Chapter 25
Damia could not answer the man’s question.
“What am I exactly? I want to know that too!”
Why had she died and then come back to life?
Why had she returned to when she was thirteen?
And what was this strange power she had?
Damia herself knew nothing.
“Who is behind you?”
The man, who had been crouching, slowly stood up and glared at Damia.
New flesh was growing unevenly over the parts where his skin had melted. It looked horrible.
“How powerful must they be to create something like you?”
He also seemed to be misunderstanding something.
“You think you can escape this situation just by staying silent?”
He cursed and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
“It’s not that! I just can’t explain anything!”
After seeing Damia’s mysterious power, the man seemed more careful than before.
“I’m not very patient.”
He kicked the glass bottle that had contained the medicine and sent it flying.
Damia bit her lip. One of her important weapons had just been taken away.
“Now that I know about it, I won’t fall for it twice.”
He pointed at Damia’s hands with his chin.
“I just have to be careful of your bare hands.”
It seemed he had already figured her out.
“You have no choice, kid. Who are you working for?”
“……”
“It would be a waste to just kill you. I might even consider taking you in, so be honest.”
He slowly licked his lips.
If the man really wanted to, he could subdue Damia right now.
Both of them knew that.
“I’m reaching my limit.”
She pretended to stay calm, but her legs were trembling.
“What should I do?”
Now she could barely even breathe.
“Over there! I see a light!”
At that moment, a sharp shout rang out along with loud horse hooves.
“Go faster! Or I’ll go ahead myself!”
“B-But we’re at our limit, Young Duke!”
“No. I can’t live without that child now!”
The voice saying such overly romantic words sounded strangely familiar.
“No way…?”
Damia wondered how Cassian had found out and arrived at just the right moment, but she had no time to think about it.
She took a deep breath.
“Young Duke! Over here!”
She shouted with the last bit of strength she had.
“…Wait.”
“Yes?”
“Stop for a moment!”
Cassian shouted, and groans could be heard from several people.
It seemed they had collided with each other when they stopped suddenly.
“Did he hear me?”
A small hope appeared in Damia’s purple eyes.
He might not know her exact location yet, but Cassian seemed to be close.
“Damn it. This is annoying. Running into them now would be troublesome.”
The man cursed coldly.
It seemed he had never expected someone to follow him.
“……”
His long, slit-like pupils turned toward Damia.
It looked like he was judging whether he could kidnap her and escape.
“Young Duke! I’m over here!”
Sensing danger, Damia started banging loudly on the carriage.
She had to let Cassian know where she was.
“There!”
As if they understood her desperate signal, the sound of hurried footsteps got closer.
“Damn it, you little brat!”
The man grabbed Damia by the collar in anger and lifted her up.
“Do you really want to die? I was going to keep you alive for a while to get some information!”
“L-Let go!”
She tried to reach out and attack him, but her thirteen-year-old arms were too short.
“I said let go!”
Damia kicked desperately while hanging in the air, but the man’s grip only grew tighter.
His narrow pupils glowed with terrifying killing intent.
“Young Duke! Please save me!”
The torches of Cassian’s group were getting closer.
“Hah. You’re really begging to die.”
“If you kill me now, you’ll never find out who’s behind me.”
There was actually no one behind her, but Damia pretended bravely.
“If I die, that person will never stay quiet either!”
The threat seemed to work. The man loosened his grip.
If someone truly was behind Damia, he might lose the trail forever if he killed her now.
“Over here! I’m here!”
Damia quickly shouted again.
The man gritted his teeth and threw her roughly to the ground.
He must have realized that if he delayed any longer, he would run into Cassian’s group.
“If you tell Sarkis about what happened today, I’ll make you suffer so much that death would be better.”
“Young Duke! This way!”
“Well, that bloodline only believes what they see anyway. He probably won’t believe your words.”
With that, the man made his decision. He abandoned the carriage and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
“I have to catch him!”
She wanted to chase him, but her body had no strength left.
Damia stretched out her hand but collapsed to the ground.
“Damia!”
Not long after, Cassian arrived.
As soon as he got off his horse, he rushed toward her.
Even though he was covered in sweat, Cassian still looked like a scene from a beautiful painting.
“Hic… Young Duke…”
Damia, lying on the ground, unconsciously reached both hands toward him.
Cassian Sarkis seemed to glow softly even in the dark night.
It felt like meeting a real savior.
“Why… did you come so late…?”
She had tried to act mature in front of the young duke, but the relief she felt now broke all that determination.
For the first time in her life, Damia complained like a child.
“Damia.”
Cassian stopped when he saw tears falling from her pale cheeks.
His red eyes shook violently.
“Hic…”
Damia didn’t notice that Cassian had frozen.
Her vision was already blurred with tears.
“Waaah…”
“D-Don’t cry. Please…”
The wait did not last long.
Cassian wrapped his trembling arms around Damia.
Cassian Sarkis froze in a situation he had never experienced before.
The girl leaned into his arms. The top of her head touched his chin.
“I’m… sorry I came so late. Everything’s okay now.”
Cassian barely managed to say those comforting words.
The young duke, who usually acted so mature, was now flustered with a bright red face.
The knights who had followed him nudged each other with their elbows and tried not to laugh.
“It’s okay. This will never happen again.”
Cassian repeated in a low voice while patting Damia’s back.
He had no idea how to comfort a little girl.
“She loves desserts so much, so why is she so thin?”
Because he was angry at Viscount Ponti, his hand accidentally pressed harder while patting her.
Damia flinched and started crying even louder.
“It’s okay. S-Stop crying.”
Not knowing what to do, Cassian pulled her closer into his arms.
Damia had a strange sweet scent.
It was like wildflowers, or milk boiled with honey, or the soft smell of clean bedding.
Cassian swallowed without realizing it. A strange nervousness tightened around his heart.
“Hic… but…”
The girl kept crying endlessly, and soon her tears soaked Cassian’s chest.
“Huh…?”
At that moment, Cassian’s heart suddenly pounded loudly—something that rarely happened.
The boy looked down at his gloved hand in surprise.
“Our bare skin isn’t even touching. Why am I feeling like this?”
His mouth suddenly felt dry from an unexpected anxiety.
