NOVEL NEXT Episode 101
Episode 101
‘Wait. My mind is blank, so I’m having trouble thinking.’
There’s no way Ryuseong shrank after getting punched by Alice in Wonderland while coming to get me, right?
I want to reject reality, but I force myself to face the truth with my churning head. That’s really Ryuseong as a baby, right? It seems to be him, but it’s also not, so it’s driving me crazy. So what I’m trying to say is…
‘That’s the trauma of the shadow world…!’
Well, both Ryuseong and I have trauma-inducing events piled up in our childhoods. Still, I didn’t know it would take the form of such a young child! I was so shocked that I couldn’t think straight. Taking advantage of that moment, little Ryuseong rushed at me and swung his sword straight at me.
I hadn’t adapted at all to Ryuseong’s reduced body.
‘It’s absolutely not because I can’t kill him out of love!’
Whoosh!
Geez, why is that little kid so good at swinging a sword! Life is indeed unfair! I didn’t just step back, I practically fell over and rolled before I could avoid the trajectory that tried to split my chest in half. I rolled like that to avoid the next attack, and after barely recovering my body’s balance, I rushed towards Ivan Karpin’s behind, panting. As I swiftly pulled my behind, making a sound of cutting through the wind, Ivan Karpin’s face became quite mysterious, but I had no choice if I wanted to live.
As soon as I hid myself tightly behind the hardy military man nurtured by the frozen land, young Ryuseong immediately considered Ivan Karpin a new enemy and started looking for an opening. He stepped back one step to face the iron-willed man, then fiercely stabbed at a irregular angle.
Clang!
After a few clashes, Ivan Karpin’s face turned pale. Haha, our Ryuseong is really strong, right? Of course, it’s not something I should say since it’s my fault he became an enemy. However, far from helping Ivan Karpin to beat up young Ryuseong, I left Ryuseong to freely attack Ivan Karpin.
“Lieutenant Colonel! What are you doing, not helping!”
“Did we ever agree to be allies?”
“What? You bastard?”
I feel a bit bad saying this, but there’s no guarantee we can win even if I intervene, right? Anyway, after living a fxck-you-my-way life and dumping all the aggro on the Russian officer to catch my breath, I felt better. Ivan Karpin desperately called my name, looking bewildered that I had dropped out of the battle, but… well, how could I, his lover, hurt Ryuseong?
‘What a crazy excuse.’
So die alone and see how it feels. Heh heh heh.
‘…I’m just kidding. Really.’
Anyway, I’m just watching the battle to prepare a winning move.
Because if I fought seriously, I might accidentally die. Even so, I can kill Ryuseong, but it’s difficult for me to win without getting hurt… Then, if it’s the trauma of the dungeon that must be killed, shouldn’t I be able to fully show off my skills? Hold on, kid. The world doesn’t work that simply.
Therefore, Cassice Demillang’s calm self watched Ivan Karpin barely defend against young Ryuseong’s fierce attacks for a while. However, I couldn’t help but feel strangely out of body. Because the handsome and big Ryuseong I used to see was gone, and only the little one was stumbling around alone.
‘…It feels like I’m floating.’
From Ivan Karpin’s point of view, it must be scary to see Ryuseong swinging his sword with the momentum to kill him. But, while I don’t know about Cassice Demillang, at least I, Jeong Ian, can’t believe the scene in front of my eyes. In fact, it may be natural not to be able to adapt. It’s not Ryuseong who has shrunk, but my sanity, and what has appeared in front of me is not Ryuseong either. A fake child manifested from Ryuseong’s trauma, just a false and distorted image.
“Why is it so lifelike of all things…”
As I mutter, driving myself crazy.
“He broke my collarbone too? I get it. So please, just help me out!”
A slow smile suddenly flowed at the nonsense that burst out. Despite his picky and stern-looking face, Ivan Karpin seemed to be quite a funny person.
On the other hand, my mind knew that I had to cooperate when he laughed it off. This dungeon would have absorbed Jeong Ian’s trauma and become even stronger than the original.
I know too. The weight of my trauma is no joke. So I can’t let go of a named, unique-named strategist like Ivan Karpin so easily.
Ivan Karpin’s unique name is this.
‘I don’t know.’
The Ryuseong in front of me is fake. It’s just a fake. I don’t need to be afraid of it. But why do I feel this way? Do I not want to hurt him? Even though he’s just a fake? I couldn’t tell. I really couldn’t tell. But at the moment I was about to prepare blood magic by squeezing out my own blood, I could realize a lot of information from the gaze I suddenly met with you.
Ah, I…
‘I’m feeling a sense of kinship right now.’
Jeong Ian is fake. I’m just a vessel, not the real Cassice Demillang.
The Ryuseong in front of me is the same. He is just an ego and monster generated based on trauma.
He’s not the real Ryuseong. So Cassice Demillang…
‘I don’t want to kill him.’
I dared to have such a thought.
‘How dare I.’
Projecting my own self-image, in a dungeon where someone might die at any moment, I’m so generous and have so much time that I don’t want to hurt Ryuseong. While producing a very lovey-dovey scene in others’ eyes, I hugged young Ryuseong who was running towards me with Ivan Karpin’s scream. I’ll definitely get stabbed by Ryuseong’s sword like this, but then I’ll bleed, so I’ll be able to respond, believing that.
At least begging that I would be that smart…
I prayed for the pain that would soon come.
‘At least allow me to hug.’
Fxck. I think I’m really a pure lover. I gritted my teeth, feeling like I was taking a loss for nothing, but something felt strange. Contrary to the interpretation of the original character, Ivan Karpin, who should have reprimanded Cassice Demillang long ago, was making a wry smile as if he had nothing to say. Wondering why he was acting like that, I looked down at my belly that felt no pain, and I saw little Ryuseong tightly clinging to me with his legs wrapped around my waist. No, what is this.
Don’t tell me, did I just tame young Ryuseong?
‘This guy, just by looking at him, he’s tamed!’
Damn it. He’s too docile, even if he’s docile! How can you release such a kid into the rough world!
So I decided not to release him and raise him instead.
“Sit.”
“…”
“Wait.”
“…”
“Eat.”
While Ivan Karpin made a face as if he had seen a ghost, looking at young Ryuseong sitting on my thigh, eating bread and being happy, I didn’t care.
* * *
‘Is this a joke?’
Ivan Karpin had never seen such a crazy bastard in the century. Is this normal? Is it proper manners for Demillang’s children to have this fxcking attitude built-in? But Ivan Karpin couldn’t think like that. The generations of Demillang’s children he had seen, except for a few outstanding ones, were all humbly arrogant and had the right amount of snobbishness and annoyance. And a few outstanding ones have now become the masters of a great family that Ivan Karpin cannot even look down on, or have become the next in line.
Ivan Karpin remembered their eyes full of frighteningly cold nobility.
At least only one person, Isaac Demillang, smiled innocently like a kind and neat gentleman.
But Cassice Demillang had nothing in common with any of them.
‘To the point where you wonder how such a mutant was born between Isaac and his wife.’
I saw a cold nobility at the first meeting. So I thought he was one of them, as expected of the lieutenant colonel. That’s why I thought the aftermath would be no joke if I didn’t serve him properly on my own. But, to give up the command and meekly set up a tent on his own.
Of course, Ryuseong moved for the construction of the barracks, but it was still thankful just not to mobilize this side’s forces. Because we were already at the limit with just the personnel monitoring and guarding the dungeon. Considering that, it’s worthy of reproach that he discovered the dungeon break too late.
‘He just covers the faults of others.’
And he even has a warm heart that can reform a trauma-ridden beast.
‘Who the hell is this person? Why do new aspects keep appearing no matter how much I look at him?’
It was so different from the preconceived notions Ivan Karpin had recklessly held until now.
So Ivan Karpin wanted to know more about him.
The moment Cassice thought this, as the gaze became openly fierce.
‘No, is that bastard trying to die. He couldn’t even match the date of the dungeon break, but his eyes are fxcking. Rolling like X?’
At that moment, baby Ryuseong kissed Cassice on the cheek.
“Cute. So cute.”
Cassice’s head turned white on the spot.
As he became half stupid and was about to receive a lip stamp from baby Ryuseong pulling him, right then.
“Are you crazy? Why are you cheating?”
The real Ryuseong appeared.
‘Fxck, fxck.’