A Horror Game Steeped in Immorality - Volume 2 - Part 11
I buried my face in Lionel’s neck, where a faint floral scent suggested he had just taken a bath. I let go of all the tension in my body, leaning fully into Lionel for support.
“Are you okay now?”
No, I wasn’t. Bathing washes away the smell of blood, too. Yet, I lacked the energy to persist in my suspicions. I wanted to give up on everything. Forget clearing the game or anything else… I just wanted to stay alive.
Impulsively, I spoke up.
“Lionel.”
“Yes?”
I whispered into his ear.
“Should, should we… run away?”
“…”
“Somewhere no one else is… only just the two of us?”
I wished I could run away alone, but surviving meant not only avoiding being killed by the murderer but also fulfilling bizarre daily missions, like massaging Lionel’s p*nis. After spending a night with Daymond and failing once, I couldn’t afford two more failures… or it would mean game over, literally death.
Even if Lionel were the murderer, it wouldn’t matter. Failing the daily missions meant death either way. I could only hope Lionel wasn’t the murderer.
“Are you serious? Do you really mean that?”
“Yes. I’m very serious. I want to leave right away. Tonight.”
“…”
“Are you willing to give up everything to be with me, Lionel? Can you do that?”
“You are my everything. I’m not giving up anything; I’m choosing to live my life by your side.”
* * *
We prepared to flee right away. We packed enough gold and jewels for our needs, a few changes of clothes, and dried food into a backpack. And just before dawn, when the morning was about to break, we sneaked out through the back gate, evading the guards’ eyes. Only after boarding a carriage Lionel had discreetly arranged did we let out a sigh of relief.
Rattle, Rattle…
The carriage rattled through the darkness. Peeking through the gap in the curtains, the passing scenery stirred a strange feeling within me… Was this escape the right decision? Could we really… live like this?
A warm hand covered mine.
“Go to sleep, sister. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
Our destination was a cottage Lionel had prepared as a birthday gift for me. He had shyly mentioned hoping I’d love it for the clear river nearby where we could see fireflies.
“I feel strange… I can’t sleep.”
“It’s okay, sister. Just think of me, and love me. I’ll handle the tough parts…”
“No, you’re not my babysitter. If anything, as your older sister, I should be taking care of you.”
“…”
Voicing it out loud burdened me with a responsibility I hadn’t fully realized before. Dragging my promising younger brother into a life of hiding was bad enough, let alone expecting him to take on the role of a protector.
Even if Lionel came to regret this decision… I wanted him to trust and rely on me as long as we were together. I pushed away the gloom and squared my shoulders.
“But, sister…”
I turned to look up at Lionel. He wore a tender smile, but his eyes seemed on the verge of tears.
“I still can’t believe you chose me.”
His eyes, anxious, fixed on my lips as if afraid this sweet dream would end. Truthfully, I had brought Lionel because of the absurd daily mission… but I couldn’t reveal such a ludicrous truth.
“If not with you, then I wouldn’t left with anyone else.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Lionel’s eyes widened as if he had received an unexpected gift.
“……”
The hand that had been resting on my hand moved up, cradling my face. Lionel parted his lips slightly, tilting his head as if to kiss me. His gaze, heavy with intensity, never strayed from my face. The air between us charged, as if we were on the brink of melding together, lips and all.
I sat there passively, neither resisting nor encouraging his advance. Lionel, who seemed on the verge of devouring my lips, stopped just a breath away.
Rattle, Rattle…
The carriage continued to rumble down the sloping road.
Lionel’s heated breath rushed into my mouth. His lips sealed shut as if holding something back, his thumb gently caressed my cheek.
“I love everything about you.”
“……”
“Your white cheeks, your voice, your neatly trimmed nails, our matching blue eyes, our shared blond hair…”
Lionel’s gaze tenderly traced my face.
“Do you know who I despise and envy the most?”
He asked with a thick voice.
“…I don’t know.”
“My brother and father.”
“……”
“If only I could have made you like our father, or even just been with you in the womb-like our elder brother… our relationship could have been perfect.”
Lionel’s long eyelashes became damp.
“I resent being your younger brother.”
Resenting being the ‘younger’ sibling of the person you love… that’s not how this phrase is usually employed. It typically means wishing for freedom to love openly, not resenting not being one’s father or twin.
His intense feelings were clear to me, but his thoughts remained a mystery.
Caught off guard by Lionel’s sudden confession, I was unsure how to respond. I looked down, immediately regretting it when I noticed his front bulging, embarrassingly evident. His tears fell onto his bulging part, darkening his trousers.
“……”
In this strange situation, I didn’t know where to direct my gaze. Lionel’s face fell onto my shoulder, his damp eyes brushing against my neck, causing me to tense.
“…thank you for choosing me, sister.”
I couldn’t respond. It wasn’t a deeper affection for Lionel over Daymond or Lycan that made me bring him; but it wasn’t like I lacked affection for Lionel, having spent nearly seven years face-to-face with him. Yet, the depth of our feelings clearly differed.
His sobbing dampened my heart. Awkwardly, I stroked his head.
“I like you, Leah.”
“Yeah.”
“Hic… really, I really like you so much.”
“I know.”
“I love you… I love you so much… So much that I can’t control it… Hic… Just thinking about Leah all day, smelling Leah’s scent makes me aroused.”
“……”
