44 – More than anyone

[Physis's POV]

As soon as I opened the door, I saw the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

Horns on top of her head, dark blue hair like the night sky was mesmerizingly wet as if she had just finished taking a bath, and finally… …The bright golden eyes which seemed to tell me that woman in front of me was Adilun.

As I asked her directly, a soft but pleasant voice came out of her mouth as usual.

“Are you...?”

“Yes.”

“Adilun. The scales… … . What happened?”

“I don’t know either. Just… … After taking a bath, my whole body started to itch, and when I scratched, the scales fell off.”

“What! Are you okay? Is there a place where you feel pain?”

“Oh, No. I don’t think there is... for now.”

“Haa. That's fortunate, I was worried...”

I was worried that if the scales on her body were torn off forcefully by herself, but if that was the case, then she would have a painful expression on her face. But on the country, she looked happy, it seemed that was not the case.

Instead of admiring her beauty, I felt rather fortunate; She will no longer have to face gossip about her appearance.

Rather, she would probably be the subject of praise for most people now. Also, she will witness the jealousy of countless princesses.

However, it was better to be the subject of envy than to be blamed and suffer for looking like a monster. The world is not the land of fairytales; it's cruel and people often don't see how good one is. 

All they knew was their own belief. For some people some things were great and those things will be bad for someone.

If this was going to help her to be more happy, I was happy for her.

“Fortunate, is that all?”

When I was lost in thought, I was awakened by a sudden regretful voice I heard.

At her question, I shook my head in denial.

“No. It’s too late to say now.” she said that but her eyes spoke otherwise.

“You look beautiful, Adliun... More than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

I spoke the words she wanted to hear the most.

“… …Is that so? That’s fortunate.”

At my words, she made the happiest expression I had ever seen on her face.

My heart sank as I looked at her slightly sharp eyes bending beautifully. It was an outrageous look- to such an extent that if one were to let go of one's mind, one would immediately become enchanted.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.”

But wouldn’t Adilun be rather disappointed if I did that? I am the one who, not long ago, spat countless insults at her.

If I changed my attitude towards her just because her appearance had changed, and approached her more aggressively, wouldn't such a disgusting behavior hurt her?

'Probably yes… … So Let's avoid talking about her appearance.'

Of course, she might have also wanted to validate that her appearance had improved or she looked beautiful. However, that was the reaction that people who had loved her from the beginning should show.

So, I, who insulted her because of her appearance was the person who shouldn’t dare to show that kind of reaction.

“Ah, I forget… … I brought soup. Would you like some?”

So I stupidly had no choice but to ask her like that. 

At my sudden question, she just nodded.

For some reason, there was a hint of disappointment on her face.

Perhaps, it was as if she was trying to let others know that she had taken off her scales… 

…Well now. Since she had just finished taking a bath and had a cold, I thought it would be better to have some food and recover her energy before calling the people to Adilun's room.

"Here."

“Ah yes.”

“But just in case, lie down in bed. If you’re not careful, you might catch a cold again. Especially since you’ve taken a bath, you’d better warm up quickly.”

“Yes. I know.”

I grabbed her by the shoulders and led her to the bed. Then I brought the tray carrying the meals in front of her and took out the soup on the silver platter.

As I had been doing all day, naturally I put the soup spoon into her mouth.

“Time to eat.”

“ah.”

Adilun also seemed to have gotten used to it, and she quickly bit into the spoon I was holding out.

“You can get tired of soup if you eat it every time, is it okay?”

“Because I’m not the type to enjoy eating something in the first place. And above all, this soup is really delicious... And I don't want to look so immature to complain about the soup or food that the chef has put so much effort into.”

“I’m glad that’s the case. Actually, I was worried that eating the same food for days might not be good for your mood.”

“It’s really fine.”

“If there is something wrong with your body, please tell me. To be honest… … I am a little anxious.”

As if pondering over my words for a moment, she rested my hand on her chin and lost herself in thought. Perhaps, she was immersed in thoughts of why the scales suddenly fell off.

“Well… …For now, this is my hypothesis;”

“Yes?”

“It is said that snakes are at their weakest when they shed their skin.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe… …I guess the reason I caught a cold was for the same reason.”

“Then does that mean your body will grow more now?”

“I do not know. I don’t even know that far. People like me weren’t that common, and there weren’t any records.”

“Anyway, I understand... Ah, Adilun.”

“Yes?”

Because she had finished eating, I could call other people now. Adilun certainly seemed to have recovered much more energy than before.

“I will bring His Excellency Duke Johannes and Duchess Claudia.”

* * *

[Adilun's POV]

In an instant, the door closed and he said he would bring my parents and left.

Even after he left, I couldn’t believe the current situation, so I pinched my cheek.

It felt tingly, and it hurt.

It was not a dream. I looked at my hand; Clear skin came into my eyes.

'ah'

Only then did I know, that I wasn’t a monster... But a human.

The self-defeating sense of shame began to disappear at once. The wounds that lowered my self-esteem were starting to wash away.

The reaction that Physis showed just before was triggering such thoughts even more.

After he said I was beautiful, the reason he didn’t bother to say additional things about my appearance was probably to be considerate of me.

As soon as he saw my changed appearance, what he said came to my mind.

‘Are you okay? Do you have any pain somewhere?’

‘That's fortunate...’

He was more concerned about my well-being, not my appearance.

At the same time, I started to think of the insults he had thrown at me at a year ago.

‘Get out of my sight. I don’t want to see that ugly face of yours again.’

Ugly monster. Yes. The words I heard back then had taken away all my pride and put me down.

But now he… … he didn’t forget, he knew what did he say, and how great was the wound I received then. So he must have had no choice but to save words about my appearance.

But I also felt a little bit sad and disappointed.

It was to the point where I inadvertently wished he’d paid more attention to my appearance. Because I wanted to recover my shattered pride little by little like that.

'To hear that I'm beautiful and not a bit lacking.'

As I was whining like that, a thought suddenly came to my mind.

'He… … Has he ever told someone that "you are beautiful."?'

I continued to think deeply.

The National Foundation Day...

Princess Lobelia and numerous other princesses...

Come to think of it, he had never once praised another women’s appearance or admired their beauty.

'But He… … told me I'm beautiful.'

At the fact that I suddenly realized this and joy began to fill my heart.

He acknowledged his mistakes, cared for me, and acknowledged me.

Because of what happened in the last few days, I couldn’t help but feel grateful to him little by little, but to think he had gone this far.

My thoughts about him started to go one step further... in a positive direction.

* * *

[Physis's POV]

I moved to the Winter Garden attached to the current Rodenov Castle, because I had heard that the Duke and Duchess had been chatting here for the first time in a while.

“Physis? What happened?”

His Excellency, Duke Johannes, welcomed me. The Duchess next to him was also looking at me with a welcome look.

Recently, since I started to take care of Adilun with utmost sincerity, I could feel that the positive impression they had for me increased rapidly.

“Can Your Excellency go to Adilun’s room for a moment? The Duchess must go with you.”

“Well? Has something happened to Adilun?”

“… …Yes. However, it is not a bad thing.”

“What is going on?”

“The scales on her body… …They fell off.”

“What? Is that true?”

“Really?

The two opened their eyes wide and looked at me.

“Yes. Please go fast. Adilun is also waiting for you two.”

“Yes, we will go right now. My lady, let’s go.”

“Yes. go fast.”

So, we quickly headed to Adilun’s room.

At the things that would happen afterward, I started to laugh thinking about them.

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