Incompatible Interspecies Wives chapter 194

194 – Remaining Tasks (3)

Ner struggled to straighten his back and sat down on a nearby chair.

In the past few days, he hadn’t had a proper rest, continuously taking care of the people.

While some were cured of the plague and getting healthier, others were dying.

The more that happened, the more responsible Ner felt.

Ner still considered the people of Stakhven as his own people.

As a person of the Bergs, he was her person.

She wanted to consider herself as a Riker, not a Blackwood.

She rested her eyes.

Recently, she couldn’t sleep properly and was exhausted.

The determination to treat people. The pressure to make medicine. The fear of contracting a plague. And worry for Berg.

All these anxieties kept her from falling asleep.

“…”

If Berg could just hug her once, she felt she could sleep comfortably.

As the dream became more and more unlikely, she looked at it again.

Nera couldn’t even sigh anymore.

She was just blinking her empty eyes.

Until the Stockvin, she had hoped that everything would work out.

Once she arrived here, she believed that things would somehow flow smoothly.

But Berg still didn’t pay attention to her, and he didn’t even try to give her a chance to get closer.

Of course, she could see that he was starting to hesitate.

He spoke to her in a normal tone now and didn’t show his anger like before. He even stood silently without rejecting her when she approached.

After the incident in the last dawn, he even apologized.

But she didn’t know if that was a positive change.

In the end, it didn’t change that he was pushing her away.

“…”

She understood.

The more she saw the family that Berg had created, the more jealous she became.

When she saw Sian and Berg, who embraced each other amid any difficulty and solved problems, she felt insane with jealousy.

She envied Nera even more, who had been the first to reach that position.

If she had not thought about betrayal, she would still be in that position.

But she had done too many things she shouldn’t have.

If she hadn’t thought about betrayal.

If she had formed the soul bond more faithfully.

If she had given herself to him on the first night. If she had a relationship with him in the following days.

If she had refused Arvin’s marriage from the beginning.

I only had regrets about the time that had already passed.

Sometimes, looking at Berg’s happy expression… I thought maybe I should let go.

Also, when I saw Berg struggling, I had the same dilemma.

But my hand couldn’t let go.

Berg seemed to have let go of the bond, but Sarah still couldn’t let go.

The happiness I felt when I was embraced by him still hasn’t been forgotten.

The smile he used to give me appears frequently in my dreams.

When everyone else denied me, he was the only one who affirmed me.

Yet, it was clear that now a change was necessary.

If things continued like this, I would never be accepted by Berg.

The suffocating feeling kept building up, ready to burst.

I didn’t want this pain anymore.

-Shushu.

Sarah opened her eyes again.

Tears trailed down the corners of her eyes.

Just as she was about to rise from her seat and start working, someone appeared in front of her.

“…Sarah.”

At that call, Sarah raised her head.

Sian was standing there.

She was the one who had everything Sarah desired.

“Why are you here…”

Sarah struggled to rise from her seat.

Suppressing the questions, she politely spoke to her.

“It’s dangerous here. It would be better for you to go back home.”

Sarah couldn’t face Sian for a long time.

Her presence hurt her heart.

Just as she was about to turn away.

“Cough…! Cough….!”

A weak cough came from Sian.

………..

Ner turned slowly, frozen by the sound.

Cien asked with a faint smile, “…Could this be a plague?”

****

I am Gael, and I was sitting in the office with Arvin.

Organizing various documents.

I was also looking at the documents that calculated the remaining resources in the village and the resources that would soon be needed.

Arvin was looking at those numbers, trying to figure out how successful the farming should be.

“…”

I felt Gael’s gaze on my side.

Since he made the proposal for me to leave the territory, he had been watching me like that.

Unaware of his gaze, I continued to work, but it was inevitable that I could feel it.

“….Ha.”

Gael, who let out a short sigh, looked at Arvin and spoke.

“Arvin-nim.”

Arvin slowly raised his head and looked at Gael.

“…Yes?”

“Can you explain in more depth about our previous conversation?”

“What do you mean?”

“The conversation about whether Berger would not be a Lone Warrior. Did you say that Adam would be the Lone Warrior?”

“….Ah.”

At that story, I also rolled my eyes and looked at Arvin.

Arvin hesitated for a moment and stood still.

Then, looking at Gael, Arvin spoke.

“It was Gael who speculated that Berger would not be the Lone Warrior, right?”

“I mentioned it to His Majesty the King.”

“…Why did Gael think that way?”

Gael leaned against the backrest and scratched his horn.

“Well, because he had a past of misfortune, and it matched the atmosphere, and he didn’t believe in gods. His fighting skills were well-disciplined… He was the one who defeated Kruned. But well, the intention to give him a justification was stronger than those reasons. He had to have the justification of being a Lone Warrior so that Berger could also become a noble.”

“…”

Suddenly, the situation at the time came to my mind.

Gale had said he would tell the king that I was a lonely warrior.

The reason was because it could lead to more rewards for our achievements.

Thanks to that, we were able to inherit the territory of Stokfin.

Could it be because of that reason? Does Gale feel responsible for me?

Does he feel guilty about my struggles as a noble?

As I continued to think, Arwin spoke.

“…Perhaps if you had known more about the commonalities with the past warriors, you would have judged differently.”

“Commonalities, you say?”

Arwin glanced at me and continued.

“My father has met many lonely warriors over the long time he lived. He knew a lot of information, even not written in books.”

Arwin brought up stories about the past warriors.

“…Just like the lonely warriors have an unfortunate past, there is another commonality.”

“Can you give an example?”

“…Lonely warriors did not have families. No, they couldn’t. The moment they had a family, they experienced loss.”

“…”

“No wonder they were chosen by the God of Solitude.”

For a moment, I thought of my brother Adam.

He had left his entire family at a young age and never married until he died.

Arwin looked at me and said,

“…But Berg has a family, right…? Even a child…”

“…”

Gale shook his head slightly.

“…This story may be enough evidence, but to judge solely on that… There are many cases of not having a family. Even I don’t have a family…”

“…But according to your father, this was the case for all the lonely warriors? If he’s remembering correctly.”

I mulled over Arwin’s words.

Thinking of our child in Sien’s belly, the idea of not being able to have a family didn’t seem so unreasonable.

“…Also.”

Arwin looked at me again.

A more cautious tone.

“… Three of the four warriors my father met… died after the war ended.”

“…”

“…Adam, our leader, also died in battle. There is more certain evidence…”

Gael responded to the story.

“…It’s vague to call it a commonality.”

Eruin said, shaking his head.

“…Regardless, Berg is not a lone warrior. There is no reason for him to answer even if called upon by the king.”

I pondered Arwin’s words for a moment.

…If the war hasn’t ended yet?

“…”

I quickly brushed aside her words.

In the end, it was like sticking something on the nose and calling it a nose ring, or sticking something on the ear and calling it an earring.

From the beginning, a lone warrior of solitude was such a concept.

A device that instilled courage in those who did not believe in gods.

Merely a mechanism to inspire people’s actions.

Even in the face of death, people would say that he was not a warrior, and that would transmit hope to the remaining beings.

Then, when he throws a high ball, they would worship him as a lone warrior.

In that story that had no traces or power, only faith was imposed.

Arwin also felt a similar feeling right away.

Regardless of the existence of a lone warrior of solitude, she seemed to simply dislike being called a lone warrior.

The feeling of believing in what she wanted to believe was strong.

“That’s enough. Let’s stop this conversation.”

I said to Gael.

Judging by his choice of this topic, he must have been influenced by the rumors of the Krunds circulating in the village.

Superstitions or destiny, prophecies.

I still didn’t bother keeping such stories in my mind.

-Knock, knock, knock!

At that moment, a sharp knocking sound echoed in the room.

It was the voice of Desmond, our butler.

“Milord, is it okay for me to come in?”

Even the sound of breathing was slightly rough.

I responded to the urgent voice.

“Come in.”

-Swish!

Desmond hurriedly entered the room in response.

His widened eyes indicated how surprised he was.

After briefly scanning us with his eyes, he spoke.

“… Milady…”

****

Nerva and Sylphrien were standing in front of the hospital room where the news had rushed.

I tried to calm down my racing heart.

Arwin, by my side, kept trying to console me.

“Verg, calm down. It’ll be okay.”

“…”

However, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

The more you know the pain of loss, the more afraid you become.

I didn’t want to say goodbye anymore.

I didn’t want to send my family away anymore.

From No ble mt L dot c om

I approached Nerva, who was looking up at me, and asked.

“… Are you sure?”

“…”

“… Nerva, answer me.”

Nerva slowly nodded.

“… I’m sure.”

Emotions surged within me at Nerva’s certainty.

Just then, Nerva said to me.

“Verg, but it’s still in the early stages, so it’ll be okay. If we take care of you, make sure you eat and rest… you can get better.”

It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was just comforting words.

The negative effects of the epidemic varied from person to person.

Even though everyone discovered the onset in the early stages, some recovered quickly while others succumbed to death.

The fact that they were infected was the problem.

I tried to pass by Ner and enter the hospital room.

But at that moment, something wrapped around my thigh.

I looked down and saw Ner’s white tail wrapped around me.

When I turned to look at her, Ner spoke,

“…It might be better if you lower your guard and go in.”

“…”

It was only then that I realized I had been frowning.

Following Ner’s words, I slowly relaxed my expression.

Sienna would also be anxious if I scrutinized her.

I had to be strong.

As I gradually relaxed my expression, Ner’s tail fell away from me.

Without even looking at me, she nodded her head.

I said to her,

“…Thank you.”

“Yeah.”

And then I entered the hospital room.

“Verge!”

Sienna was sitting alone on the bed, with a bright smile on her face when she saw me.

Even though she was wearing a mask, her expression was apparent.

I also smiled and approached her.

“…How’s your body?”

Sienna smiled and replied,

“Fine. Just a little scratchy throat. I think I can shake it off soon.”

“That’s good. You’ve overcome greater dangers than this.”

“Yeah. So I think it’s okay not to worry too much.”

“…”

Even with Sienna’s words, I felt a weight on my chest. But I couldn’t show any pain in this situation. There was nothing I could do.

Perhaps Sienna’s usual frailty was one of the reasons I worried even more deeply.

Cien says,

“…Still, fortunate it is. To have discovered it before it passed on to you.”

“…”

“It’s fortunate as well that we refrained from kissing.”

To ease the atmosphere, I made a light comment.

“…sneaking kisses one or two times during the night.”

“Eh? I never did such a thing. Are you sure you’re not dreaming?”

I chuckled at her denial.

Cien, too, smiled in return.

Then she spoke to me.

“…So, now that you’ve seen me, you should go, Belle.”

“…”

“If you stay here, you might get sick too. Don’t be too lonely while you’re alone, okay?”

But contrary to her cheerful demeanor, a faint trembling could be detected in her voice.

Ignoring her pleas for me to leave, I slowly closed the distance.

“Belle…? Don’t come…I’m contagious…cough…cough…”

I gently sat on her sickbed.

The more I did, the more her mask peeled off her expression.

Her once bright voice gradually darkened.

“I’m…I’m okay, you know…right?”

I reached out to touch her face.

I spoke while touching her soft cheek.

“There’s no need to put on a mask in my presence.”

“…….”

Her expression stiffened almost immediately after my words finished.

The corners of her eyes drooped, just on the brink of shedding tears.

Cien was always one to easily tear up.

It was evident that she had been acting since she had brightly welcomed me.

“…What should I do, Belle…?”

She placed her hand on her stomach.

“I’m… okay… but what about our baby…?”

I held Sien in my arms.

Sien has weakness reached out and embraced me.

“Sniff… if, just in case, something happens to the baby…”

I comforted her.

“…everything will be okay.”

“…sniffle…”

“Everything will be okay, Sien.”

I hid my anxious feelings as I continually offered her comfort.

****

Arwin stood with Ner, gazing upon Berg through the open doorway.

Even though Sien had contracted the plague, Berg fearlessly held her in his arms.

With that act, Sien broke into tears, relinquishing her smile.

It seemed as though Berg could see into Sien’s innermost feelings.

The intensity of their relationship was nothing but enviable.

He could not interrupt it.

He could not even voice the logical warning not to approach because she had the plague.

Their actions felt simultaneously misguided and yet, most certainly right.

Arwin thought if he were Berg’s wife and had fallen ill from the plague… he would have wanted Berg to act in the same manner.

Knowing this, all he could do was watch the interaction between Sien and Berg.

He found a radiant beauty in their display, but it also ignited a flicker of jealousy in him.

Before long, he found himself inadvertently clenching a fist.

“…if only… we were Berg’s wife.”

In that instant, Ner beside him tossed a question.

“… and say… we had caught the plague too, would Berg have done the same for us?”

Arwin looked down at Ner.

It was a conversation they hadn’t had in a very long time.

Arwin realized that Ner was sharing the same imagine with him.

Both of them longing for Berg and not being able to let the other one go.

He could sense the oppressive emotion lying underneath, ready to explode at any moment.

Ner still hated him, but there was also an odd sense of kinship stemming from the fact that they shared the same pain.

Arwin turned his head forward again.

He saw Berg speaking softly into Sien’s ear.

Arwin closed his eyes lightly, imagining himself in Sien’s place.

The image of Berg, gently caring for him, came to mind effortlessly.

Along with that thought, Arwin answered Ner.

“…Yeah.”

“…”

Arwin opened his eyes and looked at Berg.

“…he probably did.”

And then he continued to regret the time that had passed.