Chapter 33

The two twenty-six year olds glared at each other while spitting out words that even six-year olds wouldn’t say. It was Erna who spoke again.

“Anyways, why did you come to me? I purposely left, thinking it would be better for you to sleep more comfortably today. If you were calling me to argue about that, I’ll just go back.”

Kalion’s anger should have been relieved a little since he argued as much as he wanted to. In addition, after the Haldis area was restored, some of the knights and wizards in this mansion moved to the accommodation in Haldis for smoother restoration work.

In the meantime, there was an empty room that became available as many people were fully treated, as well as an extra bed in Orpé’s room. If people were told that Kalion slept in another room to have a good night’s sleep, they would not be suspicious.

“It wasn’t because of that.”

“Then why?”

“…Didn’t you promise?”

“What?”

A promise? Erna wondered if she had promised Kalion anything, but she couldn’t remember. Erna stared as if she had no idea. Kalion spoke after hesitating for a moment.

“Today is the sixth day.”

“Why does it matt… Are you really going to do it?!”

She was about to snap why it mattered if it was the sixth day or the seventh day of the week, but then she remembered the first promise the two of them made to each other. On the sixth day, they would try to have a successor.

“But, you don’t feel well right now, so do you really need to make an effort all the way out here?”

Her voice cracked as she responded. It was something she hadn’t even thought of; she really didn’t think about it even a little. Until a few days ago, her head was filled with magic and battles with demons. After that, Kalion collapsed and lost consciousness. But this was what he decided to think about the moment he woke up?

“My body is fine. It’s normal. No, rather…”

Kalion, speaking up to that point, wiped his face with both his hands and swallowed his words. Then he spoke again.

“Anyway, you don’t have to worry about my body.”

Erna looked at him suspiciously. Kalion was urging like a person who’d be in trouble if he didn’t do it right away. He didn’t seem normal. Even back at the Archduke Castle, he wasn’t too willing. In addition, she didn’t understand why he demanded it first when they were in a situation where it was all right for them to not do it.

“So, I want you to keep your promise.”

Erna remained silent. At Kalion’s request, she realized that she had no ground to refuse. She had no intention of evading her duty. However,  she didn’t understand why he wanted to do it out in the middle of nowhere. Realizing that it was useless to argue, Erna got up from her seat.

“Okay. I will come back after I wash up, so wait.”

Even though she washed in the morning, seeing Kalion with his hair wet and smelling soapy, she felt like she had to wash herself.

As Erna entered the bathroom with her face that of defeat, Kalion quickly got up, opened the door, and twisted the lion-headed ornament attached outside to the side. It was a sign in Hessenguard not to knock on the door or come in because the person in the room would like to rest comfortably.

He immediately closed the door and then locked it tightly after twisting the ornament. Then he threw the hanging key onto the sofa. Stupid demon’s poison. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked down between his throbbing legs.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing Kalion felt was neither thirst or hunger. There was another desire that were just as ardent as those.

I want to hug her.

He was taken aback by the amount of s*x*al desire he felt. Then he opened his eyes and saw Erna. He wondered if he was dreaming again, but he stayed still intently as to be careful if it was a dream. But as she stared between his legs, he suddenly felt something stir inside him, and his body treacherously responded to those feelings… He thought Erna would freak out, but instead of averting her eyes, she looked at it more intently. She even brought her face closer to it.

At that moment, he sensed that something was going to happen to him if this continued, so he called Erna, and she screamed and ran away when their eyes met.

Kalion, who was left alone in the room, quickly pulled over the blanket and covered his lower body. His body felt numb after lying down for a long time. As he looked back at his memories of what had happened, he realized that he had no memory after he was bitten by the demons.

Moments later, the door opened and the healers entered.

“Sir! You’re awake!”

Breathing a sigh of relief, they looked over his body for any abnormalities, telling him how many days had passed since he fell and what had happened.

“Is there anything you need?”

At the healers’ question, Kalion turned his head. He saw Erna who returned to the room. She remained standing at the corner, eyeing the situation.

Gulp. He swallowed his saliva without even realizing it. However, Kalion desperately tried to clear up his mind and decided to focus on other things first.

In an instant, food was placed on the table and, contrary to the healers’ concerns, he chewed and swallowed aggressively. Contrary to his hope that filling his empty stomach would help subdue the urge, it fueled his lone desire even further. Strange.

Kalion was fully aware of the abnormalities of his body. Meanwhile, the maids of the mansion entered the room to clean up the dishes he ate. Kalion looked at them for a moment. Sensing his gaze, the maids looked at him while blushing, and only after noticing that Kalion’s gaze was cold, they quickly left the room.

“Since I don’t think there will be any more problems, you can rest here for one more day and then return to the Archduke Castle. This beautiful place was originally a resort town. You can relax and we’ll head back slowly.”

“There is something I want to ask you for a moment.”

“Ask away.”

Kalion took the old man he trusted the most among the healers to a corner and asked in a low voice. “Are there any aftereffects from the poison of the monster?”

“What are you talking about?” the old man replied confusedly.

“I mean, can there be any abnormalities in the body even after receiving the healing spell?”

“Of course. There are barely any permanent effects, but there are quite a few temporary symptoms. Anyway, since things from another world entered and left the body, it can’t be completely intact.”

“What are the symptoms?”

“Why? Is there something you feel is abnormal?”

“No, I don’t think it’s that much… Just in case I develop symptoms later, I may want to refer to them.”

It was a hasty excuse, but it was a plausible statement even for himself. The healer seemed to understand too and he explained every effects he was aware of.

“Lack of appetite, temporary loss of sight or hearing, low mood, sudden changes in emotions…” The healer’s words continued. “… Hyperventilation, an increase in blood pressure, etc., although they do not show well.”

He looked at Erna sitting on the sofa, he coughed with a slightly embarrassed expression, then came closer to Kalion and whispered in a small voice. “Increased libido as well.”

There it was. Kalion felt like he had finally found the answer. He knew something was up. It was because of the demon’s poison. Otherwise, there was no way he’d look for Erna as soon as he opened his eyes.

When the healers finished their work, they left the room for him to rest.  As Kalion immediately approached Erna, he smelled something foul. Damn it.

He couldn’t pay attention because he was eating like crazy, but now that his hunger disappeared and his senses returned to normal, his body felt icky. Come to think of it, he had been lying in bed sweating for over three days, so there was no way his body was normal. No matter how much his body was wiped down with a towel, the stickiness of sweat remained on his body.

Kalion said to Erna, who was surveying Kalion’s expression.

“You, wait here and don’t go anywhere.”

Then he went straight into the bathroom and washed his body like a madman. While washing, he counted the days. And he realized an important fact. The fact that time passed while he was in bed and it was now the sixth day of the week.

“Good.”

He muttered, hastily wiping his body dry. Today was the day he was allowed to hold Erna. Seems like we can do it today. Until now, he couldn’t do it properly because it was embarrassing and awkward to touch her in his normal sanity. But now it seemed like he could do his duty quickly.

But waiting for him as he rushed out of the bathroom was an empty room.

Kalion immediately ran out of the room.

“Sir!”

“We hear you woke up. Are you okay?”

When he came out of the hallway, the knights who remained in the mansion ran to him and talked to him. Normally, he would have said he was sorry for causing concern, for showing such a shameful appearance, and then talked about what had happened while he was in bed. But there was only one thought left in his mind. Where is Erna?

“Sir?”

The knights called as they saw Kalion looking over the hallway without any reaction to their words. Kalion finally came to his senses and answered. “Have you seen Erna?”

“Sorry?”

“Do you know where Erna is?”

At Kalion’s words, the knights looked at each other for a moment. They were knights who had been with Kalion for quite a long time. Therefore, they were well aware of Kalion’s manner of speaking.

Since he came to Hessenguard, he never once called Erna by name. But he was looking for her, calling her Erna naturally, as if he had been calling her that for a very long time now.