Mischievous Humans (1)
“What the….”
Coco made a dismayed expression.
Temarr’s body, who had been looking at Ren while standing close, also stiffened.
“No, well, my body is fi—”
“Shut…! Be quiet, you!”
Barely swallowing the words “shut up,” Coco covered Ren’s mouth.
Ren rolled his eyes uneasily.
Kirki bowed his head deeply as if choosing his words, and Coco felt like all the blood in her body was draining away with a hiss. Something’s wrong, isn’t it? Because he has a chronic illness, something went wrong from that shock earlier after all……? Coco held her staggering body from dizziness together with mental strength and stared at Ren’s face, which seemed fine.
Is only the outside okay?!
Then what about that Hero?!
Coco’s next gaze turned to Temarr.
That human who seemed somehow broken as a human.
If that human who seemed broken somewhere, who seemed to respond only to precise commands, realized that Ren’s life wasn’t safe… she didn’t even want to imagine what would happen next.
Coco shook off her thoughts and watched Kirki’s mouth.
Please. Tell me there’s hope for treatment!
His thin lips drew a smile that didn’t match the situation and continued speaking.
Even the maids who had been quietly putting things away and carrying hot water and medicine held their breath at this moment.
“He’s completely fine! Hahahaha! Just who is this Kirki?! The High Priest-nim’s chief disciple who receives all of his love… uwaaak! Coco-nim, I, I was wrooong!”
“You crazy bastard!! Come here!?”
“Haah… Princess-nim, you’ll get hurt. Please don’t run.”
“……”
“……”
“Come here!? Catch that bastard!!”
“Kyaaak.”
“Priest-nim, don’t run!”
The heavy and serious atmosphere shattered completely and instantly became chaos.
Enraged, Coco waved her hands and ran around trying to catch Kirki, and Kirki frivolously enjoyed playing tag with Coco while hiding behind maids this way and that. Even while rubbing his arm that hurt from being hit, Kirki’s face was full of a mischievous smile.
Seton tried to stop Coco but was no match, and the maids broke out in cold sweat because of the high priest-nim hiding behind them. The cheeks of the innocent maids who had no occasion to make contact with men flushed bright red.
Ren and Temarr looked at them with dumbfounded expressions. Finally, when Ren burst into clear laughter, only then did Coco stop trying to catch Kirki. Because his clear laughter seemed exactly like it was announcing the end of the earlier incident.
“The physician-nim is fine too! He’ll wake up tomorrow!”
With a knock, the door opened and the physician, changed into clean clothes, was brought in unconscious on a stretcher.
“Good work.”
Coco, who had been huffing and chasing Kirki, said primly.
Temarr approached Ren closely.
His face was excessively peaceful, nowhere to be seen was the screaming face from earlier. Coco shook her head watching Temarr who had changed his expression. How can he be so different? Was I dreaming earlier?
“Are you okay?”
It was an affection that melted away all resentment.
Ren’s eyes instantly reddened.
‘Ah, really. I don’t want to cry in front of hyung.’
His heart stung as if his soft heart had been pricked with a needle. Of course he’d thought hyung would return safely. Because he’s an undefeated Hero. Naturally, he’d thought he would rescue everyone.
Except for the appearance of being covered in dust, the party was all safe.
Even Temarr who had been covered in blood—though his black clothes had turned darker from absorbing a lot of blood—now seemed to have the bleeding from his wounds stopped.
To the point where the events in that cavity felt like a dream.
Ah, if it was a dream, it felt like he’d just had one. What was it……? Rather than searching his memory, Ren stared into Temarr’s eyes.
“Are you, ahem, okay, hyung?”
“I’m okay.”
Ren and Temarr looked at each other for quite a while.
“Huhu. This is all thanks to me.”
“Shut, up!”
Coco snapped at Kirki who was butting in tactlessly.
“Hing! Princess-nim only hates me!”
When her purple eyes flashed brightly, only then did Kirki gasp and shut his mouth.
“Hero-nim, shall I take a look at you too? The smell of blood is absolutely resonating!”
“I’m fine.”
Temarr politely declined. His eyes were examining Ren. Ren rolled his eyes and avoided Temarr’s gaze while enjoying the fluttering feeling. Hyung is looking at me for this long! He wanted to say something more but couldn’t think of anything. No, I don’t know what to say!!
Ah, right! I should thank Coco!
“Coco.”
“What.”
At Ren’s sudden call, Coco answered curtly. Coco didn’t look at Ren. She avoided his gaze as if embarrassed, pretending to hit Kirki again for no reason. Knowing this, Kirki giggled and teased Coco, going “Huh~? Why are you looking at me?? I’m not that person?!” Since Ren was just as embarrassed, he also didn’t particularly look at Coco.
While intertwining his fingers,
“Thank you.”
was all he barely managed to say.
“For rescuing everyone, tha—”
Ren’s words stopped.
His eyes that began to slowly expand started to gradually survey the surroundings again.
The maids were still carrying hot water, and the floor was full of bloodstains that hadn’t been wiped away yet and cloth dyed red. The blood that was also abundantly smeared on the maids’ aprons. That blood wasn’t Temarr’s.
The physician who was making groaning sounds going “uuuueoh” seemed to be entrusting his body to a small bed in the corner and dreaming, and Temarr hyung was in front of his eyes. The gray-haired man ‘Hugh’ was talking with a considerably similar man called Seton.
Del Belkerman’s severed head was stuck in the corner of the wall as if discarded. Coco was stepping on Kirki’s foot next to him.
One person was missing.
“Ren?”
Princess Coco, who had stopped stepping on Kirki’s foot, called to Ren who had frozen while speaking as if puzzled.
Unlike earlier when he’d been full of life, Ren’s face was deathly pale.
“What, are you sick somewhere?!”
“Ren.”
Temarr firmly grabbed Ren’s hand.
‘No. I must have missed it.’
Ren slowly scanned the faces of everyone in the room.
In the room where silence had descended, Ren’s labored breathing sounded precarious.
“What’s wrong? Why are you like this!”
Anxiety appeared on Temarr’s face, who had thought the nightmare was over. Temarr glared at Kirki as if to kill him. His trembling muscles swelled as if ready to burst with energy at any moment. Seton drew his sword and stood as if protecting Coco, and Coco pushed aside that Seton and tried to approach Ren.
“Ren! What’s wrong! Kirki! Why is he suddenly like this?!”
She could feel Ren’s anxiously fluctuating heart as if she could grasp it in her hand.
“Ru, Ruman….”
Ren’s eyes shook uneasily.
“Where is Ruman, where is he…?”
His lips that trembled pitifully sought Ruman.
“Ah…!”
Thump! His heart that had fallen all the way to his toes beat again sluggishly after a few seconds. His tense body felt turmoil as if his entire body was being shaken by the sound of his heartbeat.
Only then, while gasping for breath, did they recall that they had completely forgotten about Hero Ruman, who had safely brought Ren here and did his best to rescue Temarr’s party.
“Kirki.”
Coco called Kirki with a stern face.
With wounds of that degree, Kirki would have surely treated him. Above all, wasn’t he a Hero? There’s no way he’d die easily. Even hyung is fine like this.
“Ruman? You mean the blond-haired handsome man?”
At his light tone, Coco nodded.
“That’s right! That man! Where is he now?? Is he okay?”
Desperation could be glimpsed from Ren’s hands that gripped the blanket as if tearing it until his fingers would break.
“Mm….”
However, as if betraying Ren’s expectations, only an ambiguous groan came from Kirki’s mouth.
“If you joke around this time too, know that I’ll contact the temple and have you sent there.”
Even at Princess Coco’s deadly threat, Kirki’s face that was crumpled as if troubled didn’t know how to smooth out.
“The blond-haired handsome man is….”
Kirki swallowed his following words and bowed his head.
His hair that fell smoothly covered Kirki’s face.
What could that gesture mean? Ren didn’t want to think about it, but contrary to such feelings, tears fell pitter-patter. His thick eyelashes quickly became soaked, and seeing his face reddening without being able to let out even a single moan along with tears hanging pitifully, the atmosphere instantly froze.
Ren looked like he’d breathe his last.
They wanted to comfort him but couldn’t step forward. If they said anything to Ren who looked precarious, he seemed like he’d collapse completely. Coco only glared at the innocent Kirki with stern eyes. However, Kirki was still bowing his head. His eyes couldn’t be seen because of his hair.
“Ren.”
Temarr carefully gripped Ren’s shoulder.
His blank gaze swept through the air.
