Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 82

“He said you were going to die.”

 

It took a while to understand her voice buried under the tears.

 

Ian finally understood Rachel’s words, then raised his head and stared at Roosevelt Dante.

 

Roosevelt shrugged his shoulders as if he had no choice, and quickly disappeared from the room.

 

“Whoa…”

 

Ian was dumbfounded by this simple-minded Rachel. What was wrong with him dying when she hated him so much?

 

“I won’t die.”

 

He didn’t like that Rachel couldn’t be harsh until the end.

 

“I’m not dying, Rachel.”

 

He liked Rachel because of her rough personality, and now he doesn’t like the current Rachel.

 

“Don’t listen to useless people for nothing.”

“Liar.”

 

Rachel clenched her fists and smacked Ian on the chest. Ian was startled at what had happened for the first time, and could only blink his eyes.

 

“…Rachel?”

“Please don’t deceive me. Don’t lie. I really don’t like that.”

“…Okay. I’ll do as you say, Rachel.”

 

Ian patted Rachel on the head.

 

“Are you really… dying?”

“Yes, I am.”

 

Ian’s arm, that was holding Rachel, was a little more tense. More like he was comforting Rachel than from a fear of his own death. That was why he tightened his arm.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was afraid that you’d do this. I was afraid that you’d be so sad that you would forgive me unwillingly.”

“Nonsense. That’s crazy.”

 

Rachel cried out loud at Ian, who she couldn’t understand. No, why did he pretend to think about her?

 

He’d done everything that he wanted.

 

Rachel wanted to see Ian’s face. She wanted to see what kind of expression he was making right now. When she saw his face, she wondered if she would be able to tell if he was okay now.

 

Rachel twisted lightly as if she wanted to escape Ian’s arms, and Ian let her go.

 

Ian’s expression hardened minutely when he saw Rachel’s face, which was ruined by tears.

 

Rachel dropped her eyes full of tears and blinked. She was trying to capture the image of Ian’s face just a little bit more.

 

Every time she closed her eyes, thick tears flowed down from the corners of her eyes.

 

Why was she crying when she said she hated him so much? She wasn’t a fool.

 

Ian looked down at Rachel, who reached out her hand toward his face. With his head slightly bowed, Rachel’s small hand gently caressed Ian’s cheek. Rachel looked closely at Ian’s face to see if his complexion was bad.

 

Ian’s heart raced foolishly at Rachel’s worried face. Even though he knew that it was just the sympathy that Rachel’s kind heart bestowed.

 

“I missed you.”

 

Yes, those words were enough to give him false hope for no reason.

 

Ian wanted Rachel to stop crying. Her breathing was uneven and he felt badly as he watched her struggling to breathe. Her swollen eyes and red nose also made his heart uncomfortable.

 

“Rachel, I’m not dying right now, so stop crying.”

 

Ian wiped Rachel’s face with his big hand.

 

Watching Rachel struggling for breath, her gasping seemed more worrying to him. However, something that Ian said upset Rachel again, she broke into tears again and slammed her fists  into his chest.

 

“What’s wrong with you, really?”

 

Ian was uncomfortable with the gesture that didn’t even have any strength.

 

“Don’t say it so easily, just because you’re dying…”

“Yes, yes. It’s my fault.”

 

Ian apologized once again to Rachel, who seemed upset.

 

“I won’t.”

 

Ian led Rachel to his bed. Rachel needed to calm down, and he thought it was better if she sat down.

 

“Shh.”

 

Ian comforted Rachel as he knelt beside the bed, as he looked up at her.

 

Only then did Rachel close her eyes, and took a deep breath, but it wasn’t enough. The strength drained from her small shoulders.

 

“Rachel, don’t cry.”

 

Ian’s attention was once again drawn to her small shoulders.

 

“I’ll try to live.”

“How are you going to do that!”

“I will find a way. So you can rest easy and hate me.”

 

Ian’s big hand squeezed Rachel’s hands.

 

He didn’t want to live his life without Rachel any longer.

 

“I promise.”

 

He didn’t feel comfortable watching Rachel crying because of him.

 

Yes, he could’ve lived longer if he wanted to. But every time he felt Rachel’s absence, he missed her and suffered a lot.

 

He thought he could live if Rachel wanted him to.

 

“You’re heartless, Your Majesty. Be cruel to me until the end.”

“Rachel.”

“I… I almost killed Your Majesty. I didn’t know anything. I almost killed you.”

 

Rachel’s shoulders trembled, as if she was too fatigued to cry anymore. Her white teeth that bit her red lips showed her stubbornness.

 

Rachel’s breathing, which seemed to be calming down, once again became short.

 

“I hate you, Your Majesty.”

 

Ian bowed to Rachel, who said she hated him even though she was busy crying.

 

“I don’t even know if this is something to be forgiven anymore.”

“….”

 

Taking a deep breath, Rachel spoke out steadily. Ian didn’t know what to do with Rachel’s hateful words towards him.

 

Even though his heart was in pain, he didn’t know what to say.

 

He was just regretful and sad. He felt sorry for Rachel, who was hurting because of him.

 

“But I don’t think I can live without you.”

 

Rachel held Ian’s face in her hand once more.

 

“I still like Your Majesty.”

“… What?”

“I love you.”

 

Rachel slowly bent over, her face grew closer and closer to Ian’s.

 

Ian couldn’t even understand what was going on right now.

 

Rachel’s trembling hands grabbed Ian’s face and turned his head, the moment Rachel’s face came close to his nose.

 

Ian closed his eyes.

 

He felt the hot temperature and soft touch. Ian quietly surrendered himself to Rachel.

 

He wanted to put his hand on the back of her neck and put his mouth on hers as much as he wanted. But Ian didn’t do so.

 

Just so that Rachel could let go when she wanted. He left his body to Rachel so that she could move away when she wanted to.

 

Ian clenched his fist with all his might even though his greed kept rising.

 

Even though he had dreamed of it countless times, he was finally tasting the lips that he’d secretly desired. Ian was careful not to be surprised because he was afraid he would scare Rachel.

 

The warm and moist texture gradually faded away. Rachel, who was moving away, soon lowered her head shyly and hid her shaking eyes.

 

Ian looked at Rachel’s loveable gesture.

 

“Kiss me.”

 

Before Ian could do anything about it, Rachel opened her mouth again. Ian’s mind was shaken by her words.

 

He knew he shouldn’t. He wanted to believe that she liked him.

 

Maybe Rachel mistook compassion for affection. So even though he thought he shouldn’t believe Rachel’s words, Ian wrapped his hand around the back of Rachel’s neck and pulled her to him.

 

He greedily ate Rachel’s lips.

 

Rachel opened her lips to meet him, and Ian ran through her mouth like a man who couldn’t think any more. He stopped a few times to swallow a breath as thin as Rachel’s neck.

 

It wasn’t until he laid Rachel on the bed that Ian pulled his lips off of hers.

 

Rachel’s breath had already been completely disturbed.

 

Red eyes, cheeks, and lips. The stifling breath she exhaled through her teeth. Everything Rachel looked at while she panted paralyzed his reason.

 

Ian reached out and grabbed the white hand that grasped his shirt. He felt the slender force, as if to urge him on.

 

He was just going to kiss her.

 

He was just going to kiss her one last time.

 

Rachel’s little white hand grabbed his clothes, as if she was hanging on. She wasn’t pushing him away.

 

The hand that clung to him.

 

Ian wanted to be led by that power. He wanted to be led by Rachel’s power, and pretend not to know anything.

 

Her small hand wasn’t strong enough to guide him. Rachel knew that, but she still put strength into her stubbornly gripped hand, and Ian gave in to it.

 

As Rachel led, he bowed his upper body.

 

Rachel’s breathing was heard loudly at this close of a distance.

 

It was a situation that he had dreamed of countless times, but not like this. Ian touched Rachel’s face. The lips of the woman he’d just kissed were still hot.

 

He just wanted to kiss her. One last time. He wanted to look at her.

 

In that little hand, the little power that led him, the endless greed. At that moment, his endless greed entered.

 

“Rachel, you might regret this when tomorrow comes.”

“…I want His Majesty to live.”

 

Ian pressed her lips with force.

 

“You don’t have to do this. If what you want is my life, I’ll find another way. If you want me to live, I will.”

 

Ian had never seen Rachel being so emotional.

 

Perhaps the silly good girl was being so emotional because she was surprised that he might die. Ian didn’t know either.

 

He’d known that if Rachel found out all the facts, she would act like this.

 

“You don’t have to do this. You can just hate me however you want.”

 

Wasn’t that indeed the case? That she hated him.

 

Love. Maybe she thought of her old affections as love.

 

The day Rachel realized that. That day she would regret helping him, but Ian couldn’t seem to resist.

 

“In time, you will regret forgiving me like this. There may come a day when you’ll hate it so much that I am alive and breathing.”

“…That might be.”

 

After thinking for a moment, Rachel opened her mouth more calmly than he expected. But soon, tears welled up in her eyes.

 

“Maybe I’ll hate Your Majesty terribly sometimes. Maybe quite often.”

 

Rachel burst into tears again. Tears that ran down the corners of her eyes.

 

“But I don’t want to miss you. I would hate that more.”

 

***