Chapter 4 – Part 8

“I need Gael Abyss. If I say I need him, can you help me?”

Anyone but him. In any sense,

Marsden’s head throbbed. Just hearing the name made him sick, wanting to tear that man apart. His eyes turned red.

“In what way do you need him?”

This test was severe. Olivia scrutinized him, trying to see through his true intentions.

“I’m unsure. It feels like Gael Abyss has deeply infiltrated my life. I’m debating whether to dig into it properly or to leave the filth untouched.”

‘What was she saying?’ Marsden grew fearful. Did she have an interest in Gael Abyss?

That feeling is fake. You didn’t love Gael Abyss.

“So… how exactly can I help? Kill him? Or…”

‘Bring him here?’

“Mas.”

Marsden realized he was gripping Olivia’s shoulders tightly.

“Sorry, this…”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I have no ‘s*xual’ interest in that ungrateful brat.”

“Huh?”

Marsden was dumbfounded by her blunt words.

“Well, maybe I was unclear. I have a hunch Gael Abyss is related to recent events, but no concrete proof.”

Marsden’s tension suddenly eased. He lowered his head, still holding Olivia, and sighed deeply. Olivia gave him an odd look.

“What were you thinking to get so tense? People might see me as wild, but no one can get ahead of you.”

Maybe ‘wild’ was right.

Though that thought crossed his mind, Marsden kept quiet for the sake of peace.

“Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“Hmph, if you hadn’t cast a spell, your heart wouldn’t have been so restless.”

Marsden clamped his mouth shut. He had admitted to doing such things, but that…

“We can talk about that while looking at the belongings. Shall we go in?”

Olivia jingled a bunch of keys with a bright expression, her mischievous look making Marsden chuckle.

Olivia led the way into the large storage room. Marsden followed closely, not wanting to lose sight of her.

***

The storage room contained various items from the swindlers. None seemed to be the cursed object.

“This one?”

“That’s just a regular stone, Buddy.”

“D*mn it!”

Olivia vented her frustration, more at the situation than at Marsden.

“The stones from the Kettlin Forest are softer than regular stones. They crumble with just a little pressure.”

“What about the color?”

“They’re a deep red, but unless you look closely, they appear black. So I always examined even the smallest stones carefully, but I didn’t find any.”

“Then what about the powder?”

Olivia looked up at Marsden, holding a torch.

“If they’re easy to break, there might be some powder left behind.”

“You don’t seriously think you’re going to find rock powder in this dusty pit, do you, Buddy?”

D*mn it.

‘I was so focused on crushing those criminals that I didn’t pay attention to the cleanliness of the storage room.’

Olivia’s mood turned sullen. To Marsden, she looked like a cat with drooping ears.

“There is one way.”

“What is it?”

Marsden couldn’t help but smile at Olivia’s eager expression, like a cat’s ears perking up again.

“There’s a faint fluorescent quality. If we turn off the lights, we might be able to find it. Want to try?”

“Of course!”

Why didn’t you say that earlier?

Olivia immediately threw the torch into a barrel of water.

Alright, now we just need to look… but it’s really dark.

A place with no windows and dozens of metal shelves. They won’t topple like dominoes, but it’ll be tough moving around. There are lots of bruises in store.

“Take my hand.”

What?

Olivia eyed Marsden warily. Marsden chuckled softly, sensing her suspicion in the dark.

“I memorized the layout while searching. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

‘Holding hands.’ She had done this countless times in a past life, so why does her body tense up? Olivia concealed her thoughts as she took Marsden’s hand.

Thump, thump, thump. Her heart pounded in her ears as his large hand enveloped hers, even through the glove.

‘What is this?’

“Let’s retrace our steps.”

Marsden spoke simply, gently leading Olivia, frequently checking to ensure she didn’t bump into anything.

‘Don’t treat me like I’m precious.’

Olivia couldn’t tell if her feelings were due to her wariness towards Marsden or the emptiness she felt from her past.

“We’ve checked this row, moving to the next one, Buddy.”

She kept getting distracted, constantly wondering what expression he might have on his face in the darkness.

“This really is a rock. I knew it, but I’m still a bit disappointed.”

His deep voice echoed in the large space, soothing her frayed nerves. Olivia quietly felt the texture of the glove holding her hand.

What kind of warmth does the man’s hand inside have?

“Buddy?”

Marsden glanced at her curiously when there was no response. The darkness had settled enough for her to start making out his face.

“Mas…”

Just as the moment turned into something out of a romance novel.

“Oh! Move aside!”

Olivia pushed the towering 190cm Marsden aside and knelt on the floor.

“Buddy!?”

She pressed her face to the ground like a dog.

A smile spread across her face.

There it is. The faint, red, glowing powder was the evidence they were looking for.

* * *

Just a few years ago, or even half a year ago, Marsden would have pounced on anything related to sorcery. He was obsessive about eradicating sorcery, fearing it might claim another precious life.

He hated sorcery so much that he despised even the ancient times when it was called ‘magic.’

“Mas! This is the stone from Kettlin Forest, right?”

In the current situation, his pattern had been disrupted. Olivia crouched on the floor which was more attention-grabbing than the stone used in sorcery.

“Uh… yes.”

“Then why aren’t you checking it more closely?”

Olivia chided, turning her head. Marsden awkwardly knelt beside her on one knee.

“We need to verify it just in case, but it’s probably the one. Stones that crumble like sand are rare.”

“Then… it means it’s already been used.”

Olivia’s expression darkened. Marsden comforted her, seeing the sorrow etched on her face.

“Buddy, even ordinary spells are difficult to use, but curses are especially troublesome. If there were a spellcaster trying to curse me in this prison, it would definitely be noticeable.”

“Well, that’s true. I haven’t received any reports of that from the guards or the knights yet.”

“That means they haven’t tried it yet. The fact that powder is scattered on the floor here means such an attempt has already failed.”

Marsden’s calm voice also calmed Olivia’s mind. Embarrassed by her fuss, Olivia cleared her throat.

“Sometimes you seem like an adult; it’s quite amazing.”

“I am an adult, Buddy.”

Marsden laughed softly, and Olivia snorted as she took a handkerchief out from inside her coat. She carefully started to gather the powder with her hands, but Marsden stopped her with his hand.

“I’ll do it. It’s dangerous to touch it with your bare hands.”

“What’s so dangerous about it?”

Although it wasn’t a difficult question, Marsden didn’t say anything. He just gathered the powder with his gloved hands and put it in the handkerchief. Olivia silently watched his hands.

Those gloves. Nobles often wore gloves as a matter of formality, but Marsden especially enjoyed wearing them. No, to be precise…

She had never seen him without gloves.

“Do you want to keep this? We’ll investigate it together.”

“Okay.”

His gesture to place the handkerchief in Olivia’s hands was very careful.

“Marsden, did you get hurt a lot while capturing sorcerers?”

Olivia saw Marsden’s hand hesitate as he was about to pull away. Was his gaze trembling a lot?

“It’s a very dangerous job. Even if it’s a spell or something else, magic attacks people using the energy within their own bodies. Swords and guns become ordinary in front of it.”

“Then, how did you deal with it?”

“I’d like to tell you, but it’s a trade secret. If you become a guest of the Duke’s family, I might give you a hint.”

Marsden, who had been serious just moments before, suddenly turned nonchalant, as if he had never been concerned. Olivia stood up alone, feeling indignant.

“Forget it. You’ve never told me anything straightforwardly.”

She tried to sound cold, but her voice sounded more sulky. Feeling extremely embarrassed by her own reaction, Olivia hurried her steps.

“Olivia.”

Olivia turned her head. When Marsden called her name like that, it meant he had something serious to say, and Olivia thought he was going to ask her not to be angry.

“Mas!”

But it wasn’t that. With a chilling sound of metal scraping the floor, a massive shelf tilted over them.

They reached out for each other. Even in that brief moment, Olivia thought that she couldn’t let Marsden get hurt because of her. She had brought him for help, not to get him injured.

A darkness deeper than any shadow enveloped Olivia. She thought she caught a whiff of metallic blood.* * *

Olivia knew that dreams were a passage connecting the past and present. That’s why she disliked dreaming. She had rarely had good dreams in her life, so dreaming was not a pleasant experience for her.

“You don’t have to lead every battle. You are the master of this land. It’s not wise to put yourself in mortal danger every time.”

“You still lecture me, Mas. Do you still see me as your student?”

“You’re not a student; you’re someone I care about. I’ve told you before, why pretend to forget?”

Through that dream, Olivia acquired new information. Marsden’s confession wasn’t the first time he had done it. Before she could react, the scene changed.

It seemed to be inside a tent.

“Is this your way? Self-torture!?”

In the dream, Marsden was angry. More precisely, he was furious, desperate, and pleading.

“When did war become a way to self-harm? You said you fought alongside soldiers to protect your family and land with pride.”

“Mas, I’m sorry, I…”

‘Olivia’ looked up at Marsden with empty eyes.

“I can’t live with a sane mind. Staying at home drives me crazy. Even though I know it’s not true, I feel so incompetent and guilty.”

“You’re not.”

“Instead of having such thoughts, it’s better to just… wield a sword. If I die fighting…”

A tear dropped from Olivia’s eye.

“At least it can be considered righteous.”

D*mn original story.

The original story didn’t reveal any of this. The Olivia in the dream looked younger than she did now. Maybe that’s why, but Olivia wanted to rush over and tell her younger self.

‘Even if you don’t do anything, you are valuable and worthy. There are people who like and cherish you, even if communication isn’t always smooth.’

‘Olivia’ was not just a second female character chasing the male lead. She was much more precious and valuable than that.

“Ah.”

When Olivia opened her eyes, tears flowed down her cheeks. She barely felt like she had woken up from a dream. She saw an unfamiliar ceiling but didn’t think anything was wrong. Normally, she would have been frantically asking where she was, like a fish out of water.

“Ugh, my head hurts.”

That was Olivia’s brief impression of the dream. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. It was an elegant room, but unfamiliar. It was definitely not the Charbert mansion.

‘This emblem…’

Olivia examined the emblem carved into the furniture. It was Marsden’s or the Duke’s family’s emblem.

‘Marsden. Where is Marsden?’

Storage room. Olivia’s face turned pale as she remembered. She kicked off the blankets like an angry bull. Despite feeling dizzy, Olivia didn’t care.

“Are you awake, Marchioness?”

As she opened the door, a man who appeared to be a servant greeted her. Olivia strode up to him.

“Where is Mas… Where is he?”

“Please calm down, Marchioness. The Duke is receiving treatment and is now resting.”

“Treatment? He’s not badly injured, is he?”

It’s better to suspect him of being the culprit than to hear he’s gravely injured.

“Fortunately, he is very strong and wasn’t seriously hurt. He has some bruises and a slight fracture in his shoulder, but it’s not severe. He was prescribed painkillers and is resting.”

Phew.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips. However, she couldn’t just lie back on the bed after hearing the servant’s words. Olivia looked up at the floor above, where Marsden’s bedroom was.

“You said he’s sleeping? Take me to him.”

“Ah, well…”

The servant gave an awkward smile, as if he were in a difficult position. Olivia raised an eyebrow.

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s not a problem, but… the doctor insisted that no one should disturb him so he can rest.”

“Huh, you don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?”

Sweat began to bead on the servant’s forehead. Olivia narrowed her eyes.

“It’s strange to act like you’re quarantining a patient with an infectious disease when he’s not seriously injured. You’re not lying about his condition, are you?”

“How could I lie to you, Marchioness? It’s just that the doctor was very adamant…”

“I don’t have the patience to listen to all this. Don’t you understand?”

The servant, realizing he was cornered, lowered his gaze.

“Seeing how unscathed I am, it seems he succeeded in ‘protecting’ me. Do you think I can stay calm knowing that such a strong man got hurt protecting me?”

The servant fidgeted under Olivia’s intense gaze. She pressed on with her momentum.

“Take me to him right now, before I lose my mind.”

~End of Volume 1~