How to Run Away from Obsessed Men

Episode 82

“You can’t go a moment without being in danger, can you?”

Lindsey looked up at Mikhail with a curious gaze. He was looking down at her with an expression that seemed tinged with unease.

‘As if he’s experienced this before.’

Tilting her head in confusion, Lindsey studied his face. Mikhail’s expression was as stoic as ever, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was troubled.

Even though she wasn’t hurt. Even though nothing had happened yet, he seemed to be worrying about something.

“Always, it’s been that way.”

With those words, Mikhail raised his sword.

Even the transcendents Felia couldn’t handle were swiftly subdued once Mikhail joined the fray. Lindsey watched him in silence, holding her breath.

Since his arrival, she’d felt a sense of unease.

‘It wasn’t like this before.’

Mikhail, as a powerful transcendent, bore a strong connection to the goddess’s power.

But it had always been manageable with Lindsey’s abilities. He had even been receptive to Sylvia’s healing before.

‘Something’s changed. His condition has worsened.’

Lindsey reached out and touched Mikhail’s arm. She felt him flinch and tremble at her touch.

She began to heal him.

‘This doesn’t feel right.’

Her brows furrowed as she focused.

His condition was worse than she had anticipated. Even as she used her divine power to heal him, his state was rapidly deteriorating.

Healing him was taking far more effort and time than it used to.

Mikhail placed his hand over Lindsey’s arm, stopping her.

She looked up at him. He smiled faintly and shook his head.

“I’m fine now.”

He spoke softly as he reached out and patted her head.

Lindsey froze at the familiarity of his touch. It was a sensation she could never forget. It wasn’t just his touch—his gaze reminded her of someone as well.

“Baek Ji-hyuk?”

She muttered the name under her breath, but Mikhail didn’t respond. Lindsey clenched her jaw.

The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

She wasn’t foolish. Mikhail’s behavior toward her was strikingly similar to Baek Ji-hyuk’s.

Karen’s words surfaced in her mind.

“If Baek Ji-hyuk succeeded in crossing dimensions, he would’ve been reborn as someone new.”

She had dismissed the idea that Mikhail could be Baek Ji-hyuk’s reincarnation as her own delusion.

But every action Mikhail took seemed to remind her of him.

Even the cryptic words he spoke.

‘Could he not remember?’

If he had his memories, there would be no reason for him not to tell her the truth.

Grasping at her last shred of hope, Lindsey asked,

“Baek Ji-hyuk. Could it be… you?”

Mikhail’s eyes met hers. His face was entirely different from Baek Ji-hyuk’s.

But just as Mikhail had recognized her, Lindsey could tell in that moment.

He was Baek Ji-hyuk.

Then why hadn’t he told her? Why had he kept it a secret?

⋆★⋆

Bianca stepped into the family’s archives. Even amidst the chaos, she felt compelled to confirm something.

‘I think I’ve read about something like this before—something similar to Lady Lindsey’s case.’

The Rosset family, renowned for their prophecies since ancient times, had a unique duty.

They were obligated to meticulously document both the futures they altered and the events that were supposed to have occurred.

As the heir to the Rosset family, Bianca had diligently upheld that duty.

In doing so, she had come across countless records. Among them, some seemed so absurd and fantastical that they bordered on ridiculous.

Bianca had always assumed those stories were somewhat embellished.

‘Since altering the future prevents them from being fully described.’

While scanning the archives, Bianca’s steps suddenly halted.

Her fingers hovered over a book, which she then carefully pulled out.

‘I always thought that story was one of those exaggerated ones.’

She quickly flipped through its pages, her gaze darting over the text until it stopped at a specific passage.

“A person who had crossed dimensions appeared. He claimed his name was Baek Ji-hyuk. He said he had been reborn due to dimensional travel.”

From the very beginning, it seemed utterly preposterous. A person who had crossed dimensions?

“He was a man devoid of emotions. It seemed to be a side effect of his dimensional travel. However, his soul was so strong that his emotions gradually began to return.”

“He asked me about a woman.”

Bianca furrowed her brow.

“I told him about the woman’s future. The woman was destined to be killed by her own father.”

“I told him that fate is the goddess’s will. It’s something that ultimately cannot be changed.”

“There are futures that can be altered, and there are those that cannot. That is the nature of destiny.”

The words that followed caused Bianca’s face to twist in frustration.

“He told me he would try to change that destiny.”

Bianca shook her head.

She herself had never seen “fate.” Her ability to foresee the future wasn’t developed enough for that.

The Rosset family member mentioned in the record seemed to have been an incredibly gifted transcendent.

If the record was true, that is.

Bianca let out a bitter laugh.

‘This is absurd.’

A person who could change destiny?

Even altering the smallest fragment of the future came with unbearable pain.

If someone were to try to change destiny itself, it wouldn’t end with mere suffering.

It would undoubtedly require the resolve to face complete obliteration.

‘Whoever they were, they surely don’t exist anymore.’

Thinking this, Bianca pressed her fingers to her temple as though trying to ward off a headache.

Her trip to the family’s archives had ultimately been pointless.

“Leaving behind something like this as a record is the problem. It’s nothing but a waste of time.”

Muttering to herself, Bianca turned to leave, intending to return to her room. She needed to think of a way to help Lindsey, even just a little.

⋆★⋆

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mikhail said flatly.

Lindsey bit her lower lip, but she couldn’t continue her thoughts.

The reason was Raysis’s desperate voice echoing through the air.

“Roana! Damn it, where are you? Where the hell are you?!”

Lindsey turned her gaze. Raysis was clutching his chest as he ran toward her.

His body was covered in blood, evidence of the many battles he had fought.

Lindsey glanced at his trembling hands. They weren’t steady—they were far from normal.

It dawned on her that Crain was using the power of the Book of the Dead to pressure Raysis.

He wasn’t trying to kill him but rather to torment him mercilessly.

‘He doesn’t intend to kill him, just to make him suffer.’

Raysis let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Lindsey was unharmed. However, his gaze soon landed on something else.

His eyes stopped on Mikhail’s hand, which was still holding Lindsey firmly.

“What is your relationship with Roana, exactly?” Raysis asked, his tone laced with suspicion.

Lindsey couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.

“Is that really what’s important right now?”

“It’s always important. No matter the situation, it matters. Even if it’s you, brother, I won’t—”

Lindsey shot Raysis a sharp glare, exasperation written all over her face. Raysis clamped his mouth shut, fearing she might walk away if he said another word.

Raysis shifted his focus back to Mikhail, offering a faint, humorless smile.

“Mikhail, brother. It seems the time has finally come. Didn’t you tell me to prepare for this day?”

“…”

“Our father… He’s finally lost his mind completely.”

Lindsey chimed in at that, her voice dry and cutting.

“He’s always been crazy.”

Raysis nodded at her words, seemingly unfazed. Lindsey observed him silently.

Beads of cold sweat were running down his forehead, yet even in such a condition, Raysis had rushed out to protect her.

Just as he had once vowed to do in the past.

Raysis turned to Lindsey and spoke, his tone sincere.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

Lindsey’s expression tightened, her lips pressing into a thin line.

Raysis then shifted his gaze to Mikhail, continuing his explanation.

“I knew our father was borrowing power from the Eastern Continent. He plans to use that power to make Prince Flute the emperor.”

“…”

“Because of that, convincing the Senate wasn’t difficult. They wouldn’t want an emperor who relies on foreign power.”

“And?” Mikhail prompted.

With a shameless look, Raysis made his request.

“Help us. We need to deal with our father.”

He raised his trembling hand to emphasize his point.

“With my hands like this, it’s impossible for me to handle all the intruders on my own.”