Chapter 54

As the night grew colder, Sabina decided to get up. She didn’t want to see him now, but Ashton’s house was the only place to return to.

Walking slowly with the lamp across the sand, Sabina spotted Ashton watching her from afar. Though she told him to go home, he hadn’t. Her eyelids burned as if she had a cold. The man didn’t turn his back to Sabina, but slowly retreated. Sabina kept her distance, pretending not to notice, and followed.

“Don’t apologize.”

Back at the house, Sabina said this to Ashton. He looked down at her with a slightly tired expression.

He was older than Sabina, and though he humbly said he was lucky, he knew how to handle all sorts of people. In this situation, “don’t apologize” was transparent in meaning.

‘He doesn’t want to apologize.’

If Ashton apologized, she would have to apologize too, so she shut him up.

Ashton ran his hand through his hair. He didn’t want to argue further with Sabina—not because he was tired, but because she seemed pushed to her limit. At the same time, Ashton felt a bit bitter.

Sabina could have turned back time and created a new timeline where Ashton hadn’t said those words. But just moments ago, she was told to use magic when needed, yet she didn’t.

Meanwhile, Ashton didn’t try to erase the memory of holding her hand and fighting. His reason was different from Sabina’s stubbornness. He wanted Sabina to remember what he’d said.

He wrapped Sabina’s shoulders in a blanket.

“Use magic when you need it. Got it?”

Sabina didn’t answer. A long sigh came from the man’s side.

“I’m going to bed. You should sleep too. I’ve prepared your room.”

Ashton said this and pushed Sabina into a small bedroom. Soon, hot milk was brought to her. Sabina sat quietly on the bed until Ashton left and closed the door, then turned off the lamp and picked up the milk.

There was a spoonful of sugar in the warm milk. Warm, sweet, and rich, it melted her tense nerves. Even after finishing the milk, the cup stayed warm. She fiddled with it for a while, then stood up and placed it on the desk, heading for the door.

The wooden door creaked softly. She carefully pushed it open and walked through the dark corridor. Thanks to Albert’s thorough tour earlier, Sabina knew where Ashton’s bedroom was. She opened the door without knocking.

Ashton, sitting with his back to the door on the bed, turned his head. He sat in the dark room, with no lights on. Sabina entered cautiously and closed the door.

“Is there something wrong with your room?”

His voice was much softer than before, even gentle and concerned. Sabina shook her head and approached the bed, reaching out her arms.

Ashton, caught off guard, leaned in and hugged Sabina. Even so close, her heart remained calm.

“No, the room is fine.”

“Then why?”

“Just… I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“Ghosts.”

It was a lie, and Ashton wouldn’t believe it. The man was silent. Sabina pressed closer to him. His body heat clung to her, lukewarm. She wished the atmosphere would be just as lukewarm.

“One day, a boy ghost appeared in my room. He suddenly appeared in the air of my tightly locked room, so he really must have been a ghost….”

Ashton’s breathing grew rough. He hugged Sabina’s back and closed his eyes.

“He left a bloodstain on the window frame and disappeared. Was he hurt? I don’t know. I saw the ghost for only a moment.”

She wasn’t good with words, so the story was short. Sabina softly patted Ashton’s back as if tracing it.

“Thinking about that made me scared. Will you stay with me?”

It was still obviously a lie, but Ashton didn’t send her away.

“All right.”

His dry voice was tinged with a metallic note.

He lay down, wrapping his arms around Sabina’s shoulders. His throat felt scratchy. Resolving conflict this way was irresponsible.

But Ashton knew Sabina was trying to create a reconciliatory atmosphere, in her own way. She’d never tried to mend a broken relationship, so she was very clumsy at it. He decided to let it go.

He had no intention of getting angry. This trip was a piece of good memory he wanted to take with him when he left. Since his reason for bringing her was selfish, he wanted to give her only good things, as if to lessen his guilt. Thinking this, he laughed at himself. He wasn’t in a position to criticize Sabina for cowardice. The idea of making good memories with someone he would part with badly was itself twisted.

‘Still, it was something that had to be said someday.’

What happened today would be etched in Sabina’s mind and never leave. When she was in danger, it would flare up like a heated piece of iron, revealing its presence.

Thinking back, the moment she showed her vulnerability last night, the ‘perfect trip’ was already blemished.

Although they had implicitly agreed to pretend nothing had happened earlier, both of them kept chewing over the incident.

Surprisingly, it was Ashton who fell asleep first, exhausted. Sabina heard his breathing deepen and gently lifted her head from his embrace to look at his face.

Eyes adjusted to the darkness could easily trace his features. Sabina now doubted whether the personality he showed at their first meeting was his true self. He acted cheerful and carefree, but sometimes revealed shadows she couldn’t understand.

Lying in Ashton’s arms, Sabina pondered the mysteries he had occasionally exposed. Affection shown as if he’d known her forever, his relationship with Helio, the medicine bottles in his pocket… Words of criticism poured out as if tormented by her nature…

There were many unresolved knots, but what left the deepest question in her was the event that had just occurred.

Why had he said those things? How did he know so well? What made him angry? He had never even seen her in danger.

Sabina fell asleep buried under dozens of questions.

It was a dreamless sleep.

* * *

After awkwardly covering up their uncomfortable quarrel and agreeing not to revisit it, their trip went smoothly.

In fact, their journey now felt more like a brief homestay than a vacation. Sabina didn’t want to explore further. She was satisfied with shopping at the market or strolling along the beach with Ashton in a corner village of Berna, and Ashton didn’t urge her to go farther.

The people of Berna called Sabina ‘Mirha’. It was a Berna dialect word meaning ‘bride’. The locals seemed to think Sabina was Ashton’s marriage partner. Neither Sabina nor Ashton actively tried to explain otherwise.

Every time they turned a corner, someone who knew Ashton’s face greeted him warmly. The young man had stayed only briefly at the Berna family home every few months, working mainly in Dialoon. He shook hands with the people who welcomed him.

The porcelain-doll-like, fair and pretty ‘Mirha’ had no idea how to choose good goods at the market. The people of Berna’s harbor market were eager to teach Sabina their own secret methods. Sabina found their kindness a little overwhelming and hid behind Ashton’s back.

“I’ll teach her how to pick things, so everyone calm down, please?”

Whenever Ashton reliably shielded Sabina, everyone booed as if on cue. His clean, standard dialect—polished during years spent mostly in the capital—was a source of amusement for them.

Sabina, clever as the Academy’s top student, managed to pick up the locals’ commonly used phrases by ear within five days. But since she was listening to Berna conversations, her speech quickly picked up their strong dialect. Ashton pretended not to notice and didn’t correct her for days.

By the second week of their trip, Sabina and Ashton were communicating mostly in Letona language. Since Sabina’s Letona was limited, their conversations were simple and childish.

“Give!”

Like a stubborn four-year-old, this was Sabina’s sharp cry after Ashton took away her kitchen knife.

“You can’t use the knife well, so no. And stay away from that oven, too.”

Sabina had developed some interest in chores she never did in Brinita, but whenever she tried the most interesting—cooking—Ashton blocked her like this.

“Even if I’m not good with knives, I’ll just get a little cut or a little burn. Give it.”

Ashton, holding the knife, looked down at Sabina as if it was out of the question. Sabina couldn’t understand his attitude of not allowing even small injuries on her body. She was quite displeased.

In the end, she ate dinner a bit sulkily, but looking out the window at the sea improved her mood. Even a Letona beach without Miras flowers was beautiful. Behind her, Ashton washed the dishes he had finished.