Chapter 37

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Chapter 37

It didn’t make any sense that she entered someone else’s body after being forced to be sex partners with Dustin.

Too much nonsense happened to her for her to deny it.

Andra looked at her wrist unconsciously, but when she couldn’t see the red pattern it should have shown, she frowned. Where did it go? Even looking at her opposite wrist, the pattern she so desperately wanted to get rid of didn’t exist. Was it magic imprinted on only her body?

‘Then where did my body go?’

Just in case, Andra ran around the room in search of her body. But when she couldn’t see a single strand of her golden hair, she soon opened the door and decided to go outside.

The hallway was not as big as a room, but it was dazzling. It felt like pouring gold into the wall. Even the castle that Leo the First, who had led a life of luxury and debauchery, made while exhausting his national treasury was not quite like this. Andra wondered who the owner of this place was.

Andra continued to walk forward through her quiet, serene hallway. Then she soon came to a place like an open terrace. Andra stepped forward as if possessed.

As soon as she stepped out of the hallway and into the open space she was greeted with a pleasant cool breeze. Andra opened her mouth for a moment at the sight that unfolded without even paying attention to her wavy gray hair. Oh my God. Her hand gripped the handrail, and strength swelled.

It was a blue-gold city.

The roof of the building was all golden, and the blue water rippled beneath it was visible. A lush green forest surrounded the city. It was the most gorgeous and beautiful city Andra had ever seen.

“I can’t believe it…”

Above all, the city was full of magic. White horses flew around with their carriages. The water streams of the fountain rose freely as if drawing a shape, and people skillfully took things out of the air. On one side, firecrackers exploded and confetti flew here and there, which was then turned into food and distributed to the people.

Everywhere she looked, magic overflowed, and people found it natural for it to just be there.

There was a lot of laughter. Everyone had a happy face. At that moment Andra realized that she had seen this somewhere.

Right on the mural she saw in the cave.

The magic kingdom, Hazel.

Hazel was now vividly unfolding before her eyes. People were living and breathing. It was a sight that many scholars wanted to know and see.

Andra’s breath was momentarily caught in her throat as she took in the clear sight of Hazel. She couldn’t say anything. Her heart was so full that she didn’t say anything. When she found the mural, different levels of emotions came over her. Everything was wonderful.

“Ah…”

But strangely, as time passed, her heart started to hurt as if it was being cut. Something frustrated her. She wanted to pound her chest hard. What is this longing and painful feeling? At that moment, hot drops of water fell on her feet. Then she felt the water flowing down her cheeks.

Andra wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. The back of her hand was wet with tears. She patted her eyes. Tears were dripping down the corners of her eyes. Why? Andra didn’t know why she was crying. Even she was flustered. It is true that she admired Hazel, but it wasn’t something that would make her cry to this extent.

‘I feel weird.’

After that, tears started pouring down. She couldn’t stop the tears that continued to flow freely regardless of her will. The water was so distorting that her vision was blurred. Andra ripped her chest out.

Ah, what is this unbearable longing?

Andra could not find the reason, and she stood in front of it for a long time as if she had been nailed, looking at the majestic and splendid city.

“You were here?”

Someone hugged Andra from behind. It was a gentle touch and a soft voice. Strong and wide arms wrapped around her body. But Andra didn’t even have time to care who the person hugging her was. Tears were still flowing, and the corners of her eyes were sore.

Suddenly Andra’s body turned behind her. Andra felt the big, clunky hands stuttering in embarrassment around the corners of her eyes. The person’s hand was shaking terribly, but at the same time, she felt from the places the hand touched that the person was angry.

“Who.”

A voice that was hoarse as if suppressing anger struggled to speak. It was like restraining. Will it go against the heart, or will it be bad? Andra barely lifted her head and looked up.

“Who… made you cry?”

There was a man standing with his back to the sun.

A shadow was cast over his face, but Andra could clearly see the face of the man. He was a man who looked very much like someone. Black hair, amber eyes. It was an appearance that won’t leave your mind once you see it. But she couldn’t remember the person who looked like him right away. It felt like there was a hazy fog over a part of her memory.

The man was angry. He seemed to try to suppress his anger as much as possible and not show it, but she could tell just by looking at his sharp eyes. Moreover, his hand on her shoulder was getting stronger. Andra quickly shook her head.

“No one…”

“Then why are you crying? What made you so sad?”

Immediately, the man’s face collapsed. His hand that gripped her shoulder loosened too. But the anger has not gone away yet. He had a look on his face that he couldn’t bear to see Andra crying.

“Do not cry, my God.”

The man was now gazing at Andra with sad eyes. Faced with that gaze, Andra seemed to understand now why she couldn’t remember the man who looked like him. The way he looked at her was different. They couldn’t even be compared.

Andra burst into tears again. Tears flowed non-stop. As the man’s eyes met hers, a deep longing for the unknown struck her again. Her heart ached. Why… why was she feeling this way?

Andra no longer had the courage to face the man, so she closed her eyes and turned her head away.

Then the man’s face hardened for a moment. The man’s hand trembled slightly. The man hurriedly quelled all remaining anger and looked at Andra, restless. As to why she turned her head away from him, he seemed unable to accept the situation.

“…God. I don’t know what to do if you are crying. When I stand in front of you… I become infinitely smaller. How can I comfort you? How can I take that sorrow away?”

“Huuh… That’s not it…”

“I, I was wrong. I was ignorant and stupid and made you cry. So please… Punish me and don’t cry. It’s hard to hold back this heart that boils every time you cry.”

The man treated Andra very carefully. The man’s hand lightly pressed Andra’s eyelids, wiping away the tears. Andra felt like she was crumbling at his touch. Andra unconsciously reached out her hand and hugged the man. As if waiting for her, the man hugged her tightly without saying a word.

The two embraced each other for a while.

“Because it’s so beautiful, because I like it¹ so much…”

At one point, Andra’s words came out of her mouth, against her will. Her voice was thin and very small, but as if the man had definitely heard it, he kissed Andra softly on her cheek. She felt like being tickled by petals.

Andra liked the feeling, relaxed her hands as she grabbed the man’s neck, and she looked at him. The man looked relieved. He whispered, kissing her forehead and then his cheek.

“Your Grace has made it possible for me to come this far.”

“…….”

“My God. What has made you so anxious?”

Andra did not readily answer that question. It was because she didn’t even know what made her cry. Andra shut her mouth and gently lowered her gaze, and the man asked for something else instead.

“Do you want to go back to the room?”

Andra nodded her head. The man embraced her. It was a very gentle movement, like a butterfly flapping its wings. At the eye level, which rose in an instant, Andra wrapped her arms around the neck of the man who was holding her. The man slowly took Andra and returned to the first room that she had come from before.

The man carefully lowered Andra onto the bed. Then he knelt down on his knees in front of her and met her gaze. Andra felt the sensation of her heart getting cut once more at the sight facing her. This time Andra couldn’t stand it and averted her gaze slightly.

“I love you.”

Said the man, out of nowhere. It was very natural. The man swept Andra’s flowing hair and put it behind her ear, and said again.

“I love you. So much so that I want to cut out this boiling heart right now and give it to you.”

Andra looked at the man in surprise at his blunt words. Then the man smiled faintly. He wiped the tears off her face with his thumb. The touch was somehow so good that Andra grabbed the man’s hand and leaned it against her face.

The man’s hand was hot. So it was even better. It felt cozy. Above all, the sound of a man’s pounding heart, felt through his hand, strangely calmed Andra. She didn’t cry anymore.

“I’m happy.”

Andra was surprised to spit the words out. Again it was not of her own will. It was a word that came out of her mind. But seeing the words coming out of her mouth felt really strange. It was as if she had two egos in one body.

“I wish this could last forever…”

But it won’t work. The words she couldn’t utter lingered near her throat. Andra frowned at this, but there was no change in her face.

Why not? Andra wondered what the relationship between the man and the owner of the body she had now borrowed was.

“It will. As long as you’re here.”

The man stared intently at Andra. There seemed to be a desire to never let go in that gaze, so Andra swallowed a gulp without realizing it. Soon the man slowly got up and walked towards her.

“Forever— I will be with you forever.”

At the end of those words, her head tilts. Andra again closed her eyes regardless of her will.

——

¹ there was no indicator of who or what ‘Andra’ says is beautiful and who or what she likes in this sentence, so it was left as ‘it,’ but she may be talking about a person.

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