[19] (EP-307.1) Fairy Princess #5
307 – Fairy Princess #5
Seuk-.
Stella covered the right side of the half-fairy’s face with her palm.
When the long scar was hidden, the half-fairy’s impression strangely shifted. His face seemed more gentle, even dignified.
‘I feel like I’ve seen this face before.’
It was on the tip of her tongue, yet just out of reach.
But Stella had lived a long life.
She had encountered countless faces, and it would take time to sift through the warehouse of her memories to pinpoint where she’d seen such a face.
‘I can’t remember where....’
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on this.
“Theo-kun, your fever’s still rising. Let me wet a towel and place it on your forehead.”
Sshhh.
Though the water in her canteen had been saved for drinking, Stella didn’t hesitate to pour a generous amount to soak the towel.
Plop.
As soon as the cold, wet cloth touched his forehead, the deep furrow in the half-fairy’s brow seemed to ease slightly.
“Ugh...”
“You’re burning up so suddenly.”
Stella had a hunch that this fever wasn’t simply from getting in the stream.
Nymphs were naturally attuned to water, so they wouldn’t catch a cold just by falling into the water. The same would go for a half-fairy.
Perhaps all the fatigue and injuries the half-fairy had accumulated were finally catching up to him.
Since the start of this journey, he’d used dangerous magic repeatedly. They’d been through non-stop battles, with barely a moment to relax from the constant threats to their lives.
Now that the tension had finally lifted after their dip in the stream, it seemed like his body was letting go of everything it had been suppressing, releasing it all at once in the form of this burning fever.
‘It’s not surprising, given everything he’s been through.’
He was a strange one.
She thought about the young ladies from the other three families.
They were all green, and they had a freshness like a bud just starting to bloom. It was heartwarming to see them. Stella had that kind of time too.
Back in the days when the world seemed bright and full of energy.
In such times, both the heart and body bloom like flowers.
Even with all those girls in their prime around him, could this half-fairy also have come to like Stella?
‘... It’s not that strange. It’s definitely possible.’
Though she had lived somewhat recklessly recently, Stella had once been called the ‘Fairy Princess,’ admired and praised by many.
‘I’m still confident about my appearance. In fact, with all my experience, I probably understand a man’s heart better than most. It wouldn’t be surprising if he’s fallen for me.’
As she entertained these thoughts, Stella checked on the half-fairy’s condition again. His forehead was hotter than before.
‘He needs fever medicine.’
Gathering the herbs she had found while searching for the tree hollow, Stella skillfully ground them up and tried to feed them to the half-fairy. However, he grimaced deeply and spat them out.
No matter how many times she tried, the result was the same.
“Beugh...”
“Hey, stop spitting it out!”
Maybe it’s because of the nymph’s extreme dislike for bitter taste, but he refused to eat it. As a result, most of the herbs were nearly gone.
There was only one piece of tough Goru tree bark left. If he spat that out as well, they would be out of medicine. With no other options, Stella put the bark in her mouth and began chewing it.
The bark had hallucinogenic and antipyretic properties.
There were other effects too, but right now, lowering his fever was the most important.
Munch, munch.
The bitter taste came up, but it became a little sweeter as it mixed with saliva.
“Theo-kun, consider yourself honored to take my first kiss. Well... not that you’ll remember it.”
After chewing the bark for a while, Stella transferred it into the half-fairy’s mouth.
Just as a mother bird feeds her baby, this was an act imbued with love and care.
‘Of course, it’s just to save him. No deeper emotions involved.’
Still, kissing a man carried a certain thrill. She often struggled to convincingly lie to people when they asked if she had any experience with kissing.