Chapter 6

The six months without Lix had been so boring. Isabelle vividly remembered the day he returned—she had been immersed in reading when Sister Maria knocked on her door to inform her that she had a guest. For some reason, the saint’s expression was dark and stiff as if a reaper from the Underworld had announced the girl’s time on earth was up. However, her guest was none other than her childhood friend, Lix.

“Long time no see, Isabelle.”

“Oh my...”

After being apart for half a year, Isabelle was taken aback to see how much his appearance had changed. They used to be of similar heights, but now he was about a head taller than her, and the loss of his baby fat had given his face a more chiseled look. He must have been eating and exercising well at the vocational education center because he seemed more muscular than most of the young men in the village now. The other boys in the neighborhood would not dare pick a fight with him anymore.

What surprised Isabelle the most was Lix’s tired expression. It reminded her of the time an old lady visited the temple and told the saints that her husband had collapsed while working. The saints, after visiting her house and looking at her husband, had warned the woman that the old man was dying from overwork. Lix’s face looked as weary as that of the grandpa.

“Lix, is work taking a toll on you?”

Despite looking as burly and strong as a lumberjack, the boy buried his head in Isabelle’s shoulder just like he did when they were children. Isabelle’s mood lifted, and she patted his back.

“It looks like your body is the only thing that has changed drastically.”

“I want to sleep. I’m exhausted.”

When he spoke, his hot breath blew across her earlobe and an inexplicable tingle ran down her spine. His voice carried warmth, being a pitch lower than the last time she’d heard it. However, it was a good kind of warmth, not unpleasant like the humid summer wind.

“Your voice has changed. So have your facial features and body. You were just a boy before, but you look like a man now.”

“Do I?”

Her stomach fluttered at the sound of satisfaction in his voice. Isabelle pushed Lix away, and she noticed his body was firmer and heavier than what she remembered. He no longer looked tired as he spoke, and his expression had brightened, as if one of his wishes had been fulfilled.

“You’ve changed quite a lot, too, you know.”

“Have I? How?” Isabelle asked as she stared at him.

He studied her eyelashes, cheek, neckline, chest, waist, and pelvis with his crimson eyes, before suddenly looking away. He closed his eyes and shook his head as if he were trying to get rid of an evil spirit. She had never seen him do that before.

“Lix, do I look weird? Why do you look so disgusted?”

“It’s not like that,” he said. His actions said something else as he moved away from her.

Isabelle stopped him from turning his back to her. “Or do I smell bad? Why are you avoiding me all of a sudden?”

She pulled her shirt to the tip of her nose and sniffed it. A small patch of her skin was exposed, but that wasn’t important. She wanted to know why Lix had backed away from her.

“I smell fine.” When he didn’t reply, she called him again. “Lix?”

“Pull your shirt down. Hurry.”

Perhaps it was because it had been six months since they’d last seen each other, but all of his reactions seemed unfamiliar. Isabelle became sullen as she wordlessly adjusted her clothes. Soon, she learned that the “changes” he mentioned were the beginning of puberty for her.

Isabelle was dusting the temple like she did every day. She wasn’t feeling well, so she wanted to get the cleaning done as quickly as possible so she could rest. After a while, she found the saints hard at work disinfecting a pile of luggage.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I heard Blidaine was spreading like wildfire through the town. There’s a rumor that someone spread it on purpose...”

Blidaine was a disease transmitted through physical contact or an alchemy elixir that affected the eyes. Its main symptom was causing blindness for several days, and it was often accompanied by mild fever. The mortality rate was low when treated with herbal decoctions, so while it was not considered life-threatening, it was quite unpleasant nonetheless.

“I don’t know the details, but the guards asked me to disinfect the belongings of the patients. We’re almost done, but it looks like we’ll have to keep doing this for a while.”

“You must be so busy. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know,” Isabelle said.

“Then can you take these books inside? I have to separate the things that have already been sanitized.”

Isabelle nodded valiantly and accepted the books that the saint handed her. The title of the book on top of the stack caught her eye.

The Lady’s Nights Are No Longer Lonely

Isabelle, who spent her days reading the scriptures or Pilsburg history books in the temple, grew envious. Every night, she longed for the parents she’d never met. So how did this lady spend her nights without feeling lonely?

I’ll read it later when I’m bored.

There was still some time until they had to return the book to the village, so she thought it would be fine to read it as long as she took good care of it.

Lix visited a few days later, looking tired once again. In the afternoon, Isabelle had to wash the curtains and her clothes. Her back ached and she was feeling dizzy for some reason, but she diligently picked up the laundry.

“Lix, can you help me with the laundry? There is so much to do to prevent Blidaine from spreading.”

“Laundry?”

“You sound like you’ve never done it before. Come here.”

Isabelle put the curtains in a large wooden bin by the stream and filled it with water. When she stepped into it and rolled up her dress, Lix’s expression grew rigid.

“I’ll wash the curtains. Get out and pull your dress down... Hey, are you okay? You don’t look well,” he said.

“I think I have a cold, but the saints are so busy, I haven’t said anything to them.”

“Come and sit here. I’ll take care of the laundry.”

At that moment, she was proud of her baby deer and gladly accepted his offer. She gave Lix a short lesson on how to do the laundry, and he did it without any trouble. Isabelle did nothing but sit on a round stone, hunched over as she observed his every action. Nevertheless, her physical condition worsened. Her instincts told her something was off. Isabelle became anxious and decided to talk to Lix about it, hoping his wide scope of knowledge would help.

“My chest hurts.”

“Did something happen in the temple that made you sad?”

“No, I mean, physically. You know a lot about medicine. Can you check me over?”

Lix was immediately speechless and nearly fell into the stream as he dropped the curtains he had been washing. He caught them before they could float away, but he remained silent.

Isabelle groaned when he walked up to her.

“I’ve been feeling weird lately. Aside from chest pain, I’m also getting stomachaches I’ve never had before. I can’t sit still, but I can’t tell the saints because they’re busy.”

By this point, she was making herself upset—there were better things to do than complain to her childhood friend when they hadn’t seen each other for so long. Her already deteriorating mood took a turn for the worse after Lix had finished the laundry.

“All done. Let’s hang it to dry now.”

Isabelle nodded and got up. That’s when she noticed the area between her legs felt wet for some reason. Every time she moved, it felt like someone was wringing her stomach and back. Her face turned pale as she bit her lip to endure the pain. Lix glanced between her and the rock she had been sitting on with worry and fear on his face.

“Isabelle, are you sure you’re okay?”

She slowly shifted her gaze to find that the spot where she had been sitting was stained with blood. Her face flushed with shame. Lix had done nothing but help her with the laundry and worry about her, but for some reason, she found herself feeling angry at him. She started crying, hating herself for the way she felt.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“I’m not crying because of the pain. I’m sorry, but I want to go back to the temple.”

“All right. Go get some rest. I’ll hang the laundry.”

The more sympathetic Lix became, the more she felt something breaking within her.

Sobbing, Isabelle returned to the attic. The saints came running in surprise at the sound of her crying, and when they told her about menstruation, she felt like she was about to die of shame.

I’ll have to apologize to Lix when I see him next time. I was acting like a dying patient.

After changing her clothes and drinking some warm tea with pain-relieving effects, Isabelle finally fell asleep. As she drifted off, she overheard a man and a woman talking and wondered if she was dreaming. It was Lix and Sister Maria.

“If Isabelle dies, I’ll...”

“It’s not like that, go home.”

“But... she was bleeding. Save Isabelle. Please...”

“I will. You need to stop this.”

Sister Maria’s voice was cold, and she sounded as if she were dealing with a bothersome merchant. Meanwhile, Lix looked like his world had fallen apart.

He continued, “She said her chest hurt. Here, this is a new drug that can make a dead person’s heart beat again.”

“She’s just feeling that way because her breasts are getting bigger,” Sister Maria explained. There was a brief silence before the saint continued, “It’s nothing fatal. Isabelle is just going through puberty like any other girl. It’s the process of becoming a woman. Don’t worry and go home.”

It was odd. Sister Maria seemed very irritated, but she wouldn’t kick Lix out. On the other hand, his eyes were red and teary. He looked like he was seven years old again.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. She’ll be fine when she wakes up, so take all these burdensome things back with you.”

“But...”

“Please.”

Sister Maria took a book from the shelf with an annoyed look on her face. Even though it was a dream, Isabelle clearly saw the title of the book.

Mysteries of the Human Body: Women’s Edition.

“If you’re really curious, go home and read this.”

“I’ll be back tomor—”

“If you are concerned about Isabelle’s health, please read this book at least fifty times before you visit her again.” The saint coldly cut him off.

Discouraged by her stern demeanor, Lix left the room. Isabelle had no idea what that was all about, but she knew it was a pleasant dream because her two favorite people were in it.