It's Inevitable -2-
A heavy silence hung in the air. The room was filled with the soft breathing of the sleeping young lady and Kyle's icy glare piercing through like a blade. I swallowed hard, racking my brain furiously, but nothing useful came to mind. No matter what excuse I made, no matter how flattering the words, I knew I couldn't resolve this situation.
Fuck.
What the hell was I supposed to do? I never imagined Kyle showing up in a scene that screamed misunderstanding. When my eyes met his rage-filled stare, the pressure was so intense I could barely breathe. Even after his warnings not to use black magic and his lectures to quit, here I was stubbornly up to no good. Who knew what he'd say to me now?
Kyle was staring at me. Not at my hand on the young lady's leg, but at my left hand pressed to her mouth, stemming the blood trickling out.
Drip.
As the blood trailed down my fingers to my forearm, Kyle furrowed his brow and finally parted his tightly clenched lips.
"What the hell are you doing?"
I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. Staying silent felt worse than offering some half-baked excuse—at least it might buy me a sliver of a chance to escape this mess. So I spouted something idiotic he wouldn't believe anyway.
"I was giving her a massage. To reopen her sealed growth plates... haha..."
"And she got a nosebleed too, huh."
Only after saying it did a worry hit me: 'Am I about to get hauled off as a sex offender?' No excuse for a crime in progress, after all.
"Haha... too awkward, right?"
I flashed Kyle an awkward smile, but his face only grew paler and more rigid.
Until he opened his mouth, there was nothing I could do. He'd either yell, adoring his little sister as he did, or use magic, having nearly seen the family ruined by black magic before.
My one small hope was that the young lady wouldn't wake up. That was the only thing I could wish for right now. If she saw me like this, she'd burst into tears for sure. It hadn't even been long since I promised she wouldn't hurt anymore, and here I was vomiting blood... Even I thought it was ridiculous.
I swallowed and looked at Kyle, hoping for some judgment on my lame excuse.
"Are you kidding me?"
As expected, my sloppy excuse didn't fly with him.
"A massage in a girl's room alone this late at night... You expect me to believe that?"
"Yeah, figured as much."
Kyle strode toward me, his hand reaching for my collar.
-Grip.
With unyielding cold eyes, he seized my collar.
-Thud crash!
He yanked me roughly away from the young lady's bed, dragging me to a dark corner far off. The scraping of my heels echoed through the room, his ragged breaths hot in my ear.
"I'll ask again. What the hell are you doing?"
Gripping my collar, Kyle spoke in a voice cold as ice. Unlike his usual stiff tone laced with subtle affection, this was pure fury.
I forced an awkward grin and replied,
"Telling you I touched her legs 'cause they looked so pretty... nah, that won't work."
My joking response made his face drain of color even more, and thick mana began seeping from him.
"Yeah, thought not."
I asked him earnestly, hoping against hope he'd pretend not to see and let it slide—just once, close his eyes, no harm to either of us.
"Can't you just let this slide?"
"You think that makes sense?"
His grip on my collar tightened. As his silent denial came through his actions, I wiped the blood from my mouth with my sleeve and murmured lowly,
"I was treating the young lady."
"Why you, when you're no doctor? Did you pick up some folk remedy from the streets? I doubt that's why you put your hands on Olivia's legs."
"..."
"No answer? Must be black magic, then."
The moment thick mana flowed from his hand with that conviction, I gave him a firm, honest reply.
"It's not black magic."
"It won't harm the family either. Nor is it legally impure. If trouble arises, just cut off me as the tail, right?"
"You think..."
Kyle ground his teeth, his words mangled.
"You think I'm pissed over something that trivial?"
"..."
"You think I'm grabbing your collar just 'cause it might threaten the family?"
"Haha... so it is about touching her legs?"
An embarrassed laugh escaped me, but feeling his hand tremble on my collar, I could only muster a lame smile.
Kyle bowed his head.
"Ricardo."
The iron grip slowly loosened. Head down, he spoke in a trembling voice.
"I won't ask what you're doing anymore."
"I want to know what you're scheming, why you're bleeding now... but I'll hold back."
Just as relief washed over me, sensing our hearts align, his faint final words made me double-take.
"So. Stop this. Right here."
Avoiding my eyes, head still bowed, he whispered his wish. Stop, whatever it was—even if he didn't know, he'd look the other way if I quit now.
I gave an awkward smile in response.
"That... might be tough."
My stubbornness, centered on the young lady, was a chronic flaw that wouldn't bend easily. Especially issues tied to her future—I'd vowed not to hold back anymore.
So, risking rudeness to his mercy, I countered.
I couldn't give this up.
"I can't give up on this."
Ripples crossed Kyle's face at my resolute answer.
"Obey me, Ricardo."
"I said clearly I can't."
"Would you say the same to Olivia?"
Pressuring me with her name. If he told her the truth, she'd reject my rehabilitative touch for sure. But I had no intention of yielding.
So I glanced at the sleeping young lady with a smile.
"I don't think you can tell her, Sir Kyle."
"What?"
"Don't you love Lady Olivia?"
Kyle cherished the young lady. I'd thought he'd hate her after the black magic, but his current demeanor—and his careful low voice lest she wake—convinced me he hadn't changed.
His favorability window hoped for it too.
If he told her, all my efforts would be wasted, but I was certain he couldn't. If he stopped me, his beloved sister would never walk on her own again.
So I pressed hard. The young lady card he played was a double-edged sword—a joker threatening us both.
It was a blade in my hand too.
"Without me, she won't walk."
"Didn't I tell you last time? I'm satisfied just knowing Olivia's alive."
"Human greed knows no bounds. When the doctor said she could walk, you were happy too, right?"
"..."
"Didn't you picture her walking lively like before someday?"
Kyle, who'd been firm, faltered at my retort, his eyes swirling like waves in a storm.
"That's... inevitable."
He murmured faintly.
Inevitable, huh.
Same for me. The young lady was just as precious to me as to him. The one who saved my life. The secret object of my long unrequited love.
So I couldn't quit. This was my duty.
"It doesn't bother me at all."
Kyle said, head bowed.
"Stop it. Olivia relies on you a lot. Father, Mother, and I are grateful too. So..."
I mirrored his words with an awkward smile.
"It's inevitable for me too."
His hand fell limply from my collar. Biting his lip, glaring at me, Kyle vented his frustration at his own powerlessness—his selfishness.
He'd wavered too upon hearing black magic could heal her legs. He'd looked into it, even sought someone to bear the risk for money. Knowing his ugly side, he couldn't deny my spear had struck true.
Olivia was precious to Kyle too.
I gave the conflicted Kyle a lame smile.
"It's fine. Really."
He bowed his head again.
"I..."
His "I..." held layers—genuine apology, guilt for sacrificing me for his sister.
In a changed voice, he continued,
"If something goes wrong with you later..."
"It won't."
"But if Olivia finds out, I..."
I cut him off with an awkward smile.
"Make up a lie for me. Make me the bad guy as much as possible."
He shook his head.
"I can't do that."
"She'll chew you out big time."
The young lady slept soundly. Like a princess from a fairy tale.