Chapter 182
“…Kyl?”
Alice blinked slowly, her eyes bright red from crying so much.
‘Am I dreaming?’
That Kylus had opened his eyes and was looking at her.
She had clearly seen his heart stop.
The gentle way he called her “Rien” felt so tender that it seemed unreal.
‘Could I be hallucinating from grief?’
‘Even the heartbeat might be an illusion…’
Alice slowly lifted one hand from his chest and brought it to her own cheek.
Then she pinched her soft cheek flesh very hard.
Squeeze–
“Ouch!!”
Alice couldn’t help but cry out at the very real pain.
“Rien! What are you doing?”
Kylus abruptly raised his upper body.
He narrowed his brows and carefully touched Alice’s cheek, which had turned red from her pinch.
Another vivid sensation.
Alice let out a short gasp and whimpered.
“Ha, it’s real… It’s real…”
Then tears began to pour from her eyes like a broken faucet.
This time, they weren’t tears of sorrow but of relief and elation.
Nevertheless, Kylus spoke with sorrowful eyes, as if her crying pained him.
“Rien, please stop crying.”
As he wiped away her tears.
But Alice paid no attention to his attempt to dry her tears. She sniffled and looked at Kylus with a solemn expression.
Then she firmly grabbed his face with both hands.
Kylus flinched at her sudden forceful action.
“…Rien?”
“Hold still.”
Alice gripped his face firmly and turned it from side to side.
Then she lowered her gaze to his chest and thoroughly examined him all the way down to his stomach.
Kylus flinched at her uninhibited touch, but Alice was too busy to notice. She was completely focused on inspecting every inch of his body.
Only after checking Kylus’s legs as well did Alice finally exhale with a “whew.”
Looking at her, Kylus said softly:
“Rien, I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere.”
As if to tell her not to worry.
Alice finally raised her eyes to look at Kylus again.
But as soon as she saw him, the first thing that caught her eye was the dried blood on and around his lips.
Though his lips had returned to their natural color from their previous deathly blue, the image of Kylus coughing up blood was still vivid in Alice’s mind.
Alice moved closer to him anxiously.
“Are you sure? You’re not just hiding your pain, are you?”
Her golden eyes trembled with persistent anxiety.
But the answer came not from Kylus, but from somewhere else.
[He’s truly fine, so don’t worry. No, he’s more than fine—most poisons won’t even affect him now. I’ve returned your husband to you in an exceptionally robust condition.]
The voice, with a peculiar hint of sarcasm, belonged to none other than the deity, Helios.
“Ah…”
Alice, who had momentarily forgotten about him, turned her head slowly.
There she saw the deity, now closer than before, in the semi-transparent form of a young boy.
Earlier, she hadn’t been able to see him properly because she wasn’t in her right mind.
‘He looks like I could pass my hand right through him.’
‘Is it because he can’t manifest physically?’
As Alice raised her eyes from his ghost-like body, they met his amethyst-colored eyes, as if they had been waiting for her.
Strangely, despite his ethereal form, only his eye color remained vivid.
The moment their eyes met, the deity clicked his tongue and said:
[Didn’t I tell you I would take responsibility for you until the end? How could I possibly let the person you lov—]
But before the deity could finish, Alice suddenly called out to him loudly:
“Lord Helios!”
The deity’s eyes widened in surprise. Alice clapped her hands together and said:
“That’s right! You did say you would take responsibility for me until the end. I completely forgot.”
[…What?]
The deity looked at Alice with an expression of disbelief.
And rightfully so. She had urgently called him only to repeat his words like a parrot.
But Alice had no choice. Had she not stopped him, the deity would have revealed her confession about how much she loved Kylus.
Of course, the current situation was quite dramatic, but no matter what, she couldn’t have her feelings for Kylus confessed through someone else’s mouth.
Especially not in these ruins.
Alice desperately conveyed to the deity in her mind:
She wanted to confess her love to Kylus herself.
The deity’s expression turned quite sour at this, but he still changed the subject as Alice wished.
[Anyway, your husband is perfectly fine, so you don’t need to worry anymore. I did my best not to be a b.a.s.t.a.r.d to you.]
Alice flinched at the vulgar word that the deity emphasized so deliberately.
That crude insult was exactly what she had called the deity.
‘You bastard!!!’
She had shouted it very loudly.
Alice moved her lips slowly as she looked at the deity, who was raising an eyebrow at her.
“…Well, at that time the situation was… ahem, I didn’t mean it.”
[Really? How strange. It sounded very sincere to me.]
Alice lowered her eyes, as if avoiding the deity’s gaze.
Because the deity was right.
Not only right—honestly, she had wanted to curse him even more.
She had been so filled with anger and sorrow that she wanted to grab the deity by the collar and beat him senseless.
She had truly believed Kylus was dead.
‘Yes, that wasn’t my fault.’
Alice suddenly realized.
And gradually, she became angry again. She raised her lowered eyes and spoke:
“But this whole thing was your fault, Lord Helios. You didn’t tell me beforehand. That Kylus was the chosen human.”
The deity slightly averted his gaze as Alice’s voice grew increasingly angry.
“You said you would choose a human who wouldn’t matter if they died… but for that to be Kylus… When I saw Kylus on that magic circle underground, I really…”
Alice’s voice broke with emotion, unable to finish her sentence.
Even now, her hands trembled at the thought of that moment.
‘A human who wouldn’t matter if they died.’
Alice had been devastated to learn that Kylus had been chosen for that role.
And then Kylus closing his eyes after coughing up blood.
As the scenes replayed like a panorama in her mind, Alice’s already puffy eyes reddened again.
Just as she tried to suppress her emotions, not wanting to cry like a child again—
[…I’m sorry for not telling you beforehand.]
“Rien, I asked Lord Helios not to tell you.”
Both the deity and Kylus spoke to Alice simultaneously.
And, with apologies to the deity, Alice naturally responded to Kylus first.
Alice turned to Kylus and asked:
“…You asked him not to tell me?”
Kylus nodded slowly and answered:
“Yes. I requested it. Lord Helios told me he had told you he would choose a human who wouldn’t matter if they died. But when he actually called for me… he promised. He promised that he would ensure I wouldn’t die, that he would protect me.”
Alice narrowed her eyes as if unable to believe Kylus’s words.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“If I had, would you have given your permission?”
Alice was struck speechless by Kylus’s counter-question.
She wouldn’t have given permission.
No matter how much the deity promised to protect Kylus, she would never have allowed it.
There’s always a possibility of something going wrong.
She probably would have told him to choose her instead.
After all, she was much stronger in holy power than Kylus.
Alice shook her head at him.
“No, I absolutely would not have permitted it.”
Then Alice lowered her gaze briefly. Because of this, she didn’t see.
The heavy look exchanged between the deity and Kylus.
Alice raised her head and spoke firmly to Kylus:
“Still, don’t deceive me again. Especially, don’t ever put yourself in such danger for my sake.”
Kylus’s eyes widened slightly at Alice’s words, which seemed to show that she knew exactly why he had accepted the deity’s choice.
Well, how could she not know?
He had always said, like a mantra, that he would give his life for her.
That even if he died, she must live.
He had always said so with complete sincerity.
So surely, this time too, he had accepted for Alice’s sake.
He must have known something was happening at the Empress’s palace from what she had told him.
‘Helios must have mentioned me when choosing Kylus.’
Alice glared at the deity and then urged Kylus:
“Hurry and promise me. Promise that you won’t do such dangerous things again. That you won’t… collapse in front of me again.”
After silently gazing at Alice for a moment, Kylus eventually smiled faintly and took her hand.
“I promise. I won’t collapse without Rien’s permission.”
Kylus placed her hand on his chest. So that she could feel his heartbeat.
At the strong thump-thump of his heart, Alice finally smiled brightly.
Then suddenly, Alice realized something.
“But… Kyl, you can hear Lord Helios’s voice…?”
Indeed. Kylus had been speaking as if he could hear Helios’s voice.
Kylus originally had no holy power, so he couldn’t see or hear the deity.
Had something changed after receiving the deity’s spiritual form?
As Alice looked puzzled, Kylus released her hand and turned his head.
Directly toward where the deity was standing.
“Yes. I can hear and see him clearly.”
“So does Kyl have holy power now?”
Alice also turned toward the deity, brightening at the thought.
However, the deity smoothly smiled and cut her off:
[No. I didn’t grant your husband holy power. He’s not even a devo… person with faith to begin with.]
The deity hastily changed the blunt word that was about to escape and continued:
[He can’t use holy power, but since his body received my spiritual form, he can see me and hear my voice.]
“Then from now on…”
[But that won’t last long either. As time passes, my power will completely leave his body.]
“Ah…”
Alice let out a disappointed sigh.
In truth, she had briefly hoped that Kylus had gained the ability to use holy power.
If his already formidable swordsmanship were enhanced with holy power, truly no one would dare attack him.
Then he would never be hurt again.
So she felt a little disappointed, but it didn’t matter if Kylus didn’t have holy power.
Because she had holy power.
Alice took Kylus’s hand again and said:
“Holy power or not, it’s fine. I’m here. So I’ll rescue you anytime, Kyl.”
As Alice’s golden eyes shone, Kylus smiled.
Then, looking at her lovingly, he replied:
“Yes. I’ll only trust Rien.”
“Trust only me.”
Just as Alice was also smiling softly, a loud “AHEM!” came from somewhere.
