"You're right about not having to be cautious. But I don't intend to cooperate with the royal family ever even if I have to disappoint your father. I can't put my trust in a politician. No matter how sincere a politician sounds, he will inevitably prioritize benefits over relationships. At one point or another, I would lose my value and these people wouldn't think for a second before stabbing me in the back. Even if they are showering us with their goodwill, no one can guarantee how long it will last. Therefore, I for one am going to keep my distance. I know it will be hard for your family to do the same after accepting so many benefits from the. But please stay cautious as well."
Christina felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought that Zach was worried about her. She kept nodding like a fool in response to his words as if he was able to see her through the distance.
They chatted casually for a little longer before Zach took the initiative to end the call saying it was late and Christina should go to sleep and take better care of her body.
Christina couldn't possibly say no to that. She needed her beauty sleep like all other girls her age. But the subtle signs such as her tiny and muffled voice, and the unconscious stutter in her words revealed the longing in her heart which would definitely affect her sleep after disconnecting the call. It would make her regret the moment she decided not to engage Zach in conversation for a little while longer.
…
Zach wasn't as affected by the culmination of the call as Christina was. If something did disappoint him then it was the lack of information about Luna's condition. Thankfully, he now had hope. Christina had reassured him that she would find information regarding this condition of hers. As such, he could only place his hopes in her resourcefulness and information gathering skills. Based on her business mindset, Zach was sure that she was just the right person for the job.
Zach turned towards his side as he put all his thoughts to the back of his mind and looked at the fairy like existence sleeping right beside him. So much time had passed since she entered this never ending sleep but Zach could not get used to Luna's absence. She had been a constant part of his life ever since he came to this world and this had never changed; not even when he was about to legally marry Christina. And now that she refused to budge at nothing, Zach felt as if the world had abandoned and forsaken him. It took all his will power to part with Luna when he had something to do. If it was up to him and he didn't have the responsibility to take care of everyone else in the Luther family, he would have long since run away with Luna in his arms.
Being busy taking care of Luther family's matters allowed Zach to keep his mind off Luna. Therefore, he didn't have to spend his time wallowing in guilt and self blame over Luna's condition. It also allowed him to look for a solution or some information regarding her condition along the way as well. Even though Christina had agreed to find some information for him, it would make him feel too unreliable if he didn't try anything in the meanwhile.
Zach touched her dewy face that looked slightly sunken at the cheeks as if she was suffering from malnutrition. The long sleep had taken its toll on her glamorous looks but even then she was a sickly beauty that would arouse the sense of protection in any male that came across her. She had the ability to arouse the protective instinct in any male no matter whether they were prior acquaintances or not.
Zach's touch was surprisingly gentle as if he was afraid of hurting her even though she probably couldn't feel anything at the moment. Seeing her condition, his regrets kept rearing their heads inside him one after the other.
He had been a pro gamer in his previous life and had hardly ever made any mistakes playing games. He had done things that others could only dream of and had broken records that no one could even get close to. And yet, he couldn't keep himself from making mistake after mistake even though this world was like a game to him. The fact that one of his loved ones was paying the price for his mistakes was eating at him from the inside. His vulnerabilities increased every time Luna failed to wake up after his careful nudging.
With his hand on Luna's slightly cold to the touch cheek, Zach thought back on all the things he had done wrong and all the things he had failed to do ever since he came to this world that contributed to any kind of harm against his loved ones. He remembered how he had failed to take down his first enemy that almost succeeding in killing him and Luna.
The escaped enemy in turn came back and ruined his life in Elizabeth city out of nowhere. Had he taken care of that idiot in time, the Luther family wouldn't have been forced to move out of their centuries old home and Luna would have still been healthy by his side.
While he was on the subject, he prodded through the gathering of all the regrets in his heart and found that there were some he had barely even registered before. He had not given them much thought because Luna's condition occupied most of his brain cells.
Christina was a fine woman who never asked for any explanation regarding Luna's true identity despite the fact that Zach was in the wrong for keeping things from her. She just silently supported him even after his secret was revealed. She fought for him and got injured because of him but never criticized Zach a single time.
Zach believed that he owed the woman a lot. He owed her a beautiful wedding that was ruined because of Prince Kolt. He owed her a lot of love for not abandoning him and standing by his side where other women would have drawn a clear line. After all, who had the guts to take on the government to support their husband while he was clearly the one in the wrong?
He regretted not having taken Christina as his woman even though their wedding ceremony couldn't reach culmination. He had chosen not to have sex with Christina because he was bound by the morals and the standards ingrained in him by the society of the modern world. Sometimes he forgot how useless those morals were in a world dictated by power and strength; where those with enough magic power could run amok like they were the gods while the others had to take their behavior as the norm and bow their heads in silence.
Had it not been for his stubborn mindset, and Kolt's unexpected intrusion, Christina would have already been his wife. So many events that he wanted to change could have been averted easily if he had been more cautious.
Zach cursed at himself for still following the code of conduct from his previous life. He had wanted to throw it away on many occasions but couldn't actually bring himself to do so. It was too deeply rooted in his subconscious mind. Zach could only slowly work on it in order to change because he believed that this change was absolutely necessary if he wanted to protect the people around him. If he couldn't even protect those close to him, there was no use of having this technological advantage in this world set in the middle ages. Luna's current condition was a testament to his uselessness and every time he looked at her, he was reminded of it. It left a bad taste in his mind.
Therefore, Zach needed to be true to his desires if he wanted to live a life without regrets and pain. Both his regrets regarding Christina and Luna were based on his lack of initiative and his inability to act on his desires due to social and moral constraints that didn't even exist in this isekai.
As if the system understood the reason for the rainy season in his heart, it issued a mild weather warning notification to divert his attention.
[A local rainstorm is expected to hit this place and the surrounding areas within the range of 40 kilometers. The ETA for the weather system is one hour. Some items have been drawn from the Weapons Arsenal and are still out in the open. The items will lose durability and functionality after being subjected to the rain. You are therefore, suggested to put away all the furniture and the ammunition for the time being so as to avoid soaking them in the rainstorm that will soon follow you here.]
Zach opened the detail of the notification and found the complete the weather update. As a result he couldn't ignore the plight of the people who had barely even moved in. Some of them had just washed their foul smelling clothes and had hanged them out to dry. Some had their luggage still lying around in the open because they were too tired to move those things inside. Therefore, Zach needed to do something or the people would lose their remaining morale as well.
He couldn't help but thank the gods out there for giving him a system as good as the one he had. It could even deduce when a weather system was about to hit a certain place.
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