Chapter 251
Chapter 251
I was lonely, and it was just pitiful for me as I was losing my mind.
I needed a warm hand. However, no one extended one to me in that time magic, and even if there was, it would just disappear the next day.
So, I was able to understand Yanghwa’s heart more than anyone else as she trembled and cried in my arms like that.
I was lonely, I desperately needed human touch, but the terrible wound that made me have no choice but to reject any warm touch was just saddening.
From the beginning, Yanghwa might have just needed someone who would keep coming to her even if she screamed, cried, or passed out.
Not only did she need Kaichen, who had warm magic and made her feel comfortable when he was with her, she also needed someone who would force her to stand up and hold his hand to make her feel warm.
“It’s okay, it’s okay now… Yanghwa.”
Feeling her gradually stop crying and as her breathing shallowed, I slowly patted her on the back to reassure her and said those words repeatedly.
It was something that shouldn’t have been said or done to the princess of the Suran Empire, but it didn’t seem like she would get angry over it.
I tucked her hair, wet with her tears, behind her ears.
Her hair that just fell above her shoulders was a mess.
I removed a strand of hair that was clinging to her cheeks and wiped away the tears that remained from her reddened eyes.
As she laid comfortably on my lap, Yanghwa curled up over me and held the hem of my dress tightly to keep me from getting up.
It was instinctive.
She couldn’t have felt warmth from me, as my body temperature was lower than that of normal people. Rather, it was me who was feeling the warmth.
“What a mess.”
I leaned back on the sofa and lightly stroked her hair.
In the original story, when Yanghwa first met Julius, she was 20 years old.
If she ran away from home and came to the Kalhai Empire following the flow of the original story, she would be about 22 years old now.
She was only two years older than me.
‘…I thought she was around six years younger.’
She was indeed the youngest member of the royal family who was loved and raised. Eastern features were surprisingly stunning.
With a short sigh, I lifted my free arm and communicated with Kaichen.
He said to tell him if I was having a hard time, but I bet he didn’t know that I would contact him so early.
As soon as the communication was established, I spoke tiredly.
“Master, please come right away.”
After saying that, I cut off the communication, and Kaichen appeared in front of me in an instant.
I stuck my tongue out at his movement magic that was faster than the communication link.
Kaichen smiled as he saw me sitting on the sofa with Yanghwa sleeping on my lap.
“I thought you said that this person wouldn’t give in,” he teased.
“I didn’t expect progress to happen so quickly.”
“It felt instant.”
“She must have recognized my efforts.”
Laughing heartily, Kaichen looked at me. “So? What’s next?”
“To the bed, please.”
“You?”
“Oh, no! This isn’t even my bedroom…”
“….”
“I’m joking. I want you to move both of us to the bed. I guess… It sounds like you have no intention of falling for me.”
Even I could carry Yanghwa alone.
However, I couldn’t move her carefully enough so as to not wake her up since she was exhausted, so I had no choice but to call Kaichen.
If I could use movement magic, I would have moved her to the bed in one go.
“I’ve felt like this for a while now, you… don’t think that my movement magic is like an artifact, right?”
“What shameful words are you saying?”
I put on an indignant and angry expression as I spoke.
“At least, I think of it as my own transporting magic service.”
Kaichen’s expression crumpled mercilessly.
I almost burst into giggles, and Kaichen chuckled as he snapped his fingers, moving Yanghwa to the bed before speaking.
“Seeing as you’re not angry, I’m relieved.”
After leaving the lab, as if he had the same thoughts as I did, Kaichen disappeared just as he came.
I was going to continue reading the spellbook from earlier, but after seeing Yanghwa sleeping peacefully, I laid down in bed.
I don’t think I would be able to concentrate, and I don’t think I can go out, so I decided to take a refreshing nap.
* * *
For the first time ever, Yanghwa cried like a baby in the arms of someone who wasn’t her family.
She knew that Archmage Kaichen was the owner of the magic she felt in the distant forest two years ago. After being badly hurt by the people of the empire, she was afraid of everything and didn’t want to get close to anyone.
So, she only accepted Kaichen.
When he was around, she felt his warmth, and it felt like the dirty and gloomy feeling around her was cleansed.
She knew it was childish, but she was stabbed in the back by people who she couldn’t detect any bad magic from. She had seen the worst of it, and she didn’t want to feel anymore.
It reminded her of the horrific cattle cage, so she was afraid to face people.
But in the end, Yanghwa’s madness ended with a few cold words from Kaichen.
Like he said, it was people other than Kaichen who helped, saved, and took care of her.
Yanghwa remembered Dalia Alshine, who she met at Sharatan.
Although her memories of that time were hazy, she didn’t forget.