He could never bring himself to end it all—not with the guilt of dragging others into his misery. But deep down, he’d always been waiting. Waiting for the moment this wretched life would finally end.
That is… until he met Bell.
“Kalz!”
Bell’s voice rang sharp in his ears. That voice—he didn’t know exactly when it started, but at some point, he’d come to crave it every single day.
“What are you doing, you lion-headed idiot?!”
Yeah. Whenever Bell was even slightly annoyed, that’s what he’d call him. And yet… even that had become adorable to him.
“What’s the point of all that muscle, huh? Just for show?!”
…Wait, since when did hallucinations talk like that?
Kalz’s eyes flew open.
In the distance, Bell was running toward him, face flushed and furious, as if he were about to explode. Behind him—a man in a black cloak, closing in with clear intent.
“Bell! Behind you!”
“Huh?”
At Kalz’s shout, Briel turned just in time to dodge the man’s attack by a hair’s breadth. But he was already off-balance—it didn’t look like he’d be able to avoid the next one.
Kalz didn’t even think. Something surged within him—some primal force—and he leapt to his feet, bolting straight for Bell.
“Wah!”
The man recoiled at the sudden gleam of Kalz’s eyes slicing through the darkness, instinctively trying to flee. But he didn’t get far. Kalz tackled him, sending him crashing to the ground, and only once the man was down did he rush to Bell’s side, grabbing him by the shoulders.
“Bell, are you okay?”
“You’re seriously asking me that?! Just look at you! You’re covered in bruises from head to toe! This is—damn it, this is killing me!”
“You… how are you even here?”
It wasn’t Bell who answered. The voice came from behind Shark, tight and steady.
“I brought him.”
“Leon?! What the hell are you doing here—!”
“I told you, didn’t I? I wasn’t going to just stand by.”
Shark’s face turned beet red, trembling with fury.
“You dare defy your own father?! After everything I’ve done for you!”
“Don’t you dare use me as an excuse. All of this—for me? That’s a lie. It’s always been about your own ambition.”
“And you still don’t get it?! All of that ambition—it was for you! To give you a future better than mine!”
Leon’s eyes flared, a cold blue blaze. And then, just like the first time he learned the truth about his father’s crimes, he screamed—raw, guttural, and furious.
“I don’t want it! Any of it! That filthy power, that disgusting money! Why?! Why the hell did you do it?!”
“You say you don’t need power or money? How long are you going to keep clinging to that childish nonsense?”
“Yeah, I don’t need any of that! All I ever wanted—the only thing I ever needed—was a father I could look up to. Just that one thing!”
“So why did you have to take even that away from me?! That alone would’ve been enough… it really would have!”
Shark’s eyes lost focus, stunned into silence by the sight of his son’s tears. Kalz silently reached down, picked up the sword with his left hand, and pointed it straight at Shark.
“Hope you’re ready to pay the price.”
Shark didn’t flinch. But just as Kalz took a step forward, Briel stepped between them.
“No, Kalz. Don’t.”
“Why are you stopping me? I get that he’s your friend’s father, but you know what he’s done. He’s crossed every line there is.”
“Of course he has. And he’ll face justice for it. But that doesn’t mean you have to stain your hands with his blood.”
“……”
“They say no one who kills another person ever lives in peace. Let him be the only one burdened with that kind of torment. You’re going to stay with me and be happy, remember? So… don’t do it. Please.”
Got it? Briel smiled as he said it, and with that one smile, the heavy, tangled knot inside Kalz’s chest quietly unraveled. He began to lower his sword.
Then—
Schlick.
A chilling, stomach-turning sound pierced the air from behind Briel.
It was Shark.
Somehow, he’d regained consciousness. And with the last of his strength, he plunged a dagger into Briel’s back.
Briel’s eyes went wide as he turned in shock. Leon shouted something as he sprinted toward them. Kalz could only watch as Briel’s body pitched forward, eyes slowly closing.
Time moved like molasses.
Thud.
Briel collapsed.
And in that instant, Kalz’s world snapped back into motion.
“—!”
A deafening roar ripped through the mountains—the wrath of a furious lion unleashed. Kalz’s golden eyes blazed like a beast possessed. With a snarl, he gripped his sword and swung it at Shark’s neck, full of murderous intent.
But just as the blade was about to strike, Briel’s voice echoed in his mind.
“You’re going to stay with me and be happy. So… don’t do it. Please.”
If he killed this man now, would the future Briel had wanted vanish with him?
Kalz didn’t care about his own happiness. He never had. But the thought of losing Briel forever—that terrified him. That fear, raw and suffocating, smothered the fire of his rage.
He couldn’t let Briel’s blood be sullied by this bastard’s filth.
Kalz halted the swing mid-air and adjusted his grip. Then, with the hilt of his sword, he struck Shark hard across the temple.
Shark dropped like a puppet with its strings cut—unconscious.
***
“Bell… are you alright?”
His worried voice broke through the haze. I blinked open my eyes—and there he was, right in front of me, face smeared with blood, staring down with desperate concern.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
Really, who was supposed to be worrying about who right now?
“You’re awake? Can you talk? And why the hell were you shielding that bastard?!”
“…If this is the last time I see you, are you really gonna spend it yelling at me?”
At that, Kalz’s eyes wavered, completely lost. His hands, still gripping my shoulders, were shaking.
“Don’t talk like that. Don’t joke like that. A stab wound like that won’t kill you—it’s not that easy to die.”
Maybe not for someone like you, I almost said. But I held it in. He looked worse off than me, and yet he was still standing. Still here. And that was more than enough.
Instead of replying, I reached up and gently stroked his cheek.
“See? I told you you’d regret it. So stop being so damn stubborn and just confess already.”
“…You’re right. I do need you. Without you… I already—”
Oddly enough, aside from the pain of seeing that expression on his face, nothing else hurt. Even the knife wound—there was no real pain. Maybe it was the endorphins, or just the shock, but it felt… almost peaceful.
But then Kalz trailed off and stared at me with a strange look, blinking.
“…Wait. Where exactly did you say you got stabbed?”
“My back. The knife went straight into it.”
“Then why… why isn’t there any blood?”
“……?”
“Your color looks way too good.”
Wait—really?
I cautiously sat up. Nothing hurt. I slowly stood. Still totally fine. I reached back to feel where the knife was supposed to have gone in. Something was there. Hard. Solid.
What the—wait a minute…!
“The Witch’s Copperplate!”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“It must’ve blocked the knife! I had it in my bag—look, there’s even a dent here! Whoa… if that guy had any real strength, I’d be dead right now. Seriously, I got so lucky. Right?”
I rattled off in disbelief like someone reacting to a miracle on a TV drama. After my little outburst, I finally noticed Kalz’s expression.
How do I even describe it?
He looked like a betrayed puppy whose trusted human had just snatched away its last chew bone.
“You little scammer…”
“No, really! I thought I’d been stabbed! I heard this awful sound, turned around, and someone was charging at me with a crazed look and a knife! Of course I assumed I got stabbed! Then I passed out—I guess I was just wiped from running all the way from the village to the castle. That must’ve been it. Unbelievable.”
“Of all things… you faked your own death?”
“I didn’t fake anything! I genuinely thought I was dying!”
“You—! Seriously, you—!”
Kalz’s face twisted into the image of pure fury—he looked like some wrathful mountain god—and he stormed toward me. Instinctively, I flinched and shut my eyes tight. But the next moment… I was pulled into his arms.
“…Thank you. For staying alive. For being safe. Really, thank you.”
“You too. Though I’m not loving the whole ‘covered in blood’ aesthetic.”
“Do you have to add that right now?”
“All that blood—it’s because you fought to protect everyone, right? I know that. I saw it. So thank you. And… I love you.”
“……”
Instead of answering, Kalz just held me tighter.
His warmth. The steady beat of his heart. I could feel everything—so close, so real.
Yeah… this is your love.
Now I get it.
