The Boss Wants to Die - Chapter 48

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The boss wants to die.
Chapter 48
Akt’s Inventory spilled out my gifts like Santa’s sack, regurgitating treasure after treasure.
Sure enough, a Snail-Shaped Bread made with chocolate emerged.
Cute and sweet things were my one weakness.
Akt held out the bread.
My voice came out choked before I could stop it.
“What are you doing?”
…….
“Don’t tell me you think you can smooth this over with bread? How little you must think of me……!”
“It’s not like that. The bread will go bad if I wait any longer. I remembered it just now, so I wanted to give it to you right away…….”
I lost for words.
It hit me that Akt hadn’t come up with some cheap trick to placate me—he genuinely wanted to give me the bread.
Akt had never held any ulterior motive when giving me a gift.
He chose presents with a pure heart, and handed them over with a pure heart.
It was almost habitual.
Even just now, it didn’t seem like he’d given it much thought.
I gnashed my teeth and let out a low growl.
“You said I’m a Monster. You’re a Player, so binding me is no problem at all, right?”
…….
“So why give bread to this Leashed Monster? Is that what it is—food? Like I’m a pet?”
Akt’s face turned savage.
“It’s not like that!”
“Then why is it so strange? Your behavior isn’t consistent!”
Akt’s face went pale.
But I knew that no matter how fragile his expression became, he wouldn’t actually back down.
If pity or anger could move him, he never would have put on the Leash in the first place.
“I heard sweet things are good for stress. That’s the only reason I bought it.”
“Then why do you care about my stress in the first place!”
“I…….”
Akt’s massive hands—bestial like a werewolf’s—trembled faintly.
“I keep you at my side by my own selfishness, but I don’t want to be cruel about it.”
…….
“You can curse me for hypocrisy. You can laugh at me. But this is sincere.”
“Ha!”
A hollow laugh burst from me.
The way he fidgeted, desperate to cling to me, might have seemed weak—a timid temperament—but…….
‘No.’
I thought it over.
‘Akt isn’t weak.’
He moved in his own way, guided by some reason I couldn’t name.
Without wavering. Without crumbling.
That was it.
Akt didn’t care whether I hated him or not. That was what mattered.
No matter how circumstances shifted, even if I pushed him away, he just poured his affection out with brute force.
If he were cruel, he’d be cruel to the end—so what was this tenderness?
The problem was that Akt’s gentleness didn’t look false.
I was going to lose my mind.
“Think of it as a gift from someone else. Like you just happened to get it. You like sweet things, after all.”
His eyes, reddened at the corners, softened into a curve.
That beast of a body, towering over 190 centimeters, smiled with a docility I’d never seen before.
Apart from the gentleness, the curve of his eyes was sensual.
As if asking me to look at him.
Coquettish.
It didn’t seem like a conscious act.
He seemed born to be the sort who saw only me—so bewitching, so captive to one desire.
Really…….
Akt was…….
‘Softening me bit by bit…….’
I should have been angry, but my fury melted away.
Six years I’ve lived as War God Helord, and all that brutal past feels like nothing but a dream.
‘What do I do?’
The fact that Akt humiliated me with a leash—that hasn’t changed.
So I can’t just let it pass like this.
I floundered, unable to get my bearings on what I ought to do.
“I can’t take this anymore.”
That was when it happened.
Michael fixed me with a look of absolute resolve.
I felt a flicker of unease.
“What?”
“I’m going to tell Iroun the truth.”
“Michael.”
Akt reached toward him with unusual urgency, but Michael was faster.
“Iroun. Akt Hebgenia is fond of you.”
“Stop—!”
Akt tried to cut him off, then raked his face roughly with his hand instead.
He’d realized he couldn’t stop Michael right now.
I blinked, unsure what ridiculous nonsense this was, and spoke.
“Who doesn’t know that? Even a passing preschooler would pick up that he likes me.”
“It’s not something so casual.”
Michael continued with what he needed to say.
“It means he’d bind you to him even if it meant being hated, all for your safety. It might run even deeper than that.”
With an oddly measured way of speaking, Michael glanced at Akt’s reaction.
I tilted my head.
“My safety?”
“You’re strong, Iroun. And Akt knows that full well.”
……
“There must be a special reason why Akt would go so far as to treat you like a Monster just to restrain you—doesn’t that occur to you?”
I started to brush off Michael’s logic, then my face went rigid.
I remembered how my body had creaked abnormally when I met Egilpid Golzbain.
And those fragmented, unplaceable memories……
‘Though I can’t recall any of it now.’
As a result, I couldn’t simply deny what Michael was saying.
“As a priest, I swear it. Akt doesn’t see you as merely a Monster. His heart runs far too deep for that.”
“That could just be your guess.”
“I understand that, but I’m basing this on something I’ve witnessed.”
Exposing another person’s heart could be a grave sin.
Yet Michael seemed willing to commit that sin if it meant defying Akt.
So something really did happen between those two?
“When Akt spoke of Monsters and Players, it’s because that reason is the cleanest and most airtight.”
……
“If there had been any gaps, you would’ve kept digging to find the answer.”
I would have.
Back then, I believed Akt had summoned me for some special reason.
I even thought he might know what had gone wrong with my body.
‘But he just said it was his own greed, so there was nothing left to question.’
What problem could there be with a Player controlling a Monster as he sees fit?
Once Akt drove that point home, I had nothing more to say.
Did he intend that?
My distrust of Players ran so deep that I wouldn’t have been surprised if Akt betrayed me.
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed calculated.
“Don’t take what he says at face value. Haven’t I told you before? Akt Hebgenia—he’s a twisted one inside.”
As though he’d been holding something back, Michael’s eyes narrowed as he pointed out Akt’s calculating nature.
“From now on, whether Akt resolves your questions or not will be his choice.”
Michael offered a cold smile.
“It’s uncertain whether he’ll tell you, given his penchant for mystery—but that’s beyond my concern, I think.”
And with that, he walked confidently past us.
Toward Lord’s Castle, where Egilpid was holed up pretending to be Roman, not the real marquess.
‘Right, we’re in the middle of a Quest.’
A Quest to put Egilpid into an incapacitated state.
‘A quest? In this situation?’
Michael’s nerve was every bit as thick as Akt’s.
If it were me, I’d have suggested we take time to regroup and set out tomorrow.
But since we had to follow him anyway, I fell into step without protest.
Akt didn’t seem entirely unprepared for Michael’s recklessness—his composure was almost impressive.
“Shall we walk as well?”
He was calm enough to offer me his hand with genuine kindness.
‘How can he look so unbothered?’
The fact that Michael hadn’t denied what he’d said made it clear that Akt truly did care for me, at least to some degree.
Wasn’t he embarrassed?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my face flushed with heat.
It felt as though I’d finally glimpsed the wellspring of the affection Akt showed me day after day.
My back prickled with an unsettling warmth, making it impossible to walk with any composure.
I tried to steady myself.
If Akt could remain so calm, I couldn’t afford to make a fuss.
‘But what do I do from here on?’
How was I supposed to treat him now?
After hearing all that, I couldn’t exactly stay angry with him…….
Not that I was endorsing his methods, of course.
If that’s how he sought to ensure my safety, I should simply refuse it outright.
It’s just that I don’t have the heart to be harsh with Akt.
I let out a long sigh.
‘How much does he care about me, anyway?’
If Michael was going to tell me, he should’ve been more specific.
He loves me enough to restrain me for my sake, even if it means being hated? That doesn’t make sense.
Just how far does that go?
Human hearts are such varied creatures.
Some people fall for nothing but a pretty face; others scatter shallow affection across many.
Or perhaps affection is quietly taking root.
Even what we might call love comes in as many flavors as there are people, each one still tender and unripe.
Then Akt’s hand touched my head.
“Eep!”
Lost in thought, I jumped as though struck by lightning.
Akt’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What—what is it?”
“You were pulling at your hair. Don’t do that…….”
Akt studied my expression with careful concern.
“I’m sorry for startling you.”
…….
I clamped my lips shut and let go of the hair I’d been tugging at.
The moment I glanced at his face, our eyes met.
‘I can’t breathe. This is too awkward…….’
Egilpid’s assassination quest, all of it—everything faded. My attention locked entirely on Akt, walking beside me.
And so we drew steadily closer to Lord’s Castle.
Guards were already waiting at the Castle Gate to receive us.
“Welcome, Player. He is waiting for you inside.”
We exchanged a brief glance before following the guard inside.
He seemed completely unaware that the lord he served was a fraud.
‘Focus. This isn’t the time for this.’
Egilpid had let us into the castle without resistance.
I needed to understand what he was plotting.
‘Truth be told, unraveling Egilpid’s intentions is far easier on my mind than wrestling with these strange feelings for Akt.’
We glided into the castle’s broad Corridor.
I squinted against the familiar light of the chandelier and gazed upward toward the upper level.
Egilpid was sitting perched casually on the wide Central Staircase that led to the Guest Rooms above.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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