Blue Rose (5)
After sending Anton away, Reed headed back to the cell where Dolores was.
She was sitting up, leaning against the bed without lying down.
Reed and Dolores locked eyes.
It wasn't the usual way they looked at each other.
Reed with guilt.
Dolores with resentment.
But that tender emotion supported each other.
Reed sat down beside her.
"Did you get some sleep?"
"I can't sleep well."
"Uncomfortable?"
"Not that, but the dream content is a bit..."
He didn't ask what the dream was.
When he asked before, she refused with a pained expression, so he didn't want to make Dolores suffer more.
Whatever it was, it was a dream that made Dolores' current state even worse.
"Did it hurt?"
Dolores asked.
"What?"
"My magic. The one I shot into your shoulder."
Dolores pressed her finger against Reed's right chest.
Ice Pierce.
Although it was a lower-level magic, it was a spell that could inflict fatal damage if aimed correctly, as it formed an ice spike.
Reed pondered how to answer, then shook his head.
"No, it didn't hurt that much."
"That's too bad. It would have been nice if it hurt."
It was a spiteful remark.
Dolores pulled her knees to her chest and said.
"Do you wish I was in pain?"
"Yes. I wish you were in pain. Just like that. I wish you'd suffer for the rest of your life. I wish you were in terrible pain, just like when I shot that magic."
Remembering her words, he recalled Dolores' tormented expression.
It was not her first time shooting offensive magic at someone, but at that moment, she was in pain.
So was that why she had nightmares?
"I'm sorry."
"Yes, you should be sorry. You have to apologize to me every day."
He was hated because he made a cruel decision out of too much love for her.
Reed wiped away the tears in her eyes with his thumb.
"I'm sorry for always being so moody... I must be a terrible girl."
"What's wrong with being a little bad? I like it when a pretty girl like you acts naughty."
Dolores knew she was acting like a child.
But she couldn't stop.
"Don't you hate me like this?"
"Not really?"
"You won't really get tired of my whining, right?"
"What have you been doing on weekends so far?"
"I'll be whining two or three times more from now on."
"I guess I'll have more weekend work."
"Will you really put up with my whining? I don't like men who are pushovers."
"Do you really hate it?"
"......"
Dolores glanced up at Reed and then looked away.
She lowered her head and rested it on Reed's shoulder.
"I really dislike it."
Dolores closed her eyes as they were.
Reed lowered his shoulder to make it easier for her to lean on.
"Do you think I can return?"
Dolores asked.
"There are many people who like you. Greenwood, Jade, Radiant, Monolith... They just kept their mouths shut because they are easily swayed by people."
"He's a weirdo. The Master of Monolith Tower."
"Yuria seems a bit shocked, but she seems to believe you're human, and Rosaria... She still doesn't seem to know what you are. She just thinks you're sick."
"Sick... It is a sickness."
"How many letters did you receive every day?"
"Was it 30? She sent me drawings of a dog and Lucy every day. But the funnier thing is, do you know?"
"What is it?"
"Her skills are improving day by day."
"We need to get her an art tutor."
Dolores let out a small laugh.
"I'm having a bad thought right now."
"What is it?"
"I'm thinking that it's not so bad being here."
"Do you want to stay here forever?"
"Can I?"
"If that's what you want."
"Then, please heal me quickly."
Dolores buried herself in his shoulder.
"Because I don't want to feel sorry every time I see you."
Reed hugged Dolores.
She cried again for a long time.
He quietly supported her until she fell asleep, exhausted from crying.
***
Tower Master's Research Building.
"Intercepting magic sent from human to human..."
Kaitlyn muttered.
In her hand was the development plan written by Reed.
"What do you think?"
"To be honest... It's quite different from what I've thought so far, so it seems to be quite difficult..."
Although the magic formula is prepared, Kaitlyn didn't seem to be able to make Reed's proposal possible within a month.
"I know it's hard for you. I might be asking too much."
Reed looked up at Kaitlyn.
With a pleading face, as if he was about to kneel, he said.
"Please, I can only ask you for this... If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it all."
Unlike usual, there was weight in Reed's words.
It was then that Kaitlyn realized she had said the wrong thing.
'What was I saying?'
Kaitlyn recalled everything Reed had done for her.
'Reed is the one who took me in when I had nowhere to go.'
When she needed money, he gave her money.
When she needed materials, he provided materials.
And he always treated her accordingly whenever she achieved something.
Even when she failed, he didn't scold her and let it go.
Although she had done a lot for him so far, Kaitlyn was always aware that she owed him a great debt.
Now was the time to repay him.
There is nothing she can't do.
'She must make it happen.'
With that determination, Kaitlyn nodded her head.
"Don't worry. I'll make it happen."
***
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Dream big tl dot com
[Original Source – dreambigtl . com]
* * *
It wasn't easy to find something applicable by gathering all the materials on magical engineering.
As always with non-mainstream fields, the materials were scarce, and the necessary information was very expensive.
All she could do was reduce her sleep and endure as much as possible.
Kaitlyn gave Reed a pill she took during the exam period.
It was a kind of caffeine capsule that eliminated drowsiness at the expense of a rebound.
"What are you doing at this late hour?"
"Isn't it daytime now?"
"Daytime......"
With the blackout curtains drawn and the lights on, the sense of time had long disappeared.
Reed checked the date by looking at his watch.
There were only two weeks left.
Dolores' fate would be decided at the next Tower Master's conference.
There was no time for this.
Reed sent Rosaria away and tried to continue searching for materials.
"Unni, could you die?"
"......Why do you think that?"
That thought completely disappeared.
She was curious about the circumstances that led to those words.
Then she showed the book tucked into her side.
It was a medical dictionary with the names of diseases written on it.
"If it hurts a lot, you die. If it hurts a lot for my unni... isn't it like that?"
"Rosaria......"
Reed hugged Rosaria.
"Don't worry. I just caught a long cold."
"You can die if a cold lasts too long."
"Don't worry. I won't die. There's no way."
"Is Dad not scared?"
Scared?
To be honest, I'm scared.
I'm scared that I might mess up.
I've already made a lot of noise and bought time, but I'm scared that I won't gain anything in the meantime.
I'm scared that it won't end with my own ruin, but will affect the members of my tower and my daughter.
"I'm not scared."
As always, even if I'm bent to the world, I must be more sturdy than anyone else in front of my child.
A person who can break through any adversity.
A person who can always come to help when needed.
"Dad is invincible."
Because I'm your dad.
With an unaffected face, he stepped into the thorns of fear.
