◈ Episode 432 Magic Time (3)
All sounds were muffled like wet cotton.
The surrounding scenery was all washed away like the ebb tide.
All Lyne sees is Ludger, who is facing her.
his appearance. his eyes. to his movements.
Like a balloon full of wind.
Excessive reality sometimes felt more like a dream than a dream.
Line thought that now was the time.
In a world of complete selflessness where you can even hear the sound of falling feathers.
The magical hour ended just as quietly and naturally as it had begun.
“ah.”
The sounds of the world returned, and colors filled my vision.
The spotlight that only illuminated the two of them disappeared, and the entire ballroom, which had been dark, turned bright.
Rene couldn’t help but let out an exclamation of regret.
little bit more.
5 minutes. No, even 1 minute is better, so I wanted to enjoy the current mood.
Rudger’s hand, which had been placed on his waist, fell off savagely.
More than the lost warmth, a coldness and emptiness came over me.
But I can’t sleep in this place any longer.
‘Cause I’ve already made a fool of nonsense.
“Teacher.”
Still, I had to ask this.
Line stared at Ludger with starry eyes streaming from her dress.
“Why are you so nice to me?”
It was strange when you think about it.
There was no reason for Rudger to be nice to him.
But Rudger gave himself a lot.
To the extent that even myself, who is insensitive to this part, can definitely feel it.
But Rudger gave no answer.
Only the emotions contained in those blue eyes staring at him were vaguely felt.
Why are you looking at me with those eyes?
Before Lyne could even ask that question, Rudger slowly backed away.
Then, as if to fill his empty seat, women in dresses rushed towards Line.
“Boy. Where did you get that dress from?”
“and. Look at the hem. really pretty.”
“Thinking of inviting Mr. Rudger to dance. You are amazing.”
uh? uh uh
Rene was confused as to what to do with the people’s attention pouring in on her.
“Wait! Line is my best friend!”
The confusion was further aggravated by Erendir’s hastily intervening.
As a result, Line did not even think of catching Ludger, who quietly disappeared through the crowd.
Ludger climbed back up to the second floor terrace of the ballroom, leaving the crowd behind.
Then, Selina approached Ludger.
Beside her stood Merylda, who had suffered defeat, with a more gloomy face.
Selina took a big step towards Rudger.
The hem of the fresh pink dress danced gently to her step.
“Miss Rudger. Thanks for your efforts. Watching them dance, it was so cool that I couldn’t breathe.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Selina’s face flushed a lot when she saw Ludger’s dance with Linen earlier.
Even though I just watched it, I felt something tingling and electricity running through my skin.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t help but think that if he had been in Rinne’s place.
The satisfaction was great just by watching, and the regret quickly disappeared.
“… … I thought you wouldn’t dance in a place like this.”
Merilda said in a subdued voice.
Rudger shrugged lightly.
“Isn’t this the request of the winner of the Miss Contest? I just thought it was worth listening to as a courtesy to the winner.”
“victor. Yes. It’s a winner. I am a loser.”
Merilda’s voice sank even more heavily at the words “winner”.
If left as it is, I might end up sitting alone in the corner.
“You seem to need comfort from your friend.”
Rudger believed that Selina would do a good job in the role.
“yes yes?”
Selina didn’t know what to do when she saw Rudger passing by.
Originally, I was going to ask Ludger for a dance because even the second time would be fine, but I never thought Merilda’s misfortune would break out here.
In the end, when Ludger became distant while he couldn’t do anything about it, Selina approached Merilda and comforted her as much as she could, even though she was crying.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, sir! There will be another opportunity next year! Ms. Merilda has a charm called maturity!”
“… … Yes. All I have is the older one.”
“I-I didn’t mean that in that sense.”
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Merilda, who is getting more and more obsessed with it, and Selina, who soothes Merilda while sweating.
Leaving the two behind, Rudger came out onto the outdoor terrace.
The heat of the ballroom disappeared, and the cool night breeze swept across my face pleasantly.
Looking up at the sky, I could see a little bit of starlight, as if the sky was particularly clear today.
Of course, it was nothing compared to the beauty embedded in Linen’s dress.
“so. Did you follow me all the way here because you had something to tell me?”
As Rudger muttered, a new person appeared in the outdoor lounge.
Rudger looked back and leaned against the railing.
Freuden Ulburg.
He was one of the few people who knew about his past, and he was a kid who was very hostile to this side.
Freuden was staring at Ludger with an expressionless face, but he couldn’t even hide the fluctuating emotions in his eyes.
Naturally, Rudger read the sentiment, but he didn’t bother to stimulate it.
He just stared at Freuden in silence with his sunken eyes.
Freuden was a little taken aback.
Looking at Ludger against the background of the night sky across the terrace, I felt something hard to describe in words.
But this one wasn’t the one to be tricked by anyone either.
The Wolf of the Woolburg family was trained to do just that.
‘Hoo.’
Ludger’s face was slightly interested in Freuden’s attitude to fight against the force of this side.
I felt it even when I was a complete kid, but there was definitely a sprout.
Should I say that he is the most aristocratic aristocrat?
At least, he had a distinctly different pride from other bastards who boasted of being nobles.
“So what is your business?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know that now?”
A wrinkle formed on Freuden’s forehead.
“Isn’t that the one who prepared the dress for Line?”
Freuden was already convinced.
If it wasn’t for that in the first place, there was no way that Linen would have kept glancing at Ludger on the way.
“okay. I provided for it.”
Rudger readily admitted.
“Does that matter?”
“Think of what you did to Rinne. Do you think this behavior is acceptable now? Or did you forget the day’s events?”
“… … .”
Seeing Ludger keep his mouth shut, Freuden’s tantrum rose for nothing.
“It was a coincidence that I came here. But why do you keep approaching Line? If there really is such a thing as a conscience, you should have tried to ignore it.”
“Is it wrong to do good?”
“If the enemy treats you well, it is tantamount to ridicule. Especially if someone who knows the truth does it to a victim who has forgotten the past.”
Normally, Freuden would have withdrawn from here with this warning.
But today he was different.
He didn’t express it on the outside, but his mind had already hacked Rudger to pieces several times.
“Quietly disappear. Or rather tell the truth. If her is really for her.”
“… … .”
“Why can’t you do that? And the reason you’re nice to Linen is because you feel guilty about what happened in the past?”
“… … .”
“Answer me!”
Freuden strode toward Ludger, clutching his collar with one hand.
“Is playing with people’s minds so much fun?!”
“My dear… … .”
A voice like something hot boiling from deep underground.
Ludger tightly gripped Freuden’s wrist, who was holding his own.
“What do you know and talk like that?”
The enormous force exerted on the wrist.
Freuden frowned in pain but did not look away from Ludger.
it was pride.
Both as an aristocrat and as a man.
“If you say you care about Line and think of her that much, what do you know about Line?”
“what?”
“I don’t know. Because you’re just a young wolf who doesn’t know anything yet. That’s why you can shout like this.”
“… … What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Rine has a limited time.”
At those words, Freuden’s expression turned to astonishment.
Freuden glared at Ludger with a look full of disbelief.
“… … Do not lie.”
“So that means you’re a kid. I don’t know how serious her condition is. Have you heard of Line’s magical powers?”
“… … It’s just non-attribute magic.”
“You know that, but seeing that reaction, it seems you don’t even know the characteristics of non-attribute magic.”
Rudger cut off Freuden’s hand.
Freuden had no answer.
“Rine’s magical power gradually grows and destroys her body. The vessel called her body couldn’t stand her excessive strength. If she can’t consume it somehow, she will end up killing the user.”
“… … .”
“The average life expectancy is around 25 years old. Even if you live long, you cannot exceed 30. Even that living entails so much pain that it would be better to die. To the extent that a mother who loves her only daughter chooses the extreme path of suicide.”
“… … !”
At Ludger’s last words, Freuden held his breath.
“Did you ask me what I know? I know everything. the truth of the day. why did that happen And I’m looking for a new truth. A method to somehow solve the symptoms of non-attribute magic.”
Rudger, whose voice gradually rose, cooled his emotions with a small sigh.
“… … continue. I was looking for it.”
“… … .”
“On the other hand, what did you do? What can you do if you continue to be emotional, buried only in a part of the truth that is still on the surface?”
Freuden could not answer at that moment.
A refutation to being pointed out by the person you hated the most.
Even the nod that neatly accepts that the words are the truth.
“why.”
Freuden’s pupils shook vigorously.
“You know that, why didn’t you tell me?”
“So that means you’re still a kid. Does what I say change anything?”
“what?”
“Then ask. you know the truth You are free to believe or not believe, but if you really believe, what choice will you make? Are you going to tell Line the truth and say you’ll cure it?”
“of course… … .”
“Then how are you going to do that? What about the data on non-attribute magic that has not been revealed so far? Do you think you can cut through a puzzle that has been unsolved for generations?”
If that was possible, it would have been done long ago.
“You are the pillar of one of the three major dukes of the Empire. Can you be confident that you, who will lead the family in the future, can act for personal purposes? For a commoner girl?”
These words, and nothing else, struck Freuden the most.
It was as Ludger said.
He vaguely thought that he had to help Line, but he wasn’t prepared to bring his entire family and pour everything into it.
‘But this person.’
I don’t want to admit it, but
Rudger will use everything he has to improve Line’s constitution.
“If you’re a kid, be like a kid. Don’t interfere in what adults are doing and stay still.”
Rudger coldly lashed out at Freuden.
Rudgar knew that he had a crush on Line.
But what awaits at the end is tragedy in the end.
So I thought it would be better not to know until the end.
‘I figured it out in the end.’
It didn’t matter though.
Even if it was like this, it wasn’t a bad way to break that kid’s will.
Now that I’ve made the subject known, anyone with at least some brains will give up on their own.
however.
Ludger looked down on a man named Freuden a little.
“okay. I will do it.”
Ludger’s eyebrows twitched at Freuden’s voice as if he was declaring to himself.
The atmosphere of the guy who thought he would be frustrated and despair has changed, albeit a little.
“I will.”
“Are you serious?”
“I told you. I’ll do it. I will never take back what I said.”
Freuden glared at Ludger intensely.
His eyes didn’t waver any more.
“Did you call me a kid? I honestly admit that part. Like you said, I’m still lacking. So, like a kid, I will move in my own way.”
“… … .”
“And I’ll break you proudly.”
Freuden’s reaction was completely unexpected even for Ludger.
However, the desire that fluctuated in his eyes and the intense enthusiasm felt in his voice.
It was the truth, no lies.
‘I thought you were just a kid who was hostile towards us.’
Even so, he is a man.
“You can do anything. baby.”
If so, I will accept that challenge.
Rudger sneered at Freuden and went back into the ballroom.
Freuden stood still in his seat, gazing at the sky colored by night.
But his eyes burned hotter than ever.
Even if that means burning his entire body.
Freuden, who was about to go inside again, faced Flora, who was coming this way just in time.
“… … Flora Lumos.”
We weren’t even close anyway, so the moment we were about to pass by, Flora opened her mouth.
“He was a hotter man than I thought.”
“… … .”
At those words, Freuden stopped.
“… … Were you eavesdropping?”
“Unintentionally.”
“why. Do you want to comfort me?”
“consolation? I? under!”
Flora snorted lightly.
“Can it be? I’m just surprised. I didn’t know you would like a kid named Grine so much. Because I never imagined that you liked anyone in the first place.”
“So, didn’t you follow Ludgar Celish to this point?”
Flora and Freuden stared at each other wordlessly.
The gaze was never benevolent, but at the same time there was a bit of pity for each other.
Flora snorted.
“I am not worried.”
“… … You have changed.”
“Something like that happened. Because I can’t act like a child forever.”
“is it.”
Freuden muttered that and then moved on again.
I’m leaving you with a last word.
“So do i.”
