Chapter 14
One poorly chosen word, and everything I’ve built so far could collapse. I racked my brain and threw out a line.
“You wouldn’t want to spend your days arranging flowers like some clueless young lord of a ducal house, would you?”
Ian pressed his lips together and answered a beat later.
“I’m alive. I’m breathing.”
“You didn’t come back to life. You and I are both just trapped in these bodies. If you’re gonna waste time thinking about useless crap, you might as well just give up—”
“This can’t be.”
“What?”
Ian suddenly grabbed his hair with both hands and let out a long-suppressed scream.
“How could I— How could I die?!”
That cry, full of despair, didn’t feel normal. What the hell is going on with him?
I instinctively pulled my body back. But before I could even retreat properly, a veined hand suddenly grabbed the hem of my clothes.
“Ugh!”
Just as I tried to shake him off, I saw Ian’s face. A translucent film had formed over his blue eyes, and unspeakable anguish was clearly etched across them.
“Are you… crying?”
“To take one’s own life is a sin.”
“……”
“It’s no different from treason, betraying one’s homeland and lord!”
His voice was different from the fury he had shown before. This was self-condemnation, a deep sigh directed at no one but himself.
“And so, I endured and endured a life like hell…!”
The words, sighed out as he lowered his head, fell heavily to the floor. The grip Ian had on my clothes slowly loosened.
“To think I must go through this pain all over again.”
There wasn’t even a trace of hope in his voice. His shoulders drooped, and his head hung low, halfway toward the floor. It was an unmistakably pitiful and strangely sorrowful sight.
The guy’s a bit unhinged, but still, seeing him so dejected… it kinda tugs at you. It felt like seeing a kitten abandoned in an alley on a rainy day, curled up all alone.
A sigh slipped out from his lips as he braced himself on the floor. His expression was even more pathetic. His eyebrows sagged weakly, and though his lips were tightly pressed, there was a melancholy air that settled over his whole face.
I looked at him, and before I realized it, I reached out my hand.
“Don’t look so down…”
Awkwardly, I placed my hand on his back.
But Ian harshly brushed off my attempt to comfort him.
“Ugh.”
“What the hell would you know!”
Ian lashed out sharply, his voice choked with tears. His eyes were full of mistrust as they bore into me.
“It’s fine! So what if you die? You can probably die again.”
“Empty comfort like that means nothing to me.”
This guy. He really doesn’t let a single word slide without biting back.
“If we just work together, everything will be fine. I told you, I’ll help you die again.”
He stared at me for a long while, then finally asked with a suspicious gaze,
“And why should I trust you?”
His tone was still firm and guarded. Clearly, this guy wasn’t someone you could win over with words alone.
I had to show him something decisive.
Unfazed by his hostile stance, I stepped closer. His muscular body tensed instinctively, wary of my approach.
“Watch closely.”
Then I flicked his nose.
Flick-.
As my finger tapped the bridge of his nose, a beat of silence passed…
“Puhack!”
And then Ian let out a sharp cry as blood burst from his nose.
Clutching his face on reflex, he hunched over.
“Guh-! Cough, cough, kugh!”
As the blood trickled through his fingers, I looked down at him and spoke matter-of-factly.
“See? You can’t hurt me.”
“Kuh… haa, haa…”
“Just harboring killing intent toward me leaves your body like this. That alone proves we have no choice but to work together.”
Covering his mouth with one hand, he slowly lifted his head.
His bloodshot eyes were brimming with indignation.
“E-even so, that’s not something you-”
Before he could even finish, he began convulsing again.
His face turned redder and redder until his pupils rolled back.
Like a snapped tree, his body slumped forward, and Ian collapsed to the floor.
Discussion
1 CommentReactions
Suckerforshipping