My Strange Savior - Chapter 98

Chapter 98

“Uh, uh. Right. I decided to date Kalion.”

Gregory’s face darkened with a deep sense of defeat in response to Gia’s firm answer. For some reason, Gregory was becoming increasingly irritated, and his anger was simmering.

‘Why though? Why does it bother me that these two are dating?’

Gregory, with furrowed eyebrows, alternately looked at Kalion and Gia, who were smiling at each other.

Seeing that made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Drrrrrr.

Gregory, pushing his chair back and rising, concealed his boiling emotions and reached for his gun.

“Well then, excuse me. I’ll be going now.”

“Uh, yeah. Go, go ahead. If you have any questions, feel free to ask again…”

As Gia awkwardly bid farewell to Gregory, shaking hands, Kalion, feeling uncomfortable himself, firmly grabbed Gregory’s hand.

Gregory left the room like a lonely loser.

“Gia.”

“Yeah?”

When Kalion called, Gia looked up.

“Did I cross the line?”

Gia couldn’t easily answer Kalion’s question about whether he had done something wrong. Kalion, with sparkling eyes, asked because he hadn’t done anything wrong. Gia shook her head from side to side as if her head was swaying.

“Did you have to hide our relationship?”

“No? Why? It’s not a crime. What is there to hide?”

Gia grabbed Kalion’s cheeks with both hands, looking apologetic.

“Do you want to hide it?”

“No. No, I don’t.”

In response to Gia’s words, Kalion quickly denied it. As a man, he needed to act responsibly. Pretending not to be in a relationship and hiding it didn’t suit Kalion’s temperament.

Moreover, Gia’s confession of her feelings, courageously expressed first, only received a simple acknowledgment from Kalion, whose lips turned down in disappointment.

“I don’t want to hide it.”

He felt foolish for being so childishly blinded by jealousy, but he knew that if the same situation came up again, Kalion would act the same way he did today. The moment Gia’s hand overlapped with Gregory’s, a thousand fires ignited in his heart.

How could he suppress and quell such intense jealousy within himself? If Gia hadn’t confessed first, perhaps this explosive anger wouldn’t have surfaced so soon. Kalion, too, was surprised to find such intense jealousy within himself, not realizing how petty and toxic he could be.

“I mean, what’s the matter?” 

Gia asked, noticing Kalion’s sullen expression.

“Should there always be a reason for me to come see you?” 

Kalion replied with a hint of bitterness.

“Huh? No, not.” 

Gia playfully slapped Kalion, adding an apologetic look for making him feel that way. Kalion’s face eased slightly at Gia’s firm denial.

“I thought you might be hungry, so I brought some snacks.” 

Kalion proudly presented the tray Gregory had pushed away as if showing off to Gia.

“Th-thank you?”

Gia, feeling awkward, accepted the offered snack. Kalion’s eyes were gleaming as if he wanted her to eat it right away.

Already handsome, Kalion’s decision to show his face openly to Gia now seemed to have captured her heart. Under Kalion’s steady gaze, Gia felt her heart skip a beat.

Kalion, now her boyfriend, had a face so handsome that it was almost painfully heart-wrenching.

“Is there something wrong?”

Surprised, Kalion looked at Gia. In his red eyes, there was a lot of affection.

“No.” 

Gia bit her lip and struggled to speak.

“You’re too handsome, my boyfriend.”

Kalion’s face turned bright red. As if pricked, he lowered his head, blushing deeply.

“Gia.”

Kalion, who had no immunity to such things, wiped his face as if embarrassed.

“Th-that kind of statement…”

“Why? It’s not untrue.”

Unlike Kalion, Gia, who had found calmness, picked up a fork and cut through the cake.

Nom, nom.

Gia blissfully enjoyed the cake, oblivious to the fact that she had just dropped a bomb, while Kalion, with his face still crimson, watched her eat.

‘Boyfriend.’

Is that what people in that world call someone they’re dating? Unbeknownst to Gia, Kalion repeatedly thought about the words ‘boyfriend.’ The seemingly insignificant term felt incredibly sweet coming from Gia’s lips. 

Although Kalion didn’t touch a piece of chocolate, the sweetness filled his mouth.

Kalion’s previously prized composure became utterly useless in front of Gia. Every aspect of him was pleasing to her, and Kalion’s eyes sank deep, like a man deeply in love.

Would honey drip if she poked him? Kalion, who had discarded his usual composure, gazed at Gia with enthusiasm.

“Why… why are you looking at me like that?”

Feeling the intense gaze, Gia bit the fork in her mouth and locked eyes with Kalion. Even without words, unfiltered emotions overflowed from their eyes. It was evident that Kalion liked her to the point of being flustered. Seeing this, Gia discreetly withdrew the fork from her mouth.

“It’s too…….”

“Huh?”

At Gia’s soft utterance, she leaned towards Kalion.

“Because I like you.”

This abrupt response made Gia’s face blush this time. In an instant, Gia, with flushed cheeks, drank the tea he brought as if it were water.

As Gia turned her red face away, the peacefully sleeping Rey came into view. Despite Kalion causing her heart to race, Rey was sleeping peacefully, lost in his dreams. Blushing Gia, feeling embarrassed, cut a piece of the innocent cake and offered a small response to Kalion.

“Me too.”

The night passed for the newly minted couple, intoxicated by each other’s sweetness.

* * *

The expression of Emperor Euphresia Decarotto, holding a complaint, subtly changed.

“All right… Fine.”

The words and the hand that clenched in frustration seemed to convey conflicting emotions. The knight, who had been bowing to the uncomfortable mood of the emperor, trembled slightly.

“Please go out.”

As the emperor pointed, the knight cautiously retreated from the office.

The sunlit office contained a large desk. The brilliantly adorned office, sparkling in its extravagance, complemented the arrogantly seated Euphresia perfectly.

“Duke Bowers and Viscount Shannon.”

Euphresia’s expression, mentioning the family name, twisted like a sneer.

“I don’t like it.”

Euphresia’s gaze staring into the void contained a chilling coldness. Euphresia, who had received a letter from Oscar a few weeks ago claiming to have captured a dragon, expressed his displeasure without reservation. Euphresia, who always pretended to be endlessly merciful in front of others, was now openly displaying his irritation.

“Daring to move the knights and even capturing a dragon without my permission.”

It wasn’t a direct threat to the emperor’s position, but Euphresia’s gaze was as sharp as if Kalion himself were a threat.

Always suspicious of authenticity, Euphresia wanted to control even the smallest things. All the affairs of the empire had to pass through his hands, and he desired complete control.

“I wish he had just gone ahead and died while capturing the dragon.” 

Euphresia’s eyes reflected regret. Already a thorn in his side, receiving a letter that Kalion Bowers had captured a dragon made it difficult for Euphresia to maintain composure.

Just the thought of the foolish imperial citizens being incited by this news and causing a commotion gave Euphresia a headache. Bowers should have been suppressed long ago.

The consequence of letting Bowers, known for his integrity, go unchecked was now apparent, and the results were not to Euphresia’s liking. Unable to endure it any longer, Euphresia rose abruptly.

Clutching her jaw, Euphresia chewed on his lips as he paced. How much the imperial citizens would praise the esteemed Bowers. He thought about Kalion, who had unilaterally moved the knights without his orders, for suppression.

The fact that the imperial knights had moved, and the achievements were directed toward Bowers, made Euphresia’s stomach ache. Unable to bear it, Euphresia slammed his fist on the table.

There was no justification for punishing them for violating imperial law. Now that the entire empire knew about the facts they had uncovered and the public accomplishment of capturing a dragon, Euphresia had few choices. And even those choices were only beneficial to Kalion.

In frustration, Euphresia muttered.

“Nevertheless, he’s an undying one.”

Recalling the contents of Oscar’s letter, Euphresia’s eyes lit up with a twinge of unease.

“Ugh.”

A sharp pain shot up his spine, causing Euphresia’s waist to bend in half. Clutching his lower abdomen and grimacing, the emperor grabbed onto the table to remain standing. His tightly sealed lips turned pale to prevent himself from collapsing.

“Damn it. Ugh.”

The emperor opened a drawer and popped a pill into his mouth. Swallowing the pill without water, the emperor straightened his previously pained back, exhaling a faint breath.

The emperor walked over to the squeaky sofa and stretched out his body. The only ones aware of his illness were the emperor himself, the imperial palace, and the deceased Myers. The mysterious ailment was gradually tightening its grip. The former emperor, who had mentioned that there was no cure, had already become a handful of soil.

The current emperor, too, would follow suit if he couldn’t find a cure for his illness soon. The emperor, clenching his teeth with a malicious glint in his eyes, thought about Myers, who had died hiding the dragon’s heart.

“What is that lowlife thinking? Does he value something more than his own life?”

The breath the emperor exhaled while mentioning the so-called great philosopher Myers was heated. Now that he knew about his illness, there was no choice but to kill Myers. Thanks to that, the emperor hadn’t spared any effort to create a justification for killing him. If he had been just an ordinary person, he wouldn’t have had such concerns.

Killing Myers, who was admired by the imperial citizens, was not an easy task even for the emperor. So, at that time, he should have given away his heart.

The emperor pressed a potent painkiller into his mouth without water, chewing it thoroughly, and the bitterness spread throughout his mouth. Rinsing his mouth with cold water, the emperor spat it out into a teacup.

Even now, the emperor’s furrowed brow hinted at lingering bitterness. The disease continued to progress, and he couldn’t find a way to get better. Amidst this, Oscar’s letter contained a lot of information.

A man from another world named Morrison doesn’t die and spreads something like a plague. That plague causes people to turn into flesh-eating monsters after losing their minds.