I am living unmarried with my terminally ill lover.
Episode 2
Ines stared at him blankly for a moment.
“This man is Kalad Asdeon?
She had heard the name many times but had never seen him in person.
What was more surprising was the mass of misery that swirled around the man.
It was so menacing, it seemed to threaten to swallow him whole at any moment.
“Let go.”
The heavy bass voice snapped Ines back to reality.
Ines pulled her hand away, and Khalid took a step back.
The two men stared at each other.
Just then, there was a dizzying rush of footsteps from the bank’s entrance.
“Put down your weapons! You are surrounded!”
The imperial knights and guards charged with protecting the capital rushed in.
They looked around, then panicked.
The robbers were all lying on the ground.
One of the knights, assessing the situation, spotted Khalad and muttered
“……?”
Khalid whipped his head around and looked at the knight.
The knight stiffened at the waist.
Called ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
“Arrest all of these assholes.”
“Yep!”
The knights shouted in unison.
Standing wearily, Khalad turned on his heel and walked toward the entrance.
“Wait……!”
Ines turned to run after him.
But before she could take a step, Shamor and the store manager grabbed her.
“Ms. Innes, are you unharmed?”
“Ms. Eldin, you must have been very surprised…….”
“Give me a moment.”
Ines pushed them apart and hurried out of the bank.
But Khalad was already gone.
Ines stood still and looked down at her palm.
“……You surely have your powers back, don’t you?
The misery that came with contact with Kalad Asdeon.
The black mass and the flashing images.
It was a familiar sensation.
Shamore approached, looking at Ines with concern.
“Perhaps you should go to the council.”
“I’m fine.”
Shamor muttered as he examined Ines for any injuries.
“I shouldn’t have let those robbers get away with it after all…….”
It had to be tight, Shamor said, and he made a bone-stretching sound with his fingers.
After a moment of thought, Ines spoke up.
“I have somewhere else to be.”
He had to make sure his ability to see misery had fully returned.
“Let’s go to the racetrack.”
Ines headed straight for the racetrack.
When they arrived at the racetrack, it was crowded with people.
As she pushed her way through them, her body collided with theirs, reminding her of all the misfortunes that had happened.
[It’s impossible that the number six horse won…….].
[No. 6 won the race?]
Ines read the predictions on the wall.
Horse 2 had a whopping 80 percent chance of coming in first.
In contrast, horse number 6 had a mere 2 percent chance.
After checking the predictions, Ines didn’t hesitate to buy a ticket.
“I’ll take 100 tickets for horse number 6.”
Ines’s words caused a stir around the room.
“One hundred tickets for horse number six? You’re crazy.”
“You must not know anything about horse racing.”
“I’d rather bet on a horse with better odds…….”
The people waiting clicked their tongues, but Ines ignored them all.
Ines sat down on the edge of the bleachers with her ticket in hand.
How long he waited?
Finally, the race began.
“Good!”
“Yuck! No!”
“Run faster!”
There was a lot of yelling from all sides.
And when the race was over.
“Horse number six has pulled off the upset!!”
Ines smiled quietly.
“Earlier, there was a girl who bought 100 tickets with horse number 6…….”
“I’m so jealous. Did she have an ancestor in her dream?”
Ines made her way out of the racetrack amidst the chatter.
But the next day, after a night of revelry.
His powers were gone again.
***]
“Why?
Her powers returned, but only for a day.
It was a ridiculous situation.
Ines’s mind raced with theories, but then she remembered one different thing.
Her powers had returned after she had contacted Kalad Asdeon.
Ines immediately began to research Kalad Asdeon.
“Name, Kalad Asdeon.”
The paper flashed to the next page.
“Eldest son of the Marquis of Asdeon. Adopted as a child.”
Ines read the briefly organized information.
“Current wielder of the magic sword, captain of the Imperial Third Knights. And…….”
Ines’s hand paused for a moment.
“Unmarried. No lover……?”
Narrowing her eyes, Ines flipped to the next page.
A lot of information was briefly listed.
<From an orphanage.
Adopted as a foster child by the Marquis and Marquise years later.
Heir to the current Marquis of Asdeon.
Formerly the deputy leader of the Imperial 1st Knights, but was kicked out to the 3rd Knights.
Described by others as having a bad temper.
Nicknamed a bloodthirsty killer.
Worst reputation in social circles.
Chosen by Tigrios, the magical sword.
Master of the sword, scheduled to die in a year.
Ines summarized the porridge in one sentence.
“A character worthy of dirt.”
It wasn’t like life had a bend, it was just going straight down.
“Proof that he was unfortunate to be chosen by Magnum.”
Tigrios, the sword that cut down new trees, appeared once in a very long cycle to choose a master.
The men who became masters were of different nationalities and even different classes, but they all had something in common.
One year after taking possession, they would lose their minds and go on a rampage.
Paladins would be dispatched from the temple to find the wielder.
When the time came, they would drag the wielder to the temple.
The timing of the haul varied for each master, but the result was the same.
None of the wielders of the sword ever returned from the temple.
In other words, it was a time-limited life.
‘If this is the misery I saw, then…….
I still remember the misfortune I saw when I came into contact with Kalad.
Holding the blackened sword, Kalad looked distraught.
‘Half a year from now…….’
It had been some time since Khalad had been chosen by the sword.
At best, he had half a year to go.
Ines put the paper down roughly.
“Ha.”
Who could pity anyone now?
The most unhappy person right now was Ines herself.
“I’ll have to see Kalad Asdeon again.”
I would see if my powers would return after contacting Kalad.
Even though Kalad Asdeon was rumored to be a madman with a bad temper, I was more afraid of the money.
What could be worse than not making any money?
I’d give my blood to get my powers back.
‘But the problem is meeting him.
Khalid’s daily routine was the same.
Home, work, home, work…….
His workplace was the imperial palace, so it was difficult to enter without a special request.
If you just show up at his house, he won’t meet you.
But I couldn’t keep chasing him.
“I just need to check in once.
But she never got the chance.
Ines shuffled the papers on her desk.
He picked one up and whispered, “I’ll make one.
“If it’s not there, I’ll make it.”
***]
[Visits his favorite weapons shop on the first Wednesday of every month].
It was in Kalad Asdeon’s report.
So I just bought it.
“If I wait here, they’ll roll in on their own.
Ines sipped her tea like a hunter in a trap.
“Boss, is there anything else you need……?”
“I’m good, everyone else, go take a shit.”
Ines waved her hand in response to the employee’s question.
“I’ll be in the forge then, so call me if you need anything.”
The employees waved goodbye and went inside.
A week earlier, when Ines had taken over the shop, the staff had been awkward.
A young noblewoman had bought a ramshackle weapons shop in a back alley.
But they quickly warmed to her.
-Are you sure you’re not going to fire us?
-You’re leaving on time?
-You’re bringing us lunch in the morning!
He gave them the things they deserved, and they jumped for joy.
The previous boss had been an asshole.
“We’ll have to change that ugly sign later.
Every time I came in, my hands itched to rip it down.
But I had to leave it alone until Khalid came to visit.
I didn’t want him to come in and think the shop had changed.
Ines glanced at the door.
‘I think he’ll be here soon…….
She was listening to the occasional hammering from inside when she heard it.
A crack.
The dilapidated door let out a horrible scream.
Afternoon sunlight streamed in through the crack.
In walked a man, black from head to toe, with his back to the sun.
The long-awaited prey had finally arrived.
“Welcome.”
Ines greeted him, rising from her seat.
Kalad paused as he entered.
He recognized the sign and looked around warily.
“Are you looking for your old boss?”
Ines asked, and Callad studied her for a moment.
The lustrous dress was made of the finest silk.
It was lined with jewels and lace, and it was gorgeous.
A maiden in an expensive dress and a ramshackle arms shop at the end of an alley.
The combination was as out of place as a bouquet of roses in a trash can.
The woman didn’t look like the owner of a weapon shop to anyone, but Ines answered shamelessly.
“I took over the store not long ago.”
Khalad nodded, expressionless.
He could have asked questions, but he didn’t seem to care.
Kalad set a sword down on the long table.
It wasn’t a magical sword, just an ordinary sword.
“Are you going to repair it?”
Kalad nodded once more.
Ines extended her arm.
He pretended to inspect the sword and gently brushed Kalad’s hand away.
A black fog spread before Ines’ eyes.
It was an endless mass of misery.
Ines grinned, satisfied that her powers had returned.
“Found it, my luck.
Ines barely swallowed her smile and drew her sword from its scabbard.
The misfortune that would befall Kalad unfolded before her eyes.
[Ha, I left work early to eat the special stew…….]
The future Kalad muttered with a gloomy face.
[sold out in front of me…….]
……I heard you were a blood-crazed killer.
