Chapter 19

Thump-thump, my terrified heart beat frantically. Calix gently looked at my wrist and smiled.

“I’m glad that you liked it.”

“You, you’ve really gone cra······.”

“Crazy? Ah, yes.”

Calix continued my unfinished words as he looked straight into my eyes. I shuddered like an aspen leaf, trapped in his arms.

“So all this time you thought I was gonna be fine? You were my everything. But you’ve thrown me away. You were my world, Laure. And you thought I was gonna be fine, living my life abandoned by you?

“Calix·····.”

“However, I understand.”

Whispering in a loving voice, Calix kissed my cheek.

“You too, also must have had a hard time while you were away from me. Because I know deep inside, you love me too, Laure.”

“·····.”

“For the past seven years, while I’ve been searching for you, I’ve realized. That I did not give you full confidence to trust me. That I didn’t show you enough how much I love you.”

He wrapped my cheek with one of his cold hands. Then leaned his face at a very close distance that the tip of our nose touched. So close that every detail of his bluish iris was visible to my eyes.

“So from now on, I will make sure to show it to you clearly and properly.”

“·····.”

“I love you. Laure. You’re the only one I’m destined for. You’ve always been the one for me.”

Calix gently kissed my lips. And the next moment, I felt a chill on my wrist where the bracelet is on.

The sensation that began like electricity spread throughout my whole body, and soon made me unable to move.

Only my lips and my eyelids trembled. I couldn’t even lift a hand. Calix smiled and lifted me up. Then Alice’s astonished voice was heard.

“What are you doing! Put her down!”

“Shut up, wizard. Just be glad that I didn’t kill you. If it weren’t for that letter, you’d already been dead.”

Letter? What letter? I was seized in shock that the situation was even more complicated than I thought. What does that mean? Alice······ sent a letter to Calix?

Don’t tell me, that’s how······.

‘Calix found me after all these years?’

I looked at Alice in disbelief.

Then she flinched a little and bit her lips as if having regrets.

Her expression was saying as if. I didn’t expect it would result to this.

As she strode towards Calix, Alice said.

“What did you do to her? Paralysis Magic? You shouldn’t take Laure away like this. Your Grace, please.”

My eyes were fixed on Letty. The child was watching us with a puzzled expression on her face, holding Alice tightly on the hem of her dress.

The fact that I am showing this scene to Letty made me feel terribly guilty. And afraid. Afraid that I’ll have to part ways with my daughter.

No. Please·····. I looked up at Calix and pleaded with my eyes. Please, I’m begging you. Please don’t separate me from my child. Calix, please······.

However, Calix just smiled coldly.

“I will be the one to decide what I’ll do with Laure.”

“Laure has her own free will. Your Grace, you didn’t even asked Laure for the reason why she had left.”

“Is that what you’re going to say after exposing Laure’s location?”

“That······!”

Alice clenched her fist.

“That, I also had an unavoidable situation. Your Grace. I know you can’t understand right now but·····.”

Calix continued, laughing at her.

“Your role ends here. Wizard. If you don’t want to die, you should immediately get out of my sight.”

Then Calix glanced at Letty and said.

“Ah, of course, I’ll also take the kid. I have something to confirm.”

‘something to confirm?’

‘?’

At his words, Alice and I flinched almost at the same time.

What does he mean by saying he has something to confirm with Letty? Did he notice that Letty was his child? If by any chance Calix finds out·····.

What if he tries to bind me up with him forever, using the fact that Letizia is his biological child.

In the worst-case scenario, I might even lose Letty·····.

‘N-No. Letty······ Letty’s the only one I have, please.’

Suddenly, a sense of feeling as if I am being burned began to crawl up my ankle.

I always unexpectedly have such hallucinations. If something pulls the trigger, or when I’m at the point of agitation, fear, or stress, it will start as if I had been swallowed up in a nightmare.

My whole body trembled like being hit by the north-western wind in the middle of winter. As though Calix noticed my condition was unusual, he flinched and looked down at me.

I looked back at him with eyes full of fear. Then Calix got momentarily agitated.

“Luche • Ventus • Vinetern!”

A spell abruptly poured out of Alice’s mouth.

In an instant, my body flew up and moved towards her. Then I harshly landed in Alice’s Arms.

– Kkyaaaaak!

Suddenly, screams rang out from all sides. At the same time, someone jumped off the roof.

I immediately recognized the person. Tess Rumbury. Grand Duchy of Rochester’s Deputy Commander of the Knights of Ains, guardian of Glaston.

She came running to where we were and huffingly said.

“Your Grace, it’s an attack. From the sea, there’s······.”

“Creatures of darkness?”

“Yes, the knights of Lord Canelo are now······.”

It was the moment that Tess was about to report the situation that·····.

The two, no, even Alice, flinched at the same time and looked in one direction.

From there, ‘something’ that had crawled up from the floor bolted like a fleeting arrow and ran precisely to my ankle.

“Laure!”

Calix’s screaming voice roared, and the moment he stretched out his arm to grab me-

‘It’ attacked Alice and at the same time wrapped around my body and snatched me. My vision dissipated in an instant.

The sudden movement made me dizzy for a while, but my body, which floated up into thin air, crashed incessantly.

Splash-

The cold seawater was the first to hit my head, wetting my clothes and dragging me deep down under the sea.

I kept sinking, and sinking, and sinking·····. I can see the lights of Canelo hover over the water.

When suddenly, the silver bracelet that was hanging at the end of my weak paper-doll like arm sparkled.

I couldn’t even move a single finger.

* * *

“······re.”

I could hear someone calling me.

“Laure, open your eyes, please······.”

My consciousness that had sunken to the bottom of the sea gradually lifted up.

I coughed as I let my breath out. My chest ached and it throbbed. As I gently lifted my heavy eyelids, I saw Calix’s worried face.

“Laure······!”

“Ca, lix······?”

“Laure, have you come to your senses?!”

He asked desperately. I seemed to have lost consciousness shortly after I fell into the sea.

During those moments I was wondering if I would die just like that because I couldn’t even budge a single hand.

But it seemed that Calix had saved my life.

I took a peek at him. He looked as if he had fallen into the water. The thick black coat he was wearing was now wrapped around my body which was shivering due to the cold wind. As a result, Calix embraced me tightly.

“Where’s Letizia·······? Where’s my daughter?”

I asked weakly. And as if to give heat, Calix unceasingly caressed down my body, then answered.

“Don’t worry. The wizard took her to a safe place.”

“Oh, thank God······.”

The moment I heard him say those words, I felt relieved. I know Alice would take good care of Letty.

Though I have to ask her why she sent a letter to Calix·····. I’m sure Alice wasn’t the kind of person to do it for no acceptable reason.

‘Please stay safe, Letty.’

My child’s face flickered in my mind. Has it already passed midnight? Letty’s birthday is on the 15th of every 4th month. I’m supposed to bake her a cake, hug her and tell her I love her but······.

‘What kind of mess is this? A monster all of a sudden······?’

My thoughts got even more complicated. Come to think of it, it was strange that on the way back after buying Letty’s gift, an evil spirit suddenly popped out of the street.

Of course, such creatures appear unannounced, but Jura Peninsula was a region with few evil spirits.

In the last seven years, this has never happened. As it seemed to be a prelude to something ominous, I felt extremely anxious.

‘Anyway, first of all, we should······.’

I looked up at Calix and realized that his head was leaned down. Is he crying? I gently called his name.

“Calix? Calix······ I’m sorry·····.”

“Please stop saying sorry.”

Calix looked into my eyes and bawled. I was surprised that he was crying. His body trembled as he sobbed then he hugged me tightly.

The bracelet that had been fastened on my wrist had fallen off casually nearby. Calix seemed unwilling to pick the thing up again.

“Laure, I’m sorry. It was my fault.”

“······That’s not true.”

I patted him on the back to appease him but I can’t put strength into my hands. It seemed that it was just once again one of my futile gestures. Then Calix shook his head down.

“I deserve to die for putting your life in jeopardy by giving you stuff like that.”

“No, I’m al······”

“To you······ how could I······ I must really be crazy·····.”

He clasped his neck as if he was being suffocated. And the intermittent cries that burst out of his mouth sounded extremely sad.

I stretched out my arms to hug Calix. After trying and slipping a couple of times. I barely embraced his neck and said.

“Calix, it was the evil spirit that attacked me. It’s not your fault.

“Laure, Laure······.”

“Calix. I’m fine······.”

“Laure, I’m sorry······.”

He held me in his arms and continued to apologize. And occasionally, words of love were also mixed in.

His whispering voice sounds so desperate that I could feel my heart sank.

“The seven years I spent without you was like hell.”

“Calix·····.”

“Without you, I don’t even want to live any longer····· If something happened to you, I·····.”

Hot tears dripped down and soaked his cheeks and nape. I couldn’t quite understand why he was feeling so sorry for me, or why he was beating himself so hard for trying to force me to go with him.

The Calix in front of me right now looks terribly unstable. It seems that his anger and affection for me was already at its limit, and the storm of emotion seemed to be devouring itself.

What should I do with you? How can I make you feel better?

This time, is it possible to make a decision that I’m sure I will not regret in the end······?

– I won’t expect anything from you. I just want to take care of you and Letty. I think I’ll be alone forever if my father dies anyway, and it’s enough if someone gave me strength even for just a while in this kind of country. 

That’s what Will said. He said he doesn’t want anything in return.

It was impossible for me to like Will as a man. Because even if I want to admit it or not, Calix is always here in my heart, and there’s no room for anyone else to come in.

So I wanted to be at least a family to Will. I wanted to repay him in that way at least, who was deeply considerate to me and Letty. Though he was the first to hold out his hand, It was my decision to hold and grab that hand anyway.

I wanted to take responsibility for my decisions.

But then, Calix appeared.

After seven years, he found me. And he was terribly ruined by my wrong choice.

The result of another decision I was responsible for, was right in front of my eyes.

I was once again at the crossroads of choices. What is the right answer? What path should I choose to proceed without making a mistake and falling over?

What should I choose to avoid hurting anyone?

Why do we always have to choose only one?

Seven years ago, I did something unforgivable to him, and as a result, our relationship was now badly twisted.

Even if he forgives me, or even if the time came when my fears fade, I felt as if I can’t go back to the way I used to be.

But I can’t just run away forever. I will have to face reality sooner or later. I bit down my lips.

Bracing my complex thoughts and worries in my heart in the meantime, I decided to think first of about what to do in the present time.

For now, it should be our priority to get out of here. It was said that the evil spirits first attacked from the sea, so this place definitely was not safe.