Episode 42
Translator : Missme  Editor: Aru

I couldn’t stand it. I was afraid to become a stranger with Ash. I feared that someday I would not be special for him causing him to kill me with his own hands without any hesitation.

That was my greatest fear since I knew the future.

So I wanted to run away. I wanted to run away completely even if I couldn’t guarantee what life would be like after I ran away.

Whatever happens after that, it will obviously be better than watching me become nobody to Ash.

‘I’m not a fool.’

I couldn’t hate Ash. When he held my hand, I couldn’t really hate and I respect the warmth that he conveyed, as normal and warm as other people.

‘So idiot.’

Even though I know he would kill me.

“Dullard…..”

Sitting absent-mindedly on the bench, I tilted my head.

I tried to look at the clouds. I tried to watch it just flow, but the sun invaded my vision. At a moment, my eyes were dazzled and I frowned.

Then I heard a rustle.

‘…Sir Davery?’

Or Bessi? Alex? Did she come looking for me?

He isn’t Ash, is he?

I turned my head with a throbbing heart. And I soon became perplexedly firm.

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

‘………. a snake?’

What, what?

A long snake with a yellow body and a speckled pattern fluttered its tongue at me from the grass. I was caught in a daze watching it. First of all, it was a shock.

‘Why a snake in the garden?’

Was there a snake originally in the garden? No, it can’t be.

I broke out in a cold sweat. Slowly I lifted myself up from the bench.

The snake turned its head in my motion.

‘Don’t do that.’

Don’t look at me. Don’t pay attention to me, snake.

Unfortunately, however, the wish did not seem to have been conveyed. The snake kept its eyes on me. The long, vertical pupil looked straight at me.

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

Perhaps because of my feeling, it’s tongue was more threatening.

‘Is this… is this dangerous?’

That’s the situation, isn’t it?

My body stiffened. Honestly, I don’t know what to do.

Should I turn around and run away? What if it comes after me? Can I avoid a sudden bite from behind?

I had all kinds of thoughts. My mind has become complicated. Why did I have to face a snake-like this one on one?

I was still relieved to find out that the snake’s head was round in the midst of this.

‘There’s no poison.’

They said that the poisonous snake had a triangular head shape.

It’s a relief that he’s round everywhere. Yeah, poisonous snakes aren’t common anywhere.

If there was Ari here, it would have become common, but fortunately or unfortunately, it was just me here now.

In a good way, it’s a crisis, but at least it’s not a death crisis.

I swallowed my saliva.

It only hurts when bitten – of course, I didn’t like it – but I felt a little bit brave to think that I wouldn’t die.

I kept my eyes on the snake and moved my feet slowly. Really…. slowly….

The snake just looked at me as if it was watching me and did not move from its place.

That’s right, you are really good. Stay still like that’s like what you’ve been doing.

Until I’m completely …….

“……!”

Murphy’s Law!

Why did that come to mind at this moment? Yeah, that’s probably because I made the mistake, spraining my feet on the ground, that I didn’t usually do well at times like this.

I stumbled heavily and fell.

And it seemed to provoke the snake.

Oh, please, I hope it won’t hurt as much as possible.

I closed my eyes tightly to see the figure of a snake running at me.

“…..”

But there was no pain even if I waited.

I crept open my eyes when I felt something, a shadow, instead of the pain of being bitten by a snake.

Soon, my mouth opened.

“Eh, Ash?”

“Are you all right?”

I could see Ash’s face in front of me. Ash, who lowered his upper body as if to wrap me around, was looking down right at me when I fell on the floor.

I stared blankly at the unexpected face. Then the next moment, I shouted as if I were screaming.

“Ash!”

The snake was biting Ash’s arm. I could see a thin stream of blood flowing from Ash’s left arm with a snake’s fangs in it.

Ash, who slightly narrowed his forehead, broke the snake’s head with his other hand and took it off without a groan.

I couldn’t shut my mouth while seeing the vivid lice soup with fresh blood. But Ash didn’t seem to care too much about his wounds.

Rather, he looked at me and asked.

“Are you all right, Noonim?”

“Now…”

Am I in the danger? I’m fine. Of course, I’m alright. It was Ash who wasn’t okay.

I raised myself up in contemplation. The fingertips, which held Ash’s arm to avoid the wound, trembled weakly.

“What about your arm? What do I do, doesn’t it hurt? What about the bleeding? Shouldn’t we stop the bleeding?”

“Do not worry about it.”

“How can I not worry about this! It’s bleeding like this..”

“Noonim.”

“…..”

“……are you crying?”

Ash’s face came close to me as if looking around my eyes.

Only after hearing that did I realize that my eyes were filled with tears. I blinked my eyes. Tears welled down under gravity.

“Noonim?”

Ash immediately voiced embarrassment.

As soon as I found myself crying, Ash’s face was clearly shaken as soon as he saw me crying, but he had been bitten on the arm by a snake.

“What’s wrong, is it hurt? Are you hurt?”

Ash, who still neglected his wounds, held me and looked around for observation. Worries and nervousness were reading in his eyes, checking if I was really hurt.

Tears rolled up more.

That’s why.

Because you’re like this.

“Look at me. Noonim. Why are you crying?”

I can’t hate you because you’re like this.

How can I hate you when you’re like this?

“Noonim.”

“Waahh… Waahh…… Waahhhh.”

What’s wrong?

Why are you so nice to me?

Why do you care about me? Why do you care so much about me?

Because I’m your sister?

Because I’m your only family, is that why?

Is that so important?

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”

I let myself down and cried. I could feel Ash fidgeting in front of me, who had left the blood running on his arm.

Tears rolled up in my throat.

Ash was devastated. But I was more devastated.

In the end, I am a stranger to him. I have no choice, so I have to do all this.

It was so hopeless and devastated that I couldn’t cry even when Ash was embarrassed and finally took me in his arms as if to appease me.

***

“Oh, no, what the hell is going on?”

Bessie couldn’t shut her mouth with a look of astonishment.

I understand. I’d do the same.

I and Ash returned to the mansion with my eyes puffed up and his arm swollen. Of course, it was because I cried, and Ash was hurt, so there was only one patient.

I’m sure it’s quite absurd to come back like this from a morning walk. That’s how I feel.

I opened my mouth at Bessie, who was about to go back.

“He was bitten by a snake in the garden. Come on. Call a doctor for him. We need to treat the wound.”

“Oh, my God, Alex! Alex!!”

After a while, the doctor, who had been called hurriedly, examined and treated Ash’s arm in a nearby parlour room.

I sat a little far away and silently watched the doctor disinfect the affected area.

I watched.

Sir Davery spoke to me while keeping his place together.

“Are you alright, my lady?”

“I’m alright. As you can see.”

“No, your eyes aren’t very good. You look like you’re stung. Was there a bee in the garden beside a snake?”

“……”

This guy.

Anyone can tell that I’m crying, but he’s still making fun of me with these eyes?

Looking at his expression, I seemed to be right that he meant to tease me. I raised my eyebrows slightly and deliberately snapped in an exaggerated tone.

“Sir, do you feel like you’re joking about a person being hurt? You must be having fun, aren’t you? You must have had a lot of complaints about Ash.”

“What? No, no! Absolutely not.”

Sir Davery has actively denied it.

It was almost equivocal that I cried like a child in the garden because I was surprised to see a snake.

I thought it would work even though I made excuses, but it worked. Thanks to it, I’m in a position to be teased like this.

Come to think of it, I think I saw a clock tower the other day and cried because I was so moved.

I wondered if my tear glands were okay as it is, but I decided to give up on him because I couldn’t tell him why I cried.

At that time, the doctor arranged the medical equipment as the treatment was finished.

“The treatment was done. I’m glad the wound is not deep. If you just watch out for the water for a while, it will heal without any further damage.”

Ash’s left arm was wrapped with a white bandage from the wrist to the middle of the arm.

Ash raised his arm and moved lightly. The doctor’s voice followed.

“For a while, you may feel a little uncomfortable with your arms. It’s a species with paralytic poison.”

“Poison?”

I reacted unconsciously to the word poison. The doctor talked soothingly about how I looked.

“It’s literally just paralyzed poison. There’s nothing else to do but limit the movement, so you don’t have to worry.”

“How much is the limit? Would it be too uncomfortable?”

“Hmm…”

At Bessie’s question, the doctor drew the answer as if he were agonizing for a moment and looked back at Ash.

“Your Excellency, how do you feel?”

“It’s not like I can’t use it.”

As soon as he answered like that, Ash and I met eyes. Suddenly his words changed.

“I’m fine.”