The Price of Breaching the Contract - Chapter 54

“I’m sorry.”

It was a long time after they had mounted the horse that Yulania finally managed to utter her first words. The words, spoken in a cracked voice like a breath, were quickly scattered by the wind. Had she spoken too softly? When Santia didn’t react, Yulania became even more dejected. But she didn’t have the courage to question him or repeat herself.

As she leaned weakly against him, he said in a low voice.

“I don’t want to hear you say you’re sorry.”

Ah, he heard her. His resolute voice made her heart clench. She parted her lips to offer some kind of excuse, but no words came out. No matter how many times she thought about it, she had nothing else to say.

“In times like these, please say thank you.”

But Santia added an unexpected remark. Yulania moved to look at his face, but he stopped her.

“Later. Later.”

Yulania remained still on the horse. Or rather, she couldn’t move. Her body felt heavy and strange. It wasn’t just simple fatigue. Her eyelids felt heavy, and even breathing was a struggle.

At first, she thought it was because she had been riding for so long. It must be a combination of tension and fatigue, she tried to dismiss it casually. But no matter how much she focused on her breathing, it didn’t subside.

‘Something’s wrong.’

Her heart was beating irregularly, and along with the nausea, a somewhat familiar sensation arose. But it was different from the motion sickness she had felt before. She knew it instinctively.

It was different from the intense queasiness she had felt when she was pregnant. Her vision was blurred, and she couldn’t think straight. The strange state had persisted since she had felt the emotional storm of hundreds of demons. But it had become even worse after the terrible incident with Alban.

Her chest felt suffocatingly tight, and her body felt heavy, as if it would fall to the ground at any moment.

‘It’s just emotional.’

She forced herself to soothe herself that way. But soon, she began to gasp for breath. Feeling her consciousness fading, she clenched her fingers.

“Yulania?”

Santia’s low, cautious voice reached her. He had immediately noticed Yulania’s strange condition as she grew weaker.

“Are you alright?”

Yulania forced herself to nod. But her voice was weak and cracked.

“Yes, um… I think I was just a little surprised.”

Her breathing was ragged, as if it were cutting off. Even that small sound made Santia’s face harden.

“It would be best to rest for a while.”

At his words, Yulania quickly shook her head.

“Haa! No. Let’s go back quickly and rest.”

Santia pressed his lips tightly together. Instead of answering, he drastically reduced the horse’s speed.

“Tell me if it’s too much. I’ll go a little slower.”

His voice was unusually cautious. Perhaps because he had slowed down, she was able to endure it at first. Yulania also forced herself to stay conscious.

But then, something completely unexpected happened. The sacred stone that Yulania was holding suddenly began to surge. Until now, the light emitted by the sacred stone had always been soft. No matter how brightly it shone, it was always a round, warm shape.

But this time, it was jagged, with irregular shapes bursting out in all directions.

Like a rampaging young beast, the light of the sacred stone was wildly erratic. Santia was startled and checked her face.

“Yulania?”

But Yulania was already panting heavily. She was surrounded by an unknown stimulus and was on the verge of losing consciousness.

Santia hurriedly pulled her into his arms. He removed her hat and cloak, and the clothes she was wearing, and touched her face. He felt a burning heat, as if his palm would be burned. He hadn’t been able to recognize it because of her thick coat.

“Yulania!”

Santia urgently pulled up the drooping Yulania. The sharply erratic light of the sacred stone pierced his eyes sharply. And then, a thought suddenly occurred to him. The light of the sacred stone was clearly similar in nature to the mana he possessed.

He carefully released his mana. Only a very small amount, as if testing it. When his white mana touched the yellow light, the yellow lights that had been jutting out from the sacred stone moved like lightning, roughly absorbing the mana that Santia had extended, as if grabbing it.

“…!”

Santia gritted his teeth. At this rate, Yulania’s body might not be able to withstand it.

“Just a little more, hold on.”

He spurred the horse to a level that was abusing his body, and even released his mana to be absorbed by her. The sacred stone absorbed mana fiercely, as if it had no bottom. And the light gradually, very gradually, softened. Yulania’s breathing also changed slightly, becoming more even.

Santia continued to inject mana without rest. Even slowing down was a luxury.

“Just a little, just a little more.”

He had to hurry. Yulania was still limp in his arms. When he placed his lips on her forehead, the high fever had not yet subsided.

‘Please.’

Santia bit his lip.

‘Hold on, Yulania.’

Through the fierce blizzard, Santia ran at full speed, holding Yulania in his arms.

As soon as he passed through the gates of Makari Castle, Santia immediately turned his horse towards the clinic. There wasn’t even time to call Joel from the castle. Yulania’s body was burning like a ball of fire. Her breath was thin and faint, repeatedly cutting off and resuming.

As he approached the clinic, Joel rushed out in a flurry.

“Duke!”

Joel couldn’t finish his sentence. The moment he saw Yulania in Santia’s arms, his face turned white.

“Inside.”

Santia ordered briefly. Joel immediately led the way. Only after carefully laying Yulania on the bed did Joel begin his examination in a daze.

“Th, this is it.”

Joel said, his fingertips trembling.

“It’s a mana surge, something we occasionally see in knights. It happens when the body accepts a power it can’t handle.”

“That can’t be.”

Santia interrupted Joel. He knew because he had felt it directly. Joel blinked and looked at Santia.

“She is not a mana awakener.”

Santia said sharply in a low, heavy voice.

“On the way here, I forcibly poured my mana into her. If it were a mana surge, there should have been a backlash.”

Joel swallowed. Who was Santia? It was the word of the one and only Sword Master. Santia was silent for a moment, then lowered his gaze to Yulania’s hand.

“Is it because of this?”

Santia took the sacred stone from Yulania’s arms. The yellow light filled the clinic. Geometric patterns were drawn in the air and disappeared.

“Th, this—!”

Joel instinctively took a step back. The sacred stone was just a trinket containing superstition. At least until now. But the sacred stone that came from Yulania’s hand was clearly a being from another dimension.

At that moment, Yulania groaned.

“Heuk….”

Tears welled up beneath her closed eyelids. She groped for the sacred stone, as if searching for it even in her unconsciousness. Santia immediately placed the sacred stone in her hand. At that moment, her breathing softened just a little.

Joel prepared the medicine with trembling hands.

“I’ll give her a fever reducer and a sedative. She doesn’t have any other illnesses, so we can at least alleviate the symptoms.”

Santia nodded briefly. He was by no means relieved, but he wanted her outward condition to improve.

After confirming that Yulania had calmed down for a moment, Santia left the clinic with heavy steps. He didn’t want to leave her side for even a moment, but there was something he couldn’t postpone.

Santia quickly went up to Makari Castle and took out a piece of stationery in his office and scribbled on it carelessly. It was a letter to the king, but his loyalty to him had long since disappeared into dust. Santia, holding the letter containing only the necessary information, went to see Devon, the royal physician who was confined in a room.

Devon, whom he hadn’t seen in months, raised his head with a pale face.

“Du, Duke….”

Santia didn’t bother to exchange words and simply threw the thin letter at him. The letter fell at his feet.

“The royal investigation team has left. Follow them if you want.”

Santia said with cold eyes and immediately turned his back. Devon would deliver the letter to the king, even if it was to take revenge on him. He didn’t even want to face Alban’s group. He quickly moved his feet to see his wife, who filled his head.

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