“Episode 56”
Ray, who would be the final piece of his perfect puzzle, grew even paler. “So?”
Clothun could only smile bitterly at Ray’s almost incredulous question.
“You swore you wouldn’t leave me alone.”
“…….”
“Was that a lie?”
Ray let out a bitter, hollow laugh. It was a laugh devoid of any mirth, not even realizing he was laughing. Ray looked at Clothun with eyes as black as death. “Coward.”
Despite the emotions of the two wounded souls, the riverside was tragically beautiful. Like a defeated soldier holding a white flag, Ray spoke calmly.
“Coward.” “I know.”
“Do you know what I was thinking when you proposed to me that day, Clothun? When we pledged eternity?”
She seemed calm, but she was drowning in despair, sinking deeper and deeper. It was fortunate that she no longer cried, for she did not know how much she was screaming inside.
“My parents, too. And Haisch, who left me as you said. I’ve only ever loved them from afar. But now, finally, someone says they love me. I never even hoped for it. Did I ever think I would have someone to swear to spend eternity with? I didn’t even think about it.”
Ray paused for a moment and took a long breath. Then he closed his eyes. To calm the agonizingly torn heart.
“All of that was just bait for Clothun, wasn’t it? Since he’s been rejected and has nowhere to go, he can turn into a monster that feeds on blood. It’s okay. I don’t have to say it. Why?! ”
Ray, who had been calmly speaking, raised his voice for the first time. “Because we swore? To be together forever?”
Hot tears, like molten lead, streamed down Ray’s cheeks. “What am I to you?”
However, Clothun was cruel. Gripping Ray’s chin to prevent her from turning away, he shook his injured hand above her lips. A few drops of blood splattered on her cheek, mixing with tears. Some dripped onto her nose, some onto her lips. She couldn’t bear the excruciating torment as she closed her lips in refusal.
“Yeah. It’s okay, Ray. We have plenty of time.”
As he brushed Ray’s lips with his wounded fingers, blood stained them. Ray’s throat tightened at the thought that he could lick it if he just stuck out his tongue. He despised Clothun as much as he craved the blood.
It couldn’t go on like this. There was no one who could do this while claiming to love. Ray’s soul screamed in agony.
“Even if you can’t understand me now, after fifty years, you’ll be willing to look at me. After a hundred years, even if it’s out of boredom, you’ll want to talk. After two hundred years, you’ll need someone to hold you, even if it’s anyone. And after three hundred years, you’ll be able to love me again.”
Clothun’s wounded finger slipped into Ray’s parted lips. Despite her unwilling heart, her tongue wrapped around his finger and tasted it, contrary to her desires. Clothun watched Ray lick and swallow, horrified yet amused.
“It’s okay. You can eat, Ray.”
Despite her revulsion, his wife couldn’t refuse. However, there was one fact that Clothun, relieved as he was, overlooked. Ray no longer loved him.
She just knew that he no longer loved her.
