MTFBMP Chapter 20

“Ugh.”

 

Adelaine groaned, but didn’t struggle or pull away from me.

 

“I’ll pull the next one.”

 

I didn’t want to complain, but it would only prolong the agony. There was no turning back now that the process had begun.

 

“One, two.”

 

I counted to the same number and pulled out the remaining one. This time he didn’t even groan.

 

Both sticks were thick enough to barely fit in one hand.

 

The sticks were a different color up and down, and upon closer inspection, it looked like they were white and stained with clotted blood.

 

‘They are made of birch.’

 

Birchwood was supposed to be more receptive to divine power. The legend that it was the tree from which the goddess who bestowed the divine water descended to earth was common throughout the empire.

 

However, that was just a legend. It wasn’t as if the tree could siphon power, and it certainly wasn’t on par with Adelaine. It was also strange that a divine beast of Adelaine’s caliber would be so helplessly bound.

 

“Is it possible that these stakes were treated with something else that prevented you from uprooting them?”

 

“If so, do you think you can strike me with such a stick? You can try if you want.”

 

Now that’s the kind of behavior you want to see from someone you’re helping. 

 

Despite the words, there was no anger or disgust in Adelaine’s voice.

 

‘Are you thinking about me?’

 

I realized that someone who knew nothing about Adeline or a divine beast might have thought so.

 

But I shook my head.

 

There’s no way this was enough to completely subdue him. The fact that Adelaine had been left unattended, with no one visiting the prison in the first place, was proof of that.

 

As I counted the number of pieces of stakes in the ground, I turned to Adelaine and asked.

 

“Here, do you want me to pull the stick out too?”

 

“Hmm.”

 

When I blurted out the words without answering Adelaine’s question, he made a short throaty noise as if caught off guard. He flapped his free wing once, as if to gauge something.

 

“I’ll take this.”

 

Adelaine didn’t answer. He felt a strange sense of discomfort. When I lifted my head to look at him, I felt myself tense up.

 

“Why… are you looking at me like that?”

 

For some reason, Adelaine didn’t look happy.

 

“Don’t you realize that if you pull it out, they’ll come after you?”

 

“…”

 

After all, this was the man who’d gotten her into trouble on their first meeting.

 

“But I can’t just leave you like this.”

 

But I don’t know when I grew so much courage. It was all because Adelaine had mesmerized me with his presence and body.

 

After blaming him for all my troubles, I put my hand on the nearest stake.

 

“Here it goes.”

 

There were seven stakes in total. Now that I was back on the floor, I could see the marks where the other wing had been nailed.

 

Adelaine must have been in the form of a beast when they tied him here. It would not have been normal to subdue and pin him down. Perhaps there were casualties.

 

‘It was out of the ordinary to try to make a deal with a griffin.’

 

Maybe I was taking the world too seriously.

 

‘Just looking at the scuff marks on the hardwood floor sends shivers down my spine.’

 

The wounded wing flapped once with each pull of the stake. But this time, Adelaine endured without a single groan.

 

It wasn’t bleeding or oozing, but I could feel the pain radiating back to me.

 

I knew I couldn’t leave him like this. Even if he was Adelaine.

 

“I’m done.”

 

After making sure none of the impaled stakes remained, I walked back over to Adelaine and knelt down in front of him.

 

‘So he’s human, too.’

 

I could see the beads of sweat on his forehead. His lips, which had been red a moment ago, were now pale and dry.

 

Gently, I swept the bangs that had stuck to his damp forehead with my index finger and tidied them up. I was worried about the way his complexion looked. Adelaine’s furrowed brow amidst the shivering revealed a lot.

 

“You’re okay, right?”

 

The lack of words unnerved me.

 

“Try moving this wing.”

 

I gestured to the wing that had been pinned to the floor, and Adelaine glanced over at it. The wing, now free, flapped a few centimeters off the ground before drooping back down.

 

It looked like a fish that had been out of the water for a while and was panting.

 

I wondered if it might be unable to move at all, as the atmosphere around was thick with heat.

 

“It’s weird,” Adelaine spoke again.

 

“What? What is it?” I asked.

 

“When you stroked it, it seemed to get a little stronger, but it’s falling back again.”

 

“That’s because you’re using your strength to hold back the pain.”

 

The shock of this level of impact on a human body, less a machine, was bound to take its toll. It’s a wonder he didn’t scream.

 

“Sounds like I still need more treatment.”

 

“Well, I guess it depends on where it hurts more…”

 

“Please touch me more. Or I’ll have to touch you.” 

 

Could this be genuine, or just low-quality flirting?

 

The former was too outrageous to be true, and the latter was completely out of character for Adelaine’s personality and demeanor.

 

‘Don’t say anything that doesn’t look good on this face!’

 

I couldn’t admit the latter, so I decided to assume the former.

 

“That’s not the way to do treatment.”

 

But Adelaine wasn’t about to back down.

 

“You and my soul are bound together somewhere.”

 

“Why are you saying that now?”

 

“It means that whenever we come into contact, our souls resonate, activating the healing abilities of my body.”

 

It was a plausible explanation, somehow.

 

‘This doesn’t make any sense,’ I thought.

 

Yet it felt strangely possible. And my brain was saying…

 

‘Firstly, I’m supposed to have met Adeline as a baby in the castle.’

 

And it was true that they were intertwined. But I wasn’t about to listen to it.

 

“Let’s take a look at the wound, shall we?”

 

I asked, thinking that securing it with a tool, like a cast on a broken bone, might help it heal faster.

 

“…”

 

Adelaine looked dissatisfied.

 

“But I don’t have the tools for that…”

 

I decided to use the sticks I had on hand to patch up the fracture, then wrap it in cloth. For the cloth, I figured I could use a piece of Adelaine’s unworn top. But the bits of cloth that had been intact a moment ago were now in shreds.

 

“No, did you really need to tear it up like that?”

 

“All human clothing is feeble.”

 

It’s not a good quality garment, but it’s a sailor’s garment, so it must be made of sturdy fabric. To tear it up like a piece of paper.

 

‘Does this mean he really doesn’t like to wear clothes? Do I really need to revise my perception of Adelaine?’

 

Well, it was a bit of an identity crisis.

 

“If it were any other fabric than this…”

 

I glanced down at the bandages wrapped around my arm. Even if I unwrapped it, it wouldn’t be long enough.

 

‘I should have brought a spare bandage.’

 

Unfortunately, I left them in a drawer with the parchment I’d been given.

 

The vest and cloak I wore were of unusable fabric, and the rest of my outer garments were beyond repair.

 

Nor could I use my embarrassing underwear.

 

‘Ah.’

 

The underwear I was wearing wasn’t just any underwear.

 

‘Well, I’m a little embarrassed to use them.’

 

But even a broken arm doesn’t hold together well if you don’t put it back together in time, or else the wound might get worse.

 

“Here, turn around for a second, just hold on. No, don’t move at all, exactly as you are.”

 

Moving behind Adelaine, I slipped my hands inside my clothes. I felt a layer of clothing wrapped tightly around my body.

 

‘At least this will keep it secure.’

 

Once I had that thought, I couldn’t think of any other alternative.

 

“You must never look back.”

 

I quickly stripped off what I was wearing, then pulled it off and adjusted my clothes.

 

“Whew.”

 

The material was breathtakingly compressive, and I felt like I could breathe every time I took it off.