“…”

Surprised, Adeline closed her mouth with her hands and stiffened.
It was different from the day he was stabbed by the dagger instead of Adeline and the curse manifested. Dark red blood flowed from the huge black scar, the veins of his entire body pulsed like they were about to burst, and his beautiful blue-grey eyes were eaten by a red color that looked like a mixture of blood and fire.

“Kael.”
“AARGH!”

The moment Adeline managed to come to her senses, Kael screamed in excruciating pain.
The screams of the monster she heard when she got lost and went down to the basement of the castle, which she had forgotten about for a while, came back to her mind.
It was the same as then. Her whole body trembled from hearing it, and a painful scream flowed out of Kael’s mouth.

“Kael, I…”
“No!”

It was the same as last time. When the surprised Adeline tried to approach him, Kael, who had managed to hold onto his reason, stopped her and moved away from her.

“You can’t… You can’t, ugh, come closer.”

Kael tried to pick up the vines scattered around him with trembling hands.
He hadn’t lost his mind since the curse had just appeared, but as time went on, his reason would become paralyzed.

When the pain of the curse hit and the string of reason was completely broken, Kael’s aggression soared.
There were some who hid in the basement of the castle to hide their monstrous ugliness, but Kael began to trap himself there in order to protect others.
He didn’t know what he might do. Adeline could get hurt by him. He had to stop whatever might happen.
If he were in the castle, he would have gone down to the basement and tied himself with the prepared chains right away, but at the moment, it was impossible. So, he had to tie his hands with vines.

“Don’t tie your hands. You don’t have to do that. I…”
“I said don’t come!”

As Adeline approached Kael, like she was running, he raised his voice. His body trembled from breathing heavily, and, as he struggled not to completely lose his mind, blood flowed as his fingernails dug into the skin of his clenched fists.

Adeline bit her lips when she clearly saw how much Kael was holding back. The pain in front of her was so immense. It was incomparable when he was stabbed with Vanessa’s dagger.
But both then and now, Adeline couldn’t be stopped.
Adeline approached Kael unhesitatingly and suddenly hugged him.

“Adel…ine… Ugh, please… Ah.”
“Ah…”

As the two soft arms wrapped around Kael’s neck and held him, a painful sound emanated from both Kael and Adeline’s mouths.
Kael felt dizzy and the pain subsided at the same time, and as for Adeline, she felt the sensation of the energy being sucked out of her whole body like last time. However, the intensity was incomparably stronger than last time.

“Kael!”
“Run away. Quickly.”

Feeling that energy, Kael clenched his teeth and pushed Adeline away. He could feel the pain subsiding even though he was just being touched by her arms. He couldn’t help but instinctively cling to her.
Nevertheless, Kael pushed Adeline away. Adeline couldn’t be destroyed to ease his pain. Kael had to endure it alone. He didn’t want to pull Adeline into this curse.

“I’m conscious right now, but my words will start making no sense after a while. So you need to go to the castle right now. The blizzard stopped, so you can go back.”
“No. I can’t leave you like this.”
“Don’t be… stubborn. Ha… you think you’re helping me, and…”

As soon as he stopped talking at the returning pain, Adeline came over again and kissed Kael.
As her soft lips touched him, Kael could feel his pain slowly subsiding.
The light of salvation was awfully sweet. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, he instinctively became attached to that salvation.
For a moment, Kael lost his reason and clung to Adeline. His lips stayed on Adeline’s for a long time as if he were going to eat them up, opened a slight gap, and tickled her tender flesh. The more they touched, the more he breathed in, the more the pain became dull.

“Aah…”
“Ah…”

When their lips managed to separate, both Kael and Adeline exhaled.
Adeline immediately examined Kael’s condition. Last time, Kael returned to normal just by kissing, but it was different this time. The pain had clearly subsided, but his eyes were still red, and blood was still flowing from the scar.

‘If I touch him more deeply…’

The more physical contact they had, the faster he calmed down. A kiss was not enough to end Kael’s pain completely.
Adeline kissed Kael again and untied the straps of her dress.
Seeing that, Kael immediately pushed Adeline away. His reason, which seemed to be about to disappear, was revived.

“Adeline!”
“You can feel it too. It won’t settle down with just a kiss.”

He knew it. Kael felt it before anyone else. But he didn’t want to hold Adeline in this cave just to ease his pain.
It was a curse that was placed on Kael, and something he had to overcome. It was not a burden to share with Adeline.

“Please. Please run away now. It’s not too late.”
“No. I’m not running away.”
“Please! How long are you going to make me miserable? If I start clinging to you like this, in the future, I! And you!”

Kael couldn’t continue his words. The consequences of this ferocious curse were so abhorrent.

“… Don’t turn me into a man who let my lover die.”

It was a heartbreaking voice just to hear. One more tear flowed down Adeline’s cheek, which was already wet with tears.
Adeline reached out and gently wrapped her hands around Kael’s face. Then, she met Kael’s red eyes.

“Kael.”

When she heard about the medium from Herma, Adeline thought it would be useless if she died.
But after facing his raw pain like this, Adeline’s thoughts changed.
If only Kael could escape this pain. If only he could stop suffering like this. It didn’t matter what happened to her.

“I’ll get through it. Whatever the curse, I’ll get through it all.”
“…”
“I won’t die no matter what. I will survive. So let me help you. Please.”

Red tears flowed down Kael’s cheeks.

“Hold me.”

The confession of desperate love that she would overcome even the curse and death eventually destroyed Kael.
The moment Kael whispered for her to hold him, she kissed him first.

***

“Ah…”

A cracked voice spit out a groan.
Kael, who let go of everything, kissed her with overwhelming urgency and intensity. As they exchanged hot breaths, her dress came off in an instant, revealing her naked body.
The white, soft body and the body surrounded only by solid muscles quickly overlapped.
Kael’s lips moved around Adeline’s entire body. There was nowhere his breath didn’t touch. Adeline, who became weak and clung to Kael, soon shook at his speed helplessly.

Due to the rush of pain, the senses in his whole body were on edge and he couldn’t help but be rough. Nevertheless, Kael tried his best to come to his senses and gently wrapped Adeline in his arms.
His kindness was conveyed to Adeline.
The pain gradually turned into an unfamiliar sensation, and the name she had been calling anxiously while hanging on gradually lost its shape and scattered into a groan.
Her vision gradually flickered, and her whole body’s energy was sucked in, incomparable to when they shared a hug or kiss. The outpouring of stimulation was too ecstatic to tell him to stop.

“…”
“…”

When the flow of time had become a remote thing, Kael and Adeline met each other’s gaze while gasping for breath.

“Kael. Your eyes…”

Kael’s eyes regained their blue-grey color, and his scars, which had become huge as if they were devouring his entire back, returned to their original size.
The pain of the bones in his whole body shattering and the tearing muscles disappeared completely.
Each time the curse hit him, he struggled in pain for days and days, but Adeline quickly lifted the pain and became Kael’s salvation.

“Are you alright?”
“That’s what I want to ask you.”

After hearing the sweet voice that still sounded pleasant even if it was cracked, she felt that Kael had fully returned to himself.
Adeline was relieved. Tears flowed down the corners of her mouth.
Kael kissed the area around her eyes as if to steal away her tears, then kissed Adeline again.
It was an utterly soft and utterly sweet kiss.
Adeline’s eyelids grew heavier as she relaxed from the warmth conveyed to her. Adeline urgently called out to Kael.

“Kael. Promise me.”

Their different-colored eyes captured each other with a firm gaze.

“Promise me that you will be by my side when I open my eyes again, no matter what. That you will never push me away again. That you won’t run away.”

The words she spat out quickly were filled with eagerness.
It was an urgency that Kael had created. Feeling guilty, Kael kissed the back of Adeline’s hand. And promised her.

“I swear. I’ll make sure to be by your side. I’m not going to push you or run away again.”
“…”
“I will never let you fight alone. I will protect you no matter what. Just as you said you would fight the curse; I will fight with all my might.”

Adeline slowly closed her eyes at the sincere oath.
Finally, Kael and Adeline’s feelings fully reached each other.

–