Chapter 16
“Was it you, or Mary?”
Gaia’s voice was calm and unhurried, still as soothing as a spring breeze, but to Liu Yu, it felt like a level ten tornado. She could only manage a startled “Ah?” before asking:
“Gaia, what are you talking about? What do you mean, drugged?”
Her mind raced, trying to recall if there had been any slip-ups the previous night.
After triple-checking, she was certain—there were none.
None at all.
Gaia let out a soft sigh: “Beiliya, I’m certain. I was drugged last night, and it wasn’t just the alcohol.”
Liu Yu, like an enraged cub, sat up abruptly:
“So, you’re suspecting me?”
Gaia didn’t respond.
He stood up, walked over to her, and crouched down to meet her at eye level. His expression was one of confusion—
Not interrogation, as if he were merely asking a simple question, nothing more.
And so, Liu Yu realized that the irrational, utterly endearing Gaia from last night, muddled by alcohol and drugs, was gone.
This was his usual self—detached from all human emotions—
If he felt anything at all, it was faint, even when it came to anger or confusion.
She suddenly covered her face and burst into tears:
“Gaia, you don’t have to do this. I never expected you to take responsibility, nor did I dare hope to become your lover… You don’t have to insult my feelings for you like this…”
“Beiliya.”
Gaia’s voice was resigned.
“…Drugged? How could I ever drug you? Gaia, I love you so much. To me, you’re like a pearl, a diamond… How could I ever harm you…”
She cried bitterly, her shoulders shaking, every bit the heartbroken lover.
“Or do you regret it? Is that why you’re using such a ridiculous excuse to insult my feelings? Fine, fine, I’ll leave! Beiliya Fergus isn’t someone to be trampled on. I’ll never bother you again!”
With that, she stood up in a rush, but lost her balance and stumbled to the side.
Gaia caught her:
“Beiliya.”
“Beiliya, Beiliya, Beiliya! Is that all you can say?”
Liu Yu turned the tables, mixing in a bit of chaos, fully embracing the art of crying and making a scene. Soon, she was clinging to his neck, sobbing pitifully:
“It hurts, Gaia, it hurts so much…”
Her trembling body leaned against him, fragile as a flower battered by the storm outside the pavilion.
Gaia’s ears were filled with her soft gasps and quiet cries.
“It… hurts?”
“Yes, it hurts, it hurts so much. There’s so much blood.”
Since Gaia couldn’t see, Liu Yu didn’t hold back her words—and truthfully, she was in pain. Her body felt as though it had been split open by a giant axe.
The reckless young man, in his fervor, had the courage of a lion, and he didn’t stop his assault even when his prey begged for mercy. Instead, he grew even more heated—
And due to his lack of experience, he relied solely on brute force, lacking any finesse.
The gods had not been stingy when crafting his body—it was perfection itself, and naturally, his “hardware” was more than impressive.
Thus, the prey on the chopping block, faced with such an overwhelming weapon, was utterly doomed.
Liu Yu could barely move her legs. They felt like cotton, and every step sent pain shooting from her inner thighs to her toes, as though she’d suffered a massive bruise.
And the most unspeakable part of her body was in a constant, lingering ache. When she stood up, she could feel a warm trickle slowly making its way down.
“I’ll take you to the physician.”
Gaia scooped her up in his arms, one hand supporting her back, the other under her knees, and hurried outside.
“Stop! Stop right now!”
The sound of his footsteps crunching over the forest floor, the rustling of dry leaves, didn’t slow him down in the slightest.
“Gaia! We can’t go!”
Liu Yu really wanted to cover her face this time.
“Why not?”
“It’s… it’s that part that hurts…”
Even as bold as she was, Liu Yu wasn’t bold enough to see a physician for this. She slapped his chest: “It’ll heal in a few days.”
“There’s a female physician,” Gaia adjusted his hold on her to keep her from slipping. “Don’t move. It’s nothing. Even Ace took her lover to see one.”
…She’d forgotten how open this Western world could be.
…And she’d also forgotten that while Gaia was usually easygoing, there were times when his stubbornness was downright infuriating.
In the end, Liu Yu was taken to the academy’s medical clinic.
The stern-looking female physician, her hair tied in a bun, finished her examination and immediately glared at Gaia:
“Mr. Leslie, you were far too rough!”
For once, the usually composed Mr. Leslie blushed.
He hung his head and listened obediently as the physician prepared a tube of ointment, instructing Liu Yu to apply it morning and night. She advised her to avoid strenuous activities like horseback riding or fencing for the time being, and finally, she addressed both of them:
“…Wait seven days—no, ten days, you reckless fools… Oh, wait, my dear sweetheart, take this first.”
The physician handed her a leaf shaped like a baby. It was “Tor Leaf,” a product of the Elven Continent. Liu Yu had seen Mrs. Fergus take it a few times.
Tor Leaf, in other words, was a short-term contraceptive.
She silently took it, chewed it up, and swallowed.
“Alright, you two can go now! If I see you here again, I’ll grab my long-handled spoon and knock some sense into you, especially you, Mr. Leslie! Look at the state of this poor sweetheart’s hands and feet. Even if you’re into… certain things, at least show some consideration for your lovely little lover.”
“Understood.”
Gaia didn’t argue.
Throughout the entire examination, he had been cooperative and eerily quiet. Liu Yu knew that his tenderness was just an act, a result of his innate sense of responsibility—probably something like “you break it, you fix it.”
He had no real feelings for her, and if he did, they were minimal at best, stemming from a sense of gratitude for her “life-saving” and their brief encounter.
Her task now was to slowly build upon this faint connection, so that when he regained his memories, she wouldn’t be obliterated by the wrath of the gods.
Gaia carefully lifted Liu Yu back into his arms.
“I’m sorry, Beiliya.”
He murmured softly.
Liu Yu wrapped her arms around his neck:
“No, Gaia, I wanted this… You’ll still care about me, won’t you, Gaia?”
Her voice was low, almost as if it had sunk into the dust.
“…Yes, I will.”
With that, Gaia fell silent.
For a moment, the air between them was heavy with awkwardness.
After what had happened, they could no longer interact as naturally as before, yet they couldn’t take things any further either. Thus, the awkwardness lingered.
Of course, Liu Yu’s awkwardness didn’t last long.
She remembered something she’d overlooked earlier:
“Gaia, you said earlier that ‘Ace also took her lover to see a physician.’ Does that mean you’re admitting that I’m your lover too?”
“……”
Gaia refused to answer.
By the time they reached the girls’ dormitory, most of the students had already left.
“Mr. Leslie, you’d better hurry!”
The dorm supervisor, who clearly had a favorable impression of Gaia, said warmly, “The first divine arts class is important. They’ve already headed to the temple.”
Gaia set the light-as-a-feather girl down and asked the supervisor to accompany her inside, while he waited outside.
“Of course! I’ll take care of Miss Fergus.”
Liu Yu turned and, with the supervisor’s help, stepped over the threshold. Just then, Gaia called out to her and slipped something into her hand:
“Beiliya, you forgot this.”
It was a small, cold object, about the size of a thumb.
Liu Yu glanced down and her heart skipped a beat:
It was the bottle she’d used to hold the blood-mixed drug.
Gaia had picked it up long ago but had only just returned it to her now.
Had he smelled the blood in the bottle?
Did he… believe her?
