24 - I Healed the Male Lead's Trauma
Episode 24
4. A Junior Needs Guidance from a Senior (9)
And… again.
The moment I touched him, my vision went dark again.
‘What on earth is this phenomenon?’
I knew asking myself wouldn't magically provide an answer, but I quietly racked my brain, hoping for any information that might help me understand.
Unfortunately, it was a bust.
‘Am I going to see something again this time?’
Judging from the situation, the scene I saw earlier seemed to be Akteon's past.
So, is this going to be a similar case?
Meanwhile, my eyes gradually adjusted to the murky darkness.
As my blurry vision cleared, something began to fall at my feet before I could even figure out what was happening.
It wasn't just a few drops.
The rain poured down, soaking the damp ground.
The feeling of despair was reminiscent of a torrential downpour.
In the night, where even the dark clouds were invisible, the pouring rain felt like needles scratching my skin.
‘It’s not cold.’
No, to be precise… I wasn't the one getting rained on.
Wasn't that obvious?
It's not like I've traveled to the past.
A child, younger and more innocent-looking than now, stood blankly in the rain.
There was no way I could shield him in my arms, but I still moved and stood next to young Akteon.
I don't know the details, but this might be a phenomenon caused by my excessive synchronization with his mind.
‘Something similar happened during his First Manifestation. When I was Guiding him, emotions that weren't mine flowed into me.’
This is just a guess, so let's find out more after the Guiding is over.
I wondered what he was going to show me this time, so I quietly looked down at him.
He was waiting for someone.
Leaving such a young child in the middle of the street in this weather.
However, the criticism that was about to come out of my mouth disappeared when I saw the state of the woman running towards us from afar.
"Teo! Why are you outside?"
She looked like she had fallen into a pool of blood.
The bloodstains, not completely hidden by the dark color of her uniform, seemed to have already stained the fabric and would be difficult to remove.
Covered in the traces of war, she grabbed her son's small shoulders in dismay.
"What's wrong? Were you waiting because I said I'd be back today?"
Young Akteon didn't say a word.
He simply grabbed the woman's hand with a dry expression that didn't suit his age.
"Why? Where are you going? What's wrong?"
"You need to hide quickly."
Without knowing why, she was led away by her son.
I followed the two of them as they hurried into an alley as if trying to escape.
Unfortunately, both she and I had to stop before we could hide in the shadow of an unknown building.
Someone was already waiting for them there.
"He's a clever one. Quick to notice."
The woman's already pale face turned even paler.
It was inevitable.
I knew the person too.
I had even lived under the same roof under his generosity until recently.
"His Highness has permitted it. No more orders will be issued to you."
"...What?"
"I made a deal. To transfer you, a military asset, to my legal ownership. There was some friction, but as a result, they decided that sending you to Brondearne, separate from that woman in my house, was necessary."
The woman's blue lips trembled as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
In the end, no words came out of her mouth.
Instead of the horrified woman, it was Akteon who reacted.
Akteon, who lunged at the man like a young beast.
"Teo!"
He coughed as he was kicked away by the man.
'Why… why is he showing me this?'
Why?
Why is Akteon seeing this?
The question was soon answered.
The woman's screaming voice faded.
* * *
Next, I opened my eyes in a room without any light.
Akteon was there in the room filled with the smell of dust and mold.
Rough breaths escaped from him as he lay exhausted.
It was obvious that the door somewhere in the darkness would be locked.
Does the flow of time also shorten according to Akteon's memories?
When some light finally began to enter after a long time, the door opened.
The boy who was touched by the light looked a little older than before.
Akteon mechanically followed the servant who opened the door.
Walking beside him again, I was certain that this was the mansion I had already become familiar with.
This was the Brondearne mansion.
Akteon walked down the long corridor for a long time.
"……."
He stopped in front of a room with a heavy lock.
It was a desolate room with hardly any furniture.
A woman who had thrown her limbs haphazardly on the long sofa like a wooden doll with a broken string raised her head.
She didn't react even after seeing Akteon, then buried her face in the sofa again.
Her wrist, where she had compulsively tried to remove the Control Stone Bracelet, was horribly scarred with cuts, burns, and festering wounds.
Akteon didn't do anything special beside her.
He stayed by her side for a while, then was dragged out by the servant as if visiting hours were over.
As he came out, two children with innocent faces passed by him, and the twins, who looked exactly like each other, glanced at Akteon and then bickered with each other as they walked away.
Except for the occasional words from his only mother, no one spoke to him.
Even after Akteon's mother died, and he grew taller, his hands bigger, and his innocent face more mature.
Akteon changed a little when someone new appeared in the mansion.
The boy who came into the mansion one day had dark hair similar to Akteon's mother, and his situation seemed similar as well.
"He's my Guide."
The girl who proudly showed him off glared at Akteon. It was Claire, Kashiel's twin.
"He's my Guide, so don't you dare talk to him. Of course, if you haven't forgotten how to talk."
Akteon faithfully followed her sulky warning.
Actually, it seemed he didn't care at all rather than following it.
He didn't do anything, but it was Claire's Guide who approached him first.
I couldn't be completely relieved this time either.
Even though I could see Akteon, who had lived like a ghost without relying on his broken family, slowly opening his heart.
"……."
Because I had already seen how this would end in disaster.
The same scene was repeated.
The woman aimed a gun at her head.
A gunshot rang out.
In the instant when the two people who had just lost their lives collapsed in the distance.
As the light flickered precariously and my vision repeatedly went black, I realized what Akteon feared.
In his world, it was always the Guides who were sacrificed.
It was always monsters who took them away.
That category of monsters included Akteon Brondearne himself.
He was afraid of himself.
Of himself becoming a monster.
* * *
When I came to my senses, my heart was beating like crazy.
The sound of its pounding was so loud that it wouldn't be strange if it burst at any moment.
To think that I would ever voluntarily attempt such a passionate kiss.
As soon as I came back, a headache struck, but I opened my eyes wide, not wanting to miss the opportunity.
'As expected.'
Physical contact that causes emotional waves is more effective than simply touching hands.
Akteon's heart, which had been indiscriminately drawing in magic power, began to slow down steadily.
His shoulders flinched in surprise at the unfamiliar contact, different from a hug.
But I can't back down just because I feel sorry for him.
I braced myself for my tongue to be bitten and plunged into his mouth, which was full of humid heat, and the movement of rejecting me stopped abruptly.
In that gap, I put more strength into the hand that was holding his collar.
There was no time to dwell on what I had just seen.
Fortunately, the magic power I sent into his body was steadily completing its task.
Akteon's momentum, which had stopped resisting, had subsided considerably, making it easier to calm him down.
'It's not at a safe level yet, but...'
In this state, unless I exhaust all my energy and become a mummy, it doesn't seem like it will turn into a major accident.
But was it because I was relieved that I took a breather?
I was trying to catch my breath, hoping that I could let my guard down, but I accidentally touched something wrong.
It was Akteon's stiff tongue.
At that moment, I met his eyes with silver-gray irises that had regained their focus.
I tried to pull away in embarrassment.
"Wait…. Ugh."
Hot hands wrapped around the back of my neck as if saying it wasn't allowed yet.
Then, like someone who had been feeling a severe thirst, his tongue wrapped around mine urgently, and I was breathless.
He was persistent.
He was so persistent that embarrassing sounds gradually leaked out, and my face flushed.
Even though my mind was going back and forth, my exhausted body relaxed languidly from the subtle stimulation that touched the primal desires of humans.
I was the one who was helping, but I felt like I would lose my original purpose before I could even complete my mission.
'No, no more.'
I panicked and beat his shoulders wildly as his lips followed me as soon as I twisted my head.
His eyes finally returned to normal at my desperate struggle, and he tried to pull away abruptly.
I had lost my strength and couldn't get away from him, so I leaned on him, and Akteon made the most agitated expression he had made today.
"...Senior."
I wanted to snap back at him, but the voice that came out was just a weak groan like the wind.
His face was a mess.
On the one hand, the Manifestation process was over and stability had returned, but on the other hand, his face was still hot from the aftermath of the high fever, and cold sweat was dripping down.
Like someone who had received a death sentence, Akteon couldn't speak easily.
"I…."
"Instead of apologizing… can you help me up first?"
It's not just the aftermath of the kiss.
I had never suffered from such extreme fatigue before. I could believe that the gravity of the whole world was concentrated on me.
If he let go of me now, it wouldn't be strange if I lost my strength and sank into the ground.
When I held out my hand, he didn't just awkwardly lend me his shoulder, but picked me up. I caught my breath and explained the situation to him.
"The people outside must have noticed by now."
"……."
However, he seemed more concerned about me being exhausted than such trivial things.
As if not allowing any shaking, his touch, as if he were handling a great treasure, adjusted my position.
Furthermore, his hands, which touched me as if he were holding something unreal, trembled slightly.
Is it because my life is in danger?
Something felt off, but I thought he needed to hear these words now.
"...It's not your fault."
And right after I said those words, I finally realized it too.
'I'm not dead.'
I'm not dead.
I had braced myself for the possibility of dying in the end….
Rather, I'm being held in the arms of Akteon Brondearne, who was supposed to kill me, and I'm walking out alive.
It felt strange.
It was so strange that I felt nauseous, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.
At the same time, the question of 'how?' also arose.
'Is my compatibility with him really that high?'
It would be understandable if Akteon's rank was A-class, one level below.
I had bet on a slim chance, but when it actually succeeded, I felt more suspicion than joy.
I don't know what's going on….
'I'll have to find out what it is later.'
Let's take care of the injured and go outside.
I was calming down Akteon, who was clenching his jaw tightly as if he was going to crush it, and was about to step out into the hallway outside the grand hall.
Several presences approached from afar.
But.
"Liliop Ortiz cadet."
Several pairs of eyes turned to me rather than Akteon.
The reaction of the faculty and some of the cadets who I faced was a mixture of shock and surprise.
Among them was my professor, who clearly looked like he had rushed over in a hurry.
"You, just now… can you explain what you just did?"
"Yes?"
…What are you talking about?
I looked up at Akteon with a sinking heart, wondering if I had caused any more accidents.
But even if I wanted to question him, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
The unknown emotions filled his eyes.
It looked like hope that I thought would never exist, or the joy of encountering something I had been longing for and searching for.
Anxiety and fear were also clear, but it was closer to wanting to reconfirm the miracle he had witnessed.
Someone reached out and asked me to try Guiding them.
Feeling a strange premonition, I readily agreed, and after a while, he said.
"I didn't feel it wrong."
When I came outside, an unimaginable result unfolded.
"It's S-class."
S-class.
My rank has become strange.
