Chapter 25: CH 24

Yul earnestly hoped that the memories that came to mind were not his, that he was just writing a novel in his head in a rush.

“Are you planning to run away by cutting off your tied arms?”

“No, not at all. Absolutely not.”

There was no time to be embarrassed by the answer that came out at the speed of a spinal reflex. Yul quickly shook his small head, fearing that Mikael might cut off his arm.

“I- it looks like I was drinking and lost my mind for a bit. I’m usually like that. I get a bit crazy when I drink. So that’s why. I’m telling you it’s really like that.”

The only excuse he could give was alcohol. The words were excuses, but they were true. If he hadn’t been drinking, he would never have said such crazy things in front of Mikael.

It was a secret that it wouldn’t be sufficient even if he took it to the grave, but he drank alcohol and ended up confessing first. It was the alcohol’s fault.

“Yuri, you seem to think I’m easy.”

“Oh, no.”

Never. No way. Yul shook his head as hard as he could. He knew best how crazy Mikael was. Wasn’t he the reader who saw all his crazy things in the book? How can he be considered easy?

“Did it look like I would be deceived by such a trivial lie?”

His voice was as cold and sharp as an ice pick.

Yul nervously swallowed dryly. He must somehow rectify this situation, but his mind was blank and he had no idea. His head, which usually worked well, turned into an ornament when an emergency came up, so it was a delight.

“If you can’t answer it, I’ll ask you an easier question.”

At the cold words, Yul looked up at Mikael with a tearful expression. He didn’t know what kind of question he would ask, but he also had a feeling that he couldn’t answer it easily.

He stared at Yul with eyes resembling a fire that seemed to burn everything. Their gazes entangled in the air.

“From the beginning…”

“…”

“Were you planning to run away from me?”

At his words that carried a sense of betrayal, Yul’s small mouth twitched. He thought he should say something, but nothing came out. His mouth, the size of a knuckle, opened and closed in vain repeatedly.

“Answer me, Yuri.”

It was still a cold voice, but the emotion in it wasn’t just anger. Another emotion was conveyed between the cold anger and betrayal.

The exact nature of that feeling was not known. Perhaps Mikael himself did not know. In the novel The Red Prison, he was always a character slow in recognizing his own emotions.

Upon realizing this fact, Yul came to his senses. It was as if his body, which had been frozen by the cold air from him, had thawed in an instant. At the same time, his little mouth started pouring out the words that came to mind.

“I- I was wrong, I was wrong! But don’t be angry and listen to me. First of all, listen, no matter what, how can you tie up a doll and get angry first?!”

Mikael’s cold eyes softened a little as he continued to speak quickly without even breathing. To be precise, the sudden outburst of absurdity surpassed anger.

“First of all, don’t I have my own body too? What should I do if my body is rotting somewhere? And I said it. I was a slave, I was a slave. The professor won’t let me go if I suddenly disappear. So I’m trying to find my body… It wasn’t because I didn’t like Mikael, it was because of the realistic situation had nothing to do with it. I like Mikael, I like Lucky, I like everything, but I have to do what I need to solve. Isn’t that right?”

While weeping, Yul did what he had to say. It was an absurd statement, but Yul’s unfeigned feelings were conveyed well.

Mikael who was looking at such a Yul was also bewildered.

He looked at Yul who spoke like a quick-fire with an expression that looked like he was about to cry right now, so he felt a bit strange about what he was doing.

Towards that insignificant thing, barely the size of the palm of his hand.

“But Yuri, you didn’t say you were going to find your body, you said you were going to run away.”

Yes. Even if Yul said that everything was true, that he had a really realistic situation, and that he had to find his own body, Yul didn’t actually say that.

If he had told this story from the beginning, he would not have felt betrayed. But Yul didn’t.

Yul, who was constantly speaking at Mikael’s words, paused as if at a loss for words. Then he sighed in despair.

“Ah, that’s… If Mikael falls in love with Levi, he will soon blacken…”

“Fall in love… with who?”

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Mikael asked in bewilderment at Yul’s words. He didn’t understand the word “blacken”, but that was the secondary problem.

“Levi? I will fall in love with Levi?”

“… Yes.”

To Mikael’s seemingly baffled response, Yul stuttered, but answered steadily. Then Mikael burst out laughing.

Yul couldn’t understand why that guy was laughing, and Mikael couldn’t understand why Yul was saying that.

“Why do you think I will like Levi? Come to think of it, you said yesterday that you ‘read’ something related to me and Levi.”

At the sharp point, Yul took in a breath. What was to come had come. At this point, he had to say that this was a fictional world.

But was it really okay if he said that? What if Mikael goes crazy in shock?

Mikael immediately noticed that Yul was feeling trouble. He didn’t know exactly what he was thinking with that little head, but he could tell he was contemplating whether to tell the truth or not.

Mikael grabbed Yul and lifted him up. The chains that bound his arms creaked and wept bitterly.

“Say it. Before I rip this little body to pieces.”

“Yes-!”

Yul quickly responded to the horrifying warning.

Yeah, well, if Mikael went crazy with his words, that’s an issue for later. It was more urgent to avoid the immediate situation where his body would be torn. After a brief thought, Yul opened his mouth.

***

“…”

A heavy brief hung around the room. Even after Yul’s long words were finished, Mikael didn’t say anything for a long time.

Yul talked about the fact that this world was actually a novel called “The Red Prison”, and that Mikael fell in love with Levi, so he became obsessed with him and ended up blackening.

Contrary to Yul’s expectation that he would cut off his words by telling him to stop talking nonsense, Mikael was silently listening to Yul’s words. And even after Yul finished speaking, he didn’t say anything.

“Mi… Mikael… ?”

Originally, in shows, the real scary moment was when the silence fell quietly before the raucous thing happened. It was just like that now.

Yul was well aware that Mikael was quietly listening to his words, not because he had no thoughts. A great storm was coming soon. Yul looked into his eyes with big eyes.

“… So what you are saying is that the Wydefia Empire is just a fictional world, and I am also a character in the novel.”

“… Y- yes. But does it really matter? If we work hard with our own independence, I think that the meaning of life belongs to each of us.”

When he was an undergraduate, he gained experience reflexively answering the professor’s sharp questions during presentations, and it was like that this time. However, it wasn’t good.

There was one thing that Yul overlooked, and because of his courageous speech as an undergraduate, he ended up becoming a graduate student, and he lost that kind of mouth in the meantime.

Simply put, Yul was a typical self-inflicted disaster type.

Unsurprisingly, Mikael’s red eyes, who had been looking far away as if immersed in thought, moved to Yul.

“So… I broke Levi’s ankles so he couldn’t escape, right?”

“Yes, yes. That’s right.”

“Hmm, why?”

How would I know why? Yul swallowed the words he couldn’t bear and smiled awkwardly. However, at Mikael’s next words, Yul’s face was colored with astonishment.

“It should have been cut, not broken. If you break it, his bones will heal quickly. I don’t understand.”

Hey, hey, what’s this madman talking about, now?

Yul, in shock, looked at Mikael’s calm face. His red eyes turned to Yul’s plump legs.

“But even if the ankle is cut off, it can be sewn back on, so I’ll have to find another way.”

Translator: misa