There is No Key to His Cage - Chapter 17
A gentle touch, like playing a harp.
The warm sensation felt between strands of hair.
If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.
Who could it be?
Who could be caressing me so preciously?
Could it be…
“Aiden….”
As she uttered his name, the moving hand suddenly stopped.
Feeling something strange, she gently opened her eyes to see a familiar face.
Ah, is this why they say a woman’s intuition is always right?
“Deca… rus….”
“Yes.”
His face, illuminated by moonlight, shone beautifully like a water nymph Naiad.
His red eyes, like rubies, were moist as if covered with dew.
He reached out and gently caressed her cheek, which was plump like a peach.
It was a warm and gentle touch as if handling a baby.
“I missed you.”
“……”
The trembling of her body upon seeing him was familiar.
They say a dog trembles and can’t even bark when it sees someone it fears.
This was exactly that situation.
Just a moment ago, she had resolved to fight against him, but now her body wouldn’t move easily.
“Don’t touch me….”
Elena managed to squeeze out these words through her trembling voice.
At this, Decarus snickered and rested his chin on his hand, gazing at her.
His languid gaze seemed like it could suck one in like a black hole.
“You’re beautiful.”
He treated her preciously, like parents looking at their newborn child.
But such touches were not what she wanted.
She just wished for his existence to disappear from her sight.
“I thought about you all day.”
“……”
His long arm, which had burrowed under the blanket, embraced her slender body.
Elena struggled in his arms, unable to even let out a scream of desperation.
“What are you…!”
“I was afraid you might disappear again.”
He closed his eyes and gently nuzzled his face against her peach-colored hair.
A scent like ripe peaches lingered on his nose.
“Afraid you might leave my arms.”
His words were somewhat understandable, but not relatable.
If anything, they only fueled her rebellious spirit more.
“You know it too.”
“……”
“That you hold my leash.”
Elena continued as if resigned.
The mention of a leash made her feel like she had really become a dog, which was quite laughable.
A miserable feeling dug into her heart and wouldn’t go away.
It felt like she had truly become a being that couldn’t do anything without his orders.
“That’s right.”
She remained in his arms like that for a while without speaking.
Wondering if he was asleep, she wriggled her body, but each time she did, he would kiss her, so she just stayed still quietly.
“What did you do today?”
“You… don’t need to know.”
Decarus let out a short breath at her sharp response.
“I heard you were with Jane earlier.”
What’s the point of asking when he already knows everything?
The more they talked, the more fatigue set in.
She didn’t want to continue conversing with him anymore.
“I want to sleep.”
“Just a little longer.”
He carefully turned her around to face him.
A strange atmosphere passed between their meeting gazes.
It seemed he had no intention of letting go.
At this rate, it felt like they might stay up until dawn.
“Did you have fun with Jane?”
He slowly looked her up and down.
His gaze, which touched her eyes, nose, and lips, made her feel like holes might burn into her face.
“…Yes.”
“What did you do that was so fun?”
His nose tip gently brushed against hers, tickling her like a soft greeting.
As she flinched and tried to pull away, he held her waist even tighter.
“…Just, a walk.”
Hot breaths mingled in the close distance, barely enough to fit a sheet of paper between them.
A strange feeling arose as their lips slightly touched each time they spoke.
“I see, that’s good.”
He tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips against hers.
Their soft flesh, like flower petals, met carefully.
But Elena neither looked at him nor touched him back.
She just stared into space with empty eyes.
“I love you.”
It was a heavier statement than anything else.
A serious word, neither playful nor naive.
A heavy stone slowly pressed down on her frozen heart.
“I want to sleep.”
She didn’t want to hear such embarrassing words that made her hair stand on end.
Especially not from him, of all people.
Elena turned her body towards the window, turning her back to him.
But she still couldn’t escape from the firm arms that held her tight.
“Let go.”
Instead of answering, he placed a short kiss on the nape of her neck.
It seemed he intended to sleep like this.
A sigh escaped her due to the frustration, but she didn’t mind.
Elena closed her eyes and felt the wind coming through the window.
The sound of insects singing and leaves dancing on tree branches.
For this moment, she felt free from him.
Just as her eyes were slowly closing, a low voice whispered in her ear.
“I’ve always imagined this.”
“……”
“A night where I hold you in my arms as we fall asleep.”
He reached out and interlaced his fingers with her slender ones.
The touch of warmth made her body feel a little warmer.
“If only I had found you a little earlier.”
“……”
“Would things have been different?”
His subdued voice once again raised doubts.
Why did he always speak as if longing for an old lover?
As if their fates were tied with a red string on their fingers.
“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter now.”
“……”
“Since you’re already in my arms.”
His voice, moist as if wet with water, melted into her ear.
She involuntarily flinched at the hot breath on her ear.
“I know you’re pretending to sleep.”
He snickered and stroked her hair.
Embarrassed, she tried to slip her hand out of his, but he gripped it tighter, not letting her escape.
“Where are you trying to run off to?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Elena answered primly, as if embarrassed.
Of all things, to be caught and become the object of his ridicule.
She felt like hitting him on the head.
“So lovely.”
Elena sighed shortly with a displeased expression.
She didn’t want to hear any more of these embarrassing words.
It felt like calluses would form in her ears from hearing them chanted like a mantra almost every day.
“You still don’t know how to be loved.”
Decarus approached slowly and bit her earlobe.
The gentle nibbling made her feel like a bug was crawling in her ear.
“You always try to deflect and push it away instead of accepting it.”
“…Stop it.”
Elena suddenly turned to look at him.
She was annoyed at him for judging her as he pleased.
She had never said or wanted to be loved.
“You don’t know how precious you are.”
His fingers flowed through her long hair.
It was a careful touch as if handling thin glass.
“Whatever life you’ve lived, I don’t care.”
“……”
“Elena, you are you, just as you are.”
He lowered his head to look straight into her eyes.
His eyes, clear as glass beads, were filled with transparent sincerity.
As if facing a mirror of truth, she could no longer avoid or deny him.
“That’s why I can’t help but love you.”
“……”
“You, who are so precious and lovable.”
Her heart rippled like waves.
Listening to his voice, it felt like something was about to explode.
Elena bit her lip hard, lowering her head.
“Come here.”
He reached out and held her in his arms.
The gentle patting on her back seemed to calm her turbulent heart a little.
She could hear his heartbeat from her face pressed against his flat chest.
Elena breathed slowly, matching the gentle rhythm.
“Why do you keep hurting me, yet pulling me closer….”
Her voice, drenched in sadness, caught in his firm chest.
His nightshirt wrinkled each time her small lips moved.
“I find you so terrible and dislike you, but I can’t escape.”
“……”
“Why do you keep haunting me, making me feel so miserable?”
He silently stroked her long hair.
The warmth of his lips, softly landing on her head like snow, was comforting.
“I dislike you so much. I dislike you, but my heart feels strange…. When I’m with you, my chest keeps fluttering….”
Tears came to her silently.
The emotions that rushed in like fierce waves reached their limit.
Teardrops gathered in her eyes fell one by one.
“Don’t break me anymore. I’ll be your doll, so please just leave me alone….”
She had lived more than half her life amidst verbal and physical abuse.
No one had ever told her that she was loved, that she was precious just for existing.
She didn’t even have memories of being held in warm arms.
She hated this world and the parents who abandoned her.
She blamed herself every day but couldn’t love herself.
All these arrows of blame turned back on herself.
She believed that all the seeds of unhappiness started from her.
But why do the people here keep telling her that she’s precious and loved?
“Elena.”
It felt strange.
She had never considered herself precious before.
She had never thought of herself as special before.
Could this be a fake world created to deceive her?
Could this be the last punishment given by God to someone who had only suffered all her life?
Her cold heart, which had never been able to love anything, felt like it was about to break.
“It’s okay.”
He kissed her forehead and slowly patted her back.
Gently, not too strongly, as if handling a baby.
His warm body seemed to comfort her, saying it was alright.
“You wanted to be loved.”
His voice, which resonated in her heart, made her question herself.
Did she want to be loved?
Did she really want someone’s embrace?
She hesitated at the crossroads divided into yes and no.
Because she had lived for so long not even knowing who she was.
Because she had endured without taking care of herself, always rushing forward.
She didn’t even know who she was or what she wanted.
“I dislike you. I dislike you so much….”
The small rain had now become a river, overflowing.
His broad shoulders were now transparently stained.
The child who didn’t know how to cry was now shedding tears at the top of her lungs.
“It’s okay, Elena.”
