Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Nightmare
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His dry lips touched Lena without any warning. An unfamiliar sensation roughly pressed against the corner of her mouth, but Lena couldn't yet comprehend what was happening. In that moment of hesitation, something lukewarm and soft grazed her lips. Then sharp pain filled the spot.
“Eup!”
Dazed by the sensation, Lena reflexively turned her head. Blood seeped from Lena's lips, freed from Lin. It was blood from Lin biting her savagely. Suddenly kissing and then tearing into her—not anyone else, but Lin. The fact left Lena utterly stunned. In that brief lapse, her vision flipped. A dull impact traveled up her back, and Lin's face, a handspan below, switched to a handspan above. Lin, who had swiftly flipped Lena over and mounted her on the golden rug, didn't stop there; he pinned her shoulders down hard to subdue her. Suddenly lying on her back against the golden carpet, Lena gazed up at Lin in disbelief. His scarlet eyes felt alien. Lin was looking down at her with a savage expression she'd never seen, not even when they were alone together.
“Lin….”
The moment Lena opened her mouth, their breaths tangled once more, swallowing her words.
An indecipherable contact—whether to call it a kiss or a taste—continued. Unable to breathe and unsure when the next bite might come, Lena pushed desperately at Lin's jaw and shoulders. Lin, who had been pressing down relentlessly, surprisingly yielded easily. Perhaps he had pulled back of his own accord. He rose to his feet, but his eyes still burned red. The crimson gaze slid from Lena's bloodied lips to her chin, her neck, and then over her pale shoulders. Lena saw his eyes churning with something murky. And then Lin sank his teeth into the nape of her neck.
. . .
Everything went dark before her eyes. Her mind grew hazy, and she couldn't even recall her own name. But Lin was satisfied with the situation. Something was there beside him. Something warm, soft, and endearing. Something that sparked satisfaction at every point of contact was cradled in his arms. This was what Lin had always wanted. This ecstasy, this comfort beyond it. The luxury of embracing something beloved, the audacious joy of resting in someone's arms—bliss he had never even dared imagine.
It was forbidden. But right now, he couldn't remember why. One thing alone was certain. If he let this warmth envelop him as he slept, the nightmares would end.
—If I'd known you were there….
Ah, that voice again.
—If I'd known you were alive…!
The voice from the past that had driven him to crave death. That single sentence from the nightmare tore through his heart once more. So Lin burrowed even deeper into the embrace lying before him. That way, the voice wouldn't reach him. This warmth would smother the cruel memory. To shake off the curse that gripped him, Lin clutched tighter at what was in his hands. It felt truly wonderful. Warm, soft, fragrant, sweet. And delicious, this….
“…Lin…!”
Body.
“Lin!”
At the urgent voice, Lin's eyes flew open as if stabbed by a blade. The cozy darkness vanished, spatial awareness returned, and then his eyes fully opened. Light flooded his vision, and only very slowly did Lin realize who he was. For some reason, he was lying on a thick carpet. But he had no memory of how or when he had lain down. As he dazedly tried to recall, the voice that had woken him rang out again.
“Are you with us?”
Lin struggled to focus and looked up. Lena was gazing down at him. He stared blankly at her face for a moment, then snapped to attention upon noticing the wound at the corner of his mouth.
“What just happened….”
Muttering in shock, Lin belatedly tasted the blood lingering in his mouth. The fishy tang made his heart plummet.
“What did I do to you…?”
“I'm okay.”
As Lin asked with the face of a man cornered on a cliff's edge, Lena spoke up before he could sink into despair.
“Really, I'm fine.”
Then she tightly gripped Lin's still-confused hand, met his eyes, and added.
“I'm really fine, but….”
Lena trailed off with a slightly apologetic expression. Lin grew even more anxious, then suddenly grimaced. It hurt. And not just a little—his whole body throbbed fiercely. As Lin flinched from the unexpected pain, Lena confessed in a small voice.
“You're probably not okay at all, Lin.”
With her straightforward admission, the pains he hadn't yet registered came crashing down. Overwhelmed by the agony, Lin gasped in silent shock. Watching him, Lena murmured sympathetically.
“It hurts, doesn't it….”
“What in the… ugh!”
Lin tried to sit up but buckled back down. A stabbing pain radiated near his ribs. Unthinkingly groping his side, he panicked anew at the feel of bare skin under his hand—no clothing where it should be.
“Why….”
Lin struggled to piece together the situation. He had briefly lost consciousness, and upon waking, his entire body ached. Moreover, his upper garments were gone. Gazing down at his bare chest, he hastily ducked his head lower and only sighed in relief after confirming his pants were still on. Searching for where his shirt had gone, he soon realized. Lena was no longer in her tunic. Unexpectedly, she was wearing his shirt.
“Why are you wearing my clothes…?”
“You don't remember anything?”
As Lin hesitated and nodded, Lena gestured with her chin toward a corner of the floor. There lay scraps of fabric. Thin, white, and torn. It was Lena's tunic. Realizing what it was, Lin went pale.
“That—that was me…?”
“Yes.”
Lin turned ashen, and Lena hurriedly continued for his sake.
“Your eyes had turned bright red.”
Right after the golden drapes descended from above and the space inverted, Lin writhed as if possessed by something. When Lena approached to help, he suddenly turned feral and pounced on her. At that moment, she felt like he was trying to devour her. It seemed like a kiss at first, then suddenly he bit down, burrowing inside her clothes to sink his teeth into the most tender spots. Caught off guard by behavior beyond even her imagination, Lena was quite flustered herself. Pinned beneath him and helpless, she snapped to her senses the instant he tore her tunic apart. Sensing the crisis, Lena did everything she could to rouse him. In other words, she beat him mercilessly enough that even after he came to, he might think he'd been struck with an iron mace.
“There was no other way. All I could think was that I had to wake you—or take you down if not….”
Lena confessed calmly that she had assaulted him, but Lin showed no displeasure or complaint. Instead, he let out a long breath.
“That's a relief….”
A relief in his tattered state? Lin didn't yet know, but he was quite the sight. His lips were split and bleeding, one cheek badly bruised. And his body was covered in marks of blows and kicks. The earlier flinch at his side had been from a cracked rib. It had to hurt terribly, yet Lin stroked his chest and murmured again.
“A relief.”
“Whether it truly is….”
“Sorry.”
Brushing aside Lena's mutter, Lin whispered in a subdued voice.
“Really sorry.”
He said it while gazing at Lena's bloodied lips.
“It must've… felt awful.”
His voice brimmed with guilt, leaving Lena at a loss for words. Misinterpreting her silence, Lin bowed his head and said.
“If you're angry, go ahead and hit me.”
Any more and he might die. Lena thought so but didn't voice it. Lin was too grave for her to joke. She'd meant to laugh it off roughly, but his sincere apology instead left her feelings conflicted. It wasn't as if Lena welcomed this sudden violence. It had been startling, humiliating, and painful. So yes, her hands shoving him away had carried emotion. But she'd thought it unavoidable and planned to let it slide—yet Lin's earnest remorse made it impossible to brush off lightly.
“I was startled, but I'm not angry.”
So Lena erased her smile and whispered to Lin, who couldn't lift his head.
“I know you didn't do it on purpose. And I didn't get hurt at all, so no need to look so dejected. It's okay.”
At her words of reassurance, Lin slowly raised his head. He looked at her with a face mingled doubt and worry, and at his chastened expression, Lena smiled faintly. Then, deliberately mischievous, she added.
“See? This is why we need safety measures.”
It was a light joke, but Lin winced as if truly shocked. So Lena laughed harder and said.
“More than that, you've gotten shameless, Lin.”
At the word “shameless,” Lin looked at her with eyes like he might crumble, then admitted in a pained voice.
“I know….”
“But I can't give your clothes back.”
“Please don't….”
Lin replied as if squeezing it out. He looked deeply conflicted, but his tone suggested his heart had eased at least a little. So Lena finally laughed freely. Then she asked what had been nagging at her.
“Do you remember how it happened at all?”
“Not really.”
Answering Lena's question, Lin grew serious once more. But it wasn't self-recrimination this time. More like he was steadying himself and assessing the situation.
“It suddenly went dark, and I couldn't control myself. It was like….”
Lin slowly replayed the moments just before. It had darkened, and his body felt feverish. Like when women approached to seduce him—his blood boiled. He desperately tried to suppress the impulse, but it was no use. No stimulation or contact, yet arousal surged, blacking out his vision. Amid it all, Lena beside him became unbearably vivid, filling him with dread. Disaster loomed. He shouted for her to stay back, but she didn't understand what was happening and drew near. She reached out a hand. Right after that, Lin's memory cut off. Vaguely, very vaguely, he recalled pulling her close—but even that was unclear if real or illusion.
“This is the first time it's happened without any warning.”
Lin said in a heavy voice. It truly was the first. Whether a feature of the curse or his own nature, its brutality had only ever emerged when someone entrusted themselves to him fully. He'd thought that made it crueler still, but for it to erupt without even a sign like this. As Lin felt a fresh wave of dizziness, Lena nodded with a thoughtful expression—as if something clicked.
“Do you know where we are?”
“This is the domain of the King with Many Hearts.”
He had asked half in doubt, but Lena's answer was unexpectedly clear. The King with Many Hearts was once the ruler of the wraiths that swarmed the East, taking forms of snakes and dragons. Lena glanced around the lush tropical garden and golden canopy as she added.
“He dragged us into his domain.”
“Why?”
“Because of me. He wants me.”
“You?”
Lin's eyes widened at the successive revelations. Wants her. Stunned, Lin suddenly recalled the voice that had echoed in his ear earlier.
—Found you. My bride.
He had definitely heard it. A voice inhuman, brimming with greed, calling someone his bride. And it had been directed at Lena. He couldn't show it, but his heart roiled, and his mood soured. Lena felt the same. Rage she hadn't unleashed on Lin naturally turned toward the culprit behind this mess.
“I have some bad history with that king. I was planning to pay him a visit soon anyway….”
Lena smiled coldly as she turned her eyes toward the dense foliage.
“And here he comes to me first. How thoughtful.”
Where her gaze landed, the vibrant flowers blooming throughout the garden swayed in unison. It wasn't the flowers moving on their own. The huge leaves were being rustled by snakes slithering beneath the flowerbeds. The snakes, entwined with one another, writhed in the shadows, glaring at Lena with their vivid red eyes that resembled something else entirely.