When Your Secret Crush Wizard Took a Love Potion - Chapter 55
In the pitch-black darkness, I was always alone. If it hadn’t been for the familiar footsteps and the man who appeared before me, I would have remained in the desolate forest, feeling abandoned.
“Edgar!”
When I ran excitedly and threw myself into his wide embrace, his large hands wrapped around my shoulders.
“I knew you’d come. I believed you would!”
In both dreams and reality, he was the one person I could always count on more than anyone else. But the figure who embraced me, as if reuniting with a long-awaited lover, was not the tender yet indifferent teacher I knew.
Even in the dream, I had grown accustomed to the affection Edgar had continuously showered upon me in a short period.
“I felt the same way.”
But today’s nightmare was different from usual.
“I once trusted you, Chloe. I cherished and cared for you as my only disciple.”
His grip tightened on my shoulders.
“Why did you do such a thing?“
He pushed me away. Shocked by the sudden rejection, I lifted my head to meet his purple eyes, which held a deep disappointment I had never seen before.
The man in the dream, using the excuse of long-unrequited love, despised the disciple who was trying to bind him with the most contemptible methods.
Caught off guard and speechless, I watched as Edgar turned his back on me.
The cold distance of his retreat made it clear.
He had abandoned me.
“Chloe.”
I should chase after him. I shouldn’t stand there like a helpless child, staring blankly. I was overwhelmed with unbearable sorrow and extreme despair. Tears kept welling up, and my whole body felt frozen and immobile.
“Chloe! Wake up!”
Through the blurry vision clouded by tears, I saw the face of the man from my dream.
Unlike the cold figure that had abandoned me, his face was full of concern.
“Did you have a bad dream? You kept making moaning sounds.”
Yes, it was just a simple nightmare created by the vague anxiety within me. But it also represented a future that might come.
As I sniffled and wiped my nose, his large hand gently stroked my back.
In the early hours of dawn, while everyone was asleep and the outside world was quiet and dark, Edgar’s soft whisper cut through the silence with striking clarity.
“Can’t sleep?”
As I nodded in response to his gentle voice, he leaned his face closer to mine.
“Shall I tell you an old story?”
Long ago, when the Batten Empire was still divided into dozens of principalities, the continent was home to countless different races living alongside humans, including elves and dwarves. Evidence from ancient elven ruins and dwarf underground caverns has shown that these races did indeed exist.
However, unlike the rapidly advancing humans who created new cultures, these races remained in their primitive environments.
“Why did such a stark difference arise?”
Greedy humans constantly sought new lands to satisfy their desires. Although this sometimes involved dangerous challenges, humanity grew through a cycle of successes and failures.
Although the coexistence with other races ultimately failed, it was not entirely negative; human greed also served as a fuel for development.
“Desire isn’t always a bad thing.”
It had been a long time since Edgar shared such stories with me. Listening to his warm and soothing voice recounting these old tales made the nightmare completely fade away. Even as my eyelids grew heavy, I had one more question.
“But what if my desires end up harming others?”
“It’s alright.”
I felt completely relaxed. As I drowsily mumbled, Edgar, who was watching me with a fond expression, lifted his lips into a gentle smile.
“Do as you wish, Chloe.”
Humans can be so cunning. Even though Edgar’s answer was simple and unknowing, I interpreted and rationalized it in a way that suited me.
‘I just want to stay like this.’
As I remained in place, the morning sun rose as usual.
* * *
“Just remember this, Madam. Even if your husband takes the love potion, the emotions it creates are artificial, and the effects are only temporary. It will not bring you eternal love.”
Despite my warning to the client, Edgar’s potion seemed to have a lingering effect.
“Chloe, are you still asleep?”
A soft voice, filled with affection.
“It’s time to wake up.”
Feeling the soft touch of his lips on my closed eyelids, I finally felt reassured and ready to get up.
