One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 92

Aireen blinked slowly.

Before her stood Carlisle. He looked like a dam on the verge of bursting—barely holding back the rising waters, struggling to contain something threatening to overflow.

It was strange. Why on earth was Carlisle here now? No—was it truly him? How did he even get here?

But there was no time to dwell on those questions, as the situation was becoming increasingly urgent.

The monsters that had been halted by the sudden flash of light charged forward like a swarm of bees the moment their vision returned. Carlisle’s face, which had previously looked dangerous, now hardened into stone.

“Asleep.”

Carlisle muttered the word softly, then moved his right arm, his upper body turning halfway back.

“Kaaaak!”

It was the bare minimum of movement. Yet even so, the two monsters that had cornered Aireen were struck down in an instant. Their deaths were meaningless—hollow.

Silence fell over the space where chaos had raged. No one could bring themselves to speak.

“Hey, Lin.”

It was Carlisle who broke the long silence first.

His voice was thin and trembling—small, yet strangely loud. Drawn to the only sound in the void, Aireen turned her eyes toward him.

“Injured… injured place…”

My voice faltered. It felt as if my throat were sore, or as though I were gasping for air.

It was strange—so unfamiliar—that only then did Aireen finally begin to look closely at Carlisle.

He was a complete mess. His eyes were bloodshot, his breath ragged. The face that had always appeared composed and tidy was now drenched in cold sweat, damp trails running down his temples, moisture soaking his cheeks.

A question stirred in Aireen’s heart.

Why are you like this?

As if you truly cared about me. It makes no sense—you abandoned me so cruelly, only to return and speak to me now as if nothing happened.

It wasn’t pride or hypersensitivity. His eyes, trembling so violently that he couldn’t hide it, brimmed with unease.

Aireen closed her quivering lips. She was tired of asking, exhausted from seeking answers that no longer mattered.

Carlisle didn’t even seem to realize how much he resembled a child—one on the verge of tears.

Aireen pretended not to notice, yet she responded. It was true—he had saved her life. So she acknowledged him.

“It’s okay. Thank you… for saving me.”

Carlisle let out a soft sigh of relief at her words.

He wasn’t hurt by her cold tone that drew a boundary between them. Rather, he was thankful—thankful that Aireen could still speak to him in a normal voice.

“Does your head hurt? No… you weren’t hit by a monster anywhere, were you?”

“…There’s nothing.”

“But your clothes—they’re torn.”

There was dirt smudged here and there on Aireen’s body, but even so, I knew at a glance that she was unharmed.

Still, Carlisle couldn’t take his eyes off her. He kept asking, again and again. He had no choice.

Because I was afraid—terrified that if I didn’t say something, Aireen might vanish before my very eyes like smoke in the wind.

Aireen, who had been silently staring at him through his relentless questioning, finally parted her lips.

“Thanks to you, I’m all right. My ankle’s just slightly sprained, but I can walk. It’ll get better if I rest.”

Eventually, she confessed. Otherwise, he’d be fretting over her until dawn.

Carlisle frowned at her words, then dropped to one knee and reached out to her.

It happened in an instant. Aireen didn’t even think to pull away.

“My ankle… How did that happen…”

His voice was filled with desperation.

Aireen, pretending not to hear, hesitated—wondering whether she should step back. Meanwhile, Carlisle continued opening and closing his trembling hands, clearly unsure what to do.

I couldn’t get any closer. There was only a narrow space left between Aireen’s ankles.

“Let’s move. Somewhere safer.”

In the end, Aireen was the one to step back first.

Carlisle bit down on the inside of his cheek. Slowly, he sat up, silently cursing himself for being so helpless.

I barely stopped myself from grabbing her slender ankle without realizing it.

How did Aireen feel, in that moment when I paused?

My heart pounded in my chest. Was I hurting her again, without even knowing? I shouldn’t keep wounding her like this. And yet, I had no way of controlling these instinctive reactions—no way of expressing what I truly meant.

He had almost lost someone precious. And that regret—that deep sorrow for his past foolishness—kept gnawing at him.

If only… if only I could tell the truth to Aireen…

Carlisle, his face soaked in worry, ran a trembling hand through his damp hair.

“Get up. We need to find shelter before night falls.”

A sharp voice cut through the air. Carlisle quietly stood from where he had fallen.

The two walked slowly. Carlisle, unable to support Aireen—who was limping due to her injured ankle—simply stayed by her side, matching her pace.

An awkward silence lingered between them.

Carlisle cursed himself for not even being able to hold Aireen’s hand—let alone embrace her. He hated himself for that. The anger he felt toward his own helplessness was uncontrollable, and it showed clearly on his face.

Normally, I would’ve buried such overwhelming emotions deep inside me. But this time… it was different.

His mind was already in disarray, consumed by worries about Aireen. Carlisle didn’t even have the strength to gather his scattered thoughts. The confusion in his eyes and the tight line of his lips made everything painfully obvious.

But Aireen didn’t notice. She hadn’t once looked at Carlisle’s face properly the entire time they walked.

How long had it taken? The sky had grown darker and darker. After defeating a few low-level monsters, I spotted what looked like a small cave in the distance.

The cave wasn’t deep, but it was deep enough for two people to hide.

“Just rest here. I’ll look around,” he said.

Aireen nodded faintly.

Like it or not, they were in a remote place, and with Aireen’s injured ankle, it was difficult for her to move. It was more efficient for Carlisle to explore alone.

Only when Carlisle’s figure had fully disappeared from view did Aireen finally relax and settle into a more comfortable position. But then, her mind began to wander.

It was unsettling that the one who came to save her was Carlisle. And yet, at the same time, it brought her an immense sense of relief. She had truly thought she would die… but someone had come for her—and he was strong.

Because of his own injury, he hadn’t been able to help others before. Maybe it was luck that Carlisle, who was stronger than the others, had appeared in that moment. Still, it would’ve been better if he hadn’t looked at her with such an expression.

“Aireen.”

It hadn’t been long, but Carlisle was back.

He held a few berries in his hands, a square piece of wood, and some large leaves and grass.

“Put this splint on your ankle. Use these to keep it in place.”

Carlisle gently placed the items next to Aireen, who was sitting with one leg bent and the other stretched out.

“There’s no poison, so you can eat the fruit without worrying. Apply the herbs to the sore area.”

Aireen followed his instructions, placing the grass carefully over her ankles before picking up the wooden piece.

What had once been just a chunk of wood had been neatly trimmed into a splint with the right thickness and shape.

There wasn’t even a single burr sticking out—nothing that could’ve hurt her skin.

As Aireen slowly began to treat her ankle, Carlisle quietly sat nearby and watched her.

I wanted to go to her. I wanted to treat her myself. I wanted to kiss her swollen, delicate ankle…

But I was frozen in place. Overwhelmed by despair, knowing I couldn’t even lift a finger to help her, even when she was right in front of me. That helplessness swallowed me whole. And along with it, the hatred I carried for the northern barbarians—no, for the Tanil tribe who cursed me—burned fiercely in my chest.

Carlisle clenched his fist slowly, hiding it from Aireen’s view.

Then, without warning, Aireen spoke.

“That light… Is it the power of the jewel His Majesty gave you?”

A soft glow was shining from the necklace around his neck. He was the only one who could create such a miracle. Aireen looked at him calmly, not realizing what he had been thinking just moments earlier.

“That’s right,” he replied quietly.

Carlisle took out the faded jewel and showed it to her.

Aireen also took off the necklace she was wearing and examined the stone. As expected, it was just a simple jewel—ordinary, just like his.

“You said you’d tell me the location,” she said. “But I don’t remember you ever saying you’d teleport me.”

At Aireen’s quiet muttering, Carlisle slowly turned the jewel between his fingers and spoke.

“I didn’t know either. If I had known in advance… I wouldn’t have given it to us.”

Edys was someone capable of doing that. No matter how much he may have cared for the two of them, the Diert Empire was probably more important to him.

He was a man who deeply understood the weight I carried on my shoulders.

“It’s probably for the best that I didn’t know. Otherwise, it might’ve taken me a lot longer to find you and get here.”

Carlisle, still looking down at his own feet, spoke as if to himself.

Aireen said nothing. It was a hard thing to respond to, and it didn’t seem like he was expecting an answer anyway. She didn’t want to say anything that might make the air between them feel heavier than it already was.

Thankfully, Carlisle was the one to change the subject.

“Because we moved so quickly, we couldn’t leave any traces behind. We don’t even know how far we’ve come. We also don’t know how long it’ll take for Piel to find us… so we need to conserve our strength and last as long as we can.”

Suddenly, a reality I had been half-consciously ignoring came rushing back.

“I’ll handle finding food and exploring the area. You just focus on healing. I’ll also look for a water source, so don’t worry. If Piel finds you before then, that would be ideal. But if not, I’ll stay here and guard you until your ankle is completely healed.”

“That—”

“Close your eyes and rest.”

Carlisle shut his eyes and turned his back firmly, signaling that he wouldn’t accept any protests. Aireen watched him in silence for a moment, stunned by his stubbornness, but she gave up on trying to change his mind.

And so, a few days passed like that.

True to his word, Carlisle roamed outside the cave alone while Aireen stayed inside—only leaving briefly to wash.

Sometimes he returned soaked in monster blood, yet somehow, he was never injured.

Because Carlisle took care of everything, Aireen’s injuries healed quickly. As soon as she could walk without pain, she believed it would be much easier to meet up with Piel and the knights. Slowly, the anxiety that had been weighing on me began to lift.

Just as Aireen started to adjust to this strange new routine.

Misfortune struck without warning.

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