chapter 12
12 – 12. In an Empty House.
Caw.
Caw.
…It felt like the sound of a crow was continuously ringing by my ear.
Even if I repeated to myself that it was just an auditory hallucination, in front of the black vision, a red glimmer flashed as if mocking me.
The passive skill seemed to be continuously activated… but my mind continued to be dizzy.
It came all the way in front of me and opened its beak.
…Are you not going to tell the secret?
Secret? What secret are you talking about?
I…
I –
I only had thoughts.
The simple thought that I am not Repeti Gail, but a person beyond that.
But as my vision flickered strongly, my mouth clenched tightly.
“uuugh – !”
Terrible pain surged up from the bottom.
Like being electrocuted, it felt like it was passing through every part of my body.
A secret, an unspeakable secret.
Curious, fascinating. The lock on your lips, and your existence that changed that child.
Breaking through the barrier filled with determination, you are fascinating, opening up that closed heart.
The key that fits that lock… is that child?
Child? Are you talking about Irene?
The crow fluttered around me incessantly, tilting its head.
Curiosity fills my hunger. Anything will do. If only it can fill this infinite hunger, anything will do.
Even the blood spilled for ambition, the vile desires consumed by ambition are fine, but if it’s an unspeakable secret, it’s even more interesting.
And above all, I can’t just leave it alone when the child is overflowing with these new emotions.
How much will swallowing that satisfy this hunger? How full can I become?
I never expected that there would be something that would make the child, who I thought was part of my ambition, salivate.
I lied. Lies. Lies.
Like an angry bird, its wings fluttering, its beak wide open, a small bird.
And a flash of red light. Behind it, countless eyes flashing…
I am impatient. I’ve been told to be patient many times, but I know the plan is big, but it doesn’t satisfy my anger. If I devour it too?
I’m hungry. Hungry. Feed me. I’ll do anything if you can give it to me.
I can do anything to fill my hunger.
This small creature, constantly pleading for hunger and emptiness, constantly opened its eyes.
Is this the secret of the Malbus family, talking about emotions and desires?
Did this existence give power to the Malbus family?
But I didn’t dare to use my gaze.
It looks dangerous enough and still remains.
A crow that blabbers incomprehensible words in my mind. It was clear that I shouldn’t touch it.
What do you think? Can that child satisfy my hunger?
Let me taste what I give you. Let me swallow the overflow.
What do you think? What do you think?
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Those words are incomprehensible, so – “
You know. You know.
Something hot and sticky. It’s still giving. Can you feel it flowing into you now?
I want to swallow it. I want to taste it. I’ve never seen anything like this before.
I want to touch it, but I’m bound by a contract, so I can’t swallow it.
I want to eat. I’m hungry. I can’t wait any longer. I can’t resist when I see something so delicious.
Hot and sticky, you say. Flowing into me? Is this what Irene is giving me?
Is she talking about love? What happens if I eat it?
Does her love go out? Then what about our engagement?
What happens to my marriage?
Crunch.
Crunch.
Countless questions filled my head. What is this? It wasn’t just a story that would end with simple love.
I couldn’t figure out what I had been caught up in.
Dating a woman and going all the way to marriage is not an easy task, and now I have to fight with the desires of an incomprehensible being, when I was about to lose my mind with the thought,
I was able to open my eyes.
With her lips stretched out as if to kiss, her eyes closed, I was face to face with the woman inside the red room.
*
“You, you woke up.”
What broke the silence in the room, which had been filled with tension, was her voice, a sharp sound.
Click, click, I could barely see her as she stroked her throat.
What on earth is she saying? Why is she becoming more and more audacious?
And when I woke up, thinking about the saliva on my lips, it seemed like she had kissed me many times.
Turning around, glancing at me for a moment, she had a face that could be two…
When she ran away as if embarrassed, wasn’t it when she slightly stuck out her tongue and licked my lips?
What, what did she call it? Was it audacious? She was a scary woman.
Perhaps, if she had a little more knowledge, she might have already been overwhelmed. But that was not an immediate concern. She had to ask what had happened to her. But the answer she received was…
“We are free now. Both of us. My father can no longer harm you or me.”
“Does that mean… he’s dead?”
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it.”
“Ah, unfortunately?”
Unfortunately, she said. Of course, if he were to die… it would be a good thing for me. But it would certainly be a big deal for this country. His tentacles, spread like an octopus, would be cut off, and the rebel forces would scatter. But my surprise was not reflected favorably in her eyes.
Suddenly, she turned completely away from me and asked, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
“…If I had tried to kill you, then what?”
I, I tried to kill him because he tried to kill me? No matter how much of a scumbag he was, my father?
As much as her statement was not a lie, she looked at me calmly. That was even scarier.
“Still… isn’t he your father?”
“Then is it okay for you to try to kill my husband?”
H, husband. We’re still engaged, aren’t we?
She treated me as if we were already married.
“Irene, we haven’t gotten married yet – “
At that moment, her face, which naturally revealed her emotions, stiffened.
With her lips slightly parted, she stood still as if in shock.
“Are you not going to get married?”
In an instant, she was standing in front of me.
She grabbed my hand with trembling hands, and soon tears began to flow.
The tears were so hot that they made my hand, which was already shocked by their warmth, curl up.
With a trembling voice, she expressed her sorrow to me.
“Please, don’t say such things… Am I scary? Am I ugly? Or is it because I’m too stupid?”
“S-scare, scared? And what-“
She was terrifyingly beautiful, but it didn’t make her terrifying.
But, the truth is, I felt afraid-
“…!!!”
“Sto-stop-“
The moment that thought crossed my mind, her gaze pierced through the strands of hair falling in front of her, penetrating my mind.
As the skin on my hand gradually crumpled, pain started to flow through my arm.
“No… I can’t… I can’t leave you… How did I discover these feelings? How did I discover you?”
“W-wait, wait- Agh!”
It was a mistake, a big mistake. I should have known that she was inexperienced with emotions.
I should have known that she vaguely understood my innermost thoughts…
“Please, tell me you love me. Please… Please tell me I’m important to you…”
“S-sto-stop… Irene… Please, just let go of my hand…”
“I won’t let go… If you leave… If you go, you’ll disappear…
Leaving only a smile, never to show your face again…!
I can’t let you go again.
In agony…
Ag…
Sniff…”
She immediately fell into contemplation, hastily releasing her hand and sinking down.
Trembling like a quivering branch… she looked at my face and then lowered her head deeply.
“Irene, Irene.”
Her hand was still screaming in pain, but I could tell that it wasn’t important.
Her face was pale. Of course, she had a fair complexion, but…
Her color had drained, to the point where her face was almost blue.
I had no choice but to hold her tightly and whisper in her ear.
“Irene, Irene. No matter what happens, I won’t leave. I love you.
Sometimes… I’ll have to gradually fix the things that hurt you, but I won’t push you away because of that.
I won’t leave you. Even if something else tries to separate us… I’ll be by your side.
So…”
“Promise me that you mean those words.”
Thump, my heart pressed against hers once more.
More than ever, my heart was pounding like crazy.
Her touch was the same… Beyond my skin, she was tapping on my heart rapidly and very rhythmically.
She wrapped her arms around my back and gently stroked the back of my head.
She trembled, but pronounced my name correctly.
“Repeti Gail, please promise me.
That those words are all sincere, no matter where, even in a different world, even if it’s an unknown tomorrow for us…”
…She whispered quite an astounding line.
She pressed her soft cheeks against my cheek, continuously whispering into my ear.
“Promise me. Promise me… Repeti. Please…”
“Yes, no matter what… I promise to love only you.”
“Thank you. Thank you…”
Did she release the tension in her words?
I gently stroked her head as she leaned against me, sobbing uncontrollably, and patted her back… pat… pat…
Like soothing a young child,
Like comforting a young child who was overwhelmed with guilt for hurting their father during a tantrum.
Sniff, sniff.