Ch 2.6
During the several days spent in Yulita, I had not seen Eden since the first day.
Yulita was a fairly large city, and since the circus troupe had also not been seen since the first day, I assumed Eden had already left the city.
Because we also decided to leave this place tomorrow, today was our last night in Yulita. Coincidentally, the festival here was also ending today.
I heard that a grand fireworks display would soon take place to mark the end of the festival.
So, the four of us quickly took our spots and stood near the beach after dinner.
“As expected, the end of a festival must be fireworks,” Mary said in a voice full of anticipation.
“Fireworks at the beach, it’s so romantic, My Lady.”
“I agree.”
Certainly, as Mary said, it was a quite romantic and atmospheric moment.
“Oh my!”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing!”
When I looked at Mary at her sudden high-pitched voice, I could see her face was flushed even in the darkness.
And when I lowered my gaze slightly, I saw Mary and William standing side by side, secretly holding hands.
‘Aha.’
The two of them have already become quite close.
I had noticed long ago that they had feelings for each other, but I didn’t know it was to this extent.
As their master, I felt a bit sorry for not having looked after them properly.
Suddenly, the thought occurred to me that I wanted to give them some time alone.
“Lian.”
I turned around and called Lian, who was standing silently behind me.
“Yes, My Lady.”
“I forgot something at the inn; let’s go back and get it together.”
“Understood.”
“What kind of item is it? My Lady, I’ll go with you too!”
As I started to move, Mary hurriedly called out to me and tried to follow.
“No. We’ll be back soon, so stay here and wait.”
“But……”
A look of bewilderment flickered across Mary’s face.
“I’ll be back quickly.”
“My Lady!”
Leaving behind the voice of Mary calling me, I grabbed Lian’s wrist and hurriedly left the spot.
And only after we were a good distance away did I stop for a moment and let go of Lian’s hand.
“Let’s stay here for a bit.”
“Did you do that on purpose?”
Instead of an answer, I wore a smile on my lips.
Lian also seemed to understand what my expression meant, as he didn’t say anything further.
“Oh? It’s starting!”
And right on cue, brilliant fireworks of five colors embroidered the pitch-black night sky.
“Wow!”
As announced, incredibly large fireworks continuously filled the night sky, and watching them made exclamations of awe come out naturally.
“Lian! Isn’t it really cool?”
In front of the child who was not yet an adult, I hopped around like a child even younger than him, unable to hide my excitement.
“Porta Devia……”
Suddenly, ‘Porta Devia’ flowed out from Lian’s mouth.
It was a phrase I hadn’t heard in a quite while.
Perhaps because it was the phrase that suited this moment best, I smiled broadly and replied to Lian with the same words.
“It really is ‘Porta Devia.’ Isn’t it?”
In that way, we fully enjoyed the happiness while watching the fireworks at a spot a bit away from where Mary and William were.
After the fireworks, which were longer than expected, ended, Lian and I returned to where Mary and William were.
And after enjoying the final festival in Yulita, we headed toward the inn.
The streets were still noisy after the festival ended.
It seemed as though people were burning through the last night.
However, once we moved just a little away from there, the surroundings became quiet as if nothing had happened.
The inn where we stayed was not on the street along the beach, but on a different street.
We were walking the streets, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere to get to the inn.
But it was then.
Suddenly, a strange sound reached my ears.
“What is that sound?”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t you hear some kind of sound?”
“No. I’m not sure.”
Mary replied with a puzzled expression.
“Sir? How about you, Sir?”
I asked toward William.
Since Mary was an ordinary person, she might not hear it, but that wasn’t the case for William or me.
Because we were highly trained individuals, our senses were more acute than others.
“It seems…… I hear something.”
“What about Lian? Do you hear it too, Lian?”
Lian nodded slightly.
Perhaps it was the result of his training, but Lian’s senses also seemed to have become acute now.
We cautiously approached the source of the sound.
The sound was coming from a place we had already passed.
We turned back the way we came.
As we got closer, the sound of labored breathing, as if someone were gasping for air, could be heard.
I quickly ran toward the source of the sound.
And there, a person who was no longer a stranger was collapsed, clutching his throat.
“My Lady, that person is……!”
Perhaps Mary recognized the man, as she pointed at Eden with a loud voice.
I couldn’t even think to reply to Mary and approached Eden closely.
Eden was continuously letting out groans filled with pain, as if he were in agony.
“Are you okay? What happened?!”
I tried to help the man rolling on the ground stand up, but I failed because Eden’s struggling was too severe.
I gestured to William and Lian.
As William, reading my gaze, put his back toward Eden, Lian helped Eden onto William’s back.
And we quickly headed toward the inn.
As soon as we entered the inn, I asked the innkeeper to call a doctor, then laid Eden on the bed in my room.
Eden was still moaning in pain, as if the agony would not subside.
“Hey. What on earth is happening? Where does it hurt?!”
I was feeling anxious because he couldn’t even answer the question of where it hurt, when suddenly Eden grabbed my wrist and shook his head from side to side.
“What does that mean?”
But as if still unable to answer, Eden only kept shaking his head.
“When is the doctor coming.”
“I will go down and check.”
As I showed signs of nervousness, William left the room, saying he would bring the doctor.
“Look at all this sweat. I’ll go get a basin of water.”
Mary also said that and left the room.
Now, only Lian, I, and Eden remained in the room.
With a helpless face, I did not take my eyes off Eden.
However, Eden’s gestures were strange.
It was as if he were clutching and trying to tear off that necklace I had said was pretty.
‘The necklace?’
Just in case, I reached out my hand toward Eden’s neck to make him comfortable.
However, the moment I lightly touched the necklace, Eden’s pain-filled gestures vanished like a ghost.
Eden lost consciousness just like that.
‘Wh-what is this?’
I turned around with bewildered eyes.
Lian also had his eyes wide open, as if he were surprised to see the same thing I did.
“I didn’t do anything.”
Just as I was giving an unnecessary excuse to Lian, the door opened and William entered the room with a middle-aged man.
“I have brought the doctor.”
The doctor saw Eden collapsed and unconscious on the bed and immediately began his examination.
I was watching what the doctor was doing with a dazed expression, as the previous event was still lingering in my head.
After finishing the examination a moment later, the doctor looked at us and spoke.
“It seems he lost consciousness because he received a great shock or his vitality weakened.”
“A shock?”
“Yes. But even after examining his body, I could not find what it was.”
“He kept clutching near his throat as if his neck was in pain.”
“However, there are no injuries or marks on the neck.”
“What did you say?”
At the doctor’s unbelievable words, I quickly approached the lying Eden.
And I carefully examined the area around his neck.
Certainly, as the doctor said, no symptoms were visible on the neck.
“Did you check inside the throat?”
“Yes. I checked, but again, nothing was found.”
It was strange.
We all clearly saw Eden in pain, yet the cause of that pain could not be found.
“I understand.”
There was more than one strange point, but first, I sent the doctor out.
And turning to the three of them, I said.
“You all go back to your rooms and rest. I will watch over this person.”
“But My Lady……!”
“It’s because there is something I find suspicious.”
“Suspicious? Then I will stay by your side too, My Lady.”
Mary stepped forward to stay by my side, seemingly worried.
“It’s not as if this man is going to harm me, so there’s no need for that. So everyone, go back.”
At my words, which were firmer than expected, none of the three could say anything, and so they went back to their rooms.
Mary left first, followed by William, and finally Lian left the room, but Lian was staring at me piercingly without taking his eyes off me until the very end.
I nodded slightly to Lian as a sign to be at ease.
I don’t know if Lian felt at ease, but the room door closed after quite a long while.
Everyone left, and only Eden and I remained in the room.
I pulled a chair near the bed, sat down, and was examining Eden closely.
‘What was that earlier?’
What on earth happened earlier?
Was it a coincidence?
Was it just a matter of coincidentally correct timing?
Is it really a coincidence that Eden’s pain vanished and he fainted the moment I touched him?
Or……
However, unless Eden woke up and I asked him directly, I wouldn’t be able to know anything no matter how much I agonized over it alone for days and nights.
I decided to just do what I had to do now.
First of all, the sweat Eden had shed was considerable.
