CH 44

The closer we were, the worse it was for both of us.

People have consciences. It was difficult to keep receiving help and treating him coldly. And the more I did that, the more intimacy Esadien felt.

Besides.

‘Where is the Apostle?’

When the apostle came forward and commanded the priests, he was never one to run away alone.

Slowly, the priests began to realize the apostle’s absence and started murmuring. In the meantime, some leaders were waking up those who had not yet risen and checking the state of the building.

“Uhuhuhu.”

A young child wearing a training priest’s garment was huddled in a corner, trembling.

“Hey, are you all right? Are you sick or something?”

I couldn’t just pass by when I saw Ramande for the first time at the same age as me, so I approached and spoke to him.

“The, the Apostle….”

“Apostle? Have you seen the Apostle?”

“That way, he went, heuk, uhuhu.”

The child pointed towards the garden while holding back tears, but there were no other buildings beyond the garden.

“That can’t be true…”

“He told me to bring pink-haired sister, he said he needed her help.”

“Me?”

I could understand to some extent, why the child was crying alone.

‘He must have been flustered because he couldn’t find me.’

“Do you know where to go?”

“Yes.”

The child took my hand and led me. I obediently followed the small force, taking steps.

‘The Apostle is someone who receives the affection of Flendena, so he couldn’t be in serious danger.’

As I thought that way, an inexplicable sense of anxiety wriggled inside my stomach.

As I looked at the collapsed floor of the gazebo in the middle of the garden, my anxiety reached its peak.

“Here it is.”

‘No way, there was something like this here? An entrance to an underground passage?’

It seems like even the priests don’t know about this since there’s no one coming in this direction…

“Hey, it’s true that the Apostle went this way……?”

As I turned around to ask a question, I bit my tongue in surprise at the sharp object poking into my lower back.

“Be quiet and come down.”

“…….”

“Come on. If the Princess go down, the Apostle will be okay.”

It was a cold tone, as if he had never sniffled. Though I couldn’t see his face, his expression was probably the same.

‘Come to think of it, this kid kept covering his face.’

I finally realized. He had been pretending to cry from the beginning. The pointed object poked my waist again, which felt more urgent than any threat. The sensation of the awl piercing through the fabric was a certain coercion.

‘I’m glad it’s after sending Esadien.’

I would have almost put him in danger again if we had been together.

‘I’m not worried. I just don’t want to owe any more debts here.’

As I thought that way and went down to the underground passage, a refreshing divine power similar to Ramande’s was strongly felt. At least, it seemed that the Apostle was somewhere underground. 

“Walk fast.”

Along with the command that had changed to informal language, my waist was poked with the tip of the blade again. Every time it repeated, I could feel the blood flowing more because of the knife tip.

“You’re hurting me. Couldn’t you just ask me nicely to come with you?”

“Shut up and walk. As long as you’re breathing, that’s all that matters.”

It wasn’t a joke. I heard a mocking sound, as if he was laughing at me for trying to dodge the tip of the knife.

It goes without saying, but the underground passage has a stone floor without any carpet or cushioning. My bare feet felt the roughness of the gravel, and with each step that slowed down, I had to endure the pain that intensified in the same spot.

It was like being whipped like an animal.

It seemed that my captor had the same thought.

“It’s like taming a wild horse.  Well, whether you’re a noble or a beast, bleeding and pain are no different…. ugh.”

The mocking was abruptly stopped, followed by a clunking noise as something fell to the ground.

‘No way.’

In an instant, a familiar face came to mind, but I tried to erase it.

‘Esadien went back.’

But what came into my eyes, which slowly turned around, was a child with a pierced heart and Esadien breathing hard behind it.

“Esadien!”

Seeing that sight, overlaid with the events in Karuden, my legs suddenly went weak and I lost all strength in them.

“Why are you here…?”

“Why? Are you telling me to just watch as you go into a suspicious place all alone?”

As Esadien approached me, who had slumped down, he was clearly angry.

“Excuse me.”

But at the same time, his whole body seemed to be filled with anxiety.

Along with that, I could feel his gentle touch applying a potion to my wounds through the tear in my torn clothes, making my face feel like it was about to explode from the heat. Unable to endure it any longer, I dropped my head, and in an instant, the atmosphere turned awkward.

“…….”

“…….”

The silence was broken by a bone-chilling sound of crackling bones and joints, as if twisting and contorting. I covered my mouth in horror as the child’s body transformed into that of an adult in the blink of an eye.

“Oh my gosh. What did I see now?”

“It’s a technique used by assassins called bone-changing technique.”

At that moment, I almost said, “You know it well.” but managed to hold back. It almost sounded like, “You know it well because you’ve been tormented by assassins since you were a child.”

‘Ugh, this is so frustrating.’

On the other hand, Esadien, who had no idea that I was in a state of panic, reached out his hand to me.

“Minuelle, show me your feet.”

“What?”

“You couldn’t even wear shoes on this kind of ground.”

“That….”

It was just as taboo to expose one’s feet in this era as it was in the Joseon Dynasty. Moreover, the stockings would likely be in a mess.

‘No, no. You don’t have to be shy in front of Esadien.’

He’s not a person I like anymore. He’s just a pretty statue. I gathered my courage and stretched out both of my feet under the hem of my skirt.

“Here. Pour it quickly.”

“……”

“Why? Should I take off my stockings too?”

“Oh no, it’s just that… I thought your feet would be smaller.”

Humph. You must be happy to have big feet.

My feet stung as the potion soaked into them. Seeing my toes curling up, Esadien chuckled again.

“I received a lot of help today. I am really grateful, but you should go now.”

When I spoke curtly, Esadien’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Shouldn’t we save the Apostle?”

“I can’t cause any more trouble for the Prince.”

“I can feel a considerable number of people from the inside. You need me. This is what a knight does.”

“I can call my knights.”

“But I don’t think the Apostle can hold on until then.”

“……”

Anyway, I knew that Esadien was better at reading cues than me, and he drove the final nail in the coffin of my argument.

“I am also one of the people who serve His Majesty. I cannot overlook the situation where the Apostle was being harmed within Roquette, Minuelle.”

How did this person talk like this?

“I understand. Just make sure you don’t get hurt instead.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

Esadien’s hand stroked my cheek like tickling, and I brushed it off vehemently and added, 

“It’s because I don’t want the wrath of the Emperor to be directed towards Karinen. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Okay.”

However, despite that, Esadien was smiling without showing any signs of discomfort. The more surprising thing happened next.

“As you said, will you give me strength to fight without getting hurt?”

“Strength?”

What do you want me to do?

As soon as I nodded my head in agreement, Esadien hugged me tightly as if he was about to crush me.

“Ugh!”

My body is crumpled like a piece of paper!

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he smacked his lips and grinned satisfactorily.

‘Why.’

It wasn’t that I gave him strength, but rather that he left me dumbfounded. I was so astonished that I could only blink my eyes, but soon I twisted my face fiercely.

“Hey, you little….!”

“Minuelle.”

Is it time to stop cursing?

“I’m sorry for trying to forcibly take off your gloves even though you don’t like it. I didn’t know you had those scars.”

“…..”

I discovered another side of Esadien that I didn’t know. He was a master of surprise.

“Never move from here.”

Leaving his last request, Esadien disappeared around the corner.

“It’s an ambush!”

“Damn it, press on the enemy harder!”

After a moment, I vaguely heard the sounds of the enemies shouting at him. I tightly held both hands together, feeling as if something that had been lumped up under my throat was melting away.

‘Hand….. You saw it too.’

I even thought that perhaps he had avoided looking at my hand on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, fearing he might show some disgust or aversion. But Esadien did look at my hand, and instead of feeling repulsed, he sincerely apologized.

‘I should have confessed from the beginning if I knew it would turn out like this.’

There was only one thing I was afraid of and hid, and I regretted it a little.

Kwaaaang!

At that moment, a loud noise broke through my weakened heart. Suddenly alert, I got up and stealthily approached the source of the sound. Even though Esadien had told me to stay put from afar, I couldn’t help but worry and my impatience grew.

‘I’m doing it for the sake of our household. Not for that pretty statue of the prince. Well, something like that. Yes, of course.’

I cautiously peeked at the battlefield, repeating to myself inwardly.

“Arthritis!”

For the first time, laughter disappeared from the face of the Apostle.

With sharp eyes, the Apostle pointed and shouted, and the people he pointed to fell to their knees as if they couldn’t withstand gravity.

“Oh my god!”

‘Arthritis?’

No way. I must have heard it wrong. 

Meanwhile, from the other hand of the Apostle, divine power flowed and formed a pale white barrier, sticking to the ring made of flames. Even though it was partially transparent, it seemed to be some sort of passageway because sunlight, which couldn’t penetrate into the underground, was coming through.

‘You broke in through that.’

Judging by the direction of the underground passage, it seemed to be right under the temple. Looking at the scrolls scattered here and there, I thought they had put the temple people to sleep with magic.

‘Does their power not reach up to the 3rd floor?’

It was fortunate that the Apostle’s room was on the third floor. Meanwhile, Esadien was acting like a game character who had reached the maximum level, striking his sword and causing people to fall like dominoes.

“I’ll leave the rest to you!”

“Understood.”

As Esadien finished off more than half of the enemies, the Apostle began to focus completely on closing the passage of fire.

‘I’m glad we have Esadien…’

No, what am I thinking right now? Ahem.

In the brief moment that I shook my head to clear my mind, Esadien had already taken on the remaining enemies and was now facing off against those who wielded the power of fire.