Chapter 79
It wasn’t only because Tidwell clearly expressed ‘what he wanted to do.’ He made himself clear the moment he lifted her.
Above all, Ravia wasn’t old enough to have already gotten tired of doing such things.
But she had less experience for her age.
He observed her furrowed expression when she, still half-asleep in the morning, felt the dull pain throughout her body after he had rammed her the night before.
“You did it yesterday, again?”
“I’m not sure what you mean by that. I don’t think I did it many times.”
“You did it many times. I just returned from going out and hadn’t washed either.”
“I don’t mind that.”
Rather, he’d be crazy if he didn’t pounce on the fragile body that only he could touch under this thin sheet.
He didn’t think he could quench his thirst if he didn’t capture the marks he carved the night before and her moans of pleasure.
But Tidwell held his patience still. For he was, as he said, a man of patience.
He didn’t want to force Ravia. Rather, yesterday was the first time Ravia ever stopped him from holding back.
After all, he’d still be able to restrain himself using the little rationality he had left.
“If you don’t like it, I’ll take you to your room.”
The tone when he indirectly asked her consent was both lukewarm and sweet.
Was it only her feelings that made his voice sound sweet?
So Ravia answered after mulling over it for quite a while, “Kiss, let’s try it once more and decide after…”
His chest heaved heavily upon hearing her answer that sounded more like a lecture.
Tidwell scoffed, pushing her onto the bed carefully with the corners of his mouth curled up.
“That’s a wise answer.”
After his brief response, their lips met again. As their breathing became rougher, the beautifully spread blanket quickly wrinkled into a mess.
This time again, Ravia couldn’t get out of bed until morning.
After making up her mind to find another path that wasn’t in the prophecy, Ravia’s goal could be summarized as follows.
Maintaining Tidwell’s feelings and surviving.
First of all, no immediate method to make sure of Tidwell’s feelings had presented itself.
‘It doesn’t sit right with me, but I have no choice but to leave it to the possibility.’ Ravia thought as she sat in a rattling carriage and looked out at the dark landscape beyond the window.
It was said that the seasonal users in fairy tales went through a process that was commonly known as ‘seasonalization’ in the literature.
And the seasonalization was different because it resembled each season.
-For example…spring was more emotional as they assimilated into the season. They became weak toward people.
-I already know that.
-But I found something else in the literature. There was a record of a spring user who didn’t hate people but was very wary and affectionate but cold.
Rette went on to explain.
He was a person who controlled his supernatural power well enough to grow tiny sprouts into beautiful trees at once, and he was very seasonalized.
-But are you saying that was his personality? He was more like autumn than spring.
-That’s right. You have to pay attention to that. He was more like autumn than spring. And if you look into it again, the spring users had something in common before awakening. The fact that they were emotionally dry.
With Rette’s explanation, Ravia realized what she wanted to say.
-Do you mean the spring user looks like winter before they awaken?
-That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. The four seasons eventually cycle, and these four are linked to one another. They are influenced by one another.
This meant that spring users would resemble winter before awakening, and would sometimes skip over spring as seasonalization progressed after the awakening.
-However, they may not have skipped the seasons because the seasonalization wasn’t particularly noticeable, so it was only revealed after a long time.
-Yes, weak-hearted people are…often dismissed as immature.
The four seasons were similar to their respective seasons.
Because of their gentle nature, spring was easily misunderstood as immature and naive, and they were easily mistreated by the world because they made a lot of mistakes.
Those who were too mature and pessimistic were emotionally devastated, and those who were dry were rather dull and perfect for appearing meek.
-We can tell from here. Seasonalization is not limited to just one season.
As long as all the seasonal talents were born with that ability, they were no different from cruising through this cycle of four seasons.
There was a reason for Rette’s long explanation of the four seasons’ users.
-Even if Tidwell awakens, there is a chance that Tidwell won’t lose his feelings completely. Is that right, Rette?
-That’s correct. It’s a small possibility… because you asked me to notify you if there was a slight chance of deviation.
In the literature, there was only one record of season users whose seasonalization was so noticeable that they jumped across the season.
In addition, that wasn’t even the case of a winter user, but a case where the spring user jumped into the autumn season.
As a result, no one knew for certain what changes occurred when a winter user jumped across another season.
They were simply discussing the possibility while looking at examples of spring users in the literature.
It was only a slim chance, but was there anything else Ravia needed as much as that right now?
Ravia would not have begun if both options were not available in the first place.
If so, the only goal left in front of her right now was to survive.
This part was a challenge.
For it was against the fate that Ravia must be sacrificed for Tidwell’s awakening.
Ironically, Tidwell won’t be able to kill Ravia.
‘Tidwell can’t kill me.’
So maybe if she must die for Tidwell’s awakening, it was someone else’s fault, not Tidwell’s.
It could be a single person or other beings.
If it were a person, the most likely candidate would be ‘Herod.’
But she shouldn’t take others out of the equation.
Ravia was the weakest player in the game in terms of ability.
‘Although Rette is helping me now.’
That was only because Ravia was her key, and she had a track record of saving Rette.
Rette said this as Ravia was leaving Cheshire Cat
-I paid my debt.
The meaning of the short phrase was obvious.
Rette had paid off her debt by telling her everything. It meant that no matter what Ravia did after that, Rette would not be a part of it.
‘I got the impression she wasn’t thrilled that I was considering another option.’
But, on the other hand, it was understandable because Rette wanted Ravia to live.
She would find it difficult to understand, because why would anyone choose a path where you could fall down a cliff if you slipped a little over a path that guaranteed your life?
Maybe she looked too reckless and arrogant in Rette’s eyes.
But there was a possibility, so she couldn’t help but try.
Ravia made the decision to prepare a safety net to save her life.
Three days had passed after Duke Leontine left, and they went to the banquet.
‘If Amnesia drugs were effective, my father will return soon.’
So before that, Ravia needed to swing the pendulum for things to move exactly as she wanted.
She was on her way home after going out.
Ravia closed her eyes as she watched the dusk thicken.
Her eyelids were heavy due to fatigue.
Ravia had never slept properly after Duke Leontine left.
It was because she had a disturbing dream every time she fell asleep.
When she looked back, she realized it had probably started the day she dreamed of laughing and chatting with Tidwell in Orangerie.
At first, she thought it was just her lightheadedness at that time, but as the days passed, she began to have more frequent dreams about Tidwell.
However, the dreams she had until then were not disturbing. It was all about replaying what happened with Tidwell so far, or about peaceful scenes like in the first dream she had.
Dreams that didn’t have to be special.
However, after visitingCheshire Cat, her dreams began to suffocate her.
The only thing these dreams had in common with her previous ones was that they didn’t feel real.
Maybe you could call it a nightmare.
Ravia would always cry in her dreams.
It would be nice to be able to remember a dream, but when she woke up from it, her memory would always be blurred instantly.
The only thing left in her mind when she was half awake was her miserable feelings.
Even if the dream itself disappeared quickly, it wasn’t easy to erase one’s feelings in the dream.
The moon hadn’t moved that much from before she fell asleep, and once she woke up, she would toss and turn in her sleep.
Even as she dozed off often because of the lack of sleep, her dreams would come without a hitch.
A carriage running on a paved road at dusk.
Ravia tilted her head as she closed her eyes.
She slowly fell asleep.
The nightmare was returning.
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