explain it, they had to go back 16 years ago when they were both eight years old.

Their bitter relationship began from there.

“Apart from our families, it was just a bad relationship from the old days. Every time we met, something bad happened.”

“Is it bad?”

In response to Shamune’s curious question, Andra tried to recall the past, which she did not like for a long time, but then she stopped. If she thought about it now, there would be nothing good about it. Besides, it didn’t fit her personality to talk about her affairs with Dustin to others. Andra replied modestly.

“Yeah, it’s really bad. Anyway, there was a lot of that.”

One was also currently happening. Andra’s voice, as she spoke, was engulfed in resignation and subsided heavily. Was it because of that? Shamune didn’t ask any more questions. He seemed to think it was rude if he asked more. Maybe it was fortunate. Even if he asked, Andra would not have answered.

Andra looked at her wrist without realizing. The red pattern was still there, not disappearing. Every time she slept and woke up, she hoped it’s a dream. She rubbed her wrist with her thumb in a circular motion following the pattern, and she suddenly noticed a difference.

‘It’s strange, the light seems to have dimmed a bit.’

She could be sure she wasn’t mistaken. It was because the light in Andra’s pattern had been completely filled right after she had finally slept with Dustin. Because it was originally full light, but about ten percent of the pattern had already lost the light.

‘Where the hell did it decrease?’

Andra has completely forbid herself from using magic all this time, just in case. She did everything she could to avoid sleeping with Dustin as much as possible. So, she did nothing that would make her lose the light. At that moment, an ominous feeling ran up her spine.

‘Is the light going to decrease if I don’t sleep with him for a certain period of time?’

Since that day, Dustin and Andra hadn’t slept with each other. In some cases, Andra explicitly avoided Dustin, but she was also busy preparing everything before entering the dungeon. It was true that she hadn’t done that in over a week anyway.

If so, did the light of Dustin’s pattern also diminish? She barely resisted the moment she almost looked back. Looking back, what was she going to do anyway? She can’t check it right now. Furthermore, even if she checked Dustin’s pattern, it was highly likely that she would not be able to draw a proper conclusion. In the meantime, if Dustin had used his power even once, it would be difficult to count.

‘But first of all, to confirm…’

Andra’s annoyance surged at the fact that she had learned something new. It was because, as she hypothesized, if she lost the light even if she did not sleep with him for a certain period of time, things would be more complicated than she thought. If this was happening, didn’t it mean that she must sleep with Dustin at least once within a month?

Crazy. It’s crazy.

‘Before graduation, I must resolve this.’

If that’s the case, the remaining time was up to 1 year, even if she looked at it positively. If it goes beyond that, things will get more twisted. They could be tied to each other, unable to return to their hometown, and only live in the center forever. Because they won’t be able to leave each other’s side for more than a month.

Thinking that far, swear words came out of Andra’s throat.

‘Isn’t this crazy?’

Her teeth grinded together. Her life was ruined by this one nonsensical magic spell. You want me to spend the rest of my life with Dustin Airak? I’d rather die. No, even if she was going to die, she must kill Dustin with her own hands.

Shamune, who soon noticed Andra’s breathing becoming rough and her face hardened, asked with a worried tone.

“Miss Avellin, your complexion looks bad all of a sudden. Are you okay?”

“…I’m okay. It must have been because I was tired after riding a horse for a long time.”

“It is the Aslan Ruins. When we arrive we’ll be able to rest. Oh, would you like some water?”

Shamune immediately handed a water bottle to Andra. She wasn’t particularly thirsty, but it was too hard for her to refuse, so Andra quietly took the bottle of water. Then, when Dustin’s eyes met hers by chance, Andra frowned unknowingly.

He really had a face she didn’t want to see.

‘That again.’

Dustin had never been as confused as he was recently because he was unable to define the anger rising within him. In particular, the symptoms would get worse every time he saw Andra, making him even more troubled. Things that would have been overlooked by him in the past have become too difficult these days.

Moreover, the unknown emotion came unexpectedly, and his nerves gradually became more sensitive. Just like before, she smiled and talked well with other men, but whenever she saw him, her expression would harden in an instant, and in turn, his stomach would get twisted whenever he saw Andra.

It was already the second day since the expedition organized by the Academy, including Andra and Dustin, had departed for the Aslan Ruins.

During this time, Andra was not able to distance herself from Dustin, yet he was treated as a completely insignificant person, which made Dustin feel offended. To be honest, before they left, how did she manage to avoid him at the academy? Every time he saw her avoiding him, his displeasure skyrocketed, but it was only for that moment.

But when he saw Andra’s ignoring him so blatantly, he became unbearably angry. Of course, he didn’t show as much as he could, but it was unbearable when his head automatically turned toward her.

Most of all, he couldn’t stand the feeling of his organs being twisted every time Andra laughed and chatted with the man named Shamune.

In fact, it wasn’t the first time Andra had treated Dustin as an invisible person. Andra had often treated Dustin as if she had never seen him, and she hardly cared for Dustin, who followed her as her escort even when they were partners when headed to the Aslan Ruins.

But it was the same with Dustin. The two of them were equally busy treating each other like air.

So Dustin was confused by his disdain while scorning his own feelings towards Andra.

What the hell is this feeling?

As he stared at Andra, who turned her head away, Dustin tightened the grip on the reins. He felt dirty with emotions that even he couldn’t describe.

Damn it.

The expedition arrived at the Aslan Ruins before evening. Professor Jakalic, who came on behalf of Professor Vellot, who will arrive late due to an accident in the middle, went through the process and obtained the key to the accommodation provided by the management.

“It’s late today, so go straight to the accommodation, unwind, and meet again early tomorrow morning. Come and get your keys.”

Andra reached out for the black ringed key. At the same time, she bumped into a hand that had reached out from the side. It was a big, crude hand. The hand is almost twice as large as her, and there are many thin scars in various places, so she can see that the hand uses a sword…

Andra turned her head abruptly and looked at the owner of the hand. Her expectations were not wrong. It was Dustin Airak. Andra grimaced to the back of her nose.

“Put this hand away.”

She managed to resist the thought she wanted to slap the hand away. There were too many eyes to see. If it were just the two of them, she would have slapped his hands right away.

“I picked it up first.”

But the answer she got back was unwelcome. Andra raised her eyebrows as Dustin frowned, telling him to put his hands away.

“I think the Lord should take the eye exam again. Can’t you see I picked up first?”

“It seems that Lady Avellin’s eyes are not very good. I picked it up first. It’s unpleasant, so please get rid of that unlucky hand.”