Chapter 706: 120. Dream (7k)_2
But she didn’t make a sound. She quietly approached the extinguished campfire and then, with difficulty, propped herself up on the armrest of the wheelchair, leaning half her body out to grasp the dagger, meant for cutting meat, that lay on the ground, in her palm.
The dagger, still warm from the dying embers of the fire, gave Valentina some comfort, and she looked down at the sharp blade, silent for a moment, before turning her head to glance once more at the quiet tents behind her.
There, laid out in turn, were the partners she had met since leaving the fortress.
From the Schwali Hahn family was Balzac, a down-on-his-luck Schwali noble. Although he was typically argumentative and liked to make trouble, he never stumbled when it mattered; he was not petty and had been of great assistance to her.
From Kado was the young Mechanic, Celti, not yet of age. Born into the repressive religious environment of Kado, she yearned for the mechanical academia abroad to further her schooling. Her household was poor and without parents, so she joined her own team to raise funds to attend the Nali Royal Academy. She was responsible for all the arms and equipment on their journey.
From the South Continent was the mercenary, Philis, a lovable and honest demi-human. Although greedy by her own admission, she was fiercely loyal in reality. Occasionally, the things she said were so laughable that they made the journey more relaxed, especially her banter with Balzac.
Then there was her maid, Heidlin, who took care of her since she was a child. At thirty-six years old, she had been trained by her family until she was eighteen, and since then had dedicated her loyalty to her. She had never experienced a day of a normal life, while her own comfortable existence as a person with a disability was largely because she had shifted the burden of her suffering onto her.
And then there was Helldor, no longer with them, her own parents…
At night, sitting quietly in the center of camp for a long time, Valentina looked down and softly whispered “thank you” to the land in front of her, before taking one last look at Fisher’s peaceful tent.
On her ring finger, the ring sparkling with magic still felt warm, just like him, giving Valentina a sense of security, and even now, it made her unafraid to make her decision.
This guy, usually so annoying, had made an unexpectedly deep impression in certain ways…
If there was a chance, then later, much later, she would surely become partners and travel with them again.
With these thoughts, Valentina smiled slightly at Fisher’s tent, then firmly gripped the dagger in her hand and pushed her wheelchair out into the biting cold wind.
The biting cold wind outside, in stark contrast to her petite figure seated in the wheelchair, was overwhelming. Her body was delicate; she couldn’t go far alone, and the few dozen meters she had covered had taken all her strength.
After ensuring she was far enough away from the camp, she bravely endured her body’s numbness from the freezing cold and pressed the dagger against her wrist.
Whether from the fear of impending death or reaction to the ice-cold, Valentina’s hand holding the dagger trembled uncontrollably.
Her pale silver eyes dared not look at what would soon be her bleeding wrist, so she turned her head away, closing her eyes to avoid seeing her arm.
“It seems a bit cold tonight.”
Just as she was about to cut herself with the knife, the voice of a man arrived, it was uncertain if it came before or along with the sound of the wind and snow.
Valentina hurriedly opened her eyes and turned her head to look behind her, only to see Fisher sitting on the huge stone sheltering their camp, supporting his chin with his hand, looking in her direction with the bright moon behind him, obscuring his face, yet making it all the more dazzling.
Valentina was slightly startled and tried to hide the dagger in her hand in a panic, but due to her low body temperature, she lost control and the dagger fell into the snow.
“Hmm? Miss Valentina, still not asleep at this late hour? Did you come out for a cold breeze too?”
Fisher, seated on the rock, was dressed in a thin white shirt, seemingly more relaxed than Valentina wrapped in four or five layers of clothing on such a cold night.
At this moment, he looked at Valentina with a somewhat “surprised” expression, as if he had only just noticed her stepping out, and pointed down, saying,
“Emhardt is snoring, so loud that I couldn’t sleep. Do you snore too? Is that why you are also unable to sleep?”
Then, the peacefully sleeping Emhardt in Fisher’s tent turned over and went back to deep sleep. Read full story at N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Valentina watched Fisher, who sat relaxedly on the rock, and opened her mouth slightly. She remained silent for a long while and didn’t respond to his joke-like comment, instead asking,
“…You were outside waiting for me all along, weren’t you? Did you know I would choose to sacrifice myself to the curse tonight?”
Upon hearing this, the joking expression on Fisher’s face slowly faded, and he leapt gracefully from the towering rock, landing softly before Valentina. Glancing briefly at the dagger on the ground, he then addressed Valentina, saying,
“Ah, after all, what you’re thinking is almost written on your face. Even without the bloodline of the Phoenix Species, I could predict what would happen tonight.”
Valentina pursed her lips, her voice a bit hoarse and somewhat reluctant to look at the Nali Gentleman before her.