The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me - Chapter 57
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 57
“You looked uncomfortable sleeping sitting up, so I hoped you could rest more comfortably.”
This crazy bastard.
“Normally, wouldn’t you think to wake someone up when they’re sleeping?”
“You were sleeping so peacefully.”
“It’s not that you enjoyed being close to me, right?”
“I won’t deny it.”
I had deliberately been sarcastic, but he responded so calmly that I was left speechless.
It was absurd, but I kept my mouth shut, worried that responding would only bring back more ridiculous remarks.
“What time is it now…?”
It was quite inconvenient having no way to tell time here.
“How long did I sleep?”
“Not exactly sure, but close to two hours?”
I had brought Rihardt his meal and done various things before falling asleep…
Is it around dinner time now?
I frowned and bolted upright from my seat. To think that much time had passed.
It seems my guard has dropped because things have been relatively peaceful lately. I shouldn’t let this happen.
“It seems there’s still time before dinner.”
“…Oh, really? That’s a relief.”
So I didn’t sleep too long after all.
Rihardt smiled gently and tidied my disheveled hair.
Having had frequent contact with Rihardt over the past few days, I had grown accustomed to his touch.
Rihardt’s pale, large hands came into my field of vision. They were long and slender with such beautiful bone structure.
I reached out and grasped his hand.
Rihardt quietly gazed at me doing this.
Squeeze. Squeeze.
I carefully kneaded Rihardt’s hand with both of mine. Comparing it to my own hand like this, there was quite a size difference between Rihardt’s hand and mine.
As I caressed his elegant fingers, Rihardt stared intently at the top of my head.
“…It feels good.”
Rihardt leaned his body against me and murmured languidly.
I hadn’t particularly done it to make him feel good.
Several days had passed since Rihardt’s fork incident.
While staying in this manor, truly terrible things had happened, but what was strange was that time still flowed despite it all.
During this time, I had made plans for my smooth escape.
The first of these was practicing to properly control my power.
To flee, it was essential to properly handle my abilities.
If I could make Rihardt collapse like last time, I wouldn’t fear Yurta either.
So roughly, I convinced Rihardt that I needed to properly control my power for our joint escape, and I was touching his hand…
But I was making no progress.
Rihardt, who had been in contact with me for a long time, seemed pleased as his expression relaxed languidly.
Somehow, I feel like I’m only doing good things for Rihardt…
Rihardt’s condition wasn’t good due to the opaque black liquid Arzen had made him drink.
When separated from me, he complained of pain, saying his body felt like it was burning.
So he clung to me desperately. As if I were his only lifeline.
I studied how to use my power while being with him.
Of course, Rihardt didn’t know my true intentions.
“Are you being kind because we agreed to escape together?”
Just as I was about to look up at the low voice coming from above, Rihardt interlaced his fingers between mine.
He gripped tightly as if he wouldn’t let go.
“I was prepared to hear resentment like last time.”
“…Well. Rather than being kind because we’re in the same boat, I changed my thinking.”
“In what way?”
“That you and I aren’t really that different?”
Rihardt’s eyebrows twitched.
“The reason your escape failed this time was because you tried to kidnap me. In the maze and outside the maze, you tried to kidnap me when I collapsed.”
A briefly aggrieved expression appeared on Rihardt’s face, but he didn’t open his mouth.
Since he offered no explanation, I continued speaking.
“Your escape failure was your own doing. But being continuously trapped here isn’t your fault.”
“…”
“Just as you tried to kidnap me for your own selfish reasons, I’m also hindering your escape for my own reasons that have nothing to do with you.”
“But you can’t refuse the Count’s orders, can you?”
I didn’t answer that question.
Actually, there aren’t completely no ways to get out. I am a princess of Herthas, after all.
But…
Not wanting to take unseen risks, sacrificing him out of selfishness is indeed the truth.
“In the end, wouldn’t it be ridiculous to force sacrifice on you for any reason?”
Even if I tried to justify this situation by saying Rihardt was an extremely evil person, I ultimately knew this situation was wrong.
That’s probably why I couldn’t escape the guilt even when I tried to justify it.
Even knowing this fact, nothing changes.
Regardless of morality, I want to live. I can’t go against the basic human desire to lead a safe life.
“…And I think I understand why you tried to kidnap me. It was behavior stemming from fear, not wanting to live in pain anymore, wasn’t it?”
“…”
His actions also couldn’t be justified, but Rihardt had lived a terrible life due to the pain that transcendents experience.
Being with me meant no pain.
That must have seemed like liberation from this long suffering.
In the end, who was worse wasn’t what mattered.
If we compared, the only answer would be the hollow response that both were bad.
We both simply disliked the pain and fear we would experience.
The conversation between Rihardt and me didn’t continue further.
* * *
The taste of richly brewed tea spread in his mouth.
His tea-drinking posture was elegant and calm, but inside he was twisted in the opposite way.
‘That damned monster has feelings for sister…’
Does he dare have feelings for Rose?
Rose was beautiful.
Red and beautiful, like the wondrous sight of roses blooming luxuriantly.
Because of this, flies constantly swarmed around Rose.
Thanks to that, Yurta, who rarely had emotional changes, could clearly experience what it meant to be irritated.
Though it was bothersome, Yurta personally swatted away the flies.
He trampled them mercilessly so they could never crawl up again.
Each time, Rose looked at him with disgust, but Yurta didn’t care.
But this matter is different.
When he first met that monster, Yurta disliked how a mere monster clung to Rose.
Especially another transcendent like himself.
So he tried to kill it, but changed his mind and tried to win over the monster instead.
A transcendent would become quite a useful existence.
But the monster rejected the mercy Yurta had shown. Yurta doesn’t like creatures that try to crawl up to him or compete with him.
So he tried to crush him…
But for Rose to interfere there. It was truly an unexpected situation.
Thanks to that, things became troublesome.
Not all transcendents possess the same level of skill.
While they certainly have power that surpasses human limits, there are ranks even among transcendents.
If transcendents’ power were organized into a pyramid, Yurta belonged at the very top.
‘Did I underestimate him too much?’
He realized after facing him this time.
That monster also belongs to a similar tier as himself.
“Lord Yurta! A messenger has arrived from the spy we planted in the temple.”
Yurta raised his body that had been deeply buried in the sofa.
Long ago, Yurta had heard a certain ‘rumor’. The source was unclear and it could have been dismissed as mere gossip.
However, the news gave him a very ominous feeling, so he immediately planted a spy in the temple.
“Report.”
“Honestly, when we planted the spy based on rumors from the black market, I didn’t have much faith in it.”
“Don’t include your personal opinions.”
“Yes. Since you dislike long explanations, I’ll get straight to the point. Your thoughts were correct, Lord Yurta.”
The rumor from the black market.
It was a rumor that the Pope was desperately searching for ‘something’.
And according to information known only to a few—too ridiculous to even call a rumor—that ‘something’ could suppress transcendents.
So rumors spread that the Pope intended to pressure the transcendents.
The relationship between the temple and transcendents had been poor for a long time.
Long ago, when the strange beings called transcendents first appeared, the Pope at that time felt uneasy about them.
The temple that serves God and beings with divine blood flowing through them.
For the temple, which serves God and proclaims that priests are God’s children, the existence of transcendents was threatening enough to be considered a threat.
So the temple at that time chose to ostracize the transcendents.
And that foolish thinking remained the same then as now.
That rumor that reached Yurta immediately brought Rose to mind.
Whether it was an overreaction or not, seeds of suspicion must be burned away.
So, having planted a spy in the temple…
“The Pope is looking for my sister…”
That damn dog of God.
“Keep watching.”
He wanted to quickly hide his sister somewhere else, but that seemed difficult.
Then…
The only way was to make it so Rose had no choice but to go somewhere else herself.
Yurta irritably tapped the table. Just as the nervous sound spread deep into the room.
The sound of a servant’s knock was heard.
“What is it?”
“…Well, the first prince of Herthas has come.”
At those words, Yurta’s face immediately contorted.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————