MTLNOVEL 90
Of course, just because they believed me didn’t mean all their doubts vanished completely. That was only natural. Each knight was a pillar of the North’s military strength. Having been through countless battles, they knew all too well how dangerous blind trust could be. For them, suspicion was a survival instinct.
So, convincing them without any solid evidence took another couple of hours. Gathered in the training hall, they forgot about their swords entirely as they bombarded me with questions.
I mixed in a few lies here and there, but for the most part, I answered honestly. At the very least, I had no shame in telling them the truth about where my allegiance lay.
“So, that shrinking thing is a type of magic?”
“Yes. Well… I can do it, but it’s limited to just me.”
“Can you use teleportation magic to reach the snowy plains?”
“No, I can only use it to return.”
“What about healing magic?”
“…If I could do that, would my arm be in this state right now?”
The murmuring knights hesitated before carefully asking,
“Then how do you know about ‘The Heart of Winter’?”
“My master told me about it. I don’t know everything, but I do know it’s made by extracting a person’s life force. It breaks all natural laws and promises eternal life. And that kind of thing…”
James continued my sentence in a low voice.
“…Shouldn’t exist in this world.”
He was right. Dreaming of immortality was an individual’s choice, but there were lines that should never be crossed.
In the end, the knights decided to keep watching me for now. It was only natural that they needed time.
However, as our long conversation came to an end, the atmosphere took on a more favorable tone. Instead of prying into my true intentions, James and the other knights began to worry about whether the brand seared into my arm could actually be healed.
“For something that spread in just three days, the affected area is too large.”
“It could be suppressed with magic, but… it looks incredibly powerful. You feel pain even when you’re not moving, don’t you?”
I nodded slowly.
Even now, a dull, unpleasant ache throbbed near my elbow. I didn’t want to show it since Kyle would only worry, but I knew that sharing the situation accurately and receiving help was the best way to prevent it from worsening.
“That’s why… I don’t think I can train using my right arm for a while.”
The knights gave me bewildered looks.
What? Is it so strange that I still want to train? Who knows what could happen in the future? In a lawless world like this, I need to be able to take care of myself!
The mage who had accompanied the expedition to Shin Gwangsan clicked his tongue.
“Just rest for a while. What training?”
Kyle added in a strict voice.
“Shu is forbidden from training for the time being. Furthermore, since he withheld militarily significant information and caused unnecessary confusion…”
Wait. I told him not to take my side, but I didn’t mean he should start blaming me all of a sudden!
Kyle ignored my flustered expression and firmly declared,
“He will be placed under house arrest for a week.”
“…”
That was his way of officially protecting me.
[(￣▽￣)]
I understood the hidden meaning behind his words, but I still looked at him sourly. Kyle, however, merely raised one eyebrow at me with an impassive expression.
The knights mulled it over before nodding. As long as the punishment wasn’t blatantly unreasonable, they had no intention of going against their lord’s decision.
I pouted.
House arrest? I was already sick of living as a hamster for three days, and now I’d be confined to the study and my bedroom?!
“The house arrest will last for one week, effective immediately.”
With that clear-cut announcement, Kyle grabbed my left arm and started dragging me away. I let myself be pulled along helplessly.
“Yeah, yeah. Might as well get some rest.”
The knights nonchalantly saw me off.
“On your way, write down anything else you know about the mage division!”
“Yeah, Beast Scholar, and also about that Heart of Winter or whatever it’s called!”
“As detailed as possible!”
“…Unbelievable! Is no one going to stop this?!”
“How could we possibly disobey His Highness’s orders?”
I let out a long sigh and eventually followed Kyle.
‘Well…’
At least I should comfort him a little.
“Your Highness.”
“…”
“Your Highness, Your Highness.”
There was no response. Instead, the footsteps ahead of me slowed just a little.
I quickly overtook him, turning to face him with my back against the door. Kyle reached out as if to embrace my shoulders, but then he seemed to remember that touching my right shoulder would hurt. His expression twisted slightly in frustration before he lowered his hand.
With a soft click, he turned the doorknob, revealing the darkened bedroom. I stepped inside backward, leading him in as I asked,
“Are you angry?”
Kyle let out a quiet sigh.
“I wouldn’t be angry at you. But…”
After a brief silence, he stepped closer and whispered,
“Shu, you have no idea how much I worried about you.”
“I know. That’s why you hurried back like this, isn’t it?”
“No, you don’t even know half of it.”
His gaze drifted to my arm, which hung limply at my side.
When the court mage treated me at the castle, Kyle’s expression had been a sight to behold. He had turned deathly pale, then his face twisted in fury, then he lost all color again, shaken. It had been enough to make me feel a little guilty.
And after the treatment, when I insisted on heading to the training grounds to resolve things with the knights…
‘Right… I see now.’
I smiled awkwardly as I led him further into the bedroom.
“I guess I really didn’t know.”
I had disappeared without even letting him confirm if I was safe. Then, when I finally returned, one of my arms was nearly useless. On top of that, all he could do was watch as the knights questioned and doubted me—he hadn’t even been able to shield me from their suspicions properly.
Kyle must have been drowning in guilt and helplessness. I couldn’t bring myself to say that I fully understood those feelings. It didn’t seem right to claim something like that.
“…It probably sounded like an excuse, but this was the best I could do. I spent three days thinking it through.”
“I know you always do your best. Except for one thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“Your own safety.”
Well, he sure didn’t sugarcoat it.
And honestly? He wasn’t wrong. No matter how I looked at it, I had nothing to say in my defense. I lowered my head. He didn’t reprimand me any further, but that only made me feel more guilty.
“One week of house arrest. You’re allowed light walks, but only if I accompany you. Other than that, you’re confined to your bedroom and the study. No training, no strenuous activity, and absolutely no leaving the castle.”
“Understood.”
I could sneak out if I really wanted to, but… I didn’t want to put him through any more stress than I already had. So I nodded obediently.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I patted the space beside me. He hesitated for a moment before carefully sitting down. His arms wrapped around my waist, the touch impossibly gentle.
I patted his back with my uninjured arm and asked,
“Don’t you have anything you want to ask me? Earlier, you let the knights have their turn, so you didn’t get to ask much yourself.”
Kyle hesitated, then finally spoke.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“I wouldn’t say it doesn’t, but it’s bearable. It’s not as bad as it looks. As long as I don’t push myself… and considering I’m under house arrest, it’s not like I’ll get the chance to overdo anything anyway.”
A quiet laugh escaped him, the low sound vibrating through his chest and gently resonating against me.
“Is that really true?”
“What?”
I tilted my head, trying to recall what I might have said that he found unexpected.
“Oh, you mean about being a disciple of the reclusive mage? If I told them I was from another world, they’d be too shocked to believe me. Besides, they’d probably just dismiss it as nonsense.”
It also worked out in my favor—if I managed to dig up more information about the mage division, I could conveniently pass it off as part of my master’s legacy.
But Kyle wasn’t asking about that. He shook his head.
“I meant… using life force instead of mana as a magical resource.”
An awkward silence filled the space between us.
I wanted to deny it. But he had already seen me coughing up blood. There was no way he’d believe me if I tried to lie.
I let out a small sigh.
“…Yes.”
“Shu!”
“Only for certain spells. Most of the time, I don’t use it. It’s not like I regularly burn through my life force like that.”
As long as I didn’t forcefully charge my luck like I did back then, my body wouldn’t suffer any serious consequences.
Come to think of it, Nox had said something after seeing the barrier I created using my luck. He mentioned that my power was similar to theirs.
“They probably use similar magic. Absorbing other lives to convert into mana and surpass their natural limits.”
Kyle responded with frustration.
“Does that even matter right now?”
“…”
“Don’t ever do that again. Don’t you dare shave off your own life to save mine. No matter how much you feel indebted to me, it’s nothing but painful.”
“Coughing up a little blood isn’t going to kill me.”
Kyle lifted his gaze, staring at me with a look that held a hint of resentment.
“Listen. If you had been the one injured instead, the situation would’ve been much worse. It was unpleasant for me, sure, but that’s all it was. In exchange, I saved your life.”
I quickly added,
“I wouldn’t have done it if I had any other choice. But at that moment, there was no other way.”
“I don’t want to survive at the cost of your life, no matter the circumstances.”
“And I would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant saving you.”
“…”
“Alright. It seems like this is something we need to discuss further. I have a whole week of house arrest ahead of me, and you won’t be going far since you’ll be looking after me, so…”
“…Fine. We’ll take our time with it.”
It wasn’t something that could be resolved in a single conversation. Kyle acknowledged that much and agreed.
Only then did I let myself fully relax, leaning into him. I must have been more tense than I realized—my eyelids were growing heavier by the second.
What a shame. There was still plenty of time before I needed to Reload. He held me gently, barely even shifting, as if afraid any movement might cause me pain.
“Anything else you wanted to say?”
Kyle pulled me closer, his voice a quiet murmur.
“I missed you.”
Ah, so warm.
I buried my head in his embrace and replied,
“I missed you too.”
And somehow, those words felt even more powerful than saying I love you.