Becoming the Terminally-Ill Villain Who Torments His Disciples - Chapter 92.1
***
Blink, blink.
Cielo stared blankly at the ceiling.
Seeing the ornate chandelier casting a soft glow, it seemed like he was in the imperial palace infirmary.
“…Was it a dream?”
They say people see their life flash before their eyes before death. Maybe instead of a flashback, one ends up lingering in the place they spent the most time alive.
“There’s no way I survived…”
That day, with his body in ruins, he had treated not only Ryan and Oscar but even the surrounding knights all at once.
If he was going to die anyway, he had wanted to use every last bit of strength to save at least one more person.
In the end, he coughed up blood and collapsed, seemingly forgetting how to breathe altogether.
Even thinking back now, after going through all that, there was no way he could still be alive.
Then waking up in the infirmary must have been heaven’s final mercy before truly leaving the world.
Just as he was quietly sinking into sentiment, overwhelmed with sorrow—
“…What? There’s no way you survived? That’s the first thing out of your mouth after regaining consciousness? Were you trying to give someone a heart attack?”
A loud scolding came from above.
Cielo flinched in surprise, his body trembling slightly.
Had Ryan heard even his softest murmurs? He was glaring furiously.
“R-Ryan…?”
…Something felt strange. Was this really not a dream? But Ryan’s shout echoed painfully in his head.
Cielo frowned at the throbbing in his skull, but Ryan continued in a voice filled with anger.
“You saved us knowing you’d die, and then thought I’d be happy if you just vanished? You… you, why do you always…!”
Unable to fully express the indescribable fury boiling inside him, Ryan pounded on his own chest as if trying to contain it.
Cielo quietly watched him for a moment before slowly sitting up.
“What if you had actually died? If a miracle hadn’t occurred, if Oscar hadn’t saved you at that moment…”
Mid-sentence, Ryan bit his lip and clenched his fists.
Just imagining Cielo dying seemed painful enough to bring him to tears. Watching him fight that grief, Cielo slowly moved his lips.
But when Cielo didn’t respond and lowered his gaze, Ryan launched into another barrage of nagging.
Eventually, he even dragged over a chair to sit beside him, grumbling nonstop.
After some time, Ryan spoke more seriously, lowering his voice.
“Make a promise with me.”
“A promise…?”
“Promise me you’ll never sacrifice yourself to heal others again. Especially not for me or Oscar.”
At the firm tone, Cielo’s lips parted slightly.
“That’s…”
“Go on.”
“…I can’t promise that.”
He answered in a murmur, lowering his eyes.
He knew what he did was wrong. He understood how much pain it would cause those left behind if he saved others by sacrificing himself.
But if the same thing happened again, he knew without a doubt he would do it all over again.
“The reason I’m still breathing… is because of you two. How could I ever give you up?”
“…”
“I won’t trade my life to save someone else. But… Please let me save you and Oscar, at least.”
As if begging, Cielo reached out and grabbed the front of Ryan’s clothes.
He made himself look as desperate as he could, and seeing that expression, Ryan let out a long sigh.
“…You— That’s cheating.”
“…”
“You know how weak I am to your face, and you still do this?”
Lies.
Cielo had always been the one weak to Ryan’s and Oscar’s faces, not the other way around.
Maybe Ryan just needed something to say to cover up how he felt.
After hesitating for a moment, Cielo simply stretched his arms out toward Ryan as if asking for a hug.
And Ryan stepped forward and gently embraced him.
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