IGWNI Ch 24
by soapa“Ugh…, ugh….”
As if deliberately trying to hear the moan, the man would always part his lips once before kissing him again. Yoon Jaewoo was mortified with himself for knowing the man was doing it on purpose, yet ultimately being unable to hold back a moan.
“Hah, …stop.”
Gasping, Yoon Jaewoo barely managed to push Eustace away.
Yoon Jaewoo had been peering from behind Eustace, who was rummaging through some unidentifiable ancient book about barriers, curious about what it was, when he was grabbed by the arm. And just like that, he found himself sitting on Eustace’s lap, receiving his kisses.
Before, it was enough to receive a kiss to ingest the Rit only before leaving in the morning, but these days, Eustace would kiss him suddenly like this from time to time.
“…Let’s stop.”
Yoon Jaewoo managed to say aloud. Eustace merely gave a slight smile, his face relaxed.
This infuriated him too. He would lose his senses, panting and gasping, and later end up clinging to him, crying and sobbing with tears streaming down, yet the man always maintained that composed demeanor.
Someday I have to see this guy panting and gasping, at a loss for what to do… no. That’s a bit scary to imagine.
「You’re the one who begs for more, not me.」
“……”
Even if he opened his mouth to retort, it was always the same routine of biting his lip, ending in self-reproach.
It was just as Eustace said. Whenever they kissed, the one who ended up clinging and begging was always Yoon Jaewoo. Even if Eustace started it, the conclusion was invariably the same.
「Going to take care of it yourself?」
Eustace said, pointing at Yoon Jaewoo’s piece of flesh that was making its presence known through his clothes. Yoon Jaewoo yelped and stood up from Eustace’s lap.
「If you’re going to do it, do it in the bathroom. It’s distracting if you do it next to me.」
“I’m not doing it!”
Yoon Jaewoo shouted, flaring up.
Does he think I’m some kind of fiend for that stuff? Ugh, seriously. …First, let’s calm this down and return to a calm and rational body.
Yoon Jaewoo placed a hand on the bookshelf and quietly began to hum the national anthem.
“Until the East Sea’s waters and Baekdu Mountain are dry and worn away, may God protec…!”
Yoon Jaewoo was startled by Eustace’s presence, who had approached him from behind before he knew it.
「Why are you singing that song?」
asked Eustace, who was choosing a book while standing right behind him. Yoon Jaewoo lowered his head and answered evasively.
“…I’m trying to return to a rational body.”
「What does that have to do with that song?」
Yoon Jaewoo scratched his head. He was at a loss as to how to explain that Koreans often used their love for their country to control their desires.
「Does singing that song calm your excitement?」
“Well, it’s just, it’s a solemn song, so if you sing it, your body and mind become solemn, …and so on.”
It was the sunbaes from the sports team who had tipped him off, telling him to sing the national anthem if he suddenly got an erection while dozing off in class. He didn’t know who started it or when, but he just thought of it as a unique Korean tradition and Yoon Jaewoo naturally accepted it.
「So when you’re singing that song, it means you’re aroused.」
“That’s not it! How can you twist it like that!”
Eustace let out a light laugh, pulled a book he wanted from the bookshelf, and returned to his seat.
Yoon Jaewoo let out a sigh. When he looked down, that place had already calmed down and found peace.
“Hoo, what a life.”
Yoon Jaewoo grumbled as he climbed onto the bed. He knew that once Eustace started a book, he wouldn’t get up until he finished it, which meant he had nothing to do for the time being.
Of course, getting on the bed didn’t mean Yoon Jaewoo had something to do. Rolling around on the bed, this way and that, Yoon Jaewoo was reminded that he hadn’t been outside in a very long time.
“Excuse me.”
After some hesitation, Yoon Jaewoo called out to Eustace.
“Eustace-nim.”
The corners of Eustace’s mouth, who was reading, relaxed slightly. He knew that this impertinent Ramia would call him Eustace-nim whenever he had a favor to ask.
“Eustace-nim. Eustace-nim?”
When Eustace pretended not to hear and kept reading, Yoon Jaewoo crawled on his knees to the edge of the bed and kept calling him.
“Eustace-nim!”
「What.」
Yoon Jaewoo smiled awkwardly and pointed a finger at the window.
“Can’t I go for a little walk?”
No matter how spacious the room they were staying in was, it was distinctly different from the outside. These days, Yoon Jaewoo’s routine was confined to the room, the office, and occasional walks in the hallway. He knew it was a measure Eustace had taken to protect him, but he couldn’t help feeling suffocated.
「You must be mad.」
Eustace flatly rejected his request. With a sullen face, as if he had expected it, Yoon Jaewoo slowly crawled back to the edge of the bed.
Climbing off the bed, he dragged a chair, placed it in front of the window, and sat down, quietly gazing outside. The swaying aquatic plants were endlessly fascinating no matter how many times he saw them.
Even though they were making their way through the ground with Yatenbaum’s power, nothing had particularly changed. Except for the fact that the castle would occasionally shake or feel like it had come to a sudden stop.
When he first heard about the path through the ground, Yoon Jaewoo had imagined someone else’s castle breaking through the earth, but later he heard an explanation from Yatenbaum that the entire lake was moving. He was about to ask how that was possible but stopped himself. Being surprised gets old after a while. The being he was dealing with wasn’t human, but a god of this world.
“Ah, I’m so frustrated.”
After muttering that aloud, he felt increasingly frustrated. Yoon Jaewoo glanced at Eustace sitting at the desk, then muttered more loudly.
“I’m going to die of frustration. …I’m frustrated.”
「Endure it.」
A cold reply came back.
“Can’t you go out with me?”
「I’m busy.」
If you’re so busy, then why did you grab me and spend all that time pecking at my lips just a moment ago! …is what he wanted to demand, but he suppressed it and continued, “Then,”.
“Then can’t I go with someone else? Like the head chamberlain, or another servant, you know. People like that.”
「No. It’s dangerous.」
Another’s castle is a natural fortress. Every single stone that made up the castle was blessed with good energy, enough to create a barrier. That was also why Cox Philippte had been stuck in another’s castle. When he was in a bad mood, the world would fall ill if he started to wander. This castle was chosen to find the one who had tampered with the barrier, with the combination of Asir’s barrier and Azhar’s problem. If necessary, they had to seal away the one who intended to endanger the world by tampering with the barrier. For that, another’s castle was needed.
The fact that the Ibnu had invaded such another’s castle meant that the crack in the world had grown that much larger. In other words, there was a high probability that the Ramia could be in danger in the blink of an eye.
“Then can’t I go with another Dweord?”
Yoon Jaewoo asked with Yatenbaum in mind. These days, whenever Yatenbaum ran into Yoon Jaewoo, he would use all sorts of tricks to get him to come and play in his room. He disliked being in an enclosed space with him, but he thought a walk would be fine. Cox and Malik were so repulsive that his hair stood on end just by seeing them, but Yatenbaum wasn’t so bad, if you excluded his dirty jokes.
「Another Dweord?」
“Yes.”
Eustace let out a hollow laugh. It seemed that foolish Ramia had completely forgotten that the reason he was declared a Maryan was to protect him from the other Dweords.
「I don’t know where to even begin with your foolishness.」
“Why are you suddenly calling me foolish again.”
Yoon Jaewoo shouted, flaring up. Eustace shut the book he was reading with a thud. Yoon Jaewoo flinched, his shoulders trembling, and turned his gaze back to the window.
The sound of Eustace’s footsteps walking towards him echoed, thump, thump. Yoon Jaewoo tried his best to act calm and hummed a tune, but his hands were sweating. The thought, what if that guy suddenly pulls down my pants and spanks me, made it so that even the tune wouldn’t come out properly.
「Ramia.」
Eustace, who had come right up to him, called Yoon Jaewoo. Yoon Jaewoo pretended not to hear, his gaze fixed on the view outside the window, engrossed in his humming.
「Ramia.」
Eustace’s hand touched Yoon Jaewoo’s shoulder.
He’s going to hit my back!
Yoon Jaewoo placed a hand on his back and ducked his body. Eustace asked, as if dumbfounded by Yoon Jaewoo’s action.
「What are you doing?」
“…What?”
「If you’re not going out, stay like that.」
As he said that and was about to turn around, Yoon Jaewoo hastily grabbed the hem of Eustace’s clothes. It was the same expression Jinsu-hyung showed when he grabbed his tail as he was about to leave.
Eustace, held by the young Ramia, smiled quietly.
“Wow, this is so cool.”
As soon as they went outside, Yoon Jaewoo looked around at the scenery outside the castle and continued to exclaim in awe.
“What’s that? Is that a fish? Are the fish moving with us too? Awesome. …Gasp, did you see that?”
Next to the incessantly chattering Yoon Jaewoo, Eustace’s expression stiffened slightly. This clueless and foolish Ramia, whom he had taken out for a walk by carving out precious time, was preoccupied with praising another Dweord’s castle.
“This is amazing. Look at that.”
Yoon Jaewoo said, tugging on Eustace’s sleeve. Eustace firmly slapped Yoon Jaewoo’s hand away.
「You look.」
“……”
As Eustace turned his back in a huff, Yoon Jaewoo hesitated and scratched his cheek.
Only then did Yoon Jaewoo remember what Yatenbaum had told him when he first entered this castle.
He had asked what he was doing, praising another Dweord’s castle in front of Eustace. At the time, he had thought, surely Eustace wouldn’t sulk over something so trivial, but seeing his attitude now, it seemed he really was sulking.
Yoon Jaewoo quickly walked after Eustace and said, “But,”.
“Excuse me, this place is also cool…, hahaha. Cool my ass, it’s completely dreary. Looks like a ghost is going to pop out.”
「…….」
“Look over there. Eek, how scary. A ghost is coming out, a ghost.”
When Yoon Jaewoo deliberately pretended to be scared and hunched his shoulders, Eustace cleared his throat with a “Hmph.” Then he offered his sleeve, saying, “If you’re scared, hold my clothes.”
“…Thank you.”
As he grabbed the sleeve, a deep sense of regret washed over Yoon Jaewoo, thinking, do I really have to go this far?
「Why are you sighing?」
“What? Me?”
「Yes.」
“This place is so shabby, I must have sighed without realizing it.”
「Shall we go back in then?」
“Ah, no. Even though it’s shabby and scary, I’ll just endure it and continue the walk.”
「Walk closely beside me.」
“Yes.”
Yoon Jaewoo went to Eustace’s side and, as he said, walked closely, stuck right beside him. Another’s castle had a grotesque beauty to it overall. Whether it was Cox’s taste or the inherent energy of the castle, Yoon Jaewoo thought the atmosphere suited the master of the castle very well.
Yoon Jaewoo, who was observing the rippling water of the lake, suddenly posed a question that popped into his head.
“The lake is continuously moving, right?”
At Yoon Jaewoo’s question, Eustace nodded.
“Where are we going?”
「To the vicinity of the barrier.」
“Yatenbaum-nim is really amazing.”
「…….」
“How is he continuously moving this huge lake? I can’t even tell that it’s moving. He was good at driving a carriage, I guess he’s good at driving a lake too.”
Yoon Jaewoo threw a joke. However, the other party only responded with a chilly silence. The atmosphere turned frosty beyond measure.
“Haha. I guess it’s a far cry from driving. Hahaha. …Haha.”
The more he spoke, the more Eustace’s expression hardened. Yoon Jaewoo scratched his head and tried hard to think of another topic.
“By any chance.”
「…….」
“Are there other Dweords besides the four of you?”
After observing the four Dweords here thoroughly, Yoon Jaewoo had come to the conclusion that there might not be a lifeline to save him at all.
Considering the situation when he first met Yatenbaum and Eustace, the possibility was slim, and the more he saw Malik and Cox, the more his conviction that they weren’t the ones grew. The Ramia-hating Malik who showered him with all sorts of curses and insults whenever he saw him. The creepy Cox who would ask him to give him a finger with the same tone as asking for a piece of candy.
“Couldn’t there be other Dweords? Like a Dweord of the Northeast, or a Dweord of the Southwest. Something like that.”
Eustace’s expression darkened as he looked down at the Ramia who was lost in his own world of imagination.
Damn it.
Now he’s even looking for Dweords that don’t exist.
“There aren’t any? Other Dweords?”
「None. They all died.」
“……”
「Every last one of them died.」
“Maybe just one survived…”
「Completely.」
Eustace said, continuing with a rare, bright smile.
「Completely wiped out.」
“……”
「If you’re going to talk nonsense, I’m going back inside.」
“No, sir.”
Yoon Jaewoo shook his head. He couldn’t afford to lose this precious time, a walk he hadn’t had in who knows how long.
Eustace slowed his pace to match Yoon Jaewoo’s stride. The Ramia would quickly start patting his legs and act like an old man if he was even slightly pushed.
Yoon Jaewoo, with his mouth shut, looked around at the marvelous scenery inside the lake with twinkling eyes.
Watching the foolish Ramia whose lips twitched, wanting to speak every time he saw something amazing, Eustace inwardly swallowed a laugh.
This isn’t bad either.
He wondered what good it would do to be doing this amidst the current unstable and troublesome situation, but he just felt that it wasn’t bad.
Just as he made up his mind to take the Ramia out for a walk from time to time, an unwelcome voice called them from behind.
「Heeey, look who it is.」
「…….」
「Isn’t it Yellow? Yellow, our Yellow. You’re out for a walk.」
Yatenbaum approached, waving his hand happily from a distance. Yoon Jaewoo bowed his head deeply, showing his respect for the Dweord.
Eustace slapped Yoon Jaewoo’s back with his palm.
“Why did you hit me! I was just being polite and greeting him!”
「That is a greeting for the Dweord a Maryan serves.」
“Is that so?”
Eustace felt a headache coming on from the foolishness of the Ramia who still hadn’t gotten past the first chapter despite reading the etiquette book so much.
「Hahahaha. It’s fine. It’s fine. Yellow will be serving me anyway.」
Yatenbaum laughed loudly and came to stand in front of Yoon Jaewoo.
「Are you out for a walk?」
“Yes.”
Yoon Jaewoo nodded.
「It must be terribly boring being with Eustace. Tsk tsk. I told you to come to my room. If you come, I’ll make sure you’re not bored for even a moment.」
“Hahaha. Screw you. Do you think I’d go to a pervert’s room?”
Yoon Jaewoo said with a laugh, dissing Yatenbaum. Despite understanding the clear disrespect towards a Dweord, Eustace pretended not to notice and continued walking.
「You must feel cooped up being inside the castle all the time, right?」
Yatenbaum asked. Yoon Jaewoo honestly nodded.
「Wanna go outside?」
「Mäden!」
Eustace’s expression hardened as he called his name.
During the discussions of Vedas, one was not to leave the confines of the same roof. That was the rule and the law. A misstep could be used as a pretext to render the discussions of Vedas null and void.
「Don’t worry. Am I an idiot?」
Yatenbaum smiled and stood on the outer wall of the castle. As he closed his eyes and chanted an incantation, the bottom of the lake began to shake. Yoon Jaewoo tightened his grip on Eustace’s sleeve.
The castle gradually moved upwards. Yoon Jaewoo’s jaw dropped at the incredible sight. The castle, which had been soaring upwards with a rumbling sound, soon revealed itself above the water’s surface.
The water that had collected on top of the castle poured down like a waterfall.
“Whoa!”
At the magnificent spectacle unfolding before his eyes, Yoon Jaewoo clapped until his palms hurt. Yatenbaum shrugged his shoulders and came up beside him.
「How is it? Cool, right?」
“Yes. It’s awesome. Wow, we’re outside.”
Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes sparkled as he looked around. He couldn’t even guess how many days had passed since he walked into the bottom of the lake. Being outside felt so liberating that it cleared his chest, and Yoon Jaewoo was thrilled.
A rosy color bloomed on Yoon Jaewoo’s cheeks. Eustace sighed. He wasn’t too keen on Yatenbaum pulling this stunt, but seeing the Ramia so happy, he decided to let it go.
「…What is this. Who dares to… my castle….」
「…….」
「…Damn it.」
「It’s outside. It’s outside, …it hurts. I haven’t been outside in a while, and now my head hurts so much.」
Cox, having noticed the castle rising above the water’s surface, had already approached them and began his complaints about the pain.
「Ah, since the cold air is entering my throat for the first time in a while, my throat hurts too, and it’s cold, …and depressing, …at a time like this, I feel like eating just one of tasty-thing’s fingers would make it all better.」
Cox muttered, braiding his hair with one hand. His gaze was exactly like that of an old witch eyeing a cat said to be good for neuralgia.
Yoon Jaewoo broke into a cold sweat and took another step closer to Eustace. Eustace wrapped an arm around Yoon Jaewoo’s shoulders.
「What is this. What is this. Why did we come outside? Damn! Why the hell is that filthy Ramia here! I can smell the filthy Ramia! My beautiful nose is going to rot!」
As expected, Malik, who couldn’t stand the other three Dweords being gathered without him for even a moment, had arrived. Eustace touched his forehead. This had become the worst walk ever.
As soon as he saw Yoon Jaewoo, Malik started acting up, trying to find something to pick on again.
「You insolent Ramia. When a Dweord-nim arrives, shouldn’t you greet him?」
Yoon Jaewoo hesitated before offering a rough greeting as he remembered it.
「Why on earth do you keep a Ramia by your side who doesn’t even know how to greet properly!」
The arrow of Malik’s criticism rained down on Eustace. Eustace answered calmly, his expression unchanging.
「He is the Maryan who will carry my seed. What importance does a mere greeting hold?」
“I’m not carrying it, I’m not carry….”
Yoon Jaewoo muttered quietly, but no one heard him.
「Isn’t it filthy? To have a Ramia bear a child?」
“First of all, …can someone please refute the fact that a man can bear a child.”
Yoon Jaewoo said in a voice that was barely a whisper.
「Hmm, tasty-thing wouldn’t be so bad. …Pretty, and tasty. If he gives birth, the child would probably be tasty too.」
「That thing? What’s pretty about that thing?」
Malik refuted Cox’s words in an annoyed voice.
「Imagine a child born with that blonde hair and Eustace’s blue eyes. It would be pretty. …Hehe.」
At Yatenbaum’s words, Malik scanned the Ramia hiding behind Eustace up and down with a disgusted face. Then, for a moment, he imagined adding his own blonde hair to that blonde hair, before quickly shaking his head.
「Filthy. So filthy. Ptui.」
Yoon Jaewoo, thinking, here we go again, shook his head from side to side.
「By the way, …why did we really come outside? My head hurts from breathing in the fresh air after so long.」
Cox muttered with a frown.
「Because Yellow said he was frustrated. I was starting to feel frustrated myself.」
Yatenbaum answered.
「Of course he’s frustrated. Of course it’s frustrating to be cooped up in such a filthy, cramped, and vulgar castle, just continuing discussions. Of course, you Ramia, are not even in a position to be frustrated.」
Malik’s nagging continued, but Yoon Jaewoo paid it no mind and looked around at the scenery outside the lake. A beautiful forest brushed past the lake. He had heard that the lake was moving, but seeing it with his own eyes, it was a much more magnificent spectacle than he had imagined.
The trees of the forest bowed their heads in unison, making way for them to pass. Every living thing showed its respect on the path the four Dweords passed. Even the moon in the sky seemed to lower its presence and pay homage to the Dweords.
The four Dweords watched the scene calmly.
Yoon Jaewoo looked at the four Dweords standing on the castle’s outer wall. With all of them silent, they formed a perfect picture.
…Are they really chosen for their looks? If not, how could they have gathered such individually handsome yet individually insane people.
「Why.」
Eustace, feeling his gaze, turned his head and asked.
“No. It’s just, well….”
He didn’t want to admit, even if he died, that they were handsome.
「What scheme is he plotting. I’m telling you, we need to cut open that Ramia’s belly and examine his treacherous plan!」
Malik said, extending long nails on his fingers. Yoon Jaewoo quickly hid behind Eustace. Eustace caressed Yoon Jaewoo’s face and gave him a look that said it was okay. From within Eustace’s embrace, Yoon Jaewoo looked down at the lake cutting through the forest.
「Dicker.」
Yatenbaum called out to Malik.
「What? Horse-face.」
「Isn’t this too boring. Let’s play a little more spectacularly.」
At Yatenbaum’s words, Malik frowned and said, “Are you a child?”
「You must be bored too. You must be tired of being cooped up alone in your room looking in the mirror.」
「What did you say?」
Yoon Jaewoo’s lips twitched as he tried to hold back his laughter. The image of Malik looking into a mirror was vividly drawn in his mind.
「Why? Am I wrong?」
「You’re wrong, of course. You stupid horse-face.」
Malik snorted and continued.
「Why would I get tired of looking at my beautiful self in the mirror. The noble and noble appearance is a joy to behold no matter how much I look at it.」
「…….」
「…Ah, right…. …Ah, my head hurts.」
「Haha. …Shit.」
“…Hoo.”
「By the way, it’s been a while since I’ve done this, so I’m not sure if it will work well.」
Malik said that and quietly chanted a spell. He raised his finger. Yoon Jaewoo moved his gaze to where Malik was pointing.
The stars in the sky began to shine with a golden light.
“Oh!”
As Malik’s fingertip traced, the stars changed their positions, boasting their light. It looked as if the stars were trembling minutely and dancing.
「As expected, I’m so great that even though it’s been a while, I’m doing it so well. This is why you must be born with noble blood.」
Even though Malik was boasting, the scene was so beautiful and magnificent that it wasn’t bothersome at all. As Yoon Jaewoo clung to the castle wall, his mouth agape, letting out gasps of awe, Yatenbaum stood next to him and pointed at the sky.
This time, red stars revealed themselves.
“How do you do that?”
Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes widened. Yatenbaum took Yoon Jaewoo’s hand and made him point at the sky. As his finger moved, the red stars emitted their light.
A chilly air brushed past the expression of Eustace, who was watching this from behind. But the Ramia’s expression was too bright to make him withdraw his hand. Eustace suppressed his uncomfortable feelings and decided to let Yatenbaum do as he pleased.
“Waaaah….”
Yoon Jaewoo let out a gasp of awe with a broad smile.
This was on a different level from realistic wishes like, “If I make a lot of money after advancing to the Premier League, I’ll buy a yacht and set off fireworks on it.” He was standing on a castle built on a moving lake, making the stars twinkle. There was no luxury like this luxury.
Yoon Jaewoo moved his finger here and there, then tried to draw Jinsu-hyung’s face in the sky. With the hope that Jinsu-hyung, who was somewhere in the castle, would see this beautiful sight.
「What did he draw? Did he draw an ant?」
「No way. Don’t you think… tasty-thing drew a worm?」
「Fufufu. Everyone’s eyes are handicapped. He drew a fish. A fish. Isn’t that right? You filthy Ramia.」
「Let’s make a bet. On what Yellow drew. The winner gets to unfold the map next time.」
In the discussions of Vedas, the one who unfolded the map was the one who presented the problem. That was how much of an advantageous position they would gain.
「Fine. You morons.」
「…I’m sure I’ll win.」
Everyone’s eyes were on Yoon Jaewoo. Yoon Jaewoo, who had been feeling proud of himself after drawing Jinsu-hyung’s face, lowered his finger with a crestfallen expression.
「What did you draw.」
Eustace asked casually. Since everyone was looking at him with menacing faces, he couldn’t bring himself to answer openly. Even if they couldn’t understand his words, he was just embarrassed.
Yoon Jaewoo stood on his tiptoes and whispered to Eustace.
Jinsu-hyung.
Upon hearing those words, a faint smile formed on Eustace’s lips. It was such a faint smile that no one noticed the change.
「What did Yellow say.」
「He said he drew me.」
「What? What kind of bullshit is that.」
「…Our tasty-thing, your drawing skills are terrible.」
「How is that you. Does that make sense? Why do you even have fingers and eyes? Cut them all off right now!」
Yoon Jaewoo quickly hid his hands inside his sleeves and muttered, “That’s not it, I drew Jinsu-hyung.”
「You finger-handicapped Ramia. Watch carefully. You have to draw at least this well for it to be a drawing.」
As Malik moved his finger, a lion appeared in the sky. That wasn’t the end. The lion, as if it were alive, roared and then faded into the air.
“Wow. …Awesome.”
When Yoon Jaewoo expressed his honest admiration, Malik snorted, “Hmph,” and proceeded to draw the next picture. Following his fingertip, a wolf, a bird, and a horse came to life and moved. The lion was the biggest, but the other drawings were all magnificent too. Especially when the wolf came to life, Yoon Jaewoo was delighted, thinking, “It looks like our Jinsu-hyung.”
「My outstanding talent doesn’t end at this level.」
In the end, that day, Malik moved his hand with the momentum to create every living creature that exists in the world in the sky. Yoon Jaewoo, who had initially been spouting “Wow, wow, so cool,” eventually got tired of the endless festival of starlight and was the first to tug on Eustace’s sleeve, asking to go inside.
In the end, the walk that day concluded with Malik throwing a tantrum after being called an insane bastard who doesn’t know moderation.
“It was fun.”
As Yoon Jaewoo, lying in bed, suddenly muttered those words, Eustace asked back, “What did you say?”
“I said it was fun.”
Since crossing over to this world, this was the first time Yoon Jaewoo had felt the emotion of “fun.” He had thought things like “this feels good” while getting a massage, or “this feels nice” while touching Jinsu-hyung’s tail, but it was definitely the first time he had felt “fun.” No, it was the first time even after the accident.
「What was so much fun?」
“Just because. …Just.”
Leaning against the outer wall of the castle, looking down at the lake cutting through the forest, and looking up at the sky, Yoon Jaewoo was able, for a brief moment, to forget the things that had been complicating his mind. Suddenly, he thought that even this moment wasn’t so bad.
“It was just fun.”
Even as he said it, he thought to himself what a hopeless guy he was. To commit suicide with a broken leg, to come to another world and live as a god’s pet, not knowing when he would become a bead, and to find it fun.
「It was worth taking a walk with all those useless things.」
Yoon Jaewoo laughed, thinking of the three Dweords who belonged to the category of “useless things.” Eustace watched him quietly as he let out a small laugh.
“I’ve never once thought that this moment was okay.”
After the accident, every single moment was painful for Yoon Jaewoo. Before, when he opened his eyes in the morning, the day awaited him, but after the accident, when he opened his eyes in the morning, all he could think was, “this terrible day is repeating itself again.”
“…It’s just that right now, I feel like it’s a little okay.”
After muttering that, Yoon Jaewoo pulled the sheet over his body.
“Actually, if you think about it, it’s not okay at all…. I keep having weird dreams.”
At the sullenly added words, Eustace swallowed a laugh. Eustace, lying down next to him, gently patted Yoon Jaewoo’s chest with his palm.
“What are you doing?”
「Hush-a-bye.」
“……”
「Why.」
“…I think I’m past the age for that.”
Eustace smiled and tilted his head.
「How old are you?」
“Twenty-three.”
「Then shut up and listen.」
Eustace’s palm tapped Yoon Jaewoo’s chest again. Yoon Jaewoo closed his eyes. The steady rhythm transmitted through the palm put his mind at ease. …Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I’ve ever had a lullaby.
Yoon Jaewoo opened his closed eyes again. Eustace, who was lying on his side moving his palm, raised one eyebrow slightly, as if asking for the reason.
“It’s really strange.”
「What is.」
“…That you’re being nice to me.”
Eustace’s hand, which was patting his chest, paused for a moment, stopping its movement.
After saying it, he felt he shouldn’t have. Yoon Jaewoo bit his own tongue inside his mouth in regret.
Eustace’s attitude was like a whim. He felt somewhat embarrassed for attaching meaning to it by himself, saying things like “being nice” or “it’s strange.”
Eustace started moving his hand again.
「If you know that, then show some loyalty.」
“Loyalty?”
「A Maryan must not let the hand of another Dweord touch their body, other than the Dweord they serve.」
It was a passage he remembered seeing somewhere in the first chapter of the etiquette book. It was meant to caution against the hands of other men, but especially the hands of other Dweords, and there was a gruesome picture of the touched part being cut off immediately.
“I’m not a real Maryan, you know.”
Yoon Jaewoo retorted in a sulky voice. Eustace’s hand tensed. With the force that struck his chest with a thud, Yoon Jaewoo gasped, “Ugh.”
“That hurts. You’ll kill a child with a lullaby like that.”
「You can become one.」
“What?”
「You can become a real Maryan.」
Not understanding his words at first, Yoon Jaewoo blinked a couple of times and asked back, “What are you talking about?” No answer came from the darkness.
“What does that mean?”
When Yoon Jaewoo asked again, Eustace lay on his back and gave a short reply, “Never mind.” He considered asking more, but Eustace’s side profile, lying with his eyes closed, was so desolate that Yoon Jaewoo swallowed his curious questions.
「Sleep.」
With those words as the last, Eustace fell silent. Yoon Jaewoo had no choice but to join in that dark silence.
From that day on, Eustace would take Yoon Jaewoo for a walk when the time came. While walking around another’s castle, there was almost only one thing Eustace would say.
「Stick close.」
As Yoon Jaewoo started to walk a little apart, that same phrase came out of Eustace’s mouth today without fail. Yoon Jaewoo clicked his tongue with a “Tch” and walked, sticking close to Eustace’s side.
As they walked a little, strange things that caught Yoon Jaewoo’s eye would pop out. Yoon Jaewoo, like a curious cat, would stare at them with sparkling eyes and fail to keep up with Eustace’s pace.
In the end, because of the Ramia who would stand with his mouth agape a couple of steps behind whenever he looked away, Eustace had to hold his hand and walk.
Every time that happened, Yoon Jaewoo’s face would turn red, and he would let out a dry cough and walk as if nothing was wrong.
Walking while holding a man’s hand was a very, strange feeling. Especially if they happened to run into someone while doing this, that strange feeling would double.
He had run into the head chamberlain Mainu once before, and at that time, he hadn’t said anything, but later he came to find Yoon Jaewoo and, with a moved expression, even sobbed, saying that Eustace-nim must truly cherish Maryan-nim. He also added a request to please take good care of Dweord Eustace-nim.
Yoon Jaewoo was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t say anything. He had considered Eustace taking him for a walk to be similar to a master taking his dog out.
“Look over there.”
Yoon Jaewoo said, pointing to a sparkling aquatic creature passing along the outer wall of the castle. The creature, with a transparent body and glittering tentacles, looked like a jellyfish at first glance, but its overall shape was also similar to a whale.
「Do you like things like that?」
“What? No, it’s just…. It’s fascinating.”
It felt like walking inside a giant aquarium. The only difference was that this was a moving aquarium.
「If you wish, I can move a lake like this to the Northern Castle.」
“What?”
「If you wish.」
Not knowing what kind of answer he was expecting, Yoon Jaewoo scratched his cheek and replied, “I see.” Eustace’s hand, which was holding his, tightened slightly.
「Or is there something else you want?」
“Me?”
Yoon Jaewoo pointed to himself. Eustace replied, “Yes,” and scanned Yoon Jaewoo’s face with a chilly gaze.
“Of course I have something I want. My leg, my leg.”
Yoon Jaewoo, with a bright face, smacked his right leg. Then he added with a smile a remark he didn’t have to make.
“If my leg is completely healed, I’ll go back to my country and become a soccer player. I’ll go back to how I was and become famous again.”
As he said that, Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes sparkled. The excited Yoon Jaewoo failed to see that Eustace’s expression had darkened.
“I have to take the tryouts again, and I haven’t decided where to go yet…. The Bundesliga is good too! England is good too, but of course Spain is to die for.”
Eustace, who was watching the Ramia’s face as he rambled on in a language he couldn’t understand, replied with a twisted smile.