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nChapter 104 – A year later (1)

nTranslator: SKAIS Editor: Nym13

nHis hands groped. Was he looking for something in his dream? I slowly untangled his crooked fingers one by one and laced my hand with his, our palms were now resting against each other.

nSqueeze.

nAs he squeezed my hand, I felt some pain from the pressure but I just ignored it. It would have been nice if there were other people who were beside him and would hold his hand like this.

nFurthermore, wouldn’t it be a good idea for him to have a memory of warmth? Even for just four years, a warm memory would keep him going.

nI scanned his face, tracing the chain around his neck.

n“This…unwind sooner please.” I muttered under my breath.

nFor some reason, right at this moment, his hand that held mine suddenly went limp, as if its strength flew off, and when I glanced at him, I was taken aback.

nThe rough breaths that came out of his earlier have now turned into calm soft sighs.

nWas he in deep slumber now?

n“The floor here is too cold.” I mumbled as I began to feel chills.

nThis place was a really bad environment for people to stay in. It’s not even a suitable dwelling place for someone who was still sixteen years of age. Furthermore, this was definitely not an appropriate place for someone to grow up.

n“My butt is cold.” I complained to no one in particular.

nDidn’t they know that raising a child who was cold to the bone will make one lose his tongue?

nI felt unsettled.

nThen, I turned my eyes. One of my hands was still touching the restraint on his neck….And I wondered how it felt to have something so cold and heavy hugging the expanse of one’s neck like this?

nI’m sure it would feel dreadful.

nI covered my eyes while I looked at Ricdorian’s sleeping form.

nI remembered last time when my brother covered my eyes like this, I felt safe..secured.

n“You’ll be happier if you pull this out.” I muttered so, still touching the restraint.

nIn addition to his comfort, I too would feel at ease if the restraint would be removed. Due to the time we spent together, I have grown attached to him and if I see him happy and comfortable, then I will also feel the same.

nAfter some time, I thought I saw his eyelids seemed to flutter open, but I was mistaken, maybe I just wanted to see him awake so bad or I was slowly having delusions.

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nThe next day, when I went into Ricdorian’s cell, I found myself taken aback because of what I saw. Ricdorian’s fine face greeted me and it also seemed like he was recovering fast and well. I was particularly pleased to see that the spot from where he was hurt and wounded, healed completely. He even stood up quickly from his seat with great enthusiasm and with his extraordinary physical ability. And from that, he seemed to be gaining his strength back.

nI was just looking at him in a daze, it was so incredible.

nHow can I not feel confused? After all, I have seen him struggling until yesterday but today he was appearing before me seeming so healthy. He looked like the version of himself when I first got into the room, is it strange for me to think this? Well, there have been obvious differences since that time, but still, that was the feeling he gave me.

nIn addition, I noticed that when he greeted me he had a slight blush on his cheeks.

n“Oh, welcome.” Ricdorian said to me as he stepped aside and tapped the spot next to where he had sat.

n…does he want me to sit down? I thought to myself as I stared at the empty space next to him.

nThe seat he gestured to was covered with a blanket that I had given him a long time ago when Hans was still the one guarding his cell.

nOh, I have to wash that, I can’t believe it is still here though. I thought.

n“Oh, you want me to sit down? Thank you.” For some reason, Ricdorian bowed his head then and averted my gaze. Then, he slowly nodded his head as lightly as possible.

n“…Yes.” he told me.

nWhat is it? I said to myself as I watched his odd behavior.

nWhy do the expressions on his face change so quickly?

nSometimes his face would turn red, and it seemed like the heat on his cheeks does not completely go away even when some time passes.

nWere there still magical effects left on him?

n“Well, can I touch your forehead?” I asked, wanting to make sure he was no longer sick.

n“What? What, what? What?” Ricdorian asked repeatedly, he looked so flabbergasted.

n“…what are you so surprised about?” I asked him. He had taken a few steps back and was now standing far away from me and my outstretched hand.

nIf he doesn’t like me touching him then I won’t force him. I took my hand and brought it back to my side.

n“Come back, your chains will pull you and it will hurt you.” I told him and tapped on the tightly pulled chain for him to see that moving that far will cause him pain.

nAnd when Ricdorian noticed the chain, he slowly stepped in closer. Now he was about three spans away from me. To be honest, I was a little peeved by his reaction, but I also feel like I’m seeing a dog next to his owner who doesn’t want to leave.

nWell, not that I was sulking. I then rested my chin on my palm as I stared at the sight of Ricdorian’s gradual redness.

n“Why are you turning red? What did I do?” I asked him.

n“What? Oh, the… .” He muttered.

n“Ah. Do you like me that much?” I teased him.

nAt that moment, I seemed to be seeing a red tomato appear before my eyes. Yes that’s right, what I saw could only be described as a tomato. But thinking about it now, I may have seen a red cotton camellia instead.

nNot long after my question, the room was filled with silence. As the dead air between us became more apparent, more seconds passed by. Then suddenly, I thought it was the right opportunity for me to ask Ricdorian ‘Why’.

nWhy was he suddenly healed, was his body better now? Or was he still in pain? And why does he suddenly turn red like this, could it be some weird after effect?

nBut I wasn’t able to ask him those questions, because of the sudden appearance of an uninvited guest. Ricodorian’s beast version was now suddenly awake.

n“Arff!” Ricodorian barked.

nIt’s been a long time since I saw this personality of his. When he greeted me with dog barkings, I could not help but burst out laughing at him.

n“Why am I so happy?” I asked myself, wiping the tears that formed at the edge of my eyes.

n“Arfff, Arfff!”

n“Oh, okay. Shh. Don’t pull it.” I warned Ricodorian.

nBut he was staring intently at the thing that I was holding. My eyes alternated between him and to the ribbon I held. Not long after, I decided to throw the ribbon, just like in the fetch pet game for dogs.

n“Go get it and bring it here. ” I said as I tossed the ribbon away from us.

n“Arfff!” Ricdorian ran excitedly to fetch the ribbon.

nOf course, the ribbon was purposely in a moderate distance within the reach of the chains so he wouldn’t get hurt.

nHowever, seeing Ricdorian right now, I felt absurd.

n“You know… …why don’t you bring it like a normal person does? Do you really like to ‘bite’ it?” I asked, with sarcasm.

n“Arff?” Ricdorian responded.

nWhen he was in his beast state, he usually loved to play throw as well as to eat, but that moment when I said ‘Bring it here’ didn’t budge him.

nWhat kind of crazy person would allow themselves to get treated this way… where’s your human dignity now, eh? Of course, I knew it’s useless to say this because he wouldn’t understand and so I chose to shut my mouth.

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