Chapter 131
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Dear, I believe you may be misunderstanding.
Chapter 131
'Where... am I?'
Wale's eyes fluttered open, his head throbbing with dull pain.
Through his hazy gaze, a darkened sky came into view.
A moisture-laden breeze caressed his bare skin.
A faint chill rippled across his flesh.
The air of the outside world.
The familiar scent of the sea reached his senses.
In that moment, his consciousness snapped fully into focus.
"...Giselle! Cough!"
As I rushed to rise, I seized my aching shoulder in pain.
Clenching my teeth, the horrific memories of last night flashed rapidly through my mind.
With Giselle's condition deteriorating, I wasted no time and bolted toward the shore.
The storm-ravaged sea was fierce and unforgiving.
The churning waters seemed to warn me that I should not enter.
Yet if I did not retrieve the Deathgrass immediately, Giselle would surely perish.
I could never allow my sister to die like this.
Without hesitation, I plunged into the savage sea.
Even transformed into a massive whale, the turbulent waters proved relentless.
I strained my eyes, searching the dark depths thoroughly.
Fortunately, the storm's fury lessened in the depths below, allowing me to find the seaweed.
But the true challenge lay in returning to human form.
To become human again, I had to collide my body against the Cliff of Memories.
That is, I would have to become human while submerged in the sea.
Under normal circumstances, this posed no issue.
But to fall into the sea as a human during such a violent storm was nothing short of suicide.
One obstacle after another.
Yet I could not wait for the waves to subside while clutching the seaweed.
I threw myself forward, and as expected, I struck a rock and lost consciousness briefly.
And now, I had foolishly opened my eyes at dawn, as the sun began its pale ascent.
'What an idiot.'
Gripping my throbbing shoulder, I pushed myself to my feet and brushed myself off.
White sand from the beach scattered away.
It was the White Sand Beach, located directly beneath Contana Castle, not far from the Cliff of Memories.
Since I typically transformed into human form in this vicinity, the beach was restricted to all but the royal family.
I rushed toward the small storage shed where I kept spare clothes for such occasions.
Hastily donning the garments, I sprinted toward the castle.
'Giselle, no. Please, you cannot die.'
Giselle's seizure had been far from ordinary.
If I missed this moment, I felt certain that child would surely die.
'I've actually never left this island myself. If I were to recover and go traveling, I think I wouldn't be able to sleep from the day before, or rather, for days beforehand.'
Giselle's voice echoed painfully in my mind.
My mouth tasted bitter the entire ride.
If I'd known I'd let her go like this, I should have forced her to see beyond the island, no matter what....
'No. Giselle will be fine. She has to be fine.'
Because no one knew what might happen, my younger sister had been confined to this narrow island her entire life.
To a child whose only wish was to see the Capital, I had only been strict, saying it was absolutely impossible until her illness was cured.
Everything became regret, clawing at my chest.
What kind of useless older brother was I.
Guilt strangled my heart.
Bang!
"Jason!"
Perhaps because it was dawn.
I burst through the castle gates and rushed inside, but the castle interior was eerily silent.
Wale, his face drained of color, hurried toward Giselle's bedroom.
Silent.
So silent that my heart raced with anxiety.
With trembling hands, I threw open the bedroom door.
"...!"
The moment I stepped inside, an unexpected figure came into view first.
"You are...."
"You've arrived."
Grace Oellin sat beside Giselle's bed, watching over her condition.
Grace, looking somewhat fatigued, rose hastily to greet Wale.
Lucas Black, who had been beside Grace, also stood up to follow her.
"How is this possible...."
Wale's gaze, which had been examining the two of them, fell upon Giselle sleeping peacefully in bed.
"Giselle...?"
"She just fell asleep. Giselle will be fine, General."
Wale examined Giselle and Grace Oellin with a bewildered expression.
Just then, Jason arrived carrying fresh towels and warm water.
"Master! Are you alright? Oh, heavens! You're safe!"
The startled man warmed Wale's cold body with a towel soaked in warm water.
Grace Oellin, gazing at him with pity—his pale face, his clothes soaked through by rain—offered a brief explanation.
"Deathgrass. It's a seaweed that becomes poison when used excessively. I'm not sure how you obtained it or why it was used as medicine for Giselle, but.... It appears Giselle was addicted to this seaweed."
"I don't quite understand what you mean."
Wale replied in a trembling voice.
Grace Oellin explained to him that Deathgrass was a poisonous plant and that Giselle's condition seemed like addiction to that poison.
She said that while she wasn't sure how her first seizure had begun, even that seizure was likely a symptom of addiction rather than illness.
Wale's complexion drained of all color at her words, becoming as pallid as that of a corpse.
He lifted the Degras he gripped tightly in his hand and glared at it.
'This is a poisonous plant?'
Then why on earth had that man given it to him?
No... how had Giselle become poisoned?
This could only be obtained from the deepest reaches of the sea, so how could...?
Countless questions swirled through his mind.
His exhausted brain, battered by waves throughout the night, could barely function properly.
Yet even that sluggish mind recognized that Grace Oellin had saved Giselle's life.
"If Miss Giselle has another seizure, grind this and feed it to her."
Grace Oellin extended a dragon horn to Wale as he bowed his head.
"Just scrape out the yellow seeds inside and have her consume them. Since this subdued tonight's seizure, it should prove effective in the future as well."
"...How did you know?"
"My mother received that plant called Degras once before. She left detailed records about it. I learned from those records."
Grace Oellin smiled faintly and pressed the dragon horn into his hand.
"Giselle will be fine, Commander."
To save his sister, he had plunged into the dark sea through the tempest.
I found myself admiring Wale's devotion, deeply moved by it.
And my heart ached.
'Risking one's life for family.'
An older brother saving his sister's life at that.
The siblings I knew were nothing like this.
My own brother had raised scissors to kill me.
Yet this man had plunged into the water dozens of times to save his sister.
The feeling was strange.
A lump formed in my chest.
Could family bonds truly be this tender...?
I wondered if the harshness and sensitivity I had witnessed from him yesterday might stem from his sister's suffering.
'...Is this what brotherly love is?'
Giselle had said it herself.
She couldn't understand why he was acting this way when he normally wasn't like this.
I realized there must be his own reasons for his rudeness toward Lucas Black and me.
Just as I found myself envying the intimacy, trust, and faith between family members.
Lucas quietly touched my shoulder.
When I glanced at him, he was looking at me.
As our eyes met, he lifted the corners of his mouth in a gentle smile.
Ah, that's right.
'...I have that kind of 'family' now too.'
In that moment, a corner of my heart felt reassured.
Though not bound by blood, I knew my new family would never abandon me.
Is this what trust and faith truly are?
"...I see. You've helped us."
Wale's relieved voice carried a tone I had never heard from him before.
He swallowed a trembling sigh and accepted the dragon fang that Grace offered him, taking it in both hands.
Or so I thought.
"...!"
What he held wasn't just the dragon fang—it was Grace's hand holding the fang as well.
His trembling hand was ice-cold.
Before I could even react, Wale dropped to one knee and pressed his lips to the back of Grace's hands.
"Thank you so much."
His voice, thick with emotion, held nothing but relief.
"...Thank you for saving Giselle."
Because of this, I found myself reflexively stiffening, unable to speak.
The man who had seemed so arrogant, the duke of this land, knelt without hesitation and pressed his lips to the back of her hands.
With a reverence that carried no ulterior motive whatsoever, he kissed the back of her hands and pressed his forehead against them.
Everyone in the room froze, but Wale seemed indifferent to it all.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her.
Sunlight that had overcome the dawn's early glow softly enveloped her from behind.
Wale's pupils dilated sharply as he gazed at her silhouetted against the light.
It was her.
Unmistakably, it was her.
The witch from the phantom that had haunted his entire childhood.
Grace's appearance overlapped perfectly with that figure, without a single discrepancy.
'What is this....'
I stared blankly at her, forgetting even to breathe, unable to blink.
Grace, coming to her senses belatedly, withdrew her hand from his grasp and spoke with embarrassment.
"I believe that much gratitude is sufficient...."
"Ah...."
Wale belatedly regained his composure and straightened the knee he had bent.
"Please forgive my rudeness. My mind went blank for a moment."
"No, it's fine. These things happen. Since the General is here, we should be taking our leave now...."
"There is something I must tell you."
"Yes?"
Wale took a moment to breathe deeply, then spoke with a resolute voice.
"Someone has told me to kill you."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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