The voice that entered Asilis’s ears was quite ordinary, unlike the complex and mysterious glow of the eyes. It wasn’t a particularly important fact.
Asilis began to speak. Anyway, all the ‘details’ would soon come to the other person’s mind.
There was no need to explain anything, but Asilis spoke anyway.
“You have made a contract with us.”
Ah, yes. She was curious about the voice. How would it sound?
Good grief. It was a bit too quiet.
“A contract?”
“I’ll explain in order. We placed your sealed soul into that body.”
“……”
“And we placed a contract on that body. If you don’t fulfill the terms of the contract, you won’t be able to use that body anymore. If the body disappears, your soul will return to its original place.”
“Which means I’ll be sealed again?”
“Yes. And the terms of the contract are…”
“……”
“To become the ruler of this world and govern it.”
“To govern the world? I was born to destroy this world.”
“You can destroy it if you want. Just don’t destroy everything.”
“……”
“Leave some parts behind, and govern those parts.”
Who would have thought speaking would be so exhausting? Asilis lowered her head and gasped for breath.
Meanwhile, the entity before Asilis, with the power to destroy the world, seemed to have finished thinking.
“Interesting. The vermin have done something amusing.”
“Vermin, huh?” Asilis involuntarily laughed. Although she had looked down on “ordinary people,” she had never treated them as vermin.
Soon, footsteps were heard. Asilis lifted her head. The complex and mysterious glow of the eyes was no longer visible.
It had left.
Asilis closed her eyes. Whether open or closed, the view was similar.
Her body lost its balance. The hard floor touched her shoulder.
‘Will there come a day when God judges humans rather than humans judging each other?’
“It has come. Right now.”
If you consider the Evil God to be a god, that is.
Asilis responded to the dying words with more dying words.
The basement was soon enveloped in a silence that would last a long time.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Laila awoke, clutching her head.
It wasn’t due to a hangover.
“…Goodness.”
In her dream the previous night, a younger version of Laila appeared.
No, more precisely, the Laila, who had just turned ten after rewinding time.
At that time, Laila had already experienced several deaths, and while organizing what she had learned about the regression stone, she had an impulsive thought.
If there was someone in this world who had experienced death several times and remembered the moment of their death without going crazy…
‘I would take them as my big brother.’
“Right. Yes….I made such a vow.”
As Laila lay on her bed, she touched her forehead.
The person Laila had mentioned in the past as someone she would ‘take him as my brother’ immediately came to mind.
Sion.
‘S-So, am I supposed to take Sion…?’
Feeling troubled, Laila remained in bed for a while, even after waking up.
How long has it been? Laila’s peripheral vision caught sight of the bedroom door opening.
She immediately widened her eyes at the sight.
It was Sion.
Just in time!
“Are you okay?”
Sion approached the bedside and asked. Laila pushed aside her dizzying thoughts and opened her mouth.
“Yes?”
“I think you overdid it yesterday.”
“Oh…”
She had indeed overindulged…
How did it happen? Laila tried to recall.
However, when she focused on her thoughts, what vividly came to mind was not what happened before she fell asleep, but the dream she had while sleeping.
Hmm, better not think about it now.
“I’m fine. How about Cecile?”
“Cecile is doing better than you. She just got into a carriage a little while ago.”
“A carriage?”
“She went back to the Count’s estate.”
“Already?”
“She said she missed Count Kaiter.”
After saying that, Sion hesitated.
This made Laila, who had been observing Sion, curious. What’s going on? Why is he acting like that?
Just as Laila’s curiosity grew, Sion finally spoke.
“Cecile told me to go see you as well.”
“…”
“So, I came here, and I was going to leave if you were asleep, but you’re awake.”
Laila chuckled softly after Sion finished speaking.
She wondered why Sion hesitated before sharing such a trivial story.
Soon, she realized that Cecile had done something very Cecile-like. She had said she was going to see her husband and told Sion to go see his… ahem… wife.
A moment of silence settled in the bedroom. Laila looked up at Sion intently.
Sion’s eyes showed the same curiosity that Laila had felt earlier.
“Sion.”
“Hmm?”
“What if…”
“…”
“What if I called you ‘big brother’?”
“What?”
Sion reacted as if he had just heard a strange new phrase. Laila spoke again.
“Think about it. How would you feel if I called you ‘big brother’?”
A silence fell between Laila and Sion.
After a moment, Sion moved. His hand touched Laila’s pale forehead.
“What are you doing?”
“Your temperature seems normal.”
“What?”
“Are you feeling dizzy? How’s your stomach? Tell me how you feel.”
“What…”
Laila soon noticed Sion’s concerned expression. It was clear that Sion was worried about her, and Laila’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“I’m not sick!”
“You drank too much yesterday.”
Sion’s mumbling that he should have said something to Cecile even though it wasn’t her fault did not go unnoticed by Laila.
Eventually, Laila swatted Sion’s hand away from her forehead and sat up, insisting, “I don’t have a hangover!”
“Your pulse seems normal.”
It was strange. While Sion’s words were clearly reaching Laila’s ears, Laila’s words seemed to be slipping past Sion’s.
Laila stared at Sion as he suddenly started checking her wrist, as if he were a doctor, and then spoke up.
“Big brother.”
“…”
“Big brother Sion.”
“I’ll call the doctor.”
“Wait, don’t go. Sit back down.”
Laila grabbed the hem of Sion’s clothing as he tried to leave to fetch the doctor.
Sion, who was forced to sit back down beside the bed, had a complicated look on his face.
“Is that how you feel? It’s like something I would never say with a clear mind?”
Of course, Laila felt awkward about calling Sion “big brother.”
Even though the term was familiar to her, having many siblings, it still felt strange.
Wait, but Sion didn’t have any younger siblings, right? He had said he was the youngest.
‘Is that why he finds the title strange?’
If so, is this reaction one of unfamiliarity?
As Laila’s thoughts reached this point, Sion spoke up.
“That’s not it, but… I don’t understand why you suddenly had such thoughts.”
“Oh.”
Laila blinked. Right, she was the only one who knew the cause, process, and result. All Sion had encountered was the result.
Should she explain the cause and process? But she wasn’t inclined to do so.
She didn’t want to bring up the fact that Sion had experienced several deaths and remembered them. That was entirely her fault. It was her choice, not Sion’s.
Sion, watching Laila fall silent, reached out to her.
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her close.
“It doesn’t matter what you call me. Do as you wish.”
“…”
“It’s just that being called ‘Big Brother’ makes me feel like I’ve become someone above you, and that feels a bit strange.”
“Someone above me?”
Laila reflexively asked, then realized. That’s right. ‘Big brother’ implies a hierarchy.
‘Well, even if you call someone a big brother because of their age, there are cases where you don’t use that word after getting married and becoming a couple…’
Does that mean she should break her past vow?
No. She could keep it in her heart. She didn’t have to call him ‘big brother’ to honor the vow.
In short, as long as she had the kind of feelings that would make her call him “big brother,” that was enough. Love, respect, affection…
These are words that go well with married couples. Laila thought this and embraced Sion.
The couple, holding each other, soon lay side by side on the bed, facing each other. Laila found Sion’s hand and interlocked it.
TL/N: Laila called Sion “오라버니 (Oraboni)” which is used to address an older brother or an older male figure who is not necessarily a biological brother. It is a more formal and respectful way of addressing an older male, similar to “oppa”, but with a slightly different connotation.
오빠 (oppa): This is a more informal and affectionate way of addressing an older brother or an older male who is close to you.
