Pr/editor: Raven
It was troubling since Erich, who was not sharp as usual, reminded Rayan of him from the past. The situation was even more challenging because it was hard to like someone without sincerity. When Rayan returned to his original form, he could see that after learning that he felt his body heat, he was careful not to let his fingers even touch his body.
“Um, Your Majesty. Would you like to come in?”
Rayan attempted to ease the atmosphere.
“Suddenly?”
“You don’t like it?”
“Not really, because I remember almost dying in the sea once.”
He spoke vaguely, but Rayan knew what he was talking about. He could still vividly remember how he had rescued him from the turbulent sea during a storm and brought him to shore. Even the feeling of despair that he might not be able to find Erich drifted somewhere in the vast ocean.
Moreover, he once fell off a cliff. He remembered the situation, but since he himself had disappeared, the only thing left for Erich was the memory of falling into the sea, and it was not a pleasant memory.
“Ah…”
“Of course, since you are here, there is no need to worry.”
He was worried that Rayan would be reminded of his bad past, so when Rayan hesitated with a depressed expression, Erich, who did not miss it, added something.
“I can’t swim. I can’t breathe in water like you do.”
“If that’s the problem, I just need to breathe into it.”
“… Breathe?”
It was only for a moment, but the corner of Erich’s mouth twitched.
“In what way?”
“Ah…”
Although his tone was soft, he made the same facial expression he used to hide his displeasure. Rayan noticeably avoided answering. As he remained silent, his eyebrows rose towards the sky as if he was uncomfortable, but he did not press back.
“I think sometimes…”
Erich, who was looking at the starry night sky, lowered his gaze to Rayan. The blue eyes that did not lose color even in the dark were beautiful. The eyes that he wanted to see again even when they were covered with eyelids were still so beautiful.
“… What?”
He was so captivated by those eyes that he was slow to respond.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Strangely enough, I feel like you know me well.”
“…”
“Aera ilxf rbwfbcf ktb tjr xcbkc wf obg j ibcu alwf.”
Ejsjc rabqqfv ygfjatlcu obg j wbwfca. Mbg tlw, ktb gfwfwyfgr fnfgs wbwfca atja tjv qjrrfv, ecvfgrajcvlcu Sglmt’r offilcur kjr wbgf cjaegji atjc ygfjatlcu. Cr j gfreia, tf vlvc’a gfjilhf atja tf tjv ab yf mjgfoei.
“Yo mbegrf la kbeiv yf jc liierlbc. Snfc Ofjt, ktb kjr mibrfra ab wf, rbwfalwfr mbeivc’a ecvfgrajcv ws offilcur. Vb atfgf’r cb kjs sbe xcbk wf atja kfii.”
He was thinking about what to say to make an excuse, but Erich came to a conclusion on his own. Rayan sighed in relief and called out to him.
“Your Majesty.”
“… Once in a while- never mind.
“Yes. Speak.”
He waved his hands and gritted his teeth, quickly letting go of his frustration and controlling his emotions. Rayan closed his eyes, looked at him, then lowered his gaze, and looked back and chose his words. It was a long process of pondering.
“Your Majesty, how would you feel if someone you loved died?”
Erhart shook his head, indicating to tell him more.
“No, it reminded me of a children’s book about people trying to follow their loved one to death…”
“There’s content like that in stuff that children read?”
“Hm? Mhmm.”
Of course, there was no such content in the children’s book that Erich sent through his servant. He didn’t know exactly. He only read fairy tales featuring mermaids, but he piled up other books and didn’t even touch them.
However, this was a brilliant idea that he came up with after thinking about it for several days.
“What will Your Majesty do?”
Giving him a hint to continue his life without revealing it.
“… What do you think?”
Erich, who was tapping his thighs with his fingers as if he was lost in thought for a moment, answered back.
“I asked first.”
“Isn’t it more reasonable for you to express your thoughts first and then ask what you think?”
“But since I asked first, Your Majesty answers first.”
“If you don’t answer, I won’t either.”
It’s been a long time since they’ve been stubborn and bickered over something that wasn’t a big deal. It was only for a moment that he became annoyed at Erich for delaying his answer. Rayan suddenly felt nostalgic. He didn’t feel like he could do well on the emotion until it withered away, so he hurried to speak up.
“… I hope he can forget everything and live his life.”
“…”
“Because his lover, who had to leave before him, would have wanted that too. I hope my loved ones will not be saddened by my death. May they be happy for a long time. May they always smile. Only think about me occasionally.”
Please, if Erich was going to remember everything, he hoped that tonight he would also remember these words he whispered. He hoped his despair didn’t last long. So as not to be filled with regret.
“You asked what I would do if it were the other person, and you answered by speaking like you’re the one dying.”
“I answered already. What would your Majesty do?”
“Hmm.”
Erich unconsciously wrapped his fingers around the ends of Rayan’s hair. He was lost in thought and seemed to have no idea what he was doing. This was one of his old habits. The sensation of his scalp being gently pulled tickled Rayan, but he remained silent.
“Isn’t it what my lover wishes for— to be not sad, to be happy for a long time, to always smile, and perhaps think of them every now and then?”
“What?”
Rayan pouted his lips and expressed dissatisfaction. He said it all himself. There were no traces of distress anywhere. Only Rayan was anxious and in a hurry.
“I answered seriously, but Your Majesty…”
“I also struggled. I answered carefully.”
As Rayan continued to pour out his complaints, Erich only then tried to resolve the issue. However, in his honest heart, he wanted to get a promise, even if it was just an insincere answer.
“Promise.”
“What?”
“Promise me that Your Majesty’s answer is sincere.”
Surprise spread across his blue eyes. He seemed to have no idea why they had to argue or even make a promise over something as trivial as a fairy tale character. Rayan urged, steadfastly raising his little finger.
“Hurry.”
“Did you learn that from Marielle?”
Since he couldn’t answer that he was the one who told him, Rayan just lifted his finger closer and waved it. Erich looked at it with a distraught expression. He looked like he didn’t want to risk his little finger. But Rayan wanted to make a promise. Even in this way, he wanted to soothe his anxiety.
“… Marielle is a lady as she is claiming now and even she won’t raise her little finger.”
He made a disapproving face for a while, then lowered his voice and chanted his formula. Golden dust enveloped Erich’s body. Only then did Erich intertwined his fingers with Rayan’s.
“Okay. I promise.”
His hands, which should have been hot, were cold.
“Let’s go now. It’s been too long.”
“Ah…”
Erich entwined his fingers with his and pulled himself upward.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
Rayan was easily brought to land. As his shape changed into a human, a coldness that he had not felt before spread inside him. As his body trembled slightly, Erich spoke bluntly and quickly wrapped his robe around him. Rayan, barely showing his face, was led by Erich’s hand and went back the way they had come.
“…”
The sound of insects in the grass, the sound of the wind shaking the leaves, and the sound of light footsteps.
It was a quiet night.
Rayan went back to the bedroom and pretended to fall asleep next to Erhart, then woke up slightly and hummed like a chirping bird. He sang quietly for a while and quickly fell asleep. When the wheezing sound became more regular, Erhart opened his eyes. There was no trace of sleep in his eyes.
“…It is like this every night.”
It was only recently that Erhart wondered why his headaches had disappeared and why he wasn’t having nightmares. He also realized that while Rayan was unconscious for several days, he suffered from his sleeplessness again.
“…”
Brushing hair from his round forehead, he looked at Rayan, who was asleep. His closed eyelids casted dark shadows that reached up to the corners of his eyes. Crinkles quickly appeared on his face, which used to move around without the slightest worry. He groaned and trembled as he twitched his fingers, but when Erhart slipped his fingers between them, he fell asleep with a relaxed expression on his face, still holding his hand.
Erhart watched for a while, felt a hand clasping his, and only when the moon had set a little more did he get up. He did not forget to be careful in case Rayan awoke from his own tossing and turning.
Erhart, who got out of his bed and looked at Rayan for just a moment, closed his eyes and then opened them. Instead of a familiar bedroom with only dim light on, he saw an unfamiliar space. An unpleasant sharp current of air flowed around Erhart in an uneasy manner.
“Today, I have paid the price for trespassing into your territory without permission.”
It was a quiet night when all things were asleep. A captivating voice emerged from the pitch-black darkness. It was not the voice of someone startled by sudden intrusion.
“Cut the bullshit.”
Erhart cut off coldly, turning his head in the direction the sound came from and closing the distance by one step.
The other person was tilting his head crookedly and smiling meaninglessly.
“Tell me what you said to Rayan that day.”
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)