If The Villain Catches Me Alive Chapter 21.4 - If the villain catches me alive

 

When Dante came to his senses, it was after he had brought Theodore into his house.

 

‘Wow… What even is this situation right now…’

 

He felt like his sweat glands were about to explode as his hands quickly became drenched in sweat.

 

‘Could this be…… a dream?’

 

As if being questioned by the police in an interrogation, he bowed his head low, then raised it slightly. When his gaze met Theodore’s stare, he bowed his head again, almost hitting it on the table.

 

The Theodore he saw… had grown into an adult in just over a year. The boy who had once looked like a young boy had appeared as a young man who looked put-together, the kind who would be said to be the best catch if he went out anywhere… He also looked a little thin, as if he hadn’t been eating well.

 

Theodore sat at the table, which served as Dante’s dining table, work desk, and office, with the same smile he had when they first met outside his cabin earlier, staring intently at him.

 

‘I want to hide…’

 

That thought echoed strongly in his mind. Since settling in this cabin, he had never once thought it was cramped… but at that moment, it felt like he was trapped in a small box, suffocating. He wondered if this was how a small animal, cornered and trembling, felt.

 

Oh, please… Any god in this world, anyone at all, please save this pitiful lamb. Is there no magic that can suddenly turn this house into a maze?

 

“I’ll… I’ll make some coffee…”

 

Unable to bear that gaze any longer, Dante finally found an excuse and fled into the kitchen.

 

‘Ah… there’s no coffee.’

 

The only thing in the cupboard was a single tea bag. There was no reason to stay awake at night and work here, so he had stopped drinking coffee. Maybe tea… would be okay.

 

‘Ahhh… What should I do…?’

 

Even he could see his hands trembling uncontrollably as he reached for the tea bag.

 

‘Why, why did he come here?’

 

Did I do something wrong? No, I’ve made countless mistakes, but… Did the magic fail? No, that’s not it either. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be able to move freely in this body. Then why…?

 

‘Could it be that Theodore realized I wasn’t dead?’

 

He’s a smart kid, so it’s possible. No, but still! I burned all the experimental data, destroying every single clue!

 

Does that mean he figured out everything Dante had been working on for so long in just over a year? Why would he be wasting his efforts on such strange things!

 

‘I didn’t know he was so serious about getting his revenge…’

 

Did Theodore have such an obsessive personality…? Dante briefly tried to recall a memory from long ago, but soon gave up. Even if Theodore did, it wouldn’t apply to Dante… That was all set up so that Jeffrey and he could flirt with each other.

 

‘I made them become friends so that he could end up dating Jeffrey…’

 

Thinking about it made him feel a little choked up. His hand gripped the tea bag tightly.

 

Yeah! Do you know how hard I worked for your happiness?! And yet you’re still hung up on my life?! Seriously?!

 

Anyway, if you know the truth, then you really shouldn’t be doing this to me! Of course, if you start confronting me with all the bad things I did in the past, I don’t have much to say! But I swear, that wasn’t even my doing… I guess… I can’t exactly… pass… that off, huh… yeah….

 

Anger began to boil up inside Dante, but the last remnants of his reason managed to calm him down. Calm down. If he says all this in front of him, he’ll really be on his way to the afterlife…

 

‘But I left my corpse behind! How did you find your way here?!’

 

That’s right.

 

That day, Dante definitely succeeded in the spell. The soul separated from the body naturally flowed with the wind and settled into the body from which the soul had just departed. That’s the body of this boy he’s in now… It’s hard to call it a side effect, but… he lost all his magical power.

 

So, I’m not really your master anymore! Now I’m just an ordinary person who’s not even familiar with magic or magic power! 

 

As Dante muttered to himself, he carefully turned around, brewing the tea bag he couldn’t even remember when he bought it…

 

Theodore, who had been sitting far away, had suddenly appeared right in front of him.

 

“……!”

 

The shock Dante felt almost knocked the teacup he was holding out of his hand. Theodore must have noticed because he took the tray from his hand.

 

“……I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

 

“……”

 

“It’s just… I’ve lost all my patience.”

 

‘……What kind of patience is that…?’

 

What… Could it be the kind of patience that comes from not being able to execute your revenge?

 

Keeping his mouth shut and darting his eyes, he settled his gaze on the floor, so Theodore spoke again.

 

“……Aren’t you going to say anything?”

 

“…….”

 

“I… have been waiting for this moment for so long…”

 

So, the moment you’re talking about now…

 

Could I please, just once, earnestly hope that it’s not the moment where you brutally murder me…? Ugh. I should’ve run while I was making tea—escaped through that tiny kitchen window or something. Then, a flash of insight struck me.

 

‘Wait… Why does he seem so certain that I’m Dante?’

 

That’s right! Right now, I don’t look anything like Dante. So even now, I can say that we don’t know each other and that he’s mistaken me for someone else with the same name! Yes! I can just say I thought he was a neighbor, so I let him into my house! Wow, I knew it. They say there’s always a way out, even if the sky falls!

 

Dante cleared his throat and cautiously opened his mouth.

 

“Who… are you looking for?”

 

Acting like this was quite difficult. As soon as Theodore heard those words, his movements stopped abruptly, like a wind-up doll whose spring had been pulled.

 

“……”

 

“……”

 

A moment of silence passed as their eyes locked. Dante wished he would say something… Just as that thought crossed his mind, a sad smile appeared on Theodore’s lips.

 

***

 

… And so.

 

“I… was your lover?”

 

“I don’t like the past tense…”

 

Theodore spoke in a trembling voice, his face filled with sorrow. His voice shook, and his eyes were brimming with tears, and Dante almost fell for his words.

 

‘Oh, come on! That’s ridiculous!’

 

When did we ever have that kind of relationship? You and I… if I had to define it, we were like a wicked teacher and a sinister disciple, that’s all! Where did you get this ridiculous idea of us being in a romantic relationship?

 

…Dante wanted to snap back at him, but he held it back with superhuman strength.

 

‘Calm down, Dante… Theo is just testing you.’

 

He’s just testing if I really lost my memories… or if I’m just pretending.

 

‘If that’s not the case, there’s no way he’d casually tell such a ridiculous lie in front of me, right? That must be it.’

 

Theodore asked Dante again, his expression filled with sorrow.

 

“You don’t remember anything…?”

 

Dante nodded without answering. Then. The expression on Theodore’s face, sitting in front of him, grew even more serious.

 

“No, that can’t be… no…”

 

Theodore’s pupils trembled incessantly. Seeing his confused expression, Dante felt… utterly exasperated. 

 

Hey, even if you’re confused, I’m just as confused… I was supposed to be living a slow, peaceful life in the countryside.

 

As he was enjoying his second chance in life, free from worries, suddenly Theodore, the ticking time bomb from the original story, came crashing in, not as a gift, but like a curse. Theodore gripped his hand tightly on the wooden table and asked again.

 

“…Have you forgotten me?”

 

Theodore held Dante tightly so he couldn’t escape, staring intently into his eyes. Overwhelmed by his violet eyes that seemed to see through everything, Dante’s heart began to race. Thump, thump, thump. Seeing Theodore’s sorrowful gaze, his heart nearly crumbled like a sandcastle, but he steeled himself once more.

 

He shouted at his wavering inner thoughts.

 

‘Dante, don’t do anything you’ll regret. Remember how you got here…’

 

Avoiding Theodore’s gaze, Dante pieced together his broken answer.

 

“I… I’m sorry… I just…”

 

Just as he was about to gently pull his hand away,

 

“…Liar.”