Episode 6
He flipped my hand over with calm eyes before letting go.
“I came to drink the bottle I kept here. And, while I’m at it—wanted to ask when you get off work.”
CRASH.
The display cabinet that held the new bottles fell forward entirely. Every bottle inside shattered into pieces, and the floor was soaked red with wine.
Turner looked horrified—too stunned to speak. His face went pale, and he eventually collapsed to the floor.
Only then did I take in the full extent of the disaster.
The drunken awakened man lay on the ground with his left arm twisted grotesquely. One wall had completely caved in.
And that wasn’t all. Because Jared’s power range was so vast, the ceiling and floor bore deep, iron-like gouges everywhere.
The price of subduing one awakened man was absurdly high.
While everyone else was speechless, Jared only frowned at the wine seeping into the soles of his shoes.
“What a mess. Looks like your business day’s over—how about we just leave?”
His casual tone left me dumbfounded.
Not long after, the city guards arrived following someone’s report. The awakened man was dragged away, and Turner and I were questioned briefly.
Turner remained silent the entire time.
I was going to get fired.
Turner clearly thought I was partly to blame for the disaster.
If I hadn’t been a purifier, the drunk wouldn’t have gotten so agitated; if I hadn’t been there, Jared wouldn’t have been dragged into this.
Yes, I was going to lose my job.
My steps home were heavy. Each stride came with the sticky squelch of dried wine peeling off my soles.
And behind me came another pair of footsteps.
“Aren’t you going to eat dinner? I’m hungry.”
The voice made my blood boil.
When I turned, Jared was walking with both hands behind his head, grinning, and waving one hand at me.
“You finally noticed me.”
His expression was irritatingly serene.
I, on the other hand, was worrying about next month’s rent.
Finding part-time work as a trainee purifier wasn’t easy—and even if I did, fitting the hours around training would be a nightmare.
My fists clenched. At this rate, I might have to give up training and live as an ordinary civilian.
Jared raised his right hand and waved it in front of my face.
“Fell asleep standing up?”
In truth, I wanted to heal that very hand. That was the only reason I kept forcing myself to stay a purifier.
After the accident three years ago, Jared had lost some of his memory and developed a tremor in his hands.
All the famous priests and doctors in the continent had tried to heal him, to no avail.
Though his berserk rate had finally been suppressed, it wasn’t truly resolved—just forcibly sealed.
Many said that instability had eventually caused the physical disability.
And that stubborn, blind man, despite his lost memory, refused purification from anyone but me.
If I could be promoted through the Ascension Ritual, perhaps I could heal Jared’s hands.
If I could carry even a fraction of his tragedy, I would.
That goal alone kept me clinging to my lowly fourth-rank position at the temple, even when I couldn’t see a future.
I had planned to approach him again only after my promotion—
not like this, tangled by circumstance.
“Hey.”
Jared leaned closer, furrowing a brow as he studied my face.
“I’m not eating dinner. I’m not in the mood.”
I threw the words out curtly and turned away.
But his footsteps followed.
What was he, a hungry ghost? Even if Arpina had asked him, there was no reason for him to be this persistent.
He’d never listened when I told him to stop before.
When we were dating, he’d bring mountains of unwanted gifts.
Every time he was deployed abroad, he’d insist on bringing me souvenirs—his own ridiculous law.
My tiny apartment had been overflowing with dresses and jewels I never asked for.
He’d even built me a house under my name—near the mountains, near the sea, in the best district of the capital.
But I never accepted any of it.
If anyone found out about us, I didn’t want to be branded as some parasite living off his wealth.
I didn’t want to give anyone grounds for contempt disguised as morality.
As we left the bustling market and entered the winding back alleys, flickering streetlights cast faint, distorted reflections in the puddles between the stones.
Old signs creaked in the wind, and the stench of damp trash lingered in the air.
The figures crouched in the corners—whether people or scarecrows—were impossible to tell.
It was a path I’d walked for over ten years, but Jared… he was different.
A man so obsessively clean he practically had a phobia of dirt.
He’d turn back soon, I thought.
“……”
But of course, he followed me all the way to my front door.
When I spun around, he raised an eyebrow.
“That glare.”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“Hardly. People are probably searching for me right now, though I doubt they’d think to look here.”
He smirked.
“Perfect place to hide.”
“Hide and seek, tag—do whatever you like. Just don’t come here again. Like I said, I’ll speak to Arpina on your behalf.”
He shifted his weight to one leg and tilted his head slightly, watching me with a blank face.
…Maybe I’d gone too far.
I hadn’t broken the habit of speaking to him like I used to when we were together.
Who was I to glare and talk back to Jared Castion?
If he wanted, he could have me arrested for insulting a noble.
Cold air gathered at my feet. I held my breath, too afraid to even look away.
He took a step closer, narrowing his eyes.
“You don’t seem the least bit grateful to your savior.”
“Because I’m not.”
“Can’t say I understand.”
I swallowed the words I wanted to say.
“Then maybe I should’ve just let him hit you.”
“Yes. You should have.”
“……”
“The kind of attention you throw around like charity, my lord—it’s suffocating to someone like me. It doesn’t lead anywhere good, either. That’s why I refused dinner. I didn’t ask for your help today, and I never will. So please—just leave me alone.”
Jared said nothing, only listened.
In the dim streetlight, our gazes locked for a while.
His expression was unreadable, emotionless.
My nerves were so taut I found myself chewing the inside of my cheek.
Then Jared straightened, slid his hands into his pockets, and tilted his head—his posture still sharp and imposing.
He could’ve walked away. But he didn’t.
He stood there, motionless.
And then, suddenly—he laughed.
“That temper of yours.”
“……”
In the end, I bowed stiffly, then ran up the rickety metal stairs and slammed the door behind me.
Thud.
The moment it shut, I exhaled the breath I’d been holding.
Gravity pressed down on my shoulders as if trying to crush me.
Sleep was out of the question again tonight.
“You’ve worked hard this past year, but sorry—I’ve got to keep my business alive.”
“Lord Castion won’t be coming back. I’ll talk to Arpina myself.”
“You think Lady Audriane will do you that favor? She’s too busy to care.”
“…You already got a hefty compensation payment, didn’t you?”
“I added extra to this month’s pay. Don’t hold a grudge, and drop by sometimes.”
Turner, sweating bullets, forced a heavy envelope into my hand.
He had clearly made up his mind—there was already a hiring notice posted outside.
Jared, Arpina… people like them cause storms in other people’s lives.
I sighed and packed my things—books I didn’t remember buying, a spare pair of shoes, a blanket, some clothes.
A year’s worth of belongings filled my bag.
I slung it over my shoulder and started climbing the temple’s last stairway when—
“Emergency! Move quickly!”
The messenger orb echoed with urgent alarms. People poured out of the wide-open temple gates.
What’s going on?
I dodged the crowd rushing down when a familiar voice called my name.
“Arpina!”
She came running in her white purification uniform, skirts fluttering.
Her eyes widened when she saw me.
“Luiche!”
“What happened?”
“Lord Castion went on-site at dawn—and his berserk rate suddenly spiked!”
“What?”
My heart dropped.
“All second-rank purifiers and above have been summoned… Come on, Luiche!”
Arpina grabbed my wrist.
“We have to go—now!”
