우울함에 침상 위에서 백호를 끌어안고 있으니, 혈중혁이 기척도 내지 않고 불쑥 방에 들어왔다. 내가 뚱한 표정으로 혈중혁을 올려다보니 혈중혁도 이맛살을 찌푸리며 내 품에 안겨 있는 백호를 가리켰다.

“Where did that cat come from?”

“I’ve been raising it from the beginning.”

“It doesn’t look like an ordinary cat?”

“It’s not ordinary. It’s the most adorable cat in the world.”

Where is there a cat like our Baekho? Its paws are chubby, its nose is stubby, its eyes are round. It’s not just the most adorable cat in the world, but the most adorable cat in the universe.

At my answer, the wrinkles on Hyuljung Hyuk’s forehead deepened. Looking suspiciously at Baekho, he shrugged and shook his head.

He seemed to think there was no need to worry about the cat suddenly turning into a person, no matter how suspicious he was.

“Did it follow you here? It’s a smart cat.”

Our Baekho’s intelligence hasn’t been shown yet… but it will be when we leave here. I stroked Baekho’s head and asked Hyuljung Hyuk grumpily.

“Why are you here?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“But why did you come here?”

“Being by your side is comfortable to breathe.”

Hyuljung Hyuk slowly walked over and lay down on my bed without hesitation. Despite it being a fairly large bed, his body was so large that it felt cramped.

What am I supposed to do? Seeing my displeased expression, Hyuljung Hyuk patted the space next to him and said,

“Lie down quickly.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Lie down when I’m asking nicely. I won’t lay a finger on you now.”

“Eek.”

As he spoke, he clenched his large hand slightly, and the creaking sound of his bones was heard. Intimidated in a different way, I finally lay down on the bed, hugging Baekho tightly and pressing against the wall.

Then, as if he had been waiting, Hyuljung Hyuk lightly placed his arm on my waist. I glanced at him and said,

“You said you wouldn’t lay a finger on me?”

“Hmph.”

With a snort, dismissing my protest, Hyuljung Hyuk closed his eyes and said,

“Keep talking. I like listening to your voice.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s a compliment or torture.”

I wanted to sarcastically ask if he wanted a lullaby, but I closed my mouth, fearing he might really ask me to sing.

But when silence settled between us, I became conscious of our closeness, and it felt as if my hair was standing on end.

‘Should I just close my eyes and tell him to go away? But if I provoke the madman again, what then?’

He’s a madman, but hasn’t he been a gentlemanly madman so far? I let my guard down. He’s also a villain from the martial world who has killed countless people.

‘This is all because of my karma. Even if it’s just in writing, I paid the price for taking human lives lightly.’

It was when I was agitatedly fiddling with my fingers. A deep voice, as if emerging from a cave, resonated from behind.

“…Why did you try to run away?”

It was Hyuljung Hyuk. I wanted to turn around and see what expression he had as he said this, but his sudden tight grip on my waist prevented me from doing so.

I sighed and opened my mouth.

“I told you, I wanted to go home.”

“What if you were caught? Didn’t you think I would kill… hurt you?”

Did he just change his words from kill to hurt?

“I thought about it. But I can’t just sit and wait.”

“That’s why you’re a fool. A stupid fool.”

He was scolding me, but his tone sounded much softer than before.

‘Will he answer anything I ask now?’

I cautiously asked something I’d been curious about.

“You said you could send me back to the original world, right?”

“Yes. Do you want to go?”

The ready response gave me a sense of unease. I
The answer came too readily, creating a sense of unease. I tilted my head and questioned.

“How can you be sure I’ll really change the future as you want when I go back?”

“…….”

He didn’t answer at that point. My head, tilted and shaken, released a small sigh. Rather than feeling upset or frustrated by his silence, I sensed a strange familiarity.

‘Does he feel a sense of trust in me, like between friends or family?’

His attitude toward me was clearly disconnected from his portrayal in the original work. It meant that he had at least some interest in me that differed from others.

‘So maybe I can persuade him to leave his wicked ways?’

Somehow, I felt like he would listen to me.

I was about to sit up to talk with him, looking him in the eye. Just then, the palm holding my waist firmly pressed my head down on the bed.

“Now be quiet and go to sleep.”

Ugh, who presses down on someone’s head so rudely! My lips pouted in discontent.

“Just answer me one thing. You said you needed a hundred children to summon me, right? So what will you do when you send me back?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

He replied in a brusque tone.

“Of course, the same amount of blood is needed.”

He said it lightly, but my eyes widened in shock.

So that meant another hundred lives would have to be sacrificed for me to go to the other world.

(This is a time separator.)