25-145

EP.145 [Mina Strips for Poisoned Eugene.♥] 

‘A person??’ 

Marie, watching the mysterious figure falling down the cliff, realized it was a person someone in a black hoodie and black cloak. 

SPLASH!!! 

The figure in the black hoodie fiercely descended the cliff and plunged straight into the raging river below. 

‘Shit...’ 

Eugene was swept away by the river’s rapids. Three projectiles had been thrown at him. The first was a long needle coated in paralytic poison. The next was a strange-looking dagger, which also seemed to be poisoned. Eugene’s demon blood resisted the first poison, but when the second weapon hit, his strength rapidly faded. The third was a heavy dagger, and with that, Eugene was pushed off the cliff and fell. 

‘My body won’t move. Between the paralytic and the strange poison, I can’t use any strength at all, damn it.’ 

He could still move his hands and feet until he fell off the cliff, which is why he tried to regain his balance. But after hitting the water and being swept away, Eugene briefly lost consciousness. When he came to, he still couldn’t move his limbs at all. 

‘My leather combat suit is full of water. Damn it.’ 

If the current hadn’t been so strong, Eugene’s leather armor might have kept him afloat for a while. But the rapids quickly filled the suit with water, making his body as heavy as if he were wearing iron armor, and he helplessly sank, continuing to be swept downstream. 

THUD! THUD! 

The riverbed near Jebodang village was littered with rocks of various sizes, creating the fast and rough current. Eugene’s paralyzed body was battered by these rocks as he was swept along. 

‘I can’t... even my consciousness is fading...’ 

But Eugene didn’t even have the strength to feel the pain. Whether from the second poison or from slowly drowning after so long in the water, his consciousness was slipping away. 

‘Jeanne... Charlotte... Elizabeth... Duchess Marianne...’ 

As if sensing this might be the end, Eugene’s life flashed before his eyes. The faces that came to mind were, as always, the women of the House of Oblaing those who had given him the warmest memories in both his past and current lives. 

‘Vivian comes to mind too... Hm... I must have really opened my heart to her...’ 

Even at the end, Vivian’s face appeared in Eugene’s mind. 

‘Vivian will be so sad...’ 

Vivian was always so pure and devoted when it came to Eugene. He felt sorry for her, thinking he’d been too much for her. Facing death, all he could remember was how kind she’d been to him. 

‘Regret is hitting me... I should have treated them all better...’ 

Instead, Eugene’s mind was filled with memories of not being good enough to them. He wanted to be with them more, but now it seemed he never would, and the regret mixed with their loving faces. 

‘My eyes... are closing...’ 

Sss... 

Eugene’s vision faded to black as if a fuse had blown. 

At that moment  

SPLASH! SPLASH! 

The black-cloaked figure who had jumped in after Eugene swam rapidly through the swirling river, trying to catch up with him. 

THUD! THUD! 

The black-cloaked figure was also battered by the rocks on the riverbed, but seemed more intent on reaching Eugene than on swimming safely. 

SWISH... 

As she hit a rock, the black scarf covering the figure’s mouth came loose, revealing her face. 

‘Just a little more! If I can just catch up!’ 

The black-cloaked figure was none other than Mina, the head blacksmith of the Black-Haired Forge. Mina, who had told Marie to be extra careful today, had sensed something was off and secretly followed Eugene after politely declining his invitation to Jebodang village. 

SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! 

Mina showed incredible swimming skills. The river twisted and turned, but Mina, undaunted by the spray, kept her eyes on Eugene and swam after him. 

‘Good! I’m almost there!’ 

Putting all her strength into it, Mina closed the gap to about two meters. 

 GRAB! 

Once Eugene was within reach, Mina pushed herself even harder, getting close enough to grab his thigh. She reached out to grab his waist. 

‘Tsk!’ 

But Mina frowned as the current suddenly shifted, pushing Eugene’s body away from her. 

‘Push even harder.’ 

Mina’s eyes sharpened. Her first grab had been out of desperation, wanting to catch Eugene as quickly as possible. But after failing in her haste, she resolved to be calmer and more precise. 

 SPLASH!! 

At that moment, they reached a deeper, flatter part of the riverbed. Mina dove lower and kicked off, sprinting through the water. 

She reached right under Eugene’s back. 

‘Got you!’ 

GRAB! 

She finally managed to hook her right arm around Eugene’s neck. 

‘Not yet, I have to push even harder!’ 

But it wasn’t over yet. She still had to get out of the rapids and swim toward the shore. Eugene was wearing a waterlogged leather combat suit, making it even harder to drag him sideways out of the current. If she lost focus for even a moment, they’d both be swept away. 

‘Please! Just a little more!’ 

Mina swam with all her might, holding Eugene. 

‘Made it!’ 

After about ten seconds of swimming, she felt the current weaken. 

“ Puhah!!” 

Mina and Eugene broke the surface, gasping for air. 

Drip, drip, drip... 

Mina swam to the riverbank, and when her hand touched the muddy ground, she slipped her arms under Eugene’s armpits and dragged him out of the water. 

Once on dry land, Mina laid Eugene down in the sunlight. 

Whoosh! 

She threw off her cloak. 

Eugene was safely unconscious, his face pale, not breathing. 

After confirming this, Mina  

“Haaaah...!” 

 pressed her lips to Eugene’s for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. 

“Fwooo...! Fwoop...! Fwooo...!” 

She blew air into his lungs. 

THUD! THUD! THUD! 

She pressed hard on his chest to restart his heart’s circulation. 

“Fwoop...! Fwoop...! Fwooo...!” 

She repeated the resuscitation, putting her all into saving Eugene. 

Finally  

“Kuhek! Kuek! Kuehek!” 

Eugene’s airway cleared, and he coughed up water from deep in his lungs. 

“Haa...!” 

Thud! 

Seeing this, Mina felt the worst was over and collapsed backward, her strength gone. 

“Hnnngh... hnnngh...” 

Eugene, airway cleared, groaned as he felt the pain in his body. 

“……” 

Mina watched him in silence. 

About 200 meters from where Mina had pulled Eugene from the river, there was a cave. In front of the cave was a rock, with a black cloak draped over it Mina’s cloak. Underneath were Mina’s clothes and Eugene’s leather combat suit, laid out to dry. Judging by the clothes on the rock, Mina and Eugene were inside the cave. 

Oh, and in a more hidden spot under the rock, their underwear was also laid out. 

In other words, Eugene and Mina were now naked. 

“Huuuh..., huuuh...” 

The cave was about 20 meters deep. At the very back, Eugene lay on a bed of dry grass that Mina must have gathered. His breathing was still unstable. Mina had surely dried him off, but his body was still drenched, and his fever was so high that sweat was pouring off him. 

Step, step, step, step, 

Someone slowly walked toward him. 

Scars from a whip on her back, and a ponytail of black hair it was, of course, Mina. 

Mina’s body was also glistening with sweat. She’d been busy tending to the sick Eugene in the early summer heat, so she was sweating too. 

“Haaaah...” 

As a Barbarian, Mina’s body was robust and well-built. But as she approached Eugene, she took a deep, nervous breath. 

She was also covering her crotch with both hands, approaching Eugene very shyly. 

‘Don’t think weird thoughts. I’m here to save and treat Eugene. He’s Jeanne’s boyfriend.’ 

Even though Eugene was unconscious, being naked in front of him was embarrassing. Knowing that Jeanne and Eugene were together, Mina felt even more self-conscious. 

‘I can definitely treat Eugene. So there’s no need to be nervous.’ 

Sss... 

Even so, Mina’s reason for approaching Eugene naked was to treat him. She knew he was burning up with fever from the poison. Repeating this to herself, Mina, with a determined look, removed her hands from her crotch. 

Her most private area was now fully exposed. 

‘A day has finally come when the blood of my cursed clan is useful.’ 

There, a distinct mark was engraved on Mina’s genitals.