The Esper Grand Duke Wishes For Purity - Chapter 12
It was obvious that Kylus was imagining Ren Snow might have gone mad, wandering lost in the Obsidian Forest, or perhaps lost his faith and begun worshipping a demon instead.
In horror movies, it’s always the possessed who start spouting incomprehensible languages first. The only difference here was that it wasn’t Latin—it was Korean.
A nervous tension lingered between the two of them. Heejae, finding the situation ridiculous, let out a sigh.
[How could I mistake someone else for Sehyeon hyung?]
He must be out of his mind.
He recalled, one after another, the moments when he’d felt the man’s energy and undressed in front of him. Kylus’s pale face in the moonlight had looked exactly like Ha Sehyeon’s.
Drenched in blood… Yes, maybe that’s why his judgment was clouded.
As he thought that far, a sudden dizziness struck him. It felt as if the scent of blood was everywhere. Suddenly, a strange thought came to mind—what if, as people said, Ha Sehyeon really had died?
Is that why he was dropped into this world all alone?
[No, that can’t be.]
Heejae sprang to his feet, clenching his fists.
[Huh?]
Kylus spun around once—or maybe it was Heejae who spun. Suddenly everything went dark. Heejae staggered and pressed a hand to his forehead. His nose tickled, and when he wiped it with his palm, bright red blood came away.
[Ah, s**t. A nosebleed…]
Had he overdone it?
“Ren!”
Kylus’s urgent shout rang in Heejae’s ears. It wasn’t even his name, and the man wasn’t Ha Sehyeon, but the voice was identical, and it made his strength melt away.
Heejae let himself collapse into Kylus’s arms. Sinking into that solid male chest, he could almost imagine the familiar scent.
It had been ages since his body was drained from failing to control his guiding energy—since his rookie days. The world spun and he couldn’t keep his eyes open. Curling up in the warmth with his eyes closed, it almost felt like the missing, gentle Ha Sehyeon had come back.
[Hyung…]
They said the northern weather was harsh, but Kylus’s embrace was impossibly warm. He almost blurted out that he missed him. Heejae bit his lips and let the strength drain from his limbs.
***
“The doctor really said there’s nothing wrong?”
“Yes. He’s highly skilled, so I think it’s best if we just trust him and wait.”
“…How frustrating.”
“Could it be that the overuse of divine power made the Goddess angry?”
“Watch your tongue. He’s the one who saved me.”
“I know. It’s just, the strange things he keeps saying are a bit disturbing…”
When Heejae finally woke up after a long sleep, the two were talking quietly at the foot of the bed.
Heejae, still with his eyes closed, thought to himself how badly he needed a translator. Peeking through one eye, he saw the man who had guarded him when he first woke up in this room, and Kylus.
‘If my guess is right, that’s the aide. Snow-white hair, bright red eyes, a huge body, and his ability is a wolf werebeast… He fits the description perfectly.’
‘Amara’—Kylus’s loyal right-hand man, without a doubt.
In the novel, he stayed by Kylus’s side until the very end, dying in the process. Even as he watched the Grand Duke change because of the priest locked in the tower, he never lost his loyalty.
At the very end, fighting off assassins sent to kill Ren, he was gravely wounded, and even then, he threw himself in the path of the Grand Duke’s rampage.
Only at the final, final moment did he admit that the Goddess’s teachings had been wrong.
Maybe it was time to pretend to wake up. Since he couldn’t understand the language, he’d have to act like he’d hit his head. If he kept babbling in Korean, they’d try to exorcise him or something.
As he was thinking hard, Heejae resolved that he needed some way to understand what they were saying. Suddenly, a vivid voice sounded directly in his mind.
[Note] Translator: Nice to meet you, Seon Heejae. Or should I call you Ren now?
His eyes snapped open. Thankfully, he managed not to make a fool of himself by shouting, but he couldn’t stop his heart from pounding in shock.
Heejae swallowed a scream. A glittering blue square window appeared in front of his eyes.
[Note] Translator: Don’t be alarmed. I am your ‘translator’.
As if he could not be alarmed. First transmigration, now a status window? This world was doing everything.
As he silently cursed with his eyes, the blue window introducing itself as ‘translator’ shimmered bashfully.
