Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 377: Don’t give up

Chapter 377: Don’t give up

She opened her eyes, perhaps for the first time in a long while, without pain permeating her bones.

It had been quite unbearable but her belief in her husband and his brilliance kept her going.

She had thought to herself, why should I give up when he hasn’t given up on me?

And so, she stood strong even as the pain cut so deep, it felt like she died every moment she took a breath.

But now, after so long, after so many years of pain and anguish, she could take a breath once again without wincing.

She moved her left hand and inspected, quickly realizing that it would be the first time in a long while that she moved a part of her body without having the urge to scream out her lungs.

Her lips quivered as her eyes turned wet with joy.

Then there was movement beside her and she finally noticed the presence of her sleeping husband.

No, it wasn’t that she hadn’t known he was there, it was more like she could now look into his eyes again after so long.

The man stirred before opening his eyes to find her staring at him.

He jerked back in shock for a moment, his eyes wide as he stared back.

Several seconds passed before Rose broke the ice. "Did I disturb your nap?"

"Rose..." Albus muttered softly, his eyes filled with love for her and in return, she replied in kind.

"Albus."

Albus’s lips quivered as he asked. "It worked?"

She offered no response, merely nodding as a beautiful smile adorned her lips with tears running down her cheeks.

Albus was torn between laughter and sadness as he gently held her hand.

"It actually worked." He muttered, still in utter disbelief at the miracle happening before his eyes.

Rose nodded even more vigorously as she replied. "Yes."

"It worked!" Albus cried out joyfully as he embraced her tightly, both letting out tears of joy.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you..." He repeated lovingly as he stayed in her arms, enjoying the warmth he had missed for so many years.

"I should thank you for not giving up." Rose calmly intoned as she rubbed his back.

Albus pulled away for a moment, catching her off guard before moving to hold both her hands.

Despite his old age, it seemed the spark of youth had not died in his eyes as he confessed his love to his beautiful wife. "I’m sorry, for everything. Can you forgive me?... Would you ever be able to forgive me?"

"Of course, silly, I’m not even mad so why are you apologizing?" Rose replied.

"You really aren’t?"

"Not at all."

Albus let out a sigh. "That’s a relief, I was prepared to do anything you say for the rest of our lives."

"Oh, don’t stop now, nothing is preventing you from doing so."

"Wait, what?"

"Now, quickly, go get me something to eat and drink, it’s been so long since I’ve had real food."

"That..."

"Quickly."

"Yes ma’am."

The great and mighty professor, in the space of a few seconds, had fallen to become a henpecked husband.

As Albus stepped out of the rented room and hurried down the stairs before rushing out the building and into the streets, heading toward the market to get Rose something to feast on, Rose relaxed back in her bed, enjoying the comfort she could now enjoy.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she opened them just in time to watch as Alex emerged from a flash of black and white with a large file.

"You..."

"Glad to see you awake and healthy, Ms. Rose."

"Thank you."

"You recognize me?" Alex inquired.

Rose pursed her lips momentarily before nodding. "I remember a voice, one that helped my husband reclaim his drive to keep going. It was your voice."

"... He helped me as much as I helped him." Alex admitted as he took a seat at a corner.

Rose kept her gaze on him as she remarked. "You seem lonely."

"Do I?"

"I’m familiar with the feeling, that’s why I can tell."

"..."

"A wife?"

Alex hesitated but ultimately nodded. "Yes. In a way, I’m like your husband, and she is like you."

"If that is the case, you should pick up the pace and return to her. Don’t keep her waiting as long as that blockhead I call my husband kept me waiting, understood?"

"... Mn."

"You are leaving, correct?"

"I am." Alex replied before proceeding to place the file at the foot of the bed. "I just came to drop this off."

"What is it?"

"Fruits of our research together. Albus offered to hand it over to the TruthSeekers for screening."

"I’ll let him know once he gets back and do me a favor?"

"Hmm?"

Rose flashed a warm smile as she remarked. "Don’t give up, alright?"

"..." Alex made an attempt to respond but ultimately remained silent, nodding softly before snapping, disappearing the same way he arrived.

***

He stood at his desk, a map of the empire laid out before him, a gift from Ana’s expansive library.

Speaking of Ana, Alex hadn’t seen her since their last conversation which further added to the weight of what they had spoken about.

Just like Ana, Alex had felt the gaze and though he tried to act like it didn’t matter, there was no way he could just ignore it.

Only a fool would deny the fear in his heart and allow it fester.

Having already traced the path Adelia and Ezra had taken in the dream to reach the Glory of the Empire, Alex had hoped that it wouldn’t be in the capital but fate was playing a game and at the moment, he was losing... badly.

The Glory was directly under the capital which meant as much as he wanted to avoid listening to the brand burned into his mind, he had no choice but to do as it wished and head there.

Clicking his tongue, Alex, for the first time since he made Constellations, began to feel regret for his line up which weren’t very useful at the moment.

Letting out a tired sigh, he sat on the chair beside him and leaned against it, closing his eyes as he began to ponder potential strategies to get to Ashtyx while avoiding the Emperor.

Just as he went through his third strategy which was a complete failure, a knock disturbed him from his planning.

Raising a brow, he remarked. "The door isn’t locked..."

Seconds passed before the door was pushed open and Ana entered with her head down.

"Ana..."

"Is Ashtyx really in the capital?"

Alex nodded as he gestured to the map behind him. "I’ve done the calculations. It’s somewhere underneath the capital."

"I see." Nodding softly, she remarked. "Then let’s go get it."