The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 253

“Didn’t you tie him up somewhere else?”

“There’s no way I’d get something like that mixed up.”

“That’s true.”

We searched the entire building and the surrounding area, but Luka was nowhere to be found.

Thinking things might be different once morning came, we waited until the sun was fully up—but unlike the day before, Luka never appeared.

‘Why?’

If there had been even some kind of trace, maybe it would’ve felt different. But there were no bloodstains, no signs of struggle—Luka alone had vanished as if he’d evaporated on the spot. Because of that, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

I searched one last time, only to confirm once again that Luka was gone.

“Arel.”

Unable to tear myself away from the scene, I heard Pession call me. He quietly shook his head.

“…Right. If he comes to his senses later, he’ll probably return to the Mage Tower. Let’s go to the tower.”

Only then did a thought occur to me.

“Pession, did you come alone?”

“No. With knights.”

“Then where are the knights?”

“The ruins.”

According to Pession, since the incident began with the eruption of the ruins, he’d sent them there to investigate first.

“Then why did you…?”

“To look for you.”

“…Oh.”

He sent all the knights into the ruins and stayed behind to search the city for me?

Why would he do something like that…?

‘Wait—did he send the knights to the ruins because they’d get in the way of finding me?’

Surely not. There was no way he’d take on the danger of roaming this city alone for such a trivial reason… right?

Even as I thought it, I found the idea absurd and shook my head. At that moment, my eyes met Pession’s.

“?”

He tilted his head, looking puzzled.

“No, I just had a weird thought.”

“A weird thought?”

“Yeah. Like… what if you sent the other knights to the ruins because they’d get in the way? Something like that.”

I said it with a laugh, but Pession smiled unusually gently and nodded.

“That really is a strange thought. There’s no way I’d do something like that.”

He smiled, his eyes curving softly.

For some reason, the fact that he didn’t firmly deny it made me uneasy.

“…You didn’t, right?”

I blinked rapidly.

Just as I was on the verge of realizing something, Pession cut off my thoughts with a soft, kind voice.

“Let’s head back before it gets any later. There’s a lot we need to do.”

Watching Pession, who never denied it to the end, I swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape.

And I made a new resolution.

‘Next time, I should never leave him alone.’

 

 

****

 

 

The city at dawn looked completely different from how it had at night.

It had only been two days, but so much had happened in that short span. As I watched the sun rise, countless thoughts crossed my mind.

“You think that when someone dies, they become bound to the ruins?”

“Luka definitely died, but the next day he showed up like nothing happened. He didn’t even realize he’d died. But there was a number engraved on his wrist.”

On the first day we arrived, there had definitely been nothing on Luka’s wrist. None of us had any markings—but everyone in Gairen had numbers carved into their wrists, which was why I remembered it.

“If you look at the wrists of other people in the city, they all have numbers too. The numbers are different for each person, but everyone has one. I was wondering what it meant… I think it’s probably the number of times they’ve died.”

“I see.”

“And since they come back to life even after dying, it feels like they become bound to something when they die. I’m guessing that something is the ruins.”

As Pession listened to my theory, he quietly looked at me. We were walking through the unusually empty city, taking in the scenery, when I noticed his gaze and tilted my head.

“What is it?”

Sometimes Pession looked at me like this, and every time, I couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking.

He used to be so transparent, so easy to read—why was it that now, at times like this, I couldn’t?

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No.”

After a brief silence, Pession replied.

“It’s probably nothing. Just like always.”

“…?”

What was that supposed to mean?

When I tilted my head again, Pession tightened his grip on my hand, squeezing it firmly.

“Arel. From now on, no matter what happens… you won’t leave my side, right?”

“Why would I leave your side?”

“Exactly.”

Pession’s gaze sank heavily as he looked at me.

His red eyes still shimmered beautifully in the brilliant morning sunlight, but something about the depth of his gaze made my own mood settle into silence.

Caught in the sudden stillness, holding his gaze, I felt as though I was being drawn in.

‘If Pession were a demon, I’d already have been taken away.’

Sunlight poured down on us. The sound of leaves brushing in the wind. The feeling of my hair fluttering. Even the fresh early-morning scent mixed with the smell of grass.

Normally, these would be moments I passed by without thinking. But right now, it felt as if the whole world was waking up in a grand, solemn moment.

As my heart stirred in the air that felt like something was about to begin, Pession whispered like a sigh.

“I don’t care what you are.”

I didn’t understand his words right away.

What was he suddenly talking about?

While I just stared blankly, Pession’s eyes sparkled as they filled completely with me.

“Whether you’re a ghost, someone from another world, or even a monster that came to eat me—I’m fine with it.”

“…Wouldn’t that not be fine?”

I didn’t fully get what he meant, but he sounded so serious that I didn’t really want to argue.

Still, if I were a monster that came to eat him, that really shouldn’t be okay, right?

‘Is this because he’s a sword master?’

I did flinch a little when he said “someone from another world,” though……

“Why are you suddenly saying things like that?”

The answer came surprisingly easily.

“Because I’m afraid you’ll suddenly disappear.”

“Why would I?”

“I just am. I’m scared you’ll vanish all of a sudden.”

“Why?”

“Sometimes… you feel like you don’t belong to this world.”

I blinked in shock.

‘How did he know?’

This guy—his intuition……

Seeing Pession calmly accept even my surprised expression, as if he’d expected it, only made me more confused.

What is this? Does he know something?

Maybe because I never thought I’d have this kind of conversation with Pession, something completely random slipped out of my mouth.

“Do you want a kiss?”

“…Out of nowhere?”

“I thought it might make you feel a little less anxious.”

I didn’t know how to show my true feelings here, or what kind of promise would satisfy him.

Pession looked at me as I seriously struggled, then shook our joined hands with a more relaxed expression.

“For now, this is enough.”

“You’re being good.”

When I patted his head with my other hand, his expression softened even more.
It felt strangely like petting a puppy.

“For now, getting to the Mage Tower seems like the most important thing.”

“That’s true, but……”

“And, Arellin.”

“Hm?”

Looking me in the eyes again, Pession spoke in a more serious voice.

“I’ve never seen numbers on people’s wrists.”

“……?”

“Maybe those numbers are something only you can see?”

At that moment, I realized what that uncomfortable feeling—like I’d been missing something—actually was.

So this was it.

“Ah.”

And then, one more thing.

A sudden thought flashed through my mind, and I urged Pession urgently.

“We don’t have time to be standing around like this. We need to get to the Mage Tower, now!”

 

 

****

 

Even though I knew I was different from other people, I often forgot about it.

Like the fact that I was the only one who could see stalkers when I was young, or that I’m immune to the corruption that builds up every time mages use magic.

‘If what Luka said about his body feeling heavy was related to corruption……’

All mages are born with the power of the stars. It’s not as fatal as with star-rank mages, but when ordinary mages are corrupted, they don’t go berserk—they go mad.

Praying that I wasn’t already too late, we arrived at the Mage Tower.

“…Ah.”

The moment I saw the bloodstains right at the entrance, I clenched my lips tightly.