The blue eyes facing her were too intense. Their gaze exuded a feeling of sadness or obsession, as if they couldn\'t bear to look away for a moment. 

Lariette looked at the beautiful face that filled her field of vision in confusion, unable to understand the situation.

"What\'s gotten into him all of a sudden?"

It was embarrassing for her. He suddenly asked if there was something he didn\'t know, offered to call the priest, and when she declined, he got angry that she wouldn\'t send him away.

"Are you angry because I was with Doha?"

It was a good enough reason to be angry, and the most likely assumption given the circumstances. 

But it was Asrahan who stopped Lariette when she tried to explain why she had left him and what had happened.

Besides, Doha had the pendant she had given Asrahan; he must have known it was him. It wasn\'t right to come and react like this for that reason.

"If it\'s not that, then what is it? If it\'s not about Doha, what\'s the point of saying that?"

Lariette guessed all imaginable reasons, but nothing proved helpful. In the end, she achieved nothing; she was just stupidly asking.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Lariette felt embarrassed for asking such stupid questions even when she had answered them.

However, there was no other word to ask.

"—If you escape, you will be responsible for the consequences."

"Yes, that\'s exactly what you said one day."

She felt a chill down her spine hearing him say that with a face full of madness right in front of her nose. She asked again, still calmly facing his penetrating gaze.

"What kind of... consequences?"

It was also a foolish question, but very serious for Lariette. She swallowed saliva, with a strange mixture of fear and anticipation. Soon, the tightly sealed mouth opened, and Asrahan\'s hoarse and restrained voice came out.

"I won\'t let you leave me."

"What? Where would I go?" Lariette tilted her head.

Embarrassed or not, Asrahan continued.

"Whenever it is, wherever it is, I\'ll be with you."

"Even if it\'s the underworld."

Asrahan added in his mind. If she dies, he will die too. He had no lingering feelings in a world without her, but he wanted to live with her more than anything else.

Married or not, having children or not, he just wanted to spend eternity with her. To do that, Lariette had to receive treatment. He was going to grab the Pope by the collar if he let her go. But Lariette, whom Asrahan knew, was quite stubborn.

If he tried to force her to seek medical treatment, she would probably reject it until the end. It was obvious that she would deny even her condition unless she witnessed the scene. 

So Asrahan wanted to check her physical condition by her side. The idea was to question her and find out the truth if any anomalies appeared. Unaware of this, Lariette looked at him, becoming increasingly confused.

"Well, I\'d love to."

Asrahan, who had been avoiding Lariette until 10 minutes ago, saying that he will now always be with her, was a good proposal. No, it was quite pleasant for her, who had intended to seduce him. That meant there were more opportunities. She didn\'t know what the hell he was thinking about those things, but for that reason, as soon as she realized it, it was enough.

"Alright, let\'s do it," Lariette responded with a bewildered smile.

Unaware of the terrible future that awaited her.

"Yes," Asrahan also responded softly.

First of all, it wasn\'t a proposal to ask for permission, but now that he said she would know, she won\'t have anything else to worry about.

----------------

Since then, Asrahan had never really been separated from Lariette. The paperwork he was processing was also done in her room, allowing him to spend a good time admiring her great appearance. Night had fallen before he realized it. She, who had been busy waking up early and flirting, felt her eyelids weighing heavily.

The sound of writing and Asrahan squinting his eyes was monotonous, so she gradually fell asleep, finally, Lariette yawned endlessly.

"Haaa."

"Would you like to sleep?"

"Uh, yes, I should go to bed."

She was eager to play with Asrahan, but he didn\'t seem to have time for it, so she nodded with a half-opened face and expressed her agreement.

He is a very respectful and polite person, so she thought he would avoid her bed. But contrary to expectations, Asrahan didn\'t leave even after filling and blowing out the candles on the table. Instead, he was closer to Lariette.

"Asrahan?"

Are you trying to give me a goodnight kiss?

Sleepiness disappeared in anticipation, Lariette watched his movements with desperately shining eyes. Asrahan didn\'t approach her and circled the bed.

Lariette blinked in front of a mysterious situation. The bed creaked and squeaked. In the darkness, the man\'s large body approached, climbed onto the bed, and lay down beside her.

"Oh, Asrahan?"

"You said you won\'t join."

That\'s what Lariette thought, but she said something pleasant.

"Can you stay and sleep?"

"Yes, of course!" Lariette responded loudly as if she had been waiting for it.

In case he changed his mind, she quickly shook her head up and down. Asrahan chuckled briefly because she became cute again. It was nice to hear a low laughter.

"Yes, this is good...!"

Lariette\'s mouth was caught up in the thought that the seduction operation, which hadn\'t even properly begun, had already succeeded.

The sudden change in attitude was curious, but when she lay in bed after a long time saying that things were good, her heart raced. She fluttered and moved her hand. As she gently touched Asrahan\'s hard backhand, he flinched.

"Lariette."

"Oh, I\'m just holding your hand to sleep!" she argued urgently with a voice that seemed guilty.

It seemed to be an excuse she had used one day. Asrahan paused for a moment, then quickly covered the back of her hand with his large palm.

Lariette had the intention of holding hands, but she thought it was nice to keep warm.

"Of course, you\'re not actually thinking of holding my hand and sleeping. How can you miss an opportunity like that?"

Lariette, who had been waiting for the right moment for a while, began to inch closer again.

It was a very serious attitude, as if it were a spy operation. After moving slowly and naturally like a turtle, Lariette\'s shoulders touched Asrahan\'s shoulders, and their arms and legs also came as close as possible.

"Mmm..."

"Now!"

Lariette turned in a calm direction, shouting in her mind, and was going to try to wake him up, pretending to be asleep. Her legs successfully settled on top of Asrahan\'s, wrapping around his thick forearms gently.

Asrahan\'s body heated up, and his skin tensed, followed by an angry growl.

"Lariette."

Even with his eyes closed, it seemed like he could see her gaze. Lariette instinctively felt his presence, and his large hand moved towards her thigh.

Tch.

His calloused palms gripped her soft legs. Lariette celebrated internally. However, the result of her advance was only met with coldness.

"Please, go to sleep." Asrahan\'s hand separated Lariette\'s body from his.

His voice sounded determined, and after saying that, he lay on his back, facing away from Lariette. It was an expression of his will to block even the slightest contact. She was so dumbfounded that she stared at his perfect back, in a state of anger.

"If you\'re going to do this, why did you ask to sleep together?!"

She wanted to bite his shoulder out of frustration. It was also regrettable that Asrahan didn\'t move when she approached him like that. Of course, she was thinking because she didn\'t know Asrahan\'s true condition when he turned away. The state in which he despises his own body, which shows a clear reaction even in the midst of his illness.

The painful night for both of them passed once again.

----------------------

For the next two days, Asrahan maintained the same attitude, always with Lariette. He watched her condition with piercing eyes but refused when she tried to touch him. It had become routine for him.

He couldn\'t simply engage with someone who was sick and put more strain on their body. Additionally, Lariette\'s attitude of only trying to touch him without revealing her illness was questionable to Asrahan. It was as if she was trying to make contact with him for the last time before leaving.

However, strangely enough, after observing every move of Lariette for two days, he had never seen her showing signs of pain. It went against his expectations that he would soon be able to confirm her illness, as she was in a severe enough condition to cough up blood.

"What happened?"

Asrahan squinted his eyes and thought. He had been anxious to take her to the temple at that moment, but couldn\'t gather any evidence.

"What did I miss?"

There couldn\'t possibly have been symptoms for two days. It was him who never heard a cough. Asrahan recalled all the instances and remembered how she slipped away from his eyes—it was impossible to handle. He didn\'t miss a second, except when she changed clothes or went to the bathroom.

"Oh," Asrahan groaned as if realizing it now.

Yes, it was wrong to exclude the moment of going to the bathroom and changing clothes in the first place. His eyes, filled with conviction, slowly turned and focused in one direction. It was where the bathroom door was, and Lariette was inside.

----------------------------

"I can\'t do it, I can\'t!"

A grumbling complaint filled the steam-filled bathroom. Lariette stretched in the bathtub with her neck completely bent backward. The warm bathwater fluttering against her chest seemed to alleviate some of the fatigue.

"Phew..." A deep sigh escaped her red lips.

It was because of Asrahan.

At first, she enjoyed spending time with him, finding it difficult to get close to him and not reach out. She wanted to ask him why, but Asrahan responded, "I won\'t tell you because you won\'t tell me."

She fell silent to inquire about him. The recollection of the events of the past two days brought a fresh wave of frustrations. Lariette took a deep breath and tried to compose herself.

"Hoo, ha, hoo... cough!"

But perhaps because she inhaled the humid air too forcefully, Lariette abruptly coughed, feeling like she was choking. At that moment, an unwelcome guest entered.

"Lariette!"

Kwaang!<

The bathroom door crashed down and rolled on the floor with a loud noise. Asrahan emerged from the dust, causing Lariette to face him completely naked.

"Ahhh!" Lariette instinctively screamed.

"I thought something was off these days, but I didn\'t think it would be this crazy!"

She was so surprised that her face turned red, and she burst into hiccups. Quickly, she raised her hand to cover her chest. Fortunately, the pink bathwater and steam covered her naked body, adding to the oil, but even the slightest movement seemed to reveal her fair skin.

"Are you alright?"

"I\'m not alright!"

Hic<

"Asrahan was attacked in the bathroom, would you be alright?" she added with a series of hiccups.

Her bright eyes were fixed on Asrahan. There was a surge of anger she had been holding back because of her guilt, but she couldn\'t live like this. Finally, Lariette exploded.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lariette hurriedly wrapped her body in a towel, stood up, and yelled.

Due to her strong movement, a lot of water splashed, soaking Asrahan\'s clothes. His eyes trembled slightly, surprised by the rarity of her raising her voice. But there was something else that saddened him.

"...Why are you doing this to me?"

Desperate emotions surged, his lips trembled with anger and sadness, his eyes welled up with tears. Asrahan was desperate to ask.

"Why... why would you leave me again?" A thick tear ran down his cheek.

Losing her again, it was unbearable to even imagine.

"Don\'t die, Lariette."

Still, Asrahan used to dream of Lariette\'s disappearance. Every time he woke up, he was grateful that it was just a dream.

"Please, don\'t leave me."

"I can\'t let her go anymore."

Even if Lariette was blaming him, he couldn\'t bear to let her go.

"What do you mean all of a sudden?" Lariette felt embarrassed once again.

If she could, she wanted to get it out of her head because she didn\'t understand the situation very well.

"I know... your condition."

"What is my condition?"

Asrahan, who had thought the acting part was absurd, bit his lower lip and shouted in a hoarse voice.

"Aren\'t you condemned to a limited time?"

"..."

"Don\'t try to deceive me anymore," Asrahan added, tears streaming down his face.

Lariette was momentarily lost in his words and fell silent.

"But I don\'t have it anymore... How can I tell Asrahan in a less embarrassing way?"

Lariette slowly opened her mouth with a confused expression.