I brought the item I had checked and returned to Dane.
“…….”
Dane merely looked as if he were asleep. However, the muscles throughout his entire body were tensed up to an excessive degree.
‘This is definitely not hypothermia.’
Inside the collapsed Gallery 13, Dane must have inhaled a massive amount of magic stone dust.
This magic stone dust activates mana. For Rose or an ordinary person, it would create an environment more conducive to utilizing mana than usual.
But for Dane, it was different.
Rustle-
Rose checked the piece of cloth the physician had removed earlier.
‘Was he trying not to inhale the magic stone dust?’
Dane must have instinctively realized it.
That the magic stone dust drifting through Gallery 13 was harmful to his body.
‘After a sharp drop, the mana quantity temporarily reaches negative. From the moment this critical point is crossed, the mana flows in reverse.’
‘…And the way to cross that critical point?’
‘Injecting an explosive amount of mana above a certain threshold.’
Rose's hypothesis was correct.
Because he inhaled the mana dust, a situation arose where the excessively activated mana actually flowed in reverse.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
The heart, which was the mana core, pumped even harder to push back the mana flowing in reverse throughout his entire body.
That was why his body was cold, yet only his heart beat hotly. The mana in his heart was being consumed futilely.
If this situation continued, his overheated heart would burst.
‘I have to stop it.’
Dane's heart.
With Rose's knowledge, she had to temporarily turn off the power of the magical device named Dane.
‘In order to do that…….’
Pat.
Rose carefully, but quickly, climbed onto Dane's stomach.
It was her first time looking down at him, and it gave her a strange feeling. Her heart pounded so hard she felt like she would die.
Rustle.
Rose reached out and began untying the strings of Dane's shirt.
“Ugh……”
Her hands trembled, causing her to fumble a few times.
It was her first time undressing someone else, let alone a man. The fact that it was Dane of all people made her tremble even more.
The urgency of the situation also largely contributed to her anxiety.
“Ah.”
Because the shirt's strings were only at the top, it was difficult to open it fully.
Rose had no choice but to bring a knife.
“I'm sorry, Your Excellency.”
After murmuring an apology that Dane wouldn't hear,
Shrrk!
She boldly tore the lower part of the shirt.
Fwish!
And forcefully spread the shirt open to either side.
A firm, broad chest extending below his straight collarbone was revealed. The sharply defined abs below it caught her eye as well.
“-!”
Rose's eyes vibrated for a moment, but only briefly.
Dane's ribcage was rapidly expanding and sinking. It was the desperate movement of a heart thrashing to save its owner.
Clatter.
Trembling, Rose placed the magical device taken from the box precisely over Dane's heart.
It was originally used to turn a magical device on or off, or to temporarily supply power.
But when used on a person, it could deliver a shock strong enough to stop the heart.
‘Everyone would think this is crazy.’
An apothecary would never allow it if they saw it. That was why she had to be alone with Dane.
Stop Dane's heart? Was that even a conceivable idea?
But this was the only way.
‘Please.’
Rose temporarily climbed down from Dane's body and gritted her teeth.
Click.
The moment she pressed the button,
Bzt!
Sparks flew, and Dane's body jerked upward.
Thud.
Just as Dane's body was about to tilt to the side, Rose caught him with her entire body.
‘…It worked!’
She felt it as soon as she touched him.
Just moments ago, his whole body had been stiff with tension, but now he was slumped like a puppet with its strings cut.
“1, 2, 3…….”
Rose counted the time anxiously.
She had to proceed with the next treatment at the exact right time. If she delayed, Dane's heart might stop forever.
When the designated time arrived,
Pat.
Rose climbed onto Dane's body again.
She placed one palm over Dane's now-quiet heart and held it firmly. Then, she laced her other hand over it.
“One, two, three-”
She began pressing down with force.
A dull sensation, as if the ribs were creaking, was transmitted beneath her palm.
Steadily, but quickly.
So that his stopped heart could beat at its original rhythm once again.
“One, two, three-”
Anxiety tightened her breathing. She felt a sense of urgency as if someone was chasing her from behind.
But she tried to stay calm and did what she had to do next.
“…….”
Her hesitation was fleeting, her actions swift.
Pinch.
Rose immediately pinched Dane's nose shut with her thumb and index finger. Then, she covered his cold lips with her own.
Fwoo-
She blew the breath she had deeply inhaled into his airway with all her might. Dane's still chest was seen swelling upward.
But when Rose pulled her mouth away, it sank again, and a faint exhalation escaped.
‘Not yet.’
Rose placed her hands on Dane's chest again and attempted cardiac compressions.
On and on. She repeated it so many times she lost count.
“One, two, three…….”
Her arms felt like they were screaming. But she couldn't stop.
The room, with no firewood burning, was freezing. Yet, sweat flowed from Rose's forehead down her cheek and gathered at her chin.
She didn't even have the time to wipe it away.
She just kept repeating the process—pressing Dane's heart and breathing into him.
As if only she and he remained in this world. With a desperate and agonizing heart.
‘Please, please.’
They were almost there.
How hard he had survived. How far they had come…!
If they just held on a little longer, he could grasp complete victory.
To end like this was nonsense.
‘Absolutely not.’
She thought of the times she had spent with Dane.
From the moment she first stepped down from the carriage and met him, the nights spent in bed together, or the times she stayed by his side.
Dangerous yet thrilling, sweet yet bitter, each and every one of those moments.
“Ugh…!”
She had never once thought she would send Dane off like this in an instant.
Just the thought that he might never open his eyes again, that she might never feel his warm embrace and soft voice again,
was so agonizing it felt like her heart was tearing apart. It felt as if someone had sliced her heart with a knife and trampled on it.
“Absolutely, absolutely not.”
I won't let you go.
Tears streamed from both of Rose's eyes as she made the vow.
She had worked so hard up until now.
Suppressing the feelings she wanted to convey, she had simply run desperately to save him.
She couldn't just let him go so suddenly like this.
Absolutely not.
‘I haven't even told him I like him yet…!’
Rose desperately pressed on his heart,
Fwhlp.
and breathed into his mouth.
Even so, there was still no sensation beyond her palm. The breath she blew in only scattered vainly.
“Please…!”
Wake up. You're not someone who would just go weakly like this.
Just as Rose squeezed her eyes shut and prayed and prayed,
Thump!
She thought she felt a massive beat come from beyond her palm, and then,
Grab.
something wrapped around the back of her head.
“Mmph?!”
A tongue roughly pushed in between their touching lips. Because the back of her head was held, she couldn't even turn her face to the side.
“--!”
When Rose opened her eyes in sheer shock,
“Haa……”
Dane's slightly tilted jaw, his disheveled hair, and even his fluttering eyelashes could be seen in detail.
A red tint had already returned to his once-pale complexion.
“Ugh, mmph.”
Dane gripped her with such force that she couldn't pull her face away. The moment Rose struggled to move her hand and placed it on Dane's chest,
“-!”
Suddenly, her body was lifted up as if being pulled. Then, in an instant, the world flipped upside down.
“Ugh!”
Before she knew it, Dane had pinned Rose down and was straddling her.
“Mmph.”
Another intense kiss followed.
No, rather than a kiss, it was closer to a thirsty traveler finding an oasis and quenching their thirst.
Dane acted as if Rose's lips were sweet water. He incessantly sucked, inhaled, and swallowed.
“Haa, haa.”
A hot, smooth tongue rampaged through her mouth. The persistent and intimate contact made her feel like she was losing her mind.
She was dizzy from having every bit of her breath stolen. Forgetting that she needed to breathe through her nose, she merely panted.
“Haa.”
She felt the corners of her eyes flush red. Her thighs were tightly clenched together before she knew it.
“Huu.”
Dane let out a low groan as if he wasn't satisfied even after inhaling Rose's breath. Like a beast purring.
It felt like she was being devoured by him.
“Heup!”
Rose took advantage of the brief opening that appeared and twisted her face to the side.
A string of saliva stretched long between her lips and his. She didn't even have the time to feel embarrassed by it.
“…Your Excellency!”
She frantically pounded on Dane's chest. He didn't budge, like a solid rock, but
Thump.
she pounded again and cried out desperately.
“Your Excellency!”
**
It was a completely unfamiliar sensation.
The mana, which had always flowed along my veins and been a reliable ally, suddenly grabbed a spear in reverse and charged at me.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
The heart beat violently, churning up mana like an angry wave. It was a struggle to block the mana charging at its master.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The furiously beating heart felt so far away.
The sensation in my extremities grew dull, and even breathing became difficult. Only the thumping sound of the heart filled this world.
It was too great a pain for a mere human to endure. If this kept up, my body would burn away like a bomb exploding from the inside out.
That was when it happened.
Bzt!
It felt like lightning had struck, and then,
Saaa-
It went dark. The world grew quiet.
‘…Am I dead?’
I couldn't see anything, nor could I feel anything.
I was submerged in the vast ocean of my unconscious, in a daze. A drift without purpose or direction continued.
Then, at some point.
Thump.
I felt a desperate force piercing into my heart, and
Fwhlp.
a sorrowful breath digging into my lips touched me.
“Please…!”
Even the single word brushing past my ear.
“-!”
At that moment, as if breaking through the surface and rising up, I was able to surface from the sea of consciousness.
And at the same time, I saw it.
‘Rose.’
Red hair cascading like a waterfall, a face drenched in tears and sweat, and those eyes brimming with tears looking at me.
And…….
“Mmph.”
I swallowed Rose's lips, which were flushed red as if she had been nibbling on them.
“Haa……”
A low groan flowed out involuntarily.
How I had yearned for this soft and luscious fruit.
The fruit I obtained after a long wait was overly sweet. So much so that I wanted to taste it all day if I could.
“Mmph……”
I licked her lower lip, enjoying the soft texture. I gently nibbled her upper lip, savoring Rose's flinching reaction.
Then, I slowly pushed the tip of my tongue into her mouth.
“Mmph!”
Reflexively, Rose's hand placed itself on my chest.
Instantly, a surge of heat swelled up inside my body. Unable to endure it any longer, I jerked my body up.
“Ugh!”
I quickly laid Rose's body on the bed and supported the back of her head with my hand.
I was so engrossed in this act that I could ignore the throbbing of my broken arm.
“Mmph.”
I pressed Rose's body and mine closely together.
I could feel the beating heart from our touching chests and Rose's flesh being pressed tightly against mine.
It was an intoxicatingly ecstatic sensation.