A Wish to Grab Happiness - Book 13: Chapter 344

Chapter 344: Blood is Redder than Crimson

The silver hair touched the air of Prison Beulah. Caria thought that she was in such a moldy-smelling place. There was no doubt that this prison was named Burial.

It was gloomy, smelled more like blood than death, and gave people a bad impression.

This smell wouldn’t go away just by removing the dirt. The prison itself was now permeated with rotten smells and horrid delusions.

The only way to get rid of these rotten things was to destroy this whole building.

「Why did the Gharast soldiers retreat? Are the Elven soldiers a big threat to them? 」

Filaret, who stood beside Caria with her black hair swaying, asked two questions. She was probably skeptical even of her own words. There was a clear confusion on her face.

No wonder. Perhaps, those Gharast soldiers who hadn’t been seriously trained were afraid of the name “elves” and lost their fighting spirit in response.

Nonetheless, the special unit led by Valerie Brightness, the one who wore a magical armor, was different. That unit was definitely the elite of the kingdom. Those who fought for the sake of fighting, including Valerie herself.

Even if they were frightened, they’d never lose their fighting spirit. They felt fear, but they never turned their backs on that fear. Caria knew that very well.

Then, why did they withdraw? The cause stood elsewhere.

「Something has happened. Something that Valerie the Defender decided for herself and the others around her. Something that made her retreat in the face of a weakened enemy.」

Caria even smiled when she said those words. Her lips were small and pointed.

Perhaps, Lugis knew something about it, she thought. He had been that way since before, no, ever since they met.

He spoke and moved as if he could see through everything. He acted like it was natural. He seemed to trust his own nature, and yet, he never fully explained the essentials behind the reasoning that allowed him to see further than most.

How disgusting. What was he trying to hide now? Was he saying that he couldn’t trust Caria that much? Even if Caria knew about everything, she would never change his mind.

It was an undeniable fact. If Lugis were to spit out everything hidden in his heart, whatever it was, Caria would take it all in, with pure delight.

…Ah, but he didn’t say anything at all. He left without telling Caria where he was going. How many times had this happened before? Counting them even seemed foolish. Caria couldn’t stand it.

Caria moved her sharp, pointed canine teeth. Her frustration that had built around her chest seemed to overflow from her skin. Her fingertips shook over and over again as if they were convulsing. The dark scarlet sword hanging at her waist growled, fueled by her emotions.

Although Caria didn’t show this attitude, Filaret’s feelings were no different from Caria’s. Filaret swallowed the fury in her belly. She had a muddy feeling inside her heart and her eyes were glowing heatedly.

If Caria was the sharpened blade, then Filaret was the gunpowder. She meekly shoved everything down her throat. If something happened, everything would burst. It was like that.

At the end of the prison, to the top room of the watchtower, Caria knocked on the door. She didn’t have to, but it seemed impolite for her to open the door without knocking.

The Elf Queen, Eldith, called out from the inside. It seemed that nothing happened to Lugis while Caria was doing her duty. She adjusted her expression slightly and stepped into the room as prompted.

「…Did you come to visit me? Does that mean that I can get out now?」

Almost as soon as she entered the room, a peculiar voice reached her ears. Caria put those wispy lines into her cheeks and responded to that voice. She made her throat bounce slightly.

Ah, how lovely it was for her to know that the person she treasured was there.

「Sleep talk is something you do in your dreams, isn’t it, Lugis. In fact, you’re only allowed to leave my field of vision during your dreams.」

Following Caria’s joking words, Filaret said.

「And that’s not a small wound, you know. It would be a problem if you went outside like that…Oh, come to think of it, it seems that there’s someone who ended up in a prison far, far away, even though that someone was seriously injured.」

Looking at Filaret, who spoke heavy words with a big smile while wondering who it was, Lugis put a chewing tobacco to his lips in an embarrassed manner. Lugis probably felt a sense of guilt which was unusual.

He had done something wrong. Made a bad choice. At least now, Caria was convinced that Lugis believed that his behavior was wrong.

That’s why she accepted the situation close to his current detention. They confined him to this room until his body was completely healed. He was to stay inside so that they could control him.

He felt real guilt.

Caria’s face was hot and felt her cheeks loosen without her noticing. Yes, Lugis was showing weakness now. He was physically exhausted and had no choice but to rely on them.

In that case, Caria felt the urge to entangle his spirit now. She wanted to take control of his thoughts and let him know that it was only natural for her to be with him. No, it should be.

Looking at Lugis lying on the bed while shrugging his shoulders, Eldith turned over the book in her hands. Those blue eyes crumbled while smiling.

「Lugis, you have to accept this. We cannot allow you to do everything freely by yourself.」

Surely, both Filaret and Eldith. Caria understood that they were thinking the same thing.

All three of them had something that felt like distortion. No, something deeper than distortion.

Even so, no one threw it away.

Caria sat down beside Lugis and said the following while looking at his eyes.

「And I’m doing my best to represent you in this prison. I’m doing more than I want. What else do you want from me?」

When she looked at Lugis’ profile, he sighed as if he had resigned.

Caria lightly touched Lugis’ arm, which was still thrown on his bed. His raw wounds were still visible, but before that, there was something else that Caria felt.

It was blood. His blood circulation. It ran around Lugis’ body at the same time as his breathing and heartbeat.

Caria let out a sigh of relief. She understood. Right now, her blood in Lugis’ body was clearly increasing its influence.

A blood vessel convergence. That one scene in Flimslat. Taking advantage of that opportunity, Caria poured a large amount of her blood into Lugis’ body. Originally, it was only in a ritualistic sense.

But not now. Right now, that blood was certainly breathing inside Lugis. It made sense.

It probably held a wide range of meanings, but Caria had just one thing in mind. She just wanted to be with him.

Caria knew she was no longer a pure human being. She had meshed with the giants, a race that only appeared in mythology. It was instinctually intuitive.

Of course, she didn’t regret any of what happened. If it hadn’t been for the Giant Flimslat, Lugis and her wouldn’t have survived. Everything would’ve been stolen by that damned woman.

Caria’s viscera trembled, boiling in rage. When she thought about it, what kind of regrets did she have when she realized that she now belonged to a race of giants? She’d rather rejoice.

Yes, no regrets. However, there was one thing she could think of. That meant that she herself had become the only member of that race in this world.

There was no more. The giant species was destined to be lost. It was a fact that couldn’t be changed.

Perhaps, it was her instinct as a living being, but when it crossed her heart, an indescribable sense of loneliness eroded her very being. A feeling she had never felt before. Even if there was a human being by her side, her brain would understand that her race was different from that person.

A heart-wrenching feeling of loneliness. It was not very relevant, but it was something Caria couldn’t talk about to other people, especially Lugis. She didn’t want people to think she was a weakling who worried about such things. She didn’t want to be known as a weak woman.

But that’s why. Feeling her own presence in Lugis’ body, Caria oozed joy from her tiny body. Her brain was numb and seemed to melt away.

Even at this very moment, her own blood was transforming him. The proof was that the wounds that normally required several months of medical treatment were almost closed.

She didn’t like being the part of an extinct race in this world. But if she was the only one, then fine. It was good. Caria made her chest boil as she couldn’t hold back her relaxed cheeks.

Lugis leaned his shoulders lightly and said while entwining Caria’s hand around his right arm.

「If you want me to be quiet, I’ll do it. But there’s someone I want to talk to. Will you let me talk to that someone?」

Hearing Lugis’ words, Caria asked with a smile, “What kind of woman is she?”, Filaret also had the same question. One could even see the hardening skin around her cheeks. Eldith also had her blue eyes distorted.

Lugis shook his head at those reactions before answering.

「It’s not a woman. Or rather, it’s not a human…Doha Surah. It’s a demonic being that used to live in this prison.」

Lugis opened his lips and said there was something he wanted to ask that being.