Deep Boredom - Part 2

For a moment, she thought she was dreaming. It could have been an illusion or a hallucination. She simply couldn’t believe the person who appeared before her.

Like the wind that rustled Rasha’s hair, Chedev’s presence also gently rippled. Sigh. The gust of wind filled the space between the two individuals at the end and edge of the path.

An oppressive atmosphere flowed. Unconsciously, she turned her body. And in a rush, she dashed towards the direction of the garden where she had just come from.

The garden was not particularly spacious, and there was no other door to escape through. Nevertheless, Rasha’s mind turned blank for a moment, and she hurriedly moved her feet to immediately get out of his line of sight.

However, being pregnant made her body heavy, making it difficult to flee with all her strength. It had to be seen as not a chase but a game of cat and mouse. Just a few steps away, a large shadow engulfed Rasha from behind, abruptly embracing her. The sensation was similar to a giant beast rushing towards her, causing Rasha to stagger for a moment. Of course, thanks to her firmly braced body, there was no unfortunate incident of falling.

Even though she had already seen him with her eyes, his presence permeated her senses, and Rasha trembled for a moment.

“Let go, let go…!”

Rasha struggled, but his arms remained steady. Instead, he effortlessly turned Rasha towards him, revealing her back to me. One arm naturally wrapped around her waist, while the other gently caressed her cheek. Every touch that reached Rasha felt delicate and tender, as if facing an illusion that could disappear at any moment.

“Just this…”

As Rasha attempted to push him away, her words were interrupted as a face approached her, taking her by surprise

It was a familiar face to her, but it was very different from what she knew.

With bursting blood vessels and a messy appearance, the rough complexion that lacked vitality, lips chapped and noticeably thinner, and a strong jawline that seemed to have lost weight, sharp like a blade. Just a cursory glance revealed a complexion that was indescribably pale and haggard.

As she stood transfixed, Chedev’s gaze wavered like that of a man who has witnessed the unbelievable. Unable to tell whether this was a dream or reality, he stroked her cheeks, the nape of her neck, and kissed her temple.

“Rasha.”

He lingered on her name, as if needing confirmation. Rasha blinked in embarrassment at how patronizing it was. The uncomfortable feel of the bandages against her cheeks brought her out of her dazed stupor.

She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t contemplated a reunion at least once when she’d decided to part ways, but this wasn’t one of the scenes she’d imagined. If anything, she thought, it would be the same slightly blunt, slightly arrogant state he’d been in before they’d become lovers, not this…… weak and disheveled.

Chedev couldn’t utter a word and held her tightly once again. Only now did he realize that his trembling body had calmed down. The joy of having found her was distinctly felt. Conversely, the fear that he had truly lost her also permeated his being.

Beyond Chedev’s shoulder as Rasha leaned in, she could see Kaim with his mouth agape and the servants and Chedev’s knights, one by one. Seeing familiar knights like Verhine standing in the distance, it finally sank in that it was indeed Chedev in front of her.

With that realization, she tried to push him away again, but Chedev was the one who pulled away first. His pupils flickered close to her face.

“…..”

It was strange.

Even moments before parting, his eyes had shown nothing but indifference, like cold water. But now, his pupils were filled with passion, swirling with a wave-like emotion, richly colored with various feelings. It was the gaze she loved, the gaze she adored. It sparkled with a vibrant presence as if returning to the time when they were deeply in love.

Chedev also stared at her quietly. However, despite his expression being still, his hands continued to caress Rasha’s waist that he had pulled.

Or more accurately…….

“…Your belly.”

Hidden by the generous and dark folds of her dress, it was impossible to know without touching or examining closely—the swollen belly.

Chedev touched the growing belly with a perplexed expression that even failed to perceive its realism. His warm touch made his unfamiliar expression gradually pale, as if sinking towards the abyss. The act of confirmation lasted quite a long time. Whenever his hand brushed around Rasha’s navel, she flinched.

Before long, his hand that had been moving continuously to confirm the presence of a child stopped, and his hand fell away without any warmth.

At that moment, Chedev’s pupils were engulfed in perfect despair.

“Yes, then…”

Uttering incomprehensible words, he leaned forward and sealed Rasha’s lips. After softly sucking her lower lip and gently biting the upper one, they separated, accompanied by a sound. Amidst the passionate and abrupt change in his emotions and actions, Rasha was halfway lost, even while being kissed. Her bewildered and trembling gaze barely followed him.

“Close your eyes.”

He whispered softly before pulling something out from inside his coat. Then he turned around and started walking somewhere. Rasha immediately knew the direction he was heading.

Likewise, in that direction, Kaim, who stood at the end, sensed it too, and his face turned as pale as a sheet.

“Why, why are you coming here… Why did you bring out a gun? Don’t come any closer!”

“…..”

“Oh, no. Wait. Wait… Rasha! You promised to explain properly!”

Terrified, he desperately shouted, hiding behind a pillar, his knights proving inadequate. The ready-to-fire muzzle, reflecting the faint sunlight, gleamed with a chilling luster. Rasha, realizing Chedev’s cruel misunderstanding, quickly chased after him as if asking when she had ever intended to escape. She firmly grasped his arm, which held the gun with an obvious intention that would not end well.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Even if it’s someone else’s child, if you’re the one who gave birth to it, it’s the same as my child. So you don’t have to worry. I’ll take full responsibility.”

As expected, it seemed that he interpreted the baby in Rasha’s womb as Kaim’s child.

The fact that he appeared here without any explanation and she had been missing for quite some time made it a reasonably plausible misunderstanding. However, since it was clearly not the truth, it needed to be stopped. Chedev’s attitude towards Kaim was as ungrateful and disrespectful as a knight on the battlefield. It evoked an unsettling feeling that blood would be shed wherever he was headed.

“No, he is my, my brother…!”

Rasha grabbed his wrist, cutting off his misunderstanding. Chedev’s steps, which seemed unstoppable regardless of who intervened, came to a halt. His gaze turned lukewarmly towards Rasha.

“Brother?”

Rasha nodded, wondering how to condense the somewhat convoluted relationship. But her pondering proved futile.

“Then whose kid is that?”

At this moment, it was not at all important to Chedev. He was solely focused on the baby inside Rasha’s womb.

“Whose baby, tell me. Rasha. I’ll kill him right now.”

His eyes, half-turned, asked the question. A sharp madness written above his pupils fiercely swirled.

He didn’t even consider it could be his own child. It was absurd and somewhat heartbreaking, so Rasha tightly sealed her lips. Chedev stared intently at her face, close to fury. A strange silence hung in the air. His sharp iris persisted obstinately, as if digging deep into her soul. Soon, his gaze slowly descended to her belly and then rose again.

And finally, as if sensing something, Chedev briefly closed his eyes and opened them again.

“……Is it my child?”

Noticing Rasha’s fleeting expression of confusion, he immediately corrected the end of his sentence.

“It’s my child.”

“…..”

“It’s my child, right? Rasha.”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

Chedev faltered at her firm tone.

“So, please leave.”

“Rasha.”

“Our relationship is over now. Isn’t it? You’re tired of me.”

“I’ve never been tired of you.”

“Then why are you going to leave me and marry another woman?”

When realizing that others were watching, she knew she had to quiet down, but it didn’t go as planned. The sensations that had been unsettling her for the past few days suddenly exploded inside her when they came face to face. The disappointment of the wasted seven years, the resentment and frustration towards him for not coming to find her, and the lingering longing that had remained to some extent in the corner of her heart. These complex emotions twisted inside her.

Rasha, who had been sulking, abruptly turned around, as if to indicate that she had no intention of continuing the confrontation. However, she couldn’t escape like she did before.

“What… what are you doing!”

A hand reached out from behind and scooped her up in a hug. Chedev’s arms held Rasha steady, his strength not diminished in the slightest by his frighteningly thin complexion. He must have been wearing bandages, but he didn’t frown.

In that state, Chedev began to walk away with her in his arms. Rasha pushed against his chest, pleading to be let go, but he didn’t flinch. If anything, his steps only quickened. His determination to not let her go, no matter what happened, was resolute.

With their movements becoming more frantic, the two of them eventually reached the entrance of the Count’s mansion. The white and pristine door lay completely shattered on the ground. It was then that Rasha realized the source of the noise she had heard from behind. It seemed like he had forcefully entered the Count’s mansion.

“Open the carriage door.”

The waiting knights hurriedly opened the carriage door.

Rasha, now desperate to escape, struggled and squirmed, but it was no easy task. Despite her resistance, Chedev, without faltering, finally lifted his foot into the carriage.

“…..!”

Something strange happened at that moment.