Chapter 13

This…was a sense of fulfillment she hadn't felt in a very long time. All this while, she couldn't feel anything, so even if she herself knew it was empty, she couldn't feel or sense the void…

But after regaining what had been lost for a very long time, she felt like she was only just realizing how much she had missed this.

How had she lived without this all this while? This feeling of happiness and peace that made her almost burst into tears.

Where have you been all this time?

Do you know how much I looked for you…

I've been so lonely without you…

Yuri clasped her hand tightly, not wanting to lose the piece she had only just regained.

But the thing caught in her hand flinched wildly with a jolt. For some reason, as soon as it was caught in her grip, it quickly tried to leave.

Yuri was seized with anxiety and held it more desperately. And at the same time, she seemed to mumble a plea saying 'no, don't go…'

"Wait…"

A low, perplexed voice rang out over her head.

But it didn't connect to Yuri and just passed over her. In the meantime, the thing caught in Yuri's hand tried to escape from her again. This time, it made a stronger attempt than before.

But because Yuri was holding on even tighter than expected, her body was actually dragged along instead. And then, her body smacked into the table.

Crash!

Following that, a sharp sound pierced her eardrums. A cup had fallen from the table and broken. At that moment, Yuri came to her senses.

"Huh…?"

Her muddled red eyes slowly blinked a few times, like someone just waking up from a dream. Only then did the figure in her sight come into focus.

Right next to her was a pair of blue eyes, clear enough to be transparent. They were so close that she could even see the slight tremble of the dense gold eyelashes before her eyes. Right in front of her nose, was a face so handsome and beautiful, it made her wonder if it was sculpted by an artisan.

Yuri realized a little late that the owner of the face, was Lakis. Then suddenly feeling suspicious, she looked down and…

This time, she was smacked with an even bigger question.

Yuri was almost half on top of Lakis. He was lying down on the couch as before, while she had one knee on the couch and one hand at his side. And her other hand…was holding Lakis' hand for some incomprehensible reason.

Was this the result of trying to get closer and keep 'it' in her grasp one way or another just now?

They weren't even simply holding hands; their fingers were intertwined so tightly that it was painful. The palms were so firmly clasped together that it was hard to know whose heat was being transmitted to whom.

She had never had such intimate contact with anyone before, so she felt strange in that moment.

Yuri looked up again and locked eyes with the person in front of her. Lakis seemed taken aback by this sudden situation as well. His restless blue eyes were shaking slightly before her own. Even his golden eyelashes quivered, like a butterfly flapping its wings.

The rims of Lakis' eyes were slightly red as he stared straight at her. No matter what he was like inside, externally, he looked so innocent that she felt like she was harassing an naïve young man.

Seeing that sight sobered her up in an instant.

"Uh…sorry."

Yuri reflexively apologized. She couldn't understand how this situation came about. She was pretty sure she was nursing Lakis last night then fell asleep at some point…

And then she opened her eyes because she felt like someone was touching her head.

So why was she currently holding hands with this guy like this?

However, what she couldn't understand even more was why she didn't want to separate from Lakis under these circumstances. In her mind, she told herself she had to move away from Lakis right away.

Squueeze.

But instead of standing up, Yuri held the hand in her grasp even tighter. She couldn't even understand her own actions. Maybe the same was true for Lakis, for his golden lashes fluttered even more. The confusion the other felt was fully conveyed through their tightly clasped hands. The ecstatic sensation was still seeping through the skin pressed against hers, making her a little dazed.

"…hand."

A low, raspy voice arrived at Yuri's ears. The injury on his neck hadn't recovered so he spoke slowly, his words clipped after every syllable.

"I'd prefer…if you let go."

But the moment Yuri heard that slightly rough, subdued voice, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Something akin to an enchanting pheromone flowed from Lakis, coiling around her neck and crawling down her spine.

Yuri flinched at the unfamiliar sensation flitting across her spine and pulled away from Lakis in escape.

The moment their skin separated as their entangled fingers came loose, the sense of fullness disappeared as well.

Yuri's face gradually returned to its usual state of dry indifference. Inversely, the amount of questions in her head began to grow. While Yuri was busy tongue-tied, Lakis lifted his hand to hold his neck. It seemed his throat had began to hurt again after he spoke to her.

However, the truth was different from what Yuri thought.

'This f*cking bug…the hell did you do just now?'

Lakis intoned fiercely, grinding his teeth.

Then a flustered voice rang out in his head, as if it had suddenly come to its senses.

—No, I…I don't know either! Why did I do that just now?

Lakis' blue eyes flashed chaotically, under the slight cover of his hair.

—I just felt so strange! That woman's hand, for some reason, it was so… I don't know how to explain it but anyway, it was strange so…

The voice continued to babble away erratically.

The reason they were like this was because of what happened a little while ago. The crazy bug used its ability as it wished without Lakis' permission. It was when Lakis told the woman in front of him to let go of his hand already.

At that moment, Lakis noticed that his voice was loaded with power when he had had no say in it. One of the powers Lakis gained from the ruins was the ability to charm people and manipulate them as he wished. However, this power had a very fatal side effect, so he despised it for a very long time now. But now this damn parasite…

Of course, Yuri was understandably unaware of this personal sentiment of his.

Once again, Lakis swore at the voice in his head then he dragged himself to sit upright. But judging from the faint grimace on his face, he was overdoing it by moving his body like that so quickly. At some point, the emotional fluctuations that were visible on his face a little while ago were completely gone. But there was still a reddish tint to his ear, exposed by his disheveled hair.

A sudden realization flashed through Yuri's mind.

'Ah, maybe he's angry because I clung to him all of a sudden.'

Well, he had every right to be.

It was no different from having a strange woman jump him all of a sudden and on top of that, he wasn't in a good condition… Not only that, she even rubbed his hand and grabbed it desperately.

'Dammit.'

A fresh reminder about she had done made her feel like it was a complete disaster. Even if she were to became one of the numerous extras beheaded by the great sub-villain right now, she felt like she'd understand.

Yuri apologized once again because she was certainly at fault for the incident some moments ago.

"Sorry…for the mistake I made while I was half-asleep just now. It was not intentional. It must have been unpleasant for you, I'm sorry."

She removed her knee from the couch, and took a couple steps back, creating a reasonable distance from Lakis. The next moment, they were looking straight at each other.

"It's o…"

Lakis opened his mouth then suddenly paused. After which, he stretched out his hand to the table next to him and picked up the pen and paper on it.

'Did I have something like that in my house?'

A question crossed Yuri's mind. She guessed he probably found it stuffed somewhere near the couch.

Lakis scribbled something on the paper.

[It's okay.]

That was the phrase written on the paper he showed her after a while. And after that, was traces of 'it was by no means unpleasant' being written but erased.

Yuri was a little surprised. The sub-villain's reaction was much gentler than she expected. But of course, the slightly reddish tint to his ears that were yet to completely disappear, told Yuri of his anger.

Lakis lowered his head again and wrote something.

[Sorry for not giving my greetings earlier. I cannot go to the clinic due to certain circumstances, and I appreciate your help.]

Seeing as he was communicating by writing, there was no doubt he had forced himself to speak because of the odd situation earlier.

Lakis did not give any other explanation or make up lies about his situation. That aspect was exactly like the Lakis Avalon that Yuri knew from the novel.