Chapter 219: Trial Of Lord [4]

Elias lunged forward and tightly embraced Natasha, wrapping his arms around her as though he feared she might disappear if he loosened his hold. Tears welled in his eyes, and he buried his face against her shoulder, overwhelmed by the relief of feeling her warmth again.

"You are alive!" he cried, his voice trembling.

Natasha furrowed her brows in confusion before awkwardly patting his back. "Of course, I am."

"Now let go. I have to prepare dinner," she said, wiggling free from his embrace.

Elias released her reluctantly and stared at her, completely bewildered by how casually she was behaving after everything that had happened.

"Why are you just standing there?" Natasha asked, stepping farther inside the cottage before placing the bags near the table. "Go light the fire. I have to prepare dinner for us."

Elias nodded mindlessly and walked toward the fireplace, where he began arranging the firewood and preparing to kindle a flame. However, even as he worked, his thoughts remained tangled in confusion as he tried to understand what was happening.

’Did I return to the past? Was everything that happened with the Rotted a glimpse of the future?’

He couldn’t find an answer, and when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw Natasha calmly taking the ingredients from her bags and preparing their meal. The familiar sight only deepened his bewilderment, but he eventually forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand.

Once the fire was burning steadily, he joined Natasha at the table, and they began eating together as they had during their first evening in the cottage.

"Did you know Gram found a gold necklace near the river?" Natasha asked while cutting a piece of meat. "He says he will use it to go to the city and find work there."

"Ah-huh..." Elias murmured, barely paying attention as he stared at her face.

"Old Danny dropped her grandson off at Shimla’s house without telling anyone, then forgot to take him back. Poor boy thought he was abandoned," she continued, shaking her head with a mixture of amusement and sympathy.

Elias nodded absentmindedly, and as Natasha went on talking about the village’s daily happenings, a strange sense of déjà vu settled over him. He remembered hearing these stories before, and although he couldn’t recall every detail, each conversation seemed to follow a path he had already walked.

He didn’t interrupt her, however, and instead listened while trying to reconcile the memories of his previous life with the peaceful evening unfolding before him.

When they finally went to bed, Elias pulled Natasha into his arms and held her more tightly than usual. The fear of losing her again, combined with the grief that still lingered in his heart, awakened a fierce, almost bestial possessiveness within him, and he clung to her as though his embrace alone could keep the world from taking her away.

Natasha was surprised by his unusual intensity, but she eventually returned his affection, allowing the night to unfold between them.

By morning, the passionate encounter had left her sore, and she gave him a tired, reproachful look when she realized how little restraint he had shown.

Elias apologized and held her close.

Over the following days, he gradually accepted the only explanation that made sense to him: somehow, he had returned to the past after being killed by the Rotted. He had no idea how it had happened or why he had been given another chance, but he knew one thing with certainty. He would not allow the same tragedy to happen again.

If the Rotted eventually reached the village, then he needed to be strong enough to protect Natasha, and he could no longer afford to rely on the hope that someone else would save them.

With that decision in mind, Elias approached the village blacksmith and asked him to forge a sword. The smith eventually handed him a crude blade with an uneven edge and an awkward balance, a weapon that barely qualified as a practice sword, but Elias accepted it without complaint.

From that day onward, he devoted himself to training, swinging the crude weapon whenever his daily responsibilities allowed and carefully studying the movements that came most naturally to him. He knew he couldn’t become strong overnight, but he was determined to improve as much as possible before the Rotted arrived.

At the same time, he kept an eye on the riverbank, waiting for the injured knight who had appeared there in his previous life. If he could find Stella before her unit was destroyed, perhaps he could change the course of events and prepare the village for the coming danger.

However, his renewed determination soon began to frustrate Natasha.

One day, after watching him spend yet another morning swinging the same battered piece of metal, she finally marched up to him with her hands on her hips.

"Will you stop wasting your days swinging that stupid piece of metal?" she demanded, glaring at him. "I need your help selling our fruits and goods, and you have been neglecting everything else because of this ridiculous training."

Elias opened his mouth to argue, but Natasha’s expression made it clear that she wasn’t going to entertain another excuse. After a brief pause, he lowered his sword and reluctantly agreed to accompany her.

They gathered their goods and headed toward the neighboring village, where the market was already bustling with merchants and customers. However, when they arrived, they discovered that a large crowd had gathered around someone, with curious villagers standing shoulder to shoulder as they tried to catch a glimpse of whatever spectacle was taking place.

Elias and Natasha exchanged a glance before squeezing their way through the crowd, and when they finally reached the center, they found a fair-skinned woman with short, light-blue hair and matching eyes. She was rather short and had a somewhat tomboyish appearance, while the fancy dark-blue hood draped over her head gave her an air of mystery.

The woman stood before the crowd with a confident expression, and after placing her palms together, she slowly pulled them apart. A ring of light expanded between her hands, its luminous circle widening until it hovered clearly before the watching villagers.

Several people gasped, while others leaned forward to get a better look.

The woman then pointed toward the ground, and a low rumble sounded beneath their feet as a wall of earth rose before the crowd. The soil gathered and hardened into a solid barrier.

Before the onlookers could finish marveling at the display, a ball of fire appeared in each of her hands. She lifted her arms and hurled both flames into the air, where they collided and burst into countless tiny sparks that scattered across the sky before fading away.

The crowd erupted into excited chatter, and several villagers immediately stepped forward to offer her coins in appreciation.

Elias watched the spectacle in silence.

Natasha tugged at his sleeve, reminding him that they still had goods to sell. Once the crowd began to disperse, the two of them found customers and sold everything they had brought to the market.

They were preparing to leave when the blue-haired mage approached them, her light-blue eyes fixed on Elias with an intensity that made him pause.

"What are you?" she muttered.

Elias blinked, caught off guard by the blunt question, but before he could answer, Natasha stepped between them and frowned at the mage.

"Is that any way to talk to someone?" she asked, her voice carrying a clear note of displeasure.

The mage fell silent for a moment, seemingly taken aback by Natasha’s reaction, before she lowered her head slightly.

"I apologize," she replied.

Natasha and Elias exchanged a surprised glance. Mages were widely considered an unruly bunch, often arrogant and unwilling to concern themselves with the opinions of ordinary people, yet this woman had apologized without putting up a fight. Whether she was genuinely polite or merely pretending to be remained unclear, but neither of them had expected such a response.

The mage then pushed back her hood, revealing more of her short, light-blue hair, and offered them a small smile.

"My name is Monica," she introduced herself.

Elias blinked several times as a familiar feeling stirred within him, much like the strange recognition he had experienced when he first encountered Stella. He couldn’t explain why this woman seemed familiar, but the sensation was strong enough to leave him momentarily distracted.

Before Natasha could introduce them both, Elias’s lips parted, and the words escaped him almost instinctively.

"You are beautiful," he mumbled.

Monica froze, clearly unprepared for the unexpected compliment, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

"T-Thanks..." she stammered, briefly lowering her gaze.

Natasha’s expression darkened as she turned toward her husband, and before Elias could say anything else, she brought her foot down firmly on his.

"I will talk to you back home," she hissed through clenched teeth.

Elias winced but wisely remained silent, while Natasha turned back to Monica with a polite smile that did little to conceal her irritation.

"I am Natasha, and this stupid man is my husband, Elias," she introduced them, briefly gesturing toward him before narrowing her eyes at the mage. "Now, can you tell me what prompted you to ask something that disrespectful?"

"I-I did not mean to be disrespectful. The words just came out," Monica muttered, visibly flustered by Natasha’s question.

Natasha crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "I get that, but why did you ask him that?"

Monica scratched her cheek as she struggled to find an explanation. "I do not know how to explain it to you, but Elias has a strange presence... almost as though he does not belong in this place."

Natasha furrowed her brows and glanced at Elias before slipping her arm through his and holding it tightly against her side.

"I believe he belongs beside me far more than that strange presence thinks," she replied firmly.

She then turned toward Elias and tugged at his arm. "Let’s go."

Elias nodded, and the two began walking toward their village, leaving Monica behind in the bustling market.

The mage watched them depart for a while before pulling her hood back over her head and turning in the opposite direction.

"Weird," she muttered to herself.

Elias glanced over his shoulder at her retreating figure, but Natasha immediately noticed and hissed, "If you look at her one more time, I will fill your dinner with herbs that cause diarrhea."

Elias gulped in fear before quickly turning his gaze back toward his wife.

"Are you jealous because I called her beautiful?" he asked cautiously, hoping to appease her. "Just so you know, you are the most beautiful out of the three."

Natasha furrowed her brows and stared at him. "Three? What do you mean ’three’?"

Elias furrowed his brows as well, suddenly realizing what he had said. "Yeah... what did I mean?"

"You bastard!" Natasha gritted her teeth before clawing at his arm in frustration.

Elias winced and tried to escape her grasp, but Natasha refused to let him go until she had finished expressing her displeasure.

Later that night, Elias was the one who ended up sore.

Some time later, Elias was training with his sword beside the river when he suddenly heard a noise coming from nearby.

He immediately stopped swinging his blade and rushed toward the source, his heart pounding with anticipation as he wondered whether the person he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

His eyes shone with excitement when he discovered Stella lying unconscious near the riverbank, her crimson hair damp and her damaged armor.

Without wasting another moment, he hurriedly lifted her into his arms and rushed back to his cottage, where Natasha once again tended to the injured knight.

However, unlike the previous time, Elias refused to leave Stella’s recovery entirely in Natasha’s hands. Remembering how long she had remained unconscious before, he gathered every useful herb he could find and began preparing medicinal soups, carefully following Natasha’s instructions and making sure Stella received the nourishment her body needed.

His efforts paid off, and Stella regained consciousness the very next morning.

Just as before, she explained how her unit had been ambushed by the Rotted, the grotesque creatures that had slaughtered her companions and forced her to flee toward the river. She also warned them that the creatures were heading toward the surrounding settlements, making it clear that their village would eventually face the same danger.

Elias listened attentively, his expression growing solemn as her account confirmed that the events he remembered were unfolding almost exactly as they had before. Nevertheless, he agreed to help Stella stop the Rotted, knowing that simply fleeing would not guarantee their safety.

Before they could begin discussing preparations, however, Elias asked Stella for a duel.

He wanted to test how much he had improved since the last time they had met, and Stella’s formidable swordsmanship made her the perfect opponent to judge his progress.

Although his weapon was still the crude blade he had obtained from the village blacksmith, he was eager to discover whether his days of relentless training had brought him any closer to the strength he needed.

Stella eventually accepted his challenge, and the two prepared to face each other outside the cottage.