In a state of half-sleep and half-waking, Veronica heard footsteps.
“Thump—thump—”
Dull and hurried.
For no apparent reason, she thought of the evening bell tolling at dusk.
The solemn toll of the death knell gradually merged with the hurried footsteps.
‘Is this death knell... tolling for me?’
That guy... I hope he's run far enough by now.
She suddenly felt an urge to laugh, but the sound turned into a whimper the moment it reached her throat.
‘He really... has changed so much...’
‘He used to be such a tiny little thing, but now he's a head and a half taller than me.’
Unsteady footsteps echoed unhurriedly through the cave.
“Cough, cough... Cough, cough...”
Her lungs felt like worn-out bellows; every breath she drew brought a tearing pain.
Grayish-purple marks had already spread across her snow-white, slender arms.
“How pathetic...”
Struggling, she drew a dagger from her waist and moved it inch by inch toward her snow-white neck.
The sharp tip pierced her skin, and beads of crimson blood dripped down the blade.
‘It's over.’
‘Will that guy... in his spare moments... ever think of a boring woman like me, even for a fleeting second?’
Veronica closed her eyes, applying a bit of force with her tightly clenched fingers.
The next moment—
“Stop, stop, stop—shorty, what on earth are you doing?!”
A familiar cry of alarm interrupted her.
Through her blurry vision, the youth's figure ran over in a panic.
That familiar, warm, sun-like herbal scent drifted into her nose.
“Lynn...?”
The dagger slipped weakly from her hand and was kicked far away by Lynn.
“It's me, it's me!”
“The genuine article. Definitely not an impostor made by that black mist bastard.”
It was him.
There was no need to confirm; her soul had already provided the answer before her consciousness could.
But Veronica suddenly felt a mischievous urge to tease him.
Ah, well, since I'm a wicked woman who's about to die anyway... it shouldn't hurt to be a little more self-indulgent, right?
“I don't believe you,” she replied softly.
“No, wait...”
Through her blurry vision, the young man began to pace around anxiously.
Would it be okay to be a little greedier?
“Hmm...” She drawled, “What should I do then?”
“The Lynn I know~ wouldn't leave a weak girl lying on the cold ground... Mmph!?”
Before she could finish, Veronica felt herself fall into a warm embrace.
“I'm here.”
He held her tightly, so tightly, as if he wanted to pull her whole being into his chest.
“...Alright.”
“I believe you...”
Veronica had never imagined such a soft, sweet tone could come from her own mouth. With its slightly nasal, lingering lilt, she sounded just like a bashful young girl acting spoiled toward her sweetheart.
She shamelessly nudged her head, greedily nuzzling against his skin.
“...Why did you come back?”
“Didn't I tell you to run far away as fast as you could?”
In her mind, she had prepared countless harsher, colder reprimands. But when the words reached her lips, her heart softened, and they came out gentle.
“Ah~ that~”
The young man's casual tone was rather smug.
“To expect me to tuck my tail and run back to the domain all by myself—shorty, you look down on me too much.”
“This young master merely made a slight move and easily cut down that black mist bastard~”
“By the way, as soon as I left the cave, I met...”
It was unbelievable.
That was a monster whose strength far surpassed his.
Yet, listening to the youth's confident, detailed narration, Veronica couldn't bring herself to harbor a single doubt.
The youth's enthusiastic tale quickly came to an end, and finally, he suddenly grabbed Veronica's hand.
“Which means—”
“...Which means?”
“Veronica! We survived!”
...Eh?
Her dizzy brain hadn't even had time to process this sudden good news.
“The Order's barrier and obstacles have completely vanished. Reinforcements will be here soon, and your curse—”
Lynn's excited voice ground to a sudden halt.
Veronica understood his silence.
The curse she suffered from was a vicious, troublesome high-tier spell, and there were currently no priests in Count Gunier's domain with the ability to dispel it.
Although the Holy Cathedral did not lack the means to dispel curses, they were far away, and for them to arrive... it would take time.
In her current state, if the curse was allowed to spread for another hour... no, even just a single ke, the nerves in her limbs would completely die off, and she would have to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.
“Veronica... if it were you, and you were in perfect condition, could you dispel this curse?”
“Of course!”
“Really? That's good then.” The youth before her seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
Then, he suddenly closed the distance.
...
Lynn gazed at the frail girl before him.
Her blonde hair was scattered in a messy tangle, and her face was as pale as paper. Her petite nose rose and fell with her slow breathing, making her look like a mound of snow that would crumble at a single touch.
【Current Emotion Points: 7,000】
Subtracting the 4,000 Emotion Points consumed to plunder Alastor's trait, this was all he had left.
Of course, a large portion of this was thanks to the generous Mr. Alastor's facial expressions before his death.
‘As expected of a villain who only appears in the late game; he really dropped a massive amount of Emotion Points.’
But...
【Failed to copy 'Saintess of Salvation' (Gold) trait. Copying a gold trait requires Emotion Points: 10,000】
“Tsk—”
【Saintess of Salvation (Gold): You intuitively master chantless healing spells and curse-dispelling spells; healing spell effects +400%.】
This gold trait, which Lynn had been coveting for over twenty chapters, was clearly the key to breaking the current deadlock.
By copying 'Saintess of Salvation', Lynn would acquire the ability to dispel curses himself, thereby breaking Veronica's curse.
The idea was beautiful, but reality was rather harsh.
He didn't have enough damn Emotion Points!
Lynn's gaze wandered over Veronica's body, his eyes gradually turning dangerous.
Forgive me, Veronica!
This is all a necessary sacrifice.
“What I'm about to do next... might be a bit out of line.”
“Wha—!?”
Ignoring Veronica's cry of surprise, Lynn suddenly exerted force, scooping the girl up in a princess carry.
The sudden weightlessness made her instinctively grab his collar. Her blonde hair scattered with the movement, a few strands drifting past his nose, carrying a faint, bitter scent of herbs.
Lynn looked down at her upturned face.
On her pale face, her eyelashes fluttered uneasily, and her half-open crimson eyes shimmered with a dazed, watery light.
【Emotion Points +200】
...He was already getting Emotion Points? He hadn't even done anything yet!
“What... what are you doing...” Veronica's voice was soft and hoarse, sounding as if it had been soaked in water. Lacking any authority, it instead possessed a sweet, cloying quality that made one's throat tighten.
A rough sensation suddenly came from Veronica's face.
Lynn cupped the girl's face.
Thick calluses rubbed against her soft, tender skin, causing her to let out a soft, uncomfortable whimper.
【Emotion Points +500】
Still not enough.
That handsome face grew larger and larger in Veronica's eyes.
A soft, moist sensation pressed against her forehead.
“You...!?”
The moment his lips touched her skin, Lynn felt her entire body jolt as if struck by electricity, and her fingers clutching his collar suddenly tightened.
He raised his head, his gaze shifting downward.
Veronica's bloodless, pretty face flushed red at a visible rate. Her mumbled resistance was soft and weak, like a clawless cat acting spoiled—incredibly sweet and soft.
【Emotion Points +800】
Still not enough!
“Just a little more.”
Lynn's thumb gently cupped her jaw, turning her slightly averted face back. Those watery crimson eyes crashed straight into his gaze.
“Wait...”
Veronica blinked, about to say something.
But the words were forcefully blocked back into her mouth before they could be fully uttered.
Lynn roughly kissed her lips.
Rate on N.U.
