Chapter 3

I Thought It Was BetrayalChapter 3

Selenia’s eyes widened at the clear sound of something clinking.

“Gasp.”

Above her was an unfamiliar ceiling and when she touched her body, she was startled to find out that she was wearing different clothes. Instead, it was a woman’s clothes. Selenia was surprised by her discovery, she jerked out of bed and observed around. She was in an ordinary house.

While the sun was setting outside the window, the breeze streamed in through the drawn windows. The scenery was like a painting and for a moment, she was dazedly looking out of the window. Underneath the eaves hung a landscape. The star-shaped piece of metal inside the bell fluttered in the wind and made a clear sound. She had probably regained her senses from that work.

Selenia opened the door and stepped outside, then a large orchard stretched out before her. The full blossoms of the apple took her by surprise and their sweet scent carried by the spring breeze gently wafted past her nostrils.

Everything was so peaceful here.

Her gaze wandered over to the bookshelves filled with books.

In particular of the books, an ancient document that appeared old caught her attention. Without further ado, she opened them.

The book was filled with information about other races that she hadn’t known. She narrowed her eyes while studying its contents.

Finally, her hand flipped to the next page.

“You’ve finally woken up?”

An unfamiliar voice came from behind her. Surprised by the unknown presence, she flinched and dropped the book in an instinct. She swirled around, ready to punch the owner of the voice.

“Ah, I am the owner of this house.”

Her eyes were graced with a handsome man facing her. As soon as she turned around, he held out his palm to the wary Selenia, indicating that he held no animosity towards her. Quickly recovering, she scrutinized the man’s appearance. His hair was a light brown color, so thankfully he was not a vampire. Selenia was relieved that he wasn’t one, yet she was still uneasy about him.

Suddenly, her heart began to race unusually as though she had fallen in love with him at first sight. She shook her head, saying it was impossible in her case. She didn’t believe in superstitions like fate or imprinting.

Her odd heartbeat must have been caused by the vampire wounding her.

“I found you lying down by the river and brought you here with me.”

He smiled gently.

“Do not worry. Your wounds have been well treated.”

At his words, Selenia ran her hand down her back. Upon his words did she only realized that she felt no pain from her scars. However, she was certain that her scars were oozing from that poisonous liquid. But strangely, there was no pain as of this moment causing her to forget that she was attacked in her back.

“My scars, how did they…!”

Selenia’s eyes widened in surprise, then gazed up and down to the man in disbelief. His appearance didn’t suit of a priest.

“You needn’t be so wary.”

The man’s gentle voice was soft enough to melt her wariness while introducing himself as his green eyes twinkled, the color of midsummer’s green.

“I’m Edwin, a doctor of this rural village.”

That was the beginning of their fateful meeting.

[***]

“I have washed your uniform here.”

He returned home with her, as he handed her a neatly folded uniform. Edwin’s meticulous nature was evident in the way her uniform was treated. But as soon as she saw it, Selenia’s face turned red, the thought of being dressed by a stranger made her all giddy. And as if reading her thoughts, Edwin waved a hand and blushed.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, my sister who lives with me changed your clothes, and I only saw the scars on your back…!”

He also seemed to be embarrassed by the way he explained his situation to her. Somehow, she felt relieved, and wore a faint smile.

“First of all, thank you for saving me.”

She cocked her head slightly, thanking him for saving her.

“By any chance, was there anyone else besides me?”

“Uh…. there was no one else. Was there anyone else who was injured?”

“… N, no.”

It’s a miracle anyone survived that fall. It was already a wishful assumption that Mikhail was still alive by now. Even the thought of him pained her, squinting her eyes. Then Selenia looked questioningly at the doctor in front of her. How could this village’s doctor possibly have prevented the poisoning of her scars?

She stared at him for a long moment, then slowly parted her lips.

“By the way, how did you cure it?”

“Pardon?”

Edwin narrowed his green eyes as if he didn’t understand her.

“The scar on my back. Until now, all I’ve been able to do was to have a priest use her holy power to ward off the poison. A priest, you don’t look like one.”

“Ah… it’s not completely healed. As you say, I used holy power to keep the poison at bay.”

“You’re a priest?”

“Uh, no. Just a doctor, like I said. My holy water was innate, I possessed a faint of it.”

Selenia’s one eyebrow quirked. His tiny bit of divine power was far more than Angeline, the palace priestess, had. When Angeline helped her, there was always a tolerable amount of pain involved. But now there was no pain at all. All along, a doctor like Edwin was hiding in this rural village.

Selenia’s gaze slowly followed his movements. Edwin was frantically searching the kitchen for something to offer her. Eventually, he pulled a bar of chocolate out of the cupboard, chopped it up with a knife, and poured it into a mug. Afterwards, steam rose from the kettle on the stove. He then poured the hot, fragrant milk into the mug and the white milk mixed with the chocolate. Soon a rich chocolate aroma filled the house.

“Here you go.”

Selenia stared at the hot chocolate in front of her. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a sweet tooth, but it wasn’t a drink she enjoyed in particular. However, should she refuse his offer would unintentionally come off rude especially when she was already indebted for saving her life. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Selenia gripped the mug tightly, the warmth spreading through her hands, and slowly into her body. As she tilted the mug, Edwin wrapped a thick blanket around Selenia’s shoulders.

“You’ve been in the river, and it’s dangerous if your body temperature drops.”

He may have that idiotic face, but his voice was oddly trusting. Selenia blushed slightly and hugged the blanket tighter. Edwin beamed at her, then pulled up a chair in front of her and sat down.

“I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a question.”

“… Yes.”

“You appeared to be a noblewoman, but how did you get yourself in such a dangerous situation?”

Selenia’s lips twitched at his question.

He must have already recognized her based on her uniform. The golden sun that symbolized the imperial family was proudly embroidered on the breastplate. Hesitantly, she slowly spoke.

“I am the Apollonia’s…”

Once again, she must not disclose her identity immediately. It was best to avoid the impending risks that come after.

“One of the Imperial Knights.”

“Of course, I knew it. You are a knight, how wonderful!”

Edwin laughed with childlike innocence; his eyes filled with starry longing.

“I’ve never been good at swordsmanship or archery or anything like that since I was a kid.”

He blurted out his unasked-for story. Edwin’s story, told at a pace that was neither fast nor slow, strangely made Selenia listen to him. She didn’t know if it was the soothing crackle of the campfire, neither the faint scent of apple blossoms, nor the fact that he was telling a good story, but she found it incredibly relaxing while listening. It made the whole vampire confrontation seem like a dream.

Selenia’s wariness of the day slowly melted away as Edwin’s words drifted into the still evening air.

“… That’s the end.”

Edwin’s rambling ended. Selenia’s attention snapped back to him, and she looked outside to see that it was already getting dark. Even though his story was unimportant, his storytelling was so good that neither of them noticed the passage of time.

She listened to his story with glazed eyes, unable to ask him anything important. Selenia coughed and turned away, embarrassed that she had been listening so intently. It was time to get back to the imperial court.

“Hm, how far are we from the palace, anyway?”

“Uh, you can get there pretty quickly if you head out to the main street and use the mana tunnels. But…”

“But?”

“There’s a fee for using the mana tunnel… and I don’t have any gold coins to lend you…”

Despite being a doctor, he was clearly in need. She scratched her head and came up with her next plan. She could write a letter to the Imperial Palace, asking them to come get her.

“A letter, then.”

“… You may be a noble, but you do not know about how things are done here.”

“What?”

“Mana tunnels and sending letters both cost mana, which means they cost gold coins.”

“What do you mean, gold coins?”

Something was off. Letters from the Apollonian Empire were delivered to the sender by being attached to enchanted bubble balloons. However, enchanted, or not, it was as easy as lying down and eating cold soup for a mage. But gold coins? Something wasn’t right.

Likewise of the mana tunnels. Once a mana tunnel is dug, it takes no more mana. That meant that even if all the wizards disappeared, you could still use them indefinitely. Furthermore, the imperial government had paid for the mana tunnels in the first place, and the fee for using them was not gold coins, but a few coins and an official letter was sent to respective territories.

“I’ve heard that the imperial budget for mana tunnels and postmen is quite large.”

“… That’s ridiculous.”

Selenia’s golden eyes widened in disbelief. The Mana Tunnel and the post office were facilities managed by each territory, not institutions involved in the imperial family.

Selenia’s eyes began to glow with intelligence. If the people from a rural village were suffering like this behind the Imperial back, it meant that there was a corrupt official meddling. Therefore wrongdoings had to be righted.

In order to exact that, she needed to get information. Fortunately, Edwin could ward off the poison of her scars, so she could stay here and gather information.

“I was wondering if I could stay here for a few days.”

“Yes, pardon?”

Edwin raised his voice in surprise.

“I thought you said you had a sister.”

“Oh, she’s out of town on business and won’t be back for a few days…”

He doesn’t care about himself, but a woman is a woman, even if she is a knight. Blushing, he timidly replied.

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you.”

“What? W-what nothing are you talking about?”

“Just kidding, just kidding. I’ll only stay for a while. I’ll also repay you back.”

Selenia joked comfortably as if he were an old friend.

“Alright, if you don’t mind….”

Edwin shyly smiled and scratched the top of her head.

“Oh, do you mind if I ask… your name?”

Selenia pondered for a moment, then answered in a small voice.

“…. Sera.”

“Sera, Miss Sera. This house is shabby, but please make yourself at home while you’re here.”

“Pfft, thank you.”

To anyone else, they would think he was begging her to stay here. Selenia had an inexplicable smile on her face. He was a simple man, and she had the hunch she’d get along with him just well.

Selenia smiled warmly at him, feeling a strange attraction she hadn’t experienced before.