Impatience
by Afuhfuihgs
,,,Ss.
I frowned at the cozy sunlight that greeted me as I opened my eyes. I stared blankly at the sky for a moment. Clouds, fluffy and spread out, were moving slowly against the blue sky. It was peaceful. Not too dry, not too hot, just perfect weather for a nap anywhere.
As I was stretching and yawning, appreciating the calming effect of birds chirping and frogs croaking softly somewhere, a shadow suddenly fell over my face.
,,,Ross!
Startled by the voice, I sat up, and Luna, who had shouted my name, said with a pretty smile.
“Seriously, you’re such a sleepyhead! Are you taking a nap to mess with me again at dawn? I’m always the only one suffering from sleep deprivation!”
,,,Sorry.
As she said that, pouting her lips as if slightly sulky, I scratched my head dumbly. There was a beautiful lake in front of me. The water seemed clear, reflecting the clouds in the sky perfectly.
My head felt fuzzy. Thinking, ‘What a scenic place,’ as I stared blankly at the lake, something soft and warm suddenly touched my cheek. In that instant, my dazed mind cleared.
Turning my head to the side, I couldn’t help but smile as Luna, who had kissed my cheek, turned her head away with a cute expression, pretending not to know.
“Daring to kiss me without my permission… Luna, you’re quite brazen, aren’t you?”
At those words, Luna wore an even more brazen expression with a playful smile.
“Ross is mine, so it’s okay to kiss you anytime.”
Saying that, Luna kissed my cheek once more and leaned against my shoulder. Just as I was about to close my eyes again, enjoying Luna’s warmth, I heard a voice in my ear.
“Still haven’t caught it?”
“Huh?”
“The fish, I mean.”
Tilting my head at those words, I lowered my gaze following Luna’s line of sight and saw the fishing rod that was set up. It was a handmade fishing rod that I had made myself using magic engineering knowledge. It had been finished a few days ago, but there had been no catch yet.
“For someone who promised to make me delicious grilled fish… there hasn’t been any news for hours, you know?”
Despite her complaining tone, I smiled happily at Luna’s bright expression, as if she was simply happy to be with me.
“I don’t even notice the time passing when I’m with Luna.”
“Hmph, you just took a nap, but you sure know how to sweet-talk, just like a husband should.”
Saying that, Luna stretched my cheeks out to both sides, kissed my lips lightly, and then stood up. I pinched her soft butt slightly, and Luna glared at me, slapping the back of my hand with a *chaltssak-* sound.
When I pretended to be hurt, Luna hugged my head tightly and gently smoothed my hair, which had become disheveled from my nap, saying:
“I’ll go back and start preparing dinner first. At this rate, we won’t be able to eat dinner again.”
After Luna left, I stared blankly at the fishing rod for a while. It seemed that my attempt to make the fake bait look like a live bait with a faint vibration using dust-cleaning magic had failed.
After an hour, the position of the sun changed, and the weather became a bit darker.
“Give a husband some pride….”
As I was grumbling to myself in a small voice, the float, which had been quietly maintaining its balance, suddenly went under the water. I quickly lifted the fishing rod and felt a heavy force unlike usual. It was a big one. I hurriedly drew up my magic power and quickly reeled in the line.
After a few minutes of struggle, a fish the size of my forearm was finally pulled out of the lake. As I had learned before, I safely removed the hook from the fish’s mouth. Rejoicing at the fish’s large size, I heard Luna calling from afar.
“Ross! It’s late. Stop now and come back!”
Seeing Luna calling me like a mother calling her son playing outside, I shouted with a happy face.
“Luna, I caught it! It’s a huge one!”
I held up the fish, which was flapping its tail vigorously, with both hands.
“Really?!”
As if she couldn’t wait for me to return, Luna, with a disbelieving voice, ran towards me.
The fish’s resistance was too strong, so I put it in a box filled with water for now. I tidied up the fishing rod that was lying on the ground next to it and proudly showed Luna, who came up to me panting, the fish in the box.
“How is it? Big, right?”
“Wow, it’s huge.”
“I told you, I’d let you eat delicious grilled fish.”
Luna, who had been admiring the fish with her hands on her knees, said with a happy smile.
“I believed Ross would do it. Then, for dinner toda―――.”
In that instant, something poured over my face. Opening my eyes, which I had instinctively closed, the world appeared red. Something touched my body. It was a familiar warmth that I could recognize without even looking. But Luna’s body was soaked in something.
I inadvertently lowered my gaze slightly. I could see blood gushing endlessly. The place where the blood was gushing from was Luna’s body, with nothing left above her shoulders.
“Ah, ah… Aaaaaah…! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
As I exhaled the breath that filled my lungs, it turned into an endless scream. My legs gave way along with Luna’s headless body, and I collapsed to the ground. The heavy weight I felt in my arms and the blood mixed with Luna’s soft, sweet scent endlessly confirmed that this was not an illusion.
“Luna, Lunaaaaa!!!”
There was a pain as if my throat was tearing, but it was nothing compared to the pain of my heart being crushed and bursting. No matter how much I cried out, there was no answer. I tried to shout Luna’s name again, but it just turned into a faint breath.
“Heuheuh, heu heuk….”
It was a terrible nightmare. A reality I wanted to deny. The pain was so intense, as if my heart had been torn out whole, that I couldn’t breathe. At that moment, I heard someone approaching. I turned my head with difficulty towards the sound, and blue eyes were looking at me.
“…I’m sorry. Ross.”
Seeing Roel wiping the blood from the Holy Sword on his forearm as if it were a habit, I felt rage surge within me.
“Why… why…! Why the hell, hyung-nim, why!!!”
I couldn’t understand it at all. It was none other than Roel who had congratulated me on my marriage with Luna. Why would Roel kill Luna?
The eyes looking at me wavered. Roel, with a bitter smile on his lips, said in a voice that sounded genuinely sorry.
“To win in the fight right now… I needed that emotion of yours.”
Roel came up to me and knelt on one knee. And he reached out his hand and gently caressed my cheek.
“I promise. If we fail this time, I’ll be sure to find another way next time.”
Leaving behind incomprehensible words, Roel stood up. As Roel turned away, I squeezed out my voice and shouted.
“…Don’t be ridiculous! Don’t be ridiculous!!! Right now, right now, Luna… bring Luna back to normal!”
But Roel walked away as if he couldn’t hear my voice. I wanted to follow him and kill him, but the moment I realized that Luna was dead, all the strength left my body. It was impossible to follow Roel in a situation where even standing was difficult.
Roel was no longer visible. The body of Luna, whom I was holding, quickly turned cold and hard. I, who was muttering incomprehensible words like a beast, shifted my gaze to the ground.
Luna’s head was rolling on the ground in a mess. I pulled Luna’s body closer and reached out to grab Luna’s head. Luna was covered in blood and dirt, with the smile she always gave me still on her face, her eyes unable to close.
I took a deep breath. Even though I felt a piercing pain as if my heart was bursting, I could feel my heart pounding like crazy in my chest.
In an instant, I felt as if my body was being thrown somewhere, and I saw Ross, who was hugging Luna’s head and screaming, in my eyes.
“What is this…?”
Whether he heard my voice or not, Ross, who had been wailing, suddenly stopped crying and stared straight at me, biting his lip with tears of blood. I could feel the intense anger in his gaze.
Ross, who was hugging Luna’s head, looked at me and said with an expression as if he couldn’t understand.
“You, do you have time to be dreaming like this right now?”
In that instant, I came to my senses. It was a dream. A very terrible nightmare. Looking out the window, it was still dawn. My pulse was pounding in my ears like drums. The image of Luna’s severed head rolling on the ground did not disappear from my mind.
Only after confirming that Luna was sleeping peacefully next to me was I able to calm my startled heart. But the question that Ross had thrown at me echoed in my mind. The thought that I could lose Luna to Roel also crossed my mind, and I suddenly felt impatient.
Is it okay to waste time like this? Isn’t it already too late even if I move right away? Such thoughts weighed down on my consciousness. Spending time with Luna felt like wasting the last chance to save her.
I stared blankly at Luna’s sleeping face. In that instant, Luna’s face overlapped with the image of Luna who had been killed by Roel. I, I….
I thought about it. Even if Roel were to kick down that door right now and do the same thing, would I be able to protect Luna? Would I really be able to endure the pain of losing Luna?
After endless 고민, I was finally able to wear a faint smile.
I quietly whispered in Luna’s ear, who was asleep.
“I promise. I will give everything to protect you.”
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