Salvation Through Delusion C44

Chapter 44

“Your Grace! Have you seen the return gift from the Adeye family?”

Rick came running all the way to the training grounds to find Tyroc, waving a list in his hand the moment he saw him.

Tyroc had just finished sword training and was still catching his breath when he turned to his first aide. Rick, who seemed even more out of breath than his master, raised his voice with excitement.

“Good heavens! The gift—hah, hah—it’s absolutely magnificent!”

Rick wasn’t one to exaggerate without reason, so if he was this agitated, the Adeye family must have sent something truly extravagant. Yet Tyroc didn’t even glance at the paper listing the items.

“Your Grace, I mean it! It’s incredible! They say that after Rue nearly died, Adeye Lantua has been treating him like the most precious treasure in the world. It must be true! Otherwise, why would she return Onali Plains—the very land she took from us—as thanks for saving Rue?”

That made Tyroc pause. His brows rose slightly, and he turned toward Rick, who, encouraged by the reaction, shook the paper even harder.

“That’s not all! The rest of the gifts are worth enough to buy a small city—”

“Send them back.”

“….”

Rick’s excited chatter stopped abruptly. When he didn’t answer, Tyroc’s mouth curved into a faint, sardonic smile.

“If you want a small city, say so. I’ll sell you off and make up the difference.”

“…No, that won’t be necessary. But why, Your Grace? I mean, of course, I understand your feelings. The Adeye family has always been a thorn in our side, so it’s natural that you’d want nothing from them.”

“No.”

No? Then why? Rick barely held himself back from shouting the question.

“Your Grace.”

“I’ve never done anything worthy of gratitude.”

“That’s not true at all! You saved Rue’s life!”

Rick clutched the list tightly, almost shouting the words, unwilling to let go of such an extravagant reward. But Tyroc didn’t even look at him. Instead, he drove his sword into the ground with a heavy clang and asked curtly—

“He’s alive?”

“Adeye Rue? Yes, apparently he is. They say that frail Adeye Lantua has been nursing him day and night for three days straight without a wink of sleep.”

At that, Tyroc froze.

“The Adeyes have gathered every renowned healer across the continent, so it seems he’s still breathing for now. But they say he’s hovering between life and death—so hearing that he’s died wouldn’t be surprising either.”

“….”

“Still, Your Grace was the one who pulled him from the pond! Even that money-crazed Adeye Lantua sent these gifts in thanks—ah, wait, where are you going?”

“To stretch.”

Tyroc picked up his sword again and strode toward the center of the training grounds. Rick stared after him, wide-eyed.

Since returning from the Central Temple, Tyroc had spent three sleepless days hunting monsters, and now, after barely finishing training, he was going back for more?

But more troubling than his lack of rest was something else entirely.

“Your Grace! Fine, send everything else back—but can we at least keep Onali Plains?! Your Grace!”

In recent years, the only thing that managed to wake me up had been the commotion of my team. As a leader, I always made it a rule to rise before anyone else, even during field missions, to keep watch over the surroundings.

Even if I died, I’d be the first to face it.

That was my principle as a captain. So once I was back at the shelter, I could finally allow myself to sleep deeply.

But here—here I’d become the one in charge again, forced to keep my senses sharp. After all, everyone above me in rank was dead.

That’s why waking up not to an alarm, but to people talking nearby, felt so strange. Especially when the conversation was so close that I could clearly make out the words.

It was Dr. Kim and Solongo.

“So you’re saying that pond might be the entrance to the Nonhuman Realm?”

“Yes. Not only because the Grand Duke jumped in after him, but judging by High Priest Chegi and her disciple’s reactions, it seems they sensed something when Lord Rue fell into the pond.”

“The Nonhuman Realm, huh… Could it really be the Forest of Crimson Tides?”

“I looked into it. Apparently, there have been old stories about the Central Temple being built on a site connected to the Nonhuman Realm. But it was only passed down orally—no official record exists.”

“So Rue found the entrance himself.”

“Yes. Lord Rue risked his life to discover it.”

“Then he deserves compensation.”

“Of course. He paid for it with his body, so the Temple should pay up.”

I hadn’t planned on joining in their conversation—but since it was about me, I had no choice.

“Who said I was half-dead? I just woke up, and I feel perfectly fine.”

Granted, I had just opened my eyes, so my thoughts were still foggy. I forced myself upright and glanced around. I was in my room at the Adeye estate.

Right, I must’ve lost consciousness after getting pulled from the pond…

I had no idea how long I’d been out, but surprisingly, I felt completely fine—better than fine, actually. Refreshed. Yet Dr. Kim and Solongo were just staring at me in silence.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’ve been asleep for three days. I think it’s fair that we look.”

Three days? I blinked in disbelief. I turned to Solongo for confirmation, and she calmly asked,

“How do you feel, Lord Rue?”

“Honestly? Fantastic. Slept like a baby.”

Solongo nodded lightly. “I thought so. That explains the snoring.”

“…I was tired, all right?”

“Who told you to overwork yourself like that?”

Dr. Kim cut in sharply, clearly unimpressed. Of all the things to get scolded over, this wasn’t one I wanted to hear.

“What do you expect? This body’s stamina is garbage.”

“And yet, with that garbage stamina, you still managed to roll around with at least three men a day.”

“…Impressive mental endurance, then.”

“So stop worrying about stamina. Just lie down and keep pretending to be sick.”

“I wasn’t pretending! And who’s fault is it that I woke up? You two were the ones making all the noise—”

“Then go back to sleep.”

“I’ve slept so long my back hurts.”

“His back hurts!”

At Solongo’s sudden exclamation, a flock of healers burst into the room and began to poke, press, and flip me over as if I were a rag doll. The pain was real—loud enough to make me groan.

After what felt like an eternity of torture disguised as treatment, they finally left.

Well… at least my back doesn’t hurt anymore?

While I was busy checking if my spine was still intact, Dr. Kim and Solongo continued talking over me, completely unbothered.

From what I caught, they were plotting to squeeze compensation out of the Temple using me as the excuse.

And of course, Dr. Kim took it a step further.

“Since Rue’s noble sacrifice confirmed the Temple’s legend as fact, we should rename the pond after the Adeye Trading House.”

“Brilliant idea, Doctor. I’ll draft a marketing plan tying the pond’s legend to the Adeye brand.”

“Wait, hold on. Isn’t that a little shameless?”

Both of them turned to look at me simultaneously.

Their eyes said, What do you know about business?

It bruised my ego a little. I mean, come on—I’d done plenty of secondhand trading back in my old world.

“I’m just saying, logically—”

“If I’d done business based on logic, I’d be bankrupt by now.”

Born to be a merchant, that one. I couldn’t fathom how she’d ever ended up pursuing academia. Half in admiration, half in disbelief, I looked at her—then objected again.

“But really, what sacrifice? I just fainted, that’s all.”

“No, you’re standing at the threshold between life and death right now.”

“I said I’m fine.”

“That’s your version of fine. We’ve already told the world you’re on the brink of death, so keep pretending.”

Unlike Dr. Kim, Solongo actually offered an explanation.

“When you collapsed, the Temple officials claimed that anyone uninvited who touched the Nonhuman Realm would die.”

Ah, that.

I recalled Tyroc’s words before I fainted—he’d said the same thing. That one’s life force would drain away.

But I felt completely normal.

Looking down, I checked my own body over—no pain, no weakness.

“I think it’s because Lord Rue could communicate with the Diamond,” Solongo continued. “That connection must have protected you. But if that becomes known, your abilities would be exposed. So we told everyone that you barely survived. We also demanded compensation from the Temple in the process.”

So that was the real motive.

“So everyone knows about the pond now? Even the Borhumi faction that was searching for the Blade of Stillness?”

I sat up halfway, glancing between the two.

“If we plaster the Adeye name over the pond and make a big show of it, the Borhumi side won’t dare approach it for a while.”

When I pieced together their plan, Solongo looked at me with mild surprise.

“Seems you’re not as much of a fool as I thought.”

Excuse me?

“I’m from Incheon, not an idiot.”

Dr. Kim nodded, eyes gleaming with regional pride. But the next thing she said completely erased any satisfaction I might’ve felt.

“Anyway, isn’t it perfect? You were in danger, Tyroc saved you, and now everyone’s saying the Grand Duke carried you out of the pond in a princess hold.”

“Yes. Anyone who saw it would’ve thought you two were lovers.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

I protested, but neither of them even looked at me. Dr. Kim, grinning like a cat, clearly couldn’t wipe the amusement off her face.