ALL NOVEL #3
#3
“Do you have somewhere to stop by first?” Kain asked, following Jersian. The Gerold mansion, which he had returned to after a long time, remained calm, detached from the chaotic situation outside. “Yes.” Jersian strode down the wide corridor.
Hmm? Kain tilted his head slightly, then matched his pace, silently gazing at Jersian’s back. Normally, they would have been walking side by side, engaging in other conversations, but something felt off. …Is he still very angry? Since I share some responsibility for how things have turned out, Kain decided to follow Jersian as much as possible, allowing him to do what he wanted.
Whenever they returned to the mansion, they would always head to the room they shared first. After a long journey in the carriage, he wanted to change out of his clothes and tidy up, but it had only been a few minutes since he started following Jersian after hearing that he had somewhere to stop by first.
Before long, the corridor they were walking in was not the familiar place filled with the luxurious and expensive decorations of the Gerold mansion, but rather a strange space. This was definitely a place he had never been to before. Kain frowned slightly as he looked at the rough stones covering the walls and ceiling.
Having spent years in the mansion with Jersian, Kain was familiar with the locations of most rooms and corridors. But this was his first time in a place like this. The air was damp and dark. It felt like they had passed down the stairs several times already.
Thud. Jersian’s footsteps, which seemed like they would never stop, finally came to a halt. “…Have we arrived?” Kain asked as he walked toward where Jersian was standing. This place looked like just an empty dark room for a destination. Drip, drip. The sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling echoed loudly, and green moss was growing here and there.
“Jersian?” Why has he been silent since earlier? Kain called out to Jersian, who seemed to be fiddling with some device in the stone crevice of the dark room. Hmm? Just as Kain narrowed his eyes and was about to speak again, “Why are we—”
Creeeak—the iron bars behind him made an unpleasant metallic sound as they closed. Clink, clink—someone seemed to have touched a device that hadn’t been used for a long time. “Ah, so this is how it works.” Jersian’s calm voice followed immediately. There was a strange tone in his voice. A bit of relief and… what was he thinking? Kain tilted his head, waiting a moment to hear why Jersian had brought him here.
“I’ll give you time to sort out your thoughts.” “What?” What… Kain took a step forward to clear the obstruction in front of him and approached Jersian. Then, he grabbed the black iron bars with his hand. They didn’t budge as if they were embedded in the ground. When he struck it with his fist, clang! The sharp metallic sound echoed through the dark underground. It was a steel cage.
Only then did Kain realize why Jersian had brought him here. He finally understood why Jersian had avoided eye contact and kept his words to a minimum since they got into the carriage. He had used the elves’ exceptional ability to discern truth to speak only the truth while hiding the lies behind it. He intended to trap him here.
“…You deceived me.” This time, it was out in the open. Kain let out a hollow laugh with an indifferent expression. No matter how much they were no longer fated partners, deceiving the other was still the worst. Jersian briefly looked at Kain inside the cage before shifting his gaze elsewhere. It was evidence that he knew he had done wrong.
“It was an unavoidable decision.” “Stop with the excuses and open this.” Kain frowned and spoke again to Jersian, who was examining the device that lowered the bars. He didn’t meet Kain’s eyes as if he hadn’t heard anything. “Jersian. This is where the jokes end.” Kain’s low voice swept over Jersian. However, Kain’s words had the opposite effect.
“A joke?” Immediately, Jersian’s red eyes turned back to Kain in the cage. His eyes seemed to flicker like a fire burning fiercely in the darkness. “Do you still see this as just a joke?” It was hard for him to tolerate Kain dismissing his true feelings as mere jest. If he knew how they had been together and how much he loved Kain, he should never have said such a thing.
“It would be best if you didn’t make me angrier here.” Then, Kain Starchis’s eyes turned to Jersian. His white face standing inside the cage seemed devoid of any emotion. Ah, a sound that seemed to indicate realization escaped from Kain’s lips. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You really intend to trap me here?” “……”
Jersian felt as if his patience was being tested. However, he didn’t immediately express his anger. After all, getting angry at him would only make him seem childish. Jersian crossed his arms and lowered his head. Trying to act as mature as possible, he clenched his jaw, causing his jaw muscles to bulge.
“What I meant by saying to think about it… was to consider how trivial that mark between us really is. I have no intention of breaking up with you just because the letters that were engraved on my body have disappeared.” “So you deceive me and trap me here?” “If I hadn’t done this, would you have come back here with me?” “……”
No, that wasn’t it. Kain Starchis looked at Jersian’s red eyes outside the cage. He already knew the answer he wanted. But… “No matter how much I ponder here, the answer won’t change. Jersian, you should know that much.” Jersian didn’t understand what the mark and the fated bond meant. The link that had connected them was severed, and the intense feelings Jersian had poured out toward Kain had completely vanished.
The human emotions that had shaken Kain were all washed away like the ebbing tide, leaving only his own steady and calm emotions and thoughts. “You have to admit it. Even if it’s not now, we are destined to part ways someday.” Kain could see Jersian’s red eyes trembling slightly at his words. Soon, he turned away as if to leave and said, “…Anyway, I don’t have that much time left either. Think about it enough while you’re inside.”
With those words, Jersian strode away, leaving Kain behind in the dark cage. “What more do you want me to think about here alone?” Kain muttered to himself. Although the place he was trapped in seemed to have been unused for a long time, most of the necessary things were provided. A bathroom in the corner, a large bed, a small table, and even a fake flower placed on it.
“Hah.” Kain sighed as he pressed his palm against the rough stone wall. The underground was devoid of sunlight, and the air was stale from not having circulated for a long time. It was hard to find the refreshing energy of nature and life. Every time he breathed in and swallowed, he felt his body grow heavier. Humans might manage to live here, but for the elf Kain, it was not a suitable situation.
With this bad air and worries about Jersian… I feel like I’m getting a headache for no reason. Even when he rubbed his throbbing forehead with his fingers, the headache didn’t go away. No matter how much he thought about it, it was right to leave Jersian in front of Galia. Following him out of a momentary sympathy and foolishly getting trapped here. It seemed he had easily blended into their emotions after spending so long with humans.
“…What now?” In fact, Kain hadn’t decided how to live moving forward. He couldn’t stay by Jersian’s side forever, so if he left him, he would need to find a place to stay in the human world. Kain was capable enough to take care of himself. He could probably find a way to survive somehow.
Living in the human world would be difficult. He would have to hide his pointed ears so that other humans wouldn’t recognize his identity. But returning to the elven kingdom, the Fiokhim mountain range, was now impossible. The elves would never accept Kain, who had broken their rules. Of course, he didn’t regret that. If he hadn’t, Jersian might have died right there.
“……” It was absurd, but perhaps, just like Jersian said, he really needed time to think. As a droplet fell from the damp ceiling, Kain lowered his head deeply, lost in thought.