Chapter 209
Chapter 209
Kaichen would rather die than be made fun of by Julius, who was even dumber than him.
Hamal looked at the bored Kaichen and headed into the Alshine Mansion, asking him to come in. He wondered what would happen if he went back to the Mage Tower, but luckily, Hamal said that they would stay in Acrab for about ten days.
He was treated as a special guest even though he didn’t reveal his identity as the Lord of Acrab to Count Alshine.
Dalia appeared with the Count at dinner that evening. She was a child as dark as night without a moon, with short straight hair that barely touched her shoulders and sporting a headband with a striking red ribbon.
She looked at him curiously with large, cat-like eyes, looking as pretty as stars on a pitch-black night. A strange and thrilling feeling welled up inside him, like when he created a new magic modifier on a blank sheet of parchment.
Now that he thought about it, it had to be love at first sight.
Kaichen would never forget the Dalia from that day. Dalia, whose pale skin was dyed red as if she’d never been exposed to sunlight, hesitantly approached him and held out her small and chubby hand.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Dalia,” she said.
“…” Kaichen didn’t reply, instead he asked:
“Who are you?”
It was cute to see her speaking shyly as she wet her lips. One time, Julius took in a cat, saying that he had picked up the poor fellow somewhere. Dalia looked exactly like the cat.
Kaichen hesitated before grabbing Dalia’s outstretched hand. Unlike the cat Julius had taken in, the small and delicate child didn’t scratch or bite. Rather, she smiled widely and made his heart race. When she smiled, her eyes became crescent-shaped, and the mole under her eye moved. He felt strangely hot.
Kaichen let go of her hand and hastily ran to his teacher, Hamal. Pursing his lips together, he said that he couldn’t eat before running out of the dining room to take a walk in the garden. He knew it wasn’t the etiquette he was perfectly accustomed to, but his heart pounded erratically, his breathing quickened, and his face felt like it was going to explode.
Kaichen wondered if he had a strange disease, so he sat down under the garden statue and examined his body. His magic wrapped around and through his body, but he didn’t seem to be sick. He wasn’t ill, except that the blood in his body was flowing strangely quickly, and his heart was beating like crazy as if he exercised more than usual.
Kaichen thought these symptoms were similar to those of Julius when he swung his sword a thousand times. But it was weird. He didn’t wield a sword like Julius.
He heard a rustle. Kaichen took a deep breath and turned his head, relieved that he was slowly regaining his composure.
“Your complexion doesn’t look so good, are you feeling alright?” Dalia asked, concern etched on her face as she slightly tilted her head. The abnormal symptoms Kaichen was experiencing persisted.
“I’m not sick,” he replied, struggling to find the right words to explain. “It’s a symptom that appears when I’m in a state of extreme excitement, but it’s not harmful to my body.”
“You’re speaking weirdly. That means it doesn’t hurt, right?”
“Right.” Kaichen answered, still unsure of how to properly explain his strange condition.
“You surprised me when you suddenly left earlier. I thought you didn’t want to play with me,” Dalia said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
“Play…?” Kaichen echoed, confused.
“Yeah! You’re cool, so I wanted to play with you,” Dalia said, smiling shyly and taking hold of his hand once more, just like she had done earlier.
Kaichen couldn’t help but find the young girl endearing. She was the cutest thing he had ever seen, other than the cat that Julius had taken in. As he felt his heart beating rapidly, he realized that he had finally come to understand what Julius meant by the word “game.”
From that day on, Kaichen spent all of his time with Dalia, experiencing all sorts of “games” for the first time. He took a doll and rocked it as she asked, built a fort on the ground, even though it didn’t resemble one at all. He blindfolded himself and counted as he tried to find Dalia, who had gone to hide, and blew petals over her head as she hummed.
Though these activities may have seemed strange and pointless to some, when Dalia laughed and was happy, Kaichen felt satisfied. Normally, he wouldn’t have wasted his time on such activities, but he couldn’t help wanting to see her adorable smile.
But then, the day of their departure arrived, as Hamal had previously mentioned. It was also the day that Dalia was to meet a guest from afar, so Kaichen found himself alone for most of the day. He took the time to carefully examine the book where he had written down all of the things he had done with Dalia, so he could tell Julius that there was nothing in the world he didn’t know about.
Despite this, his heart ached at the thought of leaving, and even though he had already eaten, he felt empty. He examined his body once more, but just like before, nothing seemed to be amiss.
Dalia returned in the evening, her mood visibly subdued. She didn’t smile as brightly as she normally did and didn’t finish her meal before quickly excusing herself from the table.
Kaichen didn’t want to part ways without saying goodbye. The feeling reminded him of when Julius had taken in a stray cat, only for it to suddenly disappear one day without a proper farewell. He had spent the whole day searching for it, feeling angry and betrayed when Julius nonchalantly stated that he had found the cat’s owner and they wouldn’t have to worry about getting bitten or scratched anymore.