Chapter 23: My lower back hurts
I gently look at my lower abdomen and see a black haze, probably due to fatigue. I reached out and moved my hand from side to side to get rid of it.
'Huh,... I guess the pain has subsided considerably.'
When the haze was completely dissipated, Ludwig-sama was also tired, or perhaps the haze was thin.
I'll also dispel the haze from Ludvik-sama.
Haze?
Yes, please stay still.
I put my hand on his waist as he looks at me quizzically and shake off the haze. It was not as deep-rooted as the last time I saw him, so I was able to quickly remove it with a swipe.
Yes, that's it. Are you feeling lighter now?"
'Now ... what did you do?'
Master Ludvik takes hold of my wrist and pulls me up to his face. Seeing his rugged face for the first time in a long time, I involuntarily exclaimed, "Hee!
'You were right, the sluggishness in my lower back is gone. Does that have something to do with your movements now?"
'Ha, yes. Um, I ... strangely enough, I see the fatigue as a black haze.
A black haze?"
He raised one eyebrow and listened to my poor explanation. I told him that I have been seeing it for about three years and that I don't like to be in crowds because of it.
I also told him that paying too much makes me sleepy, and apologized for falling asleep so quickly the first night and the second night because I paid for the impossibly thick haze. ...
'So you're saying Aliche pulled the curse off my waist and face?
'Yes, probably. That was still a curse. It was very hard to pull out.
I see that it was you, ...."
The actual "I'm not sure what you're talking about," he said. The actual "I'm not sure what I did that was so great, but he had been suffering from the curse for many years.
Sometimes he even went to King's Landing to search for the 'short-eating witch' who had caused it.
Thank you, Alicia."
He pulled me into a hug and wrapped me in his arms with gentle strength. As I remained still, I could hear him sniffling.
--I know that must have been hard for you. ...
I gently put my arms around his back and hug him. I wanted to tell him that from now on, it would be okay because I was there. He is bigger than me, taller than me, and probably very strong. But that doesn't mean his heart is always strong.
He is such a gentle person, but he was cursed in his childhood and was feared by everyone around him and called "the cold-hearted frontiersman.
He may have had trusted subordinates like Daymond and his son, but did he have any close friends? I heard that he spent his youth fighting to suppress the surrounding countries. His parents died early, and he must have felt ... lonely because he was feared by those around him.
-but from now on, I will love him.
Even if I can't protect him physically, I will be able to be with him and give him lots of love and care. The first article of Sister Amife's adage said. Love is emotion, love is intention.
Alicia, ... you are ... my angel."
Ludwig-sama whispered in my ear as she strained her voice. The last part of his voice was broken, and I couldn't hear him well over the sound of his sobbing, but I received his emotion.
I patted him on the back lightly, as if I were comforting a child, and whispered, "It's going to be all right. I tell him that if he curses again, my hand will brush it away, and I stroke his broad back with my palm.
After a while, when he calmed down, Master Ludvik asked me to tell him more about my power.
He replied, "I never thought this mysterious power of mine could lift a curse either. So far it has only served to heal me of my fatigue.
'By the way, who knows about this power?'
'Let's see, it's only the ... family and Shena. Your father told me to keep it a secret because if I used it too much I would fall asleep. Since then, I haven't told anyone.
I see."
He put his hand on his forehead as if contemplating something. Then he slowly looked into my eyes.
'You must not tell anyone else about this power. I'll keep it a secret too, but I want Daymond to know. Because he knows about my curse and will be around you from now on."
'Yes, that's fine,... but why shouldn't I tell anyone else? I asked your father, but he only told me to do so."
Mr. Ludwig held both of my shoulders and turned my face down while exhaling in a huff. Then, when he had calmed down, he looked up and looked down at me with his eyebrows raised.
'I'm glad Viscount Belka is so selfless,... because if the existence of that power had become public knowledge, you would have been targeted by the royal family as well. I'll protect you from now on, but it's better if they don't know."
"You mean that ... I'll be kidnapped?"
The most important thing to remember is that you can't just take the curse and leave it at that.
He said, "Aliche,..., don't leave this castle for a while. Be careful.
Yes, sir. If Ludvik-sama says so, I will do so.
Either way, I'm going to have to learn how to manage the castle from now on from Daymond. I have a lot to learn as a frontier countess, so I doubt very much that I will be able to go out of the castle.
At this time, I was taking Master Ludvik's words lightly. I had never had any problems with using my powers before, only getting drowsy.
He embraced me as if he were handling a treasure. I feel safe in Master Ludvik's arms, and I fall asleep again.
Perhaps it is because I have used my mysterious powers to dispel the haze. I close my eyes and immediately fall asleep.
◆◆◆◆◆ "Ludvik Perspective"
Alice had dispelled my curse.
I winced at the fact. She truly was my angel. The arm around my back, the heat from her palm melting the hard ice in the back of my mind.
It was a mysterious power, she said, but this must be a rare "holy power" that appears.
If this power were to become public knowledge, she would be taken to the temple as a saint, and she would be feted.
I will not allow such a thing to happen. Even if the temple or the royal family wanted to, I would not let them take her away from me, even if I had to use the Knights of the Frontier of Baruch. She may have been in the territory and hidden by her family, but from now on, I will protect her.
Alicia is irreplaceable to me now. I want to keep her in my arms and away from all fear.
At first, I sought her out because she was too comfortable with a pacifier, but now it's more than that. I love her carefree smile, her devilishness, her unexpectedly serious and competent nature, and everything else - I love her.
But ....
'It's tricky when a witch finds you.
They say that the one who cast the curse will know when it is gone. If that happens, the 'shorty-eating witch' will already have detected it.
That fortune-teller woman is suspicious. I have no memory of her appearance, but I hear that advanced witches can change their appearance. Above all, when that one used the dubious technique, my body remembered the feeling I had when I received the curse.
I was told that Aliche had dispelled the haze at that time as well, so perhaps she was protecting me from the technique she was going to use on me.
It's possible that he's already noticed Aliche.
If it was a fight with a human, I could make some predictions, but if the opponent was a witch, it would be tricky.
The "shorty-eating witch" that we have been searching for is coming, and now she wants to get rid of her ....
But I can't let them take away my only wife, the woman who broke my curse. I need to think of a plan ..., but I can't think of one right away.
The most important thing to remember is that the best way to get the most out of your money is to make sure that you are getting the most out of your money. I don't want to wake her up now, as she is sleeping comfortably.
I don't want to wake her now.
I gently brush her hair away from her forehead and kiss her. I renewed my resolve that I would be the only one to see this innocent sleeping face from now on.
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