IYAMD: Episode 14

Jaha fidgeted with the feathered pen in his hand. He could feel the weight of gazes directed at him to the point of discomfort.

It wasn’t just one or two people. The two sitting directly in front of and beside him, as well as the attendants standing around the room, all had their eyes fixed on him.

This situation felt oppressive. It was as if he was being forced into something he didn’t want.

The gazes pressing against his back all seemed to reproach him. That feeling wasn’t just his imagination.

It seemed that the people of Arhen all found Jaha’s response bewildering. Even Gerald’s expression was filled with visible confusion, as if he had no idea how to respond. His eyes darted between the emperor and Jaha, uncertain of what to say.

Jaha, on the other hand, found it strange that none of them held the slightest doubt. That was why he judged it useless to even speak.

Was this how a lone crane would feel after mistakenly walking into a chicken coop?

As Jaha smirked bitterly, Marsilia spoke.

“Gerald, explain to him. A soulmate bond cannot be refused. If he rejects it, the it must be severed.”

Gerald stammered as he asked Marsilia,

“S-Sever, as in…?”

“A new match must be found.”

“A-Are you saying he has to die?”

Marsilia did not answer. But Jaha thought he already knew the response.

Finally, Jaha lifted his gaze. Marsilia still wore the same smile as before.

So, he was saying he would kill him while keeping that friendly mask on.

As Jaha stared directly at him, Gerald translated Marsilia’s words.

“You cannot refuse the soulmate bond. Only one soulmate is granted per generation… If you reject it, His Majesty will be put in a very difficult position.”

Gerald’s attempt to soften the message was almost pitiable. But Jaha shook his head firmly.

“I am not a citizen of Arhen. What you say holds no meaning for me. It is difficult to even comprehend, let alone follow. Tell him I refuse.”

The room remained silent as Jaha moved his pen.

The scratching of the nib against paper seemed unusually loud.

When Jaha pressed down hard to write his response and handed it to Gerald, the man’s expression grew even more flustered as he turned toward Marsilia.

“I can already guess what it says, but read it aloud.”

Even as Gerald translated Jaha’s response, Marsilia’s gaze remained fixed on Jaha.

Jaha met that stifling stare with a calm expression.

If Marsilia intended to kill him, that would be a relief.

Jaha exhaled slowly. His previously steady heartbeat was beginning to quicken, pounding stronger.

To hide his trembling hands, he clenched the feathered pen tightly.

Whenever fragments of old memories surfaced, his body reacted involuntarily.

But if Marsilia noticed this change, he would use that power again.

So, until this conversation was over, Jaha couldn’t afford to let it show.

He didn’t want to be dragged along by Marsilia’s whims any longer. He vowed not to let things go as the man wished.

But despite his resolve, his hands trembled even more violently.

With a small snap, the pen in his grip broke.

Through his hazy vision, he saw Gerald’s startled expression and Marsilia scratching his forehead in apparent frustration.

“Jaha.”

The energy in his lower abdomen began to surge.

He had known since the moment he woke up that his qi flow was in disarray.

He needed to regulate his energy circulation, but there was neither the time nor the space to do so.

Too many people were present in this room.

The idea of practicing in a place without a single trustworthy person felt instinctively wrong.

Wasn’t it ridiculous?

He thought he had no reason to keep living, yet he still avoided showing weakness in front of others.

“Jaha?”

“She was sold to a slave trader from the Western Continent…”

Along with Marsilia’s low voice, Mr. Song, who had been the housekeeper of the Yu family, could also be heard.

“Take a deep breath, Jaha.”

Marsilia had quietly moved beside Jaha and placed his hand on top of his clenched fist.

Jaha, whose senses were returning from the heat of the touch, realized that Marsilia was kneeling on one knee in front of him. As his eyes met Marsilia’s, the view blurred, but through it, he could distinctly see his deep green eyes.

“Slowly breathe. Slowly.”

Mr. Song had been left severely injured after his legs were severed and was rescued by beggars, barely clinging to life.

He had waited for Jaha to return and, after delivering his final words, quietly passed away.

“The head of the family… said to survive, to forget all the grievances… and to live.”

At that time, Jaha’s father, who hadn’t known his younger sibling had been taken, had only wished for Jaha to survive, and Mr. Song conveyed that his father had passed away with his eyes closed, never realizing his own last words would become a shackle for his son.

Jaha could not even bring himself to end his life because of those words.

“Jaha… It’s okay. Breathe slowly.”

Hot drops of water fell down. The heat Jaha was swallowing seemed to pour down from his cheeks and onto Marsilia’s hand like rain.

For a moment, surprise crossed Marsilia’s face, but Jaha violently shook his head, pushing away his hand.

It was too hot. Jaha, already struggling with the heat inside him, couldn’t handle the warmth of Marsilia’s touch.

As Jaha pulled away, gasping for air, Marsilia let out a small sigh.

“You need to understand me. You need to know that I didn’t want to do this either, Jaha.”

Just before Jaha’s vision turned red, a green light surrounded him. Feeling the cool breeze across his body, Jaha closed his eyes.

It was refreshing. The energy that had been running wild inside him calmed down. The coolness of the water on his cheeks gradually faded, and he felt his blocked veins finally begin to loosen.

Just as Jaha seemed about to collapse, Marsilia seemed to catch him, holding his body with something solid.

The shoulder that Jaha’s cheek touched, the arm and hand that wrapped around his back, were warm.

The breeze still felt cool, but only the places that touched him felt warm.

Perhaps due to the contrasting temperatures, Jaha felt Marsilia’s warmth more intensely. As he felt something inside him melt, he lost consciousness.

“Troublesome.”

Marsilia murmured as he adjusted Jaha’s limp body, still holding him in his arms.

What should I do with this? My judgment becomes clouded only when it comes to this man.

Why? I haven’t spent enough time for something to develop, nor has there been enough conversation for it to become anything significant.

If I were to kill him, it would have been better to do so before getting to know anything about this man. But why is it so difficult to make that decision?

Marsilia moved Jaha to the bed, then turned to Gerald, who seemed at a loss.

“Gerald Sonet. I suppose I have a request. Or maybe an assignment. A couple of them.”

“Please, Your Majesty.”

“As you can see, I can’t communicate with him, and the condition of this man isn’t exactly great. I feel like someone who can communicate should stay close to him. I would like you to stay in the palace for a while.”

Gerald’s face turned a bit awkward.

“But, Your Majesty, I must lead the guild. It would be difficult for me to be away for too long, but…”

“Is there no one in your family who can speak the Eastern Continent language?”

“It’s not that. But since I followed my father to the Eastern Continent often from a young age, I’m the most fluent.”

Marsilia smiled pleasantly.

“Well, that’s a relief. If you’re away, it doesn’t seem like it will cause any major issues in the guild.”

Gerald rubbed his temple, as though trying to relieve some tension.

It was the emperor’s order, but what could the heir of a lesser family do?

“Yes, then… Could you give me a day?”

“Sure. Take care of what needs to be done and come back.”

“Is there another request?”

Marsilia hesitated for a moment. Was this even necessary? His indecisiveness made it difficult to come to a conclusion.

When it came to this man, he felt like a fool. Watching Marsilia in deep thought, Gerald, not daring to ask again, waited quietly.

During the long silence as Marsilia pondered, Ashton refilled Gerald’s tea cup twice more.

“Is it possible to track someone’s whereabouts on the Eastern Continent?”

“Hmm… The Eastern Continent is quite vast, Your Majesty. If we know the person’s origin, we could narrow down the region and begin searching, but… it would take a lot of time, and we’d need to hire people, so the accuracy would be low.”

“Is that so?”

All Marsilia knew was Jaha’s name. If he asked about his origin, would Jaha even answer?

From today’s conversation, it seemed that Jaha was becoming even more guarded.

“Then we’ll wait on that. As you can see, we can’t communicate, so there’s a lot we don’t know. If possible, I’d like you to stay close to him and try to find out more. If we can communicate, he might open up, even a little.”

“Yes. I will do my best, Your Majesty.”

Marsilia licked his dry lips and asked his final question.

“And I want to learn the Eastern Continent language as well. Can you teach me? Looking things up in the dictionary isn’t really getting me anywhere.”

The dictionary was thick and the characters were complex, making it hard to even find a single word. He had been flipping through it during his free time, but he barely remembered ten words. Moreover, he couldn’t even tell if his pronunciation was correct. Without a reaction from the listener, he couldn’t even be sure if he was speaking properly.

Gerald quickly nodded his head, looking at Marsilia earnestly.

“It won’t be easy to learn.”

“I know.”

Marsilia crossed his arms and looked at Jaha, who was lying on the bed.

There was nothing easy about anything related to this man. He already knew that all too well.