Chapter 187
— You must love.
— You must love only the power.
The bright, predatory eyes, so like those of a beast. The owner of the voice, whispering constantly, was surely the one with those eyes. Just for a moment, when he turned around, Blitzen twisted his ankle.
“Ah!”
As he fell forward, a sharp pain shot up from his knee where it hit the ground. It was painfully numb, without a doubt. Blitzen quickly tried to get up, but his leg, which had hit the floor so hard, refused to move.
It was at that moment that a chill ran down his spine.
Overwhelmed by an unbearable fear, he turned around again. And there, he met the eyes.
The narrow eyes that were smiling with a twisted, almost thread-like gleam.
“H-Hahhh!”
Blitzen flailed his arms and legs, struggling as if he was swimming in deep water, and suddenly woke up. His body was drenched in cold sweat, like he had been pulled out of a deep abyss.
“Hah… hah… Hah…”
He couldn’t breathe. It was strange that no water was coming from his mouth or nose. As he looked around, he found himself in the midst of darkness. But it wasn’t as terrifying as before.
‘This… this is a room…’
The crawling darkness had disappeared. Still, as he realized he had woken from the dream and returned to reality, a late tremor began to shake his body. His fingers, numb with fear, lacked the strength to move.
With great effort, Blitzen managed to lift his hand and grab his damp hair. The sobs came uncontrollably. He wanted to blink, but even a moment of darkness felt terrifying.
In the pitch-black dark, the color that had glimmered brightly.
It was the same green as Ivonne’s eyes, the one that had saved Blitzen today. For the first time in his life, Blitzen realized how repulsive the color green could be. Yet, there was no place for him to run.
“Love… you must love.”
Tears welled up as he thought of Ivonne’s green eyes, the one he was supposed to love. That was what the voice in his dream had said.
“Love… you must love the power…”
At only thirteen years old, Blitzen didn’t even know what love meant, yet he mumbled to himself in a daze.
“Not Ivonne…”
His eyes, barely able to stay open, filled with more tears as they stung. Blitzen couldn’t tell whether he was crying out of fear or because his eyes hurt.
“The power Ivonne has…”
His murmurs continued. He felt like if he stopped even for a moment, he would be pulled back into the dreadful darkness of the nightmare. So, Blitzen kept speaking without even understanding what he was saying or what it meant.
“You must love…”
Even though he knew the bed he was sitting on was real, he was trapped in the brainwashing of his dream.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“Ha…”
A tired sigh escaped. Isaac’s face, pale and drained, was the source of it. Leaning back into the soft couch, Isaac muttered.
“Brainwashing is tough…”
Was it always this hard? Or had it become harder because, during his time with Ivonne, he had been drained by Novnie sleeping inside her?
“But, well… this should be enough.”
A faint sense of satisfaction crossed Isaac’s tired face.
Just earlier, he had invaded Blitzen’s dream. The content of the brainwashing wasn’t particularly complicated. Since Blitzen could never become a Count on his own, Isaac had instructed him to use Ivonne’s power.
However, Isaac had installed one safety measure: he made sure that Blitzen would love only Ivonne’s power.
‘Ivonne is the vessel that holds Novnie’s essence. I can’t allow another man’s hands to touch her.’
A wry smile twisted Isaac’s lips cynically.
The groundwork was done.
Ivonne would safely grow under someone else’s care, and during that time, Isaac wouldn’t have to worry about losing power to Novnie. By brainwashing Blitzen to love only power, there would be no chance for feelings to develop.
“Phew… I’m tired.”
He felt relieved. Now, all that was left was to find a way to wake up the Novnie sleeping inside Ivonne. That would be the most difficult part, but if the end result was a smiling Novnie, then there was nothing Isaac couldn’t do.
‘Yes… there’s nothing I can’t do…’
Isaac closed his eyes. Perhaps it was because he had pushed himself too hard, but sleep quickly overtook him. Even though, as a god, his body didn’t require rest, it seemed that he couldn’t shake off the human habits he still clung to.
‘Just a short nap… will be fine.’
Even though his body didn’t need recovery, Isaac wanted to give his constantly alert mind a rest. Besides, there was no mood change more effective than sleep.
The spell of sleep quickly reached out with its comfortable, black hands. Isaac didn’t resist it and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Yes, he thought of it as just a nap. But this was a mistake on Isaac’s part.
When he opened his eyes, ten years had passed.
And something he hadn’t thought about, showed him the worst possible situation as he woke up.
“Congratulations on your wedding!”
“Congratulations, Count Ulfest! Wishing you a happy marriage!”
“Congratulations on your wedding, Ivonne!”
“From now on, you must live happily forever!”
Blitzen and Ivonne had gotten married.
Ivonne had fallen in love.
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