DTS - Chapter 15






What are you doing to me?

The majestic Reaper looked extremely embarrassed.

At that moment, an old notebook fell out of his arms.

Dorothea quickly picked it up, opened it, and a quivering letter caught her eye.

Colin Highclere.

The name written in red was waving precariously.

She turned to the next page.

Dorothea Highclere.

A name that should have died today.

Her name was seen fluttering around as if to indicate that her lifespan was not long.

She placed her hand on the strangely shaped fountain pen next to the notebook.

If you do whatever you want, you will suffer the pain of eternal life, unable to escape from the bottomless pit of hell!

“My life so far has been hell enough.”

She began blacking out the names on the notebook with a fountain pen.

As the black ink imbued with 'power' erased her name, she felt the connection with her unstable body becoming stronger.

The notebook seemed to slowly seep into her and disappear.

The voice of the Reaper rang through her mind.

Aren’t you afraid of the punishment of hell?

She didn't want to promise her next life. 

The instinct to grab what you want with all your might is foolishness and greed that is only available to humans.

Dorothea was now behaving more humanly than anyone else.

You...

The voice was quieting down.

The ‘voice’ that was ringing in her head gradually became quieter and then disappeared.

The struggling Reaper was completely sucked into Colin's body.

The scythe he was holding fell to the floor with a clanging sound and rolled.

The 'sacred energy' that escaped from the Reaper's grasp slowly shrunk and soon turned into a small animal.

Dorothea was reflected in his round, black bean-like eyes. His spirit, instinctively drawn to the woman with 'his notebook', approached and rubbed his body.

Dorothea rolled her eyes at the squirrel playing cutely at her feet.

“You’re cute too.”

The Reaper trapped in Colin's body had been foaming at the mouth and had long since passed out.

The sudden physical pain must have been unfamiliar and difficult to endure for a Reaper who was used to a 'reality' that had never existed.

Dorothea touched her throbbing shoulder and looked around.

Broken glasses and bottles were rolling around on the floor, and the room was filled with the smell of alcohol.

Dorothea, who had never organized anything in her life and had no intention of doing so, slipped into the blanket on the bed and lay down quietly. A squirrel the size of her palm curled up and settled down next to her.

A crow, having missed the great view from afar, cawed as if it were regretful.

Despite the loud noises outside and the clutter of the room, her tired body quickly fell asleep.

Now that the gamble had paid off, it was time to enjoy a sweet sleep.

***

The next morning, the room was noisy.

The maids and escorts, who had fallen asleep, were astonished by the smell of alcohol wafting through the room as soon as they woke up.

Fortunately, the young lady was lying in bed and sleeping soundly.

But the next moment, they saw a kettle rolling on the floor, a broken water glass, a broken cuff, and Colin lying on his back, foaming at the mouth.

“Colin!”

Colin, who looked like he was drunk, couldn't come to his senses or control his body.

Everyone kept their mouths shut and hurriedly cleaned up the room.

Even though more and more questions were piling up about the strange scene in the room, no one spoke out loud.

Dorothea suddenly opened her eyes at the noise of the busy people.

She heard Colin, who was lying at her feet, groaning.

Since he was suddenly trapped in a physical body, it was natural that it would be difficult to come to his senses due to all the side effects.

The terrible headache and stiffness in his stomach would bother him for a while.

Because he will have to take over Colin’s ‘life’ that he has lived so far.

'Hmm, now that I think about it, why doesn't Dorothea's life continue with me?'

Considering that not even a single vague memory is given, it seems that her soul never existed in this body to begin with.

Then, where on earth did the soul that left the place before the guests arrived go?

Dorothea very slowly got up with her throbbing body.

She immediately deleted her name from the list to buy time, but her sick body was not able to recover.

What if it had actually become more dangerous?

The fact that her name is not on the list means that she now has no choice but to stay alive, no matter what pain or problems she encounters.

Surviving with a body like this and dying according to nature. Which was the wiser choice?

“I will find out after everyone survives.”

While she was mumbling, she heard a pounding sound coming from somewhere.

Aiden opened the door and entered the room, snorting, and strained his eyes when he saw his brother lying on the floor.

“No, you told me not to treat my grown-up niece like a child, so you took her away, so why did you sleep here!”

“...”

“And you even drink alcohol?!”

Aiden woke up from a sound sleep and wheezed.

He seemed very angry that his older brother had left him alone to spend quality time with his niece.

Perhaps Colin was planning to take advantage of the darkness and dispose of his niece before settling the situation.

Of course, instead of doing that, his soul was destroyed and his body was taken over by the Reaper.

Dorothea shrugged her shoulders as she looked at Aiden shaking his brother's body.

Anyway, even if she explained what happened last night to him, who was simple and honest, he wouldn't have been able to understand.

Finally, the real Aiden sighed.

“Even my older brother, who said he was like a stone, couldn’t stand it because my niece was so pretty and cute. I understand.”

“...”

Those were words that would have made Colin, who had come to his senses, would spit and curse if he had heard them.

Dorothea looked at Aiden, who was holding out his hand to her with a groggy face, and then took his hand.

Aiden wrapped his niece tightly in a fine cloth and carefully picked up Dorothea.

The maid who was organizing the surroundings asked cautiously.

“Well, what should we do with Colin?”

“It looks like he had too much medicinal wine at night, so please take him in a carriage.”

Dorothea headed to the carriage in Aiden's arms and glanced at the door where the 'guest from last night who lent me alcohol' was staying.

The room with the lights off was tightly closed with no sign of presence.

He probably left this inn one step ahead of his group.

'I should have asked your name.'

If she wants to repay her debt, she needs to at least know who he is. She was in such a hurry that she just got the drink and forgot to ask for his name.

The alcohol given by the strange guest was strong and sweet.

Just like the human heart.

***

The Reaper who entered Colin's body had already stopped the carriage for the third time due to vomiting.

Aiden patted his brother's back with a disapproving but pitiful look.

“Then why did you drink so much? I know you're happy to see your niece, but it would have been enough to go back and toast her.”

“...”

“It’s not like I’m usually so poor that I can’t even have a few drinks. Brother, let’s do some exercise with me.”

Colin, with a pale face, silently vomited and stood up with his mouth shut like a corpse.

All kinds of memories were tangled together and going through his head, so it was quite painful.

His eyes, which were looking into the sky, sparkled the moment they touched Dorothea. Despite the shame and anger written in his eyes, Dorothea remained calm.

He may have once been a Reaper, but he is already completely trapped in Colin's body, and the Reaper also recognizes her as its owner.

Since the list was also in her arms, Colin was no different from a human right now.

No, he would need time to adapt to his physical body, so he was now more fragile than a human.

'What hasn't been destroyed?'

She didn't want to add to her karma unnecessarily, so she saved him, but his eyes were very disrespectful.

Even though the Reaper is no longer a member of Hades' family, he is now a member of Dorothea's family.

"Stop!"

Colin nervously shook off Aiden's hand, which was pounding his back as hard as he could. It was only then that the clanging sound that reverberated enough to leave a large handprint on his body stopped.

“You, wow, oh my...”

As Aiden looked at Colin in surprise, Dorothea suddenly approached him and tugged on his sleeve.

Aiden's face relaxed as he made eye contact with her.

“He might feel better if he lies down.”

“Well, is that so?”

As he kept stopping the carriage, the road got delayed and she was anxious. Moreover, isn't it impossible to stay overnight with their sick niece?

Aiden scratched his head, accepted Dorothea's opinion, and laid Colin on the floor of the carriage.

“Then, since the carriage is narrow, I will sit with the driver. Brother, go lie down and if you feel like throwing up, knock on the door. Don’t bother the child for no reason.”

Dorothea sat on the soft cushion prepared for her and looked at Colin lying on the floor.

As soon as the carriage started, his eyes lit up.

The pale-faced man gritted his teeth and spoke.

“What a shameless person you are. Look what you have done!”

"It's increased my life expectancy."

“Do you think you can be forgiven for doing something like this!”

The voice, which should have been full of anger, was so weak that it barely crawled out like a mosquito. Dorothea, who was listening to the anger in his thin voice, blurted out.

“There are many people who cannot be forgiven more than me, so I won’t be lonely after I die.”

“...”

“What kind of place is the hell you talk about? Is it that wide? Is it really that difficult?”

Her life has already felt like hell, but could it be worse than that?

There was no fear on Dorothea's curious face.

“What are you saying?”

Colin closed his mouth, as if speechless.

When he scared her to think about what happened after she died, she started asking about hell.

When he met the eyes that were looking at him with genuine curiosity, he felt an eerie feeling for some unknown reason.

It was horror.

An instinctive fear of a strong 'magician' who can suppress and trap people like him at any time.

'What on earth is she?'

He's never heard of someone with that kind of power on this continent.

Although it has been hundreds of years since he became a Reaper, he has never seen or heard of anyone who has the power to trap a Reaper in a human body.

Dorothea, humming, was caught in Colin's eyes.

The energy coming from her small body was pressing down on him menacingly.



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