You’re My Flame

Chapter 6

Something about Ben seemed different compared to the first day. Nothing about his face or behavior seemed to have changed, but something about him was now transformed.

Ben took a deep breath as he placed the medicine box back in the drawer. He was a bit calmer now, and the fever seemed to be leaving his body. He stood by the drawer for a while, and after the heat in his body subsided, he approached Chersinia.

She stared intently as he neared her. What on earth has changed?

She rose from her chair, suspicion in her eyes. When Ben met her eyes with his own blank stare, she suddenly realized what felt unfamiliar.

“Did you grow taller?” On the first day he arrived, his head was just above her shoulder, but now his eyes were nearly at the same level as hers.

“Looks like it. My ankles and knees have been aching at night.”

Could someone truly grow so much in three days? She compared their heights. Sure enough, they were almost the same. I heard once that men continue to grow into their early twenties. I guess it’s true.

Ben’s height may have increased, but his soft face and youthful voice remained. He still looked more like a boy than a man. She hadn’t been feeding him anything extravagant, but she made sure he ate three solid meals a day.

It was satisfying to see him grow, almost as if he were a pet. She fed him, washed him, and took him for walks just like a pet. Much like caring for an animal, she felt pride and satisfaction as he grew and his size seemed to double. Indeed, that was how she felt looking at him now.

A contented smile naturally spread across Chersinia’s face. Ben, not understanding why, simply smiled back. He just liked seeing her smile.

“Chersinia, I’ll bake the bread today,” he said.

Still smiling brightly, he was about to head to the kitchen when Chersinia grabbed him by the collar. “No, you stay put.”

***

“What? How is that possible?!” Viscount Montena snarled at Louis.

The cashier looked frustrated. “It’s true! Not a single person seems to know anything about that woman.”

It had been three days since the viscount had ordered Louis to find her, but the cashier had returned empty-handed, offering only irritating excuses.

Montena angrily tossed his jacket onto the sofa while Louis bowed his head and continued his report. “The villagers have only seen her a few times, but no one knows where she lives.”

The viscount narrowed his eyes, which now glimmered menacingly. The woman had managed to live without revealing her identity to anyone.

She must be trying to conceal something significant, the viscount thought as he sat on the sofa, putting his ankle up on his opposite knee. What could she possibly be hiding? Could she really have some strange power, as Louis suggested?

The viscount furrowed his brow and massaged his temples, clearly frustrated. He only had four days to prepare a slave as a gift for Count Enettio. While Louis was certain she would return to exchange the boy for her prize money, the viscount had no desire to fork up the cash nor lose his slave. But if he didn’t pay, she wouldn’t release the collateral. He needed to locate her and deal with her right away.

Things weren’t going as planned, however. The viscount chewed his lip. His fists were tightly clenched with fury, each vein bulging. “Send more people and find her,” he snapped.

“Yes, sir.” Louis bowed and quickly exited the room.

Alone, Viscount Montena recalled the woman’s fiery-red hair and her violet eyes, dusky like the sky after sunset.

“A mysterious woman who has something to hide…” Whatever powers she possessed, Montena vowed he wouldn’t let her take anything that he owned.

***

“Ugh… Please, help…”

The desperate cries of someone in pain echoed in Chersinia’s ears.

“Please…”

Awoken by the pleading voice, she opened her eyes. As she had only been dozing, she came to quickly. The moonlight faintly illuminated the dark of the night.

She sat up and perched on the edge of her bed, running her fingers through her disheveled hair. Below, Ben was tossing and turning on the floor, groaning in distress.

The pale moonlight filtered into the room. In its glow, she could see the young man clearly. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his face was twisted in anguish. The blanket that had covered him to the neck had slipped down to his ankles. It appeared to have twisted out of the way as he struggled with his nightmare.

Chersinia slid from the bed and sat on the floor to better check on him. She leaned in, observing him intently.

“Hngh, ugh…” His lips, which curled so beautifully when he smiled, had turned pale. They trembled as if he was freezing. His teeth chattered loudly between his parted lips.

Without hesitation, she placed her hand on his chest. She was used to this process by now, having repeated it for several days already.

From his chest, a chilling sensation seeped into her hand. His temperature was not normal. He was cold enough to cool even her perpetually warm hands. If he was left like this, hypothermia would set in. She needed to warm him quickly.

Chersinia closed her eyes, channeling her strength to her fingertips. The dark room glowed red with the light radiating from her palms. Like a sunset, the red hue gradually filled the room.

Letting out a breath, she infused Ben’s body with the heat gathered in her hands. The warmth flowed into him, the red aura from her palms wavering like a heat mirage. Darkness settled back into the room as the crimson light disappeared.

She checked Ben’s complexion again, seeing that his once pale purple lips had returned to their usual soft red hue. The warmth of his chest under her palm was normal.

Thank goodness. Chersinia sighed in deep relief.

Ben’s frown softened. He was seemingly more comfortable now, but the nightmares still lingered, and his whimpers would not stop. “Please, help me…”

“It’s okay. Nothing’s wrong.” She instinctively moved her hand, which still rested on his chest, and patted him on the back. It was a comforting gesture she had mastered over the last few days.

Since the first night he was with her, there had not been a single night that she had not tended to Ben this way. Though she did not know what nightmares plagued him, he seemed consumed by pain every night. He would mutter to himself as if in a trance, pleading for help. He would seize up dozens of times.

She could barely sleep, but her irritation was momentary. Seeing him in such agony distressed her, as well.

She sometimes tried waking him, but Ben was not easily roused. Instead, he trembled, crying as if falling even deeper into despair. Whenever this happened, she’d share her warmth with his ice-cold body, but that alone wasn’t enough.

To calm his terrified trembling, she would gently pat him. When doing so, he soon would drift off into a peaceful sleep like a child, just like now. His steady breathing filled her ears like a lullaby. He was fast asleep, looking completely content and serene.

The clock showed it was well past midnight. She would usually be deeply asleep, unaware of the world around her.

Her home, as deep in the forest as it was, saw nightfall earlier than other places. The cabin was so dimly lit that it seemed to fall into pitch-black darkness when the sun set. Had she still lived in modern times, she’d have stayed up late, scrolling through her phone—but here, there was no phone, no TV, not even a gas stove. This was a world where she had to rely on a firewood stove for cooking. There wasn’t much to do but sleep through the long, dark nights.

Indeed, sleeping was the most efficient way to make the night pass quickly. At first, her nocturnal habits made it hard to sleep early, and she tossed and turned in bed. But that lasted for only a few days. She soon got used to it, falling asleep right after sundown. She had maintained that neat early-to-bed habit until Ben came along and disrupted it.

“You…” She wasn’t angry about losing sleep, but rather simply worried. What kind of past could cause him such torment every night? It was likely a pain that most people couldn’t fathom. Even if he was supposed to serve as collateral, how could she send him back to his old life after seeing him suffer? It felt too cruel.

But she needed the money. To avoid a tragic fate of her own, she needed to change the novel’s original plot line. That required money, and she couldn’t give up the opportunity to get it.

She kept patting Ben as she closed her eyes.

Guilt settled deep within her. I’ll make sure he’s comfortable while he’s here, at least. The outcome wouldn’t change. She opened her eyes and shook her head several times, hoping it would clear away her guilt.

Ben mumbled softly in his sleep. Chersinia stared at his face with a troubled heart. As she carefully studied him, her gaze caught on the corner of his eyes. There, nestled between his lashes, were shimmering tears.

Careful not to wake him, she reached out her hand, brushing her long, slender fingers gently against his eyelids. In an instant, she wiped the tears away. She felt like she had become his caretaker, attending to him in every way.

Finding the situation rather amusing, she let out a soft chuckle. This wasn’t why she had brought him here, but living together wasn’t so bad. She might as well enjoy the good moments.

Chersinia pulled the crumpled blanket up from his feet and draped it back over him. A soft smile touched his face as he clutched the blanket. His face twitched, as though he was slipping into a cozy sleep.

She grew tense at the subtle movement, worried he was having another nightmare. But it was different this time. His nose wrinkled and his eyelids fluttered, like he had some kind of an itch.

What’s wrong? She watched Ben’s face carefully and soon realized it was the long bangs covering his eyes that were tickling him. He was twitching unconsciously, troubled by the hair that had fallen over his face.

She gently brushed back the bangs covering his sleeping eyes. His hair settled neatly with her touch. Despite its untamed appearance, it felt surprisingly soft under her fingers, a bit like silk. The sensation tickled her palm.

She made a mental note that she’d cut his bangs in the morning. If they were bothering him enough to make his nose wrinkle, he needed a trim. She had noticed his shaggy hair before, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

“Chersinia?” Looking down, she saw Ben’s clear eyes staring up at her.