The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 56
Bea absentmindedly fiddled with the ear that usually wore her hearing aid.
“This condition didn’t worsen because of this incident. It’s always been like this.”
“Then we must try everything possible.”
“This cannot be treated.”
But Aseph was persistent.
“It might sound silly coming from me, but high-level magic can achieve almost anything except for resurrecting the dead. I understand you might not want to rely on a mage’s help as an alchemist, but…”
“Master said it’s impossible.”
A crack appeared in Aseph’s gentle expression for a moment, but he quickly returned to a kindly demeanor, pretending that it never happened.
“Why wouldn’t it be possible? Feeling dizzy is a sign of recovery.”
“That makes sense, but…”
Maybe it’s because she just woke up and her mind is still foggy. She couldn’t find any logical flaw in Aseph’s words.
Moreover, lately, Aseph has gotten quite good at understanding Bea’s way of speaking and knowing what words are effective on her.
“Don’t move until you’ve recovered. It decreases efficiency.”
“Uh…”
Seeing Bea’s somewhat dazed demeanor, Aseph, as if dealing with a warrior from the battlefield, firmly pushed her shoulders down and directed her back to the bed.
“Just lie down a little more. You’re feeling nauseous, aren’t you? I’ll bring you some food to settle your stomach. I’ll bring Homun here as well.”
“Why would you do that?”
“You’ve been worried and looking for him since you woke up.”
“I wasn’t worried.”
“I see.”
“……”
“Homun was very worried about you, too.”
…Was he even listening to what she was saying?
It was already hard enough to communicate with him, but it seemed like it was becoming even more of a one-sided conversation.
“Here, lie down.”
Aseph even ignored what Bea had just said in a row and forced her to lie down. He pulled the bedding up to her chin and lightly pressed his lips to her forehead before standing up.
After staring down at Bea for a while, ensuring she wouldn’t pop back up like a jack-in-the-box, he added one more thing.
“You need to stay lying down.”
“Okay.”
After sending off the nagging Aseph and lying down, Bea blinked her large eyes several times and just stared at the ceiling.
The feeling she had when looking at Aseph just now wasn’t fear or anything like it. Yet, strangely, she couldn’t move a muscle.
❖
There was a reason why Bea’s laboratory was turned into a bedroom. The lab was being moved outside for a new construction project.
If there were alchemical research tools around during her recovery, Bea would try to work even if she hadn’t fully recovered.
Since Aseph always had problems with that in Bea’s old private lab cabin, this time he wanted to prevent it from the start.
‘Honestly, I was prepared for some resistance for a few days…’
In the past, Bea would have ignored Aseph’s words and tried to work regardless of her condition. However, she’s been quite agreeable since waking up, and it’s fortunate that she seems to be listening to his requests.
The atmosphere at the Vilkanos estate had been exceptionally pleasant lately. Bea had safely awakened, and the news had just arrived that the remaining rescue operations at the mine were completed.
“The mages and alchemists who helped with Lady Zephyr last time have offered to help with the construction of the new laboratory as well.”
“That wouldn’t be bad.”
“And about the leftover magical devices from that time.”
While reviewing the inventory management documents in the office, the butler continued,
“There’s quite a lot, so we’ve stored them in the warehouse for now, until… she recovers.”
“Have you gone mad?”
A prickly voice came from the other side.
“A warehouse, you say? For that alchemist’s magical devices at the Vilkanos estate?”
It was Ruslan. Having recovered much faster than Bea despite having been buried under the rubble for days, he had quickly returned to work.
“They should be kept as national treasures!”
Watching Ruslan casually spout nonsense, the butler sighed inaudibly, and Aseph rolled his eyes.
‘This guy…’
Who was it that said alchemists were heartless beings?
The one who vehemently opposed Aseph’s marriage to Bea, even as a friend, but conceded that guardianship was okay. The one who even threatened to personally eliminate any threat given the chance.
He even doubted the child Bea brought. Claiming that a child resembling or made to resemble the wealthy and noble Vilkanos was a scheme to tarnish or benefit from the household.
And now, such a quick turnaround?
The astute aide, catching Aseph’s skeptical look, cleared his throat a few times.
“Seeing that and still denying the child is yours would be idiotic.”
Ruslan dreamily recalled that day,
“Ah, I will never forget that day for as long as I live. It was Vilkanos itself, protecting humanity from evil. And Lady Zephyr was…”
After the rain cleared, the sunlight piercing through the clouds and hitting the ground made Lady Zephyr in the middle of that scene look like an angel sent by the gods.
…as Ruslan rambled on, Aseph, nodding along, suddenly got irritated.
“Did you learn to chatter to the gods of the underworld?”
“Your Highness, you can’t treat me like this.”
Ruslan lifted his chin with some arrogance.
“I was playing with the Young Master and found out about Lady Zephyr’s taste in men.”
“…I’m listening.”
Aseph straightened up and clasped his hands on his lap.
“The little one seems to know exactly what she likes.”
“It’s because they’ve lived together for so long, Your Highness.”
In front of Bea, where Aseph usually became timid, he had only thought about avoiding what Bea disliked, never about targeting her type.
He sighed softly upon the late realization, and then Ruslan continued,
“I heard she originally intended to make the child like that. I didn’t understand at first, but thinking about it, since there was a beloved in Lady Zephyr’s past, it must mean she wished for it. Perhaps originally, the intention was to have a child exactly resembling that person given their supposed relationship, but—”
“…Don’t make any pointless remarks.”
