Chapter 33

“…isn’t your sister okay now?”

“What you see isn’t everything.”

Phew. Fortunately, Andymion or Lorenzo didn’t seem to have seen me either.

This was a surprising combination. Were they always this close? Trainees often hung out near the temple. Shouldn’t they be working?

If Andymion was here, it was a little more likely that Izek was here as well…

Damn it, if it weren’t for Lorenzo, I’d say hello and ask.

“Then sit quietly next to her. Why did you crawl all the way here? You’re on probation.”

“Shut up. Wouldn’t your eyes roll over if your sister suddenly vomited blood and almost died?”

“I don’t have a sister. Even if I did, I wouldn’t turn my eyes to the wrong person like an a**hole..”

… something struck me as odd. Had Andymion’s way of speaking always been that rough? Besides, I think he was talking about me. As I was listening carefully, I heard the two of them moving. I shifted to the other side, but the loud voices gradually grew farther away as if they were fighting.

“Ha, the wrong person?”

“Are you aware that if it weren’t for your father, you’d never have dreamed of being a Paladin in your entire life?”

“Do you think I’m the size of a rat, like you? You damn b*stard, you don’t even have any patriotism. F*ck you and the Pope or whatever. Such rotten pigs won’t dare to do anything to the North.”

“I’ve never seen someone spout blasphemy in the front yard of the temple. Stop making silly comments. Go train and get rid of your delusions. She’s soon-to-be Duchess Omerta. Don’t forget that.”

“Don’t get me wrong, you son of a b*tch. It’s the Borgian lady who pretends to be naive, only bringing shame to Omerta’s name.”

“Hey, this is so…”

“Why, you didn’t know? The next time we meet, she’ll have that shameless look on her face…”

I’d heard enough. They were now so far away that it was harder to overhear, and I didn’t want to hear more.

Brutal. So brutal. What was wrong with my face?

That little b*stard was good at talking nonsense.

Feeling goosebumps rise, I touched my cheeks. I guess I had been looking down on the notoriety of my family. But, what evidence was there that made him firmly believe me to be the culprit?

Ha, I didn’t know who the real criminal was, but there was no way Freya or anyone else would believe me. Sad, sad. Although it was a false accusation, this world did not have a human rights concept itself, and so, even minor disasters seem big.

While I was walking aimlessly in any direction with a confused mind, I realized that I had already left the temple. My head was spinning when I thought about whether to go back to the temple where the carriage was parked.

I was tired. I was tired physically and mentally. The symptoms of the sickness were worse than before. In case anyone saw me, I crept into any bushes nearby. Sitting curled up in the bushes, cold sweat rolled down my cheeks.

Hold on, hold on a bit.. Where do I go……? Where do I stay?

It hurts. I’ve never been this sick before. Why does my body hurt so much?

It would be better if others could tell I was sick, but even if I said I was sick, they’ll say I was faking it.

It hurts. It hurts so much. It hurts so damn much. My husband… that cold-blooded b*stard.

My nose was bleeding again.

Hey.

Why have you been nice to me?

Why did you look at me with those weird eyes?

Why did you look so tired every time I laughed?

Why did you act like that when you saw my scar?

Why did you hesitate so much?

Why didn’t you just leave me behind?

Why did you nag me that I was too skinny, and made us eat together?

Why are you so angry if I get sick?

You shouldn’t have done that. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had such a stupid hope. If only you hadn’t been so kind.

Why did you make me look forward to it?

Why did you fool me into expecting that you might be the only one different from everyone I knew?…

Po, po, po, po…

The familiar sound made my ears perk up even with my messed-up consciousness. This sound… No way.

“Po, po, po…”

“…Popo?”

“Po, po…”

“Popo!”

Popo! I never thought I’d meet you here! I missed you!

It really was Popo. A huge mouth with crocodile-like teeth and a chubby body like a rabbit-penguin hybrid approached me excitedly. Oh, it looked different from before.

“Po, po?”

“Popo, what are you doing here? This is near the temple. It’s dangerous here.”

“Po, po, po.”

“Did you come looking for me?”

Popo rocked its huge body back and forth.

This guy… Tears of emotion came out. And a nosebleed, damn it.

“Popo, I’m sick. But no one knows.”

“Po?”

“But it’s good to see you.”

When I smiled helplessly, Popo stared at me with a pair of sparkling green eyes for a moment and soon stretched out its arms.

What?

“Popo, are you taking me along?”

“Po, po.”

“Well, if I’m gone, no one would care anyway…”

“Po?”

“You know, I’d rather live in hiding with you guys…”

I was losing consciousness. My body dropped down without feeling any pressure. Popo’s arms, which hugged me tightly, were all slippery, but they were still warm and clean.

“Look at this.”

“Where did you get the mirror…”

“That’s not the problem. You overworked idiot. Do you have any idea how ugly you look right now? Do you have any idea how bloody your eyes look? If you have a conscience, why don’t you go to your house and get some rest?”

Crash!

The mirror, which was thrown weakly to the floor, was reduced to shards. Ivan clicked his tongue.

“This conscienceless son of a b*tch worries me!”

“I didn’t ask you to worry.”

“It’s normal to worry about someone running around with their eyes open for 79 hours. Ah, whatever, you’re just an attention seeker.”

79 hours? Izek stopped frowning. Somehow, he thought he had a headache.

“It’s already been that long.”

“Why? Do you feel sleepy all of a sudden?”

“Not really, but I have a slight headache.”

“I don’t care if you suddenly fall down during the search. I’ve warned you.”

A little less sleep didn’t matter for a Paladin. During Izek’s trainee days, he stayed up all night for five days. He didn’t know why this b*stard who rolled around with him at that time was scolding him.

“Did that person fall out of the sky or something? This is out of our jurisdiction, at this point, just let the city guard take care of it. They’re better at looking for a wanted man than we are. As Ellen explained, I’ve put on a sketch… “

“Is he really gone?”

“What? What do you mean?” Izek glanced back at the narrow, dark alley just passed instead of explaining.

He himself couldn’t even tell what he wanted to say.

“You think I’m doing this because I don’t know how you feel? I know you’re pissed off because Freya’s been through this, but if you know we’ve been going through illegal guilds…”

“I’m not that angry.”

“What are you talking about? Then, why the f*ck are you being like this?”

He shouldn’t have heard about the 79 hours part. Now, he has a headache.

Izek stared at the rats swimming through the ditch, pressing down on his throbbing temples. Freya’s face came to mind. When she’d just come back from the threshold of death.

Her sickly white complexion.

Her smiling face.

Her voice when she said she was happy that Izek was the first one to come near her.

He didn’t know what made her so happy.

Anyway, he couldn’t answer honestly.

Answer honestly about whom he had run to when he first sensed magic in Freya’s blood.

(T/N: In case y’all didn’t understand, he went to Ruby first.)

“I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, who knows?”

“…..”

“Hah, you boring b*stard. Are you angry because of your wife?”

Wife. Wife.

Izek gently closed his eyes and shook his head. Her last image was lingering in his mind.

The last time he saw her dull eyes. Blue-eyed Rudbeckia, whose brightness had diminished, had flinched like a kitten, frightened by his rough movement.

She didn’t seem to be aware of it, but her light blue eyes would look at everything carefully before taking another step.

And Izek had never been careful of his behavior in his whole life.

Even in the face of the king.

If it was him, it would be very tiring to pay attention to his every single gesture in front of someone.

So, he couldn’t quit, even if it was rude.

However, the monsters possessed by magic stones call were dozens of times more dangerous than usual.

The threat of the flames and divinity were useless.

If the ten thousand monsters that came that day had crossed the temple walls, and Freya’s blood splattered everywhere…

He thought she’d understand. She’d understand after he explained the whole story. His rough behavior and that push were indispensable, he couldn’t help it.

But, why were those dark lifeless eyes of hers bothering him?

“This is useless.”

“Did you finally realize that? Have you finally come to your senses? Oh, come on, then… “

“Maybe by now, he’s already turned into a rotten body in a liquor storehouse.”

“The temple is suspicious from this point of view, but I agree with that. The source of magic stone and the fact that a servant can disappear so suddenly… isn’t normal. By the way, Izek.”

“What?”

“Who doesn’t know that among all those priests, there’s a man who licks the soles of the Pope’s feet. You’re not the only one who has that suspicion. They’re suspecting your wife’s family is behind this, so… “

“It’s absurd that my in-laws would use magic stones to poison someone from here and put their own blood in danger.”

“From what I think, it’s true…It sounds like your wife is not on the list of suspects then?”

“What a strange question. It should have been obvious in the first place.”

His sense of understanding was somewhat different from Ivan’s.

T/N: OMGGG FINALLLYYY Izek’s pov ;;-;;

My heart broke a bit reading Ruby’s thoughts