Chapter 34 : Saintess. Not there… Huh!

Three days had passed.

By that time, Bersia had completely dried up.

Her lips were cracked, and even the slightest movement made them feel brittle. The area around her eyes had sunken deeply.

Her condition was almost at a standstill.

Everything within her sight had turned monochrome.

Even the chaotic and passionate days now felt like distant memories. Now, it seemed that nothing was impossible as long as he woke up. Bersia felt a vague sense of that.

She had been collapsed, frozen like a statue or a corpse, for quite some time.

Then, without warning, the miracle came.

“… Saintess?”

Usher opened his eyes.

He called out to Bersia with a cracked voice.

Bersia couldn’t tell whether this scene was real or just an illusion.

She just stared blankly at him, unable to comprehend whether it was a dream or reality.

Her eyes widened, as if they might tear apart.

Her breath stopped, and her heart also momentarily ceased beating.

Shock, electricity, euphoria, and relief—all of them hit her like a tidal wave.

But—

The only reaction her broken body could produce was one thing.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

The moisture reflected and engraved light into her pupils.

At the moment when she prayed that this wasn’t a dream, Usher slowly reached out his arm.

He wiped the tears off her cheek.

“Why…?”

Usher weakly smiled.

He trembled as he moved closer, pulling her into his embrace.

“Ah… Hah, ah.”

With a dry, broken voice, Bersia sobbed uncontrollably.

Her world regained its colors.

Usher felt as if he had just woken from a long dream.

When he opened his eyes, his head was so heavy it almost hurt, and his whole body was drained of strength—he could barely move a finger.

His blurry vision slowly cleared, and the process felt incredibly frustrating.

His eyes ached, and his throat was dry, making him want to drink water immediately.

Despite this, Usher’s first instinct was to reach out to Bersia. The first thing he realized was that she was crying.

Why was she crying?

Why did she look so gaunt?

It pained him to see her like this, and he couldn’t help but wipe away her tears.

When she collapsed into his arms, Usher smiled.

Although the sound that came out was little more than a whisper, he realized that she had been worried about him, and he felt a deep sense of gratitude.

He was so dazed.

Even while stroking Bersia’s back, he couldn’t process things properly.

He mechanically continued doing it for a while, until he suddenly realized something.

“Hmm?”

Usher’s eyes shot wide open.

His gaze shifted from Bersia to his own hand.

In that instant, he forgot all about his own condition and tried to stand up, groaning as he collapsed back down, gasping for breath.

“B-b-body…! It’s back…!”

Usher’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.

But, by then, Bersia had collapsed and lost consciousness.

After nearly ten days of sleeplessness, now that her inner anxiety had been fully erased, she finally fell asleep.

Her gentle breathing could be heard.

Her body moved slightly with each breath, pressing down on Usher’s chest.

Usher was flustered.

“Saintess…?”

He groaned, but his body, still lying down, wouldn’t respond.

Her weight, pressing down on him, felt like it was a thousand pounds.

Usher turned his head back and forth.

“Is… is anyone there…?”

There was no answer.

And no one came after that.

Five hours passed.

Usher, with his eyes wide open, felt the weight of Bersia, her body temperature, and the sensation of her skin touching his, his face turning as red as a ripe persimmon.

The fact that a man and woman were lying in the same bed, sleeping together (though only one of them had fallen asleep), made his eyes snap shut in embarrassment.

Bersia woke up purely because Usher had been pestering her.

He had repeatedly whispered into her ear, pleading for her to wake up.

She stared at him with dazed eyes, then her face flushed with embarrassment. Soon, she gave him a smile that seemed as though she might collapse at any moment.

Looking at Bersia’s gaunt appearance, Usher realized just how long he had been unconscious.

He realized many things, including this.

The five hours that Bersia had been asleep gave Usher time to collect his thoughts.

It had been that way since the moment he collapsed.

‘So that’s how the prayer worked.’

He thought the prayer asking for harm to come to him first might have been activated at that moment.

For Usher, this was a relief.

After all, how anxious he had been watching Bersia throw herself in front of him, trying to protect him. It was much better that it had happened to him instead.

Moreover, realizing that the change in his body had been for the sole purpose of protecting Bersia made him feel like all the hardship he had endured was worth it.

‘Father, I failed to understand Your will!’

The bitterness and resentment in his heart vanished.

His faith soared once more.

In any case, the major cause was now clear to him.

Next, he had to hear what had happened while he was unconscious, but that took more time.

Bersia had postponed telling him, saying his health came first.

She poured lukewarm water into his mouth and, from somewhere, brought him soup, feeding him herself.

“I can do it myself…”

“Don’t make me angry.”

…She was quite forceful.

In the midst of this, Usher felt a strange sense of disconnect.

The impression he had of Bersia was generally quite round and soft.

He often made embarrassed expressions when he looked at himself in the mirror with her body, but seeing the real owner of that body wearing it made him understand why people viewed her the way they did.

She was cold.

The expression that had made him feel sluggish in his own body now felt like a sharp cold wind in her face.

There was a sense of intimidation, and as a result, he couldn’t even reject her care properly.

What came to his mind was Bersia’s tear-streaked face.

Me.

The sadness and relief that hung over her face, especially, made it impossible for Usher to refuse her requests.

How could he possibly refuse the demands of someone who cared for him so much, someone who hadn’t slept because of her worry?

Of course, there were difficult moments.

“Saintess, not there… Huh!”

“It’s your side. Just bear with it.”

“No…!”

Bersia, using the excuse of a medical checkup, felt all over Usher’s body.

He was wondering why she was doing this, even as he thought it over.

It was so embarrassing that he didn’t want to go any further.

His excuse, which he squeezed out, was this:

“I-I trust this isn’t an excuse to harass me under the pretense of a checkup…!”

“…….”

Bersia paused, standing still for a moment, then withdrew her hand.

Usher’s gaze wavered.

Why was she stopping now?

Had it truly been about harassment all along?

As suspicion filled his mind, Bersia spoke.

“You’re healthy. Thankfully.”

Usher tightly fastened his collar.

Although he still found Bersia’s intentions suspicious, giving a reassuring answer to her words was more important.

“… If you just eat well, you’ll feel better in no time. My body’s quite strong, after all. And besides, you healed me too, Saintess…”

Indeed, there was no pain in his body at all.

As long as his stomach was full, he felt as though he could easily slice through a fever of any intensity with a smile.

As he continued to boast about his health, Usher suddenly burst into a wide grin.

No matter what, there was better news to focus on.

“Anyway, I’m glad my body is back! From now on, I’ll be able to properly serve you, Saintess!”

His face was full of confidence, his eyes shining brightly, and a light blush appeared on his cheeks.

But it didn’t last long.

“Isn’t it amazing that the Lord even prepared for such a thing? Today, I can really feel my faith growing stronger! Of course, I’m sorry for causing you concern… but anyway, it’s all worked out, so…”

He trailed off.

As soon as he mentioned faith, Bersia’s gaze grew cold.

Usher quickly took note of her reaction.

Looking back, he realized that he might have spoken without enough consideration, especially in front of someone who had been so worried about him that they cried when he woke up.

His lips pressed together, and at that moment, the coldness in Bersia’s expression faded slightly.

“It’s good to see you full of energy,” she said with a tired smile.

Was her previous look just a misunderstanding?

A lump of discomfort lodged in his throat.

In the midst of this, Bersia spoke again.

“It’s still a bit disappointing, though.”

“Eh?”

“It would’ve been nice if you’d woken up feeling strong.”

Bersia’s gaze shifted to Usher’s lower body.

Usher immediately yanked the blanket over himself and shouted.

“Don’t look! It’s mine now!”

“Looking is up to me.”

“That’s harassment!”

He glared in panic, but Bersia smiled mischievously.

Her expression was like that of a predator contemplating how to catch its prey.

A chill ran down Usher’s spine.

He slowly started to move toward the edge of the bed.

“Anyway, just so you know, the harassment is over now! Now that this body is mine again, I’ll never be played with in the hands of the Saintess! I am a first-class knight, you know!”

That was a firm vow, a resolution.

Usher swore he would teach her the proper mindset of a pious Saintess as a strict knight.

With his feet firmly planted on the ground, he stood up from the bed.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll resume doctrinal training…!”

Crash—!

It felt as though his soul was shaken and his body was pulled out of him.

The world around him turned white, and Usher screamed in shock, staggering, before his focus returned and he stood there, stunned.

“Eh?”

His voice rose in pitch.

His gaze dropped lower, and his chest grew heavy.

It was familiar but not quite… He felt a strange sensation.

Most of all, he couldn’t understand why he was looking at himself.

Usher’s lips twitched as his complexion turned pale, and his heart sank.

He had hoped against hope, but sadly, it wasn’t a dream.

‘My body…’

It had changed again.

Usher murmured with a voice full of despair.

“Why…?”

Why, again?

With that meaning in mind, he looked up at Bersia.

At that moment, Usher flinched as his shoulder trembled.

“Saintess…?”

Bersia, looking at her open hands with a twisted, eerie smile, stood there.