Chapter 29
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Chapter 29
But the next day, I could not escape.
My fever had spiked dangerously high.
Completely bedridden, I had no choice but to accept the Silver-haired Boy's care.
He stayed by my side, attending to my every need.
He wiped away my sweat, fed me bitter medicine and warm broth.
After a full day of illness, my fever finally broke.
"...."
Night had fallen again.
Opening my eyes, I gazed at the mottled wooden ceiling before slowly turning my head to the side.
The Silver-haired Boy had placed a chair by the window and sat there.
Bathed in the brilliant moonlight pouring through the window, he was polishing his sword.
It was a scene that felt almost unreal.
The boy paused as he wiped the blade with a dry cloth, sensing my gaze.
He looked toward me.
His blue eyes were serene.
I met his gaze steadily and asked.
"Why did you save me?"
"Does a reason need to exist for such a thing?"
Perhaps for someone aspiring to become a Holy Knight, such actions came naturally.
I could not comprehend it.
Kindness without recompense felt foreign to me.
I feared he might lull me into a false sense of security, only to demand something unexpected later.
Observing my lingering wariness, the boy slowly opened his mouth.
"Hailon."
"...?"
"My name. Since I saved you, I'd like it if you knew my name."
I hesitated for a moment before quickly nodding.
"Ah, yes."
Regardless of whether I believed him or not.
I had survived because of this boy.
At the very least, I owed him my gratitude.
"Thank you."
A faint smile flickered across Hailon's expressionless lips.
For reasons I could not explain, my eyes lingered on that subtle, delicate curve.
I bit my lip quietly.
I was deliberating whether to share my own name.
Hailon gripped his sword and rose from the chair.
He gazed out the window without opening it.
"...."
Noticing the sharpened glint in his eyes, I held my breath.
It was clear the Slave Hunters had tracked me down.
Tension coiled tight in my chest.
'In this condition, I won't last long if I run.'
I had barely survived, only to find myself back at square one.
I was trembling faintly, consumed by dread.
A quiet voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.
"Did the ones who came here do this to you?"
The silver-haired boy waited calmly for my answer, a sword hanging loosely in one hand.
I stared at Hailon with bewildered eyes.
Surely he wasn't suggesting he'd fight the Slave Hunters?
It was madness.
"They're Slave Hunters."
They captured and sold anything that turned a profit.
They committed atrocities without hesitation, treating people worse than beasts.
When word spread of a fairy's appearance, the hunters who rushed here had set fire to the Orphanage first.
I watched the Orphanage Director and my friends die before my eyes.
The cruel laughter of those who slaughtered innocent people still echoed in my mind like a phantom sound.
Hailon would meet the same fate.
He was merely an apprentice knight without formal rank—the hunters would have no qualms about him.
"If you abandoned me and fled right now—"
Before I could finish saying it would be fine, Hailon cut me off.
"Why would I?"
I was left speechless, unable to respond.
"You don't know the Slave Hunters? There are dozens of them, not just a handful."
"Not anymore."
"What?"
"I killed about half of them yesterday."
He added that the remaining ones were somewhat persistent, his eyes narrowing with annoyance.
His words didn't register at first.
"You killed the Slave Hunters...?"
I knew young boys, especially novice swordsmen, often boasted with youthful arrogance.
It was natural to be cocky when first wielding a blade.
But Hailon didn't seem like that sort.
His voice carried none of the exaggeration typical of boastful youths.
It was matter-of-fact and monotone, like reporting to a superior.
Could it actually be true?
Yet I couldn't believe it.
Even I, with a fairy's power, couldn't stand against the Slave Hunters.
How could a mere apprentice knight possibly...?
As Lichesia simply stared at him, the Silver-haired Boy averted his gaze slightly.
His articulate fingers, stretched taut and unwavering, caressed the hilt of his sword.
"...It's not a lie."
At his addition, Lichesia found herself laughing softly, almost without realizing it.
Though it bordered on a hollow laugh, it was unmistakably genuine.
Hailon, whose gaze had been fixed on some distant point in the void, now stared intently at her smiling face.
Without so much as a blink, his eyes pierced through her.
They held the wonder of a boy seeing flowers for the very first time.
Lichesia slowly let her laughter fade.
She bit her lip, then brushed her cheek with the back of her hand.
It wasn't as though I hadn't experienced such fervent gazes before.
Yet for some reason, my cheeks continued to burn.
The atmosphere had grown peculiar, so I spoke whatever came to mind.
"Are you helping me without asking for anything in return?"
"No."
The Silver-haired Boy answered curtly, meeting Lichesia's gaze directly as he spoke.
"I've gained something too."
What could he possibly have gained?
Thus far, it seemed I had only lost.
Perhaps I would even lose my life in this situation.
Yet the Silver-haired Boy offered no explanation.
"I'll be back."
He simply drew his sword quietly and vanished.
Lichesia sat motionless on the bed for a time.
Then she rose slowly to her feet.
I wasn't certain whether Hailon could truly stand against the Slave Hunters.
But at least he seemed skilled enough to delay them momentarily, which would give me time to escape.
'After all, he's destined to become a Holy Knight.'
There was nothing to gain from becoming further entangled.
Before my nature as a fairy was discovered and I was killed, it was right to leave now.
Yet strangely, my feet refused to move.
Though I should flee at once, Lichesia gazed up at the moon from the window where Hailon had stood.
For a time, I let meaningless moments drift away while watching the silvery moon.
Only then did I steel my resolve and leap out the window.
In the place where Lichesia had been, only the fragrance of flowers remained.
***
After surviving with Hailon's aid.
I had come to wield the fairy's power flawlessly.
Once I grasped how to command the Illusion Realm, the Slave Hunters became nothing but laughable playthings.
True to a mad fairy's daughter, the Illusion Realm's grotesque atmosphere became my symbol.
Beautiful as a flower yet cruel, the fairy grew increasingly renowned, and after wreaking havoc, I earned the epithet of Demon Fairy.
Living as I pleased, swinging my axe without restraint, I sometimes wondered.
Whether the Silver-haired Boy had survived that night.
Whether he had received his formal ordination as a Holy Knight.
Whether he had discovered that I was a fairy.
If he had learned the truth, whether he regretted saving me.
Whether he felt betrayed that I fled alone, abandoning him.
Whether he now wished to kill me.
The curiosity persisted for quite some time.
I had even thought I wanted to meet the Silver-haired Boy just once before death claimed me.
Even knowing there was nothing good to gain from such a reunion.
'As expected, nothing turned out well.'
Recalling the moment of our reunion, I laughed bitterly.
The sharp fragments of the past stung ever so slightly.
I quickly erased the acrid smile from my face.
No trace of naivety remained to be found anymore.
Gazing at Hailon, now fully grown into a complete man, I answered with composure.
"Indeed. A full moon tonight."
Hailon still did not avert his gaze from my face.
He studied me intently for a long while.
Golden eyelashes, small and plump lips, cheeks flushed with a becoming pink hue.
Only after scrutinizing every detail did he speak again.
"Why did you disappear, Demon Fairy?"
Still lost in the echoes of the past, I momentarily thought he was asking about those old days.
About abandoning the young boy and fleeing alone.
But I quickly corrected my misunderstanding.
Hailon was asking about the present, not the past.
'Why would he ask such a thing?'
Since he had even kidnapped Hata, I thought this time we would finally settle matters.
Yet he asked first why I had not shown myself all this time—it was absurd.
For a moment, I considered telling him out of spite that I had been busy giving birth.
"...!"
I sensed something deeply ominous.
A tingling sensation, as though I were about to sneeze—
It was the sensation I felt when my body transformed after drinking the potion.
'Surely not... Please, no...' Even as I thought this, the premonition was far too unmistakable.
Chesa stared at Hata with bewildered eyes.
The moment their gazes met.
Hata, too, sensed Chesa's condition and let out a silent scream.
'I'm about to... transform into a baby?!'
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