episode_0304

Side Story 18 Chloe – Doll (1)

After finishing up my work, I returned to the Holy Kingdom where my wife would be. Lana was staying at the Temple of Hayang.

“Kyle, welcome.”

“Sorry. I was a little late.”

“It’s okay.”

Lana greeted me happily as soon as I arrived. I returned her smile.

“Where’s Estella?”

“She’ll be here soon. Ah, there she comes.”

I turned my head and saw the Saintess. As soon as she saw me, she ran towards me.

“Oppa, why are you so late! It’s already been two days!”

“Sorry. The work took a little longer than expected.”

“……”

Estella narrowed her eyes at my apology.

“Oppa, did you eat something wrong?”

“Why are you suddenly talking nonsense?”

“The oppa I know would never apologize!”

Why is she like this again? I want to ask if I ate something wrong. I don’t think I drank anything…

“Reveal your true identity! You bad oppa who leaves his post without permission!”

She clung to me and bit my shoulder. Estella bit hard enough to leave a mark. It seems like she became like this after being apart for two days.

“Okay, okay, I’m a bad oppa, so do whatever you want. More importantly, how’s Lana?”

I stroked the Saintess’s head, who was clinging to me. Only then did she let go, looking satisfied.

“There’s nothing wrong with her health. She’s in the early stages of pregnancy, so she needs to be careful. So, you have to take good care of her by her side. Until she stabilizes.”

“I understand.”

I nodded. There was no harm in taking Estella’s advice to heart. As a Saintess, she’s an expert in this area.

“And me too. Got it?”

“You’re still a long way off.”

“I’m saying I’ll get pregnant like my older sister soon! Tsk tsk…”

Estella glared at me, looking displeased. I stroked her head again to calm her down, as I thought it would hurt quite a bit if she bit me again.

“By the way, the Holy Kingdom is a bit noisy.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Hmm… wedding?”

“That’s right! It’s because of the wedding of Oppa and me, the Saint and Saintess!”

I expected it. The only time the Ustia Holy Kingdom is this noisy is on special occasions.

“Hmm….”

“Why, why are you looking at me like that? Don’t tell me… you don’t want to marry me?”

“……”

“Why aren’t you saying anything!”

The Saintess shouted anxiously. I calmed her down and said,

“I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

“Whew… that’s a relief.”

Estella sighed in relief. I want to pay attention to her too, but the situation I’m in isn’t good enough to fully concentrate.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No. The believers and the gods are preparing everything. The wedding of the Saint and Saintess doesn’t happen often, so everyone is very enthusiastic. Ah, if there is anything, it’s getting the clothes for the wedding tailored? I have to go get my measurements taken later.”

“…That’s a hassle. Wait, don’t tell me Juhwang is designing them?”

“I think so? Juhwang-nim has been in charge of the clothes for generations.”

“……”

My head is spinning. That damn old man’s designs are the opposite of my taste. I resolved to decide on the clothes myself no matter what.

“How long will it take to prepare?”

“At the latest, about a week?”

“That’s a long time.”

Unlike with Lana, I thought it would be over soon since the whole country is helping.

“As I said before, the wedding of the Saint and Saintess hasn’t happened often. So it’s natural that the preparation period is long. Hehe, but Oppa seems to be looking forward to the wedding too. Seeing how disappointed you are.”

“Of course. I was looking forward to it.”

“Ugh, how can you say that with that expression? It makes my heart flutter.”

Estella blushed and twisted her body.

“Anyway, there’s nothing to do right now, right?”

“No!”

“Then I’ll rest in my room.”

“You have dark circles. Did something happen?”

“No. Not really.”

“I’ll give you a blessing before you go.”

And so, I received the Saintess’s blessing.

“Lana, what about you? Do you want to come with me?”

“I’ll stay with Estella.”

“Okay. Call me if anything happens.”

“Goodbye, Kyle.”

“Oppa! I’ll come find you when I’m done!”

I left the Temple of Hayang, receiving their greetings.

***

The Saint’s House prepared in the Ustia Holy Kingdom. As soon as I arrived, I took off my clothes and headed for the bed.

A pure white bed for me. I laid down on it, which looked soft at first glance. The softness, as if lying in the snow, wrapped around me.

It was definitely a pleasant sensation. But my heart was not at all.

“Hoo….”

A sigh came out. But it didn’t end with just one.

“Haa….”

I continued to exhale deep and dark emotions. No matter how many times I did it, my emotions were not resolved, but rather intensified.

After suffering from discomfort for a while, I took out something from the subspace and placed it next to me.

“…….”

That in the shape of a person. A doll that looks exactly like Chloe is lying still. As if she were dead.

At the same time, she had all of Chloe’s characteristics. Red eyes and hair, the characteristics of the Demon King, and all of her body parts were realized.

As you might have guessed, this is not a doll modeled after Chloe. It is the body of the real, living Chloe.

“Why do you do such a thing….”

Looking at it, I can only sigh.

It’s not like I did this. Chloe made herself like this.

Two days ago, overcome with guilt, she made an absurd choice, saying that she didn’t deserve to be happy, and this is the result. Since she couldn’t die by suicide, she sealed her soul forever.

“I knew you were capricious, but.”

Just like how she sacrificed herself to save me back then, this time too, she makes a choice that I don’t even want.

Chloe’s personality doesn’t change even as time passes or when she loses her memory.

Then you might think it would be over if you broke the seal, but it’s not that easy. This seal contains the blessing of the Demon God.

Isn’t there a cliche like that? A common story of a Demon King who is fatally injured by a hero or who dies and is resurrected.

The power used at that time is this seal. It temporarily seals the soul and hides it, devoting itself to recovery for the future.

Still, you might ask if you can’t just forcibly pull out the soul, but as I said before, this contains the blessing of the Demon God. Therefore, it cannot be unlocked unless certain conditions are met.

Usually, the seal is broken by calling it through a ritual or by collecting the fragmented body of the Demon King, but the condition Chloe set is not that. This seal can only be unlocked if Chloe releases it with her own will.

A demanding, even infuriating condition. It can never be unlocked unless the Demon God directly unlocks it.

This is why I came to the Holy Kingdom two days late. I was late because I failed to break the seal. The biggest gain was that I found out the conditions.

Because of that, I am full of worries. The Chloe I finally reunited with has fallen into a long sleep.

I sat down next to Chloe.

She looks like she’s sleeping soundly. It’s like she’s going to open her eyes and wake up any moment.

“Chloe.”

So I called her name.

“Are you really going to do this? I was waiting to meet you.”

I also pretend to be pitiful to make her feel sympathy.

But there is no change. Her expression doesn’t change, and there’s no small movement. No, there’s no reaction at all.

“…Shit.”

I can only curse. I have no idea how to heal her mental illness and wake her up.

“Haa….”

I sighed again and laid down on the bed. I laid right next to Chloe.

I turned my head and she came into view. My eyes were drawn to her bright red hair.

“This hair… I liked it….”

I really liked Chloe’s hair more than anything else. I felt comfortable when I touched her hair.

So I touched it often. I stroked her hair whenever I had the chance, whether she was sleeping or awake.

How much she hated it. Later, she set a time and let me touch it.

“Come to think of it….”

How long has it been since I touched her hair? It’s been at least 100 years, I think. Considering the time since I parted with her, it was roughly that long.

Of course, this is based on touching it for more than 10 minutes. It doesn’t include what I touched yesterday and the day before.

I carefully reached out my hand.

Swish, swish.

I slowly stroked her hair. Her fine hair flowed through my hands.

“Haa, I like it….”

Yes, this is what I wanted. I felt like all the stress I had accumulated was relieved at once.

I kept touching her hair. Sometimes I twisted or touched the ends, and sometimes I groped near the roots.

Then her horns touched my arm. It was only natural since the Demon King’s symbols were on both sides of her head.

“I wasn’t allowed to touch these horns.”

I allowed her to touch her hair, but she wouldn’t let me touch her horns.

What if I accidentally touched them? You can assume that you won’t be able to see Chloe for a while after that day. There were times when she didn’t show up for more than a month.

Chloe was that sensitive about her horns.

“Hmm.”

I hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out my hand. I could feel the solid texture on my skin.

And it doesn’t feel very good either. I guess it’s because it’s hard. Still, this side was also addictive in its own way.

About a minute passed? Suddenly, Chloe twitched.

“What?”

For a moment, I wondered if I had felt it wrong.

I stopped acting and observed Chloe. But there was no reaction.

“…….”

I touched her horn.

Twitch!

As soon as I touched it, her body trembled greatly.

As soon as I saw that reaction, I smiled. It was because I knew that she, who had no reaction until now, showed such a reaction when I touched her horns.

I finally saw it. A way to wake Chloe up.

I approached her ear. And I whispered softly.

“Chloe. This is your last chance. If you don’t want me to see you in a pathetic state, get up now.”

“…….”

Of course, there is no response. Instead, sensing the danger, a drop of sweat dripped from her forehead.

“Okay. If that’s your choice, I’ll respect it. But….”

Click, click.

I unbuttoned the sleeping Demon King’s shirt one by one and continued,

“From now on, no, everything that happens from today is your fault. Got it?”

Click.

I unbuttoned her last button.