Nigel thought she could hold out for 3 to 4 weeks, but time was not on her side.
From the moment she realized she was in the late stages of mana addiction, the symptoms that had been worsening day by day now intensified every half day, hour, and 10 minutes.
Hot, dull headaches had become a daily occurrence, and her limbs felt like they were weighed down by heavy stones. If it weren’t for the teleport stone, she would have given up on attending school long ago.
Nigel didn’t want to worry others unnecessarily, so she only told Allen, Noah, and those around her that it was a simple cold, without revealing the true symptoms.
However, she couldn’t hide the secret from Rus. Attuned to the unstable, roiling mana of her contractor, Rus gradually lost vitality and would burrow into Nigel’s arms, murmuring for her to live a long life whenever their eyes met.
On days with swordsmanship classes that required intense physical movement, she found some relief. The vigorous activity allowed for frequent contact with her training partner, Noah.
When she touched Noah’s skin through the training clothes, the burning pain throughout her body would temporarily subside. Noah welcomed Nigel’s touch, and despite looking uncomfortable, he never once pushed her away.
But no matter how much she pretended to be fine, her body, having exceeded its limits, began to show symptoms. Lifeless, pale blue skin contrasted with dark under-eyes, and movements that lacked any agility, like cotton soaked in water, were clear signs.
“Surely she’s pretending to be sick to catch Beselion’s attention… Ah.”
“What did you just say?”
Nigel, who had been reading a book while enduring a headache, barely managed to turn her head and meet the student’s gaze.
“Uh… It’s nothing. Take care and get well soon.”
Seeing Nigel’s bloodless lips, the student awkwardly smiled and quickly left.
“There are quite a few strange people around, aren’t there?”
“You can say that again.”
At that moment, Yenika and Allen entered the lounge, carrying armfuls of books Nigel had requested.
Noah had already placed the books on the table and draped a thick blanket over Nigel’s shoulders.
“The wind has gotten much colder.”
Nigel instinctively grasped Noah’s hand on her shoulder, then quickly let go.
“You can keep holding it if you’d like.”
Noah flashed a gentle smile. In contrast to his pleasantly upturned lips, his cold blue eyes keenly observed Nigel’s physical condition.
It was too severe to be a simple cold. Day by day, her vitality seemed to be draining away as if someone were stealing her life force.
He had proposed to protect her, but seeing her frequently ill like this was disheartening.
As soon as Noah moved away from Nigel, Yenika immediately took his place and held onto Nigel’s arm.
“Nigel, I know you value attendance, but I think it would be better for you to rest comfortably at the healing ward with the help of a priest.”
“No!”
“That’s not possible.”
Allen and Noah quickly responded to Yenika’s cautious suggestion.
“Allen, Lord Noah. You’re greatly disappointing me. Are you not concerned about Nigel’s health?”
Yenika stared directly at the two with wide eyes.
“Her skin is paler than a marble statue, and her forehead is burning hot. Are you really going to just sit by and do nothing?”
“Th-that’s not it…”
Allen and Noah’s eyes darted around urgently, unable to find a suitable excuse while keeping Nigel’s secret.
“Yeni, it’s alright.”
At that moment, Nigel grasped Yenika’s hand. With just that one nickname, Yenika’s fierce gaze softened.
“I get a severe flu once every few years, and this time it’s just hit me a bit harder. I’m used to enduring the pain.”
“But if you receive help from a priest, you’d recover quickly, wouldn’t you?”
Yenika, who would normally believe anything Nigel said even if she claimed potatoes grew on trees, didn’t back down this time.
Nigel quickly searched her feverish mind for an illness that priests couldn’t cure.
“…Reparo.”
“Pardon?”
“Reparo would help me recover quickly, but unfortunately, it’s been banned and all stocks have been disposed of.”
“Ah, if it’s because of Reparo, I understand.”
Thankfully, Yenika let go of her suspicions. However, her thoughts took a different direction.
“To think you’re suffering because of those temple people… Shall I try to secretly obtain some Reparo for you?”
Yenika clenched her fist with a solemn expression and took out her communication stone.
“No.”
“Hng…”
Despite Yenika’s groan, Nigel firmly shook her head.
If Yenika happened to contact the Crown Prince or the King of Krena through the communication stone, it would be like creating a large crack while trying to plug a tiny hole.
“If, if Reparo isn’t possible, then how about my mana…!”
“It’s okay, I’ll just accept your feelings.”
A large flame of mana erupted from Yenika’s hand. As Nigel calmly soothed Yenika while enduring a sudden intense headache, the mana flame gradually subsided.
“I’ll feel better after resting well over the weekend.”
This weekend was the deadline Zeronin had promised to find a solution.
So, if she could endure for just two days, just two nights, she would be free from this troublesome mana addiction.
Nigel smiled faintly as she looked at the worried faces of her friends in turn.
Nigel believed that if she could just endure, everything would be easily resolved.
That is, if someone hadn’t genuinely believed the excuse she had hastily made up to reassure Yenika about not recovering quickly due to the lack of Reparo.
[This is the timeline separator]“Allen, how was Nigel’s mana?”
“Being a saint, I can’t gauge the amount, but the mana flow is unstable like a child who just awakened their powers.”
That night, Noah and Allen sat on the bed, having a serious conversation as if discussing a deal that could determine the fate of the nation.
“Then we’ll definitely need Reparo for emergencies.”
“That’s right. The conversation in the lounge was clearly a message from Nigel to us two. If you’re her one and only trustworthy and perfectly in sync best friend, and fiancé, you must obtain Reparo for me – that kind of message.”
“I get that, but… Allen, isn’t the description of me too brief?”
“Why, if you’re dissatisfied, why don’t you make it a real engagement instead of this easily breakable contract engagement?”
Allen shrugged nonchalantly, his expression unchanging.
“Hah… I didn’t want to bring this up, but…”
As Noah let out a deep sigh, Allen crossed his arms tightly, as if daring him to continue.
“Due to Reparo being discovered in the Evans Company’s anonymous vault, the temple’s view of the Evans Company isn’t very favorable, is it?”
Allen flinched for a moment but didn’t lose his composure.
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
“In this situation, I wonder if Allen could directly ask his father or Sebastian for Reparo. Well, that’s what I was thinking.”
Allen slowly uncrossed his arms and sat up straight in a proper posture.
“Yes, you’re right. To obtain Reparo, we need the help of Nigel Ars’s loyal and one-of-a-kind fiancé, Lord Noah Beselion!”
Noah chuckled lightly, watching Allen quickly assess who had the upper hand and act accordingly, befitting the son of a merchant. Then he got up from the bed and rummaged through his desk drawer.
“Young Viscount? What are you suddenly doing? Weren’t we still in the middle of planning? Surely that precious Reparo couldn’t possibly pop out of your desk drawer…”
Noah pulled out several small bottles filled with golden liquid and shook them demonstratively.
“…It did. And quite a few of them.”
Allen muttered, dumbfounded.
Then he shook his head vigorously to regain his senses and, like a knight making a vow to the king and lady, bent one knee and extended his empty hand high.
He didn’t mind kneeling if it meant achieving his goal, even if his fingers grasping at thin air looked unsightly.
“Lord Noah, please give me one as well.”
“Hmm… What did you say earlier?”
“Ah− Viscount Beselion, who will always be by Lady Nigel’s side and protect her steadfastly for a lifetime! If you would kindly bestow upon me one bottle of Reparo you hold in your hand! As Lady Nigel’s best friend, I shall diligently support the successful culmination of your marriage!”
Noah, who had been gauging the situation, finally couldn’t hold back his laughter at the merchant’s son’s buttered-up flattery and placed a bottle of Reparo in Allen’s outstretched palm.
“I hope there won’t be a need to use this Reparo.”
“You can say that again.”
With the knight play over, the faces of the two men were once again clouded with worry.
After a moment, Allen spoke first.
“But you know… Can a saint even get sick?”
“Well… I’m not sure.”
“You’re her fiancé, and you don’t even know that?”
As Noah tilted his head, Allen, having finished his business, immediately threw a sarcastic remark.
“Then does her one and only best friend know?”
“…Good point? I wonder if a saint’s body doesn’t self-heal, or if she can’t use her holy power.”
Allen blinked his round eyes several times.
“Looks like you’re in the same boat as me.”
“…Ah! I think I know.”
At that moment, Allen clapped his hands together hard and muttered.
“Everyone uses Reparo for mana recharging, but originally, Reparo was actually a treatment for mana deficiency, right?”
At those words, Noah’s eyes lit up.
“Recently, Nigel has been using a lot of mana without control, probably due to increased stress. Could it be that she’s unknowingly become mana deficient?”
Nigel’s mana that came in like fierce waves without control, her skin as white as drawing paper, and her hot forehead.
All of these symptoms were identical to Noah’s mana deficiency.
“That sounds right.”
It was the moment when the doubt about whether it really was a hidden message asking for Reparo turned into certainty.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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