Chapter 49: Introducing My Girlfriend. (1)

Chapter 49: Introducing My Girlfriend. (1)

Chapter 49: Introducing My Girlfriend. (1)

Luss and Lily sat across from each other in silence.

The surroundings were loud and bustling, but the space between them felt like a different world—calm and still.

Delicious food on the table was getting cold, untouched.

Only the bottles of alcohol were being moved around.

Luss silently offered a glass of alcohol to Lily.

Though they were rivals, at this moment, they were comrades sharing the same pain.

Without hesitation, Lily lifted her glass and clinked it with Luss’.

Lily, who usually didn’t enjoy drinking, couldn’t resist tonight.

She needed the influence of alcohol to endure this moment.

“...Hic!”

Lily hiccupped.

She brought her hands, which had been touching Starchis all day, to her nose.

The smell had faded over time, but she clung to the faint lingering scent.

“...I really hate this.”

Luss murmured softly as she watched her.

Hearing Lily talk about holding hands all day, Luss understood what she was doing.

But she didn’t have the strength left to stop her.

She was exhausted.

Even now, when she closed her eyes, Elza’s smiling face haunted her.

An ugly face that made her shudder and want to punch her.

Yet, it was so fresh, beautiful, and enviably expressive.

Elza’s eyes dripped with honey whenever she looked at Starchis.

At least, that’s how Luss saw it.

She wondered if she could have made that face beside him if she had just been brave enough... She sipped her drink, lost in daydreams.

“Hehe...”

In truth, it was probably harder not to make that face.

Even she, who wandered around with a somewhat stiff expression, couldn’t help but soften her face in front of him.

It couldn’t be helped if the man in question was as good as Starchis.

As the alcohol took effect, memories of her past with Starchis resurfaced vividly.

-“Luss, hang in there.”

Starchis, who excelled in training, had said that to her, who was lagging behind.

-“Haha, got it. Let’s speak casually from now on, Luss.”

After they had spent some hard days together, they dropped formalities.

-“Haha! Fooled you, didn’t I? Happy birthday, Luss!”

When she had almost felt disappointed for not receiving any birthday wishes, Starchis had surprised her with food and gifts.

That memory made her chuckle.

-“...It’s okay. Luss. Tell me everything.”

When she had been late and a criminal in the city had caused many casualties, Starchis had comforted her gloomy self.

The more her imagination continued, the more she laughed, and then her expression gradually turned cold.

As the alcohol kicked in, she habitually looked to her side.

For more than half of the six years, whenever she turned her head like this, Starchis had been there beside her.

But now, all she saw was an empty seat.

Starchis was leaving her side.

The relationship she thought would last forever was changing.

Suddenly, a surge of emotion welled up within Luss.

‘What on earth... have I done?’

She looked down at her hand.

The friendship ring was still there.

She had chances too. for new novels

Perhaps more chances than anyone else.

There was time to build countless memories, and opportunities to have serious conversations just between the two of them.

But every time, she was too shy and excited to take that extra step.

She had foolishly hoped that Starchis would make the first move.

‘Who did I let slip away?’

Even now, her memories with Starchis were her most treasured possessions,

but the thought that these memories would be painted over by someone else pained her.

It was unbearable to think that his favorite woman wasn’t her.

He had said he was going to meet Elza’s parents.

It felt like madness, but only because Starchis was doing it with another woman.

If he had said he was meeting her parents just weeks after they started dating, she would have welcomed it with open arms.

Maybe that woman, Elza, had quickly realized how wonderful he was too?

Was she doing everything to not let him go?

If everything went wrong and Starchis ended up marrying her, could she endure it?

“Ugh...”

Even imagining it made her heart ache.

If it was him.

If it was Starchis, once he stamped the marriage seal, he would never look at another woman.

The thought of Starchis not even sparing her a glance was unbearable.

Luss lifted her glass again.

The image of him collapsing was deeply ingrained in her mind, appearing as a nightmare.

Yesterday, the day before,

even during a short nap.

The scene of him collapsing and his cooling body played vividly in her dreams.

And waking from that worst nightmare brought immense relief and gratitude.

Even if she woke up gasping, with cold sweat running down her body, the sense of relief was stronger than the discomfort.

That’s why she prayed.

It wasn’t the only reason she prayed; she also did it consistently for the future.

When she woke up from the nightmares, she felt relief but also powerlessness.

If she had been able to use purification on Starchis twice, his life wouldn’t have been in danger.

Her lack of holy power almost caused her to lose him.

If there hadn’t been a passerby, or if his brother hadn’t found vampire blood,

if countless coincidences hadn’t aligned, she might have lost Starchis forever.

She couldn’t let that happen again.

She needed to increase her holy power.

Holy power gradually developed through prayer.

So she found herself praying anywhere and everywhere.

Early morning.

On the mountainside, where birds chirped.

Kneeling in the sunlight, Vienna prayed devoutly.

Anyone passing by would have thought she was a saint.

.

.

.

.

Casey was shocked to see Vienna returning with dirt marks on her face and torn clothes.

“Vienna!”

Casey, who had been sweeping the church courtyard, dropped the broom and approached her, wiping her face.

“Vienna..! What happened this time?”

“...Casey.”

“Why are your clothes all torn again..! Where have you been rolling around?”

Just as Casey said, Vienna had fallen several times while descending the steep mountain.

Each time her knees got scraped and bled, but she first gathered the herbs she had collected.

Afterward, she used her holy power to heal her wounds and continued down.

“I went to the mountains..?”

“The mountains?”

Only then did Casey notice the pouch Vienna was carrying.

She reached out and opened it briefly, seeing various herbs inside.

“I thought you were off early to see that guy, but you went to the mountains?”

“...I’m going inside now.”

Vienna didn’t want to explain further.

She wanted to quickly make the medicine and go to Starchis, as Casey had guessed.

“What kind of medicine are you making?”

“Not telling.”

Vienna planned to make a potion that would enhance mana sensitivity.

She had heard that Starchis needed to control his mana for his hand to move again.

She wanted his hand to move sooner.

“Ah, Vienna, Vienna!”

“...?”

She turned around because Casey, who had suddenly called her name and grabbed her shoulder, was there.

“Your party members came by yesterday.”

Vienna’s eyes widened at the unexpected news.

“St-Starchis?”

Casey shook her head.

“No. It was that female party member. Was it Luss? She came by in the morning.”

“...Really?”

Her mood plummeted upon hearing it wasn’t Starchis.

Still, she was curious why Luss had come looking for her.

Casey hesitated to continue.

But she had called Vienna back, and it wasn’t something she could just gloss over, so Casey spoke with difficulty.

“Well... she said there’s a dinner meeting scheduled. She said to come if you can.”

“...A meeting? With whom?”

“Well... that...”

Casey was calculating whether this would hurt Vienna or not.

But Vienna couldn’t wait.

“Casey. If you don’t tell me quickly, I’m going inside.”

“...The entire party... and Starchis’s girlfriend. It’s a meeting to introduce her.”

Vienna’s pupils shook.

“Introduce?”

She couldn’t understand why her heart was trembling so much at those words.