Transmigrated Into A Tragic Romance Fantasy-Chapter 68: Reunion

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Beneath the soothing moonlight, the four adventures shared an unsettling silence.

Crackle-.

Only the sound of the burning embers echoed in the desolate land.

Gathered around the campfire, the now four gourmets were at a loss for words as they stared at the figure laying next to the campfire.

A frail woman with disheveled white hair, a smeared face, and a skeletal body.

Tap, Tap-.

Rendler, having completed the first aid procedures, cleaned his hands and stood up.

He disinfected the wounds to prevent infections, applied ointment, and then warmed her icy-cold body.

The old man even used a healing scroll we had saved up for emergencies on her.

While an immediate recovery might be difficult, she was stable for now.

Ariel, who had been silent until now approached with a bewildered expression.

“So...Let me see if I got this right....You went to the top floor because you heard someone crying...And then you discovered Lumia Winterfell...? Is that what you’re saying...? T-That makes no sense...”

Indeed.

Even after seeing it, everyone, me included, still found the situation hard to believe.

The Lord of Winter, the great ruler of the Northern Provinces.

The Grand Duke.

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A man whose authority is second only to the King himself.

Who in their right mind would believe that his youngest daughter was dying alone in this forsaken land?

If someone were to utter such nonsense, it wouldn’t be weird for the Grand Duke’s loyalists to relieve this person’s head from their neck.

But after witnessing such absurdity, we had no choice but to remain in silence for a long while.

“What in the world has happened here?”

Rendler asked me as he tied up the bag with emergency supplies; however, like everyone else, I had no answers to give.

This was the first time I had seen her since the Grand Ducal Betrothal.

I did not anticipate this reunion here.

What has happened in these past six months?

Also,

It just didn’t make sense that this land, just a short distance from the Grand Duchy was left in ruins for 20 years with no one in sight.

This place should have been rather noisy by now.

The Grand Duke should have been searching far and wide for his youngest daughter.

Rumors about the failed Betrothal of the Third Northern Duchess should have spread as well.

The entire kingdom should have been stirred up by this.

That would have been normal.

But Lumia’s state....

That was strange, abnormal even.

Her lone death in such forsaken lands was a completely absurd event.

Yet, when we traveled there was not a single rumor about Lumia Winterfell.

The people were merely busy with the preparations for the winter.

“Has anyone heard any rumors about Lady Lumia?”

I looked around at the members, but the expected silence was heard in return.

“How could this happen....?”

“I don’t know. But something clearly isn’t right.”

Rachel answered Ariel’s question in her usual stern manner.

Something’s not right....

Indeed, this was clearly far too strange, as Rachel said.

And likely, this abnormal event had something to do with the bloodstained handkerchief she was still clutching, even though she was unconscious.

She had been seen crying over that handkerchief too.

Since she was in this place, and not at her Palace, there are two likely reasons for her tears.

Either Lumia has been expelled from the Winterfell Family, or she has run away.

If it was the former, she must have committed a grievous sin.

While I don’t know what kind of mistake that could have been, if her father truly exiled her, then it must have been something grave.

If it was the latter, it implied that someone else made a grievous mistake.

And that someone is likely Deron Caelid.

There wouldn’t be anyone else within the Grand Castle who could drive Lumia, the protagonist, to the brink of death, if not him.

If this is true, then I was a fool to believe that he wouldn’t have the courage to stir something under the watchful eyes of the Grand Duke.

Just what the hell were you thinking, Deron? What have you done?

Moreover,

The consequences of Deron’s actions must have been colossal to leave Lumia in such a sorry state.

Something beyond my wildest guesses.

I looked at Rendler.

“Will she wake up?”

“It’s hard to say, My Lord. Her condition is quite severe.”

“I see.”

“The healing spell contained on the scroll is working, so we should monitor her until tomorrow.”

I found her just moments away from her death.

Looking at her frail form beside the campfire my heart was gripped with unease.

It seems my actions may have played a part in this.

I didn’t know how the original story had progressed, but surely, no matter how much the plot went on, the protagonist wouldn’t have committed suicide in this abandoned land, without a single person by her side.

Hmm...

However, even if I went back in time, I wouldn’t change my decisions, but still, the fact that my actions made with the intent to avoid a tragic end have ironically triggered Lumia’s tragedy...Set a heavy weight on my heart.

As I softly sighed, Rendler asked me a question.

At this moment, there was something more crucial than conjecturing the reasons behind this crisis.

“My Lord...What do you wish to do?”

There were two possible answers to such a question.

On one hand, we could simply offer her some aid, and go on our merry way.

Or, we could try to understand the situation and involve ourselves in this mess, walking the same path together.

Having witnessed Lumia’s collapse, it was impossible to just close my eyes and ignore the situation.

Nor could I blindly offer assistance without understanding the clear reasons behind the situation.

Given that my decisions could lead my companions into harmful situations, I took a moment to consider my options.

Under normal circumstances, it would be right to safely return her to the Grand Duchy, but Lumia’s actions, which seemed to distance her from both her family and the Grand Duchy, were not ‘normal,’ making it difficult to proceed as usual.

“Hmm...”

I stroked my chin while thinking, receiving the full attention of my companions as I pondered.

But the lack of information made this decision a difficult one.

Therefore,

“Let’s wait until she wakes up.”

I had no choice but to postpone the decision.

After all, moving Lumia a great distance in her current state would be unreasonable.

And our next destination required passing through the Grand Duchy.

Hastily taking Lumia to the Grand Duchy could prove to be more detrimental than beneficial, so waiting for her to wake up seemed the best course of action.

Anyway,

The answer to this mess would likely be in her possession.

Thus, we decided to stay in this abandoned land until Lumia woke up.

**

“How is it?”

“Her pulse is getting stronger, but she’s still unconscious.”

It had been three days since we arrived at the Barony of Strenger, but Lumia was still in a coma.

Fortunately, the signs of her recovery were visible.

Her breathing was stable, and the once slow heartbeat was quickening.

I wondered if there might be pursuers, but no trace appeared over these three days.

‘If someone was hunting her, they would’ve caught up by now.’

A noblewoman without fighting experience, pushed to her limits, was an easy target.

She even left many clear tracks in her wake, as if saying ‘Look at me~ I’m going this way~’.

This meant that the Grand Duchy wasn’t searching for her.

It’s perplexing, to say the least.

Even if Logan Winterfell was a man who valued the honor and prestige of his house above his own family, surely the news of the Third Northern Duchess’s disappearance would spread like wildfire throughout the Kingdom.

And that would be a disgrace to the name of Winterfell.

He would be seen as a father who cruelly abandoned his daughter, and the Winterfell house as a family that couldn’t protect its own.

Or perhaps, he chose the stigma of abandoning his child to prevent a greater disgrace.

Whether this was something he had planned or a deal forced on him, it was certainly a peculiar situation.

Of course,

It’s something strange from the start to marry your daughter to the mastermind behind her suffering just because of family traditions.

Whether it was medieval sentimentality that I, as a modern person, couldn’t understand, or the situation was too bizarre for a simple salary-men like me to grasp, the only way to unravel all these questions was for Lumia to wake up.

And so, the fourth day arrived.

While Ariel and Rachel went out to gather some vegetables and herbs for cooking, and Rendler had gone to collect some firewood, I was left alone at the campsite by Lumia’s side.

“......”

“......”

Under the clear sky and warm sunlight, I faced Lumia, whose eyes had suddenly opened.

They were the same eyes she had when we had first found her.

Full of disbelief.

Full of incredulity.

I handed her some necessities, but Lumia, who had woken up after a four-day coma, just stared at me blankly.