This Love Is Like Death - Chapter 79

On a dark night, a guest came into a room where only a candle that had not yet fully burned out was flickering. He pulled up the canopy and climbed inside as if Amelia's bed were his own.

“Aaron Skipper has been there.”

Amelia was not surprised by the firm arm that wrapped around her waist or the sudden question. After all, there was only one man who would open the door to the side room, which had no entrance other than this bedroom, at this late hour.

“I told him I didn’t want to see you get married. So he said he’d let me finish my work before the wedding.”

“...”

“He promised to bring forward the schedule for Ian to become Crown Prince.”

Ivan, who was gently stroking the area near Amelia's slender waist and burying his lips on the exposed nape of her neck, stopped.

“By what means?”

“...”

“Did he ask you something?”

And he asked rather sensitively. It was natural, since he knew the name of the feelings Aaron had for Amelia. Besides, Ivan had pressed Amelia like that before she agreed to be his mistress, when their relationship was at an abysmal state. After she accepted being his woman, he couldn't just let it go.

“He didn’t ask anything in return for making it like that. Just...”

"But?"

“There might be problems.”

She didn't want to be honest with Ivan. She didn't want to look stupid. But Aaron talked as if Ricky were alive and he would do anything if he could get his hands on him.

Even if Ricky didn't know anything about Ivan, Aaron could have used him as a false witness to corner Ivan. Aaron was a man who could do that. So it was not right for Ivan to be unaware of anything.

“What's the problem?”

Amelia bit her lower lip at Ivan's question. Then she turned toward Ivan. Ivan met Amelia's eyes naturally.

“Speak calmly.”

And he told her to calm down in a relaxed voice, as if nothing would surprise him.

“Aaron already suspected that Ian was your son. Since you said there was no evidence, I couldn’t do anything foolish, and I felt like I would get caught if I lied, so I admitted it...”

Amelia continued, holding Ivan's arm. She hoped Ivan would know that she had no intention of revealing their relationship to Aaron if he hadn't already hinted that he knew.

“Aaron knew that the name ‘Ricky’ was fake. He said he sent someone to the hometown of the real apprentice priest.”

And on the other hand, she hoped Ivan would tell her that it was okay. When she had threatened to expose their secret relationship, Ivan had clearly laughed at Amelia, saying that there was no evidence. So it had to be okay. Amelia had tried to think that way the whole time she was talking to Ivan.

“He’s dead?”

Amelia asked cautiously, hoping that Ivan's answer would be that he was dead.

“Stay alive.”

But the answer that came back betrayed Amelia's expectations.

It was completely by accident that Ivan found Ricky. He was drunk and had bumped into him with his shoulder when he caught the guy who was harassing him and found the ID card that had fallen from his arms. Instead of killing Ricky, whose face was swollen from being beaten, Ivan gave him the choice between the money and the ID card.

“Yes, I will choose money!”

Naturally, Ricky chose the money. And Ivan told him to take the money and go to his hometown or wherever, as far away from the temple as possible. If he ever met him again while wandering around the capital, he would take his life, no matter when.

Ricky, who received the bag of gold coins he handed him, ran away in a hurry. And he didn't come near the capital. It seemed that he instinctively knew that if Ivan was that wealthy, he could track him down and kill him. That's why Ivan didn't think there would be any noise related to Ricky.

“Then, what should we do?”

Amelia looked up at Ivan with a pale face. Her heartbeat was clearly thumping and thumping beneath her chest, which was pressed close to hers.

Ivan watched the scene, then let go of Amelia and sat up. Amelia followed suit. She had an expression on her face that said she was willing to accept being scolded because it was her fault.

***

The blond man, Ricky, turned his head and looked around. He felt like someone was watching him. He knew that no one would come to visit him in the remote village where the cursed land was just around the corner.

No. It seemed like someone was coming. Wasn't there a man who had already squandered his money on alcohol and gambling, but had been handed a bag full of gold coins? Maybe he felt bad about giving him so much money. Or maybe he realized that he had returned from the capital because he couldn't stand the boredom. Since someone had come here, it meant that he had already placed a watcher nearby.

“Oh my...”

The blue pupils glanced around anxiously before returning to their original position. Although he was not a human, he had lived his entire life eating food from the eyes, so he was quick to read the atmosphere around him.

His steps, which were heading to the bar out of habit in broad daylight, cautiously changed direction. He felt like he should be in a place where there were a lot of people passing by and where he could be seen. In broad daylight, in a place where people were watching, it was rare for something big to happen.

“You look nice today.”

“Get out! You’re like the world’s worst scoundrel.”

Ricky chatted up and flirted with people as they passed by. The response was generally negative. He was a waste of air. That was his reputation to begin with.

“...”

The market road was almost over. Ricky walked leisurely and entered the alley leading to his house. Just behind the house was a forest leading to an unnamed piece of land. He intended to lead them there.

His hometown, Rekton, which he returned to after a long time, was not a very developed town. Because it was close to the cursed land and the forest, not many people came and went. It was just forgotten along with the abandoned land. Not only were outsiders not familiar with the road, but they would often retreat in fear the moment they discovered the forest attached to the nameless land.

Of course, Ricky knew that the name of the cursed land was a lie. As a child, most of his useful food came from that forest. Even the villagers regarded the forest as unclean and avoided it, so it was almost as if he had rented it.

“I should just send it over there.”

Ricky muttered. He's been to the forest so often, but he's never been cursed. However, since there are few people, there are many wild animals, so he's seen them from afar quite often. So he thought he'd lure them into the deep, dangerous forest and throw them as food for the beasts.

The sound of leaves being stepped on echoed through the quiet forest. Since the sun usually doesn’t shine much, the trees that had grown tall were dense with unkempt thorns and bushes, as if they were yearning for the sunlight. Ricky began to move deeper into the forest, clearing them away with his dagger.

Even in broad daylight, the dark forest was a good way to let people down their guard down. The sound of footsteps following him was getting closer and closer. It seemed as if they were sure that no one was watching them.

Who would have thought that someone would be taken advantage of so easily?

At that moment, a long howl was heard from not far away, as if they had recognized an intruder entering the forest and were determined to gather together and destroy him.

"Hey."

By this time, Ricky was also getting a little nervous. He had never gone too far into the forest, so he had seen one or two wild animals from a distance, but he had never encountered many up close.

“What is it?”

But whether he dies by those hands or gets torn apart by an animal's jaws, that's the same thing. Ricky turned around and answered curtly.

“How about following me quietly?”

“I don’t really feel like it.”

Ricky answered confidently. Then he turned his back on the three men and started running wildly.

“Chase!”

The men chased Ricky. The sound was getting closer and louder. Ricky hurriedly hid behind a tree and watched the situation. The pursuers were right nearby.

"Shit..."

It was a situation where he was the only one who died while trying to shake off the pursuers. Ricky ran forward, panting, leaving behind the tree he had been hiding behind. Those who were in good physical shape continued to follow Ricky despite the unfamiliar terrain.

“Ugh!”

Ricky tripped on a tree root sticking out of the damp, always-wet soil. With a single scream, he fell to the ground.

“Ha, you’re giving me such a hard time.”

A voice was heard from below. Ricky looked back with a frightened face, perhaps tired from chasing after them. A man was gasping for breath. Ricky realized that he had nowhere else to run.

Previous                    Next