Chapter 5 – Part 6

By the time she realized it, it was already too late. It wasn’t that her neck had been severed by the blade. Well, she might have bled out and died if things had gone slightly wrong.

“Is there really such a place?”

“I’d only heard about it, but luckily we found it quickly.”

Olivia glanced at the woman who answered calmly while pressing a handkerchief Glenn had given her to the wound on her neck. Despite appearing suddenly before them, the woman was incredibly composed, opening the door to the cabin and lighting the fireplace. Of course, Glenn, not being alone, had the task of adding kindling and stirring the fire.

“He has a cabin he uses for occasional inspections. Let’s go there.”

Thanks to Ronae’s guidance, they were able to avoid the rain. Fortunately, they found shelter in time, resulting in only a slight cut without much bleeding. Glenn’s excessive fussing was more irritating.

The curious thing was this woman, Ronae, who appeared pregnant and in such a dangerous forest.

“I don’t know what’s inside because I secretly looked at the map. Should I heat some water for you?”

“Yes… well…”

Olivia awkwardly nodded, then regained her composure and stopped Ronae in front of her.

“I feel uncomfortable. I’ll do it. Please sit down.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Ronae bowed her head and went to sit on the sofa. Olivia recalled the moment she had encountered Ronae earlier.

“It’s been a while, Marchioness. I’m Ronae Bartram.”

A small figure in a black robe. The woman introduced herself, protectively wrapping her arms around her belly.

Meeting the original heroine like this. She hadn’t expected to meet Ronae in such a life-threatening moment. Even stranger, the assailant had retreated immediately after Ronae pulled her back.

She wanted to ask how and why she had come, but Olivia’s life principle was to be gentle with the weak and fierce with the strong. She didn’t want to harshly question a pregnant woman who had guided her to a warm place.

So, Olivia confirmed that the bleeding from her neck had stopped, boiled water on the stove, and headed to the living room. Meanwhile, Glenn stood guard to ensure no one approached.

Inside the small cabin, the atmosphere was incredibly awkward. The tension in the air felt more real than the wound on her neck.

Dealing with a rough guy was easy, but facing the calm stranger sitting there was difficult. Olivia was carefully considering what to say.

“How’s your wound?”

Surprisingly, Ronae spoke first. When Olivia looked up, their eyes met.

The strange thing was that Ronae didn’t have the usual traits of a typical protagonist from a romance novel—she didn’t seem suspicious or emit any malice or cunning.

Instead, her eyes were indifferent, like staring into a murky river. Olivia touched her wound.

“It’s not too deep, so it’s fine. Just need to put some ointment on it.”

“Still, it’s good to disinfect it properly… hold on.”

Ronae seemed genuinely concerned about her. Struggling to stand, Ronae fetched a clean cloth from somewhere and dampened it slightly. Her hand, offering the towel, was white and clean.

“Clean it with this to avoid infection. I’m sorry I can’t help more.”

In a way, Ronae was even more inscrutable than Troy Marsden.

Like her sister, Lottie Bartram, Ronae had pink hair and eyes, but the atmosphere was different. While Lottie seemed like an immature child, Ronae had the aura of a wise scholar.

“No, thanks to you, I survived. No matter how shallow the wound, it would’ve been hard to return to the manor.”

“I didn’t do much to help.”

And then the suffocating air flowed again. Olivia decided to be straightforward.

“I’m really sorry, but I’m not good at beating around the bush. How did you appear there? How did you find us? And how…”

“Let me answer one thing at a time.”

Ronae placed a hand on her abdomen, as if to stop Olivia. With a groan, Olivia leaned back.

“Yeah, well… we have plenty of time.”

Olivia stared at the foggy window. The rain was pouring so hard that the already dirty window became more opaque. Going back to the manor now would be madness.

“What are you most curious about?”

Ronae ran her finger along the edge of a cup. She seemed like someone who had anticipated all of this.

Despite her curiosity, Olivia asked another question instead of why Ronae was so calm. She asked what she was most curious about.

“Then tell me, Lady Bartram. Why did you intervene when you could have died?”

She seemed so confident that the attacker would run away if she intervened.

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t risk my life to save the Marchioness?”

Olivia raised an eyebrow.

There were plenty of reasons, more than Harry Palmer’s common sense. But that wasn’t Olivia’s main point.

“You’re not alone. I’m just curious about what made you want to protect me.”

For the first time since arriving here, Ronae flinched at Olivia’s cold reply.

“If things had gone wrong, or if the attacker hadn’t retreated, you would’ve died. Not just you, but the baby too. That’s why I’m asking.”

Olivia placed her cup on the old wooden table.

“Just to be clear, I’m not blaming you. I’m just wondering why you went to such lengths to save me, and…”

Olivia straightened up and clasped her hands together.

“I’m curious about where your confidence that the attacker would retreat came from.”

Ronae’s pink eyes lowered. Her gaze was calm, as if she had never been disturbed. It was hard to believe she was the same person who had fought Gael Abyss earlier.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, it seems to me like you’re pretending not to know.”

Olivia hadn’t expected her to reveal everything easily. If Ronae stayed silent, it would be troublesome, but her defensive attitude only solidified Olivia’s suspicions.

When the attack happened, Olivia was in a daze, almost intoxicated by the smoke. Even though Glenn was there, the thick fog and eerie atmosphere made it hard to be sure he would save her.

She could have been in a coma, if not dead. Yet, in the midst of the chaos, Ronae, an inexperienced woman, had managed to quell the situation.

It was clear. When Ronae reached out to protect Olivia, the attacker retreated as if they hadn’t expected an ally to intervene and Ronae didn’t seem too shocked or surprised.

If Olivia heard correctly, she sighed in relief.

Olivia realized that the attacker wasn’t afraid of her or Glenn but was concerned about harming Ronae.

“Since you don’t seem inclined to be honest with me, I’m not going to pry any further, so let’s just say I was mistaken.”

After a moment of internal conflict, Olivia took a step back. Asking more questions now would likely backfire. They could pursue the attacker after the rain stopped and Glenn could help.

“Instead, may I repay you? I really want to thank you for your help.”

However, Olivia needed to maintain contact with Ronae. Ronae knew who the attacker was and likely was on the same side, so she needed a reason to stay connected.

“Anything?”

For the first time, Ronae’s lips formed a slight smile. It seemed a bit bitter, but Olivia shrugged.

“As long as it doesn’t involve hurting innocent people. What do you want?”

Although Olivia had read the original story, that didn’t mean she knew everything about the female lead, Ronae. She didn’t know herself well enough to claim she knew the protagonist better than the author.

Ronae seemed to be contemplating. For someone so cautious to use magic to make Gael fall in love with her, she must really like him.

“What I want is…”

Ronae’s bitter smile lingered as she rubbed her stomach. Her touch was tender and affectionate, far different from how she treated Gael earlier.

“Our… no, my baby and…”

Olivia was about to press Ronae for the rest of her sentence when suddenly,

Bang!

“What the…?!”

When Olivia turned around in a jump, the cabin door had already been broken off and was lying on the floor. A familiar pair of shoes caught her eye.

“Hello, Buddy.”

Long legs effortlessly stepped over the wooden door.

“Glenn told me to calm down, but if I could calm down, I wouldn’t have rushed here and missed my chance to kill Count Abyss, would I?”

Olivia’s body stiffened. She had left a note for Marsden, saying he could meet her anytime when he woke up, and if he planned to follow her, he shouldn’t expect to see her for a while. It was a polite way of saying she needed some space and to rest. She had shared her plans honestly.

“Guess you didn’t listen, Buddy. Can I say something as your teacher?”

No.

Olivia gulped. As her throat moved, Marsden’s gaze naturally followed to her neck. It seemed more like he was reexamining the wound than noticing it for the first time. His eyes were dark and intense.

“Miles, and Lady Bartram.”

Without taking his eyes off Olivia, Marsden called the two of them quietly.

“Could you step aside? Don’t come back until I call you.”

‘No, no, no! Don’t leave.’

Olivia looked desperately between Glenn and Ronae. Glenn avoided her gaze rudely, and Ronae seemed conflicted about whose side to take. Eventually…

“I’ll stay upstairs with Sir Miles. Please, talk.”

Ronae betrayed her. This bad original heroine.

Thus, Olivia was left alone with the terrifying Marsden on the first floor. Rain poured in through the open space where the door had been, but Marsden didn’t care.

Worried he might catch a cold, Olivia couldn’t say anything in the face of the overwhelming tension.

“I must have looked really sick, Buddy. Do I look like I was about to die?”

Marsden ran a hand through his wet hair and slowly approached her.

“Or did you just not want to be with me? Or maybe I acted too understanding and accommodating?”

What’s wrong with him? Olivia forgot to breathe as she looked up at Marsden, now right in front of her. His large hand grabbed her chin.

“Did you think I’d just console you, saying it was okay if you got cut or shot, as long as you were safe? If not, you wouldn’t have left me and come here.”

Marsden adjusted his grip on her chin, lifting her face and bending down to inspect the wound.

“I’ve been trying so hard not to see this blood again…”

Again? Olivia glanced down at Marsden. She was terrified but couldn’t resist her curiosity.

“What do you mean by ‘again’?”

“Shut up.”

Oh, great. His mind’s really gone. Thinking it was okay, that he’d understand, was a huge mistake. Not only was he angry about her leaving alone, but getting hurt had triggered him.

“As you can see, Duke, the wound isn’t that deep… ugh!”

Olivia shuddered as something soft touched her wound. The strange sensation made her face heat up. Marsden’s low laughter brushed against her skin.

“Why? We’ve done things much more intense than this.”

Regardless of what those things were, Marsden’s crazy behavior made Olivia’s face flush. It felt like he believed kissing the wound would heal it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but there are people upstairs, so we shouldn’t…”

Olivia’s lips froze as Marsden slowly lifted his mouth from her neck.

“It won’t hurt anymore.”

Olivia raised her hand to touch the wound. Or rather, where the wound had been.

It was gone. No matter how much she touched, the cut on her neck was nowhere to be found. The pain was also gone. The persistent ache under her skin had vanished.

“What did you do? Was that spell?”

“Spell was originally called ‘magic’ because it was beneficial. Healing magic requires a lot of mana, so I often fail, but…”

Marsden gently caressed Olivia’s white neck.

“This time, I succeeded, thankfully.”

Olivia’s heart sank heavily, and her eyes darkened. She shouted sharply.

“So you’re saying you used magic? A magic hunter? You’ve always acted like you knew a lot but couldn’t do it yourself!”

“Buddy, if I can make someone fall in love with someone, do you think healing is hard?”

Olivia was left speechless by his brazenness. Marsden gently stroked her neck with a languid expression.

“It’s a shame, really. If only ‘good’ magic were easier, or if there were more good sorcerers, I could have erased every little injury you ever got.”

Marsden raised both hands to hold Olivia’s cheeks, his desperate eyes drawing closer.

“Values? They mean nothing. Even if I hated magic, what does it matter? For you, I’d use it even in hell. Just to make sure you’re safe.”