Like a gently flowing river, like snowflakes quietly settling at dawn, it was a calm and clear energy.
It was neither dazzling nor particularly brilliant.
It simply seeped quietly into Ludville’s body, soaked in blood and miasma, just as dew dampens the blades of grass.
And it began gently peeling away the darkness clinging to his body.
Little by little, ever so slowly.
Ludville’s shoulder twitched.
At that moment, miasma like black mist began to seep from his back.
As if the corrupted energy filling his body had reacted to the purification.
Odeli poured even more power into it.
The purification energy condensed and spread like a vibration.
Then the blackened fingertips of his hand slowly returned to their original color.
“Urgh.”
This won’t be over in one go.
This was a condition that would require purification over a long period of time.
For now, she focused all her strength on slowing its progression as much as possible.
‘Just a little more….’
Odeli instinctively felt her own life force being drained, but she did not stop.
Her breathing grew rougher.
She endured, thinking that she could not lose Ludville for something like this, and poured out as much purification energy as she could.
A short while later.
The miasma that had been rising from Ludville’s body as if it might burst at any moment began to settle.
She had put out the most urgent fire.
“…….”
No, perhaps it was more accurate to say the fire had simply spread to her.
A rush of hot blood came up.
“Hngh…….”
Odeli spat out blood and trembled.
The pain in her chest felt as though it were burning from the inside, and this time, she could not hold it back and let out a groan.
Her vision grew hazy, and a sharp ringing filled her ears.
Cold sweat streamed down her forehead.
‘It’s a good thing there are monster corpses scattered everywhere.’
At least Ludville and the soldiers would not notice that she had vomited blood.
She desperately steadied her breathing and held on to her fading consciousness, feeling as though she might faint at any moment.
Then she wiped the traces of blood from around her mouth.
“…….”
That was when it happened.
Ludville slowly inhaled after holding his breath for a moment.
A pleasant sensation spread along his spine.
It was neither hot nor cold.
The energy slowly passed through his lungs, blood vessels, and heart, removing the murky residue clinging somewhere inside his body.
So slowly that it was almost impossible to feel.
At the same time, his broken consciousness began to return.
“Where am I…….”
He muttered in a hoarse, cracked voice.
His violet eyes, which had been unfocused and dull, slowly regained their light.
His blood-soaked gloves felt uncomfortable.
His stomach, pierced by a monster’s claw, throbbed with pain.
The blood clinging to his entire body made him feel even more miserable.
Only then did he realize that the sensations he had been unable to recognize for so long were returning one after another.
Only then did Ludville feel exhausted.
His throat was dry and cracked, his breathing was rough, and he did not even have the strength to move a finger.
But he could definitely feel it.
It was so familiar, so painfully familiar that it needed no explanation at all…….
His entire body was reacting before his mind could, telling him that he could not let it go, that if he lost it, everything would be over.
A sensation he must not forget, even if he died.
Something he had to follow all the way to hell, hold tightly in his arms, and never let go…….
Ludville slowly exhaled and turned his head.
Behind him, he saw the face of the woman who was pulling her hand away.
Her face was even paler and whiter than usual.
Looking as though she might collapse at any moment, she said,
“I told you that you would need me.”
Odeli Cardel.
Ludville could not even remember that name.
Before he could make a rational judgment, he simply reached toward her instinctively, as if something were drawing him in.
And in an instant.
He pulled her into a tight embrace.
“……!”
He could feel her faint breathing against his chest.
A familiar scent.
A familiar warmth.
And an even more familiar presence.
His body remembered before his mind did.
His lips moved.
“……Don’t cry.”
“…….”
Odeli placed a hand against his chest and gently tried to push him away.
“Your Highness, I think you’re mistaken about something…….”
“Don’t move. Just stay still.”
“…….”
It was a whisper that could have been either an order or a plea.
Then, like a beast whose instincts had awakened, he buried his nose against the back of her neck and breathed in deeply without hesitation.
The scent of herbs dried beneath the sunlight.
A dry, calm fragrance filled the depths of his lungs.
When Odeli instinctively tensed, he held her even tighter so she could not escape.
Alive. Here, now. In my arms.
A satisfied smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
It was as if a missing piece had finally fallen perfectly into place, filling the empty space in his heart that had remained hollow for so long.
An overwhelming sense of fulfillment washed over him.
Only now did he think he understood.
What he had been searching for all this time.
“I caught you.”
Finally.
Mine.
For the first time in a very long while, he felt alive.
****
‘……Ah, he fainted.’
Odely felt all the strength leave Ludville’s body.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, his enormous body, nearly two meters tall, slowly tilted toward her.
“Urgh.”
She could not even speak.
Even while unconscious, he seemed determined never to let her go, gripping her with almost obsessive strength.
In the end, Odely fell over with Ludville, landing hard on the forest floor and hitting her bottom.
‘Can’t breathe…….’
Odely struggled beneath him.
But when she realized she could not move at all, she had no choice but to relax her entire body.
She was completely nestled in the arms of the unconscious Ludville.
Honestly, it was strange that he had not collapsed sooner.
He had been practically soaked in miasma, yet he had still held a sword, moved around, spoken, and fought in that condition. Even now, it seemed almost impossible.
She had been genuinely worried that the purification had not worked……
She never expected to become even more tense for an entirely different reason.
“…….”
How long am I supposed to stay like this?
Odely turned her head and looked at Ludville’s blood-covered face.
Suddenly, she remembered the last time she had seen him at the funeral.
Even then, when he had been dead and lying inside the coffin, he had worn this same expression.
A peaceful face, as though he had finally found eternal rest……
“…….”
Without realizing it, Odely brought her ear close to his heart.
Even though she obviously knew he was alive.
Thump, thump.
She heard the strong, steady beat of his heart.
“……You’re sturdy.”
Despite starving himself, getting intoxicated on medicine and miasma, and seeming desperate to hurt himself, he was still perfectly fine.
It was a relief.
He had been born with a healthy body unlike hers.
He had the resilience to recover quickly without easily breaking even after reaching his limits.
Although perhaps that was why he treated his own body so recklessly.
“……Ludville.”
She quietly called his name.
She whispered almost like she was talking to herself, afraid that he might hear her voice even in his sleep.
“Lud…….”
How long had it been since she had been able to look at him this closely?
No, perhaps this was the first time.
All the memories she had shared with him were things she had seen through the memories of his regression.
Being married to him.
Loving him.
In a way, she could say she had always been an observer.
And yet, why did this feel so…….
Why did something as simple as secretly calling his name make her throat tighten and her heart ache?
For something like love, something she had never experienced herself.
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