In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. Having lived with Adam for this long, Anna had naturally begun to beco greatly familiar with him.
All her initial suspicions about Adam having an ulterior motive had vanished. She had co to realize that the boy truly lived alone and that there was no one supporting him. The boy's parents had passed a few years ago and he was living all by himself.
Anna pitied the boy's plight, but she made sure to not get too close to him. No doubt, she was grateful to him for giving her food and a place to stay, but that was all.
She didn't wish to form a deep bond with him. After all, she wouldn't be staying in this place forever. As soon as she recovered from her injuries, she would leave this continent and return ho.
There was no aning in forming a deep relationship with soone who she was going to eventually leave behind. Her chance eting with this strange boy would be an insignificant event in her life. Or so she thought...
On this day, Anna stood outside the hut, looking in the direction of the town with a slight frown on her face. Compared to the regal clothes she wore when she ca here a year ago, she was now wearing a plain and simple gown that once belonged to Adam's mother.
"Where is this idiot?" She muttered in exasperation. The sun was about to sunset and Adam was supposed to be ho by now. Yet, he was nowhere to be seen.
If she wasn't inflicted with the curse by her enemies, she would have gone to town and looked for him. In fact, she would have long since left this place if she hadn't been cursed to begin with.
But now, all she could do was wait. Although she was a Magus, because of her injuries she was no stronger than a re mortal.
She waited for a long ti, the frown on her face deepening. "Hmm, this is very unlike him. He always returns ho before sunset..."
Unbeknownst to her, she had begun to develop a soft spot for the stupid boy who would always cook her food and tend to her injuries. It was just that she hadn't co to acknowledge such feelings.
She was a proud princess of a kingdom, after all. It was unbecoming of her to develop any type of feelings for a mortal peasant. Such things were beneath her. It should have been...
Anna started biting on her nails as the sun dipped below the horizon. It was slowly getting dark, yet Adam was nowhere to be seen.
After hesitating for a long ti, she finally ca to a decision. She slowly began forming hand seals, trying her best to gather mana from her reserves. It hurt her a lot trying to cast a spell in her weakened state, but she did it nonetheless.
"Who's going to cook food if sothing happens to that idiot?" She tried to justify herself.
But right before she was about to cast the spell, she saw a familiar silhouette appear in the distance. She involuntarily let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," she said.
She turned around and went back inside the hut, feeling greatly at ease.
About ten minutes later, Adam finally arrived. Just as he opened the door and stepped foot inside, he heard Anna's angry voice, "What took you so long-"
But soon, the words got stuck in her mouth when she saw the state the boy was in. She hurriedly walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Adam, what happened to you?!"
The boy had a black eye and his lip was busted open. There were wounds on his hands and legs as well. It was clear to her that Adam had gotten into a fight!
Adam squeezed out a smile and replied, "N-Nothing happened... I fell on my way here. That's all." With that said, he walked to the corner of the room and started preparing the food. Anna's lips opened and closed several tis. There was a lot she wanted to ask, but since the boy didn't want to talk about it she refrained from asking. She went to the other side, sat on the bed, and silently watched him.
The boy was pretending to appear fine, but his trembling hands gave him away. Seeing this, Anna's fists involuntarily tightened.
That night, Adam made a simple al for the two of them. He ate his share and went off to sleep without speaking another word.
Anna glanced at the boy who was sleeping on the makeshift bed on the other side of the hut for a long ti before finally going off to sleep.
...
In the following days, things had gotten worse. Every day Adam would co back ho later than usual, his body full of bruises. Every ti Anna asked him about his injuries, he would shrug it off with a lie and a smile.
It wasn't until one day that the princess thought that she had had enough. If Adam wasn't going to tell her, she had other ways to find out. Even though she was greatly injured because of the curse put on her, she was still a Magus.
"Bye-bye, Anna!" Adam waved his hand cheerfully. "I'll make sure to get loads of food tonight." A hint of fear flashed in his eyes, but he quickly hid it. "Yeah... I promise I'll get food for us... Don't worry... Everything will be fine..." His words trailed off into a whisper.
Then, he turned around and jogged in the direction of the town.
Anna had an extrely complicated expression on her face as she watched the boy leave. It wasn't until he had almost disappeared from her sight that she started weaving hand seals. Her face instantly turned pale as she fought the curse preventing her from using mana. All this while, she had been slowly chipping away at the curse inflicted on her, but she was far from removing it completely.
Now, having to cast a spell in that state was going to severely injure her. But she didn't care. This was sothing she had to do. Adam wasn't being honest with her and it greatly worried her. She had to find out the truth.
But more than that, it pained her to see the boy coming ho in that state every night. Unknowingly, the thatched hut by the oak tree had beco her ho. It was a far cry from the palace she used to live in, but it was a place that made her feel safe.
Rank 2 Spell: Elental Summoning!
Anna spurted out a mouthful of blood as she pressed her hand on the ground. Then, a small portal slowly materialized before her. After a mont, a tiny bird flew out from the portal.
It was the size of the woman's palm, small and seemingly harmless. Its feathers, however, were bright as flas.
The bird flapped its wings, making a round above Anna's head. Then, it landed on her shoulder and fondly rubbed its head against her cheek. "Chirp! Chirp!"
Anna chuckled weakly. "Don't worry about . I'll be fine."
"Chirp! Chirp!" The bird appeared very concerned.
"Enough!" Anna softly reprimanded. "I need you to do sothing for ." She then looked at Adam in the far distance and instructed, "Follow that kid and see what he's up to. Make sure
to stay hidden."
"Chirp! Chirp!" The bird rubbed its head against Anna's cheek once again before flapping its wing and turning into an orange flash of light, disappearing into the distance.
Anna remained standing for a while before breaking into a violent fit of bloody cough. She cast one final glance at Adam's disappearing back before entering the hut.
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