IYAMD: Episode 17

Marsilia, who had briefly fallen into a half-asleep state, headed to Jaha’s room before dawn.

He remembered reviving him, but he wanted to see for himself that he was truly breathing properly.

But what was this?

When the attendant waiting at the door opened it, what greeted Marsilia was a wide-open window.

The bed where Jaha should have been lying bore only the traces of someone having been there.

“Ha!”

Marsilia let out a laugh. The heat rushing to his head was so intense that it almost felt unfamiliar.

He approached the open window and looked outside, where the moon was still bright. Then, he infused divine power into the hand gripping the window frame.

“Your Majesty!”

Ashton rushed forward to stop him, but Marsilia did not halt.

A green light radiated from his hand in a circular pattern. Those exposed to the light covering the palace suffered not even the smallest scratch, and even long-healed scars disappeared.

The light stretched upward, almost reaching the highest spire, before expanding rapidly beyond the palace.

This ability, known as the “Forest of Healing,” was the ultimate healing power Marsilia wielded.

It was a skill that enveloped all allies on the battlefield during large-scale combat. It functioned by creating pillars of light scattered throughout the field, from which divine power spread outward in waves.

As the pillars grew, pale green light scattered like falling leaves, leading those who witnessed it to call it the “Forest of Healing.”

By using divine power, he could vaguely sense the wavelengths of those within its range. He intended to use this to locate Jaha, as Jaha’s energy was distinctly different from that of those trained in aura. Finding him wouldn’t be too difficult.

And if the divine power exposure made Jaha collapse and fall into a deep sleep, it would make retrieving him all the easier.

Ignoring the headache that felt like his skull was splitting apart, Marsilia wiped away the liquid trailing down his chin with the back of his hand.

Once a nosebleed started, it didn’t stop easily. The strain was even making his heart throb with a dull ache. However, instead of lessening his divine power, Marsilia spread it even wider.

He had expected to find Jaha quickly due to his distinct energy, but it seemed he had gotten much farther than anticipated. Jaha’s presence was nowhere to be found within the palace.

Marsilia extended his power beyond the palace, covering the entire capital, and soon detected Jaha’s presence slipping away at the very edge. He immediately concentrated his divine power in that direction.

Even as his breathing became labored multiple times, Marsilia ignored Ashton’s restless fidgeting beside him. Right now, he only wanted to capture Jaha.

Thus, following the direction of his movement, Marsilia spread divine power over the vast forest behind the imperial palace.

After some time, the fast-moving presence suddenly disappeared. Marsilia gauged its last known location, then withdrew his power. He then leaped from the window and ran toward the forest.

Panting heavily, Marsilia arrived at the point where Jaha’s energy had vanished.

In the dim forest, the white tunic Jaha wore stood out like a lantern. Marsilia gazed down at the man, who had collapsed beneath a tree as if he had fallen from it.

Sweat trickled down his temple. Marsilia lifted an arm and wiped it away absently. Unlike himself, drenched from running all this way, the sleeping man had neither sweat nor even a trace of nighttime dew on him.

His overuse of power had left his nose still bleeding profusely. Marsilia wiped it away with his sleeve, finally forcing his breath to steady.

After taking his time with deep breaths, the headache gradually dulled. Only when his breathing returned to normal did Marsilia, his steps still unsteady, approach Jaha.

Jaha’s white tunic reached the middle of his thighs. The man, who had been confined to bed all this time, wore nothing on his legs, merely curling up as he breathed softly in sleep.

The attendants must have wiped his blood and changed his clothes. There wasn’t a single trace of blood on him. He should have smelled of it, having bled from his nose, but strangely, he seemed to give off a pleasant scent instead.

Looking at the peacefully sleeping Jaha, Marsilia felt a surge of anger boil within him.

He hadn’t expected him to run. Had he let his guard down just because he had stayed quiet, knowing he would die? Had he assumed that because he obediently ate the food given to him, he wouldn’t try to escape?

Why had he decided to flee only now? There had been plenty of chances before.

Was it because Marsilia had revived him when he wished to die? Had he now realized he wouldn’t be allowed to die, so he had decided to run away instead?

Marsilia clenched his fists without touching Jaha. If he laid a hand on him now, he might want to kill him. He slowly pressed down the fury he couldn’t unleash upon him.

No matter how many times you die, I will bring you back. No matter how many times you flee, I will find you again. So, do as you wish. Let’s see who wins in the end.

Only then did Marsilia reach out and place his hand on the sleeping man’s cheek.

Beneath his lukewarm skin, life pulsed—this time.

….

Jaha quietly blinked as he stared at the ceiling of the bed he had grown familiar with over the past few days. Had he really run away without any plan at all?

He had made it onto the palace roof and fled in the opposite direction of the city. That part had gone well. The problem was that he hadn’t expected that mad emperor to go to such lengths.

As Jaha ran through the dark forest, he had to pick up speed as if being chased by the green light closing in from behind. His body had mostly recovered, but he had gone too long without food, and his vital energy was nearly depleted.

On top of that, he hadn’t been able to regulate his energy since suffering from qi deviation. His inner energy was unstable, which had prevented him from moving any faster—a fatal mistake.

If things had been as they were before, he would have easily shaken off such a pursuit.

The last thing he remembered was falling asleep, surrounded by that man’s energy in the forest.

Turning his head while still lying down, Jaha saw that Gerald was sitting in the spot where Marsilia usually was. Gerald, who had been reading a book, lifted his gaze as if sensing Jaha’s eyes on him.

“You’re awake? We were worried since you were asleep for so long.”

‘We?’

Jaha vaguely recalled that whenever Marsilia used his power, he usually woke up within half a day or a full day at most. This time, however, it seemed that man had overexerted himself. Judging by how Jaha’s agitated energy had settled down in the meantime, Marsilia must have truly pushed himself too far.

Jaha raised his hand to sweep his hair back, but at the sound of clinking metal, he paused and looked at his wrist. A heavy shackle was fastened around it, with a chain extending from it to somewhere beneath the bed.

The moment he froze, Gerald closed his book and approached the bed.

“…I’m sorry. His Majesty… wished to restrain you for a while.”

Of course.

Since he was someone important to the emperor, there was only one person who would dare do something like this to him.

But did that man really think he could hold him back with something so trivial?

Jaha pulled at the chain, making it rattle. It wasn’t very thick; he was certain he could cut through it easily with sword aura.

Noticing him inspecting the chain, Gerald let out an awkward laugh.

“His Majesty placed a curse on it. There wasn’t time to call a sorcerer, so… he inscribed the spell himself. You won’t be able to break it easily.”

Jaha looked up at him, and Gerald let out a small sigh.

“You may not know this, Jaha-nim, but His Majesty’s divine power and the black magic of sorcerers are completely opposed to each other.”

Meeting Jaha’s gaze, Gerald’s expression turned somewhat sorrowful.

“Even so, he went so far as to personally engrave the spell. That’s how furious he is. So please, Jaha-nim… could you at least stay put for a while?”

As Gerald spoke, Jaha tried gathering his inner energy. His core was full, but his energy wouldn’t circulate through his body. It was as if the flow had been entirely severed—he couldn’t direct it anywhere.

Was this curse designed to restrict qi?

After several more failed attempts, Jaha let out a sigh. That man only intended to keep him tied down, but unexpectedly, it also seemed to be preventing another qi deviation.

Feeling strangely hollow, Jaha stared at the shackle on his wrist.

It felt like he had regressed into a powerless child, back before he had learned to wield inner energy. Not only could he no longer manifest sword aura, but he wouldn’t even be able to use light footwork.

With his strength drained, his mind instead grew unnervingly calm. If he couldn’t escape, what should he do?

He couldn’t even take his own life.

His father’s last words had been for him to survive no matter what.

That was why, after avenging his younger sibling, he had felt relieved when he was finally captured.

Having massacred an entire noble family, he was certain he wouldn’t be able to survive. He had even felt at ease about it.

Even as he was tortured and interrogated for his crimes, all he had wished for was for this wretched life to end as quickly as possible. He had waited eagerly for the day it would all be over.

But of all things, why did he have to become the consort of the Western Continent’s emperor?

How could life be this cruel?

There was an old saying: when fate is against you, even falling backward will break your nose. In his case, it felt like he had fallen straight into a pile of filth.

Marsilia didn’t seem to have any intention of killing him. In fact, if Jaha said he wanted to die, that man would probably do whatever it took to keep him alive.

Jaha didn’t know what Marsilia was thinking, but that’s how it seemed to him.

When he first saw the assassin, Jaha had felt that maybe his luck wasn’t all bad after all.

He had even felt relieved.

So, he had offered his neck to the assassin’s blade without any resistance.

As he closed his eyes, what had he been thinking?

Had he been at peace, thinking that it was finally over?

Jaha had been certain that he had died.

No—he had died.

He had met his end fully aware that there was no way to survive.

Then why was he still alive?

There was only one reason.

Marsilia’s power—his so-called divine power.

For someone like Jaha, who had chosen a passive form of suicide, Marsilia was a catastrophe.

Not only had he been forced to keep living, but he had even been brought back from death.

That wasn’t something an ordinary human should be capable of.

All Jaha had ever wished for was a peaceful death.

Yet that man had even robbed him of his final rest.

…This was too much.