Chapter 23: It's not what it looks like.

Kai regained his composure to not give himself away.

He blinked confusedly at the man.

"What are you going to do to me ? Who are you ?"

He questioned the other person persistently, like he had no idea about who the other person was.

Raphael tilted his head like a curious puppy. His sharp and handsome features were beautiful and exquisite like a piece of art.

His dark black hair that went up to the middle of his back swayed and fell onto the lying body on the bed. His ruby red eyes gleamed in the darkness like a treasure that was polished over and over again.

"Do you really not remember me ?"

He asked with a hint of sadness underneath his voice and his gaze was full of sorrow as he looked at Kai.

"I don't remember you much less know you."

Kai denied like a pro scammer.

Raphael quietly stared at him for a moment. A bright smile crossed his face so suddenly that Kai was startled.

"It's alright. We can always get to know each other from now on."

Raphael said it so naturally that if Kai didn't know any better, he would have probably believed he was on a blind date.

"But I don't want to know you at all."

He said bluntly with a deadpan expression.

"Pfft…"

Raphael tried to muffle his laughter at the comical expression on Kai's face.

His shoulders were shaking and his laughter was genuinely happy tinged with a bit of amusement. 

'What are you laughing at ? Weirdo !'

Kai's face contorted in annoyance.

"Don't be like that. I'll stop teasing you. So don't be angry."

Raphael tried to comfort him as he gently pats Kai on his head.

The hand that was patting his head started to card his fingers softly through the strands of Kai's hair. Raphael slowly slid the hand from his head to his shoulders.

He twirled a strand of hair he picked up from the shoulders between his bony white fingers.

In spite of Raphael being a stranger, Kai didn't feel uncomfortable when he touched him. His heart wasn't uncomfortable.

Quite the contrary, he felt pleasant and an indescribable feeling surged in his heart. His entire body felt like it was filled to the brim with this inexplicable emotion and it was ready burst out of him.

More than anything what Kai couldn't shake off was the familiarity behind Raphael's actions, like he has done this many times before.

Kai parted his lips but only to be interrupted by a coughing fit.

"Ah ! Let me get you some water."

His joyful expression turned into a worried frown.

Instead of standing up and moving away to get water, he simply raised his hand and curled his fingers inward.

Ssss.

A familiar sound of something dragging across the surface reached Kai's ears and the figure of a large snake carrying a glass water entered his field of vision.

He started to panic. He struggled to sit up on the bed and only managed to fall back down on to the bed.

Distressed at the sight of Kai, Raphael tried to coax him.

"Don't be afraid. They won't hurt you anymore. I am sorry that I let them hurt you. I have instructed them to not to do again."

He coaxed Kai with genuine emotions but Kai's attention was pinned to one thing he said.

Raphael grabbed the glass of water from the snake and raised it to his lips, smiling softly at him.

'It's like a gentle lover coaxing a pampered wife.'

Kai was startled at his own thoughts.

'What nonsense am I thinking of. What I should be worried about is getting my strength back.'

He shook his head and focused back at Raphael.

"I'll drink it myself."

He said as he managed to recover some of his energy.

"Okay."

Reluctant though Raphael was, he still gave the glass to Kai and he slowly sipped from it.

Kai tried to discretely sneak a peek at the serpent which looked like a cobra. But he wasn't discrete enough and got noticed by Raphael.

"If you are afraid, I can tell them to never appear before y-"

Raphael tried to reassure Kai, only for him to be interrupted.

"I am not afraid."

He hastily denied Raphael's claim.

Raphael paused and merely continued to stare at him.

'So cute. I want to pinch his cheeks.'

His mind was in a daze when he saw Kai hastily deny that he was afraid.

Kai bit his lips as he blushed from the tips of his ears to his neck. He cleared his throat and acted as nonchalantly as possible.

Kai stared at Raphael with his eyes shining. It was like 'I have questions' was written on his forehead.

"You can ask if you have questions."

Raphael added after letting out a fond and inscrutable laugh.

"What did you do to me ? Why can't I use my mana ?"

Kai wasn't sure if Raphael knew about his other powers. So he only asked about mana being absorbed.

"It's my attribute."

Raphael succinctly replied.

"My attribute allows me to communicate and control animals. Those serpents were raised by me since they were young. As my ability developed, the abilities I could display using the animals under my control also improved."

He further elaborated with a serious tone.

The afterglow of the moonlight filtering through the windows highlighted his deep eyes that were riddled with complex emotions as he was reminiscing about the past.

His solemn voice echoed in the night, the hollowness and sorrow of the tone unmistakable. He lowered his gaze and the darkness of his thoughts dulled the glow of his ruby red eyes.

"People were scared of me since I was young. The most common attributes are the four elements of nature but I was born with a rare attribute. Instead of being admired, I was feared and assaulted everywhere I went beca-"

"Because animals are everywhere."

Kai finished for him.

He didn't know why he interrupted him. He didn't know why he wanted Raphael to look at him with affection written all over his face, instead of the defeat that was there before.

He only knew that he wasn't comfortable with such a sad expression on his face, that created ripples within his heart.

Raphael stared at him, surprised at the interruption. He unabashedly continued to stare at him, like a puzzle he couldn't figure out.

Then a smile brimming with amusement and exasperation curved around those lips. It's like he saw through his clumsy attempt to distract him.

He wanted that smile coloured with affection to not be directed at him. So he tried to get rid of it the best way he could.

By asking questions.

"So you can absorb other people's mana through them ? Is that what happened to me ? Can you releasee what you absorbed then ?"

A plethora of questions left his lips because he couldn't bear to face that smile.

He licked his lips to mask his nervousness while waiting for Raphael to answer his questions, afraid that he would see through this too.

"Yeah, the serpents absorbed your mana and it depleted your physical strength too. I am sorry about that."

He answered his with an apologetic note mingling with his voice.

"The moment I absorb them, they are turned into mana and sink further into my body or I release them because they are too much for me to handle. The number of times that I haven't been able to handle them were rare. Unfortunately, yours was a rare chance that I wasn't able to handle them."

He explained with a serious tone but still wasn't able to mask the distress of having absorbed Kai's powers.

Kai closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"It's alright."

It wasn't alright, but there wasn't anything he could do, other than replenish his energy naturally.

Having absorbed the power that was nestled in the dungeon, his capacity to absorb any type of power also increased.

"I'll protect you from now on whether you are strong or not."

It felt like a promise that he would keep until the end of time. Kai felt suffocated at the thought.

He looked at Raphael when he felt a warmth on his cheek. A pale white and warm knuckled stroked Kai's cheek adoringly.

He was taken aback but what was more surprising was that he didn't feel uncomfortable at a stranger touching him like this. He was starting to feel unsettled at the abnormal state of his body.

Kai could guess why he didn't feel unnerved at Raphael's actions.

Those dreams. What if they are not dreams but memories ? What if that Kai was familiar with Raphael and his body is unconsciously reacting to him like that due to those memories ?

But that would mean the original Kai once lived his life according to the plot of the story and regressed in time.

Then Kim Su-bin transmigrated into original Kai's body after that. It was a no brainer for him to figure it out. He always had his suspicions.

He let out a sigh and tried to lift the glass of water with his weakened limb.

It got him a shirt splashed wet with water, sticking to his body. Raphael took the glass from his hand and placed it over the bedside table.

"I'll get that off of you."

He said that clearly aware that Kai had no strength to even unbutton his shirt now.

It was embarrassing but it was better than wearing something wet, sticking to his body.

Raphael was halfway at unbuttoning his shirt when a commotion was heard right outside the room they were in. They both turned towards the door.

It all happened in a split second. The door of the room was flung open forcibly and a handful of people came in. The first imperial prince was the one who was at the forefront.

The lamps powered by mana stones were turned on and he surveyed the room. His face distorted upon seeing what's happening inside the room.

Kai could imagine what he was imagining at the scene he walked into.

Kai lying weakly and feebly on a bed, a strange man undressing him and a dark room.

Kai could imagine the misunderstanding generating in their minds. If that all wasn't enough, Raphael had to go and utter those words.

"It's not what it looks like."

Raphael said raising his hands in a surrendering gesture and Kai had this urge to facepalm so bad, his persona be damned.