Translated by Lianaarn

by Lianaarn

‘…I got caught.’

Since when? How did he know?

No. That’s not what matters.

What matters is the fact that he knows I was hiding something and he still let me live.

“Your face says that you’re curious why I didn’t interrogate you.”

“…Yes.”

“I thought you might have a reason for it. It might be hard for you to tell the truth for some reason.”

“…So?”

Deep sea-like eyes stared at me deeply.

He sometimes looked at me with those eyes.

And I kept pretending not to see it.

Because I thought I’d fall for it if something goes wrong.

“I was going to wait. Until you tell me. But I’m kind of tired of waiting for a long time.”

But I couldn’t pretend not to see it anymore.

He pushed me to the end of the cliff, asking me to throw up the truth.

“Now, please tell me. What are you hiding?”

Even though I covered up the truth, he was still polite and gentle.

Even though he lost his memory, his good nature didn’t change.

Did I know wrong? Was he in reality such a good person?

I decided to gambling slightly.

“I am sorry. I can’t tell you. It will be dangerous if it is revealed.”

It will be dangerous. That’s a very meaningful word.

“Who is going to be in danger?”

“Me and Sir Dillian.”

That’s not a lie.

My neck would be sliced, and Dillian’s blood pressure might rise in anger for that dangerous truth, then he could be collapsed.

“You will find out when the time comes. So, can’t we just move on now?”

When the time comes for Dillian to regain his memories, I might be leaving the empire already.

‘So just move on for now.’

While I desperately wished, he answered.

“…I can’t put Miss Lia in a difficult situation.”

Only then the eyes that were chasing me disappear. I finally can put my scary hard beating heart to ease.

“Then can you tell me what this is?”

Dillian pointing to his neck.

“First I thought it was a tattoo, but it must not be that.”

Dillian, who lightly swept down the thorn engraved on his neck, frowned.

“I feel dirty when I look at it.”

His expression became uneasy, because he might have instinctively felt ominous about the curse.

While he doing that, I might get spark a fire*, so, I quickly nodded.

*To come/happen to involve (mostly get harm) without intention when something happens.

“I will tell you. Your secret.”

I was going to talk about the curse anyway. Thus, he and I can take precautions.

For that, first of all.

“Please take it off.”

“…What?”

“I said take it off.”

“I am sorry. I didn’t hear it well.”

“Take it off.”

Take it off. That one sentence makes Dillian’s face bewildered.

“I just want you to tell me about the tattoo, but how can I take it if you tell me to take it off suddenly.”

Dillian grabbed the front of his shirt and backed off his body.

“And with those wicked eyes.”

“What? Wicked?”

Did he treat me like a pervert?

In the meantime, because of Dillian, I was walking on eggshells*, but I can’t stand if he treats me like a pervert.

*To be careful not to upset somebody.

What does he mean pervert to someone who has never even dated before!

“Sir Dillian is the one who asked me to tell you.”

“I’m not asking you to tell me to strip.”

“I’m not asking you to strip.”

Dumbfounded, words didn’t come out from my mouth.

Dillian is really think of me as a black-hearted*, shameless person.

*To be worldly-wise and think in a sly and crafty manner.

‘Really, what do you take me for?’

The blood began to seep in.

“Of course, it can be done between us, but I think it’s too early.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get it. What do you mean between us?”

“I wonder, what it is?”

I ask you first. Why are you asking me back?

Dillian, who was lost in thought, touched his chin.

“As expected, we’re like that, right?”

What ‘like that’?

“We are awkward, we have only known each other for less than a week.”

“We’re awkward… That is true, we are really awkward right now.”

The way he looked at me was very impure.

“Do you want us to be more awkward?”

I looked meaningfully at Dillian’s loosened button.

‘What am I talking about right now?’

My eyes trembled, then looking on the ground at my uncontrollable move.

So, this was extremely impulsive behavior and words.

From the first meeting until now, there has been no quiet day.

I almost got eaten up, while helping him when he was on the verge of death. Because of this damn weather, I started this forced cohabitation with him who lost his memory. Feeling restless don’t know when he will regain his memory, I live with tension for 24 hours a day.

I can’t get rid of the stress accumulated everyday, every hour.

While I’m thinking like that, Dillian bothers me.

This is the situation when a balloon which was slowly expanding then with a slight pressure ‘bang!’ bursting.

Dillian’s eyebrows move up and down, by the provocative deep words he heard for the first time.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Argh! My mouth stops! Stop talking nonsense!

Unlike my heart, my voice and face were calm.

Then Dillian, who noticed something strange, secretly stepped aside.

“Don’t be like this, Nathan will wake up.”

‘Dear, what if the kid wakes up,’ at that kind of nuance I shouted.

“Nathan is not a kid, your words are weird.”

“If we show that kind of relationship in front of a kid, it can cause emotional anxiety, I just read it.”

“What do you mean by that kind of relationship! Don’t say such a weird thing! And Nathan is not a kid but a grandfather who is more than a hundred years old! You cursed at it as if it has dementia, and now you are treating it as a kid!”

“Nathan himself said it was in full swing. Then it’s no different with a kid.”

What is this miraculous play?

“But I can’t believe it was a grandfather. Then we shouldn’t get caught more.”

Wah, I’m going crazy. How can he receive it without losing a word? Even he was talking nonsense!

I got so worked up, then I fanned my reddened face with my hand fan.

‘Let’s calm down. Calm down. The opponent is Lord Dillian. Even if I fight, I will not gain anything.’

That’s all for the lame wordplay.

“Sir Dillian, let’s be straightforward. You are under a curse. And to be exact, the root of the curse is in your heart.”

Dillian seems surprised by the sudden straightforward statement, but who cares.

“I asked you to take off your clothes because I thought you wouldn’t believe me if I said you were cursed. It is not a selfish move or a black-heart. Do you get it?”

Dillian’s face gradually subsided in a short and concise explanation.

“I wonder what kind of weird hobby I have for me tattooing until my heart, so, it was a curse.”

I tapped Dillian’s shoulder, who was lost in thought.

“I have more things to show you, please come…!”

At that moment, my feet got twisted. While I was saying ‘Huh?’ my body stumbled. I reached out and grabbed something in front of me to live.

At the same time, a solid arm supported my waist.

But my hand already grabbed something.

Ting, ting, ting!

The forcibly opened buttons were pulled in all directions.

“Ah.”

“…”

The buttons that hit Dillian’s face and I, fell and rolled on the floor.

‘Why in the first place something I grabbed is Dillian’s shirt…’

And I opened my mouth unconsciously when his firm upper body was revealed.

I have seen it before but at that time, except for healing his wound I didn’t pay attention…

The well-built muscles by training showed off their existence.

Strong shoulders, solid chest, and clear abs were captured in my eyes one by one.

As I looked at his body like I was possessed, I flinched at his calm voice.

“You’re really…”

Urgh, he must be angry.

Surprised by the low voice as if his neck blocked, my body hardened.

“Accident! It was an accident! Sir Dillian saw it too. That I almost fell down!”

While venting out my unfairness, I closed my mouth when I heard the sound of laughter in my ears.

“Ha, you’re so funny.”

Dillian, muttered alone and then smirked.

‘Oh my. I guess it was a such big shock.’

Dillian, who was smiling while covering his face, gave a long sigh and swept back his messy hair.

“…Because it became like this, then you have no choice but to take responsibility.”

“What?”

“I mean Miss Lia has to take responsibility for me now.”

“What responsibility…?”

“Well, Miss Lia should be the one to think about it, right?”

Unable to hide my embarrassment at his blunt words, I frowned.

“Why did you put on that look? I… you made a mess of me yet you pretend not to know?”

What’s wrong with this person! What do you mean a mess?

“People might have misunderstood if they heard it!”

“That is not a misunderstanding, but the truth.”

Dillian shook his tattered shirt lightly.

“After rushing so fiercely, misunderstanding… You may be excited because you have seen it once.”

“No, no! Why are you talking like that!”

“I thought my body lacked nothing… I must be full of myself.”

He looked pitiful with the corner of his eyes dropping. Below that, the lips that could not be covered were twitching.

‘Funny, huh? It’s funny? You’re making fun of a person!’

However Dillian is one step ahead of me. Even if I rushed in, I would still get caught.

Sensing an early defeat, I nodded with my shoulder dropped.

“… No way. Sir Dillian is perfect. It’s just, I was wrong.”

“Am I perfect?”

“Of course. You are perfect.”

I looked at his solid upper body and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Wow, it’s spectacular, it’s a magnificent view, it’s a gift from God.”

Clap, clap, clap. Dillian nodded, satisfied with my mechanical-like compliments.

‘Like it, huh? You like it? I’m dying because of you.’

This damned man toying with me mischievously, until the tiredness comes.

‘Done. Let’s stop. It’s good for mental health to finish it quickly.’

I give Dillian a hand gesture to come with me.

The place I arrived with him was in front of a big mirror in the corner of the living room.

“Sir Dillian will get a runaway in a consistent cycle, when the runaway appears these thorns will gradually spread out. From the heart to the neck until to the cheek.”

“What happened to me when the runaway appeared?”

“It takes the life of living things around it.”

People, animals, plants, everything.

Dillian’s eyes distorted, can’t believe what he heard.

It must be shocking. Didn’t even remember anything, then suddenly he got a curse, if it were me, I would be shocked too.

“You know it well. Am I, in front of Miss Lia-.”

“Ah! I have so much interest in curses. Haha, I knew it as soon as I saw it.”

I laughed awkwardly as I hurriedly cut off Dillian’s words.

‘I can’t tell him the truth that the runaway appears in front of me.’

If I tell him the truth, he will ask me how I calmed down the runaway, then it was only a matter of time before he could find out about my divine power.

“I see.”

Dillian stared at his chest with scary eyes.

The curse will never disappear, If you just stared at it like that.

The curse won’t calm down until it takes as much life as it wants.

‘It would be better if it was drunk by the life of a wild beast or the life of a tree.’

“Ah…!”

That, is it there?