EWH Chapter 31

“Azar, don’t tell me you’re planning to leave that person here?”

At that moment, a voice that sounded displeased was heard from a distance.

“So what?”

“…Ha. Wait, wait, let’s talk for a bit.”

The constant rustling sound was particularly loud. Although he tried desperately to stay still as if he were dead, Nathan couldn’t stop his fingertips from twitching involuntarily. Hoping that Azar wouldn’t see it, he diligently pretended to be asleep in his own way. He hoped that the habit of pretending to be asleep, which he had done countless times when he was young, would be helpful in this situation.

Then, a large hand supported the back of Nathan’s head, slightly lifted it, gently placed it on the soft pillow, and carefully withdrew. Next, the side of the bed that had been sunken under Azar’s weight returned to its original state, and footsteps soon grew distant. After a while, the sound of the door closing completely was heard. Although faint voices could be heard murmuring in front of the door as if they were talking, he couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying. Nathan held his breath with his eyes closed for a while until the voices coming from outside the door grew distant along with the footsteps. Not only that, but he also counted to 500 in his mind before opening his eyes.

“…”

Out of habit, Nathan tried to push up his glasses but only grasped air and lowered his hand. He carefully sat up. The bed sheet felt soft under his palm. It looked much better than the one in the academy. The room was the same. The mansion, which had looked antique even from a distance, had a similar interior. The room, filled with red sunset light streaming through the large window, was quiet and spotlessly clean, but strangely had a lived-in feel.

Nathan got out of bed. He took a look around the room. The sea was visible at a glance through the window with a balcony. Nathan looked at the sea dyed in red and shifted his gaze. Somehow, at this moment, everything felt awkward. There were probably several factors. The bed was too big, there was a sense of someone else’s presence in the room, and the smell of the sea wafting in from outside the window… It was as awkward as wearing ill-fitting clothes. Nathan felt his neck getting hot, and without realizing it, he rubbed the back of his neck and left the room.

Click.

Although he closed the door gently so as not to make a sound, perhaps because it was so quiet, even that small clicking sound was loud. Nathan’s shoulders twitched. He felt unnecessarily tense and let out a heavy sigh. Nathan started walking aimlessly.

‘…Where could those two be, in a reception room or something?’

He hoped so. Having pretended to be asleep and been carried on someone’s back all the way inside the mansion, it would be terribly embarrassing to meet the two of them now. In case there were other people around, Nathan was cautiously moving his steps, even muffling his footsteps. The nausea that had made him feel like throwing up still persisted, but his dizzy mind had gradually settled down, and now there was only a slight headache. It must have been the non-powered aircraft that was the problem after all. Nathan lightly rubbed his throbbing temples.

The empty corridor filled with red sunset light created a peculiar atmosphere. The mansion was not only the rooms but also the corridors were extremely antique. In fact, it was fine to leave the room as it was, but he had fled the room as if running away, although he hadn’t decided where to go.

It was just as he was passing by the stairs leading to the 1st and 3rd floors. Wind blew from somewhere. That wind carried the salty smell of the sea. Nathan unconsciously turned his head in the direction of the wind. Placing his hand on the railing and looking down, what caught his eye at the end was a wide open window. Although it was a window, it seemed to be used as a door. In the position where a balcony should have been placed, there was a white staircase. The staircase led outside the mansion. And its end was a sandy beach.

“Ah, you can go directly to the sea from here? That’s interesting…”

He thought the structure was a bit unusual. Of course, it seemed like a good structure for viewing the sea. It would be faster than going around to get to the sea. Nathan muttered to himself and casually shifted his gaze.

After that, Nathan was about to go downstairs, but instead climbed the stairs leading to the 3rd floor. It was just as quiet here. In fact, he was internally anxious about whether it was okay to wander around like this, but the inside of the mansion was strangely quiet. That was understandable since Nathan had been freely roaming from the 2nd to the 3rd floor of the mansion, but he hadn’t seen a single servant yet.

‘Is it because Azar is here?’

Although he wasn’t sure, that was probably the biggest reason. Based on the contents of the original work, the existence of “Azar” was still in a subtle position externally. “A worthless prince who was chased out of the castle as if abandoned at the young age of 8,” this was the position of Azar that the world currently recognized.

Nathan stopped walking on the blue carpeted corridor and moved his gaze along the fluttering curtain hem in the wind. A tepid breeze blew through the half-open window. At that, his gaze naturally turned to the red-tinged world outside the window. The world where dusk had settled was half red and half dark blue. Nathan grasped the curtain hem that kept tickling his field of vision, fluttering in the wind. He thought it would be better to tidy it up.

As he took a big step closer to the window, the magnificent garden spread out below it came into view. Thanks to the warm weather, the greenery was in full bloom and the red-tinged flowers were splendid. And in the midst of it, Nathan spotted familiar golden hair.

“─So…”

At that voice, it was natural for Nathan’s hand to stop. He had intended to straighten the blue curtain hem attached to the window, but instead, he hid his body there and leaned even more against the window, supporting it with one hand. The wind carried the sound through the window that was open on one side, but the sound was still distant, so he couldn’t make it out. If he used magic, it wouldn’t be difficult to hear, but his poor physical condition and the general conscience that eavesdropping on other people’s conversations was not a good behavior prevented him from doing so. But even though he thought that way, Nathan couldn’t move from that spot.

In the garden, there were not only Azar but also other people. They were sitting around a table, one was Remberton and the other two were people Nathan was seeing for the first time.

But Nathan could instantly recognize who they were.

His heart raced involuntarily. He almost let out an exclamation. Seeing these four people gathered together like this, he realized anew that this was indeed inside a novel, that he had truly entered the center of the events. Was the pounding of his heart that he felt now excitement or fear for what was to come? Nathan couldn’t easily decide on either one. It was probably both.

While he was excited at the thought of directly witnessing the original work, the fear that something might change because of him simultaneously shook him. There were already things that had changed. The fact that Remberton had briefly transferred to the magic department, the fact that he met Azar, the fact that he became something like friends with him, and even this very moment when he left the academy with him and came to the Marquis of Barcella’s villa, the original work was already subtly changing little by little, though not greatly. Then, was this a good thing?

Was it a good thing for me?

If asked that way, he wasn’t sure right now. Nathan couldn’t confidently say that this was a good thing. When he first realized that he had entered the novel, he thought that the way to survive was to stick close to the protagonist’s group. He worked hard for that. He worked tirelessly, thinking his strength was far from enough.

But what about now?

Nathan’s efforts had always been in vain. The more he tried, the more miserable the end was, and the fact that Nathan’s self-esteem was overturned and he had such negative thoughts now was all the result of those results piling up.

Nevertheless, Nathan had no choice but to try.

Knowing the future felt like a disadvantage rather than an advantage. If he had no idea about the events that would happen in the future, he would have just given up, but knowing the future, he couldn’t give up either. But he couldn’t work hard either. He had reached the present in such an ambiguous state. As a result, his initial plan to stick with the protagonist’s group had come to fruition like this after many twists and turns, but it was somewhat different from what Nathan had thought. What was different? There was no need for deep contemplation.

Nathan was still standing outside the stage.

Only now did Nathan realize that he hadn’t made a decision yet. All the thoughts he had until now were nothing more than delusions that he had come up with as he pleased. The delusions of “if it were me, I would have done this” that he could comfortably have because he couldn’t meet Azar and couldn’t get involved with his companions.

But what about now? He had become something like friends with Azar, would soon face his companions, and was with them at the place where the events of the original work would occur. His position and the situation he was in were clearly different from before. So now he had to make a decision. Would he just stand outside the stage and applaud the protagonist’s group standing on it, or would he get on that stage with them? There was no more time to hesitate and take a step back. He had to make a decision one way or the other.

“…”

Nathan moved away from the body he was leaning against and started walking back the way he had come. His steps gradually quickened. When Nathan, who was walking as if running, came down to the 2nd floor and headed to the room where he had been lying, Nathan encountered a servant for the first time here.

“Oh my, are you all right?!”

The maid, who had come at the word to call Nathan if he woke up, was surprised twice, once at the empty room and then at Nathan who appeared with a pale face. She had heard that he was unwell, but he really looked unwell. When Nathan suddenly covered his mouth and staggered, the maid hurried over to support him, even though he was a head taller than her.

But Nathan’s knees buckled and he fell, retching, which was faster.

***

“…He collapsed?”

“Yes, yes! The doctor is examining him now.”

The maid said, sobbing. The maid, who had witnessed Nathan retching and collapsing right in front of her, was so startled that she screamed. It wasn’t just because her apron was soiled with vomit. Who wouldn’t be startled and shocked to see someone collapse right in front of their eyes? Especially if it was a guest who had come to visit this house, it would be even more shocking for a servant.

The maid’s scream was quite loud and echoed through the quiet mansion. Thanks to that, a few servants working downstairs heard the scream and came running, so this matter was quickly resolved. First, the unconscious Nathan was entrusted to a physically strong servant, and a swift-footed maid ran to call the doctor who would be resting in a corner of the mansion. The remaining people moved busily to clean up the soiled corridor, and the maid who had been sent to call Nathan took off her soiled apron and ran to the garden like this.

Remberton rubbed his temples as his head throbbed at the sudden situation. When Nathan was being carried on Azar’s back, he just let it slide, but was the man really this unwell?