Chapter 26
Chapter 26
“……”
Calix Krauvel stopped mid-step and looked down at me with a baffled expression.
“Ah, sorry. It’s just that the smell of blood on you is too strong…”
It was an excuse I came up with in a hurry, but it wasn’t a complete lie.
The monster’s blood smelled like rotten onions.
“That doesn’t sound like something you should say to the person who just saved you.”
“You’re right. Haha. I’m really sorry.”
When I apologized again, Calix Krauvel simply shrugged.
But where did Bram Gus go?
For a moment I wondered if he had been killed by the monster, but fortunately he was hiding behind a nearby tree.
“Are you injured?”
When Calix asked, I shook my head.
“No.”
I tried to stand up, putting weight on my foot, but a sharp pain shot through my ankle.
“Ah!”
I cried out and collapsed back onto the ground. Only then did I notice how swollen my ankle was.
“You must have injured your ankle.”
“…I think I just sprained it.”
Hopefully there was nothing wrong with the bone.
After catching my breath, I tried to stand again, but Calix Krauvel extended his hand.
Was he offering to help me up? Despite his appearance, he had a considerate side—
“Ah!”
His hand slipped under my waist and behind my knees, and I screamed for a different reason.
My vision spun as my body lifted into the air.
He had picked me up in a princess carry.
“W-What are you doing?!”
“You injured your ankle. It looked like walking would be difficult, so I’m helping you.”
“This isn’t helping!”
People were going to stare at us like we were crazy!
Sure enough, Bram Gus was staring at us with wide eyes.
The other laborers hiding nearby had similar reactions.
Their blatant stares made my face burn.
“Put me down!”
“You’re heavy, so stay still.”
“Then just put me down!”
“No.”
Instead, Calix Krauvel pulled me even closer.
“This is punishment for saying I smelled earlier, so behave and stay in my arms.”
That wasn’t what I meant! I said the blood smelled!
But the more I struggled, the tighter he held me, so I had no choice but to stay still.
Not only did Calix Krauvel carry Aileen in a princess carry, he also summoned the physician and had her treated.
He even provided a carriage for her return to the hunter village.
“I don’t think the lord has ever taken such care of a subordinate before…”
“Exactly. Even when someone else got hurt, he never bothered to look at them…”
Everyone who saw it whispered among themselves.
Noah Roheim was just as surprised.
He had served as Calix’s aide for nearly ten years, yet he had never seen anything like this.
“Are you interested in Miss Aileen?”
When Noah entered to give his report, he asked directly.
Calix, who had been reading a document, raised his eyebrow.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I’m asking because this is the first time I’ve seen you take such care of someone. I wondered if you were interested.”
“I am interested.”
Calix answered casually, his gaze returning to the documents.
“She’s a rather unusual type. In many ways.”
“That sounds more like curiosity than interest.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
When Noah thought about it, it sounded reasonable, so he nodded.
“So you don’t see Miss Aileen as a woman?”
“Who said I see her as a woman?”
Calix laughed as if the idea were absurd and shook his head.
“Then please clarify that. Because of what happened today, people are misunderstanding your relationship with Miss Aileen.”
“Leave it alone. It’s better not to react to rumors like that.”
“You may not care, but it could become a problem for Miss Aileen.”
“Do I really have to worry about things like that?”
“Well… no.”
So the lord truly had no feelings for her.
For that reason, Noah found himself feeling even more sorry for Aileen.
“The worm appeared because the ground was dug?”
The conversation returned to the main topic.
“Yes. The worm’s habitat is near the river. When the workers dug the ground and made noise, it likely became enraged and attacked.”
“The bigger problem is that a worm’s habitat exists near Belheim at all.”
“I’ve already ordered monster scholars to investigate it further. Until then, it would be best to halt the drainage construction.”
“If we stop now, we won’t finish the drainage construction before the autumn monsoon.”
Noah Roheim answered with silence.
“I’d like to hear what that woman thinks.”
“You mean Miss Aileen? She just returned to the hunter village… Shall I call her back?”
Calix did not answer immediately. Instead, he considered it.
Just then, a knock sounded.
“My lord, Lord Rael has arrived.”
The moment he heard the name, Calix Krauvel frowned.
“What is that bastard doing here again?”
“He must have come because he’s close to you. You two were academy classmates, weren’t you?”
“We attended together for about a year.”
Clicking his tongue, Calix told them to let him in.
After Noah Roheim stepped out, the seat was taken by Raellion Silbert.
“What is it this time?”
Instead of answering, Rael sat down on the sofa.
“Give me coffee. And sugar too.”
Calix would have liked to throw him out immediately, but the Magic Tower had been helpful in many matters.
Damn troublesome connection.
Calix clicked his tongue inwardly and ordered the maid to bring coffee and sugar.
After drinking a cup loaded with sugar, Rael’s dull eyes regained a little focus.
“Now tell me why you’re here. If it’s another pointless visit like last time, I’ll throw you out.”
“I came because of the worm.”
Calix’s hand froze as he lifted his coffee cup.
The worm had appeared only half a day ago.
Many people in Belheim still didn’t know about it.
Yet Rael, who lived far away at the Magic Tower, already knew.
“…Did the worm appear because of you?”
Calix asked sharply.
Rael blinked.
“No. I came to tell you a worm would appear soon. My dream told me.”
Rael occasionally experienced prophetic dreams—perhaps because his mana was so abundant that he became the master of the Magic Tower at such a young age.
“But judging from your reaction, it must have already appeared. Strange.”
Rael tilted his head.
“In my dream, it appeared after the autumn monsoon. Why did it show up already?”
“…I don’t remember a worm appearing at that time either.”
Calix muttered to himself, pressing his furrowed brow.
Watching him while sipping his sweet coffee, Rael asked,
“You sometimes speak as if you’ve experienced the future. Do you have prophetic dreams too?”
“…No.”
After taking a sip of coffee, Calix smiled bitterly.
“I had nightmares.”
“Aileen, I heard rumors that you and the lord are… you know. Is it true?”
Sigh. How many times had I heard that already?
Without exaggeration, about thirty people had asked me the same thing over the past two days.
“It’s not true.”
I answered curtly, thoroughly annoyed.
Hanson frowned.
“If it’s not true, then just say so. Why get angry? That only makes it more suspicious.”
“I said it’s not true, so please stop thinking strange things.”
“But yesterday, they said the lord carried you carefully after you were injured by the worm.”
Carefully, my foot.
He did that because he was getting revenge for what I said about the smell…
Even if I said that, no one would believe me.
“And he even gave you a carriage so you could return safely.”
“My leg was injured.”
I lifted my bandaged foot so Hanson could see.
Fortunately, the bone was fine—only the ligament had been stretched.
“I’m an important person in this project. If something happens to me, the construction can’t continue.”
“No way. The lord isn’t that kind.”
Earlier they had said there was no lord better than ours.
Now suddenly they had changed their minds.
“And I heard the drainage construction has been halted for now.”
“What? What do you mean?”
When I met the lord yesterday, nothing like that was mentioned.
“You’re supposedly an important person in the project, and you didn’t even know?”
Hanson clicked his tongue.
“They say the worm has a habitat near the river, so construction will stop until they deal with it.”
No one knew how long that would take, but it definitely wouldn’t be finished overnight.
Then there would be no way to complete the drainage construction before the autumn monsoon—and my wish reward would be gone.
“I need to see the lord right now!”