Chapter 4 – Encounter with a Demon (Part 2)

Before she knew it, exactly one week had passed since Ellerdin last saw Fernan.

Celine entered the office with an excited look.

“Madam!”

“Yes?”

Ellerdin put down the document she was reading and looked at her.

Celine approached with great excitement.

“This is not the time to be sitting here! Quickly, come outside!”

Ellerdin stood up and calmed her down, as she was overly excited.

“Calm down and tell me what’s going on.”

“The Duke has a gift for you and asked you to come to the back of the castle.”

Ellerdin’s eyes widened at her words.

“Fernan?”

“Yes, yes! Hurry up and go!”

Ellerdin quickly put on her coat and went outside. Following the path that led to the back of the castle, she saw the wide field she had been to before.

In the middle of the field, there was a person standing.

“Ah….”

Ellerdin stopped her hurried steps.

The silver-white hair reflected the sunlight and shimmered. His blood-red eyes, filled with warmth, were looking at her.

It had only been a week since she last saw him, but she couldn’t understand why she felt such longing.

Ellerdin walked towards Fernan with a trembling heart.

Meanwhile, Fernan was just as nervous. He had always been watching her in an invisible state, but Ellerdin had always maintained a cold expression.

However, the face of Ellerdin approaching now was flushed with excitement, not the usual cold expression. Her cheeks were reddened against her white skin.

As the distance between them shortened, Ellerdin quickened her steps.

Although the path was smooth without a single stone, Fernan ran towards her, worried she might trip.

Ellerdin’s body fell into Fernan’s arms with a thud. A fresh scent wafted over.

As soon as he touched her, he felt his heart pounding. Fernan tightly held Ellerdin’s hand and smiled brightly.

“I missed you.”

“…Me too.”

Ellerdin whispered softly, feeling strangely ticklish.

Fernan smiled and took Ellerdin’s hand, leading her to the garden.

“Wow….”

Ellerdin stared blankly at the sight before her.

In the middle of the wide field, there was a large lake, and beside it, a small glass greenhouse was built.

Fernan smiled and said,

“It’s a gift for you. Do you like it?”

A gift? Wasn’t this for the angel?

Ellerdin looked at him with trembling pupils.

“But… this is supposed to be for the angel….”

“Of course, the angel is you. How do you like it? Do you like it?”

Fernan smiled brightly.

Ellerdin couldn’t answer, as she hadn’t expected it to be a gift for her.

‘Why… why is he giving me such a gift?’

Even with such a gift, her abilities had limits. She felt more anxiety than joy.

‘Again….’

Ellerdin bit her lip. She hated herself for not being able to purely rejoice in his gift.

She knew Fernan didn’t have such intentions, but past events still held her back.

But she couldn’t stay tied to the past forever.

Shaking off the lingering anxiety, Ellerdin smiled brightly at Fernan.

“Thank you, really… thank you.”

Fernan smiled and extended his hand.

“Allow me to escort you.”

Ellerdin hesitated for a moment before placing her hand on his.

Fernan began to walk slowly.

As they walked near the lake, he started explaining various things.

“There is a seating area inside the lake. This place is surrounded by a heat barrier, so it might get hot sometimes. When that happens, you can sit inside the lake to cool off.”

“Can you sit inside the lake?”

Ellerdin looked at the lake curiously. She had thought you could only go boating on water, but it seemed you could go inside too.

Under the clear blue water, she could see stone chairs installed for sitting.

‘It looks cool. I want to go in.’

Surprised by her own thoughts, Ellerdin was startled.

She had never felt this way about water before, but since she had been severely ill, just seeing water made her feel queasy.

Maybe it was because she had only seen small bathtubs or ponds until now.

Ellerdin stared at the lake. The water was so clear that it looked very shallow.

She knew in her head that it was deep, but it didn’t feel real because it looked shallow.

Ellerdin knelt down and carefully put her hand into the lake.

“Be careful, it’s very deep.”

Fernan said as he approached from behind. His pleasant voice echoed in her ears.

Ellerdin’s ears turned red.

“Oh, let’s go quickly.”

Ellerdin pulled her hand out of the water and stood up.

She fanned her flushed face with her hand as she walked past him.

Fernan smiled and followed her, enjoying the feel of the grass beneath his feet. With each step, he heard the crunching sound of the grass.

Enjoying the cool breeze, Ellerdin stood still and looked around. The area around the lake was covered with grass, and small flowers were blooming here and there. They were all flowers she liked.

Ellerdin walked towards the flower bed. Although her expression was calm, her steps revealed her excitement.

Fernan swallowed a laugh at her cute figure.

A yellow butterfly fluttered and landed on her finger.

“Hello.”

Ellerdin smiled and greeted it.

The butterfly flapped its wings and headed towards the glass greenhouse. It looked as if it was asking her to follow, so Ellerdin followed it.

Inside the greenhouse, various flowers were blooming, and in the middle, there was a bed.

“You can see the stars best from here.”

Fernan sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him. Ellerdin sat beside him and looked up at the sky.

The ceiling of the greenhouse was open. White clouds floated in the blue sky.

“Come here at night. You’ll love it. This is the best place to see stars in the north.”

Indeed, there was nothing to obstruct the view, unlike from the balcony.

She was already excited about how the night sky would look from here.

After a long tour, they finally finished their walk in the garden.

“Thank you so much for the gift. This is the first time I’ve received such a gift. I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life.”

Ellerdin said with a bright smile. She meant it. This memory would remind her of how good life was here until the day she died.

Perhaps because she hadn’t seen Fernan for so long or the unexpected gift. It seemed her instincts were stronger than her reason.

Ellerdin carefully tugged at Fernan’s sleeve.

“My wife?”

Fernan bent down to listen to Ellerdin.

Just as he thought he was closer to her than expected, soft lips touched his cheek and then moved away. The soft touch made Fernan’s body stiffen.

Turning his creaky body, he saw her head bowed deeply. Through her fallen hair, he saw her blushing neck.

“Th-thank you. Take care.”

Ellerdin covered her bright red face with the back of her hand, embarrassed by her own actions.

‘I’m crazy… I must be crazy….’

Ellerdin hurriedly left the scene.

‘What… what is this…?’

Fernan stared blankly at Ellerdin’s retreating figure. Even after she disappeared in the distance, he couldn’t move for a long time.

‘I need to give her more gifts.’

Fernan frantically racked his brain to choose a new gift.

At that moment, Liam entered the garden and hesitantly spoke to Fernan.

“Um, Duke, I should get going now.”

It was time for him to return and take care of his sister outside the Duke’s estate. It was hard to talk to the Duke, who seemed lost in thought, but he couldn’t delay any longer.

‘What should I do to make a living now….’

Liam sighed inwardly.

Fernan looked at him for a moment before speaking.

“How about just living here?”

“What?”

Liam looked up in surprise. Fernan continued seriously, not as if he was joking.

“I’m satisfied with your work and would like to hire you formally. I’ll make sure you’re well compensated. You can bring your family from outside if you want.”

At his words, Liam fell to his knees. Tears dropped to the ground.

He had had many opportunities to show his abilities, but his status as a commoner had always prevented anyone from recognizing them.

As a commoner, it was natural to live a humble life and earn little money.

But he had met someone who recognized his abilities for the first time.

“Thank you. I will bury my bones here from now on.”

Fernan silently patted his shoulder.

Although Liam decided to live here after their conversation, there was one problem.

There was no place for people to live except for the castle.

‘I guess I’ll have to develop the forest.’

Fernan looked around.

The forest was densely packed with trees, making it warm as you went deeper in.

Especially, the area below the forest was close to the center of the capital and was particularly warm because the trees blocked the wind.

Fernan thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to develop the land while creating a place for Liam to live. Initially, it would be difficult to manage the barren land, but that was a problem money could solve.

Moreover, Liam’s magic was specialized in symbiotic magic for growing crops, so he would adapt quickly.

‘I’m going to be busy.’

Fernan rotated his stiff shoulders. The creaking of his body didn’t feel good.

‘I feel like I’m going to explode soon.’

He had just returned to his human form and didn’t want to become a demon again.

He wanted to be with Ellerdin quickly, but the situation was frustrating.

Leaving the continuously thankful Liam behind, he headed into the forest.