CH 30

A cool breeze pressed gently down on my eyelids. I should have fainted right after I had become one with him, but that wasn’t the case now.

My body felt light and refreshed. Lying down and wearing new pajamas, I could do nothing but gasp as a large hand held me.

‘I’m giving you some ice. Don’t be startled.’

The man who usually talked so much colder than a glacier was now speaking with such a sweet, gentle tone.

I wasn’t sure whether it was a shard or just a piece of ice as small as a grain, it went into my mouth and melted away quickly. Its coldness made me feel like I could live again.

‘Now, one more…’

A piece of ice larger than a grain was slipped into my lips this time. Urgently, I took the cold ice into my mouth.

‘I’ve got some peaches here, do you think you can eat some?’

The moment I heard him say that, I felt hungry. I tried to nod in a hurry, but my limp body barely even moved.

However, he noticed the slight movement and responded as such. He brought a bite-sized peach slice into my mouth.

When the fruit’s sweet nectar escaped through a corner of my lips, a cool tongue licked the nectar. Then, I heard a crackling sound, and again, I was given a piece of ice.

‘Do you want more peaches? Or do you want more ice?’

A voice much sweeter than a peach gently flowed into my ear. My mind was still muddled, and I would not have answered honestly if I was in my right mind, but this time I did.

‘Ice…’

The sweet peaches tasted good, but more than that, I wanted the ice that would come forth from his lips.

As though he found my answer delightful, he chuckled quietly. I could feel his body shaking slightly through the big hand that was still pressing down on my eyelids.

Again, the sound of ice being ground could be heard, and pieces were brought to my mouth. Even though ice wouldn’t have tasted anything, to me, they tasted strangely sweet.

He continued to feed me with peaches and ice alternately, but suddenly, he halted at the sound of a small vibration. I felt him flinch slightly through the palm of his hand, which was still pressing gently down on my eyelids.

He did not move for a moment, but when the vibration could be heard again, he swore under his breath, as sharp as the sound of ice being crushed earlier.

Usually, no matter how angry he was, he would never curse. That’s why I thought, this could really only be a dream.

Cool lips laid a soft kiss upon my forehead, and the palm that was covering my eyes moved away.

I already knew who it was from his voice, but I wanted to see him with my own eyes.

With great difficulty, I lifted my heavy eyelids. My vision was severely out of focus, so it was only after I blinked my eyes several times that I could finally see the side of his face. He had a grim expression as he looked at the phone in his hand.

And there, on the screen, was the name ‘Guide Lee Seo-yoon’. I appeared across the screen several times, and the phone continued to vibrate and flash with a bright light.

He was sitting next to me with a stiff expression now, however he was nonetheless comfortable next to me. So, as I looked up at him, I thought,

As expected, this is a dream.

It’s either a ridiculous dream that would never happen, or…

Just a delusion that I might have subconsciously been wishing for…

Either one of those.

* * *

Ciel slowly talked it out with Aiden. And, just as he had surmised, Aiden was a psychic-based Esper.

He had the ability to read other people’s minds.

It was a dangerous ability.

Back in Korea, Ciel had also met another Esper with the same power. Based on what that Esper had told Ciel before, he decided to do a small experiment. He brought Aiden to the main mansion and tested out the theory on the employees.

He was able to eavesdrop on most people’s thoughts. It was only very occasionally that he couldn’t hear someone’s inner voice.

The usual people that couldn’t be heard were the knights and the aides. Perhaps Aiden’s Esper abilities was a latent power which worked on people who did not have high mental fortitudes.

Or, perhaps he had used his power too much, and it suddenly wasn’t working properly.

Still, in the end, it was a tremendous power.

After suddenly meeting so many people and using his abilities all at once, Aiden quickly got tired. He wasn’t very used to this at all, considering that he’d been living in recluse at the detached manor all this time.

“Aiden, take this.”

“What is this, Brother?”

“It’s holy water from the temple, and it’s made especially for Espers. If you feel really tired, take out a bottle and drink it. We don’t have a lot on hand, so drink it only when you feel like you can’t endure anymore.”

“To what limit?”

When Aiden asked, Ciel briefly had to contemplate. The limit that he had set for himself might be too harsh for his younger brother, who had just begun to use his power.

“…When you start coughing up a little blood?”

So he lowered the bar. Although, after hearing this, his younger brother’s expression was strangely distorted nonetheless.

“…I’m going to feel that much pain?”

Ciel decided to take this opportunity to talk to Aiden a lot.

“Aiden.”

“Yes…”

Aiden immediately thought that he’s going to get scolded. After all, Ciel had been frowning with thinly veiled impatience and discomfort this entire time.

His older brother was taking time out of his busy schedule just to teach him about his powers. Aiden belatedly realized just how childish he was being.

The younger man’s wandering red eyes looked down. His rich eyelashes moved slowly as his eyes drooped.

Contrary to Aiden’s worries though, Ciel was intending to say something more important than anything about his abilities.

“Whatever I’ll tell you right now, you must remember properly.”