Chapter 32
Vivian hoped for salvation, but she never truly believed that someone would come.
Just look at the situation around her.
The fire was raging so fiercely, and the smoke obscured her vision completely.
Finding a person in this chaos felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Even if she did find someone, escaping would be an entirely different problem.
But then Kyle showed up.
Among countless people, he was the last one she expected to see.
“…Why? Why…”
Vivian stumbled over her words in shock and confusion. Kyle’s actions were beyond her comprehension.
Was there some bond or special emotion between them worth risking life and limb?
Wasn’t there a complete enmity tangled between them instead?
The essence of being rescued from poison and the current situation were fundamentally different.
During the poisoning incident, the risks Kyle bore were nonexistent.
But now, the castle was on fire, and that was a whole different story. Kyle was here, risking his own life.
Just by looking at the burns on his shoulder, one could tell how much danger he put himself in to reach her. Seeing that flesh was already charred and peeling off, it was evident that this would become a scar he would carry for life.
And that all of this was endured to save her life was something Vivian simply couldn’t process.
While Vivian was still dumbfounded and speechless, Kyle let out a sigh and removed his hands from her.
Then, he tore at his clothing.
Was he drenched in water? The fabric he ripped was still damp.
Kneeling in front of Vivian, Kyle brought the cloth to her mouth.
His hand covered her nose and mouth.
“Keep it against your face.”
Vivian, caught off guard by his words, struggled to react.
But thanks to the cool moisture emanating from the cloth, she could breathe a lot easier.
-Boom! Crash!
Next to them, a column crashes down.
Vivian flinched in surprise, turning her head to see where the sound came from, but Kyle’s steady hand kept her from turning.
“No time. Get ready to rise quickly. How long do I have to wait…”
Kyle urged her in a firm tone but paused for a moment.
His urgency slowed as he faced Vivian.
Vivian trembled with the fear of death and found it hard to trust in Kyle’s presence.
This mixed-up situation was so incomprehensible that her expression must have been quite the sight.
“…You were crying again, weren’t you?”
Kyle pointed it out, though his tone softened.
His hand wiped away Vivian’s tear streaks without hesitation.
At his words and touch, an unknown emotion surged within Vivian, and more tears began to flow.
In such a pressing situation, she didn’t even notice that this wasn’t about the distance between her and him.
“If I save you, will you swear to stop bawling for the rest of your life?”
Even in this moment, Kyle spoke with his usual teasing tone, throwing Vivian’s insides into a mess.
But Vivian vaguely sensed that this was just how Kyle comforted her.
Her heart was beginning to settle. This space, akin to the brink of death where she sat, was transforming into a place where strands of hope began to peek through his words and actions.
“So, will you swear, or not?”
“You… even in a situation like this…”
Seeing the astonished Vivian, Kyle smirked and said again.
“If you don’t like it, get a grip. We need to get out of here.”
“…”
His words were not wrong. Vivian nodded and made an effort to stand.
“Ouch!”
But her twisted ankle held her back again.
Kyle quickly realized the problem as he looked at Vivian’s expression and movements.
“…Seriously, come on.”
Realizing the situation was dire, he frowned and thought for a moment.
But Vivian could only focus on Kyle. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his face.
All her nerves were solely directed at him.
When Kyle completed his thoughts, he sighed and said,
“Hang on to me.”
“What?”
“Hurry. I can’t carry you otherwise. The path is all blocked, and there’s no time.”
“W-what do you mean… the path is blocked? Then, how do we escape—”
“No time to argue. You’d be dead if I left you alone anyway, trust me.”
“…”
Vivian swallowed hard and nodded. She understood that accepting the situation and following Kyle’s judgment was the right thing to do.
“Turn… turn around. I’ll ride on your back.”
Kyle shook his head and opened his arms.
Vivian stood still, not understanding his intent.
Then Kyle lowered his shoulders, presenting his upper back to her.
Vivian’s breath caught for a moment.
His back was crimson and torn from burns starting from his shoulders down.
Kyle was silently telling her that getting on his back was not an option because it hurt.
Seeing this, she couldn’t bring herself to say that she would ride on his back.
The only way to cling to Kyle was to embrace him. That was why he opened his arms.
But even though she knew that, letting herself fall into his embrace wasn’t easy.
She understood that for her survival, she had to cling to Kyle, but her heart kept holding her back.
After all, she had built up a long-standing animosity towards him over the past year.
Embracing him couldn’t just be an act for her life.
Rather, it felt like breaking down the barriers she had built over time.
Though she felt their relationship shifting, letting go of all those feelings and melting into his embrace was a different level of resolution.
“Hurry.”
But at Kyle’s continued urging, Vivian snapped back to reality. She couldn’t afford to linger here.
The flames were growing by the second, and she instinctively felt there was little time left to stay put.
“…”
So Vivian began to crawl… slowly making her way into his arms.
Kyle’s left arm wrapped around the back of her thighs, and his right arm supported her back and neck.
To help him carry her more easily, Vivian wrapped her arms around his right shoulder. Her left arm snaked around his neck, making sure not to catch his left shoulder.
The two of them became tightly entwined.
Vivian’s heart raced even harder.
Thump… thump… thump…
How long had it been since she felt the warmth of another?
How long since anyone had held her?
The embrace she had longed for came paradoxically from her enemy.
And likewise paradoxically, Vivian could not understand why she felt a sense of security.
Unknowingly, she clung tightly to Kyle Allen.
Like a drowning person clutching for anything to survive, she fiercely held onto the long-lost sense of relief.
And nestled in his arms, she could feel how much he had grown.
When they first met, they were similar in height, but now he towered over her. The strong physique typical of a northern man now seemed to envelop and protect her.
Kyle, while holding Vivian close, quickly surveyed their surroundings.
Being this close made her feel as though she could read his heart and thoughts more easily.
Starting to look for a way out, Kyle dashed through the castle.
After a while, his breath soon became labored.
With all the heat from the castle, sweat poured from Kyle’s body like rain.
At first, she thought he was damp from the water, but now she could see he was sweating quite a lot.
Being born in a cold region, Kyle seemed not to handle the heat well.
But no matter how much he slicked with sweat, Vivian only clung to him tighter.
Then Kyle suddenly stopped in front of a window.
It didn’t seem like he was just tired; he looked like he had made a resolution.
Kyle hugged her legs more tightly with his left arm and pulled her against him with his right.
With that, Vivian’s face pressed even closer to Kyle’s body, and she could feel his heartbeat.
“Kyle Allen… don’t tell me…” Vivian whispered as if she sensed his next move.
“…”
But Kyle did not answer.
Instead, he just stared at the window with the same gaze he had when executing prisoners.
He stepped closer to the window and looked down, his face hardening further.
It was a height that seemed like it was at least three stories. There was no guarantee they’d survive falling from it.
After a short sigh, “Huh!” Kyle tightened his grip on Vivian.
In that moment, she felt a strong belief that he would never let her go.
“Just once. Close your eyes tightly.”
Vivian couldn’t even say not to do it; she closed her eyes and entrusted everything to his judgment.
Kyle took a step back from the window, then explosively charged towards it as if bursting with strength.
He dashed over the burning floor, cutting through the heat that stung their faces.
Finally, he reached the window frame at full speed and leaped with all his might.
Vivian felt a dizzying sensation of soaring through the air.
The sound of the wind rushing by filled her ears, and a refreshingly cold gust enveloped them.
It felt like she was floating in the sky her whole life.
Each time she realized she was falling, she hugged Kyle even tighter.
And Kyle responded as if to show he was deeply holding her.
At the moment they landed, Kyle rolled forward while still embracing Vivian.
But even so, Vivian felt a sharp impact that took her breath away.
Kyle never let go of her, safely sheltering her as he fell.
As they rolled, Kyle and Vivian landed on the ground, Kyle continuing to struggle to breathe, while Vivian worked to calm her pounding heart.
Vivian, even knowing she was alive, remained quietly nestled in his arms.
It was hard to believe they had escaped from the flames safely.
Eventually, Kyle regained his breath, raised his upper body slightly, checked on Vivian’s condition, and said,
“…It feels like my leg is broken…”
Vivian looked silently at Kyle’s leg.
His left leg was twisted in a strange direction.
Seeing that horrifying sight made her quickly turn her head away.
Knowing he was hurt while trying to save her intensified her guilt.
A deep silence hung between them. It felt like they were going to lie here forever.
But as the reality of survival sank in, Vivian had a question rising within her.
This was something she hadn’t had time to ask amidst the flames.
“…Kyle Allen.”
“…”
“…Why on earth… did you save me?”
****
“Why on earth… did you save me?”
As soon as that question hit me, a sigh escaped me before I could stop it.
I didn’t know what answer to give, or how to start explaining.
Whether she wanted a clear answer or a plausible excuse… I just felt that she wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.
Since I didn’t quite understand myself why I was acting this way, how could I convince Vivian of my reason?
It would be easier to believe that there was some ulterior motive.
These complicated feelings made it feel bothersome to reveal anything.
Whether she believed it or not, whether she understood or not, I was growing indifferent.
But the moment Vivian’s relentless gaze fell upon me, I realized it would be even harder to hide something.
With everything now falling apart, I struggled to raise my upper body.
Vivian, who had been lying on top of me, slid down and propped herself up.
“Guh…”
A groan escaped involuntarily. The burns on my back and shoulders stung, and my leg throbbed with terrible pain.
I understood that I needed treatment urgently, but I would still need time before my retainers realized we were here and could find us.
Thus, it was better to resolve the question between just the two of us.
“What’s so confusing?”
I asked her.
Vivian’s eyes trembled slightly. She had a look on her face that seemed to be completely lost to the meaning of my question.
Letting out a sigh, I shifted my question.
“Is the reason that important?”
She bit her lip in silence, and after a while of hesitation, she finally forced the words out.
“What… What’s your angle…? Not just you but the retainers too… Why would you risk your lives for me…?”
Her voice was laced with confusion. Her eyes filled with anxiety and suspicion.
She seemed to decide that I was indeed the enemy, wanting a comprehensible answer.
“It matters…! I still don’t know what you’re up to…! It frustrates me—my heart…”
“What plot? What plot would I weave in a land where I don’t have a single ally?”
“You said it yourself!”
Vivian cried out.
“You said you wanted to see me in pain. Is that why you saved me? Just to torment me even more, risking your life for that?!”
At her question, I froze for a moment.
If that were the real reason I came this far, it would have been far easier.
Just like her, I too was baffled, not knowing what it was I hoped to gain by taking these actions.
“…Do I really look that much like a monster?” I found myself asking her without thinking.
Vivian shook her head quietly. Then, gripping the fabric of her chest, she spoke softly.
“No. That’s why it’s even more confusing… You who should be the one I hate… keep…”
She couldn’t finish her thought, covering her face with her hands, freezing for some time.
I too found this conversation frustrating.
I didn’t know what to say to her, and she seemed to share the same sentiment.
“…If you’d just stayed still, you could’ve been safe. There was no reason for you to get hurt like this. There must be some reason behind your actions.”
Vivian pleaded desperately, as if determined to untangle the frustration.
I scoffed at her words.
“…Safe? What’s that to me? I’m not at home.”
“…”
“Keep forgetting, but I’m in just as precarious a situation as you are. Who knows when someone might stab me in the back? Sitting idly by won’t change my fate.”
Vivian looked at me with an expression of disbelief.
Maybe she was still expecting a persuasive rationale.
I sighed and answered frankly.
“The truth is, I don’t know either.”
Vivian’s reaction implied she couldn’t accept such an answer. If I were her, I would have reacted the same way. Her tone grew increasingly furious.
“What does that mean?! Where’s the answer in that?”
“So what then?! My body moves on its own, why do I need a reason?”
“…What?”
Vivian’s crimson eyes were now fixated on me.
I met her gaze directly, took a deep breath, and said,
“I don’t know. Maybe I feel a sense of responsibility for you being left alone, or perhaps a twinge of guilt. Or maybe it’s your mother’s and brother’s wishes swirling in my mind.”
…Or it could be a witch’s curse.
Despite that, it seemed she still wanted an answer, so I blurted out something she could accept easily.
“Or maybe, since you’re the most powerless, I want to keep you stuck in that spot. If someone else gains power, my life could get more complicated… so maybe I just want you to stay the Rondore family head.”
Vivian seemed to flinch, like she had received an emotional blow.
Seeing that made my heart ache for her, and I couldn’t hold my words back.
“Whatever it is, just…”
“…”
“I just want…”
Her attention turned back to me. I chewed over my flickering words for a while before whispering,
“…I just don’t want you to die.”
Vivian froze. I too fell silent after that.
Her eyes seemed to seek the truth, shifting back and forth to meet mine.
It was the kind of expression one wore after hearing a truth so hard to believe.
In a situation where everyone seemed to want Vivian dead, my words likely sounded particularly unnatural.
Shock filled her eyes, full of disbelief.
“Then you…”
Vivian asked cautiously, as if she were walking on eggshells, a question that was sensitive yet unbelievable.
“…What are you saying…? That you were just trying to protect me all this time?”
Her words felt like they were breaking through walls around my heart.
I realized I couldn’t offer any more excuses, nor could I provide any further explanations.
There was no reason left to hide my incomprehensible feelings, and pouring them out became necessary.
With a weary breath, I gazed into Vivian’s trembling eyes.
In this moment, I finally laid bare my true feelings.
“…You idiot. You really just figured that out now?”
