CH 146

Does she leave the house? (6) – unedited

“Erina, are you okay?”

“Your face is terrible, what the hell did you do in the bathroom?”

As I emptied my insides and went outside, Merson and the Emperor rushed at me. The smell hasn’t gone away yet, so stay away.

I lowered my head and walked through them aimlessly forward.

Em. ba. rass. ing.

But it wasn’t Merson who would just let me go.

“You didn’t listen to me, Erina.”

“I’ll listen to you later, later.”

I couldn’t bear to meet Merson’s eyes and avoided it. But Merson persisted and grabbed my wrist.

“Even if you curse or hit me, it’s okay. Just listen to me.”

“Well, I’ll listen to you later.”

“Can’t you just look at my face for once?”

Merson is confronting me with his feelings at the inn, but I am different. I, who was suffering from sudden poop, just wanted to get away from this place. Besides, there is even the Emperor here openly, so why are we talking here…….

I forgot my shame for a while and spoke straight, knowing that Merson would not give up easily unless I spoke decisively. My eyes were still on Merson’s belly button.

“Merson, go back to the inn. Don’t take a step forward until I come to you. That’s all I can say right now.”

“… When are you coming?”

“When I can admit that you are Kayle.”

These words were the truth. I still don’t think he was the Kayle of that day, 3 years ago. I had to accept that, and admit that it was not Merson who had lost his memory who had been with me for all three years, but the Demon King Kayle of three years ago.

Before Merson could say more, I moved my feet first. Then I went back to my room and closed the door. I sat down on the floor holding onto the doorknob.

“I didn’t want us to meet again this soon or this way.”

I don’t know how he knew I was here, but he came immediately. DId he have a GPS implanted in my body? I searched all over my body for no reason, but nothing came out.

In a room no one visited, I couldn’t even sit properly, plagued with shame and thoughts of Merson and paced around the bed and sofa.

Eventually, a clear night came, and I was unable to endure the cramped feeling, so I carefully opened the door and went out. The attendants looked at me, but they didn’t cling to me, perhaps the Emperor had told them of it in advance.

I very naturally headed to the lakeside, which I had been to once before. I feel a little better when the cool breeze brushes my skin.

“Your Majesty.”

The Emperor was gazing at the surface of the star-studded lake like an old friend.

“Is your stomach okay?”

“I barely forgot, thanks for reminding me.”

“It was the first time I saw a face that looked so painful.”

“How can you lie when you’ve been through countless battlefields.”

“The faces of those facing death were powerlessness, dejection, fear or bravery.”

“It’s because Your Majesty saw it wrong. Well- if you look, there must have been someone with a worse face than me.”

“That’s right. I couldn’t capture all the deaths of those who gave their lives for the country with my own eyes.”

I took a seat next to the Emperor and sat down. Then he looked at me. The smell of the water seemed to permeate the wind.

“What’s your relationship with the Demon King?”

It’s obvious when he just look at it and don’t say anything.

“Does the Demon King love you?”

“I guess that’s what it looks like.”

“Your answer is sloppy.”

“There is nothing I can be sure of.”

Especially when it comes to feelings related to Merson, I become more careful. Just like putting up a barrier to protect me from hurting less if I get hurt by Merson later.

“You said that before. Do you really not trust others and yourself like that?”

After living in the desolate Republic of Korea for over 20 years, you start to suspect taxi drivers, telecommunications company employees, insurance planners, and even the elderly who ask for help because of numerous rumors.

But I couldn’t believe the man I loved with whom I had been together for three years. Did the Emperor also play a role in my becoming like this?

“Then how sure can Your Majesty be about others and about yourself?”

“Once I went to the battlefield with someone who has given me their trust, I wouldn’t care what happened to them.”

“So you don’t even know what your feelings are…….”

It is a rare talk. It would be nice to pass it on, but since I’ve already gone through a lot of the unlikely things, I tried to keep my words in line.

“What feelings do you mean?”

“Your Majesty, you are completely inconsistent with your words. You like me, but you only play bad pranks every day. Right?”

A strategy to get insulted by exalting myself.

“That’s right. I like you.”

“Hey, you don’t have to be so harsh … what?”

I didn’t catch that.

The Emperor’s straight eyes stare at me without lying.

“I like you.”

My thoughts came to an emergency stop.

I couldn’t find anything to say, so I looked at him and touched the bottom of my nose with my finger.

“But am I not the Demon King’s companion?”

“Pfft. Aren’t you guessing way too much? You are seriously mistaken. It’s strange that the words “I like you” are interpreted only that way.”

“… Are you teasing me again?”

“I was playing with myself.”

He’s literally beating his own drum. I couldn’t hit the Emperor, so I picked up a stone and threw it roughly into the lake. Drops of water splash and land on my cheeks.

“But aren’t you surprised that I’m the Demon King’s companion?”

“I was very surprised at first.”

“Ah, you heard it.”

“He said it first. It’s like a warning that if I touch you, I will be killed.”

“… You’re getting excited alone.”

“At first I was excited, then I was angry.”

It was a bit unexpected. As I tilt my head, the Emperor frowns his head in complicated feelings. As if he couldn’t find the answer himself.

“Why?”

The Emperor did not speak right away. He misunderstood the feelings he had already felt. Even when asked why he felt that way, he seemed unable to come up with a clear reason.

“Hmm—!”

The Emperor let out a long, low breath and hesitated for a moment before he parted his lips with a slightly awkward movement.

“Because the woman I gave my heart to loves the Demon King.”

I was not surprised because I already knew. I calmly nodded my head, but belatedly realized that my reaction was wrong. I should have said the line ‘What kind of person are they to love the Demon King?!’ with the final octave on a ‘do re mi’ line .

Fortunately, however, the Emperor paid no attention to my reaction. No, maybe it’s because he’s so confused that he doesn’t even notice my reaction.