CHAPTER SIX.
I Need You, Sir
The sudden full moon night had passed. It was unbelievable that they had made it through the night safely once again. The two, who had been entangled until dawn, only let go of each other just before sunrise.
Bellota, who had fallen asleep just like that, suddenly opened her eyes when the blue light settled outside the window. She quickly sat up and looked around, but Seiden was nowhere to be seen. It seemed he had dressed her, who had been completely undressed, covered her with the blanket up to her neck, and then left the room.
The air in the room, with only Bellota left behind, was cold.
“……”
Realizing Seiden’s absence, a hollow and subtle emotion slowly welled up. Though it had only been twice, until now, Seiden had never not been by her side when she woke up. Bellota, bewildered by the strange emotion she couldn’t even understand herself, recalled the full moon from the previous night.
What on earth happened? A full moon rising before its time. They had almost been caught by Geril. Remembering the dizzying moments from the previous night, Bellota felt a sudden heat rise up her back again.
If Seiden hadn’t blocked her mouth with a kiss… Remembering that passionate kiss made Bellota’s heart sink dizzily.
At that moment, a commotion reached Bellota’s ears as she sat in confusion. Realizing the noise was coming from outside the window, Bellota quickly got up and looked out. She saw the Holy Knight Order, gathered and preparing for departure, just as they had discussed the previous night, excluding Bellota, the priests, and Geril.
Standing by the window, filled with the blue dawn sky, Bellota looked at the knights departing at dawn and searched for someone among them. Her gaze finally found Seiden and stopped.
Seiden was looking around at the knights with his usual expressionless face. Despite the intense night they had shared, Bellota’s legs were still trembling slightly, yet there was no sign of strain on his indifferent face. It was both admirable and somehow embarrassing.
Their encounter the previous night had been entirely unplanned. The embarrassment and tension had ironically led to even more violent pleasure. As Seiden’s face, which had relentlessly come at her, overlapped with the face of Seiden giving orders from afar, Bellota’s face flushed with heat.
At that moment, as if sensing Bellota’s gaze, Seiden suddenly turned and looked up at the direction of Bellota’s room, but because Bellota quickly turned around to hide, their eyes did not meet and their gazes scattered into the air.
Only when she heard the sound of the grand castle gate opening and closing did Bellota look out the window again. Seeing the knights already far away, Bellota’s mind grew even more complicated.
“……”
Feeling a surge of helplessness, Bellota sat on the bed for a long time before finally pulling herself together and leaving the room. She planned to find Felton and discuss the full moon that had risen the previous night, but as soon as she stepped out, she ran into Geril, who had been waiting for her.
“Saintess.”
Geril, neatly dressed since morning, approached Bellota with a gentle smile. Bellota quickly erased her flustered expression and greeted him calmly.
“Duke.”
“Did you sleep well last night? Was there any discomfort?”
“Yes, thanks to you, I had a peaceful night. And you, Duke…”
“I also slept soundly for the first time in a while. Though this castle is not as comfortable as my estate in the capital, it was a luxurious night compared to the nights in the Feiren Mountains.”
Geril made a pointed joke and laughed cheerfully.
Bellota responded with a faint smile once again. Conversations with Geril often required more smiles than words. Fortunately or unfortunately, Geril seemed to take those smiles as shy agreements.
“The weather is nice this morning. Macron told me that there’s a small garden attached to the northern tower of this castle. On a good day like this, you can see the coastline clearly from there.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“Doesn’t it? I thought you would agree, Saintess, so I arranged for us to have breakfast there this morning.”
Bellota let out a small gasp in surprise. She wasn’t hungry at all, and she needed to meet Felton.
“If we go up now, the food will still be warm and the timing will be perfect.”
Geril’s smiling face made it hard for Bellota to refuse his offer, so she nodded reluctantly. The two headed to the garden of the northern tower together.
As expected, a table set for two was waiting for them in the garden. The table was decorated with flowers and trees, completely out of place with the current situation. Geril politely pulled out Bellota’s chair, and after she sat down, he took his seat across from her with a satisfied look.
“It’s really a spectacular view, just as Macron said. I’m glad the weather is nice. This tower was designed specifically for this view, they say. It’s quiet and peaceful, high enough to avoid the noise.”
Bellota looked in the direction Geril pointed. The castle itself was situated on high ground, and from the garden of the highest northern tower, one could see the vast blue coastline at a glance.
The morning sunlight poured down on the water’s surface, which was a color similar to Bellota’s eyes, making it sparkle. It was a breathtakingly beautiful view, something one could never see in the capital.
Bellota stared at the scenery for a moment, then glanced in the opposite direction unconsciously. It was the direction to Torcana, where Seiden had departed. However, the area around the castle was covered with an artificial forest for protection, and the difference in elevation made it difficult to see that side.
“Ah, that’s where Torcana is. Unfortunately, you can’t see it well from this castle.”
Geril quickly noticed Bellota’s gaze and made a regretful expression. Realizing that Geril had understood she was looking at where Seiden had gone, Bellota quickly looked away. At the same time, the image of Seiden deeply kissing her the previous night flashed in her mind, making her lower her gaze.
“You’re right.”
“Don’t worry too much. The commander of the Holy Knight Order was so confident; he will handle it.”
Geril lightly reassured her, placing some delicious-looking food on her plate and looking at her expectantly. Bellota forced herself to chew and swallow the food she didn’t want to eat. Watching her with a pleased expression, Geril began to speak.
“Did you see the full moon last night?”
Bellota froze for a moment at Geril’s words, then quietly nodded.
“It was a really big moon. It would have been great to watch it together. How did a moon like that suddenly rise?”
Geril sighed with regret.
Bellota wondered if the same moon had risen in the capital. The moon changing its shape unpredictably was never a good omen. If everyone had witnessed that moon, the entire empire would be in chaos by now.
Bellota couldn’t eat, wanting to know why the moon had risen early. If someone had manipulated it… The frightening thought made her throat tighten. If only she could talk to Felton.
“Well, there will be another chance to see it.”
But Geril, speaking in a nonchalant voice, seemed to find the early rising of the full moon merely fascinating.
“It was truly a good decision to accompany you here. Without you, Saintess, this opportunity would have been a rare experience.”
Geril sighed and murmured in a voice filled with new emotions, making Bellota look up at him.
“Last night, before I fell asleep, many thoughts crossed my mind. The underdeveloped regions and the monsters that appear there, the repeated poverty and disease…”
Chewing a soft sausage with his molars, seemingly in deep thought, Geril furrowed his brows.
“And seeing the Saintess who does not hesitate to serve in such places, I was deeply moved once again. I truly can’t help but respect you, Saintess.”
Finally swallowing the sausage, Geril smiled broadly and met Bellota’s gaze.
“I am merely doing what I must.”
When Bellota answered humbly, Geril seemed to like it even more, smiling with his eyes narrowed.
“Indeed. To you, Saintess, it is simply a mission that must be fulfilled. So, I too felt the desire to share in your mission.”
Bellota couldn’t respond to the words with their strange nuance and simply looked at Geril.
“I often feel the desire to follow you, Saintess, like today, and offer whatever help I can to the unfortunate. So please do not be surprised or misunderstand if I suddenly appear.”
Geril added playfully, and Bellota responded with an awkward smile instead of saying something.
At that moment, one of Geril’s subordinates rushed into the garden where the two were alone and urgently reported to him.
“Duke. While patrolling Rivierto as per your orders, we discovered an orphanage that had been attacked by monsters.”
Geril glanced at Bellota, anticipating her reaction. As expected, Bellota immediately reacted, looking at the subordinate with shocked eyes. Geril asked in a deliberately serious voice.
“An attack by monsters?”
“Yes. From what we have gathered, fortunately, it was not the high-level monsters recently appearing in Selento, but rather mid-level monsters living in the forest. By the time we arrived, they had already fled. The situation was dire, and the children could not evacuate and remained in the orphanage.”
Geril furrowed his brows and spoke in a grave voice.
“An attack, you say. Were any children hurt?”
“Yes. It seems some children were injured. There are reports of children with serious injuries.”
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Megan123
I found this site looking for this novel after reading the first season of the webtoon (and so VERY happy to find the site) and I just can’t believe Geril is somehow even worse here than there.