Chapter 18
The day before she was supposed to give Aiden the Hayashin fruit, Raylenne was filled with anxiety. She shook a small glass bottle containing a green liquid back and forth.
“Hmm…” She propped her chin on her hand, staring intently at the swaying liquid. The immediate issue was how to administer this pain reliever to Aiden beforehand. Tantaan had mentioned that to minimize the pain, the pain reliever needed to be taken just before the Hayashin fruit.
But how was she supposed to tell Aiden, “We’re going to feed you something strange soon, so take this first to ease the pain”?
And more importantly, she was reluctant even if it meant halving the pain. She didn’t know the extent of the agony that this cursed Hayashin fruit could cause. Though Helis had decided to feed it to him, just standing by and watching made her feel as if she were steeped in filth.
Raylenne thought about pretending to feed it to Aiden while hiding it in her sleeve. However, the Hayashin fruit was too large to conceal that way. According to Tantaan, it was about the size of an adult male’s fist. She considered switching it out with a pre-bitten Hayashin fruit, but if caught, her goodwill towards Aiden would be exposed. The fruit was quite big, making any sleight of hand too risky.
Raylenne’s brows furrowed in thought. ‘…Should I just eat it myself?’ She could tell Helis to watch through the door’s window, then turn her back and pretend to feed Aiden. Helis would never suspect that she’d eaten it herself. The symptoms would appear after 30 minutes, giving her time to retreat to her room and suffer in private, deceiving Helis completely.
She fiddled with the pain reliever in her hand. According to the apothecary, the Hayashin fruit would only cause pain, not physical harm. It shouldn’t pose a serious threat to her body.
But still, ‘…It’s going to hurt a lot, isn’t it?’ Aiden would experience the same pain. In the end, Raylenne clutched her head and sighed deeply. Her internal struggle continued into the morning of the fateful day.
It wasn’t until she stood at the entrance to the dark underground dungeon where Aiden was kept that she made up her mind. ‘Yes, I’ll eat it.’ She could endure the pain wrapped in her luxurious bed, but Aiden would be curled up on the cold floor, suffering alone.
Raylenne hurriedly drank the pain reliever before Helis arrived.
“…Life,” she muttered, wiping her mouth. Haele noticed.
“What are you drinking?”
“This?”
“Yes. You’ve been unwell; is it a supplement?”
A supplement… It was meant to protect her from pain, so it was somewhat similar. Staring at the empty glass bottle, Raylenne remembered something she needed to tell Haele.
“Haele, remember when I mentioned that someone might be poisoning my food?”
“Yes, you did. But why… Did you catch the culprit?!”
Raylenne shook her head. “Not yet. So, don’t tell anyone about it.”
For now, only Caverion and Raylenne knew someone was trying to assassinate her. She needed to ensure Haele kept quiet as well. Haele blinked, confused.
“Understood.”
Just then, Helis appeared.
“Sister, you’re already here.”
Helis’s face lit up like someone anticipating a delicious meal.
“Helis, I’ve decided it’s better if I feed Aiden the Hayashin fruit myself.”
Helis tilted his head. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“…On second thought, you were right. Since I’m in charge of Aiden, it’s easier if I establish discipline.”
Helis smiled, satisfied. “I knew I was right.”
Then he quickly became serious, his blue eyes scrutinizing her. “Honestly, I was suspicious of you, Sister. Though you deny it, it seemed like you were being overly kind to him.”
“I told you, I wasn’t.”
Raylenne crossed her arms, trying to look confident.
“Yesterday, you hesitated to feed him the Hayashin fruit, which made me even more suspicious.”
“…I just wasn’t in the mood then.”
“Well, now that you’re willing to do it yourself, my doubts are cleared.”
Helis shrugged. “Of course, you wouldn’t show kindness to someone from the enemy Bedeusian family. Father and our brothers wouldn’t stand for it.”
“Enough of that talk. I told you it’s not true,” Raylenne said coldly. Helis grinned.
“Sorry, Sister. Shall we go to Aiden Bedeusian now?”
Tap, tap—
Their footsteps echoed in the darkness. Raylenne’s palms were sweaty with tension despite her resolve. Finally, they reached Aiden’s cell.
“I’m opening it.”
At Haele’s signal, Raylenne nodded.
Clang—
As the iron door opened, they saw Aiden sitting near it. He looked at Raylenne, appearing puzzled to see her with Helis.
‘Aiden…’ Raylenne found it hard to look Aiden in the eye today.
“Sister, here is the Hayashin fruit.”
Helis handed over the black, glossy fruit. It was round, resembling a black apple.
Raylenne took it, trying to keep her hands from trembling.
“I’ll watch through the door’s window. There’s too much dust here,” Helis said.
“…Alright.”
She was relieved. Helis volunteering to step outside the cell was fortunate.
As she thought everything was going well, Helis, who was about to leave, suddenly turned around. “If Aiden refuses to eat the Hayashin fruit, let me know. I’ll help you,” he said, then leisurely exited the cell.
Raylenne tried hard to resist frowning. She could feel Helis watching her through the window in the iron door.
Raylenne slowly walked towards Aiden. Her stern expression seemed to make Aiden sense something unusual. But she couldn’t say anything to him.
‘I’m sorry, Aiden.’
She felt guilty for creating this situation. She should have stopped Helis from coming to the underground prison. If she had, Helis wouldn’t have grabbed Aiden by the hair, and Aiden wouldn’t have broken his nose in retaliation. But what use was regret now?
Raylenne stared at the black fruit in her hand.
‘Why did the gods create such a thing?’
She resented the fact that the wrong person had to suffer. Her mouth went dry.
She could feel Aiden staring at her. Despite the difficult circumstances, one thing was clear: she had decided not to feed Aiden the Hayashin fruit. Although his condition had improved since she first saw him, he wasn’t fully recovered. Moreover, living in such harsh conditions and suffering unjust punishment could very well lead Aiden to become the villain of this story, just as the novel’s title suggested.
Raylenne bent over and slowly brought the Hayashin fruit to Aiden’s mouth. From Helis’s perspective, all he could see was her back, with Aiden obscured. She had to pretend to feed him to some extent. As Raylenne brought the unknown fruit close to Aiden’s lips, his eyes widened.
Just before it touched his mouth, she quickly turned her hand and bit into the Hayashin fruit herself.
Crunch—
She chewed and swallowed the fruit so fast she couldn’t even taste it. When nothing was left in her mouth, she slowly straightened up and opened the iron door.
Helis was standing there, watching.
“Aiden has eaten the Hayashin fruit,” Raylenne said, showing the bite marks on the fruit as evidence.
“I didn’t expect him to eat it so willingly. That’s fortunate,” Helis remarked, his gaze shifting to Aiden. “The pain will start in 30 minutes. Next time, we’ll see a more subdued Aiden Bedeusian.”
Raylenne nodded, and Helis turned to leave. “I have to go. If the riverbank hadn’t suddenly burst, I would have stayed to watch Aiden suffer. What a shame.”
Raylenne let out a deep sigh of relief internally. It was fortunate Helis didn’t plan to stay.
“…”
“Aren’t you leaving, Sister?” Helis asked, noticing Raylenne standing still.
Of course, she needed to hurry back to her room. Soon, she would be writhing in pain from the Hayashin fruit’s effects, and she couldn’t let anyone see that. But despite her thoughts, her mouth wouldn’t move.
‘What… Why is this happening?’
She felt a burning sensation deep inside her body. Trying to hide her discomfort, Raylenne finally spoke, “You go ahead… I’ll stay and watch Aiden for a bit longer.”
“Understood,” Helis nodded and disappeared. However, Haele was still standing nearby.
“Haele, you should go too. Isn’t it lunchtime?”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay here alone, Raylenne?”
Though he never came into the cell, now he was pretending to be concerned.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Alright, then,” Haele nodded and walked away.
Once alone, Raylenne collapsed onto the floor, her forehead covered in sweat. She realized this unfamiliar sensation was the power of the Hayashin fruit.
‘Why does it hurt already…!’
Tantaan had said the pain would start after 30 minutes…
[Of course, individual differences may occur.]
It was just like the disclaimer on a medicine packet. She hadn’t expected the pain to come so quickly. Maybe her body was just weak.
Raylenne curled up, closing her eyes tightly.
Clang—
She heard the chains move. When she looked up, she saw Aiden staring at her with his gray eyes shaded.
“What’s wrong…?”
Raylenne couldn’t answer, only breathing heavily from the overwhelming pain. Seeing her condition, Aiden tried to approach her but was restrained by the tight chains.
“Damn it.”
Aiden cursed… Raylenne blinked in surprise. She felt she was about to pass out. She didn’t want to faint alone on this cold floor. Almost crawling, she managed to move within Aiden’s reach and collapsed beside him.
Aiden knelt down next to her, looking anxious.
“Is there anything I can do?”
Raylenne shook her head weakly. She wanted to ask him to help her pass out quickly, but she knew he wouldn’t comply. She panted heavily, feeling her consciousness slipping away.
“Raylenne…! Raylenne…!”
She could hear Aiden’s voice growing fainter as she lost consciousness.
“Raylenne!”
With Aiden’s desperate cry as the last thing she heard, Raylenne passed out.
midori
thanks! honestly? respect! even though it is for her life and future, willingly enduring pain is not something just anyone can do