The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 22.1

Evelyn sat up with difficulty.

“Are you awake? Why don’t you go to bed and sleep.”

It was late, so the man’s voice was deep and low.

“Where are you going?” Evelyn asked after glancing at the robe that was thrown on his chair.

“I have to head out. It rained buckets yesterday,” he replied. He was acting strange today. It was awkward and weird to have a conversation that consisted of normal, couple-like things. At this, she was happy.

“Will you be long?” Evelyn asked after a moment of hesitation. He lowered the poker and stared straight at her.

“Why? Do you want me to come back soon?” When she didn’t reply, he turned his head toward the fireplace. Through the tousled hair, the tips of his ears were red.

“Yes. We… We were apart for too long.” Evelyn murmured, her voice shaking. She saw him flinch. His body turned to her, and he reached for Evelyn but stopped himself after seeing his wet clothes.

The rain poured even more fiercely. Evelyn sat up and wrapped her arms around Ilya’s neck. He smelled of the rain. A moment later, a firm set of arms wrapped itself around her. He leaned against the top of her head and muttered, “When I come back, make me… two whales.”

At first she didn’t know what he was talking about, but when she realized what he meant, Evelyn let out a small smile and replied, “I’ll make you a hundred whales.”

Ilya stood up and put on his robe. Evelyn followed to send him off. He suddenly lowered his face and something warm touched and left her forehead. It was a sweet kiss. Evelyn tightly gripped his robe and looked up at him. He met her lips this time, but it was a short kiss.

“Be careful.”

“I’ll be back.”

He opened the door and left. The time apart was longer than the time spent together, but she didn’t know why she felt so empty. She touched her lips for a long time after he left.

***

Nazz started talking as soon as Ilya left Evelyn’s room.

“Your Highness, the situation’s dire. There was an avalanche due to the rain in Mt. Benning.”

“That’s near the Black Forest. We’ll see if Rene got it right after getting there.”

Ilya talked in a low voice because there were only a few knights who knew about Mandrake.

“An avalanche, huh? Nazz, you’re with me. We’re heading to Mt. Benning. The vice captain will be in charge while I’m gone.

“Yes, sir.”

A middle-aged knight calmly replied to his orders. When he bowed, the robe slid off and you could see his vice-captain epaulet on his shoulder.

With a loud “Hya,” the horses ran toward its destination. The knights became one and followed Ilya. A trickle of rain ran down on his face. A pleasant sense of tension boiled his blood.

***

After four days of riding, Ilya and his men arrived at the village where the landslide had happened. The silt from the top of the mountain completely covered the village. The knights groaned at the horrors before their eyes. As Ilya got off his horse, the townspeople rushed at him.

“Your Highness, my parents are still trapped inside. Please help them!”

“Your Highness, my baby and wife are still inside. We tried saving them, but we couldn’t find the entrance!”

The people ran to Ilya as if he was their savior. They cried helplessly with their knees on the ground.

Ilya glared at the mountaintops and broken houses. After a while, he said to Rene, who was standing next to him, “Rene, if the rain continues, will it cause another avalanche?”

“Yes. It hasn’t been a while since the first one struck, but if there’s another one, there might be more victims.”

Just how much more? Ilya swallowed the question from coming out.

“Can you stop it with magic?”

“I can’t stop the mountain from breaking down, but it’s possible to put a force field around the village.”

Ilya let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.”

Rene nodded and stepped out. Ilya turned his gaze to the people kneeling.

“You should move to a temporary residence. I have prepared a place for you to stay temporarily. The rain doesn’t seem like it will let up soon.”

The people kneeling in front of him cried in desperation,

“Your Highness, my family is still trapped! I can’t leave!”

“My knights will help. We’ll dig them out with our hands if we have to!”

Ilya looked at them coldly.

“Who’s in charge?”

A slightly overweight middle-aged man stood and politely bowed.

“I am the village chief. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

“You stay. And select a few strong men to form a rescue team. Make a list of the people missing and deliver it to the knight commander here. The rest will get in the way, so move to the temporary shelter now.”