Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 135

To Teacher, From Vanessa 135

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Gideon slowly opened his eyes. For some reason, his eyelids felt terribly heavy.

He barely managed to sit up in bed. Fortunately, he hadn’t been lying down for too long, and he had a very sturdy body, so he was able to get up without much difficulty. It was also thanks to maintaining his condition with all sorts of magic.

Nevertheless, he staggered for a moment. The sudden movement brought on a terrible headache, but it was bearable. He blankly recalled his memories.

Did I collapse?

He looked down at his body. His fingertips, which had been spasming from the long rest, regained their strength.

The last memory was hazy. After setting up the barrier in the temple, a terrible pain shot up the back of his neck. In his mouth, only Vanessa’s name repeated several times….

Ah, right. Vanessa.

He quickly lowered his legs from the bed and straightened his body.

If he had really collapsed, quite a bit of time must have passed. Judging by his condition, it must have been at least two days. If so, Vanessa would have returned from the east and would probably be in Phydom.

It was the worst. He should have shown her only his best and most steadfast self, but he even collapsed.

He had to go see her. He had to go quickly, apologize again, and confess his feelings honestly. He had to rely on her mercy and beg for forgiveness….

He staggered for a few steps. But soon, he got used to his weakened legs, and the man strode to the door and threw it open. People sitting in the reception room, surrounded by all sorts of papers, widened their eyes in surprise. There was even Jenien mixed in, with a dumbfounded expression.

Gideon was a little puzzled to see Jenien, but it wasn’t something he particularly wanted to ask. He must have come because he had to.

He was only curious about one thing.

“Duke!”

“No, what’s this again? He’s awake.”

“I heard there was a change in the magic circle, so-”

Jenien suddenly approached and looked for the black stains that had appeared on Gideon’s body, but it was clean without a trace. Gideon ignored them turning over his clothes with a tired face.

“So I did collapse. How long has it been?”

Gideon squinted at the sunlight shining through the window. Ronan quickly drew the curtains.

“It’s been a full two weeks. Are you alright? Don’t walk, sit here.”

The doctor residing in Valder Castle rushed over and tried to grab Gideon to sit him down. He quietly pushed away the hand and shook his head.

“It’s been that long.”

“Yes, we received confessions from the priests and were dealing with the aftermath. Rossini was a member of the Joint Council, so there seems to be a lot of talk about it. His Majesty also seems to be reluctant about something-”

“That can be figured out later. Jenien, do you happen to know where Vanessa is?”

Gideon brushed off the work talk with a cold attitude.

Those who didn’t know about the relationship between the two were puzzled by the sudden question about Vanessa’s whereabouts. Jenien frowned, his bushy eyebrows furrowed, and Ronan and Miguel lowered their heads without saying a word.

Jenien scratched his head listlessly.

“I’ve been exchanging letters with her until recently, but I don’t know exactly. She just asks a lot of questions and doesn’t answer what I ask. Just like you.”

He put a lot of emphasis on the part about being just like him, but Gideon only blinked slowly.

“What do you mean you don’t know exactly? Has she not visited this castle?”

Just as Gideon was about to deepen the depth of his depression at the fact that Vanessa had not come here, Ronan calmly interjected.

“First, I’ll give you a brief situation report. The monster that Bam Vandalu had put to sleep has awakened. It is presumed that the Duke collapsed at the same time as the monster awakened. All special forces have been dispatched to dangerous areas to protect the kingdom’s people, and the magicians contracted with His Majesty are gathering to figure out how to put the monster back to sleep.”

Gideon quickly grasped the situation. The black monster and the dispatch of the special forces.

“I collapsed at the same time as the monster awakened?”

“Yes. The priests testified that the wound above the Duke’s wrist was made from the byproducts of the black monster. It seems they thought you were the most threatening magician.”

“They were speculating that as the monster awakened and its power grew stronger, your wound spread along the flow of magic.”

Jenien interjected listlessly, tearing at his beard.

“According to that, it’s strange that I woke up. Does that mean the monster has fallen asleep again?”

Gideon cut off the spreading thoughts. In any case, what he was curious about was Vanessa’s safety.

“I should contact Lieutenant General Jankval. First-”

Miquel, who had been hesitating, carefully interjected.

“Um, Duke. I think you should check on Honir….”

Gideon’s gaze turned to Miguel. Miguel fidgeted, then bowed his head and confessed everything he knew.

“Shortly after you collapsed, Miss Vanessa came to visit. I know that she stayed in the castle for a day and then left alone with His Majesty’s permit. She left a letter next to Honir, and several more letters have arrived since then.”

Gideon’s expression hardened.

She left alone. It was difficult to understand what that meant. She moved alone in the most dangerous time? Where to?

He headed to Honir’s room. On a small table set aside, several envelopes with Vanessa’s handwriting were piled up.

The man, who had torn open all the letters she had sent, gritted his teeth. He shook off the people who were trying to stop him, quickly prepared, and headed directly to the royal castle.

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It was only a short time since he had collapsed, but there was a subtle gap between the cloth and the skin.

Gideon clenched his gloves anxiously in front of the reception room. They were the black leather gloves she had sent, which he had never worn in front of Vanessa, but had used every winter, making the leather grain smooth.

Fortunately, the king was surprised to hear that the duke had woken up and ran out. So there was no need to wait to meet him.

“No, Duke! Goodness, that’s a relief. I was just told that light was pouring out of Bam Vandalu’s magic circle in the castle-”

“I heard that Your Majesty issued a permit to Vanessa Rose. Do you happen to know where she is?”

He cut off the king’s words and put aside all other matters to ask about that first.

Seeing the duke acting so rude, the king sighed inwardly. Goodness, this guy is completely smitten.

But it was understandable. The king was also doing crazy things because he cherished someone.

“I don’t know either. She said she wanted to find a way to wake up the Duke. She said she wanted to check Bam Vandalu’s magic circle, and I allowed it.”

“You knew it was dangerous for her to move alone. Why did you allow it?”

Unable to contain the rising anger, it was revealed on his face. The king said coldly.

“Aberdeen Chara, a magician from the eastern border, sent a letter about Vanessa Rose. He said she showed tremendous magical abilities in this eastern dispatch. If Aberdeen, who is greedy, is greedy for such a talent, I thought she could move alone, and Vanessa Rose wanted it too.”

“You don’t even know what she was aiming for!”

“She must have been looking for the monster that Bam Vandalu had put to sleep. There is a record of her checking several magic circles. And if you were her lover and she collapsed, would you just do what you were told? You wouldn’t.”

The king said firmly. Gideon pressed his throbbing forehead. A strange anxiety stirred his hands and feet.

“You’re acting up as soon as you wake up. Take better care of your body, Valder.”

“…I’ll be away for a while. Discuss the special forces’ confirmation items with Lieutenant General Jankval, and I’ll take care of the Joint Council’s work when I return.”

“Duke, you’ll miss her. Vanessa Rose will be back soon, so please just stay in your seat. There’s so much work that I regret you waking up! Damn it, we don’t even have enough information about the black monster right now, and you, the head of the special forces, can’t leave your seat.”

“Didn’t things go well enough even while I wasn’t awake? If something happens to her-”

Just as Gideon was about to retort sharply, a shout echoed through the thick door. The moment Gideon turned around, a court official with a desperate expression threw himself into the reception room.

“Your Majesty, a dragon has appeared over the royal castle!”

The king hardened his expression and stood up.

“Damn it, why are there so many crazy things happening? What’s with the dragon again.”

“The dragon has huge wings and is full of protrusions on its head-”

“No, are you kidding me? I know that!”

But before the king could take a step, Gideon ran out. While the king was bewildered, he was already out of sight.

As Gideon was leaving the castle, the dragon had already crushed several landscaping trees and landed on the ground.

Regardless of the guards and some magicians who were wary, the yellow-eyed dragon stood blankly and wagged its tail. Every time the tail swept the ground, one side of the garden was mercilessly crushed. If the gardener had seen it, he would have shed tears of blood, but fortunately or unfortunately, he was not here.

Gideon, who was coming down the stairs in a hurry, immediately noticed that this dragon was the dragon he had seen with Vanessa in the cave. And also the fact that there was someone on top of it.

But before Gideon could say anything, the dragon spotted him first.

The dragon, who hadn’t been on very good terms with him in the cave in the past, shook his head, pretending to know him because he had seen him. He even opened his mouth and shot fire into the air to greet him.

Of course, most people couldn’t tell whether the dragon was expressing its welcome or throwing a tantrum, so they became even more nervous. The spear of the guard who swallowed nervously and the hands of the magicians shook precariously.

“No, Duke Valder. When did you wake up?”

“Duke! That’s a relief.”

Without even having time to pay his respects, Gideon pushed aside the people who were buzzing and gathered around and approached the dragon. Some officials couldn’t hide their embarrassment and spoke to him, but Gideon’s gaze was fixed only on the dragon and the blurry figure on top of it.

“It’s dangerous. Step back.”

Someone said that, but Gideon surprisingly spoke to the dragon.

“Who did you put on top? Have you ever seen Vanessa?”

The dragon, narrowing its pupils and meeting Gideon’s gaze, coughed and said something, but of course he couldn’t understand it. And instead of the dragon, another young man’s voice was heard.

“Ah, so you’re ‘that’ Duke Valder. You look very different from the Duke Valder I knew.”

Just as Gideon frowned at the unfamiliar voice, the dragon lowered its long neck. A young man holding someone fell from above.

“I can’t carry her in a boy’s body. I hate this face, but what can I do!”