“Ed, since it’s like this, why not just kill her?”
Osha reversed her grip on the dagger.
One hand lightly rested on Zhe Zilin’s right shoulder as she whispered beside his ear.
“She is the Northern Witch. The Gareth family is unable to bear the heavy responsibility and needs her assistance to remain stable.”
Zhe Zilin took one last look at Ailia, then turned around intending to leave.
Osha lifted her eyes and glanced sideways.
The corners of her mouth curved into a playful smile.
In the moment Ailia was still lost in a daze, the dagger in her hand suddenly thrust forward.
She had spoken of divine punishment, so she would certainly carry it out.
Zhe Zilin turned his head. His peripheral vision captured Osha’s movement.
He immediately erupted with all his strength, placing himself in front of Ailia and using the Dragon Slayer to block the life-taking dagger.
He knew Osha would not let the matter rest.
At once he began chanting an incantation and activated the forbidden Blood Magic he had only just learned.
Before she could react, he bound both of her wrists.
He forcefully pressed Osha against the stone wall behind her.
One hand gripped Osha’s arm. Looking into those eyes filled with incredulous shock, Zhe Zilin said, “Enough, Osha.”
In the next moment, the girl before her realized she was being firmly pinned down by the wrists, her movements forcefully controlled.
That strength felt like a male lion.
The pain from her wrists and the slight sensation of suffocation invaded her mind.
She could feel the other party’s scorching breath and the sound of his heavy breathing.
Osha’s face turned flushed.
A trace of delight surfaced in those captivating eyes of hers. She could not help but tightly bite her lips.
“Use more force. You can still use more force, right?”
Osha made no resistance whatsoever. Her eyes were filled with fanaticism.
“If you do this, I might consider not killing her.”
A masochist!?
Osha’s hidden attribute!?
Zhe Zilin was stunned for a moment. The magic tightly binding Osha relaxed slightly.
The girl who had originally been pressed against the wall with her chest under strong pressure finally managed to catch a breath.
“Ed, you’ve become stronger. I like you like this. Be even more forceful, even more aggressive. This way… I will like you even more and more.”
Osha’s face was exceptionally flushed. Her azure eyes were brewing a different kind of emotion, as though they could drip with water.
Feeling Zhe Zilin’s gradually relaxing hand, she became highly dissatisfied.
In an instant several ghostly figures appeared around them and all began walking toward Ailia.
Step by step, they approached the girl who had lost her soul.
Osha gently and carefully moved the hand Zhe Zilin was using to grip her shoulder.
She placed it upon her slender, fragile neck.
“Choke here. Use force!”
The girl curved the corners of her mouth and smiled tenderly.
“This is my weak point. Only then can you better make me compromise.”
“Also, I want you to use your full strength. Preferably so that my toes are suspended in midair.”
Zhe Zilin: “???”
For some reason, at this moment Zhe Zilin actually felt a little lost.
His forcefulness had unexpectedly proven effective. Only… this was making Osha feel good?!
He had originally thought that the powerful Osha mostly desired to conquer others.
He never expected that her desire to be conquered was even stronger.
“Ed, my ghosts are still approaching, you know. They’re approaching, step by step.”
Osha’s provocation was like flirting, only this method of flirting was far too special.
Perhaps it was the sensation of suffocation that made her mind grow hazy. The girl’s words increased considerably.
“Ed, this is the real you. When you’re with me you don’t need any defenses. If you have any dissatisfaction, just vent it on me…”
“I defy you, and you punish me. Between husband and wife it should be like this—equal to each other, satisfying each other!”
“We truly are a match made in heaven, so compatible, so intimate.”
Osha, you… be normal for once!
Zhe Zilin drew a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
“Stop. Don’t have another episode.”
“Hmm? Ed, are you going to insult me as well?”
Osha said with a grinning smile, “Why have you become so perverted?”
Zhe Zilin: “…”
He was out of options.
He never imagined there would come a day when a pervert would reverse the roles and label him the pervert instead.
He still was not crazy enough. In front of Osha he was like a complete rookie.
The ghosts continued approaching.
Ailia had lost her soul and stood in place with hollow eyes, showing not the slightest intention of resisting.
Zhe Zilin secretly increased his force. The Blood Magic binding Osha also tightened.
“However, if you want, I can play along with you.”
“What do you want me to scold you as? Trash? Idiot? Or do you want something more aggressive, something crazier?”
Osha asked in return. She seemed to have discovered an even more interesting way to play.
Zhe Zilin continuously increased his strength.
Whether it was the magical restraints or the physical force, he gradually applied his full power.
Osha tilted her head back, her face full of enjoyment.
“More. Still more, still more. It’s not enough force!”
Zhe Zilin turned his head, only to discover that the four ghostly figures still had not stopped their steps and were about to reach Ailia.
He immediately released his hands and charged toward the ghosts.
“Blood-Devouring Slash!”
A blood-colored sword mark tore through the air and annihilated the ghosts.
Osha fell from midair.
Her body collapsed soft onto the ground as she gasped for breath in great heaves.
Her skin trembled slightly.
Within her eyes flickered a few traces of lingering desire and a few traces of dissatisfaction.
She lifted her head, looked at Zhe Zilin’s blaming gaze, and raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t blame me, Ed. It’s because you didn’t use enough force.”
Zhe Zilin turned his body halfway, looked worriedly toward Ailia, then turned back and said, “Stop harming her. She has already suffered enough hardships.”
Osha crawled up from the ground, shrugged her shoulders, and a trace of understanding flashed through the gaze she directed at Ailia.
“Darling, you made me thoroughly enjoy myself today, so I will not pursue this woman’s matter any further. Once the King of the North’s funeral ends, we will return to the Royal Capital to complete the marriage.”
She bit down especially hard on the two words “complete the marriage.” Her intention was extremely obvious.
The black-clothed girl turned around and walked toward the door. She lightly stroked her own neck, still savoring the aftertaste.
…
Zhe Zilin heard Osha go downstairs. He crouched down and quietly looked at Ailia.
“I’m sorry, Ailia.”
The girl’s hollow gaze gradually focused. Looking at the person she cared about most right before her eyes, she forced a smile.
“This is your choice. I respect it…”
Zhe Zilin very much wanted to say that this was the only choice that could allow everyone to survive after several reloads.
This was not his choice.
Yet he could not say it. Given Ailia’s personality, she would go find Osha and fight with everything she had, disregarding everything in order to compete.
He turned his body sideways and casually rubbed the corner of his eye.
Then he took Ailia’s hand, pulled a Love Letter from his chest, and gently placed it in her palm.
Zhe Zilin had never been able to be heartless and resolute.
He could not allow a young girl to bear excessive suffering. With this Love Letter, he hoped to leave a trace of gentleness in the girl’s heart.
After placing the Love Letter down, he also quietly left the room.
Unexpectedly, Ailia did not cry. She broke the seal and opened the envelope.
Yet upon seeing only the first sentence, her tears already broke through the dam.
“To Ailia eight years later. You must have grown into an elegant young lady by now.”
Ailia’s fingertips tightly clutched the corners of the envelope.
Scalding tears from her eyes fell onto the handwriting, blurring the ink and soaking that gentle opening line.
Her throat choked, unable to produce even the slightest sound. In those eyes that had been empty for so long, long-suppressed grievance, heartbreak, and bone-deep helplessness finally surged forth.
She recognized this handwriting.
The strokes carried the unique characteristics of a youth.
It belonged to the still inexperienced and ignorant Zhe Zilin from eight years ago—the one who had taken her to travel the world.
She trembled as she breathed. Her fingertips brushed across the blurred ink characters as she read word by word.
The content of the Love Letter was not long, yet Ailia sometimes cried and sometimes laughed.
Tears slid down her cheeks and fell onto the tip of her tongue.
The bitter, salty taste lingered for a long time, stretching out the moments.
When she reached the final sentence, Ailia’s gaze reluctantly scanned it again and again.
How she wished this letter would never end. How she wished this beauty could continue forever.
“I will end it here. I hope the Ailia who often follows behind me remains happy every day. Please don’t cry again just because you can’t learn magic. If you truly feel unhappy…”
“Come and hug me.”