episode_0090

It’s raining.

It was a heavy rain accompanied by strong winds that made you think there was a hole in the sky.

Even though he couldn’t see an inch in front of him due to the dark forest, No. 25 took slow, trudging steps, relying on his heightened senses.

I walked aimlessly.

There was no set destination. However, right now I just wanted to get away from here.

To a place untouched by Law, to a place where her warmth cannot be felt.

Sometimes his feet got stuck in the mud and he couldn’t lift them as easily as he thought, so he fell several times, but No. 25 didn’t even think about wiping his mud-stained body and kept walking little by little.

Number 25, who deviated from the designated path and entered the deep forest, found a rock that slightly protruded in front like an eaves, and went under it with the intention of warming up for a moment.

Number 25 sat down on the floor, wrapped his arms around his shoulders, curled up as much as possible and shivered from the cold.

Soggy tree branches could not be used as kindling. The best thing to do was to sit still and preserve what little body heat was left.

The emotions from earlier fly like arrows into my cold body and hole-filled chest, piercing my body.

I lived my whole life as a slave.

I have never experienced the warmth, love, and praise of family that others take for granted.

He thought that only his brothers, who smelt of death as if they would collapse at any moment, were his family.

They were so busy taking care of themselves that there was no way they could fully show affection to others.

Since I never received love from my parents, I was always craving affection as if I was longing for something I didn’t have.

While dying like that, I was finally able to find a feeling that could be called love. But even that didn’t last long. Even the warmth I thought I had finally achieved was taken away in an instant.

The subject even knew about parents who did not exist in his memories.

Not only did he know that he was the child of those parents, but he also knew the name he had lost and had never been called. I felt resentful of her for not giving me a single word for two years.

Everything was taken away from him and all that was left to him, trampled upon, were two rings that were now losing their meaning.

While he was quietly stroking the only decoration he had left, a familiar sound came to No. 25’s ears.

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of footsteps quickly plowing through the mud gets closer.

Monster… It wasn’t.

It didn’t take long to figure out the identity of the sound.

It was Rowe who emerged from the heavy rain. She looked at No. 25, who was fine, and sighed in relief.

“You were here… .”

Rainwater dripped from her drenched dress and black hair. One of his shoes was off, as if to show that he had rushed in.

She approached No. 25 and cautiously opened her mouth.

“Okay, let’s go back. If you stay outside in this weather, you will catch a cold.”

Number 25 shook his head and gave strength to the hand wrapped around his shoulder.

The fabric I was holding on to was crumpled in an instant, and my fingernails were digging into my skin.

Bright red blood spreads like paint on wet cloth.

Her every action and every word she spoke felt pretentious. I don’t know why people come to me and sound worried about a topic that hides the most important truth.

When Law noticed the blood stains slowly spreading on No. 25’s shoulder, his expression scrunched up and he tried to get closer, but when No. 25 saw Law approaching, he got up and screamed again, almost as if he was having a fit.

“I have nothing to say to you!”

Number 25 tried to escape from her touch this time, but not everything went his way.

The escape was in vain as Low’s hand grabbed his wrist, and Low made a request in a voice filled with sadness.

“Just calm down for now. I’ll tell you everything.”

It was not something that could be calmed down with words like that. If it had been a feeling that could be resolved with just a few words, all the negativity that had been buried in the tower would have been released from the beginning.

No. 25 tried his best to free his wrist, even though he knew it was useless resistance.

He violently waved his hands up and down and raised his voice, raising the blood vessels in his neck.

“Telling everything? Is there something more you’re hiding from me? How much longer do you have to make me a fool to be satisfied!?”

I already found out everything about her intentions by reading the diary.

Number 25 already had no intention of talking to her.

“I have no intention of making you a fool. It’s okay just once, so why don’t you listen to me… ?”

I don’t know if it was because they said it was a one-time thing, but No. 25’s rebellious movements gradually died down.

When Law saw No. 25, who showed signs of conversation, he barely raised the corner of his mouth with a sad expression.

“Now, sit here.”

Law let go of his hand, but No. 25 did not run away and instead sat back against the rock as she said.

Law, who was sitting next to No. 25, started a fire with a simple magic, gazed at the flickering flames with a crackling sound, and sighed toward the floor.

“Where should I start explaining… .”

No. 25 didn’t even give a single glance even when Law said what he was saying, and instead stretched out his hand near the flame to warm his rain-soaked body.

“But I guess I have to say this first. I didn’t mean to deceive you.”

No. 25’s eyebrows, which had not responded, twitched slightly.

“You didn’t intend to deceive? So why did you keep it a secret until now? Was I that funny? Were you planning on keeping it a secret for the rest of your life until I found out?”

Even the flames in front of him flickered slightly due to the angry, angry cry.

Number 25 finished his sentence in a flash, but Law did not respond for a while.

She barely opened her mouth, touching the flames with a twig that she didn’t know where she had come from.

“That’s right… Because it was painful every time the memories and emotions of that time came up… .”

It’s a lame excuse. The thing that was more painful than anyone else right now was number 25. Number 25, who bit down so roughly that his molars made a sound, stood up, looked down at her, and spoke quickly again.

“What on earth is so painful? Did you hide my name and the story about the family I’ve never seen, the family I’ve dreamed of my whole life, and not even think about the pain and betrayal I felt when I found out? What am I? Just a slave to satisfy my sexual desires, a doll to project my parents onto. Wasn’t it more or less than that?”

Number 25 finished speaking without taking a single breath and exhaled harshly. The tears that had barely stopped reappear. Although it was hard to tell because it mixed with the rainwater flowing from my hair, I couldn’t even hide the gradually reddening eyes. Number 25 looked straight at her, wiping away the tears that kept blocking his vision.

Law did not pay attention to No. 25, but was still staring at the distant mountain.

I became even more irritated because her somewhat detached side profile seemed like she was avoiding responsibility.

Any further conversation is useless. Number 25 tried to leave, but a small muttering sound came from Law’s mouth as if he was holding him back.

“I did it because I was scared.”

After speaking briefly, Law closed his eyes.

Soon she opened her eyes, and a light appeared in her gaze as if she had resolved to do something. Number 25 stopped leaving and watched her for a moment.

What’s scary? The words rose to the top of my chin, but I barely held them back because I felt like I shouldn’t say such things.

“The truth is sometimes the key to liberation for those who long for freedom. I’m afraid that if you find out the truth, you’ll move away from me, and leave like them… It’s because I don’t want to lose you. I’ll apologize for that now… .”

After interrupting Law, No. 25 spoke again.

“Isn’t that too selfish? Because of your greed… !”

His low voice clearly revealed his anger.

The face, filled with grief, anger, and tears, was distorted to the point where its original shape was unrecognizable.

“I… Do you know how much I’ve wanted a family? Still, after spending two years, much longer than the time I spent in District 7, where people who were like my family, my thoughts about you were slowly starting to change… . I don’t know anymore. I don’t think I can treat you like I used to.”

The usual title ‘Law-sama’ had long since disappeared from his mouth, and only the cold expression ‘you’ kept coming out of his mouth.

Law felt somewhat lonely at the change and smiled with sadness.

Since he brought this all on himself, there was nothing he could say about it.

Anger was growing in No. 25’s heart as he saw Law remaining silent.

No matter what excuse you make, isn’t staying silent not denying what he said, but admitting that everything No. 25 said is true?

Law, who had been silent for a while, sighed again.

Is it because of the cold weather? The sigh that came out of her mouth was not much different from the smoke that Gombangdae usually smoked.

As if trying to calm his mind, Law lit the end of the stick in his hand and took a deep sip.

Whoo – Law, who had been staring blankly at the cigarette smoke dispersing into the air with a sound, finally opened his mouth.

“I wanted to share the sadness of losing a loved one. Those who have lost anything to rely on will fall apart if they do not stick together. So I tried to bind you, who shares the same pain. No matter how many times I apologize for that, it won’t be enough.”

Law didn’t stop there, and put the stick in his mouth again.

Smoke, thicker than before, completely covered her face, and Law slowly opened his mouth through the smoke as if he did not want to show the expression he was making.

“Like you said, I also wanted a family. No, to be honest, I wanted to be one of their members. Not just friends, but real family. really… It’s too late to regret it after you’ve lost everything. If I had had the courage to speak up at that time, they would have definitely accepted me, but I was so needlessly timid that all this evil happened.”

When the smoke cleared, a single teardrop, shining like a jewel, flowed from the corner of one of her eyes and disappeared into the flames.

“It is only now that I have lost them all that I finally have the courage to speak out. I wanted to protect you, the only trace of the people I loved. I wanted to become your family and watch over you from the side… . That’s all. As you said, it’s a selfish story about a selfish woman.”