Chapter 117

When Kinaine went blind, he didn't beg to have his eyes healed. Even when given luxurious food and expensive treasures, he remained consistently composed.

Though naturally even-tempered, something felt different from before. When they first met in the dragon palace, Kinaine had possessed a will that wouldn't break under any adversity. While Asad had despised his aspirations, he had simultaneously been drawn to them.

But now, no aspiration or desire could be felt from Kinaine. When first seen, he had been like a flame burning with his entire body as fuel, but now he reminded one of ash heaps remaining after everything had burned.

When had he become like this? Though he asked himself, he didn't know. Though he had watched from close by, he felt he had missed many things, like sand slipping through his fingers.

His lips dried with anxiety.

"Don't make me repeat myself. No matter how much you kneel, no matter how much you cry and beg, you absolutely cannot return to the human realm."

His hands tightened around the human. Seeing his own hands greedily gripping the rake-thin body, Asad laughed bitterly inside.

By this point, he could no longer pretend not to know. His obsession with Kinaine was no longer at a level that could be glossed over as hatred or light interest like before. If he still hated humans, Kinaine would have lost his life long ago, and if it were mere light interest, he wouldn't have imprisoned someone who said they disliked it.

The emotions he felt toward Kinaine seemed closer to the possessiveness an alpha feels toward an omega, as he had heard before. He couldn't deny feeling the urge to ravish him all night when he saw him.

But there was something that couldn't be explained by that alone.

If he wanted Kinaine, he could just take him. A mere human wouldn't even be able to resist. Whether he coughed blood or his heart shattered, he could just take what he wanted.

But Asad couldn't do that.

If this was alpha possessiveness, why did he keep wanting to give rather than take? Why did he want Kinaine to eat his fill, to sleep comfortably in his embrace? Why did he spend all day recalling a faint smile that passed in a brief moment?

He shouldn't have killed the previous dragon after all, Asad regretted.

If he had received knowledge from the previous dragon, he might have known what these feelings he was experiencing were. But the previous dragon was already dead, and his soul had returned to the gods' embrace. Since time couldn't be turned back, all he could do, knowing nothing, was to greedily grasp what he could.

"I am a dragon. You seem to not understand well what kind of being a dragon is. Let me tell you now."

Asad declared arrogantly.

"If I wish it, even death cannot take you."

Asad was serious. The first wish had to be left for his mate. But even without that, in this vast spirit realm, wouldn't there be some way to sustain one human life? Even if there wasn't, he would just have to search the entire land to find one.

Perhaps sensing his sincerity, Kinaine, who had been silent for a long while, suddenly spoke.

"I was foolish. I won't speak of returning to the human realm anymore."

"What?"

At the unexpected words, Asad grabbed Kinaine's shoulders and pulled him from his embrace.

"Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

"Actually, being here reminded me of difficult times I experienced, so I wanted to return home. And I felt shameless staying when I'm no longer even a bride candidate."

Since most of the difficulties Kinaine had experienced were because of him, Asad couldn't say anything and silently listened to what followed.

"But it seems that was foolish stubbornness. Returning to the human realm with this sick body would only lead to worse things."

Kinaine spoke gently while lowering his eyes.

"At first I resented Lord Asad for imprisoning me here, but thinking again, it seems I was just being stubborn without seeing the distant future. I'm only grateful that Lord Asad guided my foolish self in the right direction."

"So, you'll really stay?"

The situation suddenly going his way seemed unbelievable. Asad stared at Kinaine with suspicious eyes. Though no trace of deception could be felt from Kinaine, now knowing how well he could lie, Asad couldn't easily believe him.

"Yes, I want to stay. Why wouldn't I? Staying here is much better for me than returning to the human realm."

"That's, true."

"Once I get a bit more used to this condition, I'd like to do the gardening work Lord Asad mentioned."

"...What work would someone weak like you do? Just stay quietly."

"That makes it harder. Moving the body makes it healthier. And my illness isn't as serious as it looks."

"You coughed up blood."

"That's because my throat is raw from coughing a lot. If I were that seriously ill, how could I have performed so excellently in the selection tests?"

Asad's gaze wavered. Everything Kinaine said made sense, but somehow it felt not quite right. However, as he said, there was no reason to take the worse path when a better one was available. His explanation about being stubborn due to bad memories made sense too.

After everything that had happened, he must have lost the energy to do anything from physical and mental exhaustion. Once he regained his vitality, he would recover the heat he had at first.

Deliberately ignoring his uneasy feeling, Asad raised his chin arrogantly.

"...I thought so. I knew something was strange. Anyway, it's fortunate you finally made the right choice, even if late."

"It's all thanks to Lord Asad."

Kinaine quietly lowered his eyes while answering in a voice that seemed relieved.

Deceiving someone wasn't difficult for Kinaine. He just had to say what the other person wanted to believe.

* * *

Not long after saying he would stay in the dragon palace, Kinaine soon found freedom. Though it was limited freedom.

"Lord Nine, you need to take this cane."

"Ah, right. Thank you."

Asad had assigned one young servant to Kinaine. Though young, the servant was attentive and moved like Kinaine's hands and feet.

But Kinaine knew. This servant was a watcher placed by Asad.

"Today I'd like to go to the garden where this bird lives."

"Yes, Lord Asad told us. Since Lord Asad can't come today, I'll guide you."

"Alright."

Kinaine obediently followed the servant's guidance. The bird perched on his shoulder was quiet and well-behaved. More precisely, this was because Kinaine had hijacked its vision.

The aftereffects of this magic had made him show an appearance he hadn't wanted Asad to see. But this time too, it couldn't be helped. Because he had something he needed to do.

Arriving at the garden, Kinaine pretended to enjoy the flowers while thoroughly examining his surroundings.

'It's not here either.'

But still he couldn't find the ring. For the past three days, Kinaine had retraced his steps searching for the ring. But he couldn't find even a trace.

Should he give up after all?

Kinaine unconsciously touched his neck. The jeweled necklace Asad had given him the previous day was very beautiful, but cold and hard. Though in terms of value it was surely much more expensive, it wasn't what Kinaine wanted.

Saying he would stay in the dragon palace was to get a chance to find the lost ring. Though Asad had attached a watcher, he no longer confined Kinaine to the room.

'Perhaps partly because he thought I couldn't escape the dragon palace without his notice.'

Just three days. He had decided to look for the ring for just three days. And today marked the third day, ending the period he had set for himself.

He had ultimately failed to recover the ring. Was it destined to be lost, as Asad had said? Kinaine smiled bitterly.

Just then the servant approached with small steps.

"Lord Nine, it's time to return."

"...Right."

Kinaine reached toward the approaching servant. Just before contact, for a very brief moment, his fingertips hesitated. Though he had told himself hundreds of times that leaving was right, now that the moment had come, hesitation arose. If he could stay by Asad's side even as a mere servant...

Pain briefly crossed his pale face. However, it was time to walk in a direction different from his heart's direction.

"It's time to return now."

As Kinaine's hand touched him, the servant's eyelids closed and his small body collapsed onto the flower bed. The soft snoring sound indicated he had fallen asleep. Kinaine set down the cane he had been holding beside him. Carrying such a thing would give him away.

"Sorry, sleep just a little while."

The moment Kinaine took a step, his appearance changed to that of the sleeping servant.

From the moment he had resolved to leave this place, he had confirmed his escape route. Though impossible for Kinaine, escaping the dragon palace was possible for a young servant.

Asad's mistake was not thinking that anyone besides himself could use magic. Of course, for power that could be used without cost, Kinaine had to pay a great price.

Kinaine wiped away his nosebleed and hurried his steps. Though he encountered quite a few people along the way, no one paid attention to a servant. Thanks to this, Kinaine arrived without any problems at his destination - the bridge connecting the human realm and spirit realm.

Everything seemed to be going as planned.

"...What is this."

However, at his destination, a scene too horrific to even appear in nightmares unfolded.

Kinaine staggered slightly. Not just from the flying magic used to reach the bridge.

Red blood was splattered across the rainbow-colored shining bridge. Following the spreading blood, at the end of his gaze lay someone who had been killed very cruelly.

A familiar face even to Kinaine who knew few spirits - the horned tribe gatekeeper he had first seen when coming to the spirit realm.

His shoes became soaked with blood flowing from the body. It was a devastating sight difficult to look at directly even for Kinaine who had seen many atrocities.

Who could have done such a thing?

Just as he was about to turn his gaze to the other side of the bridge, something flew toward Kinaine at very high speed. Though Kinaine barely dodged, he couldn't prevent his shoulder from being pierced.

"Ugh!"

The black magic cast on the bird broke from the pain. His vision instantly turned black, preventing him from seeing his opponent.

Just as Kinaine tried to reconnect vision with the bird, someone kicked him with strong force. Though he barely twisted his body to prevent falling off the bridge, his unbalanced body rolled through the open gap between the doors.

"Ah."

When he reconnected his vision, Kinaine was falling toward the ground.

Very briefly, he thought he saw the familiar shadow of a doll on the bridge.