I Became a Barbarian's Bride - Chapter 180
“I was really terrified.”
“That is why I told you not to look…”
“Learning that you might not open your eyes made me even resent Adin for a moment.”
“No, that god did not do anything… really.”
Strictly speaking, it was something she had chosen, so there was no one to blame.
Kagan heard her words but only turned his head in silence, giving no reply.
“I…”
“Kagan?”
“I have seen many people die. I thought I would be fine but…”
He was not…
The faint, dragging voice brushed against her ear. Nisha widened her eyes slightly, then gently patted his back.
Kagan was a kind man. So very kind that Nisha, too, liked that gentleness of his.
“It is the first time I have ever been beside someone when they opened their eyes again… so I was a little startled.”
“You did not like it?”
“No, never. Not at all. I just wanted to say… I liked it. Yes.”
Nisha rubbed her cheek against the back of his neck as she answered. Kagan wrapped his arms tightly around her without a word.
If he really had been tense, it showed, because even in this overly warm room his body still felt stiff.
Each time she lightly stroked his back, she could feel his muscles slowly loosening, and Nisha rolled her eyes gently.
“Really, I am glad you came back. I waited the whole time.”
“…Yes. Thank you for waiting for me.”
She had thought of many things to say, yet in the end, that was all she could manage.
She wanted to say: Thank you for believing I would come back, even when I was dead. Knowing how ridiculous that sounded, Nisha forced a small smile.
‘This is truly absurd.’
She could not say thank you for waiting for me while I was alive, but she could say thank you for believing I would return from death.
“Do not die, Princess. If you die, I will really be in trouble. I will be angry too.”
At the whisper brushing her ear, Nisha slowly nodded. There was nothing else she could say.
“Yes. A medicine like this will never kill me.”
Feeling pity for Kagan clinging to her, Nisha wrapped her arms around him.
The man who begged a woman not to die when she was living for death was pitiful.
And she, who had to reassure him even though he would never get what he wanted, was pitiful too.
Saying that the medicine would not kill her was the greatest lie she could offer him.
Kagan held her tightly for a long time without speaking.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“…I am.”
Seeing his expression, as if something terrible would happen if she said she was not, Nisha quickly answered.
Kagan nodded lightly and rose from the bed.
Watching his expression carefully, Nisha scratched her cheek and let out an awkward smile.
Her body was finally beginning to move freely again.
“Did it fill back up the way you wanted?”
“Uh… yes.”
“I do not think I can watch it twice, Princess.”
“Yes… you do not have to watch next time…”
At her soft addition, Kagan gently tightened his hold on her wrist, careful not to hurt her.
“When we return, could you start doing various tasks as my Tun?”
“…If I am needed.”
“You are needed. I need you. Xieman needs you too. So…”
Kagan slowly pulled back from her and smiled.
“I hope that someday you will realize that you have worth even without that ability.”
“…!”
“You are needed by me. And not just by me, but by many others.”
At his words, Nisha’s eyes trembled faintly. When she looked at him with a startled expression, Kagan smiled.
“I mean it. I hope you will understand that. It may be difficult right now… but I want you to feel even a little of it.”
“…”
“To me, your ability is not what matters. Nor is it to Xieman.”
The only one who might require it was Adin, though he did not say that part aloud.
“…So could you promise me that you will at least try?”
“Try what…?”
“A promise that you will not use your power unless it is absolutely necessary.”
At Kagan’s words, Nisha fell silent for a moment.
She looked at him with an expression that said she could not understand at all, but after a long while, she slowly nodded in answer.
Only then did a faint smile spread across Kagan’s lips.
