Chapter : 54
Harten stared blankly into Eani’s eyes.
They were eyes that always reminded him of greenery shimmering in sunlight whenever he looked at them.
So he had thought they were nothing but beautiful and warm…
But they can waver like that, too.
Harten immediately recognized the emotion glistening in Eani’s eyes.
It was an emotion he knew well.
Because it was the expression he himself always wore whenever he looked at her.
Possessiveness….
A gaze that would never allow the other person to drift away.
Eani Nessel was directing that gaze at Harten Seind.
Not the other way around—
Not the gaze Harten Seind usually showed Eani Nessel!
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The instant he realized it, Harten’s heart began pounding wildly.
His heart had always reacted eagerly to Eani’s every little action, but this was on an entirely different level.
It felt as if it might burst apart, and his entire body burned as though scalded by fire.
From deep inside his chest rose a ticklish, overwhelming sensation that made the corners of his mouth lift on their own.
Frowning sharply, Harten clutched his chest, where his heart thrashed painfully.
Eani… is obsessed with me?
Thump-thump-thump-thump—!!!!
Just thinking that sent his already overwhelmed heart rampaging like an enraged beast.
Even someone as dull as Harten couldn’t miss this.
This feeling—there’s no way it’s because of the curse!
Ever since he had read the records left behind by the Sun Mage, he had been constantly doubting his own emotions.
The way his heart raced for Eani.
The floating excitement that made him feel as if he were walking on clouds when they were together.
The emptiness when she wasn’t there, missing her even while looking at her, thinking of her all day no matter what he was doing.
I couldn’t stop wondering if all of it wasn’t truly my own—but just side effects of the curse the Sun Mage placed on me.
Wasn’t it strange to begin with?
That intense pull he felt the moment he first saw Eani.
The reason he couldn’t let her go, no matter how much he tried.
I never thought that doubt would be resolved like this.
At the same time, guilt toward Eani began weighing heavily on him.
He had pressed her for an engagement, demanding certainty from someone who knew nothing—
yet he himself wavered so easily over nothing more than a single book!
He felt endlessly sorry toward her, and because of that, he decided he absolutely couldn’t see her right now.
At the very least… until I could prove that my feelings for her would remain the same even after lifting the curse, I thought I shouldn’t meet her.
But the reason he hadn’t lifted the curse yet was because of a lingering unease deep in his heart.
What if he lifted it—and his feelings for her turned out to be fake?
What if he felt nothing for Eani anymore, like before?
The thought alone was terrifying.
He didn’t want to escape this overflowing waterfall of emotion.
He never wanted to return to that dull, empty life again!
Above all, he couldn’t forgive the version of himself who left Eani behind.
How deeply would she be hurt?
Because of that, he kept postponing the解除 of the curse—but this pointless anguish ended here.
I’m such an idiot—! I should have realized sooner!
Just as the Eani of the past and the Eani of the present were completely different people, his feelings toward her had also clearly changed!
Before she lost her memories, he might have felt a strong attraction—but never once had his heart raced with this kind of excitement!
Harten realized it again.
This pounding… can’t possibly be fake.
Nothing in the world had ever made him feel this satisfied, this happy.
No one had ever given him this kind of joy and thrill.
Now he felt embarrassed for all the time he had spent worrying that his feelings might be a side effect of the curse.
“Why… aren’t you saying anything?”
At Eani’s voice, Harten barely came back to his senses.
Her voice trembled ever so slightly.
“Do you really plan to lift the curse?”
Eani reached out and grabbed Harten’s collar.
“Even if I say I don’t want you to? Even then?”
Ever since losing her memories, Eani had always been composed.
Seeing her this anxious made Harten’s heart surge again with joy and excitement.
Unaware of that, Eani muttered with a chilling gaze,
“If that’s the case, then….”
At that moment, Harten realized just how far gone he truly was.
Otherwise, there was no way he would find those madness-glimmering eyes—and the hand clutching his collar—so unbearably adorable.
Now it’s my turn to reassure her.
That thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Before he knew it, he cupped Eani’s cheeks with both hands.
What followed came completely naturally.
Smack.
Harten closed his eyes tightly and gently pressed his lips to hers.
He couldn’t tell whether the trembling he felt was hers or his own.
…Though it was probably his.
“I won’t lift it.”
Harten whispered as he pulled his lips back slightly.
Eani stared at him with her eyes wide open.
If he said that expression was cute too, would she get angry?
“Whether I lift the curse… or don’t.”
He whispered each word carefully, pouring sincerity into every syllable.
She was too precious for him to do otherwise.
“Because I love you.”
“!”
“I love you, Eani. No matter what happens, my feelings won’t change.”
He surprised even himself.
To say the word love so casually…
In his barren life, it was an emotion that had never once taken root.
And yet—Harten finally understood, painfully clearly.
What he felt for Eani wasn’t obsession, possessiveness, or compulsion.
This is…
This is love.
“So if you want, I won’t lift the curse.”
The way Harten looked at Eani was warmer and more genuine than ever before.
Eani, who had been quietly watching him, finally spoke.
“You really won’t lift it?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you’ll have no choice but to stay by my side? You won’t be able to escape from me?”
“Eani, that much I won’t grant you even if you beg. I’m the man who locked you on an island just to keep you to myself.”
Though he said that, he wasn’t sure anymore.
Before, he had cared only about satisfying his own possessiveness, regardless of what Eani wanted.
Now… if Eani wants something…
He felt like he’d have no choice but to give her anything.
Even if what she wanted was to be free from him.
Harten no longer had the confidence to completely refuse her wishes.
Of course, even imagining it made the blood rush backward in his veins.
Harten resolved to prevent that terrible disaster at all costs.
From now on, I’ll devote myself to Eani even more. I’ll cherish her more than my own life.
He would never do anything she disliked.
If she told him to act like a dog, he’d gladly do it.
…If acting like a dog lets me be loved more, that might actually be nice.
Was she aware of his pathetic thoughts?
The coldness in her eyes finally melted away.
Harten stared, entranced, at the gentle curve of Eani’s lips.
He had never seen a smile so lovely.
“Then don’t change. Stay like this… forever.”
“Okay, Eani.”
As he held Eani in his arms, Harten surrendered himself to the overwhelming emotion filling his chest.
Acknowledging and accepting his love for her made him feel more at peace and happier than ever before.
It feels like only Eani and I exist in this world.
Naturally, he recalled the strange calm he had felt when he first met Eani—before she lost her memories.
Now he understood for certain.
How artificial that calm had been.
This warmth enveloping him now was the true peace he had sought his entire life.
Feeling Eani’s warmth, Harten lowered his gaze slightly and looked at the crown of her head.
But why did Eani want my curse to remain?
Was she afraid my feelings might change?
Does that mean she doesn’t fully trust me yet?
Then what should I do to truly put her at ease?
Beyond all those questions, the most pure and careful curiosity surfaced.
Does Eani… love me too?
It’s a relief that Harten obediently declared he wouldn’t lift the curse.
I almost ended up strengthening it instead.
I don’t trust human emotions—they’re far too fickle.
And if that emotion is something as absurd as love, then all the more so.
