C146
A hunger strike. Isaac felt a slight headache.
Currently, he acted like an uncle who loved his niece so much that he even imprisoned her, pretending not to have escaped the blessing of Liena.
If he continued with his performance, he would have to feed Liena even if he had to beg. Or should he directly force himself to feed her?
But the problem was that he didn't feel like making that much effort.
Moreover, Liena's behavior of threatening Isaac was very annoying.
Looking at Liena now, he didn't have the confidence to simply give her a good meal and be done with it.
"What should I do about it?"
Isaac stared at the closed door for a while and then raised the corner of his mouth.
"All right, I've decided."
Meanwhile, inside the room, Liena kept her ear close to the door, watching Isaac's reaction.
Liena, who had pulled out her biggest weapon, the hunger strike, appeared confident.
During the last ten years, Liena had achieved many things she wanted through fasting.
Memories of the moment she received formal approval from her father and her two brothers to date Mikhail came to her mind.
- "Liena! This dad gives up!"
- "This brother also gives up!"
- "I apologize for being disrespectful to His Highness the Crown Prince!"
- "I won't do that again, so please at least take a spoonful of soup."
- "You missed a meal. If you continue like this, you'll be in real trouble!"
- "Don't abuse your body that way, but hit me! Even if you hit me with a stick, I'll gladly accept it!"
The three took turns and occasionally all came at once to stop Liena's hunger strike.
Liena would wait until they truly reflected and then forgive them as if she couldn't win.
After that, the three expressed their dissatisfaction, but for fear of Liena's fasting, they couldn't openly oppose her dating Mikhail.
Haha, while reminiscing about the happy days with her family, laughter naturally flowed from Liena's lips.
"It was so good back then."
Comparing it to the present, Liena felt depressed and shook her head vigorously.
"I will never give in to Ethel and will definitely regain the happiness I had back then with these hands."
To do that, Isaac first had to come to his senses and open this door.
- "Liena."
Finally, Isaac's voice came from beyond the door.
- "This uncle's heart breaks just at the thought that you don't want to eat."
- "Really? Then open the door quickly..."
- "But if that's what you want, it's my duty as an uncle to respect it."
- "Eh?"
- "Because now you're an adult. You can decide what to eat at your own discretion."
- "Wait a moment, uncle!"
- "I will take the food. However, if you starve for too long, your body will suffer, so I hope you fast in moderation."
- "Wait! If you really respect my wishes, get me out of here! I want to get out of here!"
Liena pounded the door and shouted loudly, but the response she received was firm.
- "That is not allowed. It's dangerous out there."
- "Then you're not respecting my wishes!"
- "I'm sorry. I can't just listen to that. Instead, I will grant your wish to fast."
- "What?"
- "So fast in moderation."
- "No, the logic is strange. You say you respect me, but why don't you listen to my request to leave and only allow me to fast?"
Although Liena argued with him, Isaac simply repeated what he said a moment ago like a parrot.
- "I'll come back when you feel like eating again. I also have work to do, so see you later."
- "Uncle? Uncle!"
The sound of footsteps faded slowly.
- "What should I do now?"
In the end, Liena got angry and kicked the nearby trash can.
It's not like she was talking to a wall; it's the first time in her life that she had so much difficulty communicating with someone.
She had heard that Isaac's personality was as eccentric as Roland's, but she never thought she would experience it herself.
- "...Even the uncle?"
Although she had a sinister feeling, Liena tried to erase the useless thought from her head.
That can't be possible. Isn't it Isaac who broke into Cassius's house and rescued Liena from almost being taken to the hospital?
"I guess he's just doing that because his affection for me is overwhelming. My uncle has always had a twisted side."
Duke Cassius got very angry more than once when he tried to take Liena away, saying she would be his daughter.
Just wait and see. Despite all his respect, he wasn't a great man who could just sit and watch Liena starve.
She could see Isaac running to this room in just a few hours, worried about Liena.
- "Hmph! I won't let this pass!"
Liena was furious and stared at the clock on the desk.
So time passed without stopping.
An hour passed. Isaac didn't come.
Two hours passed. Isaac didn't come either.
Three hours, four hours, five hours...
- "I'm hungry."
An impotent murmur burst from Liena's mouth as she lay face down on the sofa.
I was so hungry.
* * *
I was drifting somewhere.
Something warm and soft surrounded my body.
What is this? Water? It seems a bit different from water, but it doesn't matter. I feel good.
I didn't think about it. I kept trying to drift away without thinking about anything.
But then, bum, bum, bum. A low and slightly fast sound caught my consciousness.
I just wanted to get away, but while listening to that sound, I felt excited for some reason.
It's definitely a stable and pleasant sound, but it's a strange sense of excitement that makes it difficult to peacefully fall asleep.
A sense of duty arose, as if I had to get up and get out of here immediately.
"Ethel."
Suddenly, a soft voice reached my ears.
"Now, open your eyes."
Someone was calling me. I slowly got up, clinging to that voice like a rope.
Then, the face of a man with a mischievous smile appeared before my eyes.
"Did you wake up?"
I blinked repeatedly. I couldn't understand immediately what kind of situation this was.
Why are Terence and I lying together on the sofa, hugging each other?
"Teacher! You passed out after receiving the prince's power."
Lucy, who appeared out of nowhere, explained.
"...Me?"
"Yes, but your condition is not as serious as when you received my power, so you shouldn't worry."
Right. Now that I think about it, I received help from Terence to increase my divine power.
With my still dizzy head submerged in sleep, I remembered the events that happened before losing consciousness.
Following Lucy's instructions, we pressed against each other, and it was difficult for both of us to relax.
"I feel really embarrassed."
Lucy took special measures and ordered us to stay like that until we both relaxed.
It was a story that came out of nowhere, but I couldn't be the first to cry when even Terence, who had no reason to do this, was trying so hard.
So we had to endure an extremely uncomfortable time for a while.
"Oh, sorry! I couldn't stay still and moved, right?"
"...No. There's no problem."
It was very embarrassing to see Terence's body tremble every time I couldn't help but move.
However, maybe it's true that humans are creatures of adaptation, and as I spent hours sipping tea and reading books with Terence in close contact, I gradually got used to the discomfort.
However, that doesn't mean nothing happened; it was just enough to transfer the divine power.
"Now, try to release your power slowly. Be kind not to hurt her."
Terence faithfully followed Lucy's words and injected me with a dark red power.
It was a very mystical experience to have his power entering my body.
Meanwhile, every time I saw Terence's power, I felt it eerie or magical, but this time I didn't feel that at all. Rather, it was warm and pleasant.
That probably means he carefully controlled his power for me.
Immediately after receiving the divine power, I fell asleep without realizing it.
Terence tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and explained to Lucy.
"It seems that the process of turning my power into your divine power consumed your stamina, so it temporarily blocked your consciousness to focus on it."
"Yes... What about Terence?"
"I'm fine."
This was also something strange.
Normally, I would have jumped in embarrassment at the current situation where I was hugging Terence, but strangely, I was talking to him calmly.
Maybe it was because I was still dizzy, but I wasn't actually embarrassed, and more than anything...
I wanted to keep hearing the sound of Terence's heart beating nearby.
Boldly, I buried my face in his chest and murmured.
"I was asleep when I heard this sound."
"Is that so? The divine beast said it would help stabilize the power if I, as the owner of the power, stayed by Ethel's side as much as possible. Is that why?"
Ah, so that's why we were in this position.
I smiled understandingly.
"I guess so. Hearing Terence's heartbeat made me feel like I had to get up."
Last time, Goddess Miella approached me and saved me from the torrent of consciousness, but this time it was the sound of Terence's heart that guided me.
At that moment, my stomach growled.
"Oh, I'm hungry..."
Terence said with a smile.
"It's already night. Since you were asleep for a long time, you couldn't even have lunch or dinner."
"For some reason, I'm quite hungry."
"It's late, but shall we eat something together?"
For now, it was the most welcome suggestion.
"All right."
"I knew that would be the case, so I asked the kitchen to prepare something for us."
Doesn't this man know me too well?
"Go quickly."
After a while, I had a good meal with Terence.
Lately, I was completely breathless, so I couldn't even see Terence's face properly.