Enoch, with clenched fists, was glaring at me when I looked back.
Enoch’s hair, stained with dark blood of monsters, looked like jet-black feathers.
“……Huh?”
Upon seeing that sight, someone else’s face overlapped Enoch’s face in my mind.
A voice that played out like a melodious tune, with impeccably arranged features.
“Once again, you’re a step behind, Inspector.”
The strategic planning chief who was next to the man who killed the couple who almost became my adoptive parents and then killed me.
“So, we meet again. By now, it seems like Inspector, you might deliberately be seeking to see me.”
The brain that manages his finances and oversees all political strategies.
My archenemy from my past life, Yoon Doyoon.
As his face suddenly surfaced above Enoch’s, a feeling of utter turmoil engulfed me, accompanied by a surge of nausea.
“Ugh, Ugh!”
Though I tried to hold back, I couldn’t prevent my body from crumpling forward, my waist bending.
“Cherry?!”
Enoch, who had been staring at me in surprise, stopped and hurriedly approached.
I raised my palm towards Enoch and shouted,
“Don’t come any closer!”
Despite my desperate protest, Enoch froze in place, likely noticing my pale face.
‘Why is that bastard’s face coming to mind?’
I lifted my gaze and stared at Enoch’s dark-stained head.
Is it because of that?
The first time I felt this gut-wrenching sensation while looking at Enoch was when I first saw him as a newborn baby.
Since then, I had occasionally felt nauseous, but never to the extent of struggling to endure it like now.
“Are you okay? Is it because of the monster’s blood?”
Enoch seemed to think my discomfort was due to his bloodstained appearance.
I wanted to deny it, but I was too preoccupied with suppressing the rising nausea.
Convinced by my appearance, Enoch pulled up his shirt and began wiping away the monster’s blood.
Despite his clothes being a mess with monster’s blood, it was better than leaving it untouched.
Enoch’s silver hair started to sparkle again, signaling his presence, even in his disheveled state.
“…. Haaaa.”
Just that alone helped settle my queasiness quickly.
Once I calmed down somewhat, I straightened my body, feeling more drained than when facing the demons.
“Feeling better?”
“Yeah.”
Nodding, I remembered the handkerchief in my pocket and handed it to Enoch.
“Use this to finish wiping that.”
Enoch, taking the handkerchief, pressed his lips together and stared at it for a moment.
When he looked up again, he was glaring at me once more.
“Why did you do that?”
“Huh? Oh, no, I just gave it to you because you were so dirty…”
“Not that! You caught this low-level monster, not me. So why did you lie?”
Ah, so that’s why he’s upset.
Realizing the reason for Enoch’s seriousness, I couldn’t understand at all and responded with a puzzled expression.
“Because you caught it.”
“No, I didn’t.”
Enoch strode over and handed me the sword I had dropped.
“Grab it.”
“What?”
“I said, grab it.”
Without hesitation, I took the sword as Enoch immediately swung it towards me.
“Hey!”
Clang! The sharp sound of Enoch’s sword clashing with mine echoed sharply.
Instinctively, I struck back at Enoch’s sword, but a powerful pain surged through my palm, still wounded from the monster attack, causing me to drop the sword.
“What the hell!”
Fuming with anger at the return of hostility after my previous help, I growled. But Enoch, with an even angrier expression, shouted back at me.
“Look at this, you’re the one who reacted!”
“So what! Don’t you know the rules of the hunt? The one who deals the killing blow owns the prey!”
“If you hadn’t brought down the monster, I wouldn’t have been able to finish it off.”
“Still, rules are rules. I recognized this prey as yours according to those rules.”
Grimacing in pain, I held onto my throbbing hand. It felt like Enoch’s attack had completely destroyed my wrist.
Anyway, despite all the training, a seven-year-old’s body was too soft to toughen up properly.
Even as I complained about my excessively weak body and age, Enoch, refusing to acknowledge his victory, breathed heavily without giving any answer.
“I’ll set the record straight with everyone.”
“Hey, if you do that, your grandfather might come after you with a vengeance.”
If Emmett Cortiz, who rushed ahead, announced the victory of Duke Gray, then Jade Gray would surely receive everyone’s congratulations.
Moreover, with that momentum, he would have shamelessly raised a toast to our Emblem with a smug face.
If Enoch overturns this predetermined outcome, it would be at the expense of his grandfather’s pride, honor, and dignity.
“Our grandfather is healthier than he appears, so it’s okay.”
“I’m not talking about that…”
Seeing Enoch stubbornly insisting, I sighed and rubbed my forehead.
It was truly beyond me why he was making such a fuss when the rules of the hunt were clear, and I was fine.
If I were Enoch, I would proudly declare, ‘I won!’ and eagerly seize this victory to elevate the honor of our Emblem and inform my grandfather of the triumph.
“Even if you go out and tell the situation exactly as it is, according to the rules of the hunt, you will still be the winner.”
“But still…!”
“It’s better to just give your grandfather a complete victory and live happily with aunt Diana in the mansion.”
Despite my persuasion, Enoch’s face remained impassive. He looked at me as if I were the only one who had suffered the insult and said,
“Cherrya Emblem. Just as you are Emblem, I am Gray.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“It means I’m not happy with a victory handed to me by Emblem.”
I shouted in frustration at Enoch’s words.
“Hey, who said something about handing over the victory to you?”
My facade of pretending to be magnanimous, generous, and helpful all crumbled away for nothing.
“Do you think I wanted to let it like that? I wanted to do it too! But how am I supposed to draw the sword when it won’t come out!”
“……!”
Enoch’s eyes widened in surprise at my words. Seeing his face, completely unprepared for me to say such things, only fueled my anger.
As I pulled out the sword, I could feel it. There was no way I could penetrate and cut through this hide like Enoch did.
This was the decisive reason why I had to admit defeat to Enoch.
“So, you did win. If you hadn’t finished it off, the monster would have risen, and I would have died without being able to draw the sword.”
Finally, Enoch’s mouth shut firmly. At least in these words, I had won the arguememt.
“Just because I lost this time doesn’t mean I’m completely defeated by you. There will be plenty of opportunities to defeat you in the future, and when that happens, I’ll crush you with everything I’ve got.”
“Hah.”
A disappointed laugh escaped from between Enoch’s lips.
“Cherrya, you’ll learn the sword to the end.”
“…Yeah.”
I looked down at my injured palm. The tingling pain that flowed through my hand. I would probably never forget that sensation for the rest of my life.
“Enoch, there’s not a single corner of you that I like, but still, I’m grateful to you for this.”
“…?”
“For teaching me the sword.”
I smiled softly at Enoch.
Learning the sword might have been the reason I lived, something I might have forgotten if I hadn’t learned it.
Finally, today, I could briefly remember the driving force behind my life that I had just forgotten for a moment.
