Chapter 18
“Why are you always like this?”
Ricardo, who rarely spoke, finally asked.
His voice was strained, heavy with emotion.
“Anyone can see that you’re the one in worse condition, yet you worry about others. Why do you always make me feel so uneasy?”
“Ricardo—”
“I saw you’re fine. With your healing ability, most injuries are nothing. You don’t need to worry about me like I’m a helpless kid.”
Words poured out before I could respond.
I lowered my gaze to Ricardo’s hands.
His fists were clenched tightly on his knees, trembling. His skin was flushed red, and I worried they might burst.
Ricardo took a breath and shook his head violently.
“No, that’s not what I wanted to say. I called you for something else… something I wanted to tell you.”
He had spoken so clearly just moments ago, and now he stuttered. He looked at me, seemingly concerned about making me uncomfortable.
A thought crossed my mind.
Maybe the reason Ricardo ran that day wasn’t because he was scared of me.
Perhaps that’s why his words flowed so freely now, sharing things he had never told anyone before.
“It’s nothing serious. It’s just… my body hurts a little on nights with a full moon. Something bad happened in the past.”
“What happened?”
“Hmm… just something bad. Nothing good would come from knowing anyway.”
I slightly narrowed my eyes as I answered.
Some might interpret it as drawing a boundary, but even so, I had no intention of telling Ricardo about the horrors of my past.
“That’s why I don’t like full moons. Seeing them always brings back those memories.”
“Are you scared?”
Ricardo asked abruptly.
I hesitated, then nodded.
“Yes, I’m scared. Yeah… I guess it’s fair to say I’m scared.”
At that moment, Ricardo suddenly stood and strode to the window. He roughly drew the curtains, plunging the room into darkness.
As my vision dimmed instantly, I blinked and let out a small, uncharacteristic laugh.
“Now I can’t see anything.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s better than seeing things you don’t want to see.”
As he approached the bed, his voice grew clearer. I focused on the sound. Near the bed came a thump, followed by a small groan.
“Are you okay?”
Instinctively, I reached out, and a small, warm hand gently grasped mine.
At that instant, the space before my eyes brightened.
A circular ring of light spun over our joined hands. Reflected in that light was Ricardo’s slightly furrowed face. His ability.
“Even if you couldn’t see, you found your way back in the end.”
Confidence spread across his face.
I stared blankly at that dazzling glow and buried myself back into the bed.
“You seem to know more than I do. You don’t seem afraid of anything.”
“Not at all. I have plenty to fear. I’m scared of myself.”
“You?”
I asked incredulously, but Ricardo’s expression remained serious. Biting his lip anxiously, he spoke.
“That day, we were together in the forest, and I ran away.”
“You don’t need to say anything. I understand.”
“No, I have to say this.”
Ricardo answered stubbornly, determined to speak no matter what. I sighed quietly and stayed silent.
‘I don’t need to worry about it.’
I’d seen such reactions countless times.
Who could like a being whose daily life involves killing? Contempt was natural.
Whether I could handle those negative emotions or not didn’t matter. It would happen anyway, and I had to endure it.
It was predetermined.
Or so I thought.
“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t scared. I’d never seen a soul being collected before, so I didn’t know what it was—I was scared.”
“Th-”
“Scared, yes, but it was warm too.”
Why was this child saying such things to me?
Without knowing what it meant to me, or what change it might bring.
“I was so pathetic, stepping back then. I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”
I had told him to run, deliberately. Why was he apologizing to me?
“I was so scared and awful, I couldn’t bear to look at you. I know it was wrong. Even after coming home, I kept thinking. About my feelings.”
That wasn’t your fault. Why take the blame?
“I’ve thought about it for a long time, but my mind hasn’t changed. I told you when we first met—if you’re a reaper, I want you to take my life quickly.”
I couldn’t fully comprehend it.
The hand touching mine, no, his entire body was trembling. Yet it felt different from before.
It felt like a force had hit my head. The thick fog in my mind began to clear.
Ricardo spoke to me, to my immobilized self.
“I don’t want another reaper. When I die, I want it to be you who comes for my soul.”
Something fell from my eyes.
My chest ached strangely. I clutched the flower decoration I’d kept close to my heart.
‘Real luck is coming.’
No. Luck had already been closer than I imagined.
I lifted my head to look at Ricardo. Before I even realized, tears streamed from my eyes.
As he flustered, opening his mouth to speak, I whispered resolutely.
“I’ll protect you.”
No matter what happens, I will save him.
Not because of the original story, not for my own sake, but because I truly wanted to save Ricardo.
The warmth in his hand was overwhelmingly comforting, and for the first time in this world, I smiled sincerely.
Ah, I…
After long, lonely years, I had finally…
Found somewhere to return.
Time passed.
Seasons changed. The chill in the air now carried a sharp, cutting frost. The surroundings transformed with the flow of time.
Humans changed too.
People wore thick clothes against the cold, instinctively seeking warm food.
Among them, one boy was also experiencing change.
“Ugh.”
Curled up in bed, Ricardo groaned. From the morning, he had felt a little off, and now sudden, inexplicable pain struck him.
It felt like a raging fire burning inside him, or like sharp blades tearing through his body.
Whatever it was, it was unbearable for him.
‘I need to call that reaper quickly…’
His hand, unconsciously searching for something sharp, paused. Rosina’s repeated warnings not to harm his own body came to mind.
Normally, he might have ignored it, but ever since he had seen her collapse before him, he couldn’t.
That day, Ricardo had seen Rosina cry for the first time.
Though she had smiled at the end as if relieved, his heart still hadn’t settled. Her expression had seemed as if she had held back until she broke.
Seeing someone cry when you never expected them to wasn’t pleasant.
No, it was depressing—utterly disheartening.
He never wanted to see that face again.
‘It’s fine. I’ll manage alone.’
Ricardo curled further in bed.
Not just because he didn’t want to trouble Rosina.
He had his reasons.
The protective barrier Rosina had placed over him was powerful. Even a small cut from a knife would send her rushing immediately to his side.
Yet she hadn’t reacted yet. That meant one of two things:
Something had happened to her, or this pain wasn’t threatening him.
He easily deduced the cause.
‘Ability activation.’
Something his nanny had told him when he was young.
Something he had long awaited.
‘If I just hold on a little longer, I can help.’
Thinking this, he endured the pain.
Outside, the street darkened gradually, and people began disappearing from view. Only faint moonlight shone through the window onto Ricardo.
And then, the change came.
“Ah!”
Ricardo screamed.
Blue light, the same color as his eyes, shot from his body. The energy that had lingered nearby expanded, spreading wider and farther.
It rose to the sky.
The power was explosive. For a moment, the area lit up so brightly it flashed in vision.
Any reaper tracking him would notice.
Found.
Found.
Found.
Reapers wandering the streets flared their eyes and quickly darted toward him. The being they had long pursued had revealed itself.
They crowded around Ricardo’s house and room, leaving no empty space, pressing forward relentlessly.
Terrified by the grotesque scene, Ricardo was pushed to the corner of his bed.
His back hit the wall. He squeezed his eyes shut instinctively.
It was then that Rosina arrived.
Just as before, when he was at his most desperate.
“What a filthy crowd.”
Swinging her vines, she carved a path quickly through the reapers and approached Ricardo.
Tap, tap.
The sound of her heels echoed in the tense silence. She stood with her back to Ricardo, smiling faintly.
Her red eyes were different from usual.
“Don’t touch him. He’s mine.”
