Chapter 64

However, it felt too similar in quantity and quality to the mana he had in his previous life.

“Argh!”

At that moment, as Alec raised his mana-infused sword toward Cassdain’s neck, Cassdain let out a terrifying scream and repelled all of Alec’s skills. It was only a matter of time before Cassdain lunged at Alec again.

[Roar!]

Suddenly, a massive figure lunged at Cassdain, biting into his waist and rolling him to the ground.

“Gideon!”

Everything happened in an instant.

Alec had initially thought he could face Cassdain alone, but with Gideon’s help, things might become a bit easier.

While Gideon tore into Cassdain, Alec sharpened his mana like a blade and moved with the speed of wind.

Whoosh!

Crunch.

Alec’s sword pierced Cassdain’s heart and twisted. The sound of the taut heart muscle tearing echoed clearly.

Remaining HP: 3000.

“Urgh!”

Cassdain groaned in agony, thrashing about.

Cassdain possessed a transcendent power that allowed him to tear most humans apart like paper.

The resistance Alec felt was far stronger than anything he’d experienced from aristocrats or mercenaries in the textile mills.

Smoke billowed from Gideon’s fearsome jaws, but Cassdain, with bloodshot eyes, ground his teeth in rage.

“I will not forgive you. I will tear you apart, descendant of Myers.”

A voice even more dreadful and vicious than before reverberated through the cave.

Cassdain’s cold, glaring eyes burned with an intense fury.

Rumble.

As Cassdain tried to break free and Alec twisted the sword in his heart, the cave shook. Dust rained down.

Just as Alec wondered if the cave would collapse, Cassdain opened his mouth wide, baring his fangs.

Thud.

…Ah.

Suddenly, Alec felt a sharp pain in his side.

Blood dripped from Cassdain’s sharp claws as he withdrew them.

[Roar!]

At the sound of Gideon’s roar, Alec leaped away from Cassdain.

He poured all his remaining mana into the sword, extending its length into a longsword.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to start calling me master now.”

Mana pulsed heavily through his sword, vibrating with power.

“I’ll end it here!”

In an instant, Cassdain lunged at him again, but Alec’s swing of the blue-glowing sword was even faster.

HP: 0.

[Congratulations!]

[You have successfully completed the quest by defeating the final boss.]

[~ Eliminate the creatures inhabiting Wiltsbrook Castle! ~]

[Quest rewards]

[Your experience has increased by 3000.]

[Your reputation has increased by 500.]

[Your affection has increased by 10.]

[Your trust has increased by 100.]

[With the completion of the quest, Wiltsbrook Castle returns to a pleasant state.]

[As a bonus reward, you receive a “Teleportation Ticket (1 use).”]

[You cannot use the passive skill: Natural Recovery.]

[Mana recovery is required.

* * *
Dawn was faintly breaking.

I must have dozed off, as I found myself waking up, blinking my eyes open without realizing it.

Should I go back to sleep?

Having returned from the Imperial Palace and after discussing important matters with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, I felt a weight of fatigue settle over me.

Just as my eyelids were about to close, I suddenly heard a thud, causing me to open my eyes again.

Hm?

What was that sound?

It seemed to come from the second floor, where Alec’s and my rooms were, so I sat up in bed.

I draped a shawl over my shoulders and stepped outside, but there was no one in the hallway.

I approached Alec’s room and quietly opened the door. The scene that greeted me inside made my mouth fall open.

Blood was flowing from his side as he took off his shirt.

“…Alec?”

I entered his room, closing the door behind me.

He lifted his head toward me at the sound of my voice.

“Louise.”

“How did you get hurt like this?”

I walked up to him.

I was curious about where he’d been at this hour, but more importantly, I needed to tend to his wounds first.

When I lifted his shirt slightly, I saw three puncture wounds as if he’d been stabbed by something sharp, like a spike.

I gasped in shock.

“Hold on a second. I have some emergency medical supplies.”

“I’m fine—”

Before he could finish, I had already turned and rushed out.

I headed to the storage room on the second floor. It was an unused room we’d repurposed to store odds and ends.

I grabbed some cloths and medicine and then went to the kitchen to fetch clean water.

When I returned to his room, he had removed his shirt completely and was wiping the blood away.

“Let me do it.”

With trembling hands, I soaked a clean towel in the water.

Alec had come home with injuries before, but never had he been this badly hurt.

At most, he’d had a few bruises from being punched.

As I placed my hand on his abdomen and pressed the towel to the wound, I felt his muscles twitch and tighten.

It seemed the damp towel was a bit cold.

I glanced over his still-beautiful body, my eyes full of concern.

“Just bear with it for a little while. It must hurt a lot. We should go to the physician first thing in the morning.”

“No, it’s nothing serious. It’ll heal soon.”

“This is not a wound that’ll heal on its own! If it gets infected, you could die… Where were you stabbed?”

“….”

“You need proper disinfectant. If we leave it untreated, it could get much worse.”

“…Fine. I’ll go.”

He finally relented.

After cleaning the wound, I applied medicine and tightly wrapped his waist to stop the bleeding.

Though he tried to stop me a few times, he eventually gave up and let me tend to him.

If the wound reopened because he moved, it would only get worse.

I sighed softly.

“I thought there wouldn’t be any more times where you’d come home injured like this…”

“I’m sorry.”

He avoided my gaze, looking guilty.

Suddenly, memories from when we lived at the duchy came flooding back.

Back then, he often came home with bruises on his face.

He probably thought I was irritated by his troubling circumstances, but in truth, it hurt me more than anything.

He would hide his injuries from me until they were completely healed.

It seemed like he couldn’t bear the idea of letting me see him hurt.

Watching him refuse even basic treatment made my heart ache more.

“If not your wife, then who else is going to take care of you? I know you’re still not used to me, but when you don’t let me help, it makes me feel so helpless.”

Eventually, after much reluctance, he allowed me to see his wounds once. Just that one time.

After that, I stopped pressing him about it.

But it was still hard to bear how distant he seemed whenever he came home injured.

“…You’re all set. Try to move as carefully as possible.”

After neatly tying the bandage, I finally looked up at him.

He still couldn’t meet my gaze.

“I just returned from Wiltsbrook Castle.”

What?

His sudden, cautious admission made my eyes go wide.

Wiltsbrook Castle? That’s where he got hurt?

“Do you mean *that* Wiltsbrook Castle?”

“Yes.”

“….”

Goodness.

He went *there* overnight?

I almost couldn’t believe it, thinking there must be some other place by the same name.

Was it even possible if he had traveled at an insane speed?

“…So, it really isn’t an easy place. For you to come back this badly hurt…”

Could it have been such a dangerous mission that surviving alone was a stroke of luck?

A nobleman had once gone there under the emperor’s orders and never returned, so it was certain he had died.

Yet Alec, aside from the stab wound in his side, seemed relatively fine. He didn’t even seem to be cold, despite the freezing weather.

“Why did you go alone? At such a dangerous time…?”

But he looked at me calmly, as if it was no big deal.

“It wasn’t as bad as I expected. I’ll take you there soon, Louise.”

“….”

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories