Chapter 148
You were so dazzlingly bright back then. The words that followed were barely audible, almost a whisper to herself, but unfortunately, Rezus heard everything.
“Sometimes I’ve thought about it.”
Psyche raised her head. The moment their eyes met, some intuition struck his mind. A feeling that if he heard any more of her words, he would sincerely regret all the days he had spent pursuing his goals by any means necessary.
“If I weren’t Mathes, and you weren’t Arje.”
……yet in that moment, all he could do was stare at her moving lips with a dumbfounded expression.
“Perhaps our relationship would have been different…….”
Thump. The sound of something falling echoed within his chest.
He widened his eyes. He wanted to immediately confront her, to tell her not to lie, to ask how she could possibly have thought such things, but strangely, no voice came out. By the time he finally managed to speak, she had already collapsed from exhaustion.
“……Ha.”
The hand touching the corner of his mouth trembled slightly. Rezus slowly closed and opened his eyes, trying to calm his turbulent heart.
Psyche is a woman born with the ability to shake someone’s heart. Today, he had shown too much vulnerability, and she had simply uttered those wicked words to disturb him.
Yet even as he thought this, he couldn’t stop the fantasy unfolding in one corner of his mind.
If she weren’t Mathes and he weren’t Arje. No, if he hadn’t kidnapped her in the first place. Or if he had kidnapped her but hadn’t violated her. If he had apologized for his actions and promised not to harm her, explaining that since the other side was holding hostages, they needed insurance too. If he had asked her to endure until Ruon manifested his ability, despite the discomfort.
Perhaps.
Truly, perhaps.
Our relationship would have been different.
That night too, Rezus had to spend the hours wide awake, sleepless. Trapped in endless fantasies that had no conclusion.
* * *
When she opened her eyes, Rezus was gone. Instead, Serdin was embracing her body. Perhaps it was because of his hot, fiery body firmly holding her, but the chills that had been tormenting her were no longer felt.
However, her insides still churned violently. She was still being injected with nutrients since she couldn’t eat food at all.
‘I’m anxious.’
Not just physically but mentally unstable now, her insides seemed to burn black with impatience. When would she finally manifest her ability? Did she need to have more s****l relations?
She wanted to tell Serdin she wanted to do it, but he was the type of man who would refuse, saying, do you know what condition your body is in? Just as she was inwardly swallowing a sigh, a knocking sound was heard.
Psyche merely turned her head to look at Serdin. At her questioning gaze asking if it was okay to permit entry, Serdin nodded.
“Come in.”
Upon permission, Terche approached Psyche carrying a transparent pack that appeared to be nutrients. He seemed to want to replace her nutrition pack. Serdin frowned deeply in displeasure.
“Put it down and get out.”
“I don’t think you have the authority to order me around.”
Serdin snorted loudly.
“Did you forget?”
He meant Rezus’s orders. As Psyche’s condition had been deteriorating, Rezus had commanded that except for Serdin, no one was to approach her until she recovered.
Of course, bringing nutrients and leaving immediately was acceptable. But anything beyond that was not permitted.
“……”
Terche stared at Serdin silently for a moment. Then he tersely said “I wish you a speedy recovery” to Psyche and turned to leave. But before taking three steps, he turned back and murmured in a casual tone while looking out the window.
“The weather is nice today.”
“Hey, what are you doing? Get out.”
“The day we kidnapped you, the weather was nice like this too.”
Serdin’s expression grew fiercer. He looked ready to unleash harsh profanities. That’s when Psyche gently grasped Serdin’s hand and shook her head. Just as Serdin could barely hold back his words and instead let out a deep sigh, Terche continued.
“It must have been the worst day for you, but for me, it remains a rather good memory. The weather was nice, and the process of kidnapping you was also……”
His voice grew quieter toward the end. As Psyche focused more attention on him, her eyes met Terche’s.
“It went more smoothly than expected.”
“This crazy bastard……”
Serdin spat out a rough curse and ordered him to leave. Psyche blankly stared at Terche’s retreating back.
More smoothly than expected? Perhaps noticing that she was pondering Terche’s words, Serdin held her tightly, distracting her attention.
“You’re still very tired, right? Let’s sleep a bit more.”
Psyche wanted to ask if Terche’s words were true, but she couldn’t. Sleep was overwhelming her uncontrollably once again.
When she opened her eyes, it was dark all around. She couldn’t tell if it was truly night or if it was because the curtains were drawn so thoroughly. Psyche blinked her eyes a few times and then rolled over to her side. Serdin was sleeping.
She idly poked his cheek with her index finger. He must have been in a deep sleep as he didn’t stir at all. Psyche stared blankly at him for a moment before raising her upper body and turning her head toward the clock.
The time was just past 4 PM.
‘……Have I been sleeping all day?’
As she opened her mouth in a daze, a severe headache struck her. No sooner had she clutched her forehead and let out a pained sound than Serdin jumped up with a start.
“Are you okay?”
He carefully placed his hand on her forehead. Sleep had completely left his face.
“Ugh……, I’m fine…….”
“Ha, damn it. If only I had healing abilities…….”
Serdin didn’t seem to believe her when she said she was fine. Helios seemed to be the most skilled at healing abilities……. Was he thinking of calling Helios? Just as she thought this, someone knocked on the door. It sounded like Helios.
“……Come in.”
As expected, the one who knocked was indeed Helios. The handsome man with platinum blonde hair slowly walked into the room with a faint smile on his lips.
“It’s been a while, Phrena.”
Serdin narrowed his brows and glared fiercely at Helios. His look seemed to say not to speak unnecessarily. Helios smirked and said in a languid tone.
“I’ll heal you without any pain.”
Light burst from his hands, and her entire body was bathed in white. The light receded around the time her headache completely disappeared.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”
“……Yes.”
Psyche nodded slightly and leaned her head lightly on Serdin’s shoulder. Helios, who had been quietly looking down at her, tilted his head to the side.
“Hmm……, it seems you’re sincere with Serdin.”
“Hey, if you’re done, get out.”
“Should I leave?”
He asked with a smile. Psyche thought for a moment before parting her lips.
“……Do you have something to say?”
“A little? But I’ll leave if Phrena tells me to.”
“Psyche, there’s no need to listen,”
“Go ahead and speak.”
She cut off Serdin’s words and gave her attention to Helios. She could hear Serdin sighing beside her, but she pretended not to notice and moved away from him. Helios slowly leaned his upper body forward.
“I’ll give you one piece of advice.”
He pressed his lips close to her ear. Soon, a transparent membrane enveloped the two of them. He had created a barrier so Serdin couldn’t hear.
“If you don’t want to see us going crazy…….”
“…….”
“Act fairly. Either reject everyone, or accept all of us.”
“…….”
“If you give your heart only to Serdin like this, you’ll spend your whole life being chased by us.”
Serdin breaking the barrier and Helios removing his lips from her ear while narrowing his eyes into crescent moons happened almost simultaneously.
Serdin told her not to pay attention to whatever Helios had said, but in Psyche’s judgment, neither what she heard from Terche today nor what she heard from Helios should be dismissed carelessly. But she was too exhausted now to think deeply about it.
Psyche quietly closed her eyes. Hoping only that her ability would manifest soon.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.