Ch.168168. Kim Shinwoo

“Ruffian Deus?”

At Deia’s words, Deus frowns deeply and glares at her.

“You……”

He seems to have something he wants to say, but the words won’t come out properly.

“So.”

As if trying to loosen his stiffened mind, Deus attempted to speak, but unfortunately, he couldn’t complete his thought.

Because.

Whack!

Deia’s fist slammed straight into Deus’s face.

“You crazy bastard! Why are you here! I didn’t call for you!”

“Guhk!”

“If you died, you should have stayed dead!”

As she was about to continue her assault, Erika hurriedly grabbed Deia from behind to stop her, while Findenai stepped between the siblings to create distance between them.

Since Erika and Findenai still didn’t know about Shinwoo Kim, they wondered why Deia was behaving this way.

“The master just woke up, what are you doing!”

It made no sense to greet someone who had barely survived with a fist to the face.

With a worried expression, Findenai approached Deus.

“Master, are you alright?”

“Ah, ahem. Um.”

As Deus pondered what to say, Findenai’s expression twisted violently like that of a demon.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Click.

The short staff at Findenai’s waist transformed into an axe the moment her hand touched it.

Bang!

The axe flew past Deus’s face and embedded itself in the bed. Findenai, having forgotten what she had just said to Deia, stepped on Deus’s chest to pin him down and looked down at him.

“How dare you, you dog, inhabit that body without permission.”

“No, no! That’s not it!”

“Shut up. If you say one more word with that mouth, I’ll tear you to pieces.”

Findenai’s mana surged ominously, roughly pressing down on Deus. The intense killing intent in her eyes was filled with the desire to kill him immediately.

If it hadn’t been Deus’s body, the axe would have already been lodged in his neck.

“Wait!”

Pushing back against Findenai’s mana, Erika cast a light spell that enveloped the entire room.

Somehow, Erika had pushed aside both Findenai and Deia and was now standing next to Deus.

“What are you two doing! To someone who needs absolute rest!”

Rarely raising her voice, Erika scolded them both while glaring at Deia and Findenai, ready to cast a spell at the slightest suspicious movement.

“Th-thank you.”

Hearing Deus’s voice from behind her, Erika’s eyes widened and her head quickly turned.

“Ah.”

The swords of light that were about to be fired at Deia and Findenai suddenly changed direction.

Crash!

The light swords flew directly at Deus, binding him like handcuffs, and Erika asked in an ice-cold voice.

“Are you… in his body again?”

“Aaaaargh! It huuuurts!”

This time, Erika’s reaction was even more violent than Findenai’s. Having directly witnessed Deus fighting for control of his body with someone at Robern Academy, Erika found it difficult to control her emotions.

Thinking that she couldn’t bear to see such a sight again, Erika looked down at Deus with a voice as cold as Norsweden’s winter.

“I won’t let anyone misuse his body again.”

The binding light magic gradually tightened around Deus. Despite screaming in pain, his mind finally seemed to clear in the urgent situation as he shouted:

“I-I’m just temporarily looking after it!”

“Huh?”

At that answer, all three people looked at each other once and then back at Deus.

On the verge of tears, Deus sobbed and shouted:

“It’s originally my body! Damn it! What is this! I was trying to help!”

“……”

“……”

“……”

* * *

“Huh, really.”

Outside the Verdi family mansion.

Leaning against the wall with tobacco in her mouth, looking up at the white sky, Findenai was overwhelmed with complicated emotions.

This must be what it means to be so dumbfounded that words fail you.

“Actually a different person?”

Crunch.

She unconsciously crushed the tobacco she had been smoking. Since she had to throw it away anyway, she regretfully took out a new one and put it in her mouth.

She had already smoked several, with cigarette butts scattered on the ground, but there were also some crushed ones that hadn’t been fully smoked, like the one just now.

“Shinwoo Kim?”

She couldn’t deny that it was quite a shock to learn that the Deus Verdi she knew actually had a different person inside.

After all, he was the first man she had ever loved.

Though she could barely speak, Findenai’s mind was working clearly.

‘So that’s why he was called a ruffian and a playboy in Norsweden.’

It had been too strange, really.

The Deus Verdi she knew was not the type of person who would live the life described in those rumors.

But with Illuania being practically an eyewitness, she had no choice but to believe it.

“So he was a different person.”

Completely different from the man who had been carelessly flaunting his genitals around.

“Shinwoo Kim. Hmm, Shinwoo Kim.”

With the tobacco in her mouth, Findenai was lost in thought until the fire nearly touched her lips, at which point she came to her senses and spat it out.

“Pretty name.”

With a slight smile, Findenai became curious. How would the master react if she called him Shinwoo Kim when he returned?

Though he would obviously dislike it.

“So you only kept it from me and your fiancée.”

It was quite irritating to hear that Deia and Aria already knew, but well.

“I’ll let it slide since you came to save me this time.”

Dusting off her clothes to remove the smell, Findenai was already letting out an amused laugh.

“Still, such a handsome face.”

Could it be because the person had changed?

It was strange how just looking at him now made her feel uncomfortable.

Not simply unpleasant, but a feeling that someone had taken something precious from her.

Deciding to avoid looking at the current Deus as much as possible, Findenai rolled the name around in her mind again.

“Shinwoo Kim, Shinwoo Kim. Hmm, it sticks well.”

* * *

In Deus’s room.

Deus, who only now realized it was his room because Shinwoo Kim had already changed all the furniture and structure inside, glanced at Erika while lying on the bed.

A rather long silence ensued.

But in the end, it was Erika Bright who composed herself and broke the silence.

“Is your hand alright?”

“R-right now it just throbs a bit.”

Looking at Deus’s empty right hand, Erika asked as if making a resolution.

“So you’re saying you’re the original Deus Verdi?”

“U-um. Yes.”

“And we’re meeting for the first time.”

“Y-yes, I heard I was engaged to the Bright family.”

Having been quite badly burned by Erika earlier, Deus was speaking timidly while avoiding her gaze.

Though Erika found this awkward, it allowed her to more clearly recognize the difference between Shinwoo Kim and Deus.

Her heart, which used to flutter when she saw him.

Far from feeling the slightest flutter, it had grown cold—truly a mysterious experience.

“And you’ve returned temporarily to keep the body alive for Dei… no, Shinwoo Kim?”

“A Saintess with a horn on her forehead woke me from my rest. She said he was in danger and needed time.”

“……”

“I-I’m just here to buy him a little time. I also…”

Deus tightly gripped the blanket covering him as he revealed his feelings.

“I owe him a debt.”

“……”

She understood what he meant. Though Erika was also quite confused by the sudden truth, what mattered most right now was just one thing.

‘So he’ll return if there’s enough time.’

Just that alone made Erika feel as if a heavy burden had been washed away from her heart.

“Phew.”

Erika lowered her head, covering her face with both hands and rubbing it dry.

She was planning to leave for now. To be honest, she didn’t even want to converse with the current Deus Verdi.

“Um, excuse me.”

At that moment, Deus cautiously opened his mouth.

“How is… Illuania doing?”

“Ah.”

Knowing what kind of relationship Illuania and Deus had, Erika hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“Yes, she’s doing well with the child. Her name is Sevia, and they’re in Norsweden now.”

“They’re in Norsweden now!”

Deus’s eyes sparkled as he was about to make a request, but Erika shook her head.

“I can’t show the current you to others. And I’m not sure if Illuania would want to see you either.”

“Ah, I see…”

Though his expression was bitter, Deus didn’t deny it or insist.

He clearly understood what his role and position were.

“…Please stay here for now. I’ll call another caretaker.”

As Erika slowly rose to leave, Deus turned his gaze to the window and agreed.

But before Erika could even touch the doorknob, the door opened and two people entered.

The head of the Verdi family.

Darius Verdi, still bandaged from injuries sustained in the battle with the Doberman.

And Deia Verdi, glaring at Deus with an expression of disgust.

Darius saw Erika, gave a slight bow in greeting, and said:

“Would you mind giving us a moment?”

“Ah, yes. I was just about to leave.”

After Erika left.

The two stood before Deus Verdi.

Deia, making it abundantly clear that she didn’t want to even speak with him but had been dragged here against her will, and beside her, Darius, looking at Deus with a troubled expression.

Though seats were available, the three spent a moment in silence, organizing their thoughts.

“Let’s talk.”

The first to speak was the eldest son, Darius.