Chapter 38
“Why did you stop?”
Even if one’s world was falling apart, if it wasn’t said aloud, others couldn’t know the reason.
Kalynia sensed that something was off about him, but without understanding why, she only tilted her head in confusion.
“Vylon.”
She called his name again, but there was no response.
“Vylon!”
Vylon finally came to his senses after she shouted loudly.
He looked around, grabbing something nearby—it was the bear pelt he had draped over the chair.
Why a bear pelt all of a sudden? Was he planning to spread it on the floor and do it there?
Kalynia watched in confusion until she saw him drape the bear pelt over himself. She blinked in surprise, taken aback. His bizarre behavior didn’t end there.
With the bear pelt covering his face, he approached her, attempting to lay her down on the table and continue.
“No! No, no, no, no!”
Kalynia screamed, seeing the hollow eye sockets of the bear pelt staring back at her. She thrashed wildly, trying to shove Vylon and the bear pelt away.
She slapped him, kicked at him. She put up a fierce resistance but soon found herself subdued by the bear pelt.
In Kalynia’s eyes, the bear-clad figure, panting heavily, seemed like a beast breathing raggedly over its prey. She could almost imagine it drooling, even if it wasn’t.
“Why are you resisting, Kalynia?”
The bear pelt’s voice sounded sad. It seemed quite deflated. It might have sounded pitiful to others, but to Kalynia, who found the bear pelt horrifying, there was no room for sympathy.
“Just because you sound sad doesn’t mean I’ll go along with it! I said no!”
“……”
“Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden?”
“…Because I can’t let you see my face.”
“What are you talking about?”
Up until now, he hadn’t minded her seeing his face. Why this sudden insistence?
Kalynia furrowed her brows, baffled by his strange words.
No matter how much she tried to understand, she couldn’t make sense of it.
She had merely asked him to stop pressing on her stomach so hard, as it was making her feel queasy.
As she replayed the situation, she suddenly thought she understood his odd behavior.
She remembered Harriette mentioning that he was cursed by Grimdelwald.
“Did you think I was about to vomit because I saw your face?”
“……”
“I’m not human, I’m a witch! That curse doesn’t affect me!”
It was simply because he had pressed down on her stomach too hard right after a full meal.
Explaining this made Vylon pause, but he didn’t respond or remove the bear pelt.
“I don’t feel anything when I look at your face. I’m a witch.”
“……”
“Don’t tell me you don’t believe me?”
Could anything be more insulting?
As a witch, being doubted like this wounded her pride deeply.
Kalynia glared at the bear pelt before ripping it off him. The rough texture of the fur made her shudder, but at least she succeeded in revealing his face.
Though Vylon quickly tried to hide behind the bear pelt again, she was faster. Before he could cover up, she slapped him across the cheek—a bit hastily, but with a touch of intent.
The slap stung, and finally, his gaze fixed on her, briefly stopping his evasiveness. And he naturally focused on the person who had hit him.
“I’m perfectly fine.”
Kalynia stared at him, as if to prove her point.
“See? I’m perfectly fine no matter how long I look.”
Vylon squinted, studying her. Maybe squinting would somehow lessen any potential nausea, a futile hope.
For a long, long while, he watched her, checking to ensure she was okay. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
With his tension released, he staggered backward and plopped into a chair. The flimsy chair groaned under his weight, but he ignored it.
He resolved to never press on her stomach again.
Vylon buried his face in his hands, trying to compose himself. Kalynia, who had been lying on the table, sat up and looked at him.
She wanted to laugh at him for misunderstanding so ridiculously. But he looked so worn out, so genuinely shocked, as if still grappling with the impact of his relief.
Kalynia rolled her eyes, searching for words.
She wanted to comfort him, but how?
“You’ll break free from the curse soon.”
That would be a lie, and they both knew it.
“The curse might remain, but you’ll be fine.”
That was true but sounded irresponsibly casual.
She couldn’t come up with anything good to say. It was surprising, this lack of words. Kalynia realized she wasn’t exactly suited to giving comfort.
“Get rid of that bear pelt.”
Finally, she decided to change the topic.
“…You don’t like it?”
Vylon’s response was unusually slow.
“It’s creepy. For a moment, I thought I was being attacked by a bear and almost panicked.”
“…And me?”
He hadn’t expected her to say she was fine with him, not really. Still shaken, Vylon spoke whatever came to mind.
“I don’t dislike you.”
“…I see.”
“……”
“…Huh?”
Finally, Vylon looked up. It seemed like she had just said she didn’t dislike him.
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