CH 5

After waking up from his sleep, Kid exhaled heavily as he got up. The worn-out bed squeaked.

Today was a very important day for him.

It might have been just a wedding day for Seniel, but it was a serious day for Kid who planned to kill someone. I don’t have time to be here, he thought.

Kid looked around the room with stern eyes.

On the wall of a simple room with only a bed and a desk was an inverted rose, a symbol of imperialism. He didn’t know where this little place was, but he thought it was a beggar-like place. He quickly loosened his neatly tied hair.

“I told you not to touch me, but you don’t listen to the end. Fuck you.”

It was a night when the moon did not rise, so there was no light leaking into the room, but he could easily see the open book on the desk with his unusually bright night eyes. He didn’t know if it was the Bible or the scriptures, but he needed something to relieve his wrath, so he tried to tear the book to shreds.

What was so disturbing was, Seniel, who had never underlined anything, vaguely underlined the book.

Sometimes it can be more pleasant to go back. Like a relationship that only deepens after going through everything. You can’t separate them from each other. Like birds that drink tears together. Be a human being with a soul.

Underlined under the phrase Birds Drinking Tears Together.

“What a nutjob.”

With a fucking affection deficiency.

Kid cursed and tore the book in half with his bare hands. He threw it to the floor as if he was no longer interested in the book.

As soon as he went outside, he realized that this place was far from the mansion and that Seniel was staying at an inn.

Taking a carriage from the mansion to his destination would’ve been perfect, but not from this place.

It would take much longer than expected to get to the destination from here.

It meant that all the plans that had been made since a month ago would go to waste. The thought made his anger surge.

Seniel had done this without knowing Kid’s plan for the day, but for Kid, it was just like throwing a tantrum.

Kid had no intention of holding on to this anger. If you are angry, let it go.

If it was because of Seniel’s wife that he had done this useless thing. Once again, it was necessary to warn Seniel wisely.

That what Seniel has done is of no value from the past to the present.

***

By the time Kid got to the mansion in the horse-drawn carriage, it was already well past midnight.

Kid gritted his teeth.

The weak impression of Seniel was nowhere to be found.

‘How should I warn you?’

He went into the kitchen and picked out the utensils for today’s preparation. There were a variety of different types, ranging from a sharp knife that cuts through flesh and bones to a knife bigger and thicker than the palm of his hand, but he didn’t even look at them. It wasn’t his taste to cut something all at once.

What he chose was a silver knife that was moderately forged and fit perfectly in his hand.

Kid slowly swept the walls of the hallway while holding the knife. Kiiik. Kiiik. The knife swept against the wall and made a sharp roar.

He went up one floor at a time, raising his eyebrows, wondering where Seniel kept his wife. If it’s Seniel, he’d obviously put her in the best place.

‘He’s too obvious.’

When Kid opened the door, he saw a figure trembling. The woman seemed to have a gut feeling about her own death.

He skillfully lit a match and watched Vivi. It was really funny that she still pretended to be asleep so desperately.

Kid suddenly stopped walking. He wondered how long she’d be like that, so he stood still, observing, drawing in his mind how to kill that woman to make Seniel tremble.

Only the ticking of the second hand of the clock echoed. When the woman didn’t wake up after a long time, Kid couldn’t hold off his boredom any longer and spun the silver knife through his fingers.

‘This is not fun at all.’

Then let’s make it fun.

He nonchalantly picked up the glass and dropped it to the floor. The glass was mercilessly broken.

“…”

You still won’t open your eyes? His eyes narrowed. This was kind of interesting.

“Is this what they call pretending to be asleep?”

Vivi flinched at the sound of laughter. Already scared like that, Kid was curious to see what kind of expression she would make when she saw his face.

Perhaps she thought that a robber had broken into the house while the landlord was away, but it turned out to be her husband.

Will she get angry, saying that she is startled, or will she cry and beg for help quickly?

‘Whatever it is, it will be a perfect picture to warn Seniel.’

“Your acting is pretty good. Now, if you don’t wake up at the count of three…”

As the mild threats continued, Vivi couldn’t stand it anymore and got up.

Cold sweat ran down her pale face. Vivi’s eyes, illuminated by the yellow light of the lamp, were filled with fear, and… Kid’s face.

The two looked at each other’s faces. Kid’s eyebrows twitched. Something is strange.

‘You could see my face.’

So why doesn’t she react, like someone who knows something? As if she knew this would happen from the beginning. That the face she’d see would be Seniel’s.

The thought of that made him very uncomfortable.

“You’re scared, but you don’t even ask who I am?”

“… N-No. I-I don’t know w-who you are.”

Kid looked at Vivi carefully. After all, if Seniel had revealed his identity to this woman, he would have sent this woman to a safe place, somewhere he did not know.

But there was no way Seniel would reveal him. If they went to jail because of the girl’s report, Kid could just move his body on his own. It’d be more tiring, but nothing would really change.

Kid looked down at Vivi, who had been holding back tears for a while. She was trembling pitifully, but that was all. It was a bit weird that she hadn’t screamed even once.

After the appreciation, he tried to draw a line against the carotid artery neatly.

Then he paused and stopped the knife before slitting her neck.

Kid had been kind enough to tell Seniel not to do such a damn thing each time he killed someone. Seniel would only cry, saying that it was always his fault, but he never stopped doing anything lame.

Looking back on the past, it was obvious that even if he killed this woman now, Seniel would do something against his will again.

‘What should I do?’

He thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make it worse. Kid wanted to ruin Seniel’s daily life as much as possible.

Vivi’s eyes trembled because she was so tense.

“Scripture 23:20. Recite it.”

“… Y-Yes? Pardon?”

Vivi opened her eyes in shock at Kid’s sudden command. She was so surprised that she wasn’t dead yet that she didn’t seem to hear what Kid had said. 

“Scripture 23:20. Recite it aloud.”

“… S-Scripture… Chapter 23, what it is, ah… S-Sometimes it can be more pleasant to go back. L-Like birds that drink tears together. Be a human being with…”

How do I know that? Vivi stuttered as she recalled the lines. She missed a sentence in the middle, but that was a good recollection.

“Well, I have a lot on my mind right now. I’m thinking about doing something I’ve never done before.”

Vivi’s eyes, which were dyed scarlet by the reflection of the lamp, were full of tears.

Kid quickly removed the knife from Vivi’s neck as if he had finished thinking. A sharp breath was released from her mouth, which had been controlling her breath so the knife wouldn’t touch her neck.

But Vivi knew that the knife that had just been removed from her neck could be put back up at any time if he changed his mind. Vivi regained her composure without letting go of her tension.

But the words that came out of his mouth were completely absurd.

“Hand.”

“… What?”

“I hate it when someone can’t understand me the first time.”

Vivi closed her mouth and hurriedly pulled out her hand hidden under the blanket. Her pale hand was damp with sweat.

Kid stretched out her hand and handed her his knife. Vivi stared blankly at the knife, then she shifted her gaze to him.

Why are you doing this?

Kid’s bright red eyes lit up. As if delighted, he wrapped his hands around hers and made her grip the knife.

“I’ll delay killing you.”

Pardon? Vivi almost asked back, but she bit her tongue tight. But she had no choice but to open her mouth blankly again at the sound that followed.

“Try to seduce Seniel. Just like the Bible verse you said, make it look like he can’t live without you.”

Like stupid birds sharing tears or something.

“I will give you plenty of time. And come back from time to time to see how far you’ve progressed.”

“…”

“I warn you in advance, but if you run away… Well. It won’t look good on you.”

The best option you can make is to seduce Seniel and wait to die less painfully.

Kid was well aware of Seniel’s lack of affection. He was someone who pretended to be good because he didn’t want to be hated.

It was funny, but Kid thought perhaps he was that way because he’d been suffering from his father. Considering Seniel was the kind of bastard who ate the carrots his father gave him, this woman could be a little useful.

Learn more

Pause

Unmute

“Oh, if you can’t pay me back properly for saving your life, it won’t look good on you either.”

Because I am not merciful to useless people.

Embarrassment, despair, and a little bit of hope rose in Vivi’s eyes. If you’re going to kill me, just kill me. You don’t need to check on me. Why do you need me to seduce people? Do you know that it sounds like you want me to seduce yourself?

And how are you going to check? You don’t even share your memories… Do you want me to tell you how the date went and how much physical contact went on?

‘Still, I’m not going to die right away, so I’m buying time…?’

He didn’t tell her the exact period, but she was able to live for now.

While Vivi was lost in thought, Kid lifted Vivi’s chin.

“Answer me.”

“… Y-Yes! I will definitely do that. T-Thank you for not killing me.”

“I’ll come and check the progress out on time, so do your best.”

Kid grinned. In many ways, it was a murderous smile for Vivi.

“That knife is a gift.”

Even though she questioned in her heart Who would give this kind of thing as a gift, Bibi responded sullenly, saying that she was very grateful. Kid turned around with a sly smile on his face, seemingly satisfied.

Vivi held the knife in her hand until Kid closed the door and left.

It wasn’t until he had completely left and the sound of his footsteps could not be heard that Vivi was able to exhale once more.

She felt dizzy. As the tension suddenly eased, the spirit that was barely holding out relaxed.

‘Was it like this in the original story? Then did I die because I couldn’t seduce Seniel?’

What happened in a week? No, the story said Vivi died on their first encounter.

Vivi lost the strength in her body. Her head hung down on the pillow.

‘I’m living… like a dog.”

The thought finally lost in Vivi’s mind, still with a knife in her hand.

But Vivi did not know.

That in the original story, Seniel could not go on a business trip to another temple.

Because of Vivi’s mournful request asking him not to go, saying that a mansion without the occupant is scary. Seniel stayed by her side until she fell asleep, but he hurriedly left and couldn’t go far. So Kid did the murder according to his original plan.

She would never know that the original Vivi died walking around the hallway in fear of a solitary room. Until then, Kid hadn’t really cared for her or thought of finding her. Perhaps he would never have visited her had they not met in the hallway.

She fell into a very deep sleep, unaware that she had raised the difficulty level herself, and just feeling relieved that she had survived.