When You Turned Your Back On Me, We Became Strangers [EN]: Chapter 51

Reilly found her father slumped in the carriage. His eyes, slowly turning, revealed Leta collapsed with disheveled hair.

“Reilly, there’s no one around,” Ren said, reinforcing the barrier and stepping back.

Rage surged through Reilly’s body. A blue aura enveloped her, and her green eyes deepened into a sapphire blue.

She effortlessly tore open the carriage with her bare hands. Duke Beritter instinctively pulled the limp Leta closer.

“Ugh!”

In an instant, the Duke’s hand was severed. He clutched his wrist, writhing in agony. The pain was so intense, as if his hand was burning and his entire body was being torn apart, that he couldn’t think straight.

Reilly slowly approached Duke Beritter.

She looked down at Leta, then stepped on the Duke’s foot as he writhed on the ground, and lifted Leta up.

“Ri unni [older sister in Korean]?”

“Yes, it’s me. Leta, it’s okay now…”

Reilly hugged Leta tightly. As she carefully handed her over to Ren, Duke Beritter’s bloodshot eyes turned to Leta.

“Get rid of that filthy gaze.”

“Hahaha! Could it be, is that child Leta?”

The Duke didn’t flinch at Reilly’s words, his eyes fixed on Leta. It was unbelievable.

‘Since when have these bitches been playing me, slipping out of my control?’

What went wrong?

Duke Beritter bit his lip. With a grating sound of his teeth, the blood-soaked Duke tilted his head back and began to laugh.

“Me, doing this to me? Ungrateful wenches!”

The Duke couldn’t close his mouth, pressed down by the chilling mana surrounding him. His body trembled with murderous intent, but he knew instinctively.

He was going to die here anyway.

Reilly drew her sword and placed it against Duke Beritter’s neck. The cold sensation made his Adam’s apple bob.

“Are you going to kill your own father? Heh heh, if I were to die by your hand, that’s exactly what I’d want.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Her hollow eyes fixed on Duke Beritter’s severed wrist.

“Parricide! The shame of the Trailla family is you!”

He continued to laugh like a madman. Blood was seeping from his neck, but he seemed to have forgotten that a sword was pointed at his throat.

Reilly lowered her head to meet Duke Beritter’s gaze. She grabbed his head and tilted it back, just as he had done to Leta.

“I warned you to shut that mouth.”

She plunged her hand in and yanked out Duke Beritter’s tongue, causing his eyes to widen in shock.

“Who said I’d kill you easily? You’re so greedy.”

Reilly severed the Duke’s tongue in one swift motion. He clutched at his mouth with his good hand, trying to stop the flow of blood.

“Keuh, keok.”

The father before her, covered in red blood, writhed in agony.

“Is it painful? Just this much?”

Reilly’s cold gaze pierced him. Soon after, Caber and the Imperial Knights arrived. She nonchalantly slashed her own arm.

Beritter was still her father, no matter what.

Nobles were sensitive about unnecessary things. If those who sided with Duke Beritter rose up, it would be a hassle.

If she had no injuries, everyone might be suspicious. So, to prove that it was to save her brother and herself, she needed this much injury to avoid suspicion.

Not enough to die, but not so light as to seem insignificant.

Startled by the dripping blood, Caber rushed over to stop the bleeding.

“Haban!”

“Yes, yes!”

Haban, who had been frozen in shock, rushed over to treat Reilly’s wound. She calmly pushed Haban away and pointed to the Duke.

“He mustn’t die.”

Haban nodded at her frozen gaze and began to staunch the Duke’s blood. Ren, who had handed Leta over to the guards, rushed over to check Reilly’s arm.

“Don’t say anything. Let’s call it self-defense. The nobles won’t be able to say anything.”

“…Yes, well done.”

Caber clutched his throbbing head at the scene before him. He couldn’t even imagine how much pain she had been enduring.

It was even difficult to say that it was a relief she hadn’t killed him.

“How did things go elsewhere?”

Reilly continued to speak calmly. Her hands were still trembling slightly, but she seemed calmer than anyone else.

“You really…”

Caber rested his head on Reilly’s back, swallowing a groan. Tears welled up, and he couldn’t say anything else.

Even though she seemed fine, he could feel it. Her trembling.

Caber embraced Reilly. He couldn’t say anything, so this was all he could do.

Just pat her back.

* * *

Despite the turmoil, the palace was quiet. It was a peaceful morning as if nothing had happened.

Reilly suffered from a high fever all night.

No one knew the cause. They could only guess how much she had strained herself.

“Why is this happening? Did something go wrong!”

Caber shouted at Ren in frustration. He didn’t have any other options either.

He could only stay by her side.

“Her mana is stable.”

Ren was just as anxious. In this state, not only was the contract uncertain, but it was also unclear when she would regain consciousness.

“We have no choice but to wait and see.”

“How’s Leta?”

“Fortunately, she’s regained consciousness. The antidote they gave her seems to have worked well.”

That was a relief.

Reilly, who had collapsed into his arms that day, hadn’t opened her eyes. She simply seemed to be asleep with a peaceful expression.

“It seems she released too much mana in an incomplete state.”

“…What if she can’t wake up like this?”

Caber clutched his head in anguish and curled up. He shouldn’t have let her do it.

He should have stopped her when she said she would.

If Reilly were to leave his side again, he might not be able to bear it.

* * *

“Her body keeps trembling.”

As night fell, Reilly groaned and trembled all over. Her fever had subsided, but she seemed to be feeling cold from the chills.

Caber, who had briefly fallen asleep by her side, quickly wiped her neck and arms with a towel.

“Damn it! What should I do!”

Ren had temporarily left to find medicine for Reilly. Reilly’s lips had turned blue.

Caber couldn’t just stand by and watch any longer. He couldn’t think of anything complex, nor could he come up with any other alternatives.

He took off his clothes and embraced Reilly. He hoped that she would feel warmth through his body temperature.

“Please, please.”

Caber prayed desperately. He didn’t want much, he just wanted her to overcome this.

It wasn’t such a great desire, so why was he being punished so harshly? Caber bit his lip tightly as he looked at Reilly in his arms.

His heart ached at the sight of her struggling to breathe. Everything seemed to collapse, and he couldn’t see anything else.

Outside, no one knew about the situation, so the palace had to move discreetly, both in finding medicine and in everything else.

‘Should I hurry the contract?’

Caber was confused as he watched Reilly become increasingly unstable.

He couldn’t even gauge what was right.

For over two hours, Caber gave Reilly warmth. He slowly released his mana to create an environment where she could find some stability.

Whether his efforts had worked or not, Reilly’s breathing suddenly became even.

His body was already drenched in sweat. He was exhausted himself, having used his mana to control it for hours.

“Haa… Thank goodness.”

Caber breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Reilly might get sick again because of him, so he pulled himself out of the bed.

He sat on the edge of the bed, exhausted, and took a breath.

“Really, there’s not a single day of peace.”

He brushed the sweat-soaked hair from Reilly’s forehead. Her complexion seemed better than before, which gave him some relief.

‘Haa. I need to go to my room.’

His body wouldn’t move as he wanted. It seemed to be due to the consumption of a lot of mana.

Caber leaned against the bed with his tired body and closed his eyes.

* * *

Caber frowned, perhaps because of the sunlight shining on his eyes. Not only was his whole body heavy, but he couldn’t even move an arm as he wanted.

‘I must have caught a bad cold.’

A hollow laugh escaped him without him realizing it. He slowly lifted his heavy eyes and saw the canopy.

‘Did I come to my room?’

He had no memory of that. He seemed to have fallen asleep leaning against the bed, but…

Caber slowly rolled his eyes to the side. His whole body stiffened at the sight of Reilly sleeping soundly in his arms.

“Gasp.”

Startled by the sound that came from his mouth, he covered his mouth with his hand and blinked.

What on earth is going on…

His heart felt like it was about to explode at the sight of himself embracing her in that state, without even wearing clothes. He must have fallen asleep like that.

He thought about quietly pulling his arm away, but that would surely wake her up.

‘This is a situation that’s easy to misunderstand, no matter who sees it.’

Caber pinched the bridge of his nose. While he was wondering what to do about this awkward situation, he heard a knock.

With a flustered expression, Caber looked around.

“N, n, not now! Don’t come in!”

In his haste, Caber spoke towards the door. Fortunately, no one opened the door and came in at Caber’s command.

Caber sighed in relief. But only for a moment.

“…Your Highness Caber?”

The moment he turned his head, he met Reilly’s eyes, which had opened.

Her gaze then turned to Caber’s firm upper body.