Chapter 21

How did it come to this?

She calmly reflected on the situation.

The original story had ended even before it began.

The protagonists had abandoned the storyline and left.

As a result, Eched was truly about to die, and in an effort to save him, she ended up kissing him.

‘This isn’t right!’

Snapping back to her senses, she forcefully hit Eched’s chest and stood up.

Despite the loud thud that echoed, Eched rose without showing any sign of pain.

“You… insane! Are you out of your mind…?”

She covered her mouth and looked at Eched as if he were some shameless rogue.

A sudden kiss?

There had to be limits to such impulsiveness.

“That day… the first day I kissed you, I sensed divine power from you.”

“What? What are you suddenly talking about?”

“The reason I kissed you again was to confirm that divine power. But I couldn’t sense it again.”

She lowered the arm that had been covering her mouth, listening to Eched’s words.

Now that she thought about it, she vaguely remembered Eched asking her if she had ever undergone another divine power measurement test.

“Shaterian.”

A large hand swept across her face.

It grazed her cheek, tickled her earlobe, and then cupped her face entirely.

Their breaths were too close. His silver eyes, gazing at her, were filled with a strange heat.

Eched stroked her earlobe and leaned in subtly.

The atmosphere became dangerous in an instant.

“Ah, no…”

“After doing all that, what do you mean by no?”

Her face flushed red.

Eched spoke in a gentle voice that seemed as if it could whisper sweet nothings at any moment.

“I want to touch you. Let me.”

This was unfair.

How could anyone resist when he pleaded with that kind of face and voice?

Just as her fragile self-control was about to snap, the overture announcing the start of the outdoor ball rang out.

The grand symphony’s rapid tempo brought her back to her senses immediately.

‘This sly fox!’

She shot to her feet. The sudden movement made her vision spin.

“Huh…?”

Her body tilted, and she collapsed back into Eched’s arms.

“You must be feeling weak since your divine power has been drained. Rest for a while.”

‘What? You bastard…’

He should have said that earlier…

After that, everything went black.

***

“You!”

She shot up with a start.

But the “you” she was referring to, Eched, was not in front of her.

It seemed that after she had collapsed in the garden, she had been moved to the Crown Prince’s bedroom.

She lay back down on the bed, fuming.

‘So I had divine power in me?’

She raised her arm and clenched her fist, opening and closing it. But she couldn’t feel any particular energy.

During the measurement test conducted at the academy’s entrance ceremony, nothing had been detected.

If that wasn’t the case…

‘The only thing different from the beginning of the term is that I recalled memories of my past life.’

Could it be that divine power came along with my memories?

But does that even make sense?

Divine power or magical energy was supposed to be innate.

“Well, recalling memories of a past life doesn’t make sense either.”

As she was somewhat convincing herself, the door clicked open, and Eched entered.

She glared at him and sat up.

“You!”

“Don’t get up so suddenly. You might collapse again.”

Eched walked over leisurely and tidied her disheveled hair.

She slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch me without permission. It’s unpleasant.”

“Quite cold for someone I’ve kissed.”

He replied in an emotionless voice and sat in the chair by the bed.

She glared at him even more fiercely.

“Stop pretending to be kind.”

“Was I pretending?”

He tilted his head as if he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Even your tone has changed.”

“Hmm… Human emotions vary depending on the person expressing them, but they also differ based on the person receiving them. Perhaps you felt that way, Shaterian? That I was being kind.”

“You! Ugh…!”

Unable to find the words to respond, she pounded her chest in frustration.

Eched grabbed her hand, stopping her.

“Don’t do that.”

This, this!

Pointing at his hand with her other hand, she said, 

“Yes! This! Don’t do things like this.”

“If this counts as being kind, then I suppose I am being kind.”

Eched said this as he gently rubbed the hand he was holding.

“Shaterian. You might as well get used to this side of me. I’ll often, maybe even every time, act kindly toward you.”

‘Again with my name.’

As she grew confused, Eched gave a faint smile.

For some reason, his face looked relieved.

“By the way, you knew, didn’t you? You told me to go to the Saintess, and you knew I was a Divine Beast, that I had been punished.”

“…You heard everything?”

“How did you know?”

A cold sweat ran down her back.

She tried to subtly pull her hand away, but he wouldn’t let go.

“Let go of my hand. What if I collapse again?”

“Don’t worry. That only happened because I couldn’t control it back then. It won’t happen now. So, how did you know those things?”

Eched narrowed his eyes and questioned her as if interrogating her. He didn’t seem like he would let her evade the question.

“Did you perhaps receive an oracle from the Goddess?”

“Uh…?”

What kind of nonsense was this now?

“No?”

“Is that so? Well, regardless, it doesn’t change the fact that you are □□□.”

“What?”

“□□□.”

She couldn’t hear it.

It felt as though that part of the sound had been plucked out of existence.

But she could tell. He was saying that she was the ‘one’ he had been waiting for all this time.

“No, no. If I were that person, why would I have tried to take you to the Saintess?”

In the original story, it was mentioned that Anella was “the one” for Eched.

Understanding her meaning, Eched pondered for a moment before denying it.

“You are the one.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not!”

“Shaterian, it’s you.”

“No… Ugh.”

‘But wasn’t he this assertive when he was originally looking for Anella?’

The answer was no.

If Eched had been this aggressive, Anella and Orgon wouldn’t have ended up together.

Then why was he acting this way with me?

“Why do you think that?”

“Because this divine power tells me it’s you.”

Eched firmly held her hand again.

His constant clinging was starting to get a little annoying.

He seemed to be deeply mistaken.

She didn’t even know where to begin to correct him.

“Don’t touch me without permission.”

Feeling a sudden wave of fatigue, she burrowed under the blanket to avoid Eched’s hand.

Eched withdrew his hand and straightened his posture, sitting back properly.

“So, how long was I out after I collapsed?”

“You slept for two and a half days straight.”

“What…?”

That meant today was already the last day of the founding festival?

She couldn’t believe it.

She didn’t want to believe it.

To think her precious holiday had been wasted so meaninglessly…

Unaware of her sorrow as a subordinate, Eched tactlessly added, 

“It’s thanks to the Saintess who was in the imperial palace. She shared some of her divine power with you, which is why you woke up earlier.”

‘The one the Saintess should have saved was you, not me.’

How did things end up like this?

“Is Anella okay? I heard she fell off the terrace.”

“She seemed fine.”

‘Not interested, huh.’

Having been around him for a while, she could tell just by looking at his face.

By the way, what should I do about the original story, which had gone completely off track from the start?

Of course, she had hoped for changes, but she only wanted her future to change, not everything else.

While she was lost in thought about the uncertain future, the noise outside grew louder. The murmuring drew closer until the door finally opened.

“Oh, my Terry… What if she never woke up?”

Her older sister entered the room, sniffling gloomily, with Lord Leheln gently comforting her.

“Don’t worry. Shaterian is strong. She’ll recover soon enough.”

They truly were a match made in heaven.

She didn’t want to intrude on their somber atmosphere, but she deliberately spoke cheerfully.

“I’m awake, though.”

The two, who hadn’t even glanced her way upon entering, finally turned their heads to look at her.

They stared at her silently, not even breathing. Lord Leheln was the first to speak.

“Shaterian, are you alright?”

“Yes. I feel refreshed, actually, after sleeping so much.”

“Terry!”

Her sister dashed over and clung to her, sniffling and sobbing.

“Ugh! What are you doing? Let go of me!”

She grimaced and pushed her sister away.

“How can you be so cold when your sister was worried about you?”

“It’s not like I was on the brink of death. You’re overreacting.”

“When you were carried back in the arms of Duke Astrea, do you know how shocked I was?”

So, it was Eched who had brought me here.

“There’s no need to be so dramatic.”

“They said you were just asleep… that you’d wake up after a short rest, but when a whole day passed and you didn’t wake up, I was so worried. Terry!”

Her sister clung to her again. She gave up trying to push her away and patted her sister’s back.

“There, there. I’m fine.”

‘Family is family, after all.’

The way Lord Leheln looked at her and her sister warmly made her feel uncomfortable.

She deliberately avoided his gaze.

However, Lord Leheln soon turned his sharp gaze to Eched, his expression suddenly cold.

She was startled by the unfamiliar sight of his stern demeanor.

“Ahem. Duke Astrea.”

Oh, that low voice was new too.

“May I have a word with you?”

Eched looked at Lord Leheln, then at her, before nodding and standing up.

“Of course.”

“Then, outside.”

It sounded almost like a duel challenge.

She watched as the determined-looking Lord Leheln and the relaxed Eched left together.

What business could they have with each other?

“Is something going on at home?”

Perhaps her sister had some significant request to make of Eched.

“There is. Ahem. Something big. Someone new might be joining our household.”

She had no idea who it could be. Servants frequently changed, and knights joining the family’s order would have to pass an exam.

More than that, she was more concerned about the snot her sister had smeared all over her clothes.

Disgusting.