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Chapter 17
Ivnia, who had been staring blankly at the surreal scene, asked in a voice of disbelief.
“Seven, could that really be—?”
“That fish head from earlier? Yeah, it’s like paper,” Seven replied casually.
As soon as he said that, Ivnia quickly grabbed a water bottle and rushed over to Guillermo.
Perhaps her suspicion that he couldn’t breathe properly was true.
As soon as she scooped Guillermo’s long body into the water, he stopped thrashing.
Seeing the change, Ivnia let out a relieved sigh while still sitting on the floor.
Seven looked stunned and asked.
“Do you really want to take care of the guy who drove you to the point of deciding to die?”
“Guillermo didn’t do it out of malice,” Ivnia said, tightening her grip on the now heavier water bottle.
Even though his body had changed, his consciousness remained the same.
Guillermo looked up at her with the same questioning expression that Seven had.
Earlier, Guillermo had told Ivnia that Ram wanted to find a new love.
Although his methods were terrible, his intention wasn’t as cruel as the result made it seem.
If he had known that Ivnia’s sister was alive, and that he would soon be free, Guillermo would never have gone so far.
He must not have been lying in the first place.
They didn’t ask, and he didn’t answer on purpose.
He probably thought that such a small deception wouldn’t cause much harm. Even though greed always brings trouble.
“But Seven, you know my logic isn’t wrong, right? If we do that, the marriage becomes invalid naturally… So Ram wouldn’t have any problem, right?”
“What kind of upbringing made you like this?” Seven’s voice finally sounded irritated at Ivnia’s persistent questions. It seemed he was avoiding the answer because he already knew it.
Ivnia confirmed that her suspicion was correct and let out a small sigh of relief.
At least it wasn’t completely unsalvageable.
If no one could smile, then the majority smiling was still better—this was the kind of sentence that perfectly described Ivnia’s life.
“Seven, did you know? Outside, people call Ram a monster. They say he’s lived too long and gone insane, even eating people.”
“Not entirely wrong. He is a little crazy,” Seven said with a smirk, taking the chance to mock his friend.
Ivnia couldn’t help but laugh softly at his words.
How wonderful it would be if she knew Ram well enough to treat such rumors as jokes.
But the smile on her face quickly faded into bitterness.
“I knew I’d end up here since I was eight. Rather than imagining what kind of person I’d become, I wondered more often what a monster’s mouth would look like.”
“……”
“But when I actually came here, everyone treated me so well. Even Ram gets angry whenever I say I want to die. It’s strange. No one has ever gotten angry at me for my sake. People have told me to die, but no one ever told me to live… I was always the kind of person whose death was more useful. Ram was the first person to tell me my life was worth more than death.”
“……”
“So it’s okay. I think I can be satisfied with this. At least now, I’m choosing of my own free will.”
After coming here, Ivnia could die not as someone who should die, but as someone who shouldn’t. That was a huge difference.
Ivnia looked at Seven as if asking whether that was enough to convince him.
But Seven showed no sign of agreeing with her.
Anger rose to his head, and he suddenly rushed at Ivnia and snatched the water bottle from her hands.
It was as if he intended to throw it to the ground the moment she let go.
Startled, Ivnia clung to the bottle, and Seven shouted in frustration.
“Let go! Do you think this is a normal fish? It’s not going to die just because it can’t breathe!”
“Please, Seven! It might break if you keep doing this!”
“I’m telling you to let go! Why is it so strong when it looks like the tragic heroine of a romance drama!”
After a brief struggle, Seven lost and fell backward.
Considering their physical ages, it was only natural: a young boy against an adult woman.
Lying flat on the floor, Seven breathed heavily for a while, then slowly sat up.
Ivnia watched him warily and hugged the water bottle tighter.
Seven glared at Guillermo, hidden in Ivnia’s arms, and spoke with a fierce look.
“Hey, you want that fish head to stay alive, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Ha, damn it… You treat your own life like a tissue, but why do you want to save a guy who’s worse than an enemy…”
He muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear, then lifted his head sharply.
Pointing at Guillermo, he spoke in a menacing voice.
“Then don’t ever say something stupid like you’ll die for Ram again. The moment you say that is the day you leave this world.”
“……”
“Answer me!”
Seven shouted, demanding a response.
Ivnia nodded automatically, unable to resist his force, and Seven finally stood up with Hannah’s help.
He kept grumbling the whole time.
“Why does that diamond look so small and cheap now? It was so different from what I remember, I couldn’t even recognize it.”
Ivnia, who had been listening blankly to Seven’s retreating footsteps, suddenly snapped back to reality and stood up.
Holding the bottle containing Guillermo, she ran to the kitchen, took a deep bowl, and filled it with clean water.
She transferred Guillermo into the new container and only then let go of her tension, collapsing onto the countertop.
She buried her face between her arms and murmured in a helpless voice.
“I should’ve just gone out to eat like Ram said…”
