My Love’s First Love is Back - Chapter 4-2

While White Bunny asked, tapping under Elsia’s navel with his busy hands. Elsia, who was suddenly tickled, hated it.

“Oh my gosh! Bunny! Where are you pressing? And did you say I picked up divine power? I’ve never done that! Did you see me go to the temple around here?”

[ Hmm, but my eyes can’t be wrong. ]

White Bunny tilted his head, but noticed that the sacred power that entered Elsia’s body was the same as the sacred power he felt during Ian’s incident last time. He was with Ian but there wasn’t any divine power at all.

That mysterious power, where did it come from? There was only one suspect….

White Bunny muttered, descending from Elsia’s lap and sitting in a spacious seat between the two.

[ Did you say that servant was named Haden? ]

“Yes, and be polite. He even prayed mine and Ian’s safety. Bunny, don’t point at me and say I’m suspicious okay?”

White Bunny nodded when sensitive Elsia grumbled.

[ Heh, good job. He may become a famous priest in the future, it’s good to build a good relationship. ]

“What?”

“…You mean Haden?” Ian also became curious

White Bunny said with his eyes closed.

[ Never mind, I’m not going to tell you because I’ve said everything I have to say. You’ll know if you just wait and see. ]

“Bunny! It’s fine, just tell us.”

Elsia tried to appease the sulky White Bunny, but her eyes met Ian’s face. Elsia, who revived her liking for him was a little awkward for prioritizing White Bunny first.

“If you go to the capital, everything will be fine, Ian, please cheer up.”

“…Elsia.”

“Hmm?”

Ian’s low voice resonated from the small but rattling carriage.

“When you report to his Highness…. You don’t have to defend me. It’s okay to tell him exactly what I did to you…….”

“What are you talking about? Ian is pulling himself down again, you don’t have to!”

“Elsie….”

Elsia said her beliefs in her beautiful dog cancer fruit colored eyes.

“Ian, anyone can make mistakes. You kept making the same mistakes even if you knew you were wrong.…. Yeah, it was a bad thing. But…… You were too hurt and it was too much to handle it alone. I understand that. So, I, Elsia Bennett, have no intention of blaming you.”

“…….”

He looked moved.

“It’s okay to throw away the guilt you have for me, Ian.”

“Are you forgiving me?”

Ian’s question caused a strange ripple spreading to her heart.

‘Should I say I can’t forgive him yet? Should I ask him to continue to stand by me because I have a terrible trauma from it?’ In Elsia’s small heart, a bad devil quickly chatted about these words and displayed her secret temptations.

She nodded, forcibly crumpling her wicked heart.

“I already forgave you.”

“Thank you, Elsia.”

The serious words were thrown lightly. Elsia blamed herself for not being selfish even after doing so much for Ian. Her reasoning becomes like sugar, quickly dissolved when mixed with water.

Perhaps because all the snow melted and the road was clear, the journey to the capital was smooth. When the carriage stopped on the side of the boulevard, Ian put on his hat so that his unique blue eyes were almost covered and got off first.

“Let’s quickly go and take a breather. Okay… Give me your hand.”

The hand of a man wearing black gloves and the hand of a woman wearing nothing were lightly linked before separating. Elsia was puzzled because it was a busy street with quite a busy crowd.

“Did you ask me to meet them here?”

“No, I’m here because I have a place to go first. Will you wait for a while? It won’t take long.”

“Alright?”

Ian pointed to the sign behind him.

“I’m going to buy the lollipop you said you liked. Wouldn’t it be troublesome if the humming birds complain about receiving sweet nectar but didn’t let their precious Elsia eat sweets with her mouth?”

“That’s… That- Do I look like a child whining in this situation? You’re really…!”

Elsia was embarrassed and rambled. Of course, it is true that she likes candy sold in the capital’s stores, but she knew the appropriate time and place for it.

“I’ve seen you feeling depressed all day long if you don’t get to eat desserts. Or was it greedy White Bunny who did ventriloquism instead of Elsia?”

“You- you’re being mean!”

“Hahaha, I’ll be back.”

While being teased, Elsia turned red. Then, the blue eyes covered under the hat filled with playful laughter. Obviously, the invisible part near the eyebrows would have loosened smoothly like a boy’s.

They came all this way just to buy her delicious candy Elsia who really liked the way how Ian smiled, turned around and wanted to embrace this small joy in her heart.

‘So mean, this is just too much…..’

She calmed down her erratic heart, while leaning against the street lamp. Elsia liked Ian, but she especially loved his kindness. There was no way she would hate remembering sweet memories like this.

However, there are more pressing concerns.

‘I would definitely hate it if he took care of others the same way.’

There was no way that Ian was only especially nice to Elsia, right?

‘Is this what White Bunny meant? Oh, I don’t want to think about that. If I could, I’d actually like to be with him and stay at Eusley Castle.….’

Elsia waited silently for Ian to return with her head down a little. If he bought her candy, I wanted to save it by eating slowly. The lollipop is round and large, she can pet it until her heart wears out, when it finally melts, that’s the time she will eat.

“Maybe I won’t get to eat it forever. How can I eat that precious gift? I should keep it in a glass bottle and keep it away from ants.”

It was time for her to raise her head and sigh deeply.

“…Elsia?”

Someone called out to her who was spacing out.

The voice with unwelcome- No, it was before she could tell whose voice it was. Elsia’s wrist, which had no strength in it, was caught by someone. Her body, which could not overcome the force of being pulled violently, titled that her shoes were about to come off.

“Ugh…!”

“Elsia… it’s you……This time, I’m sure.”

The man who found her was none other than Sir Nessian. The current commander of Tyr Church, whom she never wanted to see even in her dream.

“L-Let go of me……!”

She was so surprised that her voice didn’t even come out loud. Elsia shook and pulled her caught wrist, but it was ridiculous to win against a young knight with her strength alone. Furthermore, Sir Nessian was strong and had divine abilities surpassing others. He looked threateningly at her, who was in fear and grumbled.

“I made people look for you, but I couldn’t even see a strand of your hair. I didn’t know you were walking around in a place like this. Are the people I asked neglecting their work? Well, I found you, so it’s all good. Why don’t we move somewhere and talk slowly. I have a lot to talk about.”

“No, let me go…”

Nessian’s strong hold on her wrist quickly turned white because blood did not flow. More than that, Elsia hated the fact that she was facing a man she can’t win over with force. She was scared and wanted to wake up if all of this was ever a dream.

In her ears, she heard a buzzing tinnitus and her head was about to get heavier. Elsia felt drained he didn’t even hear him say he wanted her to go with him. She couldn’t summon Woody nor push Sir Nessian away.

That’s when her body, feeling anemic from mental shock, was about to droop.

*Punch

At that time, Ian returned. In a hurry, he hit Nessian’s shoulder with his strong left arm and stood in front of Elsia. Nessian, who had yet to properly recognize Ian’s face, raised his eyes because he was dumbfounded.

“How dare you touch my sacred body without fear! Do you know who I am? If you don’t want to pay tribute, step back right away!”

“Get lost.”

“You, you-!”

Sir Nessian opened his eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost took a step back.

“I have no intention of saying it twice. Stay away from her!”

Ian warned Nessian once again and quickly helped Elsia, who was about to collapse, leaning against a street lamp. The two stepped into the long-awaited carriage and left in a hurry.

Nessian, who came to his senses late, grinded his teeth. Unless he saw it wrong or he just subjected himself to black magic, thought he just faced the worst.

Ian-

Obviously, it was Ian, who was supposedly expelled from the capital and disappeared from people’s minds.

Ian Cypris!

The cursed paladin is in the capital!

How can this happen?

A rare con artist who lost his saint to save his life and did not lose the title of a hero when he returned!

‘The cursed commander shamelessly returns to the capital? He should have just locked himself in the corner of his castle until he died of old age!’

He couldn’t believe it.

“What the heck. Why is that jerk here? No… Wait a minute. I definitely looked like he knew Elsia. Then, no way……. Did she heal his hand and it got better already?”

Nessian’s fist as he made a terrible assumption, trembled.

It was a big deal if his highness Conrad rejected the request to send Elsia to the temple because of Ian. Maybe to keep Nessian in check. After the incident, he has been unable to get close to the Imperial Castle, and if Ian succeeds in returning, Nessian’s position is……!

“I can’t believe how twisted things had become! This doesn’t make sense!”

It would have been a big trouble if he was hiding like a rat just because he was hated by the crown prince. If Ian really returned to the system, measures had to be established as soon as possible.

* * *

Elsia climbed into the wagon as if she were collapsing and breathed out a sharp breath. As she moved away from Sir Nessian, she was able to breathe. Ian closed the door and immediately monitored her condition.

“Elsia! Are you okay?”

“I…Ian…”

Ian tapped Elsia’s thin cheek a few times. Relieved, her eyelids trembled and tried to close them again.

“Yes, it’s me. Don’t close your eyes. Look at me and blink slowly. Can you breathe?”

“Yes…”

He waited for Elsia to calm down before opening his mouth.

“I’m sorry. I thought you’ve been in the carriage for so long that I wanted you to have a long breather, but I didn’t know this would happen. How’s your wrist?”

Ian, who was carefully kneading the wrist caught by Nessian. What did he do to the fragile Elsia that her wrists turned like this? If it continues, she will get a bruise on her slender wrist when she wakes up tomorrow.

White Bunny’s healing was specialized in clear diseases or wounds that caused major abnormalities in the body’s tissues. He was special but he had no strength because he was naturally weak, like Elsia. He can’t help her with the mental shock either. Ian was angry to the top of his head.

“That trash guy!”

Contrary to what he had told Elsia before, Ian did not have a proper talk with Sir Nessian very well. He was five or six years older than Ian. An aspiring knight since the age of four. It couldn’t have been bad to focus on the path of the knight, but Ian despised how a commoner was treated like livestock.

For this reason, despite Nessian’s outstanding skills, Ian did not take him as a member of the expedition when the oracle fell. He had never regretted his choice at that time. Now? Elsia, was being persecuted by him in broad daylight? He was not a holy knight, but a rogue who forced his way through fear.

“It’s okay.”

“Don’t say you’re okay to make others feel relieved even though you’re not okay at all! Do you know how scared you look right now?”

“Ian!”

The angry Ian took off his hat and sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry. You’re the one who went through a rough time, but I’m making you shout like this.…. It’s my fault.”

Elsia, who finally came to her senses, held his sleeves with her small hand to appease him.

“Please give me the candy you bought……”

“Here.”

Without hesitation, he handed over a paper envelope tied with a pretty ribbon. Elsia loosened the strap of the envelope with her shaking hands and checked the candy inside. There were two colorful lollipops and there was also a different variety of candy with fruit in it. Thinking Ian was delayed due to this, she couldn’t even resent him.

In the first place, who can predict that they will meet Sir Nessian? Furthermore, she didn’t think he’d pull her wrist and drag her somewhere like that.

She smiled after being comforted by a pack of candy.

“Thank you for the candies.”

“Don’t bite your tongue, melt it slowly before eating.”

“Yes.”

Elsia was too surprised she couldn’t eat the candy soon. Getting off the busy street and getting off in a relatively quiet area, Ian hesitated before saying;

“Elsia, why don’t you join us? If it’s too much to see my parents, I’ll let you stay in a quiet room. It bothers me to leave you alone in the carriage for a long time.….”

“I will.”