Please Take A Step Out Of The Portrait

Chapter 8

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Vivian’s POV

Four days had already passed since I had woken up after fainting. 

Edmund sat on the bed with his upper body tilted towards me. 

“Your fever seems to have gone down a little.”

I leaned against a supporting cushion and blinked. Edmund took out the thermometer I had in my mouth.

He covered my forehead with a practiced hand. The hand that was larger than it looked brushed past my forehead to cover my eyes. I wondered what was the use of touching my forehead with a cool hand, but it didn’t feel bad as it was cooling. 

Apparently, when I collapsed, the entire mansion was in a complete state of emergency. That was what I had heard. It lasted since I fell ill, until when I woke up today. 

I didn’t think that I’d remain unconscious for such a long period of time, but as this was a familiar occurrence, I felt fine. But Edmund, who watched me collapse right before his eyes, didn’t think so.

“It tickles, Vivi.”

“I told you to remove your hand. As long as I don’t have a fever, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m… not sure.”

With one hand on my forehead, Edmund tilted his head and raised the other hand towards my forehead with an expression of seriousness. Fine, do as you please. I giggled and crossed my arms.

“It’s unusual.”

“It’s unusual?”

Edmund asked back with a lowered gaze. Well, if it has been four days…

I shut my mouth and started looking here and there for no particular reason indifferently as I muttered. 

“…It’s alright as I’m used to it.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

A hint of displeasure appeared on Edmund’s handsome face. At the sudden prick of pain, he lifted his head slightly and let out a deep sigh, before sitting on the bed. 

I lowered my head after staring at his tired eyes and haggard face. While rubbing his face, he spoke.  

“……When you collapsed, I called for a healing mage, and he performed some first aid while recommending me to call for another mage that has a lot of mana.”

While I was lying in bed, Edmund behaved just like a madman.

“I heard that the condition of your body isn’t very good.”

He grabbed my snow-white arm that has never seen sunlight with a light touch. His hands were large that made me seem exceptionally small. Edmund’s expression got worse as he continued the train of thought he was thinking about. 

“Were you aware of it?”

Instead of answering, I only gave him a smile. The grip on my forearm tightened.

As he thanked me for waking up that day, he also begged me to not use any more magic in the future. He said things like to not get sick again, and that he would be very upset. 

At his cordial words, I gave a faint smile. 

I think that the words I’d wanted to hear from my sister were all spoken by Edmund.

While I was asleep, doctors came several times, but all they could do right away was to prescribe fever reducers and painkillers.

“So I called for another wizard. He should be arriving soon.”

Even so, he’s a mage in an era where magic has fallen. I wasn’t sure whether he’ll be of any help.  

“But, can I say that I’m Vivian Summers to someone else?”

As I hadn’t intended to participate in social gatherings or be active originally, I had thought that this wasn’t an area that I needed to care about. 

However, Edmund Deer received more attention than I’d thought, and after 200 years, this place didn’t place as much emphasis on high society like it was before. 

Otherwise, there was no way that someone that hadn’t made their societal debut could be published in gossip papers. 

Although half of my face was covered, the people that recognised me went, ‘Oh? Vivian!’

And Edmund, who went hopping mad upon discovery of those gossip papers that published such images, caused the companies to struggle in retrieving all of such papers. 

In such a situation, I was worried whether or not I could reveal my name.

“You are Vivian Summers, right?”

“Would others believe you?”

“Other people aren’t important.”

Although both of us didn’t dare to broach the topic now, before I had collapsed, we had been arguing about returning or not.

I’ve already made up my mind to go back, and I still think it’s right to go back now.

I would be leaving, so it doesn’t matter what my reputation is here, but that isn’t the case for Edmund.

“But it could be someone from the Deer family…”

Edmund shook his head with an expression that was like he had heard something unsatisfactory. He spoke with a flat tone. 

“Originally, there were rumours that I’m besotted with a swindler.”

“Really?”

I knew it. That swindler was me. Who would believe that I had come from 200 years in the past? Anyone would have thought that it was someone impersonating Vivian Summers. 

Unlike my long face, Edmund was calm. 

“It doesn’t matter. The family will take care of it.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

“What if I’m an impersonator?”

“You’ve been dying due to having a fever for four days, and yet you’re still worried about that? Stop it. Such assumptions are meaningless.”

As I looked quietly at the calm silver-gray eyes, a knocking sound came from outside the door.

Knock knock

“Young Master, Sir River has arrived.”

“Usher him in.”

The door slowly opened at Edmund’s reply. As it was still an outsider, Edmund got up from the bed and moved towards the door. 

I half-lying on the bed and welcomed the guest in this posture, but stiffened when I recognised the other person, 

“Yuriel…?”

It was because he looked exactly like my fiance.

He was the man that I had looked back at many times as he looked like a person I knew, on the day I went to The Deer. Then, I had brushed past him suddenly, so I had thought it was my delusion.

But it wasn’t a delusion.

He had the exact same appearance as my fiance, Yuriel Jewell.

As I stared at him dazedly, unable to take my eyes off him, he introduced himself.

“I’m Yurision River.”

“…It’s nice to meet you. I’m Vivian Summers.”

Yurision River.

Their names are also similar.

However, considering the fact that he didn’t have any particular reaction after meeting me, he should just be a person that looked similar. I couldn’t believe that I was the one that came here and not my sister, so there was no reason that Yuriel, who was completely uninvolved with this, came here. 

“Is he someone you know?”

It was a familiar voice that drew my attention on the day I stared blankly at Yurision. Startled, I turned my head away, causing Edmund to narrow his eyes and fold his arms. He looked very uncomfortable.

“How?”

“No, I don’t know him.”

Then he lifted his head, like he was asking for an explanation.

“It’s because he looks like someone I know.”

I tried to say it while pretending to be as fine as possible, but my body didn’t act as I wanted it to. As I talked, I couldn’t catch my breath, and the dizziness continued.  

Edmund pointed at my forehead and said that he was anxious about my condition.

“Are you sure that you’re okay?”

“It’s not to the point that I’ll die.”

“Vivian Summers.”

Perhaps Edmund had understood that Yurision wasn’t the problem, before sighing and quietly calling my name. As he was too worried, I pretended to be even more cheerful, but it seems to have caused an adverse effect. 

Eventually, Edmund gave up on talking to me and turned towards Yurision.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while. Is this the person I’m supposed to check?”

Yurision River and Edmund seem to be acquaintances. I looked alternately at the two that didn’t seem close at all. 

Yurision held my hand and clicked his tongue as soon as he checked the condition of my mana.

“I think there has been a rush of mana recently.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t that bad, so it was okay.”

“Aha, it wasn’t that bad when it’s in this state? When the magic that’s overflowing from your heart is spread throughout your body?”

Oh, that’s a little exaggerated. It didn’t spread throughout my body, but only just overflowed a little. As long as my body has recovered, I would be fine once I burned the magic overflowing from my heart or used magic to remove it. 

I was about to say that this level wasn’t much, but I made eye contact with Edmund, who stood behind Yurision, causing me to shut my mouth. 

Come to think of it, I had never explained it to him in detail before.

Edmund didn’t hide his anger, which had clearly risen sharply.

Yurision looked at the gazes being exchanged between Edmund and I, before speaking without caring about Edmund’s igniting fury.

“It’s rather fortunate that she hasn’t died yet, seeing the way her magic is raging.”

“It’s– It’s not to that extent!”

With a corner of his mouth lifted, Edmund had an expression of wanting to hear to what extent it had gone to.

It really isn’t though!

Yurision approached me, who was feeling wronged. After saying, “Excuse me”, he reached out with both his index and middle finger together, placing it on my forehead.

Comfortable mana touched my forehead, and the right of control over the rampant mana that I had barely managed to grasp before the flood was passed over to him.

“It must have hurt.”

“…It’s fine, as I’m used to it.”

“You shouldn’t have gotten used to it.”

A comfortable mana flowed into my body from my forehead. My chaotic mana slowly began to move along with his mana. 

I was a little impressed. I had thought that this was a world where magic had completely fallen, but there was a mage with this level of skill here. Perhaps I could get some advice from him before I go back to the past. 

“…You’re quite skillful.”

“Because I’m a River.”

He’s quite condescending, but I acknowledge him.

Yurision’s mana moved along my veins slowly and gently. When the mana at my heart stopped fluctuating, the suffocating feeling stopped.

I had only thought that he looked like Yuriel, but his magical inclination was also like his.

While I had considered whether Yuriel Jewell had fallen in this world like I had, it didn’t seem to be the case. If not, he wouldn’t have had such a decent name like Yurision River.

[T/N: XD]

In addition, from the looks of things, River seems to be a family of mages.

A family of mages adopting? That didn’t make any sense. 

Even so.

As my eyes rolled about, I placed a hand on my forehead, and looked up at his expression of concentration, before asking him a question.

“Are you perhaps an adopted child?”

“…That’s quite an original insult.”

“I’m sorry.”

Edmund, who stood there with a displeased expression, eventually eased it and came over to the side. I gazed at him to check his mood.

“He’s the successor of River.”

Oh, if he was the successor in the midst of all this, he wouldn’t be Yuriel. Edmund continued to explain to me further.

“River is said to be the core of the Imperial wizards, and is one of the few families of mages left.”

“Aha.”

“Would it be easier to understand if the former identity of River was Riverry?”

“Ah!”

Oh, my. It was Riverry?

If it’s Riverry, then it would also be the family of her sister’s fiancé, Erickson Riverry. They were a family that had relations with the Summers ever since the founding of the Empire, so they were indeed a very prestigious family.

If that’s the case, the talent of Yurision River in front of her could also be explained. It was like a feeling of joy at meeting an old friend in a strange place. 

Our connection continued like this. With that thought in mind, I tried to brush away the fallen hair, but Yurision spoke.

“Please don’t move.”

“But you’re almost done.”

“If anything happens to Lady Summers, I don’t think Sir Deer over there would let me go.”

At his low baritone, I hummed, and averted my eyes.

I thought of the man that began to mumble lowly, “You’re Vivian”, after meeting me one day, like I would definitely disappear anytime. 

…My sister’s fiance, Brother Erickson, and Yurision, bore no resemblance to each other at all. Well, I guess so. At this point, after 200 years, there wouldn’t be any resemblance.

As the comfortable mana from Yurision became aplenty in my body, it started to flow towards my forehead, and soon after escaped from my body through the fingers at my forehead. 

After cleaning up the mana, the nausea and the stabbing headache became much better.

When I took a deep breath and leaned backwards with a more lively face than before, the supporting cushion tilted slightly. Edmund caught the hair that had fallen down and tucked it behind my ears. 

I grabbed Edmund’s hand to raise my upper body and stand, calling Yurision, who looked at me with folded arms a few steps away. 

“River…”

How should I address him? Mr. River? Sir River?

When I paused, a corner of Yurision’s lips curled up slightly. The familiar smile caused me to stare dazedly at him inadvertently.

“You can call me Sir River.”

It’s because he has a title. Ahh, he has a title.

He nodded slowly when I added the title to address him. 

“Thank you, Sir River. I can be relieved for the time being thanks to you.”

“I’m glad that it was of help to you.”

“I was born with much more mana than my body can handle.”

“It’s a miracle that you’re still alive.”

He nodded and spewed out a bomb without changing his expression. As soon as Yurision’s words left his mouth, the hand gripping mine tightened. 

“It’s not to that extent.”

“No. In a situation where both mana and body aren’t in a very good shape, your heart would be in danger as it can’t handle the mana…Your body is in a mess due to the overflowing mana, but you’re saying that it isn’t to that extent, it seems like you don’t have much crisis awareness.”

“That’s because there isn’t a family mage here– Ugh!”

Normally, it would be alright. My body was like this right now because of the induced rush of mana, and also because I didn’t have the time to straighten out my mana myself…!

However, before I could continue speaking the following words, I groaned at the grip that was crushing my bones.

“Sorry, Vivi.”

Edmund seemed to be quite shocked as he loosened the fingers that were wrapped around my hand. He seems to have used strength in his hands without realising it.

Edmund gave a glance to the quickly falling hand before looking upwards with an unexpected expression on his face.

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