TSMFTDG 28

CHAPTER 28 

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a shabby ceiling. I stared at it for a moment, wondering if it would start leaking when it rains, then slowly turned my head to the left.

“……”

There, slumped in a chair beside the bed, was Lian—leaning back, asleep.

He stayed up watching over me.

— Then let me protect you too.

The memory of last night flashed before me, and a faint smile tugged at my lips. I reached out and lightly tapped the back of his hand.

Lian slowly opened his eyes. It didn’t take long before his red pupils focused completely on me.

“How’s your body?”

“Not bad. My back hurts a little, though.”

I answered while wincing and pushing myself up. The poisoning was one thing, but the wound on my back wasn’t pleasant.

“If you didn’t wake up today, I was planning to drag you back to the castle—by force if necessary.”

“When did you start caring so much about my well-being?”

He let out a short sigh at my teasing tone and replied as if it were the most obvious thing.

“Wouldn’t it be weirder if I didn’t care at this point?”

“……”

Hearing that made me realize just how close we’ve become. When we first met, I could never have imagined him saying something like that.

Emotion swelled in my chest. Then he brought over a basin of water, a thin cloth, bandages, and medicine.

“Turn around and undress.”

Anyone could tell he meant to treat my back… but I suddenly felt like teasing him. I turned my back to him with a suppressed laugh.

I brushed my long hair forward and spoke.

“My back hurts, I can’t take it off myself. You do it.”

“……”

“I’m serious. Do I look like the kind of person who’d lie about something like this?”

Honestly, I could’ve taken it off easily. My conscience clearly belongs in a landfill. But when else would I get to mess with him like this?

He hesitated briefly. …Wait. What if he tells me to do it myself?

“If you don’t want to, I can jus—”

“Don’t move. The wound might split.”

I really expected him to refuse. But instead, he stepped behind me and carefully unbuttoned my top.

Click. Click.

Each button made a tiny sound as it came undone. Every time the fabric brushed against my wound, my body flinched.

“……”

What was this feeling?

My heart raced, a strange fluttering sensation blooming in my chest. I just hoped he couldn’t hear it.

When he finished, he let out a quiet breath at the sight of the wound. Then he dampened the cloth and gently cleaned around it.

“…It hurts.”

“That’s what happens when you throw yourself into attacks without thinking.”

“So you’re calling me stupid.”

“That’s your assumption.”

His hands were careful, but his words jabbed. Guess he still held a grudge.

Was he actually mad…? I shifted my gaze toward the window.

The sun had already set; moonlight poured into the room.

“You know there was no other way.”

If I had used my powers, people would’ve died. Lian knew that—so he couldn’t scold me further.

“It’s fine. Even if I get hurt… I have you to treat me.”

“You didn’t say you’d avoid getting hurt.”

I laughed faintly.

“We were prepared from the start, weren’t we? You and I.”

Turning every Demon King against us without a scratch would be too arrogant.

He didn’t respond. He simply applied medicine, wrapped the bandages, then buttoned my shirt again.

“It’ll be a while before sunrise. Sleep more.”

“…I’m not sleepy.”

I turned to face him, but he gently touched my forehead.

I’m sure my body temperature is lower than his… yet his hand felt cool.

“You have a fever.”

“…Didn’t notice.”

Now that he mentioned it, I did feel dizzy. My breathing was slightly unsteady—the poison must not be completely gone yet.

With a sigh, he guided me back onto the bed—careful not to press on the wound—and had me lie on my side.

“…This isn’t so bad. Getting hurt.”

Because seeing him fuss over me like this… wasn’t bad at all.

“If you need anything, call me.”

“Stay. I won’t sleep unless you’re here.”

He paused mid-step, then returned and sat back down in the chair. I grasped his sleeve, smiling.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but as soon as I lay down, drowsiness washed over me. My body was still exhausted from fighting off the poison.

My eyes began to close, and he pulled the blanket over me.

Half asleep, I murmured:

“As long as I have you… I’m fine.”

I vaguely heard him say something back, but I slipped into sleep before it reached me.

❖ ❖ ❖

Lian couldn’t bring himself to leave her side. He stared at her hand gripping his sleeve.

When she sleeps… she seems like just a normal human.

Sometimes he forgot she was a Demon King. She cried, laughed, felt pain—everything about her was too human.

Is it because she used to be one?

Everyone painted her as evil. Even he had seen her only as a target to kill.

Someone to be eliminated.

But now… she seemed kinder than most humans.

“Has the Demon King rubbed off on me or something.”

He muttered, and she flinched in her sleep. He gently patted the blanket to calm her.

Right before Ruhel was swept away by the waves, Shaila whispered something only he could hear:

—Don’t let her take a life. Especially a human one.

Ever since arriving here, he had wondered why Shaila said that.

Come to think of it… I’ve never actually seen her kill anyone.

Ask anyone—they’d all answer the same. Since becoming Demon King, Ruhel had never taken a life.

A Demon King with a pure soul, untainted by blood.

Maybe that’s why he was falling for her—without even realizing.

He told himself it was just curiosity.

❖ ❖ ❖

SYSTEM: Hidden Quest completed — “Deliver the letter addressed ‘To the unnamed you.’”

I frowned at the giant system window greeting me the moment I woke up.

“What the hell…?”

I haven’t given the letter to anyone.

Still groggy, I sat up and checked inside my clothes.

Nothing.

Realization hit me.

“No way… I dropped it back then?”

When Shaila’s wave swept me away, maybe the letter was lost.

So Shaila was the one who received that ridiculous love letter?

Well… thinking back on the content, it kind of made sense. On Cordelia Island, no human is more beautiful than Shaila.

“…The more I think, the more pissed I get.”

Give me power, then sell me out to someone else? Next time we meet, I’ll grind her precious pearls into powder.

I was silently cursing Shaila when the door knocked and Lian entered.

“Good morning.”

“Your fever’s gone.”

He didn’t respond to my greeting—he just immediately touched my forehead.

“How’s your back?”

“Better than yesterday. Must be some good medicine. Heals fast.”

Well, Demon King body or not, the recovery was impressive.

Half healed already.

“I prepared something light to eat. Change and come out.”

“Okay.”

He left after confirming I was fine. Once the door shut and his footsteps faded—

“…What was that?”

Was he always this gentle?

My heart kept slamming against my chest.

I want him. I want him now.

Face heating up, I shoved my head into the blanket.

“I like him too much…”

After a short while, I changed into the simple clothes Lian left and walked out. The smell of food filled the air.

…So he cooks too.

He said “simple,” but there was soup, bread, and salad—more than a light meal.

I was about to sit when—

“Lian! You inside?”

Someone knocked from outside. Judging from the aura, a human.

“Who’s that?”

“A friend. He gave me this temporary lodging.”

“Oh? Then open up.”

Wouldn’t hurt to make a good impression on his acquaintance. Most humans don’t know my face anyway.

But Lian looked uneasy.

“Lian! If you’re inside, open up!”

“What are you waiting for? I don’t mind.”

He sighed and opened the door.

And I froze.

Gray hair, bright eyes, cheerful face.

…A Hero?

Yes. The hero who was stationed on Cordelia Island to watch Shaila.

“I figured you guys wouldn’t have much to eat, so I brought some food.”

He handed Lian a bag, then spotted me sitting behind him and smiled.

“Oh! You must be Lian’s little sister! You weren’t feeling well yesterday—are you okay now?”

……What?

Lian pressed a hand to his forehead.

Little sister?

Whose?

What is this idiot talking about?