Chapter 40

After dragging the now listless Felix out, we headed toward the market. Since I’d been away from the house for quite a while, all that was left to eat were preserved foods. For the first time in a while, I bought fresh ingredients and clothes for the coming season for both Felix and me. Plus, some daily necessities and a small supply of medicine.

I also visited a doctor to have Felix’s arm wound examined and properly treated. I had been worried because he’d tended to it himself, but I felt relieved when told the treatment was surprisingly well done.

I watched Felix loading the items into a rented carriage and asked, “Should we buy a carriage?”

“Huh?”

“If it’s a small carriage pulled by one horse, I think we could manage the upkeep reasonably well. What do you think?”

“Managing a horse is harder than you’d think. Even for just one, there’s a lot to pay attention to. I’m away from home often, and it doesn’t look like you’d be able to handle stable work, so no.”

“Eh? I can’t do it?”

“You can’t.”

“But it’s just one horse?”

“Even if it’s one, you can’t.”

“Tsk. You’re very decisive about that.”

“Because it’s the truth.”

Felix answered plainly and tied off the final securing strap. Once he finished preparing for the return trip, I sat beside him on the driver’s seat. The carriage we’d rented was a small wagon, so the only place to sit was the front.

I watched Felix as he flicked the reins lightly and started the horse moving. The sunset permeated his forehead and the corners of his eyes, giving them a somber depth. I leaned onto his arm as if clinging to it and stared up at him for a good while. Felix caught me looking and ducked his head. Our lips pressed together briefly before pulling away again.

On the way home, I listened quietly to the slow, rhythmic sound of the horse’s hooves before I opened my mouth.

“Hey, Fel.”

“Yeah—”

“If, say, a day ever comes when your heart changes and you want to part ways with me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“No, I mean, just in case. You never know what might happen in life, right? One day, you might suddenly feel a new love. You might find our relationship suddenly boring.”

“Hmm—”

“Anyway, if a day like that comes? You have to be honest with me. This isn’t for my sake, but for yours.”

It was almost akin to a divine pronouncement.

Do not let me find out about the end through betrayal by hiding a change of heart.

Do not make me deem you reprehensible and punish you, rather than me cutting off the kin relationship myself.

I hoped Felix would take this seriously, even if only for his own safety, but he just scoffed.

“Worry about yourself.”

“Tsk.”

I pretended to be sulky and hugged his arm even tighter. Felix winced and spoke as if he were dealing with something troublesome.

“Even if you act cute like this, what’s a ‘no’ is a ‘no.’ I’ll say it one more time—if you cheat, I’m going to kill the other guy, not you. Seriously.”

“And me?”

“You? What would I even do to you? I’d probably just get angry for a bit and let it go.”

“…”

“But don’t go thinking of cheating with the guy I want to kill.”

“I wasn’t even thinking about that!”

I swatted his back, asking who he took me for. He made whimpering “ow, ow” sounds with his mouth, but his expression remained as listless as ever. It was obvious he was teasing me by saying it didn’t even tickle, which was infuriating.

Once we arrived home, I prepared dinner immediately. Felix spent that time organizing the groceries I wasn’t using right away and the rest of our luggage.

Finally, before heading to bed, I entered the room first and sat on the bed. It was exhausting to feign composure even in the moments I was alone. I needed time to sink into my own depths, if only for a short while—until Felix finished washing up.

I just couldn’t find the strength. I collapsed, slumping over as if wringing out even the last bit of energy I had. With my head bowed so low that my waist curved, I stared blankly at my hair cascading over the sheets like a curtain. It was pitch black, looking exactly like my future.

“What are you doing? In that funny position.”

“…Stretching.”

“You’re truly a klutz.”

He laughed at me, saying I still didn’t know how to use my own limbs properly and was just flopping around. He was probably recalling the time we faced each other after so long in the Lallanne territory. Yeah, I suppose I must have looked a bit stupid then.

Soon, Felix took off his top and climbed into bed. He placed a hand on my back, just as I was about to straighten up, and pressed down firmly.

“Gack.”

I was embarrassed by the sound of a slaughtered animal that involuntarily escaped my throat. When I glared at Felix and asked what he was doing, he said he was trying to help and pressed down on my body even more firmly. Only when I was folded in half and my upper body was nearly touching my legs did he finally let me go.

“Ughhh…”

As I collapsed sideways and groaned, Felix laughed, telling me I was being overly dramatic. I stared quietly at his softened expression before forcing my body to rise with effort.

I climbed off the bed and opened the drawer. I returned with the wand the Saint had given me, and Felix looked at me with a questioning expression.

“What’s that?”

“Show me your arm.”

Since he was looking back and forth between his arms, I clarified that I meant the bandaged one. He obediently held out his left arm and asked, “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to remove the blessing prayer.”

“You said it couldn’t be removed.”

“I said it couldn’t be canceled; I never said it couldn’t be removed.”

He tilted his head, seemingly finding it hard to understand.

“Don’t move. I have to concentrate.”

“Wait. You don’t have to overexert yourself, do you?”

Felix immediately grabbed my arm to stop me. I answered honestly.

“I have to overexert myself.”

I said it not just to have my hard work acknowledged, but because I wanted him to think twice before doing something reckless in the future.

“Then forget it. You don’t have to push yourself to remove it.”

It wasn’t as if it lasted forever anyway; the duration was fixed. Plus, seeing how nothing happened at the market earlier, he figured the bad luck was over and rejected my help. I told Felix to snap out of it.

“Interpreting a situation only in a favorable light without any basis isn’t a good habit.”

“Iel…”

“Well, I’m not exactly one to talk.”

I told him to stay still because I was doing this for a necessary reason. Felix couldn’t shake off the arm I was holding, but he thrashed around like a live fish again.

“But, wait. Wait a second!”

“Shh!”

“…”

When I glared at him with wide eyes, telling him he was restless, Felix calmed down with a troubled expression. I aimed the tip of the wand at the bandages.

“Why do you think your bad luck suddenly stopped?”

“Because I was forgiven by you?”

“Right. But why were you forgiven?”

“Well, because you forgave me?”

Seeing his expression, which seemed to say, “Isn’t it just because you’re kind?”, made my chest feel stifled. Why is this grown man so naive? I’m terrified he’ll get scammed somewhere.

“…Sigh.”

I told him to just stay still and started channeling divine power into the wand. As the current me could not replenish the divine power I consumed, I had to accurately gauge the necessary amount and use it cautiously so that not a single drop was off-base. For now, just enough to offset and break the connecting circle of the blessing prayer.

A small yellow light gathered at the tip of the wand. As the divine power gathered, the light gradually lost its color and turned white. As soon as I finished the blessing—or rather, the curse—I released the white light I had been holding all at once. A laser as thin as a needle shot out from the tip of the wand.

Even though I couldn’t see it through the bandages, I knew it through my senses. The laser I emitted struck the center of the connecting circle perfectly. As soon as the laser collided with the circle, they vibrated with a humming sound as they competed for dominance.

In the past, I would have had no need to deliberate; I would have simply applied a stronger force than the circle to break it in one go. Now, I could only hope that I had accurately gauged the power needed to offset it. If I didn’t break it in one shot, it would end up being a greater waste. I didn’t want to make such a foolish mistake.

Pop!

A small cluster of light bloomed like dust above the bandages. I stared until the afterglow completely dissipated and vanished before letting out a late sigh. Only after the sense of relief washed over me could I notice the cold sweat running down my forehead. I wiped my brow with my pajama sleeve and lifted my head, which had been buried close to the bandages.

“Phew… It’s done.”

“…It’s done?”

“Yes.”

Felix gently stroked over the bandages with his hand. When I told him not to touch it needlessly as the wound was still there, he finally pulled his hand away. Then, he used the back of his hand to stroke my forehead and temples, sweeping away the cold sweat I hadn’t yet wiped off.

“You look tired.”

“I was a little tense, I admit.”

I put the wand back in the drawer. After wiping my face clean with a towel and returning to bed, Felix asked with an awkward expression, “Was it really necessary to go that far to get rid of it?”