There Is No Hidden Villain in This Novel Chapter 67

Although Aple’s face became one that looked like he was about to go completely insane from being handed a ticking time bomb, it was none of my business, so I turned around refreshingly.

Unlike what I expected, I couldn’t declare it like a proclamation of war to the person concerned, but anyway, I had achieved my initial goal of sounding out my intention to withdraw, so I was about to leave feeling relieved when the situation repeated itself once more.

What I mean by that is my arm was grabbed.

“You…!”

“…”

“Where do you think you’re going!”

His pale blue eyes, filled with a sense of betrayal, felt foreign. I hadn’t thought it was an expression I could expect from Ryuseong. I don’t know why you, who are determined to kill me, would feel a sense of betrayal towards me, though.

I’m not completely devoid of common sense, so I know the implicit rules of dating that require some sort of explanation in a situation like this. After all, we are dating, whether it’s a lie or a contract, and people who are dating must abide by the implicit rules of dating. The implicit rules of dating vary by country and person, but the fact that breaking them makes you a historic asshole is the same. That’s the universal rule.

It would be a lie to say that a protagonist with a sense of chastity like me has never acted like a historic asshole. The records of my turbulent, supremely promiscuous life are comparable to that of King Uija and… (omitted)… anyway, it was amazing, is what I’m saying.

But since I’ve decided to become the family head to avoid letting Ryuseong go, there’s no need to be on bad terms.

I decided to be nice.

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

“…Are you serious?”

As if to say, can’t you see the students murmuring, I shrugged my shoulders and scanned our surroundings. They were on the edge of their seats as if they were watching a spectacular drama live, and I figured I would be the same.

Romeo and Juliet met at an academy, and defying their families’ opposition, they started the love story of the century, but then one of them declares he’s dropping out—anyone would go crazy. They’d be dying to know what happens next. On top of that, the other party, Ryumeo, apparently didn’t even know the situation. He was thoroughly excluded from the information while things progressed to the point of declaring the withdrawal to a professor. What on earth was Julice—no, Cassis de Millang thinking…? It’s a major scandal that people can’t help but watch and pay attention to.

“Are you really… going to leave?”

He even adds fuel to the fire like this. Ryuseong’s eyes were contorted as if he was genuinely shocked, and the sight of a strong man looking confused as if he were about to collapse was, to be honest, delicious. The fact that it was because of me made it perfectly fucking delicious. But the gazes of others turning voyeuristically towards Ryuseong was not to my liking for me to just enjoy it. I wanted to be the only one to see you break.

I also knew what I had to do to make that happen.

I reached out my hand, grasped, and pulled.

And…

They started running.

It was Cassis de Millang who started it. Cassis de Millang interlocked his fingers with his own. He dug into the spaces between the knuckles and stole them away. Ryuseong’s dynamic visual acuity captured the moment he smiled playfully, but he did not wait for the stunned Ryuseong to stare blankly. He roughly yanked the hand he held. And took a large stride forward. Ryuseong’s strength could have prevented his arm and upper body from being dragged along. But he was defenselessly shaken. He couldn’t build a wall around his heart. He hadn’t meant to be shaken….

“Wait…!”

To keep from falling, he had to take a large step forward to follow. He would fall if he didn’t pick up speed, as if hanging onto the hand pulling him forward. If he had wanted to stop, the option of falling would have been fine, but Cassis de Millang might have gotten hurt. Ryuseong didn’t want that. So he couldn’t stop himself from being shaken. If it was a defeat, it was a defeat.

Ryuseong was worried they might collide with someone, but the students began to scatter in an instant. It was an instinctive movement to avoid bumping into them. It was a sudden start, yet no one could block their path. They pierced through the cracks between the voyeuristic gazes and ran across the hallway.

…Suddenly, Ryuseong thought the lead, which was almost coercive, was paradoxically freeing.

Did he feel a sense of liberation, or was he confused because it was spring?

It was late spring, with pollen drifting in the air. He remembered Hae Yuna joking that the meaning of cherry blossoms was midterm exams. Was that why? Now that midterms were over, the campus was buried in clusters of light pink flowers. Why do flowers make a person’s heart so restless? The two of them ran on the bike path, which smelled vibrant and sweet. The distinct reddish-brown pavement of the bike path probably wasn’t meant to be stepped on by running shoes, but Cassis de Millang, even in his loafers, ran excitedly.

Dropping out, that’s absurd, why would you suddenly make such a choice—the mind that was about to question him scattered helplessly. It was obvious he was trying to escape from a heavy topic of conversation, yet he felt unable to stop him. Powerlessly being dragged along wherever you pulled.

‘Where are you taking me.’

Because they were trained, no panting breaths could be heard. So between them as they ran across the campus, only the sound of the wind or the rustling sound of falling petals could be heard.

I’ll say it again. Cassis de Millang interlocked his fingers with his own. His body temperature was always cool, so their touching skin felt like snowflakes. Despite the smooth and soft touch like ice, no, rather because it was overly smooth, his skin was cold and chilly like a snake’s scales—that was Cassis de Millang. But it was different now. Maybe because they were running or for some other reason, his blood had warmed up. His skin grew tepidly hot. That ambiguous temperature….

For just that reason alone, Ryuseong felt like he was going slightly, but surely, insane.

Today, you acted just like a living person.

That impression is a sophism. Cassis de Millang is always alive. However, he was always indifferent in the face of death, and he was someone who would close his eyes placidly even if he were to die tomorrow. But when he snatched Ryuseong’s hand, Cassis de Millang smiled. He wore a heated smile, playful, as if in anticipation. He realized then that when a person who was always cold smiles lukewarmly, your heart drops with a thud.

Whether it was the spring breeze or the pollen that was the problem, he couldn’t stop his heart from scattering.

Ryuseong had lived a life so arduous that his age was not a problem. He had been through all sorts of trials and tribulations, no, he had survived desperately since he was a newborn. What could have happened for a child born in monster territory to survive?

Ryuseong never told anyone, but he was already a broken person. He had been broken from birth, and the cracks had spread as he lived. A damaged heart was beating in his chest. The act of killing people inevitably ruins a person. And a child who grew up eating corpses was slowly breaking himself in a wasteland where there wasn’t even an adult to teach him the concept that one should not kill people. Because there was no one to teach him that he shouldn’t break….

When he felt that Cassis de Millang was perhaps no different, when he realized that he might have always lived a life where his life was targeted, the reason Ryuseong felt sorrow might have been because he saw his own life in him. In their first encounter where he felt a kind of self-loathing, it was loathsome from the perspective that Cassis de Millang was also a fellow whose humanity was broken, but it was different now. Thinking of the trials Cassis must have faced to the point of his humanity breaking, he suddenly felt sorrowful.

Why does the world break people, how should broken people live—it teaches nothing, yet it collapses and damages everything a person has loved.

Even though a person whose heart has become a wasteland loses the motivation to live on.

Ryuseong had a father. Then what about Cassis de Millang?

‘What does he have?’

That is what plunges Ryuseong into melancholy.

He thinks that if you were to leave alone for somewhere, he might wish for you to take him with you.

If you had no reason to live, he wanted to offer himself up for you to hold onto.

The dormitory building. Cassis de Millang, as if he had no intention of waiting for the elevator, immediately ran for the emergency exit, and he followed him up the stairs. Every movement was fast. At least the smell of spring was less noticeable here. Perhaps a slight acrid smell from the fresh paint. That was enough. If he could just forget about spring, he felt he could be freed from this dizzying feeling. But when Cassis turned around and smiled, his eyes curving, everything crumbled again. His bright amethyst eyes shone brightly, like a light pink, reminding him of spring. It might be that just facing you makes me dizzy, but he didn’t want to think that way. This is all because of the spring fever, because I’m caught up in the spring breeze…. Before he could even finish his thought, his body was pushed through the open doorway. He couldn’t resist. Still, not wanting to fall alone, he just hugged you with his whole body.

As the two got entangled and fell, a few flower petals that had been caught in their hair were crushed….

Click, the door closed.

The fresh-scented spring was locked inside.

The next morning, listening to the birds chirping from beyond the window… I began to choose my words. Uh, umm. So, what should I call this?

‘We slept together?’

Yeah, guys. You said dreams come true, right? I succeeded. Just know that.

‘Hee hee!’

I’m so happy I can’t stop laughing? Tee hee hee hee, oh my back. I overdid it so much, ha ha.

I want to keep last night as a secret I alone know and cherish for the rest of my life, but to reminisce briefly….

Heh heh heh…