Hansel’s Enchanted Fairytale: Fill Me Up With Magic! - Chapter 79
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Hansel’s eyes opened to a soft twinkle.
Stars, like grains of sugar, were scattered across a deep navy sky. It was the middle of the night.
Blinking in a daze, Hansel realized something.
…When did I fall asleep?
She felt parched. It wasn’t surprising, considering she’d spent the entire day dealing with Dante’s clinginess, which had left her utterly drained.
Do I need to wake Dante just to get some water?
“……”
Truthfully, she didn’t want to wake him up in the middle of the night and have him stick to her again. But sneaking off alone and getting caught might lead to who-knows-what kind of trouble.
Let me check the nightstand first. He might’ve left some water there.
Hansel sat up on the edge of the bed. As soon as her feet slid into the soft, furry slippers—
Thud! Dante grabbed her arm.
“Ah!”
Hansel was pulled into Dante’s arms, her body enveloped by him.
It was as if he had never been asleep. His sharp crimson eyes locked onto hers.
“Where are you going?”
“I… um… water… I was just going to get water.”
Hansel stammered, then stopped herself.
“Wait, were you awake this whole time?”
“Yes.”
“You’re telling me you’ve been like this the entire week?”
“Yes.”
Hansel frowned slightly. This is too much.
Sitting up fully, Hansel looked down at Dante. The moonlight cast shadows across his face, making him appear somewhat gaunt.
It was one thing for him to be clingy during the day, but losing sleep was serious. It would take a toll on his health.
We need to talk about this, right now.
“Were you staying awake because you were afraid I’d leave? Dante, even if you don’t trust me, this is going too far.”
Dante simply gazed at her for a moment, then lowered his eyes. His long lashes caught the faint starlight, soft and serene. His expression remained calm as ever, yet somehow he looked sorrowful.
“If I sleep, I dream.”
“Dream?”
“In my dreams… you leave me. You say you like the wolf better, so…”
Hansel closed her mouth tightly.
Dante slowly sat up, leaning back against the headboard. With a gentle pat on his knee, he signaled for Hansel to sit. She quietly settled onto his lap.
Dante brushed his fingertips along her forehead, smoothing her hair away. He cupped her cheek tenderly, tracing the shape of her lips with his fingers.
It was as if he wanted to etch her face into his memory. His sorrowful crimson eyes swept over her features.
Then, his gaze turned icy, reflecting an undercurrent of anguish.
“In my dreams… I kill you.”
His voice was low, trembling like a thread about to snap.
Dante’s gaze drifted toward the window, the moonlight casting a cool glow over his face, accentuating the shadow of his sharp features.
“That’s why I don’t want to dream.”
The weight in his voice made Hansel’s heart ache.
The day she left, even though it was for only half a day, the emptiness in the house had suffocated him. It had been like drowning in a muddy abyss.
For so long, Dante had lived in solitude, with silence as his constant companion. To him, silence was as natural as air, something he never questioned.
But the moment he returned to an empty, utterly silent bedroom, he realized his world had already been shattered.
The stillness wasn’t peaceful—it was suffocating. It felt as though someone had sliced away the very ground he stood on, leaving him unmoored. The weight of that absence crushed him.
Hansel had taught him loneliness.
And now, there was no going back. Whether he wanted to or not, his quiet, undisturbed world was forever altered.
Hansel had stirred his once-still pond, rippling its surface. He could no longer ignore the tremors of emotion she had awakened within him.
Hansel wasn’t just a person to him—she had become his entire emotional landscape. And it was only in her absence that he had realized this.
Fear of loss, love, obsession, and longing—these emotions tangled together into one overwhelming knot within him. He loved her, but he was terrified.
Hansel stared blankly at Dante’s profile.
……
He had said it before, hadn’t he? That he wouldn’t hurt her anymore because he liked her now. It was Hansel herself who hadn’t believed him.
Guilt pricked at her conscience as she looked into his sorrowful red eyes. She felt like she had tainted his pure and beautiful world with her selfishness.
She needed to reassure him somehow. He was like a lost puppy suffering from separation anxiety, and Hansel knew it was all her fault.
She had to take responsibility.
