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Chapter 28

“…Yuri. Mom,” Fren spoke with relief as he blinked open his eyes to see Yuria. He was afraid and anxious about never seeing her again, thinking she was unable to run away, and was caught by that man. Fortunately, Yuria was right in front of him. The fact that she had remained by his side, caused him such happiness, that he instinctively wrapped his arms around her like a koala. Rubbing his face on the nape of her neck, he smelled her comforting scent, the scent that belonged to the body he entrusted himself to. He believed he wouldn’t lose her if he held her like this.

“Fren, are you okay?” As soon as she opened her eyes, Yuria was taken aback by Fren’s koala-like actions as he embraced her tightly, and gently patted his back.

“Yuri… Mom.”

After a moment of relief, Fren became anxious again. There was no guarantee that the man would not come to visit Yuria again.

If so…

Although the man had come before, at that time, Fren didn’t know he was really going to lose. He’d never thought of himself as weak. Until now, any others who had hurt him hadn’t done it because they were strong, in the end, they lost to the Fren’s power, and died in vain while trembling in fear. However, the man he met today was so strong that he couldn’t even be a match for him. It was the first time he had ever encountered someone so strong. So, if he ever tried to take Yuria again, Fren was not confident he could protect her.

Suddenly, he remembered the conversation he had with someone in his dream a while ago.

–Baby, do you want to be strong?

–Then you have to choose. With great power comes great responsibility. What power would you choose?

Fren couldn’t understand it. Power was just power. Why should I choose?

What was important to Fren was the strength necessary to keep Yuria from being taken away by anyone else.

“…I will definitely protect you.”

I will never lose her.

I won’t let anyone take her away.

To do that, I have to be strong.

How do I become strong?

Fren, a hybrid of demon and human, was born strong, thus he didn’t know the steps needed to become stronger.

“Fren, it’s okay. It will be fine.” Yuria spoke softly, attempting to calm Fren’s anxiety which was apparent from the way he was clutching her clothes with a death grip.

“The bad guy was trying to take Yuri…”

Yuria immediately recognized who the bad guy Fren was talking about, so she carefully opened her mouth and spoke slowly to relieve Fren’s anxiety, “He isn’t a bad person.”

If she had to nitpick, he might have been a good person because he helped Fren come to his senses safely, even though he could have faked ignorance.

“He wanted to take Yuri. He’s a bad person.” For Fren, the criteria for good and bad people was clear. Yuria was a good person, and a bad person was the one who was trying to take Yuria away from him.

“But I’m here with Fren like this?”

At Yuria’s words, Fren nodded as if yes, but then shook his head.

Now Yuria is with me, but as long as that man is still alive, I cannot be relieved. No, even if it wasn’t that man, Fren was worried about everyone. To Fren, everyone other than Yuria was just a bad person trying to take her away from him

“No, can’t give her.”

“I won’t ever leave Fren’s side,” Yuria reassured Fren.

“But- take you, the bad guy.”

“He won’t.”

At Yuria’s words, Fren looked towards her asking why.

“Because I said I would stay by Fren’s side.”

Although he was relieved by Yuria’s words, Fren was still nervous. Even if Yuria tried her hardest to stay by his side she would be helplessly dragged away if someone took her by force, all because of his weakness.

[tl/n: have you ever heard of anxious attachment? Well- this is it lol]

So he had to protect her. Nothing, not even the smallest possibility, could be left unchecked. In his heart, he desired to destroy and erase everything so only he and Yuria would remain in this world. However, being unable to deal with a single man, there was no way he could do so.

Without knowing Fren’s thoughts, Yuria opened her mouth to speak with a friendly voice, “Fren, that person helped Fren today.”

“…”

Fren kept his mouth shut as a show of dislike for Yuria’s favourable attitude towards people who were only bad in his eyes. His puffy cheeks were full of dissatisfaction.

“He just asked for a doctor, and I said it would be fine since I would be with Fren, and then he just left.”

Despite Yuria’s explanation, Fren still had a sullen expression on his face, seeing that Yuria hugged Fren tightly again to reassure him. She realized that no matter what she said, in their current situation there was no way Fren would change his mind toward the man. Additionally the feelings of dislike and liking someone were personal choices and belonged only to them. There was nothing she could say about to persuade from disliking the man. From Fren’s point of view, there was a good reason to think the way he thought, and she could understand his anxiety. Therefore, rather than saying anything about the man, Yuria only wanted to relieve Fren’s anxiety and convey her warmth to make him understand everything was okay. However, aside from that, it seemed that it would be better not to talk about the man’s suggestion about taking Fren with her; it would only increase Fren’s anxiety.

Fren quietly let himself be held and encircled in her warmth. Just staying like that, all the bad thoughts he had a while ago, as well as his anxious feelings, seemed to gradually disappear and calm down, and he gradually became sleepy.

The man had said it would take a day or two for Fren to recover his stamina. Thinking about it, Fren had come to his senses very quickly. Since Fren’s body was not fully recovered his tired body wanted a rest even after only a short while. But Fren wouldn’t let himself fall asleep.

Seeing Fren’s fluttering eyes, Yuria asked worriedly, “Fren, are you sleepy?”

Fren tried hard to keep his eyes open and shook his head. However, Fren’s head shook helplessly due to the rushed motion.

“If you are sleepy, you can sleep.”

Considering what happened today, it would be good for Fren to get some more sleep.

“I protect Yuri,” Fren spoke softly but determinedly in a sleepy voice.

“It will be fine, Fren.”

“But…”

“I’m sleepy, Fren isn’t sleepy?”

“Yuri, sleep. Nighty night~” Fren raised his hand to comfort Yuria, trying to follow the same behavior Yuria had done to Fren whenever she put him to bed to sleep.

“Hush, hush.” Fren quietly sang a lullaby in a sleepy voice.

It was so lovely that Yuria smiled as she spoke, “I think I can sleep well if I sleep with Fren.”

“Fren, sleep?”

“If I sleep alone, I won’t be able to sleep properly because I’ll worry about Fren.”

At Yuria’s words, Fren was deeply troubled. He shouldn’t sleep to protect Yuria; he had to stay awake, and guard her so nothing could take her away, it was essential to stay vigilant in case that man appeared again. Yet, if he doesn’t sleep, Yuria can’t either. She could be hurt again if she doesn’t sleep.

I don’t know if Yuria will get sick again. Fren didn’t know which choice to make. He didn’t want to lose Yuria, and he didn’t want her to get sick. Thus, he couldn’t easily choose.

Yuria recognized Fren’s concerns. She hugged him and laid down on the bed, with him in her arms, attempting to convince Fren, “Fren is hugging me like this, right? Then no one will hurt me.”

“Fren protect Yuri?”

“Of course.”

Yuria nodded with a friendly gaze. At that, Fren was relieved. As he thought, Yuria was the smartest in the world. She knew a lot of things he didn’t know, and she taught him new things. To Fren, Yuria was the greatest being in the world.

Fren hugged her tightly to protect her, only then did he slowly close his eyes. Looking at his sleeping figure, Yuria closed her heavy eyelids as well. Yuria was trying her best to pretend she was okay, but she was very tired yet unable to sleep while Fren was struggling. Now that she had confirmed that Fren had woken up safely, she would be able to sleep comfortably.

So the two of them fell asleep.

It had been a few days since Fren went rampant because of Cain and lost consciousness.

The two went back to their usual routine, and today Yuria and Fren went down to the village after a long time. It was to buy missing ingredients and things for Fren.

The two were holding each other’s hands and walking affectionately as they strolled past the stalls. Meanwhile, Yuria noticed that Fren’s eyes were fixed on one spot.

“Do you want to eat that?”

Fren was troubled. It was a fact he hadn’t known before, but he had to have money to get what he wanted, and recalling Yuria’s previous muttering, she didn’t seem to have much money. As a result, he couldn’t say that he wanted to eat that so easily, wishing not to make it hard for Yuria because of his own greed. However, Fren naturally salivated at the delicious-looking food he saw for the first time. His head kept sending signals that it was not okay, and Fren shook his head saying he was okay without it, but he couldn’t tear gaze from that spot. Seeing him like that, Yuria put on a sad expression on her face. Somehow, she could tell what Fren was thinking.

He wants to eat it, but he can’t say he wants to eat it. Whether the reason was worrying about her or whatever.

“After waking so much, I’m hungry. I want to eat something.” Yuria, who erased her bitter expression, muttered loudly. At that, Fren’s gaze turned to her. A small expectation that could not be hidden appeared on the kid’s face. It was because he was worried about Yuria and said it was okay, but he secretly-truly- wanted to eat it.

“Fren too, would you like to eat with me? Eating alone is lonely.” Yuria asked in a natural tone.

“…Then Fren too…” Fren said in a very small voice.

“Okay, let’s eat together with Fren.”

Yuria, who gently stroked Fren’s hair, went to the grilled skewer stall Fren was looking at. She took money from her pocket and bought two skewers. One skewer was in Yuria’s hand, and the other was in Fren’s hand. The two walked together holding the skewers. It was then that a man obviously not looking where he was going, collided head-on with Fren, who couldn’t dodge since he didn’t want to lose Yuria’s hand.

Fren crashed into the man’s body, and the skewer in his hand soiled the man’s clothes.

“Ugh, what’s this!” The man frowned and roared in anger.

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