Chapter 6
Seniel, whose hearing was unusually sharp, woke up to the sound of hurried footsteps echoing through the corridors from early morning.
Why am I here…?
Last night, he had left the mansion and ridden a carriage aimlessly to some distant place. There had never been any business trip to begin with. He had simply picked a random inn and gone to sleep. That was what he clearly remembered—so why was he waking up in a bed now?
With confused eyes, he scanned his surroundings.
His hair, which he always kept neatly tied even while sleeping, was a complete mess. Several buttons he never left undone were open. On the table, bottles of rum he had never touched were scattered messily.
Before he could even fully grasp what had happened, the color drained from his face. It felt as though the blood throughout his body had gone cold, and his fingertips trembled faintly.
He sprang up in panic—and that was when he noticed handwriting on the desk. Familiar, yet strangely unfamiliar.
You should keep a closer watch on your wife.
The mocking words stared back at him from the paper.
Seniel rushed straight outside.
The servants were startled by his disheveled appearance, but wisely turned their heads away. Moments later, they tilted their heads in confusion, wondering when their master had returned.
Seniel, too frantic to notice their reactions, knocked urgently on a door. There was no response. His already pale face turned deathly white.
Unable to endure it any longer, he opened the door.
The urgent knocking startled me awake.
Huh—what now? What is it this time?
Light leaked in through the blackout curtains that failed to block it completely.
It’s not night. It’s morning…?
I blinked stupidly, completely disoriented.
Still half-asleep, I didn’t even realize that I had slept all night gripping the knife tightly in my hand.
All I could think, stupidly, was that if it was Kidd again, I should jump out the window this time.
When the door burst open, I curled up tightly—but I immediately recognized that it wasn’t Kidd. It was Seniel.
There was no way Kidd would be standing there crying his eyes out.
The moment I realized it was Seniel, all the strength drained from my body. My foggy mind snapped fully awake.
And then, immediately, anger surged up.
Because of you, yesterday—!
Seniel slowly walked toward me.
Strong toward the weak, weak toward the strong—that kind of person, I tried to grab him by the collar.
But—
Clatter.
The knife slipped from my hand.
Oh my god—what is that?!
The knife landed on the blanket, gleaming beautifully in silver.
An awkward silence fell between us. Seniel, who had been staring at the knife, lowered his gaze to the floor.
Ah… the glass…
I hadn’t really planned on hiding the fact that I’d encountered Kidd, but I hadn’t intended to reveal it either. I was planning to play dumb for now and look for a chance to stow away and escape.
Standing near my feet, Seniel looked back and forth between the shattered glass and the knife. All the while, tears kept slipping down his face, falling quietly.
Seeing a face so completely different from Kidd’s—despite being the same person—made my anger strangely subside.
In the midst of this bizarre silence, Seniel finally spoke.
“Did someone come by last night?”
I rolled my eyes. Did I really need to say yes?
“…No. Ah—this is just something I’ve always had, that… habit. Like sleepwalking. I should’ve told you beforehand. You must’ve been startled.”
Kidd hadn’t told me I couldn’t tell anyone—but just in case, I denied it.
Seniel looked at me with eyes that clearly said don’t lie, gazing at me pitifully. I gave an embarrassed smile, not wanting to be entangled any further between Seniel and Kidd.
I assumed he’d find it hard to deal with this anyway and let it go.
Suddenly, Seniel’s gaze dropped sharply.
He knelt down—right onto the sharp shards of glass.
Is he insane?!
I jumped off the bed in a panic and tried to pull him up.
“I’m sorry, Lady Jezline. I’ve been deceiving the world all this time. I think it’s time I finally sever myself completely from my sins. I’m sorry.”
“What are you talking about?”
Sever himself from his sins? What?
A terrible premonition crept up my spine.
“The murderer who came last night—no, Kidd, who has threatened the world—he is actually—”
Thump.
Without thinking, I clapped both hands over Seniel’s mouth.
Is he completely out of his mind?!
I glanced toward the wide-open doorway. He’d rushed in without even closing the door.
No one heard that… right?
Afraid he’d drop another bombshell, I raised my finger sharply, glaring at him to shut up, then hurriedly closed the door.
Still kneeling, Seniel stared up at me blankly, mouth slightly open.
I went back to him and tried again to pull him up, but he stubbornly resisted.
“I am Kidd. The one who threatened you last night—that was me.”
My head started to throb.
He looked like he was about to take his own life to atone, and I was absolutely, vehemently against it.
Because even if he tried—he wouldn’t succeed.
He was good enough to value his own life, but sometimes even that survival instinct could collapse. It wasn’t that Seniel had never abandoned his life before.
He had come frighteningly close to death more than once—but he couldn’t die. The overwhelming terror that surged at the brink of death always awakened Kidd.
Which meant that any attempt Seniel made to “atone” was completely meaningless to me. Worse—it would interfere.
You won’t die until Kidd finishes his revenge! No—you can’t die!
And if Kidd got even angrier because of Seniel’s actions, deals or no deals, that very day would become my funeral.
I forced myself to calm down and think. I had survived Kidd once already—I couldn’t ruin everything now.
Fine. Let’s admit it.
Yes, the person I saw last night was you.
First, stop Seniel from doing anything crazy. Then make sure he doesn’t go anywhere tonight.
Let’s avoid provoking Kidd as much as possible.
“Can you sit down first? It hurts me just looking at you.”
“…No. It would be uncomfortable for you to keep facing me, so I should leave now. I won’t let any more harm come to you—”
“Sit.”
Unable to resist my insistence, Seniel finally sat down.
Good. Good boy.
As he sat beside me, my gaze naturally fell to his knee. His trousers were stained with blood. Thinking it was Kidd’s knee that got cut gave me a bit of satisfaction—but realizing it was someone else who was injured instead of the one who should be apologizing made my chest ache.
“Do something about your knee. It’s still bleeding.”
“…Yes.”
After hesitating, Seniel complied. A soft white light bloomed from his hand, and shards of glass fell away one by one as the wound healed. I knew this wasn’t the time to be amazed, but still—it was amazing.
I lifted my gaze from his knee and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Give me your hand.”
Thinking of how Kidd had ordered me to offer my hand like a dog the night before, I found myself demanding the same thing.
Without question, Seniel gently held out both hands.
Mm. Good boy.
“Since you’ve revealed the truth yourself… fine. I won’t lie. Someone who looked just like you did come last night. That person was probably Kidd.”
“Then…!”
His hands twitched. Tears welled up again in his eyes, which had only just dried.
“But as you can see, nothing happened. The glass broke, sure—but look. I don’t have a single injury.”
“But the knife—”
“The knife was in my hand. He gave it to me as a gift.”
Not that kind of gift, but still.
“I can’t say I fully believe you’re Kidd—but after what happened last night, I won’t deny it either.”
“Thank you for believing me. Then I shouldn’t be staying here like this—I should—”
I tightened my grip on his hand so he couldn’t escape. Seniel flinched and sat back down.
“You want to atone. Fine. But how exactly are you planning to do that?”
Because my life was on the line, my words came out sharper than intended. I understood he’d done everything he could—but understanding and acceptance were two different things.
The strength drained from Seniel’s hand. He pressed his lips together and fell silent.
“You’re a vice-high priest. People wouldn’t believe you if you said you were Kidd. So officially receiving punishment would be difficult, wouldn’t it? If it were possible, I think you’d already be in prison—or executed. Or are you planning to atone through self-harm?”
“….”
I looked at his left wrist. He quickly pulled his sleeve down.
“I’ve heard of dissociative identity disorder. Cases where someone tries to kill themselves, but another personality unconsciously emerges and makes them fail every time.”
I didn’t have medical knowledge—but in novels where the male lead does that, he just gets angrier and more violent afterward.
Seniel’s hand tightened. Deep despair etched itself into his face.
I was angry about what happened yesterday—but I did feel a little sorry for him. Unable to die. Unable to stop it. Unable to do anything.
Still, that was his problem.
My life was my life.
I wasn’t the female lead. I didn’t want to carry Seniel’s burden. If I had power like the heroine, maybe—but I was just an ordinary person with nothing.
“I’ll be honest. I said nothing happened last night—but something almost did. I don’t care who you kill. I just want to survive.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“I don’t need your apology. It’s not one you owe me. What I need is your help. I know how I can live.”
Seniel’s eyes widened, as if saying that was impossible. His crimson pupils wavered. After a long silence, he finally moved his lips.
“What… what should I do? How can I help you?”
It took me a moment to put together the perfect sentence. I gently patted the back of his hand.
“Do nothing. Stay still.”
“…What?”
“Don’t sneak out at night because you’re worried about me. Don’t try to figure out ways to help me. I know how hard you’ve tried to stop Kidd—but please, just stay still.”
So Kidd won’t get even more excited and kill me on impulse.
Seniel’s gaze shifted strangely.
“…I don’t think I quite understand. Are you saying I should really do nothing?”
“Yes.”
Distrust returned to his gentle eyes. Suspicion and anxiety mingled together—as if he were trying to determine whether I was Kidd’s accomplice.
Honestly, I’d suspect it too—if the first survivor of Kidd told him to stay still.
Think about it, Seniel. Would I really be his accomplice? You know Kidd isn’t someone who cooperates with anyone.
A wary but obedient good boy.
As flustered as he was, I still had to make another unreasonable request. To play along with Kidd’s threat, I had no choice.
“I’m not done yet. There are a few more things I want from you.”
Seniel’s gaze steadied slightly, as if expecting something actually useful this time.
“If you’re free this evening… would you like to have dinner together?”
