Wrong Genre! - Chapter 30.1
A faint smile appeared on Yuri’s face, which had long been overshadowed by the shadow of death.
“Ah! A wildcat!”
“…What?”
“The wildcat that always runs away. Hi, what’s your name?”
In Yuri’s memory, the moment he began to smile was after meeting a blond boy who beamed brightly, one of his baby teeth missing.
As if that child were the beginning of the flowers of laughter blooming in the orphanage, the blond boy was brighter than anyone else.
Someone he had never once seen on the streets… a child like the sun.
“I don’t even remember clearly anymore whether that person really existed or not.”
Was it the time he missed, when he had lived in poverty but without worries? Or was it the person who had disappeared without even saying goodbye?
Or perhaps that person had been nothing more than an imaginary figure he had created to endure a harsh life.
Deep longing and sorrow settled in Yuri’s blue eyes.
He could not clearly define this tangled emotion, but at least one thing was certain.
The person named Rueg Verdic bothered him to an unreasonable degree.
The foolish way he smiled, the way he thought of others before himself. Everything about him looked stupid and naive, yet Yuri’s gaze kept returning to him.
Was it because, despite looking like he would crumble if pressed, he kept trying to stand back up no matter how much he was pushed around?
Or was it because he seemed unable to break free from Versha Verdic’s influence, as if trapped against his will?
“If I had never known, I could have treated him more coldly…”
Muttering, Yuri recalled Rueg’s face, then let out a quiet laugh.
His eyes were sharp because he resembled Versha, yet they somehow looked round and gentle. The corners of his closed lips curved slightly upward, and his hair looked soft and fluffy if touched the wrong way, making him seem unexpectedly cute.
Even his chattering voice was pleasant to hear, so although Yuri thought he talked too much, he still found himself wanting to listen.
At that point, Yuri clenched his fist and struck his own face.
“Idiot.”
Once the thought had begun, it surged through his mind like a broken dam.
What a frightening person.
After learning that he belonged to the Verdic family, Yuri had tried to keep his distance and use him, yet after only a few encounters, the man had already managed to cloud his mind like this.
“Get a hold of yourself.”
Now that he had taken the Everton name, he could not afford to let old memories shake him and ruin his work.
From the moment he received that new surname, he had decided to live for the future, not for personal feelings or the past.
Yuri erased all stray thoughts and turned his gaze toward the bath.
The water, filled with a thick, black, filthy energy, bubbled as it revealed its ominous presence.
Rueg had said that the water looked black.
That meant he could see the curse Yuri had taken into himself as a vessel. It also meant that Rueg, too, could contain this curse within his body.
‘If that’s the case, I can transfer the curse to the Crown Prince through Rueg Verdic. If I do that…’
Then his task would be complete.
After that, he would simply pretend to know nothing and watch as the Crown Prince slowly died.
As Yuri slowly steadied his resolve, the black energy wavering in the water began to gather into one mass.
Soon, when Yuri stepped into the bath, the black curse rushed into his body as if it had been waiting.
“Ugh…”
Clutching his chest, Yuri gasped for breath and clenched his fist.
It would not be long before he was free from this pain.
Rueg Verdic.
As long as Yuri had him.
* * *
Back in the office, Rueg held his pen and quietly stared at Felix.
The moment he had rushed out of the bath, Felix had pulled him into an embrace with a frantic expression.
“Thank goodness. Thank goodness…”
With his large hand, he repeatedly stroked Rueg’s head and held onto him tightly, as if he would never let go.
As if he had thought something terrible had happened to Rueg.
“Let’s go back.”
That voice had sounded far more desolate than expected.
Because of that, Rueg still had not been able to say a single word.
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