Chapter 16
16
Jin’s eyes were swollen from crying. Vice-Captain Louis greeted Nina with his usual gentle demeanor.
“You, seriously, you!”
Jin hugged Nina tightly. She was breathless, but she smiled and hugged him back.
“Jin, I’m so glad you’re alive.”
“That’s what I should be saying?!”
Jin snapped, but he didn’t let go of her.
“What’s with your hair and eye color? No, you don’t have to tell me. I’m just glad you’re back.”
“No, it’s okay to tell you. It might be a bit long, though.”
Nina said, “You don’t have to look at me like I’ve been tortured,” and gave a wry smile. Then, Nina politely greeted Louis as well.
“It’s been a while, Vice-Captain.”
“Really, Nina. Goodness.”
Louis bit his lip. It was the first time in his life that someone he thought was dead had come back alive.
It was the first time, so he couldn’t control anything.
“Are you alright? Is there anything wrong?”
“You just saw the fight.”
“Yes, I saw that reckless method quite well.”
Louis looked at her with a worried expression.
“Are you really okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Nina made a show of flexing her biceps and grinned.
Adrian gently took her arm, and Nina turned to him and said.
“I won’t disappear.”
“I know.”
She knew he knew she wouldn’t disappear, but she smiled, understanding his need to confirm it.
How could Nina be so calm, so able to smile like that?
Adrian thought.
Every time he looked at her, his stomach churned, and he couldn’t bear it. He felt like he would be anxious even if he held her tight and never let go.
Two years had passed, but Nina was the same, making it feel even more like a dream.
Her eyes and hair color had changed, but those weren’t the elements that defined Nina for him.
Nina cleared her throat and said.
“More importantly, why are three people hunting Bellac in the middle of the night? What’s going on?”
At Nina’s question, the three men looked at each other. Louis smiled gently and said.
“Let’s go inside and talk. This doesn’t seem like a good place to talk.”
As always, he had his long, light brown hair tied back, and his neat eyes were closed.
“Somehow, Jin and Lord Louis haven’t changed at all.”
Nina muttered, and Jin looked at Nina and said.
“Neither have you.”
“Really? I don’t know.”
She ran her fingertips through her white bangs and flicked them away.
They moved inside, and Nina asked.
“How’s Kirill? Is he doing well?”
“Yes, Kirill is at Black Shield Castle.”
Grumble.
At that moment, a loud noise came from Nina’s stomach. Nina’s face turned slightly red.
“Do you have anything to eat?”
“Of course.”
“Wait here.”
Jin jumped up from his seat, grabbed bread and water from the cupboard, and handed it to her. Nina devoured it ravenously.
Adrian watched Nina eat and felt relieved.
‘She’s really alive.’
Not a ghost, not an illusion.
He had never heard of a ghost eating and drinking.
Nina, who had devoured the large, round loaf of bread all by herself, looked back and forth at the three pairs of eyes watching her.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?”
At Nina’s words, Jin sighed and rested his chin on his hand.
“Seeing you eat makes it feel real. You’re really alive.”
“Of course. It would be too much if I came all the way here and it turned out to be ‘It was an illusion’ or ‘I was a ghost.’”
“It could be.”
Louis said that and handed Nina a water bottle, which she gulped down.
“Yeah, I don’t think there are any ghosts that eat this much.”
Jin was amazed to see Nina eat a large loaf of bread that could have lasted three days all by herself.
After eating, Nina began to feel sleepy. Come to think of it, hadn’t it been about two years since she had slept?
Nina yawned slightly, and Adrian said.
“Go to sleep.”
“Huh? No, I’m okay.”
Adrian smiled wryly at Nina, who was widening her eyes with both hands.
“Sleep, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”
If we still have plenty of time.
Nina looked at him blankly and nodded.
“Yes, I understand.”
She grinned, got up from her seat, and pulled on Adrian’s arm.
“Then let’s sleep together!”
She quickly got ready while the three men were still in a daze.
In the end, the four of them spread blankets on the floor and lay side by side, looking at the ceiling.
“Ah, this feels like summer training.”
Jin muttered in a disgusted tone, and Nina closed her eyes, saying, “Memories.”
As she slowly reached out her hand, Adrian took it.
‘She really came back.’
She remembered the countless training sessions she had with Tae Yang. Being in that place where she couldn’t perceive time or space felt like she was going crazy.
But she was able to endure it with the thought that she could return.
She wasn’t alone.
Adrian was by her side.
That was enough for Nina, and she soon fell asleep.
Compared to Nina, who had fallen sound asleep, the three men couldn’t fall asleep. Adrian held Nina’s hand and checked on her sleeping form several times.
Jin sighed.
“Why does this feel so unreal?”
“Because it’s an unrealistic event.”
Adrian replied and sat up. Nina’s hair, as white as snow, was very long.
Long enough to remind him of when he first met Nina.
In the end, the three men stayed up all night. It wasn’t until Nina groggily opened her eyes and got up after dawn that the three men began to slowly realize that Nina had come back alive.
As the sun rose, everything was a clear reality.
The four of them prepared to return to the castle. There were only three horses, so Adrian and Nina decided to ride the same horse.
‘I’m hungry.’
Nina thought blankly as she sat in front of Adrian.
‘I think I’ve gotten stronger.’
She realized it in one shot when she caught the Bellac yesterday.
Her strength was completely different from before.
‘Is it because I’m stronger that I’m also hungrier?’
While she was thinking blankly, Adrian asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. More importantly, why were only three of you catching Bellac there?”
Adrian was silent for a moment at Nina’s question.
Louis, who was moving alongside them, said.
“The Bellac from last night was an A-class individual at a glance, so I thought that coming here directly to hunt it would cause less damage to the territory. I didn’t expect His Excellency to come in person…”
In short, it was something they were trying to handle with a small elite team, but Adrian suddenly joined in.
It was probably unwelcome news for a subordinate.
But what caught Nina’s attention in that sentence was the word “Excellency.”
Nina’s ears perked up.
“Excellency? Huh? Young Master, don’t tell me?”
As Nina struggled to turn around to look at him, Adrian turned her head forward and said in a low voice.
“That’s right.”
“Huh? You’re really the Duke? Then, how…”
Surely it didn’t go like the book, right? Please tell me he didn’t kill everyone and rise to the position of Duke.
“It was amazing. I’ve never seen His Excellency so angry. I never thought he would draw his sword in the conference room? The old Duke turned white and jumped up.”
Nina was even more flustered by Jin’s sarcastic words, and she looked back and forth.
Jin grinned at her expression. Louis frowned at him and said.
“Sir Jin, you mustn’t tease Lady Nina. Well, I did get scolded for trying to stop His Excellency back then.”
“So what happened?”
When Nina raised her voice, Adrian answered.
“He was kicked out.”
“Yes?”
When Nina was flustered, Jin kindly added, “He was kicked out of the Dukedom.”
“I thought it would be either he kills everyone, or we die.”
Louis smiled and said.
“We decided to return to Black Shield Castle and lie low for the time being. We also had to take care of the remaining Jet-Black Knights.”
“It was a living hell.”
Jin gritted his teeth. He glanced at Nina.
“But thanks to you, I survived.”
