I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 31: Canbina Coast (1)

It had been three weeks since I had spent time in a hospital bed in the church.

My hospitalization had been almost like a detention, and I was beginning to ache with frustration and anxiety.

The church priests had no intention of discharging me, even though the wound on my thigh had long since healed.

When the wound on my thigh was almost completely healed, the story Dale shared with my priest was the problem.

“Since you’ve been hospitalized at the church, why don’t you get a medical checkup, since I know it’s hard for you to take the time to visit on your own.”

It seemed to come out of nowhere, but it was clear that it was a planned act.

If Ariana hadn’t been there, I would have neatly dismissed it, but she agreed with Dale, so I couldn’t say no.

This naturally extended my hospitalization by two more weeks, and I still don’t have a discharge date.

Meanwhile, monsters must be slowly proliferating near the coast.

There were still more than triple digits of nests that I had to deal with, so every day I spent in the hospital was a waste.

Not only that, but also the Demon King who will be resurrected in three years, and the existence of the Cult that has not yet emerged from beneath the surface.

I still had a lot of work to do. If only I had an alter ego.

What could I do, this was my karma after all.

Disposing of the nest and eliminating the Cult and the Demon King was not a choice, but a necessity, a duty.

It was my last promise to Arianna in my previous life.

In that sense, I didn’t really want to spend a few more weeks in a body like this that would probably not live for more than a few years anyway.

“You’re going to put your body through this again without proper treatment? Get back to bed now before I get mad at you.”

I couldn’t say no to my fiancé, so I agreed to stay at the church for another week.

The good news is that during my nearly month-long stay, I wasn’t too bored.

Ariana stayed with me while I was in the hospital, and she was there every day to talk to me whenever she could.

She made sure that the wound on my thigh was completely healed, that I was getting enough sleep, and that my medical checkups didn’t reveal any other major problems.

She was concerned about every detail of my condition, and I told her the truth, most of the time.

Except for one thing: a dormant disease in my heart.

I was sure it would eventually be discovered during a physical examination by a church priest, but fortunately, no one else seemed to notice my illness.

I don’t know if it’s because it’s hard to detect in the early stages, or if they just don’t recognize the symptoms because it’s been so long since it was last recorded.

I think it’s a good thing.

It’s better not to worry about something that can’t be fixed anyway. Worrying about it would only create negative feelings in the meantime.

At least I want to show my healthy side in front of her. As for the period of disappointment, the shorter the better.

The other evening, Ariana came to my hospital room to talk to me.

She always tries to put on a cheerful smile, but her expression was instantly recognizable.

“…Today, I had to send Miss Sierra away.”

By “letting her go,” she means, of course, what I think she means.

In terms of timing, it had been a little over 15 days since she had been taken to the dungeon, so it was time for her to be sentenced even if he was not executed separately.

The facility is devoid of everything a human being needs to sustain life, as if it were a matter of course.

Rather, enduring for more than 15 days in a place where not even a sip of water was allowed was proof that she was tougher than anyone could imagine.

It is not a facility that was built for the purpose of letting sinners out again once they have entered. The royal dungeon was a place where once you were locked in, you had to be prepared to die.

Not only was she an unusual female inmate, but she was also a student in the academy.

She was also the youngest inmate. Not in a good way, as she broke several records in the royal dungeon.

The fact that she was taken in as a student of the Academy, which usually reduces her sentence, suggests that her crimes were more serious than that.

Possession and large-scale production of dreamweed herbs were not enough, she attempted to use them to manipulate me, the First Prince.

I could go on and on about her sins. Not to mention that there was clear evidence.

I thought she deserved it, but apparently Ariana felt differently.

“…I suppose it’s inevitable, now that it’s too late to take it back.”

She spoke calmly, as if trying to keep her emotions in check, but having watched her for so many years, I could immediately recognize the emotion she must be feeling: responsibility and regret.

None of these were feelings Ariana should feel toward the woman, yet she was expressing regret that things had ended this way.

Still, thankfully, she hadn’t been foolish enough to show mercy once again.

When she agreed to meet with Sierra in the dungeon, I wondered if she would be creating another first.

Luckily, Ariana didn’t bring up the ridiculous idea of freeing Sierra. Even if she had, I wouldn’t have listened to her this time.

“Oh, and I picked a bunch of cucumbers from the garden today, and since it’s getting hot, I thought I’d make some cold soup to keep everyone cool.”

Aside from talking about my wound and her, the rest of the conversation was light and casual.

Especially lately, most of the conversation that came out of Ariana’s mouth was about her day-to-day life during her time at the church.

What she cooked for breakfast this morning and the kids loved it, or how she mediated a fight between one of the kids growing up in the church, or how she stumbled upon a four-leaf clover while tending to a flower bed in the garden.

During her stay at the church with me, Ariana seemed to find things she could do to help out around the church.

I don’t know how she learned to cook or do laundry after a lifetime of being served, but from what I could vaguely hear from the priests, she seemed to be helping out quite a bit.

In the end, after less than two weeks in the church, she seems to have succeeded in painting the entire church with her colors.

If she becomes the leader of the country in the future, how many more people will she be able to turn into her colors?

With that thought quietly running through my mind, I stepped quietly outside the church.

I didn’t want to be seen by Arianna.

“…Are you sure you want to do this?”

“If I don’t go this far, Ariana will stop me.”

“If you know that, why don’t you just stay in bed, and the priest said it would be better for you to rest for now, but you have to sneak out like this?”

Dale’s question was so elementary and obvious, but the answer he would give was also so obviously preordained.

“I’ve still got a lot of work to do, and I can’t be lying in bed all summer.”

“Well, to be honest, I sincerely hope you do.”

“No, I don’t. I’m sure the southern fiends will start overgrowing this summer.”

Recalling my knowledge of the things I’ve seen in the future, I realize that this summer, the southern coast will definitely see a surge of demons crawling ashore.

There is no time to hesitate. There’s no one else who can handle them if not me.

Taking Kael with me would be a good idea, but he’s Arianna’s little brother, so he’ll definitely tell her.

That would be a bit of a hassle, so I’ve given up on taking him.

Same goes for Eamon, since there’s no way Charlotte won’t hear about it the moment I tell him, and my actions will be reported to her best friend.

The moment the news reaches Ariana in any way, she will no doubt insist on joining me.

To be honest, there’s no one else as powerful as Ariana, but I don’t want her to share in my suffering if I can help it.

After all, my current struggles are my own fault, and I don’t want to do anything that could cause her to get hurt.

I’m sure I won’t run out of power, I’ve done what I had to do last winter on my own, so I’m sure I’ll be able to make it through this summer with a little more work.

And on the way back, I’ll bring her a gift to apologize for disappearing without a word.

“South. To the coast of Canbina.”

“It’s okay if you don’t stop by to see His Majesty?”

“I’ve already informed him by letter, and I won’t see him this vacation….”

As I opened the door of the carriage, I was forced to stop my speech in embarrassment since the presence of the passenger in the carriage was intimidating.

“I knew this was coming.”

“Ariana, I can explain everything to you….”

Ariana interrupted me with a wave of her hand, and instead of waiting for me to make excuses she delivered what she had to say first.

“You said you were going to the coast of Canbina, which is good, because I had some business there this summer.”

“…….”

“So I’m about to hitch a ride in my fiancé’s carriage with the same destination, and you’re not going to ask me to get off, are you?”

“…….”

“What are you doing, Alex? You’re not going to make the carriage leave?”

“…Yeah, I’m going.”

Apparently, I was destined to spend the rest of this summer vacation with her.