NOVEL NEXT chapter 41
41 – Corpse Pickup (8)
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I’m sorry, Ash.
I knew the truth
I noticed it long before I asked you to search the carriage alone.
My ears, accustomed to hunting, already heard the sound of men approaching from afar.
Did you mean to warn me at first?
But, he calmly asked me, ‘What’s wrong?’ The moment I saw your face asking, I realized that this was an opportunity.
i know it’s terrible
I know very well.
I don’t know how
What that curse could cause, I don’t know how.
But don’t get me wrong, Ash.
I didn’t mean to put you in danger.
Really.
Secretly, I was watching.
If Ash was in danger, I was going to help right away.
But there was no need for that.
Ash tearing innocent people apart.
The way he kills people while using magic that he has only studied theories for so far because he can’t practice it in public places.
Ash’s fox burns people to death.
I kept watching.
It was terrible.
It hurt so much.
That’s right.
I am a warrior
I’ve dedicated my life to protecting people.
Don’t think I enjoyed watching innocent people die under the curse.
The screams of the townspeople of Millwood still haunt my dreams.
But, yes.
ash.
I’ll never tell you
Honestly, it was a little cool.
He tried to help whenever he was in danger, but Ash fought admirably.
It was a terrible hell with blood spraying everywhere like a fountain and dyeing the grass and leaves red, but do you know how surprised I was to see you fighting like a fish in water?
Seeing Ash’s rough appearance for the first time made my heart flutter a little.
Maybe you weren’t without talent, maybe you weren’t prepared to hurt others.
Ah, of course, that kind of kindness is Ash’s charm.
I don’t mean to walk through my life of fight and blood.
It was just… cool.
That’s it.
I’m sorry, Ash.
I know.
Right now, at this moment, how you feel.
All the way back to the cabin, the way you trembled as you clasped my arm with one trembling hand and my father’s memento with the other, I could see how terrible emotions gripped you.
Confused, afraid, hopeless, painful, sick, hurt, terrified, painful, disgusting, disgusting, sad, surprised, anxious, unpleasant, unfair, uncomfortable, resentful, pitiful, Gloomy, miserable, bleak, maddening…
You must be suffering from such a complex yet heavy guilt.
know.
Because I did.
But, Ash.
I’ll never tell you, but I hope you’ll understand me if one day you find out what I’ve done.
you said that with your mouth
If you share the same time, the same space, and the same experience, you become a ‘family’.
Ash is so smart.
It was a clear explanation that solved my doubts about the definition of family at once.
so i tried to wait
Because we already share the same space.
I believed that if we calmly accumulate time and experience, one day we will become a family.
Of course, there is only one way for us to be a family, Ash you know.
It’s embarrassing… I’m really too ashamed to say it, but…
I’m fine as long as it’s you, Ash.
however.
You say you have a fiancé
It’s only a verbal promise, but you still have a fiancée.
But why did you treat me like that?
why?
Did you think I would eat you if you didn’t look good to me?
Did you think I would kick you out into the woods?
That’s a huge insult to the character and achievements of a hero named Sylvia.
I’m not that kind of person.
i am a warrior
ash.
Even if you didn’t fawn like a male prostitute, I could have made you stay in my nest.
no sorry
It wasn’t something you heard directly, but I was talking too much.
Maybe Ash is just kind and kind to everyone.
yeah i know
But then f*ck, why are you cooking?
Why do I put on such a happy face when I eat well?
It’s f*cking seduction.
no? am i wrong?
To be honest, after overturning the table several times, I immediately rushed at you and took your clothes,
hmm,
Of course, clothes are very precious in this forest where you can’t even get a single cloth, so that’s never going to be the case.
But, Ash.
you are so defenseless
Or maybe he’s tempting me.
this male prostitute.
No, no.
Hmmm, whatever.
You can’t survive in this forest.
Always be sensitive in dangerous places
don’t blame me
If you noticed someone coming from far away, none of this would have happened.
no,
no
Sorry.
It’s my fault. know
I never meant to blame you.
ash.
But that’s it.
Now we have the ‘same experience’, right?
I thought about it, but it’s not because I’m cursed that I can’t leave this forest.
The experience of that day, when I had to kill the cursed and crazy people one by one with my own hands, was what kept me tied to this forest.
Because I don’t want that to happen again.
And now, Ash has gone through that experience too.
okay?
Can you understand the despair I felt?
I hope so.
We now live in the same space and have had the same kind of very rare experience.
That’s right.
Who would do something like slaughtering so many people in a place that wasn’t even a battlefield?
Maybe it’s just the two of us
Wouldn’t that terrible hell be the kind of scenery that only the two of us know?
Isn’t it the kind of guilt that only we feel?
An experience that no one else has ever done, just the two of us!
three family conditions.
same time
same space
same experience
Since we’ve already met two of these three, can we skip an hour or so?
Can we be a family now?
isn’t it ash?
smart.
huh. I was waiting.
ash.
Just like you got a rough idea of who I am, I also got a rough idea of who Ash was.
Ash has a strong mind, but is soft-hearted, and although he has a pulpit, he is also secretly a coward.
So you’ll never go to bed alone the day you’ve had this horrible experience,
That by now you’d be in my room,
I knew it all daaa
smart smart
wait.
I’ll wait a little longer and open it.
make you want me more
ruler.
ash.
beg for it now,
Won’t you open the door?
hurry.
smart smart
“Possess… Mr. Sylvia. Burr… are you already… sleeping?”
pretty thing.
“Poetry, Sylvia, Mr. Sylvia! Please… please.”
Wait, you’re turning the doorknob.
Oh my, if you look for it so desperately, you’ll think I’m such a mean b*tch.
it’s okay i’m here
I’ll open it right now.
Sigh.
“ash? what’s the matter?”
“… Poetry, Mr. Sylvia…”
“ash? what’s the matter?”
“… o’clock, thread…”
“…ash.”
ruler.
Come on.
Look, I’m stretching my arms.
A four-year-old would understand what that means.
Could our smart Ash not know this?
hurry.
“Uh, uh, uh, uh,”
“I know… it was very difficult…”
right, right
Yes, you can hug me like that.
Ah, this scent.
the smell of four.
Ash’s body drives me crazy.
Tears are so pretty that they sparkle like glass beads.
Look at them shivering like little goats.
so cute.
“ash.”
“Sylvia… Mr….”
don’t look up like that
Don’t look up at me with those teary eyes.
If you look at me like that with those red eyes like mine,
me,
I don’t think I can stand it any longer.
I want to lay you on the bed like this and devour all of your soft skin.
yes, ash.
Would you be embarrassed if you knew my heart like this?
But, you know.
I’m embarrassed too
It’s my first time feeling something like this.
When I was a child training, when I showered with boys in a group because of the poor environment,
Even at the academy, when I was surrounded by the handsome first and second sons of that proud aristocratic family,
Even during the journey to subdue the demon king, who left with numerous adventurers with excellent saga and skills to match.
I’ve never felt an urge like this before,
I’ve never felt anything like this before.
Because nobody treated me like you.
So, this is your fault. ash.
ah,
no.
I can’t stand it.
I’ll hug you a little bit
Don’t get me wrong,
It’s not that I’m thinking naughty thoughts.
It’s because I think I’ll eat Ash if I keep eye contact with you for a little longer.
“Sorry, I thought I might need some alone time.”
It is a lie.
I know you want to die when you’re alone
Because I did.
Because I really, really desperately wanted someone to comfort me, no, just stay by my side without saying anything.
I know your heart better than anyone else, Ash.
So don’t be so cocky.
really cute
“… yea, I got it. Let’s sleep together.”
come in quickly
because it’s closing
Now this door will never open until tomorrow morning.
Let’s be a family like this
ash.
Hey, it’s my first time doing something like this.
I’m really ashamed.
I can never say it now.
i think i like you a lot
no,
i like you.
I like you, Ash.
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As soon as the door closed, Ash clung to Sylvia’s arm.
Sylvia looked down at Ash like that for a while in silence.
Her hand slowly stroked Ash’s hair.
Even though Sylvia’s hand was still holding his head, Ash’s body still trembled.
Sylvia slowly hugged Ash.
Ash’s clothes were all soaked in blood, so he was now wearing only the thin tunic Sylvia had packed for him, with no pants.
Sylvia hugged Ash like that.
Through the thin tunic, the texture of Ash’s soft skin was transmitted to Sylvia’s fingertips.
Sylvia hugged Ash tightly.
Ash also hugged Sylvia tightly.
“ash. Are you cold?”
Ash didn’t answer.
He just hugged Sylvia as hard as he could.
I wondered if this was just his strength, but when I saw Ash hugging me tightly with a blood clot around his neck, it seemed like it wasn’t acting.
I knew it originally, but the difference in strength felt even more vividly.
Sylvia found Ash, who had so little power compared to her, even cuter.
She smiled lightly and gently pushed Ash away from her.
Ash’s eyes were painfully colored with bewilderment.
“No, it’s not like that. I don’t hate it.”
Sylvia reassured Ash in a soft voice.
Then, slowly, he began to unbutton his pajamas.
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