Chapter 26

***

Thank you so much for the Ko-Fi support Minituk❤ 

***

But when he saw Vivian showing her ability without batting an eye, he changed his mind. He also thought that she matched well with the Commander who looked quite determined and gave the impression that even if he was stabbed, not a single drop of blood would come out.

“My Lady was amazing that day.”

Tainy’s sentimental muttering made the Knights curious. What the hell did Vivian look like when he saw her beating Ben neatly?

“Anyway, let’s just pretend we don’t know.”

Tainy cracked down on the Knights and grinned.

This relationship may be the first spring in his life.

***

On the first day, it was already evening when they finished unpacking.

Vivian and the Knights had dinner together, and tomorrow, they will be visiting the estate.

Vivian tried to sit next to Enka, but somehow she ended up sitting next to Roger. While rolling her eyes awkwardly, the servants brought a variety of dishes to fill the table.

The Knights ate twice as fast as the food was being brought in. Vivian was fortunate enough to have a pleasant meal in this bustling atmosphere. Most of all, it was an opportunity to exchange names with the Knights who had not been able to greet each other.

But every time Vivian turned to talk for a while, food was added to her plate. The culprit was Roger, sitting right next to her, eating silently. He steadily brought food in front of Vivian.

He acted so casually that Vivian didn’t stop him. If she were to be honest, it was quite comfortable because there was no need to reach out.

His behavior continued until they finished eating and had dessert.

Thanks to this, Vivian was full to the point of bursting.

“Then I’ll go up now.”

Vivian rose up after a friendly greeting today as if she had just met a close friend. Just as her greeting was the starting point, the Knights stood up one by one, saying, “Good night.” As the seats were emptied continuously, the sight was already crossing the place .

Crowds of people rushing out of the restaurant turned around toward their respective rooms. The Knights usually used the first floor and quickly disappeared by turning towards the hallway.

Vivian, who used the second floor, walked out of the hallway and up the stairs. Then she heard the sound of footsteps following her, so she paused.

When she turned her head slightly, she saw Roger was following her.

“What are you doing here?….”

Roger, who walked steadily on the stairs while Vivian stopped, quickly caught up with her.

Roger, standing two steps above Vivian, looked down at her.

“My room is on the second floor, too.”

“…….”

“Is there a problem?”

Vivian thought Roger would do the same when all the Knights went to the rooms on the first floor. However, Roger is the only one who will be using a room on the same floor as her, so she was dumbfounded.

That does not preclude Vivian from using the upstairs room.

Smiling hard, Vivian moved her feet again.

Only the sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway of the second floor.

Vivian thought it was because she was going all the way to the last room, but Roger continued walking by her side as if he wanted something from her.

“…Sir, where is your room?”

Vivian suppressed her anxiety and asked quietly. Then Roger stopped.

“Here it is.”

The moonlight, which came slowly over the window at the end of the hallway, lit up half of his face. As Vivian turned her head slightly, she could see the sky with a full moonlight.

Roger chose the room next to Vivian.

While she was stunned and at a loss for words, Roger opened the door.

“Have a good night.”

He vanished into the dark room after leaving a suggestive comment.

Only Vivian, who was left alone in the vast and empty hallway, laughed ridiculously.

***

Contrary to the expectation that she would fall asleep soon due to the exhausting travel, Vivian had trouble sleeping. It wasn’t because she heard a noise somewhere. It was just that the man in the next room made her constantly conscious. Whenever the thought of Roger staying in the next room came, her head, which had barely been soaked in sleep, became clear, and strangely, her heart was pounding.

For that reason, she tossed and turned for a long time. Her mind became quiet and soon, the sky, which was dyed with abyss, became blue. Vivian sat up, listening to a bird chirping cheerfully. Her mind was dazed as if it were protesting because of the sleep deprivation.

“Lady, you didn’t sleep well?”

Hamel was surprised to see the shade under Vivian’s eyes. Vivian shook her hands and raised her body without the strength to answer. She couldn’t afford to procrastinate just because she lacked sleep. From today on, they had to look outside the walls and find out more about the cracks.

Breakfast was no different from last night. Rather, the Knights seemed more energetic than yesterday. It was because they were very hungry after finishing their morning training.

Vivian, unlike them, who looked tired, frowned when she saw Roger, who was clean. However, she could not make it obvious that she was having trouble sleeping because she was conscious of him, so she sat down calmly.

“Where do you intend to go first?”

Roger asked, placing fresh bread on Vivian’s plate.

“I need to check outside the walls first. I need to find out if there’s a cycle of when the cracks show up…….”

Vivian replied, tearing the bread by hand and spreading jam on the cross side.

“Let’s go together.”

Roger announced his company in a nonchalant tone. After a simple meal, Vivian and Roger rose from their seats. Hamel approached and handed Vivian a light robe. Vivian wore the robe and followed Roger out of the mansion.

It was not long before they arrived at the wall. It was because the walls surrounded the outer part of the mansion. Chen, who greeted her yesterday, hurried down the ladder when he saw the two.

“Welcome!”

“Good morning.”

Vivian, who covered her forehead with her hands due to the sunlight, greeted him with a smile. Chen shook his head with the innocent young man’s face like yesterday.

“Can I go up there? I’d like to check the other side.”

“Yes, of course.”

The height of the wall was so high that the length of the ladder was considerable. Roger climbed up the ladder first. Chen followed, and then Vivian was last. It was quite a high position so she emptied her mind and moved her hands and feet. The strong wind blew aimlessly as if to express it.

With only one last step up the wall, Vivian inadvertently turned her eyes. When she checked the height, she felt pretty dizzy for a moment. Under normal conditions, she would have been fine, but the problem was she lacked sleep.

At that moment, the ladder shook violently due to the unexpected strong wind. Once her body lost balance, her hands and feet that had been moving consistently became out of sync. Vivian’s body faltered so roughly that she fell off the ladder.

“My lady!”

Chen’s surprised voice rang through the air. Her body shook like it was falling off the ladder, but then a big hand suddenly came. Vivian closed her eyes tightly. However, her body did not fall down, but was instead pulled up.

“Are you all right?”

When she opened her eyes, she could see Roger’s face right in front of her. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up. Vivian’s heart fluttered because of his face that was too close rather than when she nearly fell. She stopped breathing for a moment.

“My lady?”

Roger, called Vivian quietly, who had been frozen standing. Vivian came to her senses at his voice. She nodded, suppressing her turbulent heart.

“Oh…… I’m okay. Thank you for catching me.”

She was so angry and wondered why her face had turned red. Vivian swept her hair back, hoping that the heat on her face would soon cool down.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“No, that’s not it.…I think it’s because I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Yesterday?”

Vivian said ‘ah’. Roger naturally asked, as if he had read her feelings.

“Did something happen?”

Vivian shook her head in a hurry. He couldn’t care less about her in the next room. The fever on her face that had barely cooled off seemed to rise again.

“No, it’s just, I can’t sleep well if I change my bed.”

He nodded lightly as if the excuse had worked.

As things calmed down, Vivian now looked down from the wall. She didn’t have to look hard to find those beasts. It was because they were camped outside the walls.

“That’s…….”

People who stood on two feet with purple skin, but were not human figures, were strutting around producing animal sounds. What looked like a head had sharp horns that seemed it would make you bleed just by touching it.

It used to be a field, but now the number of Masu on the barren land was smaller than expected.

“It’s not a lot.”

Vivian looked back at Chen and shook his head.

“It’s because the  sunlight is strong at this time. It’s ten times more at night. The Masu are responsive to the darkness.”

“Ten times more than this…….”

More than she expected, not less.

Vivian has been stifled by the words that their numbers grow when it gets dark. She could understand the anxiety of the Western people when an existence with that appearance wandered right next to them.

“Where is the crack on the ground? Does it have a schedule?

Vivian looked back at Chen and asked.

“There is no regular cycle. I think it appears at random. And mostly there.”

Chen’s fingers stretched out and pointed somewhere, below the wall.

It was hard to tell because it was dry land.

“There’s a crack.”

Vivian stared at the crack for a long time with her eyes squinted. As if looking at it like that would create cracks that didn’t exist.

“How long does the crack hold?”

Vivian opened her mouth with her vision fixed on the ground.

“I couldn’t measure it properly because I was struggling with the Masu that came out when a crack broke out.…I think it’s about half an hour.”

“During that time, the Masu keeps popping out?”

“Yes, they do.”

Just listening to it was suffocating. Vivian put her arms over the wall and let out a long sigh.

“Then we’ll have to wait until a crack appears.”

Roger, standing with his arms folded next to Vivian, recited in a low voice. Vivian nodded as if she agreed.

Then he turned his head as if he remembered something.

“If there’s a crack, shouldn’t we go down anyway?”

Roger tilted his head, unable to grasp the intent of her words.

“So why don’t we take care of some of those beasts?”

She could feel Chen holding his breath silently next to her. It was because Vivian’s voice was so calm when she said she wanted to deal with the Masu.

Roger’s pupils also widened, surprised by her tough stance.