AEPOB 21

Chapter 21

*Haah*, the friend I just made has a deeper story than I thought.

‘That I won’t have it taken away?’

What is it that he won’t have taken away?

Uncle Prive said that Kiki came here with his mother, who was covered in wounds all over her body.

Even though he was half-asleep, earlier he had desperately pushed his mother away, and now he says he won’t let anything be taken from him again.

Fine, let’s just say the last part was a nightmare.

Still, something doesn’t sit right with me.

‘What exactly is that thing that lingers around you, tormenting you?’

For now, I had absolutely no way of knowing.

After that, Kiki continued to groan in pain, so I called for his father.

His father gave me a roundabout yet firm dismissal, saying he would take care of things from now on, so it would be best for me to get some sleep.

When I insisted on continuing to help, I realized that the time I needed to sleep was quickly approaching.

My body was already crying out with fatigue everywhere.

I suppose I have no choice.

In the end, I lay down in bed for the sake of tomorrow.

This is why being a child is such a bother, tsk.

My biological clock was so regular that when it was time to sleep, my eyelids would inevitably droop.

‘I used to pull all-nighters quite often back then…’

With this body, there was no way.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and let out a big yawn.

Even if I was going to sleep, I needed to figure out the best approach to Kiki before I did.

Back when I knew nothing, I boldly asked if I could repay his kindness by his side.

But now, it was difficult.

I found myself being overly cautious, afraid that I might leave a deep scar on the child.

I’m not the kind of person who can soothe wounds. And I certainly don’t have the ability to make others happy.

Haah, what should I do?

My mind was troubled, but sleep kept faithfully creeping in. I slowly blinked my eyelids, thinking of Kiki.

Kiki, who had smiled shyly when I suggested we be friends.

His smile was so beautiful that it remained vividly in my memory.

‘I hope you can always smile like that.’

With that final thought, I helplessly fell into slumber.

On the quiet moonlit night, a strange sound echoed lowly.

“Hngh, ugh.”

Kiki, who had been sleeping soundly in bed, suddenly clutched his head with both hands. In an instant, his face contorted violently.

The pain that occasionally struck him had arrived once again.

The throbbing pain, as if his head was being ripped apart, never became familiar no matter how many times he experienced it.

It hurt so much that moans involuntarily tried to escape his lips.

Fearing that a loud sound might slip through the gaps, Kiki clenched his molars tightly.

On his forehead, which Holtz had been wiping all night to bring down his fever, thick veins bulged, and his relaxed muscles stiffened one by one.

At that moment, a familiar and bizarre voice brushed against Kiki’s ear.

―*Trying to suppress me with that weak little power of yours?*

It was dangerous to stay like this.

He didn’t know what that being might do to him.

Swallowing his ragged breaths, Kiki struggled to lift himself from the bed.

Then he moved his feet and opened the window.

A cold wind seeped gently into the room, filled with the scent of herbs. Soon, Kiki’s black hair was also tossed by the wind.

Kiki turned around to check for signs of people.

Holtz, who had fallen asleep leaning back in his chair, thankfully hadn’t woken up yet.

A flicker of relief passed over his face.

Though the heat still hadn’t subsided from his face, Kiki unhesitatingly threw himself out through the window.

There was no hesitation.

After getting outside, he gasped for breath and leaned against the building wall.

His intention was to distance himself from others, just in case he might make a mistake.

At the very least, he didn’t want to cause trouble for the people who had helped him.

A moment later, a metallic sound, as if scratching his ears roughly, reached him.

―*Shall I give you some friendly advice?*

Pressing his head, which felt like it was being stabbed with a knife, Kiki growled lowly.

“If you were friendly, you wouldn’t have tormented me all this time.”

―*If you use your power properly, I’ll lend you my strength too. In return, you just give me what I want. I told you. All you have to do is offer me blood.*

“I won’t do it again. I told you to find someone else!”

Kiki shook his head vehemently and shouted.

He tried his best to draw upon his strength and erase the malicious thing contained within him.

But no matter what he did, he couldn’t erase it.

His body, already weakened to the extreme, was barely able to suppress the power that kept trying to surge out of control.

“Haaah, haah.”

Kiki gasped roughly.

Soon, a cackling laughter that seemed to tear his ears surrounded him.

The other party taunted Kiki with a voice laced with amusement.

―*Don’t tell me the reason you’re not using your power is because of your mother’s affair?*

“……Shut your mouth.”

―*You wanted it too back then. You wanted to kill those people who were attacking you. Besides, I was kind enough to warn your mother. I told her to leave you alone for a while. It was your mother who defied that.*

“If it weren’t for you! My mother, my mother… would still be alive.”

Unable to contain his anger, Kiki clenched his fist tightly.

His nails dug into his palm, drawing blood. Dark red droplets fell and stained the grass.

―*If it weren’t for me, you and your mother would have died helplessly at the hands of others. You should know that the reason you’re even alive right now is because of the power you deny. If you hadn’t piqued my interest, your body would have already been…….*

*Creak.*

That was when it happened.

The firmly shut door of the log cabin opened cautiously.

Startled, Kiki immediately pressed his body against the wall. He forcibly calmed his rough breathing and carefully watched the crack in the door.

His heightened senses allowed him to pick up even the smallest sounds.

A small, slender shadow could be seen through the slightly opened door. There was only one person with that petite silhouette.

I didn’t want to show you this side of me this time.

Kiki bit his lip hard.

Had he become tainted by her warmth?

It hadn’t bothered him before, but now it did. He was worried that from tomorrow onwards, Abella would look at him with contempt.

She’d probably say she doesn’t want to be friends with me anymore.

But since he’d already been caught, it might be better to just show her openly.

If you’re going to let go of my hand, let go now.

Before I hold onto you tightly.

Pretending not to have noticed Abella, Kiki turned his head away. Nevertheless, he kept track of her with his sidelong gaze.

Soon, the interrupted conversation resumed.

The door, which had remained unclosed for a long time, showed Kiki the small shadow lingering before it.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

The weather was unusually chilly today.

Even though winter was still far off, the air hitting my cheeks was bitingly cold.

I didn’t want to get up, so I wrapped the blanket tightly around myself from all directions, but it was no use.

*Creak, creak.*

On top of that, the constant sound of the window rattling was oddly grating on my nerves.

“Ugh, what a pain.”

Eventually, I half-opened my eyes and barely managed to escape the blanket.

I decided to close the window, thinking I’d definitely catch a cold if I stayed like this.

It was still pitch black outside, so I couldn’t see well, but soon the moonlight emerging from behind the clouds gently illuminated the room.

Once I could discern objects to some degree, I moved my feet.

Rubbing my arms, which were covered in goosebumps, I approached the window.

And then, just as I was about to reach out my hand without thinking to close it.

‘Huh? It looks like someone’s out there?’

I wondered if a thief had broken in in the middle of the night.

For a moment, my heart pounded violently.

I hurriedly crouched down and hid my body. Then I cautiously poked my head out just a little.

At that moment, I heard a shout from outside.

“……I told you to find someone else!”

The voice was familiar. Of course, it was the voice I had heard until just before I fell asleep.

‘Wait, why is the kid who supposedly had a severe flu outside…?’

It seemed he had gone out without his father knowing.

Maybe he had a sleepwalking habit.

I clutched my heart, which was pounding for a different reason, and stepped outside.

If it was sleepwalking, approaching him recklessly could cause a dangerous situation.

I’ll have to be careful not to startle him.

I was so cautious that I immediately stood on my tiptoes as soon as I left the room.

I carefully descended the stairs and finally arrived in front of the entrance.

Beyond the door, I could hear Kiki’s voice.

He seemed to be highly agitated, his breathing becoming increasingly ragged as he spoke.

“If it weren’t for you! My mother, my mother… would still be alive.”

I froze in surprise.

Kiki’s mother had been killed by someone?

Kiki was talking to someone, venting his rage about his mother’s death without filter.

The problem was that the person he was talking to seemed to be an empty void.