Chapter 82
Cassius snapped the page of the unread book.
“You didn’t even take a potion. Why do you keep saying everything so honestly?”
“Isn’t this much praise fine?”
“It’s not. Keep it in your head.”
“Sheesh. So mean. Considering what we are together.”
…And what exactly were they?
Cassius barely stopped himself from asking that and stared down at his book.
He had to stop getting close to Eki. He was someone who would soon leave this land, and this world entirely.
…And he would never see Eki again.
The same pain he had agonized over the night the fairy appeared rose in his chest again, burning him all over.
She looked foolish sometimes but was actually bright. She was occasionally sly but not malicious at all. She was the beloved disciple he had taught for seven years. And lately she was the only woman who had permitted him to touch her, in one way or another.
Cassius had tried to leave this lonely world where no kin of his remained. For thousands and tens of thousands of days, he devoted everything to achieving that goal, but no matter how hard he worked, he couldn’t complete the fairy summoning circle. Just when he thought he would have to live in this prison forever, Eki had appeared.
From then on, his life changed. It was no exaggeration to say that something called life returned to a man who had existed like an inanimate object.
Eki was truly bright and cheerful. When he watched her, the Thousand Dog Tower felt less like a prison and more like a home.
But he had already promised to leave this world. Even if he no longer yearned to join the otherworldly dragons, Ikelid would surely come to subjugate him if he broke the agreement. Cassius had no choice.
So he had to push Eki away.
Even aside from himself, Eki shouldn’t form feelings for him. He had no intention of telling her his circumstances. In a short human life of only a hundred years, it was better she give her heart to someone else rather than waste time loving and hating him.
He suddenly remembered the countless handsome portraits plastered across Eki’s room and crushed the book in his hand without thinking. Even though it was a book he liked, he didn’t let out a single sigh of regret. His jaw tightened as he barely suppressed his temper.
Once these three days pass, I’ll have to keep my distance again.
If he physically couldn’t move away because of the fairy’s prank, then there was no need to struggle pointlessly. Cassius muttered, “Just three days. Only three days,” and lifted his gaze toward Eki on the bed.
At that moment, he met Eki’s eyes watching him from up close.
“Eki?!”
Cassius jerked back so hard his shoulders hit the backrest. He had no idea when she came this close. The heart that had been aching a moment ago turned into a pleasant pounding.
“…Why are you awake? You said you were sleepy.”
“Your expression didn’t look good.”
Eki’s cheeks were a healthy pink, and her neck was soft and fresh from her bath. The fact that she carried the same scent as him stirred a strangely dark satisfaction inside him.
Cassius turned his head away, warning himself.
“It’s nothing. Go to sleep.”
“…You’re doing this just to avoid me, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been avoiding me these days. Isn’t it because I did something wrong?”
“No. Why would you think that?”
In the dark room lit only by a single soft candle on the nightstand, Cassius’s expression eased without him noticing. He looked at Eki’s troubled face with a mix of helplessness and pity. But since he could never explain his contract with Ikelid, he forced himself to speak bluntly.
“I thought we needed distance in the first place. The luck potion made things like this, but… we should return to how we were…”
“I told you I like how things are now. And you agreed at the time, didn’t you?”
Cassius fell silent. He rubbed his forehead as he tried to avoid Eki, who had stepped closer.
“…Forget that, Eki.”
“I don’t want to. I want to know why you’re avoiding me.”
“I told you. To return things to normal.”
“Why are you suddenly thinking like that? Is it because of the fairy?”
Cassius’s widened eyes snapped toward her. Seeing this, Eki looked triumphant and grabbed both of his cheeks, holding him in place.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.