Chapter 2 – A New Beginning (Part 8)

Three weeks later, Fernan returned with the duchy’s three-year budget, just as Mollek and Nisroch had said.  

Only then did Ellerdin understand why the Duke could stamp those documents. But that was a story for another time.  

First, hearing that Fernan had returned, she hurried downstairs.  

Seeing her coming to greet him, Fernan smiled shyly.  

“I’m back, my wife.”  

Fernan lightly hugged Ellerdin. She hesitated for a moment at the sudden physical contact, but soon her hands went up to his waist.  

‘I didn’t mean to act so shamelessly.’  

Feeling Ellerdin’s warmth in his arms, Fernan carefully relaxed his grip.  

He had only intended to greet her, but seeing her innocent face made him feel an unbearable longing.  

‘But if I hug her any longer, she’ll feel uncomfortable.’  

As Fernan naturally loosened his arms, he felt Ellerdin’s arms tighten around his waist.  

‘Ellerdin?’  

Fernan, confused, neither fully released her nor hugged her again, standing there stiffly.  

“…”  

Meanwhile, Ellerdin, hugging Fernan, bit her lip.  

It had only been three weeks since she last saw him, but she felt like crying. She couldn’t understand why.  

The only thing she knew was that Fernan’s embrace didn’t give her the discomfort she felt when touching others and that his arms seemed to comfort her loneliness.  

Unconsciously, Ellerdin rested her forehead against Fernan’s chest.  

‘Huh?’  

She smelled an unfamiliar scent of blood from him.  

Sensing her slight unease, Fernan looked down, flustered.  

“Oh, I’m sorry. I tried to wash up somewhere else… I’ll quickly go to the bathroom and come back.”  

Before Ellerdin could say anything, Fernan hurriedly ran to the second floor.  

***  

Knock knock.  

When Ellerdin knocked on the door, a voice from inside told her to come in.  

When she opened the door and entered, Fernan was standing there with his hair still slightly wet.  

Seeing him like that made her heart race for some reason.  

Hiding her embarrassment inside, she calmly walked into the room.  

Fernan, standing in front of her, scratched his cheek awkwardly.  

“Sorry for leaving without telling you. It was urgent, and I didn’t have time to explain.”  

“It’s okay.”  

To be honest, it wasn’t entirely okay.  

At first, she thought it couldn’t be helped, but spending three weeks in the space where Fernan lived, doing nothing but work, reminded her of the cold days spent processing documents at Baron Brian’s manor.  

Even though Fernan was a completely different person from Brian. She shouldn’t feel this way towards someone kind.  

Ellerdin swallowed her self-reproach.  

At that moment, Fernan smiled and, as if he remembered something, walked towards a drawer.  

“Could you sit on the sofa for a moment?”  

Ellerdin, slightly nervous that he might have noticed her feelings, nodded and sat on the sofa.  

Fernan brought out a small box from the drawer.  

“This is a gift for you. I’m not sure if you’ll like it.”  

He cleared his throat and opened the box. Inside was a necklace glowing blue.  

“This is…”  

A gift. She had never received anything from anyone before, let alone such a nice gift.  

Feeling both burdened and confused, Ellerdin couldn’t find the words. Sensing her hesitation, Fernan spoke.  

“I’m really sorry for leaving without a word. It won’t happen again. And I heard from Mollek that you handled all the documents. He bragged that you significantly reduced the expenses of the duchy. You are truly amazing.”  

Fernan’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.  

Ellerdin swallowed her bitterness inside.  

‘Ah… it’s a reward for the work.’  

“Thank you.”  

Ellerdin briefly expressed her gratitude. Her somewhat curt response made Fernan scratch the back of his head awkwardly.  

“It’s probably not as pretty as the things from Earl Pure’s territory. But it has protective magic, so it will keep you safe.”  

Startled, Ellerdin looked up at him.  

When she lived with Baron Brian, she had been forced to wear accessories to uphold her husband’s dignity or wear restraints with tracking functions to prevent her from running away.  

Or she had worn restraints with electric shock magic engraved on them to prevent rebellion. But this was the first time she had received something with protective magic.  

Restraints were cheap and commonly used for slaves, but what she received now was beyond expensive.  

“It will protect you if someone tries to harm you.”  

Fernan whispered as he put the necklace around Ellerdin’s neck, who was still frozen in place.  

***  

Ellerdin tossed and turned in bed.  

She kept thinking about the moment Fernan gave her the necklace.  

Absentmindedly, she touched the necklace.  

‘Strange.’  

Really strange.  

Her mind was in turmoil, like a wind blowing inside her.  

Finally, almost at dawn, Ellerdin quietly left the room, feeling restless.  

She thought meeting the black dog might help clear her mind.  

Walking along the path to the library, she exhaled, and white breath escaped her lips.  

It was still early morning, and the cold air had settled. But despite wearing thin clothes, she didn’t feel cold at all.  

The necklace had both protective magic and heating magic.  

Ellerdin, clutching the necklace, suppressed her pounding heart and opened the library door.  

However, seeing the empty space in front of the fireplace, she lowered her head dejectedly.  

‘It seems he doesn’t come all the time.’  

As she felt disappointed, she heard the door open, and the black dog entered the library.  

Ellerdin smiled brightly and hugged the black dog. Maybe because of the sudden hug, she felt the dog flinch.  

“I thought you weren’t coming.”  

Sitting near the fireplace, Ellerdin leaned against the dog and started chattering.  

“You know, what’s your name?”  

“Growl.”  

“It’s okay. Tell me. This is a secret, but I can understand animals’ words.”  

Since she was young, Ellerdin had been able to hear the words of various creatures that others couldn’t. Thanks to that, she could talk to her mermaid mother without the Earl finding out.  

Ellerdin smiled with her eyes.  

“Or can I give you a name?”  

The black dog’s pupils focused on Ellerdin. The dog stared at her quietly, then, as if giving permission, rested its muzzle on her lap.  

Ellerdin smiled and patted the dog’s forehead.  

“Thank you for letting me.”  

‘What name would be good?’  

She stroked the dog’s glossy black fur.  

For some reason, looking at this dog reminded her of someone. Although there was no resemblance, maybe it was because she felt comfortable being with him.  

“Fer. How about Fer?”  

Fernan’s eyes widened in surprise. Fer was his childhood nickname.  

He didn’t expect to hear that name again.  

Fernan chuckled and buried his face in her lap.  

***  

Listening to the sound of burning logs, Ellerdin spoke.  

“You know, Fer.”  

Fer’s large ears flapped once. Realizing he was listening attentively, Ellerdin giggled and stroked his ear.  

“I received a gift from the Duke today.”  

She took the necklace out from under her clothes and showed it to Fer.  

As Fer sniffed the necklace, Ellerdin looked at the flickering flames and spoke.  

“When I first got it, I thought it was a shackle.”  

Fer suddenly stood up at her words.  

Seeing him fidgeting nervously, Ellerdin’s expression hardened as she asked,  

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”  

Fer shook his head and whimpered, burying his face in her arm.  

“You’re being a baby.”  

Ellerdin’s expression softened as she scratched Fer’s neck.  

“But this necklace has protective magic. I know the heating magic works because I wasn’t cold coming here, but the protective magic is different. It’s known to be very tricky, so it’s hard to believe it’s in here. But… since the Duke said so, I want to believe it’s true. What do you think?”

Fer nodded vigorously.  

“Ahaha, what is that?”  

Ellerdin burst into laughter and hugged Fer.  

“Whine?”  

Fer made an incomprehensible sound and fluffed up his fur.  

As she chatted softly with Fer, the outside gradually began to brighten.  

Although it was still a time when everyone was sleeping, if she delayed any longer, Celine might look for her and cause trouble.  

“I should go now. Sleep well, Fer.”  

Ellerdin waved at Fer, who was wagging his tail by the door.  

***  

Back in her room, Ellerdin looked out the window.  

She couldn’t see the library from there, but she wondered if Fer had followed her.  

“Huh?”  

Just as she was about to turn to sleep, she saw something standing beyond the window.  

Getting closer to the window, she saw a monster covered in red scales.  

The monster had six legs, and its mouth was split wide open, with its jaw hanging down to the ground. White liquid dripped from the teeth inside.  

The monster kept circling around, seemingly wanting to enter the duchy.  

Then, it locked eyes with her.  

Ellerdin gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She felt a chill run down her spine and couldn’t move.  

But in her frightened vision, she saw something else.  

A black creature charged fiercely and bit into the monster.  

“Fer!”  

The monster’s long arm was torn off, but it swung desperately at Fer.  

Fer quickly dodged the arm that swung like a whip. The monster’s missed arm hit a tree, causing it to rot instantly.  

The monster hissed at Fer and began to flee into the forest. Fer chased after it, not letting it escape.  

Worried that Fer might get hurt, Ellerdin hurriedly ran out of the castle.  

But as soon as she stepped outside, a sense of helplessness overwhelmed her.  

‘Can I even help?’  

‘I’m someone who can’t do anything.’  

‘What if I go and Fer gets hurt even more? Wouldn’t it just be a burden?’  

She hated herself for hesitating even at such a crucial moment.  

Then, the necklace Fernan had given her caught her eye.  

‘This might protect him.’  

Since the kind person gave it to her and Fer didn’t deny it, she decided to believe that it truly had protective magic.  

Ellerdin gripped the necklace tightly and ran towards the dark forest.  

Thanks to the necklace, she felt a surge of confidence, as if she could do anything.  

Her fluffy fur slippers stepped on the damp moss of the forest floor. The soggy ground made it hard to run properly.  

She ran for a long time, but Fer was nowhere to be seen. With her weakening legs, she felt she couldn’t find him in this vast forest no matter how much she ran.  

Panting heavily, Ellerdin looked around.  

The dark forest was silent, with no sounds of animals. But that also meant it was quiet enough to hear.  

With no time and strength left, there was only one option.  

“Fer!”  

Ellerdin shouted into the air with all her might. Her clear voice, unfit for the forest, echoed through the trees.  

‘Ellerdin?’  

Fernan, who had been chasing the monster, stopped abruptly.  

‘Why was her voice coming from here?’  

He turned and started running towards the direction of her voice.  

As he ran, he soon saw a human figure in the distance.  

He hoped it was just a hallucination, but the small, delicate figure was unmistakably her.  

“Woof!”  

Ellerdin turned her head towards the sound.  

“Fer!”  

She opened her arms towards him.  

She scanned the large furry bundle that had embraced her.  

“Are you hurt anywhere?”  

Ellerdin checked Fer’s body for wounds, relieved that his thick fur seemed to have protected him.  

As she sighed in relief and petted his soft fur, she saw the red monster rushing towards them from a distance.  

Fer, following her gaze, spotted the monster and took a fighting stance.  

As Fer turned towards the monster, Ellerdin grabbed him and shouted urgently.  

“Fer, let’s run away. You might get hurt if you fight that thing!”  

She turned Fer’s face towards her.  

‘What if he refuses to go like last time?’ 

She couldn’t bear to see him get hurt.  

Though she didn’t know why she felt this way towards someone she had just met.  

Fortunately, Fer moved as she wished, contradicting her worries.