Chapter 100: What Remains Between Two People

Just as tears could be diluted, Daniel would be able to create a holy power storage device using blood, even with a small amount.

Unlike me, who was used to donating blood occasionally when I was in Korea and accepted it without much resistance, Xavier was sensitive about it.

“Blood? Drawing blood?”

“Yes! When I was being chased by thugs that day, I was wearing heels. I just noticed that thanks to the blood, my wounds kept healing and recurring. So…”

“No.”

Xavier cut me off firmly. His eyes turned fierce.

“It’s fine. I won’t die just from drawing some blood, so don’t worry.”

“Do you want to die that badly? I don’t want you to cowardly escape the pain by drawing your blood.”

“What’s cowardly about it? And why would I die? When blood is drawn moderately, fresh blood is produced from the bone marrow.”

He twisted his lips and retorted.

“Look who became a doctor. Such eloquent words flowing from that small mouth.”

Well, look who’s being rude again.

He was being kind for a while, but I guess old habits die hard.

‘Actually, you’re the one who’s going to die.’

I was angry at first, but suddenly, one side of my heart stung.

It’s frustrating to think that I won’t even be able to see this annoying face anymore.

I decided to bring up the contract termination first, worried he might mention it after I finished making the storage devices.

“Xavier, I won’t die. You should worry about yourself.”

“Yuria, I’m a Swordmaster. Have you forgotten?”

“Even Swordmasters die, that’s why I’m saying this.”

“What?”

“You think I don’t know? That beastmen’s lifespan is around 40 years.”

“!”

His teal pupils trembled uncontrollably. He must have thought I wouldn’t know.

“…How did you find out?”

“It’s not even a secret. I would have found out eventually, right?”

I gestured toward the neatly folded newspaper on one side of the table. The front page featured a headline about the death of the King of Moirai.

After Crown Prince Lucas finished his imperial tour, the Moirai royal family officially announced the king’s death. Naturally, the newspaper included the age at which the former King of Moirai passed away.

He was only in his late forties.

“So you saw that.”

“Yes.”

Actually, I heard it from Eli, but I couldn’t risk making Xavier resent her.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m satisfied with what I have now. It’s not bad to live a short but meaningful life.”

His attitude of treating it as nothing made my heart ache even more.

“I’m not satisfied.”

“What?”

“Have you forgotten our contract?”

“I know. It could be extended up to 2 years, right?”

“No. We agreed to extend the contract until your curse is lifted. I’m not cold-hearted enough to ignore someone dying when I know I can prevent it.”

Look how wide his eyes got in surprise.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. There’s no need to worry. Breaking the curse is a win-win for both of us. And I want to be able to sleep peacefully at night too. You should be grateful.”

I made up other excuses, worried he might feel burdened.

But instead of being happy, his expression darkened even more. He couldn’t look me in the eyes and lowered his eyelids. Staring at the floor, Xavier mumbled.

“I appreciate the words, but there’s no need to break the curse.”

“Why? Aren’t you sick of the pain? Stop being stubborn.”

Xavier roughly rubbed his face with both hands and let out a long sigh.

I caught a glimpse of his hands trembling under the table, but I wondered if I had seen wrong.

“It’s not stubbornness. You’ll die.”

“Yes, I’m human so I’ll die someday.”

“No. To break the curse, you must sacrifice everything you have, Yuria. So please, stop now.”

Sadness dwelled in his eyes as he looked straight at me.

I laughed softly and replied.

“Haha. What are you talking about? We haven’t even decoded the inscription on the obelisk yet?”

“……”

Xavier suddenly stood up and took out a note from his desk drawer.

His hand trembled slightly as he handed me the tattered note that had been folded and unfolded countless times.

[Yuria must never be allowed to go to the Cursed Land. This is the solution I decoded: ‘The curse will only be lifted when the Saintess willingly sacrifices everything precious to her.’]

“…So you had decoded the text.”

“Yes.”

Lucas’s words flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope.

‘I won’t say I’ll take you away anymore.’

‘You should live a long life. Don’t worry about the curse.’

Liar, Lucas.

You said those things for my sake.

“This is the reality. So cherish your life.”

“Xavier… Is this why you said the curse doesn’t need to be broken?”

“Yes.”

“And about the contract too?”

My voice cracked.

Xavier nodded. At that moment, relief washed over me.

‘Thank goodness.’

At least he wasn’t trying to push me away. He was worried about me.

“But does running away solve anything?”

“At first, yes. You’re right.”

His teal eyes shimmered with emotion.

“I won’t run away anymore. I won’t back down like my father did.”

“That’s good. Even if we have to extend the contract for life, I’ll break the curse.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean?”

Xavier’s voice deepened further.

“Let’s pretend there was never a contract between us.”

“What? …You’re terminating the contract?”

My eyes widened in shock.

“Yuria, I’ll set you free.”

“No, I said I’ll break the curse! You’ll die!”

“Even though your life is at stake?”

“That’s not even certain… and…”

Words failed me.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t afraid of death, and I genuinely wanted to save Xavier.

My thoughts weren’t organized, and words kept stumbling in my mouth.

“But I…”

So what if you terminate the contract? What will happen to you then?

Honestly, seeing how I’m more worried about you than my own life, I must really like you.

As I stared at him blankly, Xavier made an unexpected proposal.

“That doesn’t mean I’m giving up on you. Forget about being a saintess and the curse and all that. I, Xavier, only want you, Yuria.”

“!”

“Aren’t you curious about what will remain between us without a contract?”

So let’s do it. Let’s terminate the contract.

*

Xavier demanded to terminate the contract. And apparently, my life is at stake to break the curse.

‘What does it mean to sacrifice what’s precious to me to break the curse?’

I couldn’t sleep all night because these two thoughts kept my mind racing.

Even as the moon set and a new day dawned, there was no answer to be found.

I tried to think as positively as possible.

We won’t know if sacrificing everything precious means my life or something else until we try, right? If worse comes to worst, I can just refuse and run away.

…And.

‘Forget about being a saintess and the curse and all that. I, Xavier, only want you, Yuria.’

Actually, those words kept me awake even more.

Xavier’s tone, way of speaking, and expression when he said those words… I still remember them vividly.

‘Is something really going to change between us?’

Between the fear of death and these fuzzy feelings, I went back and forth between heaven and hell until dawn.

As Xavier said, what will remain between us if we terminate the contract?

I hope it’s love. I hope he doesn’t leave.

Surprisingly, even with my life at stake, I’m afraid of Xavier leaving me.

“…I’m crazy.”

“Duchess?”

Bright green eyes like fresh sprouts were close to my face. I could clearly see his features without his glasses.

“Dr. Daniel?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Oh my. I was too lost in thought.

The flask I brought was lined up on his research table.

“Would you tell me why you came?”

“Oh, I came here but got lost in thought for a moment. You should have said something earlier.”

“…Your expression looked so happy.”

“I see.”

“Even watching you made me happy.”

Daniel’s ears turned red as he scratched the back of his head and smiled.

“Sorry for coming so early in the morning.”

“No, no. I usually wake up early.”

I wanted to tell him about the new medium I thought of yesterday, so I came to find Daniel at dawn after staying up all night. This wasn’t my intention, but I had to come now because I felt Xavier would follow me and say “absolutely not!” to drawing blood.

“I thought we could use blood instead of tears.”

“Ah, blood!”

As expected of a genius, he understood immediately.

“Since it contains the life force of all living things, holy power would be stronger with blood. Why didn’t I think of that? There’s no better medium than blood! And it regenerates even if we draw it!”

He jumped up and down in place, adding ten words for every one of mine.

“Using blood could make the holy power stronger. Doctor, you’re amazing!”

Daniel scratched his head and blushed at my praise.

“No, no, you’re more amazing for thinking of the new medium first, Duchess.”

“No, I’m not.”

Now that I think about it, maybe Daniel used blood to strengthen Rosetta’s holy power in the original story too.

“I’ll make safe tools for blood collection so the Duke won’t worry. Just trust me!”

He already knows Xavier’s personality and has a solution ready. How reliable.

“I trust you, Doctor. But since we don’t have much time, I’d like the blood collection tools to be like this…”

I drew the blood packs and needles I’d seen when donating blood on paper.

“You, you’re the genius, Duchess!”

Daniel’s eyes sparkled excessively. He stared intently at my face for a while, spacing out.

It’s actually embarrassing since I didn’t invent these.

I ignored his gaze and continued with my requests.

“And could we make the holy power storage devices in patch form and oral medication? One for regular people and one for beastmen.”

“What? Yes!”

Daniel finally came to his senses, shaking his head and putting his glasses back on. His eyes were full of passion as he looked at me.

“Pl-please wait just a day or two for the blood collection tools. I’ll do my best not to waste a drop of your precious blood, Duchess.”

“Good.”

Just as I was about to leave the laboratory, his concentration seeming to have dropped as he stuttered again, Daniel hurriedly followed me and suddenly held out his hand.

“I-I-I would like you to take this.”