24 – 24. Even though it wasn’t me who was being targeted
She slowly reached out her arm towards me.
Very slowly, she grabbed hold of my hand –
I climbed up his arm and he held me tightly in his embrace.
“Huh?!”
“…Hmm…”
As he stroked my hair, she pressed her nose against my neck and savored the scent.
His hands, which had nowhere to go, immediately grabbed onto her shoulders.
I couldn’t breathe. Damn it. He held me so tightly that I felt a threat to my life, and the stifling feeling from my nose and mouth was suffocating.
When I tapped her back forcefully, she finally loosened her grip a bit.
“Cough, Irene, what on earth-“
Just as my face was freed, this time my mouth was sealed by her lips, by her tongue.
With both hands holding my head, my mouth was filled with something soft and mushy.
She continued to steal my saliva, and her liquid flowed into me.
…The intoxication was only temporary.
Feeling fear from her oppressive attitude, I grabbed both her arms with my hands, but she didn’t even flinch.
Literally, without any movement, she continued to take away my saliva.
“Ugh… Mmmph!”
This time, I took her shoulder with my hand, but she still didn’t budge.
And when my shaking gaze finally met her pupils, I had no choice but to let go and accept her desire.
With my eyes wide open, she demanded that I accept.
Literally, demanded.
She held my trembling arm and brought it to her cheek with one hand.
…With trembling hands, I gently stroked her cheek and hair, and she let out a sigh before finally pulling her tongue out of my mouth.
The thread that basked in the golden sunset was sparkling.
But what shone even brighter was her gaze.
She hesitated for a moment, her face flushed red, as if unsure of what to do. Then she grabbed my hand and led me to the sofa.
And then she firmly held onto my shoulders, exerting her strength.
“Ugh?!”
Her strength was truly impressive. Without giving me a chance to resist, she immediately forced me to sit down.
She climbed onto my lap, her wet tongue protruding from her mouth as she licked her lips.
Feeling the unpleasant stickiness and warmth, she clenched her arms tightly as if displeased with my reaction.
“Ow-ah, it hurts..”
It was so painful that my tightly closed mouth involuntarily opened, and I couldn’t help but let out a moan.
But my mouth didn’t close again.
Because she firmly gripped my lips with one hand.
“…Quiet, be quiet.”
Tears flowed from her bright red eyes.
“I… I was in pain too. I struggled too. Do you know how scared I was? Do you know how painfully I was dying?!”
Her previously statue-like face contorted. With her eyes tightly shut, tears continued to stream down.
“Without you, holding onto your cold body, how could I… how could I have survived? You have no idea how happy I was to see you again…
I, I tried my best. While you were gone, I studied without sleep, trying to figure out how to make you happy.
From Noble mtl dot com
You know, I, I, well, now I know everything, or maybe… most of it! I know what you want, and what you don’t like.
I still hate it. It’s not painful or anything. But still, please look at me. Yes? I, I was scared. Scared that you would leave again.
This, do you see this? This…”
A document neatly folded in her arms speaks.
“To make a good impression on your father, do you know how much I tried? For you, how many people I met in a very short time.
How many… documents I signed, how much time I spent, all without you!”
She forcefully slams the document on the floor and continues to scream.
“If you leave my sight for even a moment, do you know what I see? I see your cold body. Frozen, not responding even when I call your name.
You were probably frozen like that last time too, buried somewhere. No, maybe you drowned. Torn apart by wild animals?
I, I hate that just having you by my side makes it like that. Why? Why does it have to be like this when you’re by my side? Huh?
Just because I’m his daughter? That’s why I killed him. The person you called my father, I killed him. He can’t say anything anymore.
He became a cold body, so I burned him myself. In front of the people here. Ha, for you!
Because I want you to be safe even when you’re by my side, because I hope you’ll whisper love to me by my side! Because I want you to call my name and stroke my head!
I, I’ve seen so many people. After killing him, I could see many things if I wanted to. I watched for you to come too… Yes.
I was jealous. I was envious. I was really angry. Other people don’t get hurt or become unhappy just because they love someone.
They don’t die just because they love someone. But you died twice when you were by my side. Twice.
Do you know how terrifying that is? I missed the chance to be connected to you twice. Someone as lovely as you.
I missed all those warm glances, smiles, and stories from you twice.
Dying is a terrifying thing. Right? That man, stabbed by my sword, looked at me with a distorted face without any expression.
Dying is so scary that even he was afraid. But you experienced that twice. And yet, despite that, you came to me.
You know? Why? Why did you come to me twice despite experiencing such terrifying things?”
No, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t like it, I don’t like it –
Am I, am I the one you’re worried about? Is that right? I can hear your voice. Do you know? Even if you don’t speak, I can hear it.
If I want to hear other people’s voices, I can, but even without that, I can hear you in every moment.
How much it hurt when you grabbed my arm… How surprised you were when I kissed you. How much you worried about me when we met.
I can hear it all. Now.
That’s why I can’t help but love you. I can’t help but be drawn to you. I can’t help but get closer to you.
I love you. I love you so much that I can’t afford to lose you anymore.
I think this is my last chance. Really. If you die in front of me one more time, I might really go crazy. So…
So you have to be here with me. Here. Right here.
I’m still… I’m still not ready. The plans are still being discussed with the crows, and you’ll like it too.
You and I, here alone. No, together? Three? Four?
I thought that when I got married, that would be the end. At first.
But it wasn’t.
A child.
You know, it would be wonderful to have a child who looks just like you. A child who resembles you perfectly. With your beautiful face, voice, and those eyes,
But above all, I hope they have your warm heart.
If they have the same heart that I fell in love with, we can live a truly happy married life.
The life my mother couldn’t have. A poor mother who couldn’t escape a terrible man and had her child taken away…
You know, the crows tell me so many stories. All the stories I tell you, they come from here. Right here?
These crows have seen so much. They’ve traveled to many places and seen many things. They’re so curious, always starving for more.
What is this… What is that… What are those animals doing? What on earth are humans doing?
So, will I get to know you better now? So, what do you think about having a child?
Hmm… Don’t say things like that. It’s too early to talk about it.
We, the people who have already lost our way. One-night stands resulting in pregnancy, it happens quite often…
Because of that, there are many situations where marriage is inevitable, really, really often.
Of course… Unfortunate things happen too, but I won’t talk about that.
This is my land. My country. Everything that happens here enters my ears, and one life can disappear with just one of my signatures. Maybe even more than one.
Since you’ve come here, do you think I’ll let you go?
When I pushed you away from my side last time, no, every time you’re not by my side, I die.
So you can’t disappear from my side. You have to be by my side forever. We have to be together forever.
When you sleep, when you wake up, when you eat, even when you’re resting, even if you have to go to the bathroom, I will be by your side. That’s not too difficult.
It’s much better to smell your blood, to feel your cold skin against my cheek, than anything else!!
…So, don’t say you don’t want it. Don’t say you don’t want it.
Fine. Fine. I accept.
I won’t hold back anymore.
Since you chose to come to my side, I will give you love.
I promise to give you more than what you gave me in two lifetimes.”