154
"The reason I haven’t asked anything until now… wasn’t because I thought you didn’t know."
"…I know you’ve been waiting."
I never expected Enoch wouldn’t notice that I was hiding something.
I didn’t know why a scene from my past life had appeared in the jungle swamp of Carmedan, or why Enoch and I, even though we were seeing the same thing, saw it from different perspectives.
The only thing I could explain was that what he saw was a glimpse of my past life but I wasn’t sure if Enoch would even believe that.
“I have a lot I want to ask you, Cherrya. You once said that ‘Inspector’ was like a pet name. But in the dream, that woman is being called ‘Inspector’.”
“…”
“Is that woman… you?”
I couldn’t give Enoch any answer.
What kind of expression did he see on my face right now? Probably one that had stiffened in fear.
He stared at me for a moment, as if trying to read the truth in my eyes, then finally sighed and said.
“If you’re not going to tell me, just know that I’ll draw my own conclusions, Cherrya.”
Enoch once again tested me, without putting me in an openly difficult situation.
There’s nothing more frightening than when that man decides to act on his own.
Still, I wasn’t sure how much I could—or should—tell Enoch. And even if I did tell him, would he believe me?
In the end, I swallowed once and opened my mouth.
“I just had a dream like yours. That’s all. The only difference is that… I had it earlier than you.”
“What?”
Enoch frowned, unable to understand what I meant.
Feeling that this conversation would be a long one, I sat down right there in the training yard.
Then, patting the ground beside me, I motioned for him to sit too.
“I think I can finally explain why I once told you to call me ‘Inspector’.”
Enoch quietly sat down next to me. Somehow, sitting side by side like this made it easier, not having to look directly into his eyes.
“You said you see a woman being called ‘Inspector’ in your dreams, right? Well, I see a man who calls someone ‘Inspector.”
“And?”
“Back when we went to our first hunting competition… I saw that man’s image overlap with you. Just like how you’re wondering now if I might be that woman—I had the same thought about you.”
“Is that why you told me to try calling you ‘Inspector’?”
“…Yeah.”
I quietly looked at Enoch’s profile.
Since that day, I never again saw Yoon Doyoon’s image in Enoch.
But after falling into the swamp of Carmedan and escaping, Enoch began dreaming from Yoon Doyoon’s perspective, seeing me.
What should I make of that?
“So you’ve been having those dreams all along? Then what we saw in the Carmedan Jungle…”
“I thought… you had seen a part of my dream.”
If Enoch’s dreams were just echoes of my past life memories, this wouldn’t be so complicated.
But the fact that he was seeing things from Yoon Doyoon’s perspective, it gave me a bad feeling.
“But now that I know you saw something different… I’m not so sure anymore.”
I reached out unconsciously and placed my hand on Enoch’s face.
The soft strands of his silver hair that scattered at my fingertips, the sharp bridge of his nose, his smooth skin...
Everything about his face was one I had touched and even hit with these very hands since we were young.
I still remembered the dead look in Yoon Doyoon’s eyes.
Eyes that had been filled with hatred for life itself, burning with a desire to destroy everything.
But Enoch didn’t have those eyes. He was so different from Yoon Doyoon.
And he had to be.
“Enoch… You must’ve gotten tangled up in my dreams by mistake.”
“Wait-Cherrya, you’re too close...”
“You’re Enoch, right? You’re really Enoch, aren’t you?”
“Please... Cherrya, your hand...just—!”
I could feel the warmth of his skin on my palm as I touched his face.
I blinked slowly, looking at Enoch’s face, which had turned bright red without me realizing it.
“…Huh?”
Why had his face turned so red all of a sudden?
Still confused, I blinked again and raised my other hand to hold both of his cheeks tightly.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you—?”
“Commander!!!!”
Just then, Kane’s voice ripped through the air like a scream.
I turned my head slightly and saw Kane standing at the entrance of the training yard, looking completely pale as he stared at us.
“…What’s going on?”
Just as I tilted my head, wondering if something had happened, Enoch suddenly shoved me hard.
“Ack!”
That bastard must’ve completely forgotten that he had awakened the power of a Swordmaster.
I went rolling across the training yard like a ragdoll and slammed straight into the wall.
“Hey! You crazy jerk! What the hell-”
“I’m going back.”
“What?! You’re just leaving mid-conversation?! Where are you going?!”
I sprang to my feet and shouted after Enoch, pointing accusingly at him, but he didn’t even look back as he left the training ground.
In the end, I could only reach out to him helplessly as he walked away.
“What on earth were you doing?!”
Kane rushed over with a serious expression.
“…What did I even do?”
“Commander, you, you tried to jump Enoch... er, Commander Gray, just now!”
Kane was so stunned that he couldn’t even finish his sentence.
But I was the one who should’ve been speechless. It looked like I had done something terrible to Enoch.
“What do you mean ‘jump’ him?! We were just talking! It was a serious conversation!”
“It looked like you two were about to kiss or something…”
“Why would I kiss him?! The angle just looked weird from where you were standing!”
“Then how do you explain the way Commander Gray ran off with a face as red as a ripe apple? That’s so unlike him!”
“How should I know?!”
I smacked my chest in frustration.
Kane narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and I had no idea why I was the one being interrogated.
“Just be honest, Commander. Is this engagement between you two… really just political?”
“Of course it is. What else would it be?”
“You’re saying it’s just a formal engagement, one that could be broken off anytime if someone you truly loved came along?”
“Exactly.”
“……”
Kane bit his lip hard in response to my firm answer.
Something about him looked uneasy, so I furrowed my brows and without thinking, reached over and stuck a finger between his lips.
“Your lips are going to bleed if you keep doing that.”
“…It tastes salty.”
“Yeah. My hands were seriously sweating, you know.”
“Ugh.”
Kane grimaced and smacked my hand away.
“Enough of that. The Duke is looking for you.”
“My mother? Isn’t she supposed to be by His Majesty’s side? Why would she...”
“Just go. Quickly.”
Kane turned on his heel and marched ahead.
I followed, staring at the back of his head.
His ears were just as red as Enoch’s face had been moments earlier.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments