The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

Suddenly, Derol ran up to me. “There’s a cabin over there.”

The mana tracker was still emitting a strong red light.

Ardion tied the horse to a nearby tree and immediately turned to me. “Laila, I’ll meet Serina.”

“I came all this way, and Your Highness wants me to wait here?”

“I feel uncomfortable because I almost lost you earlier.”

“But this time, Your Highness is with me, and I’m even wearing this hat.”

Ardion only made a serious expression and didn’t answer.

At that moment, Derol jumped up. “I’ll stay by your side, Master.”

Derol had a dark look, and I returned it with a smile. It was fortunate that he was always on my side.

When I looked at Derol, Ardion strangely blocked him with his foot. When I looked at him, he said, “Then let’s go together. Derol, you guard the horse.”

“That’s ridiculous. I will go with Master…”

I patted Derol’s head.

Derol looked at me and mumbled, “Master, can I go with you? I’m worried about you.”

“Then you’ll keep your promise, okay?”

Derol seemed to hesitate for a moment but soon nodded.

“Your Highness, let’s take Derol with us. He’s also quite helpful when he’s with me.”

Ardion’s eyebrows hardened slightly as he looked at me. “Do as you wish.”

His voice seemed to spread a coldness. I put Derol firmly in my pocket and approached Ardion.

Ardion didn’t take his eyes off me. He was glaring at Derol as if he was going to kill him. Derol must have been scared by those eyes when he wasn’t in my pocket.

“That little rat and I…” Ardion stopped talking and turned around.

I approached him and examined his face. Ardion’s face was strangely red, especially the tips of his ears. He seemed more angry than embarrassed.

Suddenly, I thought of the monster. “Your Highness, your expression doesn’t look good.”

I even thought that maybe something was wrong with him since he touched the monster’s blood earlier.

“No, I’m fine.” Ardion held my hand tightly with a hardened face. “Laila, don’t ever let go. Serina almost killed you.”

“… Yes.”

Ardion’s expression softened slightly, as if he liked my answer.

My mind was at peace, and I gave him a faint smile. Anyway, I was grateful that Ardion saved my life in the hunting competition.

However, Ardion’s face gradually hardened. He looked into my eyes as if he had lost his mind.

“Your Highness?”

Only then did Ardion blink. He held my hand tighter than before. “Sometimes, it feels like time has stopped.”

“…”

“Especially when I see you.”

Ardion looked at me again with a smile so sweet that I couldn’t help but smile. The emotions he was showing were so open that it was overwhelming. On top of that, he didn’t seem to have any intention of changing his mind.

I tried to control my expression and walked to the cabin. However, his warm hand kept poking at my heart. Moreover, the thought of meeting Serina made my mind even more complicated.

Ardion skillfully looked inside the window. “We can go in.”

Then he immediately kicked open the door. Before I could be surprised, Ardion went inside.

“Who are you?”

It was Serina’s voice. She seemed so surprised that she didn’t even think about putting on her cloak. As soon as I saw Serina’s face, I felt bad. How did she end up like this?

Ardion drew his sword as soon as he saw Serina. Surprised, I immediately blocked Ardion.

“Laila, get out of the way.”

“You shouldn’t draw your sword randomly.”

“She could have killed you. No, she tried to kill you.”

At that moment, Derol jumped out of his pocket. “Master, Serina is running away!”

I quickly turned around, but she was nowhere to be seen, probably because she had gone out the back door. Ardion immediately went out the open door. I hurriedly followed him.

Ardion was already on his horse. As soon as he saw me, he said. “Laila, I’ll chase after Serina. You wait here.”

“But, Your Highness, I want to…”

“No, Serina is dangerous. If you go after her, you could get hurt again. I’ll do it.”

Ardion turned his horse around and went after Serina. I tried to stop him, but it was no use. At first glance, his eyes were full of light, so it seemed he couldn’t see anything else.

I could only check the mana tracker with Derol. The red light was flashing slightly due to the proximity.

As Derol had said, I couldn’t just wait here.

Judging from Ardion’s current state, it seemed like he would draw his sword without even asking Serina what had happened.

I checked my hands. Thanks to Ardion, my hands weren’t shaking, and the mana I felt inside my body was sufficient. And I had the hat that he had given me. It was a hat that prevented mana from leaving.

This should be enough to protect me and Derol.

I walked in the direction the mana tracker was pointing. My hand holding the mana tracker was shaking, almost making me drop it.

Derol followed me quickly, looking around. The forest was dark, but I only had one thought in my mind. I hope I can at least talk to Serina.

I was really curious. Why in the world was Serina under Rowell? In the original story, she wasn’t the type to do something like that. She was weak and always needed protection…

I walked absentmindedly, checking the mana tracker, looking around, checking the mana tracker again, and walking, over and over again.

Then I suddenly stopped. “Derol, it’s around here.”

The mana tracker began to flash more intensely than ever. When I looked around, it was darker than before.@@novelbin@@

The sun was setting, and the shadows of the trees were thicker. When I stood still, I thought I could hear the sound of water flowing.

I followed the sound.

“Master, I feel uneasy.”

“It’s okay. I have this hat, and I can use water magic.”

Even when I pointed to the hat Ardion gave me, Derol’s eyes were still focused on me. “But will that hat protect your mana properly?”

“It was in the palace’s armory, so it must be valuable. Ardion said it was a treasure.”

“But…”

“Shh, Derol. She’s around here.”

The mana tracker started to vibrate again. It was proof that Serina was around here. I quickly scanned my surroundings. Before I knew it, I saw a valley, a large tree below it, and next to it… was Serina.

She was sitting on the water’s edge, washing her feet. Without her cloak, she was clearly Serina. Above all, her beautiful hair color stood out.

I walked down the valley with careful steps.

“Master, be careful.”

I nodded and carefully stepped on the stones. There was a slight slope, but it wasn’t so steep that I couldn’t go down. Fortunately, I was far from where Serina was, so she wouldn’t hear any noises I made.

I carefully looked down at Serina to make sure she wasn’t gone. I felt like I needed two pairs of eyes.

I slowly walked down with a trembling heart. Then I raised my head again to check where Serina was, who somehow vanished. Where did she go…

Suddenly, the moment I took a step, I lost my balance and slipped on a rock. “Ah!”

I heard the sound of the gravel around me collapsing. I fell on my hands, and my palms were scratched.

“Master, are you okay?” Derol hurriedly ran to me.

I quickly got up and looked around, but Serina was still nowhere to be seen. “Derol, Serina is gone. She was definitely there earlier…”

“Are you looking for me?”

I turned my head in surprise, and Serina was standing there.

“Serina.”

“If you came looking for the necklace, I’ll tell you in advance that I don’t have it.”

“Impossible…”

“I already gave it to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

When I was too flustered to say anything, Serina laughed. “Ardion is basically on the verge of dying. No matter how much both of you struggle, it’s no use.”

I was dumbfounded. I asked. “… Why are you doing this?”

“I’ve been through a lot.”

“What do you mean by ‘I’ve been through a lot?’”

“I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I’ve already died once.”

My mind went blank as soon as I heard that. Serina died once? Then, had this world I entered started over again?

While I was thinking about it, Serina smiled brightly. “I didn’t think you’d believe me right away. Actually, I was surprised at first too. No, when I first woke up, I thought God was playing a joke on me.”

At that moment, Derol pulled the hem of my skirt.

Serina lowered her head and smiled at Derol. “I saw you then. You were cute because you were a little rat with mana.”

When Serina reached out, Derol squeaked and seemed to want to bite her finger, but I quickly grabbed him. There was nothing good in getting on Serina’s nerves now.

Serina smiled and looked at me. “Actually, I’ve had a dream since a long time ago. I wanted to become a master of swordsmanship, not a priest. Of course, that’s in the past now. But back then, my parents put me in the temple, and Ardion saw me there and followed me.”

Everything Serina was saying was from the original story. I listened absentmindededly as she continued her story.

“At first, I didn’t hate Ardion. But when I gave up being a priest and tried to learn swordsmanship, he started to oppress me more than ever. I started avoiding Ardion from then, but he pressured me even more.”

“The Ardion you’re talking about is different then and now.”