CHAPTER 40
Aria, who had promised to see him “tomorrow,” didn’t come the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that.
‘Why isn’t she coming?’
The Aria Idris knew wasn’t someone who would sulk and disappear without a word, no matter how upset she was.
‘Did something happen to her?’
He regretted never asking where she lived, but it was too late now.
All he could do was wait.
Endlessly. Hopelessly…
That wait grew so long, even the other villagers began to notice.
“Hey, maybe she finally realized she doesn’t like hanging around a beggar like you.”
The village kids, having noticed that Aria hadn’t been seen with Idris in a while, began picking a fight.
“Right? You should’ve just shown us your eyes when we asked. That would’ve solved everything.”
They had clearly been waiting for an excuse. One of them reached out, trying to snatch off Idris’s blindfold.
They knew he hated showing his eyes—and they were doing it just to get under his skin.
But today, for some reason, Idris didn’t resist.
The boy who laughed as he pulled off the blindfold suddenly froze.
“W-What the…?”
What he saw wasn’t the grotesque horror he expected—but a pair of clear golden eyes, staring straight back at him.
“You’re… you’re not blind?”
As the boy stumbled back from the intensity of Idris’s gaze, Idris’s fist flew at his face.
The four boys tangled in a fierce brawl, and in the end, the one left standing was—
Idris.
Though his body was in rough shape too.
Limping and bruised, Idris staggered home.
Not long after collapsing onto his worn-out bed, a sharp sound banged against the window.
It was autumn rain.
‘Do you hear the sound of crickets? Must be fall already.’
Her voice—trembling with worry when he refused treatment—and her face from that day came back to him all at once.
And with them, the pain he had almost forgotten became piercingly clear again.
‘…It hurts.’
Clenching his teeth, Idris closed his eyes against the throbbing in his body.
But then—through the sound of rain, he heard knocking.
His eyes flew open.
‘No way…’
It was already dusk, and far too late for Aria to be visiting. But the hope came first, not doubt.
Forgetting all about the pain, and even to cover his eyes, Idris jumped up and ran to the door.
“Ari—”
But the ones standing there weren’t Aria.
Three men in black robes.
Instinctively sensing danger, Idris stepped back—but one of the men moved faster.
“Urgh…!”
Crash!
A heavy kick to the stomach sent Idris flying across the floor.
The men entered the house and surrounded the boy.
One of them—clearly the leader—knelt before him.
Idris, barely lifting himself up through the pain, was grabbed roughly by the chin.
He twisted his face, trying to break free, but the man’s grip only tightened.
Idris growled through clenched teeth.
“…Who the hell are you?”
The man stared into Idris’s golden eyes and finally spoke.
“It is an honor to meet you at last, Your Highness, Third Prince.”
Idris’s eyes wavered wildly at the revelation—one he could never have imagined.
“Of course, it would’ve been better had we not met at all.”
“…”
“That eye… You’ve done well hiding it all this time. But if that was your plan, you should’ve made sure no one ever found out.”
“…”
“Unfortunately for you, my master doesn’t like leaving behind even the smallest threat.”
The man released Idris’s chin—only to grab him by the throat.
In his eyes, Idris saw something murderous. And just as the pressure increased—
Knock knock.
“Are you in there?”
She had come.
The child he had been waiting for.
At the worst possible moment.
The leader silently signaled to his subordinates.
Realizing their intention, Idris cried out in panic.
“Wait! Stop!”
But the men ignored him and headed for the door.
Desperate, Idris pleaded.
“You’re here for me, right? There’s no need to drag an innocent girl into this and complicate things.”
The men finally turned back.
“I’ll send her away.”
They exchanged glances, then let go of Idris’s throat.
He took a shaky breath and called out.
“…Why did you come?”
— I-I’m sorry. I came too late, didn’t I? I wanted to come sooner—
“…Don’t apologize. I wasn’t waiting anyway.”
— But…!
Idris kicked something across the room with a loud crash and shouted:
Bang!
“Go away. Don’t ever come back.”
Please, he thought. Just go.
He was more afraid of her getting tangled in his fate than his own death.
— I-I’m really sorry… Let me explain why I was late. Just open the door, please?
“I just want to talk to you face to face…”
Her voice quivered with tears.
His heart wavered, but Idris clenched his fists and forced the words out—lies, bitter and sharp.
“…I don’t want to.”
— …
“All this time, you pitied me, didn’t you? Thought I was fun to help, to feel sorry for?”
— …
“I hated it.”
— Ah…
“I hated myself for having to rely on your kindness.”
The cruel words he spat to drive her away only stabbed deeper into his own chest.
The helplessness of being just a powerless child—this was the only way he could protect her.
It hurt. It made him furious.
“So please, just—don’t come near me ever again…!”
He had shouted his anger at her, but Idris suddenly stopped.
Is it really right to hurt her in the name of protecting her?
This moment… might become her final memory of me.
Choking on the flood of emotions, he barely managed to whisper:
“…Go.”
The sound of her quiet sobs lingered for a while.
Then slowly, they faded—until only the rain remained.
He felt both relieved and…
Suddenly remembered something.
‘I never even told her my name.’
After all the hurt he gave her, she probably didn’t even want to know it anymore.
As Idris brooded bitterly, a chilling voice spoke from above him.
“You made a wise decision.”
He looked up at the man approaching him.
It was time to face death.
“Well, since you’ve sent your friend away, I trust you’ll now die peacefully, as promised—”
But just as the man moved in, Idris dodged and yanked down the old curtain.
In an instant, the house was swallowed in darkness.
The intruders were momentarily stunned by the sudden loss of light.
But for Idris, who had lived in darkness for years, it felt almost comforting.
He closed his eyes, tuning into every movement in the pitch black.
“I never said I’d go down quietly.”
“Tch… such pointless tricks.”
“Bad people never keep their promises anyway.”
If there was one thing Idris had learned from growing up blind in the slums—
It was that people liked watching the weak suffer.
The village kids who bullied him never once kept a promise.
And if even they were like that, then what about full-grown monsters like these men?
Once they kill me, they’ll go straight after Aria too.
So, if he was going to die anyway—
Then I’ll struggle. I’ll fight… until she’s far enough away.
Idris 🥲🥲