Chapter 126
#126. The Man Who Never Woke Up
Home, or a shelter.
The nameless place was a large cabin.
“I told you I was right! A pretty lady came!”
As soon as Olivia opened the rough wooden door, the children who had been gathered in front of the window scurried to the entrance.
Among them, little TV, whom she had seen earlier, waved his arms and greeted her. And he raised his nose as if boasting to his four peers who were with him.
A red-haired child mumbled with a frightened face.
“Isn’t she a noble lady?”
“No, she said she wasn’t.”
Listening to the clear voices of the children, Olivia looked around. Unlike the curious little ones, the adults hid behind pillars or doors, not letting their guard down.
It was just like her first day on Yeniv Street.
Olivia smiled at the eyes that were scanning her. Meanwhile, Jerun smiled gently and clapped lightly.
“She is a Priest. Everyone, it’s okay.”
Jerun’s voice echoed softly under the round roof. People hesitated at Jerun’s words.
They didn’t know what a Priest was, but judging from her noble appearance, she was definitely a noble, and a Green Eyes noble at that.
“A Priest?”
The children’s eyes widened. Soon, questions poured out.
“Are you really a Priest?”
“But what does a Priest do?”
“Silly. She’s much higher than the Healer grandpa.”
“Stop it.” At Jerun’s words, the children grinned. As if it were a common prank. When Jerun told them to go play outside, the children dropped their curiosity about Olivia and went outside with a whoop.
“Everyone, go back to what you were doing. I’ll introduce our home to the Priest.”
Regardless of the doubtful gazes of the people, Olivia quietly looked down at the Magic Stone in her hand.
It was shining more brightly than she had ever seen before, so it was clear that there was something here. As certainty settled in, she felt a strange churning in her stomach. Olivia cleared her throat.
“…How long has Jerun been living like this?”
“I think it’s been about forty years since we settled here. Fifty years ago, after Lowell ended, we were constantly chased around, and finally managed to find a place.”
As if scanning a distant past, the years were reflected in his light green eyes.
She didn’t know what he was recalling beyond the blurry focus, but in that instant, the faces of a boy, a middle-aged man, and an old man flashed across Jerun’s face.
When the smile of his slowly drooping eyes turned Jerun back into an old man of his current age, he coughed lightly and laughed.
“There are many old stories, so I should at least lightly organize them by the time you visit again. Would it be alright if I served you my favorite tea then?”
“Then I’ll prepare a dessert to go with the tea. Are the people living here all the children we saw earlier and those people?”
A variety of delicious desserts would surely melt people’s wariness.
The thought that someone who had passed through this place might be in Yeniv also suddenly occurred to her, and it seemed quite plausible. But before Olivia could ask, Jerun pointed to a closed door.
“No. There is one person in that room as well. He has never woken up since he came here.”
Never woken up. Not knowing what he meant, Olivia hesitated for a moment, and Jerun bowed politely.
“If you don’t mind, would you also pray for his recovery with the Priest?”
When Olivia nodded, Jerun smiled brightly as if he knew she would and headed for the closed door.
And when the door opened, Olivia narrowed her eyes for a moment in the brilliant sunlight.
It was a room with a particularly large window, even in this house with fairly good lighting. A fresh breeze filled the room, and a subtle floral scent was fragrant.
The owner of the room was lying on the bed. Olivia instinctively took another step closer.
It was a man with hair as white as the well-maintained white bedding. It was difficult to even guess his age because of the thick cotton cloth placed over his eyes.
Judging by the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth, was he about the same age as Duke Madeleine?
“He is someone I met just like I met the Priest. He has been here the longest since I built this house. It’s difficult to heal him with my abilities…”
Jerun’s words trailed off. Listening to those words, Olivia sincerely prayed for the man.
She didn’t know where he came from or what had happened, but she sincerely hoped that he would get better quickly and stand up again.
“Then I will escort you to the entrance.”
Jerun left the room first. Olivia, who was following him out, paused for a moment and looked at the man again. If it seemed like the man’s fingertips, which had never woken up, had moved just a little, was it her imagination?
As Olivia stared intently at the fingers placed on the blanket, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It was as if she had seen the man’s lower face somewhere before.
Perhaps. If it were not white hair, but jet-black hair that would not let in a single ray of light, he might resemble Edwin…
“Priest?”
“Ah, let’s go!”
Olivia answered cheerfully and shook her head.
* * *
Even though she said it was okay, Jerun habitually pulled his hat down low. He was rather amazed that Olivia didn’t cover up at all.
“Do people not cover up these days? I haven’t been down to the village lately, so I was really surprised when I saw the Priest earlier.”
As the two passed the lake, the children’s laughter gradually faded away.
It was only when the end of the breeze began to turn cold that Olivia realized again that this was the Valley of Senua. Patches of unmelted snow began to appear.
“Some people still wear hats because they’re awkward, but most people go around comfortably.”
A short gasp was heard. The fact that he had stopped walking for a moment proved how surprised Jerun was.
It was too early to be surprised yet.
Olivia added as if it were nothing.
“There’s also a street where Green Eyes, that is, the people of old Lowell, live together. Right now, the street is being renovated, so everyone is living in various places in the Territory of Vikander for a while.”
“The people of Lowell, there’s even a street where they live together?”
Jerun, who seemed to have forgotten how to walk, stopped and uttered the words haltingly. She couldn’t see his face as he turned to look at her, but she could fully read his expression.
Olivia shrugged and smiled.
“Of course.”
“Oh, Rowina…”
He seemed truly devout. The voice that burst out like an exclamation trembled. Olivia waited until the end of Jerun’s reaction and then casually asked as if to change the atmosphere.
“Everyone in Vikander knows, how long has it been since you went down that you don’t know?”
“…It seems like it’s been about four months.”
It hadn’t been that long. Yeniv Street had been established for at least a few years. Feeling Olivia’s gaze, Jerun quickly added.
“Sometimes I went down to the border, not the Territory of Vikander. I thought there would be fewer people who remembered us that way.”
“……”
“Whenever I went to the Territory of Vikander, I only sold herbs and quickly bought what I needed. There was nothing else to talk about, so I came back quickly… I didn’t know it would be like this.”
At a loss for words, Jerun stared at his feet for a long time. Then he coughed and took the breath he had forgotten again. He coughed repeatedly, startled by the breath filling his lungs.
Even when the Priest asked if he was okay, Jerun only blinked.
Even if it was the Priest’s words, he couldn’t completely believe everything he had just heard. To be exact, he couldn’t believe it.
It had been ten years since he had wandered alone after the destruction of Lowell. Jerun knew best what the gazes towards the people of Lowell had been like during those ten years.
But that gaze had changed, and even a street had been created, and people were living together?
“Olivia!”
It was at that moment.
At the sharp voice that seemed to tear through the air, both Jerun and Olivia were startled.
Edwin appeared nearby without a sound.
His pale face was filled with terror.
“Ed,”
As soon as his eyes met Olivia’s, Edwin rushed over and hugged her tightly. The warmth that touched her back was trembling.
“I really, really thought I was going to lose you…”
Edwin’s low voice, as if muttering in her ear, trembled relentlessly. Only after hearing words that she couldn’t even utter as assumptions did Olivia bite her lip.
Her thinking had been short-sighted.
“I’m, sorry.”
Even if she had said that someone with Lowell blood would be able to tell that she was safe, she should have shown herself first.
Was it because of the warmth that touched her, or was it because of relief? Edwin’s cold hands gradually began to regain their warmth.
Edwin slowly pulled Olivia away from him and looked at her face. The whiteness that had spread before his eyes slowly regained focus.
After exhaling the suffocating breath he had held back several times, Edwin slowly stroked Olivia’s cheek.
“…Are you, hurt anywhere?”
“Not at all! I’m really okay!”
Olivia smiled brightly and pulled Edwin’s hand again to her cheek.
The familiar warmth was more precious than anything.
Edwin suddenly remembered the family members who had left his side without a word. And the empty space beside him that had grown colder each time.
The fact that he almost couldn’t feel this warmth again made Edwin’s eyes dizzy again.
What was most important to him now was Olivia.
Not some unsolved secret.
“…Liv.”
What should he say first? It was when Edwin sighed for a moment and rubbed his face wearily.
“Paying respects to the noble royal descendant.”
It was clearly a greeting directed at Edwin himself. An old man wearing thick outerwear was paying his respects to Edwin in a terribly trembling voice.
“Jerun, a loyal servant of Rowina, greets the royal descendant.”
Jerun, who had quickly taken off his hat, finished his introduction while calming his trembling breath. The aura of the Lowell royal family was clearly flowing from the dazzlingly handsome man.
One who inherited the blood of the royal family and one who inherited the blood of the Priest. Jerun couldn’t control his overwhelming emotions.
Oh, Rowina. If this is the reason you have kept me alive until now…
“Ah, Edwin. This is Jerun. He’s the Healer who saved me earlier, and also.”
“Lady!”
A loud voice covered the Priest’s words. Jerun looked towards the place where the voices were approaching and was shocked once more.
“Thank goodness. You’re okay, right? Are you hurt anywhere? I was really worried that my heart would drop, but thankfully there was an aura friendly to the Lady…!”
A magician wearing a Robe covered his mouth in surprise. His light blue eyes were wide.
“Oh my.”
“……!”
“You’re really a person of Lowell? In the Valley of Senua, a person of Lowell…”
“I am Jerun, a servant of Rowina. Is he the magician of the royal descendant…?”
The magician only blinked, as if he were at a loss for words.
The red-haired Knight and the mustached Knight were also coming up behind him. Jerun instinctively tried to shrink back, but stopped himself.
There was no contempt in their gazes towards him. Rather, a sense of kinship. Or more than that.
The expectations that he had always held in his heart and had to suppress were rising again in Jerun’s heart.
If the Priest’s words were true, then everyone in the cabin called home might really be able to go out into the world again.
Bethany and Dian were also overwhelmed. To think that there were people of Lowell in the Valley of Senua. Moreover, someone who seemed so familiar with Lowell that they called the Grand Duke a royal descendant.
Surely this old man would be able to solve the secrets of Lowell that they had not been able to solve until now in an instant.
It was when everyone was unable to speak due to different expectations.
“Lord Drowin.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Prepare to return immediately. Send someone to the castle first and order them to prepare for the Lady to receive a medical examination.”
“Edwin?”
She had clearly said she was okay. Edwin’s expression was unusual. Olivia carefully called out to Edwin. He, who would have answered immediately, looked straight at Olivia and said.
“And from the Valley of Senua…”
“……”
“There’s nothing more to confirm, so let’s withdraw now.”
