TCS - Chapter 14
"Why...?"
Before Raymund could properly ask, the bodyguard lunged forward and thrust his sword at him. The moment Raymund flinched in surprise, his ability reacted instantly.
Crack!
The attacker's body twisted unnaturally, as if his clothes had been crushed. Judging by the sound of breaking bones, even if he wasn't dead, he was teetering on death's doorstep.
"Huh..."
Raymund was shocked. Even though this was someone who had attacked him, it was the first time he had seriously hurt someone to the point of near death—and yet, he felt nothing.
If anything, his pent-up frustration seemed to ease. Perhaps, he thought, this was how those who had feared and rejected him all along should be dealt with…
‘Get a grip.’
No matter how dark life was, he must not be consumed by that darkness. After all, Raymund was a descendant of one of the ten warriors who had saved the world. As their heir, he could not go around harming others.
Despite a comrade being gravely injured right before their eyes, the guards showed no sign of wavering. Their eyes were dull, as if they had been brainwashed.
Seeing that they intended to kill him but showed no trace of murderous intent, Raymund thought his suspicion might be correct.
‘Who’s targeting me?’
Since becoming an ability user, Raymund had lost everything: the affection of family he once took for granted, and the right to succeed the empire.
No one would mourn him if he died, and no one stood to gain from his death.
On the contrary, it would be a problem if he died. Because if he perished, the ability user ability would pass on to his younger brother, who was next in line.
Still unsure why anyone would want him dead, Raymund resolved not to be manipulated by the attackers’ intentions and decided to run away.
‘As far away as I can go.’
As he willed it, his ability moved, and the scenery before his eyes immediately changed. The strong smell of grass suggested it might be a mountain or a forest, but Raymund had no time to look around.
"Ugh...!"
The recoil from using his unstable ability hit his body. Feeling an even deeper pain, Raymund, who had collapsed onto the gravel ground, fainted from the agony.
In fact, he didn't even remember fainting, but as soon as he opened his eyes and saw the face of the person who suddenly appeared and woke him up, he realized, 'Ah, I must have fainted.'
'...Face?'
The overall color was cool and pale, but only the two eyes that held his reflection were a deep blue.
For a moment, Raymund almost mistook it for looking into a deep lake.
But that moment was short.
The moment he realized that the person in front of him was another person, the moment he realized that person's hand was holding his, Raymund reflexively swatted the hand away.
The other person was flustered, covering her quickly reddening palm with their other hand.
Raymund felt a pang of regret. He hadn't meant to hurt her.
It was just... too close...
He couldn't bear to see that face, so full of concern for him, twist into disgust. He'd had enough of being wounded by others.
If you're just going to throw me away like trash later, I wish you'd have left me alone from the start. I was tired of being treated with suspicion despite my help, so I wanted her to leave.
But she didn't.
"I startled you with my sudden appearance. I'm sorry."
Instead of backing away, she approached him. Raymund, who had only ever seen people retreat or flee, felt bewildered.
Why? Why wasn't she repulsed by him?
Have I finally gone mad, seeing hallucinations now?
Now it was his turn to hesitate, fear gripping him as he took a step back before clenching his jaw. To be frightened by mere illusions? His pride was wounded.
Raymund maintained his guard, determined not to let the illusion affect him. He resisted the urge to retreat. But to his surprise, what stood before him was no illusion at all.
Ah...
Warmth touched the back of his hand. Not content with that, she cautiously took hold of it. Had it been years since he last held another person's hand?
Part of him was flustered, while another part felt a lump in his throat. He had the urge to vomit something out, like when his stomach felt uneasy. But when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.
His hand was held, but he couldn't return the grip. He froze, stiffening his arm in case she might move and let go.
Raymund felt like he was in a trance, completely out of his mind. Nothing around him felt real.
Perhaps that's why he impulsively gave Seiana the name he'd been called as a child when she asked.
"...Ray."
"Yes. What were you doing here, Ray?"
Raymund couldn't answer. This was the place he'd fled to after escaping his bodyguards who'd been trying to kill him. He didn't know why, but while Seiana didn't fear him as an ability user, her guards might have panicked at the mention of assassins.
No, he thought they might find it strange that he was being chased by his own guards. Raymund just wanted to hold onto this warmth he hadn't felt in ages, hoping it wouldn't push him away.
But he'd been wrong. The guards he'd abandoned had come after him.
How?
Raymund had fled blindly, thinking only of putting distance between them. He didn't even know where he was now. If even his own teleportation couldn't track him, how could ordinary guards find him here?
Moreover, he had fled using his ability, so he couldn't understand how they had appeared.
"......Run!"
Raymund, unable to comprehend the situation, assumed Seiana was frightened. She grabbed him and started running. Even as he was being dragged along, he kept looking at the hand holding him.
They were targeting me, so if I let go of her, we'd be fine. I could just tell Seiana that. It was a simple solution.
Anyway, there was no reason for her to risk danger for Raymund, whom she'd only met today.
But I can't bring myself to say it.
He didn’t want to let go of her hand. He didn’t want to lose her. Yet he didn’t want Seiana to be in danger either.
Hating this and that—unable to do either—danger was closing in. It was hard for a child’s steps to shake off adults.
I'll have to use my ability.
Using his ability might bring back that excruciating pain from earlier, but he couldn't risk Seiana getting hurt by the guards.
Raymund lightly tapped his foot. The guard running ahead stumbled, causing those following behind to collide and fall. But the guards' training proved too skilled for such simple tricks.
Fortunately, thanks to Seiana running ahead, he didn't have to show her such a sight.
Tripping might be considered lucky, but it would be unnatural to consider a grown man being lifted and thrown into the air as lucky.
After partially losing the guards, Raymund saw the struggling Seiana and this time ran ahead, pulling her along.
Although he felt pain because of his ability, Raymund, as an ability user, far surpassed ordinary people in stamina and strength, making this possible.
'Strange. My body doesn't hurt.'
Was it because he used a light ability? Or had his body finally gotten used to the ability and was no longer feeling pain? Unlike usual, his body felt very light.
He didn't know why, but it was better than being in pain, so he ignored it and ran, and then people came into view. It was the moment he was fully tense, wondering if they were other attackers.
"Brother!"
Seiana suddenly threw herself into the arms of the approaching figures. Her momentum nearly made him lose his grip, but Raymund clutched her hand tightly, preventing that from happening.
After Seiana collapsed, Raymund accompanied her to their lodging and discovered that these people were members of the Estarote Count's household.
So Seiana must be the young lady of the Estarote family.
They'd given her the middle name "Lovie" because she was so cherished. She was the child most beloved in the Empire.
True to her name, she was so utterly adorable that even Raymund couldn't tear his eyes away from her.
When Sonclair laid her on the bed, Raymund grasped her hand tightly again.
But perhaps because she was very tired, she didn't open her eyes even when the palace was contacted and people came to take Raymund.
'Shouldn't I just take her to the palace like this?'
That impulse arose, but Seiana's family, perhaps reading his mind, stood in his way, preventing Raymund from doing anything foolish, even while trembling in fear.
It was only a momentary impulse, and he hadn't lost the reason to control it, so Raymund obediently returned to the palace.
He didn't want to act strangely and be disliked.
'There will be another chance.'
A chance to become closer. Thinking that way in the carriage returning to the palace, Raymund closed his eyes.
He should have been drifting into sleep, but instead, Seiana's face shone before him with a piercing brightness.
She had looked him straight in the eyes and whispered:
It's alright.
He must have been in a daze after being caught in such an embarrassing situation. Seiana's smile, which had appeared as soon as she saw him, seemed etched into his mind.
The warmth he'd felt in her hand seemed to rise again in his memory. Raymund clenched his fists in the empty air.
He didn't know what it was, but he wanted it. For the first time in his life, greed stirred within him.
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