**Chapter 212 – Because of You (1)**
Four days before Jas received his mysterious guest.
A mail basket arrived at the girls’ dormitory of the Academy, filled with letters.
Letters from across the country, letters from overseas, letters from lovers.
Among the many letters, Yuria found hers and entered her room with a bright smile.
She didn’t even need to check; Yuria knew exactly who her letter was from. After all, there were only two people who would send her letters.
Dad.
And Ricardo.
Yuria was in a good mood.
The letters from those two were a refreshing change in the otherwise monotonous Academy life.
Holding the letter, Yuria wasted no ti tearing open the envelope. She smiled softly, wondering what kind of story it would contain today.
“Who could it be…?”
-North’s Most Handso, Jas.
“Pfff, what?!”
The letter, delivered via carrier pigeon, contained news from just four days ago. The tales brought by the bird flew faster than any carriage, allowing the contents to remain relatively fresh.
With a ‘shrrk’ sound, Yuria used her letter opener to slice open the envelope and began reading the letter in a ssy but familiar handwriting, a small smile on her lips.
-To my beloved daughter, Yuria.
The faint scent of her hotown wafted from the letter, and Yuria found herself smiling gently.
“Dad…”
-Are you doing well?
The letter from her father, who lived alone in the North, was filled with his usual concerns about her well-being.
Are you eating properly?
Are you sleeping well?
Is your allowance enough?
The typical worries of a father. Yuria chuckled at the familiar ssage, her smile growing warr.
“I’m eating better than you are, you know… You’re the one who skips als…”
As if responding to her murmured words, Jas’s letter continued, addressing her concerns.
-I’m eating well, and life is good.
-Maybe it’s my age, but I find at tastes even better these days. Haha, fortunately, these old teeth are still holding up!
-Yuria, you know what the most pointless worry in the world is? Worrying about . Even without you around, I eat breakfast every morning without fail, so don’t worry.
Yuria stifled a bittersweet grin at her father’s playful words. She wasn’t sure why, but her dad’s letters always tugged on her heartstrings.
There wasn’t anything particularly special in the letter, yet just seeing her father’s words—knowing he understood her so well—made her eyes mist over.
Wiping away the few tears that welled up, Yuria clenched the letter tightly.
“I miss you…”
After reading through the long letter, Yuria finally reached the end, where her father had written a piece of surprising news.
A couple had recently visited her father’s inn.
The faint smile on Yuria’s face faded as she felt her heart tighten upon reading her father’s words.
‘Huh…?’
-I finally had so guests after a long ti. It’s been a bit lonely around here, so that was nice.
-They looked about your age—a man and a woman. Apparently, they traveled up North for sightseeing. Honestly, I thought they were a little crazy. Traveling up here when it’s so dangerous right now? Who does that?
Yuria’s eyes widened as she read the letter. Having lived in the North herself, she was fully aware of just how dangerous the North was at this particular ti of year.
Like her father, Yuria couldn’t help but think that these people weren’t normal.
‘…That’s odd.’
-I kept warning them about how dangerous it was, but they seed to know already.
“Impressive…”
But who could they be?
This vague thought crossed Yuria’s mind, but the next part of the letter only made her more unsettled.
-One of them was a woman with an injured leg. I couldn’t exactly kick them out, since that would’ve been heartless, right?
‘A woman with an injured leg…?’
-Anyway, they’re remarkable people. You know your dad never says this lightly, but that guy was really sothing—handso enough to remind of my younger days. And boy, could he cook! He made a dish called ‘gukbap.’ I’ll make it for you next ti you visit.
-Said he’s from the Academy, too. Do you know him, Yuria? Red hair and a four-letter na… I can’t quite rember the rest. Do you have any handso guys like that around you?
-Just kidding, of course.
Yuria silently gasped at two phrases.
‘A woman who can’t move her leg.’
‘A handso man with red hair.’
There were only two people who fit that description perfectly.
Yuria wanted to believe otherwise, shaking her head to dismiss the idea. But despite her best efforts, she couldn’t shake the growing sense of unease gnawing at her.
It made her think that Olivia might have gone to the North to harm her father.
Yuria bit at her nails, trying to chase away the creeping anxiety.
“No…”
Shaking her head, Yuria tried to clear her mind.
“It can’t be.”
Even if the people who visited the inn were who she thought they were, nothing particularly bad would happen. Yuria resolved to sweep away her complicated worries.
And yet.
The fear in her heart refused to disappear.
Even though they had made ands and Ricardo had saved her life, Yuria couldn’t fully trust him. After all, whenever sothing involved Ricardo and Olivia, the end result was always a tragedy.
At the Academy.
In the dungeon.
Even in their daily lives.
Yuria couldn’t bring herself to trust Ricardo, who only ever seed to think about Olivia. With a growing sense of dread, she hung her head in defeat.
“I shouldn’t feel this way…”
Yuria was anxious.
And four days later, Yuria raced off to the North.
“…I never should have trusted them.”
She mumbled bitterly to herself as she sprinted toward the North.
*
And now, the tiline jumps back to one day before Yuria received the letter.
It was a calm and peaceful night.
The night that would lead Yuria to hate .
*
Having followed Jas’s recomndation, the lady and I were relaxing in the hot springs, letting the warm water lt away our fatigue.
“Haaa…”
“Hehe.”
The hot spring worked wonders on our tired bodies. Wrapped in this soothing calm, I glanced at the lady.
“This is nice… huh?”
The lady, with a strangely focused expression, was balancing a boiled egg on her chest.
Unable to help my baffled laughter, I asked,
“What are you doing?”
“Hatching it. Once it hatches, I’ll make fried chicken.”
“Amazing.”
“Yup. Want to try too? If you do it with , we’ll get two chickens.”
“I’ll warm up a bit more, then maybe.”
“Okay.”
With a furrowed brow, the lady gingerly placed the egg back into her treasure pouch of sorts. I quietly laughed at her earnest attempts to incubate a boiled egg.
‘I’ll tell her later.’
It was always fun teasing the lady.
As I thought about how much fun I’d have later, I looked up at the bright moon and let out a relaxed sigh.
‘It’s tough… really tough.’
During these past three days, I had spent a lot of ti agonizing over things.
Whether I thought about it from a perspective of life or from a selfish point of view, I couldn’t reach a satisfying conclusion.
If I decided to run away, Yuria would weigh on my mind.
But if I decided to stick my nose in things, I was afraid of how it might twist the original story.
Everything just felt heavy.
“Sigh…”
The only thing accumulating was my sighs.
It felt like it was already too late to do anything.
I didn’t even know when Yuria’s father died or what his na was… There just wasn’t anything I could do.
On top of that, I had to return and discuss business matters with Malik and deliver those new recipes, so I wasn’t exactly swimming in free ti.
‘I really don’t know.’
With a bitter smile, I glanced over at the lady. She had practically lted into the hot water, stretching out and relaxing like a satisfied sli, basking in her peaceful surroundings.
“Heeee…”
“Did you give up on hatching the chick?”
“I ate it because I was hungry.”
“…?”
“I guess my body was too warm and it cooked.”
“It was a boiled egg to begin with.”
“…Huh?”
The lady looked at with a betrayed expression. Clenching her fists like she was about to seek revenge for the chicken, she puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
I laughed softly, her frustration only making laugh even more.
“Why didn’t you tell earlier?!”
“Puhaha! Well, you never know—maybe your love could have hatched it after all.”
“I’m not that stupid!”
“Puhaha—I’m sorry!”
After a bit of playful bickering, I relaxed again, gazing up at the bright moon. Next to , the lady, now smiling contently, leaned back against the rocks.
“Did you enjoy the trip to the North?”
“Yep. I’m glad we ca. It’s a sha I didn’t get to see what we were looking for, but… it was fun.”
“That’s a relief.”
The lady stretched her arms and slouched against the rocks, lting further into her seat like she might turn into a puddle at any mont.
‘Hmm?’
Naturally, my gaze slowly drifted toward the treasure pouch beneath her towel. It was a purely innocent glance, born out of concern that she might be getting cold. I swear on my conscience.
Nodding to myself, I smiled.
“I’m glad I ca to the North as well.”
The North.
It wasn’t such a bad place after all.
The lady smiled dreamily, staring up at the open sky above the hot spring.
“There’s no one else here in the hot spring… and the stars are so pretty.”
The obvious statent made chuckle. With great confidence, I replied.
“That’s only natural. I booked the whole place.”
“Huh?! You rented the whole hot spring?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“For a peaceful bathing experience?”
To be honest, I didn’t want anyone else to see the lady’s bare body, so I went ahead and rented out the entire place. Of course, I couldn’t tell her that, as it would sound too selfish. So, I played it cool, acting the part of a rich man indulging in luxury.
“This much is no problem.”
“Wowww…”
The lady flashed a thumbs-up and bead. Even as I watched her tiny movent and the sway of her “treasure pouch,” I couldn’t help but think that the money was well spent.
As expected, though, I’d have to give the innkeeper a hefty tip when we returned.
After staring at the stars for a while, the lady turned her gaze toward , looking deep into my eyes.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes?”
“Ricardo, your body is really nice.”
“…?”
All of a sudden, she was admiring my large chest muscles with a look of awe. With a slow, deliberate motion, she reached out, as if wanting to touch them. I imdiately covered myself and squealed.
“Eek! What’s with that creepy comnt?!”
“I just realized how well-built you are, that’s all.”
“I’ve always been like this.”
“Ugh, how obnoxious.”
“Excessive humility is—”
“Ugh! Be quiet!”
Splashing water into her hands, the lady began flicking it at my face.
“Are you challenging ?!”
“Hehe!”
I was grateful to her for not calling my scar-covered body ugly. For a villainess, she could be oddly considerate.
Laughing, I splashed her back, and the two of us spent a bit of ti playing in the water.
“Servant’s Fist, first form!”
“Eeeek!”
The hot spring surged with waves from our splash battle.
But it seems I had gone a bit overboard, as a massive splash of water flew directly at the lady’s face, hitting her like a tidal wave.
“Eeeeek!”
Waving her hands frantically, she tried to defend herself.
The lady, standing in the midst of the relentless flood, looked like a helpless kitten facing down the terrifying blast of a near-Sword Master’s water attack.
“Stop it!”
“You started it, my lady.”
“Youuu…!”
And then—
-Slip.
“Huh?”
“It ca off…”
“…?”
“Eeeek!”
I decided a generous tip for the innkeeper was well-deserved.
*
After our bath, the lady and I dried our wet hair, sipping on so milk. Despite the slightly embarrassing incident, the lady’s prideful nature allowed her to quickly recover, and it was now far from being a big deal.
“Ricardo. You’re a pervert.”
“…”
Rubbing my tingling cheek, I accepted the lady’s grumbling. Still, considering what I had seen in exchange for that slap, I’d say it was worth it. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind getting hit a second ti for another chance to see it, but I buried that desire deep inside and began walking back toward the inn.
But then.
Suddenly confronted with the sight of the inn, I stopped humming and clenched my fists.
“Huh. The inn’s lights…”
“…are off.”
The ti for a decision had co.
I instinctively felt it.
End of Chapter.
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