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Chapter: 35
Even without turning my head, I knew by the presence of a figure who had collapsed into my arms.
Still, I turned to look behind me.
Trailing down my cheek was silver hair, a painfully contorted beautiful face behind it.
And there was a back pierced with shards of shattered crystal doors.
The office floor was soaked in bright red blood.
“Bin!”
“What did you just say?”
Bin asked, his face twisted in pain.
As if it didn’t matter at all that blood was gushing from his back, he looked only at me.
“There’s too much blood. We need to perform first aid immediately.”
“I asked you! What did you just say? What was the world you originally lived in, and why have you been trapped in this body?”
“Deputy Director! We have first aid tools in the office, right?”
Even after I called, Raphel remained frozen, perhaps shocked by Bin’s unexpected appearance, unable to say a word.
Calling him again, I felt the cold skin of his wrist against mine.
“Answer me.”
The temperature at my wrist was icy, yet his gaze burned like the sun.
Even with eyes like a calm night sea, they blazed fiercely.
“…It won’t do you any good to know.”
Feeling like I might melt if I kept looking at him, I deliberately lowered my gaze, avoiding Bin’s eyes.
Then I forcibly pulled Bin’s unusually weak hand away.
“Wait here. I’ll go get someone.”
I could feel his intense gaze following me until the very end, even without looking back.
But I ran forward as if I felt nothing.
…Oddly, the back that, thanks to Bin, had probably taken no other damage, burned intensely.
Truly strange.
“Yeah. I have to go right now. Why? Do you have something more to say?”
When Irilin said that, countless thoughts flashed through Bin’s mind.
Was she making an excuse? If so, was she lying when she said it wasn’t a burden?
If it wasn’t an excuse, did she really have an urgent matter? Then what could it be?
Why wouldn’t she tell him what it was?
Because they weren’t close enough?
‘You’re just my… good boss!’
‘Boss!’
‘Just a boss!’
…Just a boss?
“Deputy Director. Why do you look so displeased? Is there a problem with the report I submitted? Ah, don’t worry, I didn’t do anything to that black liquid. I swear to the heavens, I really didn’t do anything!”
Returning to the office, preoccupied and frustrated, Sir Schultz was being loud. Bin ignored everything he said.
Of course, the suspicious black liquid he presented was swept aside to a corner.
Even so, the sulking Sir Schultz didn’t leave quietly and continued hovering around Bin.
Bin, annoyed, finally asked first, “What’s the matter?”
“Uh… Deputy Director. The Director has ordered you to submit a written explanation regarding the dormitory matter.”
“The dormitory matter?”
“You know, the time the Director instructed you to move the Iron building’s facilities to the Flower building while he was away. He said it was excessive, but thought he would let it slide due to the wine incident.”
The Deputy Director’s workload was beyond imagination. By early afternoon, he had to train new knights and then handle various paperwork.
Even so, he couldn’t neglect personal training, lest he fall behind Sir Schultz, who often gave him lecherous looks.
But time was too scarce. Once he finished his assigned tasks, new duties immediately piled up.
‘Training is lost again today.’
Sir Schultz seemed to notice Bin’s thoughts, evident in the strange smile on his face.
Bin changed his mind. Even if Raphel scolded him for writing a sloppy explanation, he couldn’t skip training.
Within about fifteen minutes, a hastily scribbled explanation was completed.
Bin, reluctantly leaving Sir Schultz behind, headed toward the Director’s office.
As he reached the door, voices could be heard from inside.
“…Eit. Give my sister back.”
His ears immediately perked up.
Was it because the voice was familiar? His heart seemed to want to rush toward it.
No. By now, he knew it wasn’t just that.
The idea that it was only because the voice was familiar was laughable.
‘I just like it. I like the sound of it, want to hear more.’
Bin scoffed at himself.
Even so, his steps instinctively quickened.
The voices became clearer.
“This is my world! Only I can possess everything. Go back to the world you originally lived in!”
“Calm down and listen. I also desperately want that. But why have I been trapped in this body until now? I can’t do that, right?”
“What’s with that attitude? Why are you treating me like a child? Do I look like a kid?”
“Honestly… well, wait. Director.”
For some reason, Raphel and Irilin were fighting.
The strangeness was indescribable. Both were acting unusually, unlike their normal selves.
And Bin couldn’t grasp what they were even talking about.
Sister? My world?
Trapped in a body?
These incomprehensible keywords muddled Bin’s mind.
“Get lost right now.”
Yet for some reason, Raphel’s next words struck Bin’s heart with a mysterious unease.
Something leaked from the torn heart.
‘Was this where the carriage was waiting?’
‘Yeah. Go down first.’
‘…Want to see it with me?’
‘…If you don’t want to, forget it.’
‘I don’t mind.’
‘Then go down quickly.’
‘Why go first? Did we leave something behind?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I’ll wait. Come quickly.’
It was like a series of flashing memories.
Why these memories surfaced now, he didn’t know.
There was no time to think.
Before he could even ponder why, his body moved forward.
And as the door opened…
He enveloped Irilin, who had been thrown back.
He knew full well what the outcome might be.
But it happened.
Before he had time to think.
“Fortunately, the bleeding was heavy, but the wound wasn’t too deep. His life shouldn’t be in danger. But since he underwent surgery, please avoid overexertion.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
As soon as the doctor left the recovery room, Bin sat up.
The stitched wounds along his back throbbed. I scolded him in alarm.
“Didn’t I tell you not to overexert yourself? Lie down immediately!”
“What’s so strenuous about sitting? Lying down isn’t hard. You don’t know how hard it is to stay face down?”
“Even so, the wounds were aggravated by sitting! Didn’t it hurt?”
“Forgot? I’m a knight. I’ve fought on the battlefield for seven years. I’m used to this by now.”
Honestly, even if I were wounded like him, I’d probably react similarly.
Though my wounds were fewer than his, I had always carried injuries too.
But how could I ignore it?
He got hurt protecting me!
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“You’ve fought for seven years. You should know. Protecting me would get you hurt like this.”
“I don’t know. It just happens.”
“Things don’t just ‘just happen.’ There must be a reason.”
“The reason is ‘just happens,’ Irilin.”
With eyes like a deep ocean, Bin held me.
I felt like I might drown in them.
“That’s how it happened. I just protected you, and my body just moved. That’s all.”
Though “just” is the most meaningless word in the world, somehow it carried weight here.
Maybe that’s why my back flared up again.
“Your face is red, Irilin.”
But it wasn’t just his back.
Looking in the mirror by the bed, my face was slightly flushed, as Bin had said.
It was strange, indeed. Perhaps a fever had risen.
“Was it because you were startled earlier?”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t cling to me. Get some treatment too.”
“I’m fine. My head doesn’t hurt. I’ll be better after resting.”
Though uneasy, I had stayed by Bin’s side, but I also wanted to leave quickly.
Who knew when the Crown Prince might see this scene.
“You’re right. It’s better to rest. I’ll go now. Take care of yourself.”
Thus, I could leave Bin without too much guilt.
But just as I was about to open the door…
A chilling sensation came over me.
“Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Well, bye!”
“Fool. That’s a window!”
I had stepped on the windowsill, intending to leave, and prepared to jump down.
Whether it was a window or a hole, I needed to get out quickly.
Because the Crown Prince was coming here.
However…
“Are you hurt? Does it hurt a lot?”
Bin held my back, stopping me from leaving.
“Bin! You’re badly hurt… what are you two doing?”
At that exact moment, the Crown Prince entered.
“Ah, it’s ruined.”
I muttered in despair.
It was the perfect situation for misunderstanding.
Bin, holding my back with only bandages on his bare body.
