Chapter 52

“Ahh!”

He raised his head at the scream that came from above. Someone fell down from the magic circle with a diameter of 10 Herham.

Splash!

Jurgen, who had just stuck his head out of the water, smiled and plunged back into the pool’s depths.

Drooping, Dahlia, in a light off-white dress, was sinking to the bottom of the pool that she had just fallen in. He swam faster and took her hand. Her hair, like sunbeams penetrating water, obscured his vision.

Jurgen held on to her and brought them to the surface to breathe.

“Ha!”

“Pu-ha!”

Dahlia was breathing heavily and was still donning a very bewildered complexion. Jurgen brushed the wet hair out of her face and floated on the water.

“Good morning.”

Breathing heavily, she looked at him with red, bloodshot eyes. Then she suddenly burst into tears.

“What’s this!”

“Surprised?”

“I thought I was going to die!”

He had set the coordinates to come to where he was, but he didn’t know she would fall on the top of his head while swimming. Jurgen burst out laughing, grabbed her arm, and put it around his neck. Then, Dahlia, who had been embraced, made up her mind and cried.

He patted her wet back as he swam.

“Oh no, I was in a hurry too. I’ll be careful next time. I’ll set the coordinates on the bed.”

Upon reaching the end of the pool, Jurgen clutched and lifted her and sat her on the water’s edge. Then, whimpering, she wiped away her tears and wrung out her soaked hair. All a while, she was sure to cast a pointed resentful glare at Jurgen.

He pressed his chin against her lap, gently caressing her legs submerged in the transparent water.

“Don’t cry. I want to see you cry somewhere else.”

“… You are a villain.”

“I’m no hero of justice.”

“Does it make sense to go swimming this early in the morning? I haven’t even eaten yet.”

“You’re lucky I was awake. If you had fallen into my bedroom, do you think right now I would have passively let you go?”

She frowned, seemingly saying, “What do you mean?” then let out a gasp, blushing. It was clear that she had become bothered with the understanding of what he meant.

Besides, this man was not wearing a single thread. Shy belatedly, she curled up her wet body, avoiding his gaze. It was the first time she had seen a man naked. Last time, wasn’t he half naked… ? No, why are you thinking like this!

Dahlia shook his head and shut her eyes. Then, utterly drenched in cold water, she started to tremble. Jurgen, who had been observing her closely, came out of the water and brought a large blanket to wrap her in.

“I guess I should stop swimming.”

“Goo—good idea.”

Dahlia couldn’t bear to look up at him and avoided his gaze. When their eyes met, she was sure something impure like last time would happen.

Her body clenched tightly to the blanket, and suddenly she was lifted. Dahlia was startled but held her breath and covered her face.

With a strangely amused and delighted expression, he took her in his arms and began striding toward the annex attached to his swimming pool.

Even though she must have been quite heavy with her dress wet, his gait was straight and undisturbed.

The red-bricked outbuilding’s elegant door was open. Stepping inside, Jurgen immediately went up to the second floor and entered the bathroom connected to the master bedroom.

“Tell me, what’s happening?”

“Well, you went through it first hand, didn’t you?”

He sat her in the tub, turned the faucet on, and lukewarm water began to pour in.

“The fellow deemed it was a dangerous situation and brought you to me. The dangerous situation is that the priests came to see you.”

He grabbed her chin and turned her head to face him when she refused to meet his gaze. Determined, Dahlia stubbornly kept her eyes closed, probably too shy to see him nude.

This woman didn’t know how arousing this kind of behavior drove people. If she had known, she couldn’t have acted like this.

“That bird… . you sent it?”

“I made you a friend, don’t you like it?”

“Is it a real bird?”

“It’s a real bird with my powers.”

Only then did she open her tightly closed eyes and look up at him with a blue lake-like gaze.

“Then… What about me? What happened to me?

Brightly smirking, he sat down on the edge of the tub where the water was pouring in and caressed her face.

“How do you feel about being kidnapped, Lady Dahlia?”