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The man slowly approached X, who was trembling in fear, bending his joints and making cracking sounds with his fingers.
The man’s joints began to creak in a frightening way.
It wasn’t just the crackling of the man’s joints that was strange and frightening; it was also the terrified expression on X’s face as he watched the man approach him.
I could only see the back of the man’s head, but I could tell he was angry. I couldn’t help but feel bad for X because he had to deal with this guy.
“Aren’t you tired of this? Just let her go now.”
I have a hunch that the man was referring to me for some reason.
Strangely enough, though, a man I didn’t know appeared to defend me. Yet….he didn’t seem unfamiliar.
‘What is it? Why does it feel familiar?’
It was odd that even though I had never met him before, he kept making me feel at ease.
I didn’t feel this kind of familiarity when I met Tia Bluea, who had a familiar face of Seulbi Jeong, but this man was different. I felt like he was truly on my side.
No, I mean, why do I feel this way?
If a brief greeting can be called a conversation, then that was all I had with him. In fact, he addressed me as if he knew me, as if we had a close relationship.
“Isn’t it the same for you, you also can’t let go of her?”
The man finally turned his head to look at me when X replied, his warm brown eyes that met mine is like the warmth of an old wood.
He must have been Gilbert’s age, but his eyes reminded me of Grand Duke Estin. Eyes that held kindness. An endless dept of kindness.
I mean, that look of kindness is so familiar to me.
“Let’s put an end to this and part ways amicably, then.”
With his attention still fixed on me, the man spoke to X.
As he said this, the profound kindness that was concealed in his look at me quickly changed from that of Grand Duke Estin.
The kindness of this man was strangely mixed with…pity, unlike the kindness of Grand Duke Estin, which was pure to the core.
I wondered why he suddenly felt sorry for me as he told X to let me go. I gulped, feeling the pity in his eyes.
“Of course, I’d love to.”
“Yes, that half-wit must be being stubborn.”
X’s face contorted as if he had just received a great insult. It was strange to see X’s face filled with such anger, given that he always has a playful expression. It made me stumble backwards.
“Don’t insult him!”
It was a voice filled with anger. It was clear that he was referring to the god of the underworld.
The “half-wit” that the man mentioned earlier also refers to the god of the underworld… His face looked as if he had heard a blasphemous remark.
Despite inciting X’s rage, the man did nothing but scratch his neck indifferently. The man began speaking after slouching down on the couch, addressing Rex and me.
“Don’t you have some tea?”
“…What?”
“It’s been too long since I’ve looked like this, and I’d like to be treated like a human being.”
Rex and I exchanged perplexed looks after hearing these incomprehensible words. He wants to be treated right now? Even though it was absurd, I still wanted to comply.
He is the only person who can help Rex and I at this time. But the situation at the moment is beyond me. I pursed my lips, swallowed hard, and spoke.
“I’m in a situation where I can’t treat you right now…….”
Upon hearing my words, the man raised his head and scanned the room. Then he stood up again.
“Oh, because of the barrier?”
When I nodded, the man turned to X again.
X, who had been barely catching his breath after being pushed away by the man, flinched when he saw that the man was approaching him again.
“Let’s remove the barrier.”
The man spoke tenderly, as if coaxing a child. But there was an unidentified firmness within that tenderness.
I therefore assumed right away that X would eliminate the barrier. Though X was X. He didn’t remove the barrier and just scoffed loudly.
“Why should I?”
“I’m sure they’re worried about Mary Conler outside.”
“I will definitely take her with me.”
“You probably won’t be able to take her today.”
“Why?”
Thus, this is how it will turn out.
At the same time as the man’s words, a white light leaked from his body, directed at X. X’s body was pushed up against the wall by the light.
I heard a loud thud, as if X had hit the wall with great force. I wasn’t sure, but if it had been a regular person, the impact would have broken their bones.
After hitting the wall and falling to the floor, X crouched down, his shoulder aching from the impact.
“Cover your eyes.”
The person in front of X spoke. I had no idea who he was speaking to.
Rex covered my eyes from behind as I blink. Oh, he wants us to cover our eyes.
Only the sound of X’s painful groaning pierced through my sight.
Since I couldn’t see, I had no idea, but based on the sound of X groaning, the man’s strength appeared to be greater than I had imagined.
X appeared to be in a helpless state and unable to defend himself. I didn’t hastily raise my hand and cover Rex’s eyes until X let out a loud scream that seemed truly agonizing.
While fidgeting around where the face might be, I found a part that seemed to be an eye. My hands were tingled by Rex’s long eyelashes.
The agonizing screams of X persisted.
The man’s screams didn’t sound even remotely playful. Ah, I want to see it. I felt a strong desire to see him suffer in front of me.
I wanted to laugh at him! I wanted to see it, but Rex’s hand was blocking my view very thoroughly.
I raised my other hand, the one that wasn’t covering his eyes, and I slid it between Rex’s index and thumb, creating a small gap to peek through.
And through that gap, I saw… X sitting down, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, and the man standing in front of him.
I thought I would laugh when I saw X in such a situation, but his appearance was much more pitiful than I had anticipated. That laughter didn’t come out.
“You can’t watch it.”
Rex noticed that I was glimpsing at the pitiful scene through the gap and signaled me with his words.
It’s already over, so I can’t watch anything. It feels like it’s already over for me. I murmured softly, and Rex’s eyelashes fluttering.
“Really…….”
“Did I make a gap? Did you see it?”
“Well, to be honest, my sister’s hands are small, so it didn’t cover my eyes well. I closed my eyes tightly because of this.”
I pressed my lips and lowered the hand that was covering Rex’s eyes.
Since my hand couldn’t cover everything, I didn’t know whether to be pleased or disappointed that Rex had closed his eyes on his own and wasn’t watching the spectacle.
“Cough, cough!”
I don’t know what kind of attack he made, but X kept coughing and pouring dark red blood. So his blood is red too.
Whether he knew we were watching or not, the man crouched down and grabbed X by the hair, lifting him up.
“Firstly, release the curse.”
“Aren’t we talking about the barrier?”
X was impressive as well. Even in that state, he retorted to the man’s words.
“Ha, lift the curse. You can do it.”
“How am I supposed to lift it with bare hands?”
When X said that, his eyes turned to me, and I wondered if he was talking about the Grand Duke Estin’s curse. Hearing that X could break the curse made my toes tingle with hope.
But I felt the ground supporting my feet was extinguished again as X looked at me saying he couldn’t do it with his bare-hands.
“Then, how about we make a trade?”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Your life.”
The man’s voice was deadly, without a hint of jest. The way X’s body started to tremble made me feel bad for him.
“I know your loyalty is strong for a snake, but it’s not more than your life.”
“Yes, but not as weak as the loyalty of a dog.”
“You talk a lot.”
“How.”
“What?”
“How did you get to be so powerful?”
X muttered in a delirious state.
“Because she wanted to.”
“Ha….”
“I hoped she would keep looking for me and want me,”
X turned to look at me.
“You saved her a few times……. It’s a ridiculous situation.”
As he said that, he raised both hands, appearing to give up.
“Okay. I’ll break the curse.”
The man stared down at X for complying so easily. X looked up again and smiled at the man.
“But you know what, breaking the curse isn’t the end of the story.”
“You’ve done a lot of planning.”
“As much as you regained your strength, ‘that person’ is also gathering power. You know that too, right?”
“I believed I had already exchanged your life for it.”
X spit. Despite being clearly provoked, the man appeared unfazed.
“If you’re done with your arrogance, get lost now.”