The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 86
Opening her eyes, Bea saw a pure white ceiling. It wasn’t the desert sky scattered with sandstorms, nor the battlefield she last remembered…
Then, where was this place?
Her previously foggy mind had cleared considerably. She was blinking blankly, staring at the ceiling, when she heard a voice.
“B-Bea…! Have you woken up?”
Bea startled.
It was a voice as soft as a spring breeze. She recognized it as Aseph’s, but it was unusually loud. And something about the sound was off.
Could her hearing aid be malfunctioning? Instinctively reaching to check one ear, Aseph caught her hand.
“Is something wrong?”
Unable to respond, Bea just nodded. She had a feeling that even the sounds she made would be strangely altered.
“Do you feel any pain, dizziness, or anything like that?”
Had his voice always been this ticklish? No, it wasn’t that. His voice always felt so deeply resonant that it made her insides quiver.
But had this been the usual sensation?
As Bea remained silent, Aseph gently urged her, his voice tinged with anxiety.
“Bea, are you alright? Please, say something.”
“My ears feel odd.”
“You can hear well, right?”
She nodded, but Bea, feeling a growing unease, shrugged off Aseph’s hand and reached for her ear. The hearing aid that was always supposed to be there was missing. Yet, she could hear perfectly well.
“I discarded it.”
Aseph said, his voice more subdued than before.
“I got rid of the one Myron Devesis made for you. You won’t need to wear it anymore. Your ears were treated while you were unconscious. I, I, really, was so worried…”
Aseph’s voice, initially dry, became progressively moistened as he spoke. His deep voice was tinged with emotion, causing Bea’s eardrums to quiver, and a dizzy sensation washed over her. She inadvertently touched her earlobe.
Yet, Aseph took Bea’s hand again.
“Treated?” she inquired.
“Yes.”
“But that’s supposed to be impossible.”
Aseph muttered almost like a curse.
“Didn’t I tell you? There’s nothing a mage can’t heal.”
“…”
Was that so? It felt unfamiliar to her.
Above all, the fact that Aseph Vilkanos’s voice could now be heard this clearly was astonishing. She had believed herself to be hearing sufficiently well to not hinder communication, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
She thought she had been living in acceptance of all phenomena as they truly were, yet she realized she had known less than half the truth.
Especially when it came to Aseph Vilkanos—she had assumed his beauty was merely superficial, but his voice…
“Speak… speak more.”
“What would you have me say? That I was anxiously waiting for you to awaken?”
The air seemed to sharpen a bit with his words.
“Bea, are you aware… of how many days you were unable to wake up? To say such a thing upon just waking up…”
Aseph Vilkanos said what she needed to hear.
It was Homun who had brought them back to the Vilkanos mansion that day. The sight of a child bringing two adults was shocking enough, but the mansion was turned upside down upon witnessing with their own eyes that the successor of Vilkanos could use magic.
The first to regain consciousness, Aseph, instead of discussing the matter, hurriedly treated Bea, who was on the brink of death due to malnutrition and overwork. A few of the mage attendants stayed in the bedroom where Bea lay, leaving exhausted after expending their energy.
“But when they taught Homun the treatment method, he managed to do the work of several adults on his own without getting tired. I just wished for him to get healthy, but how could he do that?”
Pride and boastfulness seeped through his voice for some unknown reason.
Aseph was talkative.
It was nice to hear his voice reverberate.
To recover, one needed to replenish nutrition and sleep on their own, but Bea’s body was a mess. There were injuries all over her body, besides her ears. So, for several days, Homun poured out magic to heal Bea. No, it would be more accurate to say he regenerated her.
Anyway, Bea’s body was much better than before. Unlike someone who had been wandering on the brink of death for a long time, she was neither hungry nor dizzy. Even the disabilities that had been in her body seemed to have disappeared.
But as for whether her mind was clear…
“Bea, are you listening?”
“Ah…”
Bea blankly nodded.
It wasn’t a lie. She did hear the words. But she was so intoxicated by his voice that she couldn’t properly understand what he was saying.
Focusing on the pouring sensations, had she become somewhat less thoughtful?
“Ah, Bea.”
Aseph pulled her by the shoulder to bring her face closer. Up close, he looked terribly pale. His clothing was also not very tidy.
“He’s even that kind of guy, but… Was he that precious to you?”
Precious? Who?
“Are you so spaced out because… I killed him and erased even his traces? Did you love him that much?”
What nonsense was he talking about? It was just too strange hearing sounds, making it difficult to adapt.
“No, I…”
“But what can we do about it?”
Aseph said urgently. It seemed as if he was afraid of what Bea might say, blocking her words.
“You are mine now.”
“…”
It felt as if her heart had dropped.
As Bea opened her mouth slightly without saying a word, Aseph said, as if chewing on his words.
“Is it that you can’t accept it? That you are mine.”
Holding her shoulder, Aseph Vilkanos pushed Bea onto the bed in that state. The soft bed silently enveloped Bea.
Aseph climbed on top of Bea, loosening the tight top he had been wearing.
“I killed your master. Now, you belong to me, and you must live in my mansion, by my side, for the rest of your life.”
