episode_0017

The lush green forest gave off a bright glow.

The people who melted into it ate away someone’s light.

“Cassat has become strange?”

“Before, he was kind and had a good personality… They say that these days, I start a fight with everyone I meet.”

“Tsk tsk. Have you gone crazy because my brother left?”

“That’s right. By the way, Myris and Katan will also have a hard time.”

“I don’t know about Miris, but… It looks like Katan is completely angry. These days, the shouting echoes throughout the village.”

“It wasn’t like that before… After Camiel became like that, Katan’s personality also became like that. Probably.”

“In the end, this is because of him, and that is also because of him… It’s all because of him, right?”

A shadow fell between them as they chatted behind their backs.

The two looked at each other and their eyes widened.

“Ka, Kasatni?”

“When did you come? To the surprise of the men, without a sound… ”

Their confusion was clearly conveyed to Cassatt, who kept his eyes quietly open.

‘I tried to stay still… .’

I happened to be passing by on the street.

I listened to the voice coming from nearby and found that it was talking behind my back.

‘It didn’t matter up to that point.’

But then he started cursing his family… .

Furthermore, I couldn’t help but call my older brother ‘that guy’ in a low-key way.

The two people who had been talking a moment ago seemed to be exchanging glances.

What should I do with this?

Did you really hear it?

Cassat, who vaguely noticed this, spoke in a low voice.

“Old men. What did you just say?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What is it that we always talk about? Proud of your children, proud of your wife… .”

“It wasn’t. That kind of thing.”

My heart sinks.

Why didn’t I feel disgusted by these ugly sights earlier?

I thought this was how people lived.

Pretending to be nice in front of others and looking at others’ flaws behind their backs.

‘I just watched.’

until now.

This time too, if the two men in front of me hadn’t brought up a story about my older brother.

It might have been something I just overlooked.

but… .

“Tell me.”

“… hey. Cassatt. Why is your way of speaking like that? Have we sinned against you? Huh?”

One of the two men came out in a red-faced state, having seen his ugly face just a moment ago.

Then his friend next to him stopped him.

“Hey, hey. Why are you suddenly so excited… !”

“No, it’s not because this kid is misbehaving right now.”

The man, perhaps because his facial skin was quite thick, approached Cassat without any sign of hesitation.

He was so big that he was at the top of the village, so he could easily overshadow Cassat.

It seemed like he was naturally looking down.

“… … .”

Who wouldn’t be scared when a large man looks down with a frown on his face?

but… At least Cassatt was different.

‘What’s with that little guy’s eyes… … .’

There was a significant difference in the number of years they had lived and their power.

Considering all aspects, if it were to be considered dangerous, it would have been the large man.

What he feels now as he looks into Cassat’s eyes… It was closer to a feeling of reluctance.

“… … .”

Blue eyes looking up with closed mouth.

Perhaps because of the darkness, it seemed out of focus.

Maybe it was because I couldn’t blink very well, but it seemed creepy.

gulp-

The man swallowed his saliva without realizing it.

‘He seems like a guy with some taste.’

“Okay, next time, I will fix my bobby hair. Be careful.”

The man fled as if running away.

The friend noticed Cassatt standing still and followed him.

Cassat, left alone, sighed.

“I endured it well… .”

With those words, he opened the palm he had been holding tightly.

Something fell and blood dripped down.

Cassat didn’t fix it and started walking again.

“Cassat… ? Are you here?”

When we arrived home, Miris heard the sound and approached us cautiously.

Drip… .

“Huh? You… ! Cassatt! What is all this?”

She was startled and quickly grabbed her son’s hand and examined it.

My hand was covered in blood, as if I had been cut by something sharp.

“What is all this?! Huh?”

While Miris was treating him using acquired vitality, she asked what happened to her son.

“… … .”

Cassatt remained silent.

Just looking at my mother brought out a memory from one day.

When he was young, his older brother Kamiel was seriously injured.

At that time, my mother saw my brother’s wounds and immediately asked.

“What did you do to end up like that?”

Even though it was an unusual wound, the entire body exposed above the clothes was scorched and bleeding.

The voice only sounded slightly embarrassed.

I didn’t feel any worry at all.

‘It wasn’t as urgent as it is now.’

Cassatt glanced at his mother, who was carefully treating his wounds.

Was it because my brother had suffered too many wounds at that time?

My mother, who was undergoing treatment for some time, stopped by and brought me medicine and bandages.

‘Maybe I quit because it was hard.’

Acquired vitality is also vitality, so it is difficult if you use it a lot… .

Should I have prioritized that over my son’s hurt?

‘I am… ‘I didn’t know anything, so I calmly asked if he was okay.’

I was worried, but it wasn’t about being treated like that by my mother.

Kamiel simply responded that it was okay to his younger brother’s concerns.

At that time, his eyes were shaking, but his voice was calm.

It’s not okay, but it’s like I’m already used to being treated like this.

“Cassat. Now can you tell me what’s going on?”

He came to his senses when he heard his mother’s voice.

When I made eye contact with loving eyes, my head automatically lowered.

Looking at those eyes is so… It was arduous.

Because the fact that the love he received was ultimately the love that his older brother did not receive was lingering in his mind.

Kamiel went back to his room as usual.

Normally, out of fear of ghosts, I would stick close to Rheasian until nightfall.

‘Because we’ve already confirmed that it’s not a ghost.’

The only thing that bothered me was the fact that the young lady was coming to my room.

‘Is this even a big deal?’

I was a little worried about whether I would be able to come back safely.

When I roughly explained the location, he nodded in understanding… .

‘Just in case, I’ll have to go and check it out when I have time.’

By the time I finished thinking about it, I had arrived at the visit.

When I opened the door and went in, I noticed a blanket that had not yet been made up.

“I’m going to lie down soon anyway… .”

First, I went into the bathroom to wash.

Camiel came out of the bathroom with a sweltering heat and wiped the moisture from his head with a towel.

After finishing my work, I sat down on the bed with my tired body and wanted to lie down.

‘I think I’ll sleep right away if I lie down… .’

You shouldn’t sleep. I have to go pick up the lady.

But it was impossible to overcome the will to lie down.

‘Wait a moment, let’s lie down for a moment…’ .’

As I lie down, the warm bed wraps around my body.

I couldn’t bear to cover myself with the blanket.

If you go that far, you’re really crossing the line.

Blink, blink.

The speed of raising the eyelids gradually becomes slower.

yet… .

“… … .”

Silence came into the room.

A wind blew from somewhere and extinguished the candles that were lighting up the room.

Only soft breathing was heard regularly.

Leasian was busy taking care of something in the room.

‘Books I haven’t read before… .’

I held an armful of books, probably about ten, in my arms.

All ten books were ones I had read a while ago.

‘Would you be happy to know that I read everything?’

Leasian’s heart was pounding and he was excited.

Although Kamiel pretended not to do so, he secretly seemed to want people to read the books he brought.

‘I haven’t been able to read it since I had a lot of things going on… .’

Today is different.

Because it’s the day I have to stay up all night with Camiel.

‘No way, I’m gone but he won’t sleep.’

Unlike Kamiel, who was very tired, she was not sleepy at all.

In other words, my eyes were watery.

Thanks to my body not feeling very tired, I didn’t have any problems even if I didn’t sleep for a day.

‘Yesterday we just played around and said anything.’

Ah, I should call it today, not yesterday.

That was around the time they entered the room.

‘Because there wasn’t anything worth talking about at length.’

Leasian, who stayed mostly in his room, had little to talk about.

Therefore, when Kamiel told her various stories, she was the one asking questions.

‘It wasn’t a bad thing because I was able to learn a lot about Camiel.’

Still, it would have been better if the conversation had been one in which one himself participated as a subject.

That was the reason I read the book.

‘If I tell him what impressed me about the book or whose actions I sympathize with, he’ll probably like it too, right?’

My mood was already as excited as being with Camiel.

Leasian looked through the window.

It was a dusk night.

Because the clouds were thick, the moon was not visible.

‘Now that I think about it, I see that all the candles in the hallway are turned off at night.’

There was no problem.

Because her eyes were bright enough to have no problem even when surrounded by darkness on all sides.

I packed my bags and prepared to leave.

‘How many times did you say the room was around the corner from here and that it was the fifth?’

She walked down the hallway relying on memory.

After some time passed, I was able to arrive at what I assumed was his room.

The door had not been opened yet.

Stop.

‘Wouldn’t it feel bad if I just opened it and went in?’

If it were my personality, I would have opened the door instead of knocking… .

From the beginning, I knocked on the door because I was worried that I might make Kamiel feel bad.

smart.

“Kamiel, I’m here.”

There was no answer from inside.

‘what?’

Feeling puzzled, I opened the door and found that the room was dark without any candles.

As you saw earlier, the moon is not visible, so an average person would not be able to see anything.

It wasn’t Leasian.

She walked to his bed without turning on the light.

As expected… He was sound asleep.

‘You even cover yourself with a blanket and sleep. Shameful.’

Her white cheeks puffed out.

It was so disgusting to see him sleeping even though he knew he was coming.

‘Shall I wake you up?’

Leasian thought for a moment and then shook his head.

Now that things were like this, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to sleep next to him while he was sleeping.

‘But how does he sleep so the blanket is shaped like this?’

There was something strange, but I lifted the blanket without much doubt.

“… … .”

Her expression became cold and hard.

Coldness instantly enveloped the room.

As the room temperature dropped, Camiel shivered and soon opened his eyes.

“Why is it so cold… ?”

Kamiel, who woke up without thinking and found a figure drawn in the dark, reacted by saying, “Ah.”

“Lady? When did you come?”

“… … .”

There was no answer.

It’s faint, but the shape you can see at a glance is clearly a young lady, right?

‘no way?’

Kamiel hesitated and walked away out of curiosity.

Then, suddenly, I hit something next to me.

‘What is this again?’

Was Daldo also curious about the inside of the room?

Just then, the fog dispersed and moonlight illuminated the room.

In the moonlight that extended all the way to the bed, Kamiel was able to see what he had touched.

“… … .”

He was as stiff as a stone statue.

I turned my head enough to make a squeak and saw the young lady looking this way, or more precisely, next to me, with a cool expression.

Why didn’t I say anything… I felt like I finally understood.

“Lady. I don’t know… ”

“Umm… .”

The black-haired woman clung to him as if she was talking in her sleep.

“… … .”

Kamiel, who slowly rolled his eyes, was speechless when he saw Leasian’s expression.