Chapter 10

Alan, unconscious, made Aina panic. She tried to support his body to keep him from falling. However, it seemed she couldn't hold him up for much longer, with Alan leaning on her while she stood.

Aina decided to take Alan's hand and place it on her shoulder. She then tried to help him up, even though his body was heavier than her own.

A few times, Aina used her wind power to stabilize herself and Alan from falling, as they almost lost balance. Without her abilities, she certainly wouldn't have been able to do this.

She then brought Alan into the carriage and carefully seated him down.

Aina leaned him against the side of the carriage while making sure his wounded shoulder didn't hit the wall.

Once she was done, Aina sat down in front of Alan. Her eyes scanned the inside of the carriage, and her cloth bag was nowhere to be found.

Aina didn't forget who had taken her bag. She sighed. Now, she had nothing left. Not even a change of clothes.

Aina's gaze returned to Alan, still unconscious. She wondered if Alan had anything left, like money, to buy clothes or food. She needed a change of clothes, and both of them needed to eat.

It would be bad if Alan didn't have anything, just like Aina.

She sat in silence, lost in thought. She muttered to herself as she lowered her head, "I should've known this could happen."

Aina clenched her hands tightly and took a deep breath. Though she had managed to stay calm during the previous attack, Aina couldn't deny that she was scared.

At that moment, she tried to stay calm and hide her fear. She had to do that.

Aina remembered how she felt when she saw Alan lying on the ground, unconscious. Her legs had moved toward him without hesitation.

Yes, Aina had been afraid, but not because of the assailants. She was scared when she saw Alan hurt.

Though she had only been with Alan for two days and they weren't close, she was scared that something might happen to Alan.

Alan had helped her a lot. Aina also hoped that Alan would continue to help her until her mission to escort her to the Alneth region was complete.

If something happened to Alan, Aina couldn't imagine what she would do alone during the rest of her journey.

Aina forgot that there had been a coachman traveling with them. In fact, without Alan, she could still travel with the coachman. But she didn't know where the coachman was now. Aina didn't notice that the coachman had disappeared.

Her entire focus had been on Alan.

Even now, she was still scared. She didn't want another attack like the one before to happen again.

Lost in her thoughts, Aina didn't realize how much time had passed as she sat, her hands tightly clasped together.

"Ugh…"

The sound snapped Aina out of her reverie. Her body immediately straightened as she saw some movement from Alan.

Alan's eyes slowly opened. As his eyes cracked open halfway, he blinked several times before opening them wider, finally able to see clearly.

Seeing that Alan was regaining consciousness, Aina held her breath. She remained still, her hands still clenched. She did nothing, her body stiff with nervousness.

Relief flooded her heart, but why did she still feel like her breath was tight and held back?

"Ugh…" Alan groaned, moving his hands.

Alan tried to sit up straight, furrowing his brow as he looked down.

He realized he was inside the carriage. When his eyes landed on Aina's feet, Alan slowly raised his gaze.

His eyes stopped at Aina's face, which was now looking at him with a strange expression.

Alan mumbled faintly, his voice hoarse, "Lady, Aina…"

Aina blinked upon hearing him say her name. Something fell from her right eye, trailing down her cheek.

Alan, sitting across from her, blinked as well when he saw it. He wondered if he was still fully awake. That's why he asked to confirm what he was seeing.

"Lady … Aina… are… are you… crying?" Alan asked quietly, still unsure of his awareness.

Aina bit her lip. Alan's second question made more tears fall from her left eye.

Soon after, tears from both of Aina's eyes started to fall in a steady stream.

Alan's eyes widened in shock as he realized that Aina was truly crying.

"H-hei… Lady Aina?" Alan sat up straight and touched Aina's shoulder. This was the first time he'd seen Aina cry.

It turned out that a quiet and composed woman like Aina could express herself this way too.

Alan's hand, gently resting on Aina's shoulder, seemed to be normal, and his wound no longer hurt.

When Alan asked with such concern, for some reason, Aina broke into sobs. She couldn't control her tears anymore. Aina covered her face with her palms, not saying a word.

Confused by what was happening, Alan, without thinking, hugged Aina. He patted her back, hoping to calm her down.

"What's wrong, Lady Aina? Why are you crying?" Alan asked again.

Aina clenched Alan's black cloak. She didn't know why she was like this.

It was just that she felt immense relief when Alan woke up. At the same time, she was scared that he might get hurt again if they continued their journey.

The previous attack had caused Aina a lot of stress.

After gathering her voice, Aina began to speak while still in Alan's embrace.

"I-I'm scared… I-I don't know… if something happens to you… I don't know what to do…"

Aina took a deep breath. "I just… want you to be okay, but… I didn't know what to do when you passed out…"

Alan's hand, which had been patting Aina's back, stopped momentarily. He listened to Aina intently.

"Because… of that, I'm… so happy, really happy… that you woke up…"

Alan was taken aback.

He then smiled and softly replied, "I'm happy too."

Aina tried to stop crying so she could hear what Alan was saying.

Alan tried to reassure Aina.

"I'm really happy because you were worried about me. I'm fine now. See? So you don't need to worry anymore."

Alan then released the embrace and gave Aina his best smile.

Aina, her eyes still wet from tears, looked at Alan's smile, which was different from before. It was Alan's genuine smile. Her heart began to warm, and the tightness in her chest started to fade.

Her sobs became more controlled. Aina then shifted her gaze and looked at Alan's shoulder.

"Is… your wound really… okay?" Aina asked, double-checking Alan's earlier words.

Alan nodded, reassuring her once more.

Then, Alan's hand moved up and gently wiped away Aina's tears. They locked eyes for a moment while Alan did this.

Aina held her breath, suddenly feeling nervous.

Realizing what he had just done, Alan immediately straightened up.

"Sorry if I was too forward," Alan said in a slightly louder voice, looking flustered.

This was the first time Aina had seen Alan look this way. He seemed to think he had done something wrong.

"No," Aina replied simply, shaking her head.

She looked away from Alan, not daring to meet his gaze.

Aina acted this way because she was feeling something different inside her.

She was experiencing a strange feeling, one she had never felt before.

Aina then lifted her hand to wipe her own eyes, blinking a few times awkwardly.

"Oh, by the way, where's the coachman?" Aina asked, trying to change the awkward atmosphere.

"Ah, he… he ran away when the attack happened. I'm not surprised he did that. It's because he was scared and panicked," Alan explained to Aina.

Alan then fell into thought as he looked at Aina. Though faint, he remembered how Aina had rushed to him when he fell and before he passed out the first time.

Aina hadn't left him even when he had fainted the second time.

Alan was curious. If it had been Olivia, would she have done the same? Alan wondered to himself.

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