Chapter 24. Returning

“What on earth are you doing here!”

A voice filled with anger echoed through the bushes.

“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you in the chaos of explosions and fire? And why do you look like that… Ha. Do you have a hobby of rolling around in fires now?”

Anger, displeasure, and disapproval.

His silver eyes, filled with all sorts of negative emotions, scanned her from head to toe. Iella, who had instinctively shrunk back, suddenly noticed the faint hint of relief in his eyes. She realized he was genuinely worried.

“And where did you throw away your mask this time…”

“Aster.”

It was one of his traits to lower his voice and speak through clenched teeth when he was genuinely worried about someone. So…

“…Aster.”

She couldn’t hold on any longer. The kind face of the man who always worried about her overlapped with her vision. The moment her anxiety-ridden heart found a place to lean on, Iella threw herself into his arms. She felt his body stiffen in surprise, but she tightened her grip around him.

“Just, just for a moment.”

She didn’t care if this made him suspect that she wasn’t Ailexia. In fact, she hoped he would find out.

‘Then he will surely help me. With his kind face, his voice, he will calm my anxiety.’

Iella closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the emotions that threatened to choke her.

The scent of a cozy winter forest filled her nose.

Meanwhile, Aster, who was about to push Ailexia away roughly, froze at the sound of her trembling voice.

The body that clung to him trembled like a bird caught in the rain, and the hands around his back held him desperately tight. It was a sight he had never seen from Ailexia before.

For a moment, why did it feel like this? Iella’s frail shoulders seemed to overlap with Ailexia.

As if… as if Iella was holding him.

‘That’s absurd.’

It couldn’t be.

‘I must be out of my mind.’

The warmth that embraced him wasn’t unpleasant, and it made him feel like he was going crazy. But no matter what thoughts ran through his mind, his hand, which had stopped in mid-air, didn’t move. Normally, he would have pushed her away immediately, feeling disgusted, as if bugs were crawling on him. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Then, suddenly, she let out a rough breath.

“Ha…”

The desperate hands that had been holding him slipped away powerlessly.

“Ailexia?!”

Startled by the sudden situation, Aster caught her as her body collapsed. She was in so much pain that her face was twisted, and she lay weakly in his arms. She didn’t even have the strength to groan, only breathing heavily in short, shallow gasps.

Then, all of a sudden, her body went limp and sagged.

***

“Gasp—!”

Iella opened her eyes wide and took a deep breath. It was as if she had been submerged underwater and had finally come up to the surface, desperately filling her lungs with air.

‘What, what happened?’

After a while, her rough breathing finally calmed down, and her pounding heart gradually settled. Only then did Iella have the presence of mind to assess the situation. She recalled the moment right before she collapsed.

The unbearable pain that visited her was sudden. She panted in agony, her whole body writhing without knowing the reason. Eventually, she couldn’t endure it any longer, and her consciousness faded, her vision going dark.

‘Did the sorcery activate?’

Iella belatedly checked her body. She confirmed her heart was beating normally and checked that her limbs were intact. Fortunately, everything was fine.

‘Eyes, I need to check my eyes.’

But the most important part was elsewhere. Iella anxiously looked for a mirror. Luckily, there was a mirror attached to a dressing table nearby. She quickly rolled off the bed and approached it, seeing her reflection in the clean mirror.

A shock, different from what she expected, struck her.

“…Unbelievable.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief. Iella unconsciously raised her hand to pinch her cheek. The vivid pain told her it wasn’t a dream.

“I’m back.”

Her light pink eyes and silver hair, as brilliant as the Milky Way, reflected in the mirror. It was the familiar face of Iella Shua, looking dazed.

***

Iella, sitting on the bed and staring blankly into space, blinked. It still didn’t feel real.

‘Could I really have come back so easily?’

It was hard to believe. She wondered what all her struggles had been for. But the old, ordinary inn room in her view confirmed the reality. It was entirely different from Ailexia’s luxurious and elegant room. She had no choice but to accept it.

‘I really am back.’

Iella’s face broke into a broad smile as she flopped back onto the bed. The joy of being back in her original body was overwhelming.

The thin bedding wasn’t particularly soft, and the bed creaked with every small movement, but her body and mind were more at ease than ever.

After savoring the moment for a while, Iella began to calmly organize her thoughts.

‘Why was Ailexia here?’

First, the question she had when she saw the room. Why had Ailexia come here in her body?

From the auction house to this old inn, she couldn’t understand Ailexia’s actions. She had no idea what Ailexia wanted to do. But she had one plausible guess.

‘Was she looking for a way to break the sorcery?’

Sorcery couldn’t be cast on oneself. That meant Ailexia hadn’t performed the soul exchange herself.

‘If Ailexia is a victim like me, it makes sense.’

Ailexia already had one sorcery cast on her heart. Moreover, her library was filled with books on sorcery. Unlike Iella, who hadn’t grasped the situation immediately, Ailexia likely understood it quickly.

‘What if she was searching for a way to return to normal?’

It made sense that she had gone to the auction house despite the risks.

‘Maybe the Tear of Grace was the key to breaking the soul exchange. If I’ve returned to normal, it might be because Ailexia successfully used the Tear of Grace.’

Ailexia was resourceful enough to enter the auction house despite being merely a viscount’s daughter. Even if she couldn’t take the Tear of Grace from the successful bidder, she might have managed to hold it temporarily.

‘I shouldn’t have lost Ailexia back then.’

But this was all just Iella’s speculation; it might not be the truth. If she hadn’t lost Ailexia in the underground of the auction house, she might have known the exact situation.

‘Even if the fire hadn’t started… Ugh.’

While thinking that it was fortunate she had returned, she still felt a bit uneasy. Iella suddenly sat up and covered her mouth.

“Aster!”

She remembered how she had hugged him, unable to control her surging emotions just before fainting. He must have been so surprised because of her.

Iella hurriedly grabbed the robe hanging on the chair and headed for the door. She couldn’t tell him everything, but she could at least go to him and apologize.

“Oh my, where are you going!”

But before she could grab the doorknob, the door opened. A middle-aged woman with a warm impression entered, holding a tray with hot soup in one hand. Seeing her white apron and headscarf, she appeared to be an inn employee or the owner.

“Lie back down! Someone who collapsed and only woke up after several days shouldn’t be moving around so vigorously!”

With surprisingly firm hands, she pushed Iella back onto the bed. Iella had no choice but to lean back against the headboard.

The middle-aged woman placed the tray on the bedside table and neatly covered Iella with a blanket.

“Rest well and eat something delicious. I’ve brought some warm soup, so eat and rest.”

“Um, excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Where did I collapse?”

Iella asked, mulling over the woman’s words. She was surprised to hear she had been unconscious for several days, but something else bothered her more. She had assumed she collapsed in the room, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

The middle-aged woman blinked and then burst into laughter. Not understanding why, Iella stared at her until she stopped laughing and apologized with a wink.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not used to you speaking politely. Until now, you stayed here with your eyes raised like this, speaking rudely and being quite prickly, hoho.”

“Oh…”

“Certainly, when a person gets seriously ill, they come to their senses, right?”

Iella could only let out an awkward laugh. The person she described, even while doing a forward roll, was unmistakably Ailexia.