Chapter 7: CH 6

Seniel, who had sensitive hearing, woke up to the sound of busy footsteps in the morning.

‘Why am I here…?’

He had left the mansion and ridden his carriage to a distant place last night. He hadn’t had any business trip to start with, so he went to any inn to sleep. He certainly had. That was why he couldn’t figure out why he woke up in bed.

He looked around with confused eyes.

His hair, which had been tied up neatly, was very messy, and some of the buttons he had always fastened were loose. Bottles of rum he never had drunk were scattered on the table.

His face turned white before he could grasp what had happened. The blood in his body cooled, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

When he got up in a hurry, he saw familiar and, at the same time, unfamiliar handwriting on the desk.

Why don’t you take care of your wife?

There was a sarcastic note on the paper.

Seniel went out straight away.

The servants were surprised by his untidy appearance, but they turned their heads tactfully. But soon, they tilted their heads, questioning when the master returned.

Seniel, who had no time to pay attention to such gazes, urgently knocked on the door. There was no sound. His already white face grew even paler.

Not able to stand it any longer, Seniel opened the door.

***

I woke up with the sound of an urgent knock. What? What is it again this time?

Sunlight leaked through the dark curtain that was unable to block it completely.

‘It’s not night. It’s morning already…?’

I just blinked stupidly. I was just confused about what was going on. I didn’t even notice that I’d slept holding the knife all night because I was still half-asleep. I just thought dumbly that I’d jump out the window if it was Kid again.

As the door swung open, I curled up. However, I could easily recognize that it was Seniel, not Kid. Because there was no way Kid would be in tears.

It’s Seniel? As soon as I thought that, my body felt weak. My dazed mind was suddenly awakened. And when I was fully awake, I became furious.

‘Because of you yesterday!’

Seniel slowly walked towards me.

As someone who was weak to strong people and strong to weak, I tried to grab Seniel’s collar.

The knife fell out of my hand.

‘Oh, what the— Of all times!’

The knife that fell on the blanket glistened beautifully in silver.

Awkward glances passed between Seniel and me. Seniel, who removed his gaze from the knife, turned his gaze to the floor.

‘Ah, the glass…’

I had no intention of hiding from Seniel that I’d met Kid, but I had no intention of revealing it. I was hoping for his ignorance, and I’d stow away when the opportunity arose.

Seniel stood at my feet and looked at the broken glass and knife. In the meantime, tears were still falling from his face.

Seeing the expression completely different from Kid, my anger subsided strangely. In this strange silence, Seniel opened his mouth. “Did anyone come there at night?”

I rolled my eyes. Was it necessary to say it so clearly?

“… No. Ah, this is… some kind of a habit. You know, sleepwalking? I should’ve told you earlier, but I was afraid of surprising you.”

Kid had never told me to hide his appearance, but I decided to deny it just in case.

Seniel looked at me pitifully with eyes telling me not to lie. I smiled embarrassedly because I didn’t want to get any more entangled between Seniel and Kid.

Thinking he wouldn’t be able to handle this, I thought he would just let it go. But suddenly, Seniel’s gaze dropped. He knelt over sharp shards of glass.

Are you crazy? I climbed out of bed and tried to get him up.

“I’m sorry, Lady Jezlein. I’ve been deceiving the world. Now I feel like I have to cut off my sins completely. I’m really sorry.”

“What do you mean?”

Cut off your sins? I had a bad feeling about this.

“The killer who came yesterday. No, Kid who threatened the world was actually…”

Without realizing it, I covered Seniel’s mouth with both hands. This person must be really crazy. I looked at the wide open door. Seniel had been in a hurry, so he’d left the door wide open.

Someone would’ve heard.

I feared he might make more bombastic remarks, so I raised my index finger, looked at him meaningfully, telling him to stay quiet, then shut the door.

Still on his knees, Seniel looked at me with a wide open mouth.

I approached him again and tried to get him up first, but he persisted until the end.

“I am Kid. I’m the one who threatened you last night.”

I got a headache. He seemed willing to take his own life to pay for his crime, but I vehemently opposed his opinion. Because, even if he tried, he couldn’t take his own life.

He was a good man who wanted to live, but sometimes even that desire for survival was broken. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to give up his own life. There was a time when he almost stepped on the threshold of death, but he couldn’t die. Because the strong sense of fear caused by the desire to survive just before his death awoken Kid.

Therefore, all actions that Seniel offered to pay for his sins were of no use to me. Rather, it was a hindrance.

‘You won’t die until Kid’s revenge is over! No, you can’t die!’

Kid would be even more upset about Seniel’s doing. And whatever he did out of rage would be my funeral.

I struggled to control my mind and shook my head. I had even survived Kid yesterday. I couldn’t ruin it all now.

Let’s just admit what I saw yesterday.

I thought it would be better to stop Seniel from doing strange things first and hold onto him so he couldn’t go anywhere tonight.

‘Let’s not touch Kid’s spirit as much as possible.’

“Would you like to sit here first? Anyone who sees you will think you’re sick.”

“… No, it will be uncomfortable for you to face me all the time, so I’ll just leave. No more harm to you…”

“Sit down, please.”

Seniel couldn’t overcome my push and eventually sat down. That’s right, good boy.

As I sat him beside me, my gaze fell to his knees. His pants were stained with blood. It satisfied me that Kid was stabbed in the knees, but it was uncomfortable to think that someone else was injured. Someone who shouldn’t have to apologize.

“Do something about your knees, too. It keeps bleeding,”

“… Yes.”

After hesitating, he finally agreed to my words. A white light flashed from his hand, and pieces of glass fell apart, healing the wound. I shouldn’t be amazed, but it was still amazing.

I removed my gaze from his knees and looked straight into his eyes.

“Give me your hand.”

I remembered Kid, who had asked me to reach out like a dog, so I unconsciously asked for his hand as well.

Seniel quietly offered his hands without question. Well, good boy.

“Since you revealed the truth like that, then, yes. I won’t lie. It is true that last night, as you said, someone similar to you came to visit. Maybe that person is Kid.”

“Then-!”  His hand trembled. Water filled his eyes, which had barely stopped crying.

“But as you can see, nothing happened. The glass was broken, but look. There are no wounds on my body.”

“But the knife-”

“The knife was in my hand. He gave it to me as a gift.”

The gift may not be a gift, but anyway.

“I can’t believe you’re really Kid, but I won’t deny it completely because it happened yesterday.”

“I’m glad you believed me. Then I shouldn’t be here. I’ll stop-”

I grabbed his hand tightly so he couldn’t escape. Seniel flinched and sat back down.

“You want to pay for your sins. Fine. But how are you going to do it?”

My words came out sharp since it was related to my life. I knew he did his best, but understanding and empathy were another matter.

The strength in Seniel’s hand was gone. He kept his mouth shut and was silent.

“You’re a high priest, so people won’t believe you’re Kid. If so, isn’t it difficult to receive official punishment? If possible, I think you would already be in jail or executed. Or are you going to punish yourself in a self-inflicted way?”

“…”

I looked at his left wrist. He quickly pulled down his sleeve.

“I’ve heard of split personality. If someone who has it tries to suicide, the other personality pops out unknowingly and makes such attempts fail repeatedly.”

I don’t have any medical knowledge, but you become angry and ferocious in a book where you’re the male protagonist.

Seniel’s hand tightened. Deep despair was engraved on his face.

I was angry about yesterday, but I felt sorry. He could neither die or stop himself. He couldn’t do anything.

But that was the end of it. I still had my life to think about. I wasn’t the heroine and didn’t want to deal with Seniel’s affair. Unlike the heroine, I was nothing but an ordinary person.

“I’ll be honest with you. I said nothing happened yesterday, but it almost happened. I don’t care who you kill. I just want to live in peace.”

“… I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need an apology. Not one from you. I need your help more than that. I know how I can live.”

Seniel’s eyes widened, seemingly implying I was saying nonsense. His bright red eyes fluttered. His silence lasted for a while.

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He hadn’t been able to stop Kid for years, so his brain seemed to break for a moment when someone who’d only met him for a day said she had a way. Seniel clenched his lips.

“What should I… How do… How can I help you?”

It took him a while to produce a perfect sentence. I patted the back of Seniel’s hand.

“Don’t do anything and stay still.”

“… Pardon?”

“Don’t sneak out at night because you’re worried about me or try to figure out a way to help me. I understand your efforts to stop Kid, but I want you to stay still.”

That way, Kid wouldn’t get too excited and kill me suddenly.

Seniel’s eyes changed strangely.

“… I don’t think I understand you. Did you just tell me to stay still?”

“Yes.”

Distrust filled Seniel’s gentle eyes again. Doubts and fears converged. They seemed to be contemplating whether I was Kid’s accomplice.

He must be skeptical if the first survivor of Kid, like me, would advise him to stay still.

Seniel, think carefully. Am I an accomplice? You should know Kid’s nature. He’s not a person to collaborate with.

He was a good boy with strong boundaries.

I felt sorry to cause him to feel so flustered, but I had to make another strange request. I had no choice but to keep pace with Kid’s threat.

“I haven’t finished my words yet. There are a few more things I want from you.”

Seniel’s eyes softened a little. This time he seemed to expect me to make a really useful request.

“If you have time tonight, would you like to have dinner together?”