“Dalia!” shouted Kaichen, startled, as he rushed in and grabbed her hands, horrified at the scene.
How long has she been doing this to herself? He looked at the crimson trails on her skin. Her entire body was bleeding. It was because she scratched herself raw without seemingly being aware that she was tearing at her own skin.
When he grabbed her hands and held her down, she struggled and screamed. Her eyes fluttered open and then shut again. She shook her head vigorously, trying to deter him from interfering with whatever she was doing.
“Argh! It’s itchy! Bu-bugs…… Let go! Let go of me!” There were no bugs, but she looked as though she was going to die if she didn’t scratch them away from her body.
Dalia’s body convulsed painfully. It didn’t matter if he was kicked, scratched or even beaten, he wouldn’t let go of her hands.
“Dalia! Stop!” He shouted her name over and over again, trying to reach her. But Dalia seemed to have gone mad. She couldn’t hear him at all. Kaichen was worried and confused. He had no idea what had happened to her so suddenly. He knew she was an alcoholic and was suffering from withdrawal symptoms, but he had never thought it would become this serious.
He had known people who had spent their whole life being an alcoholic, and even then, their symptoms hadn’t been this drastic. Dalia had started alcohol only two years ago. It was very strange that the symptoms manifested so severely in such a small time. Usually, symptoms increased slowly but it has been only two weeks and Dalia suffered like this. Kaichen felt that something was amiss, but right now, his priority was to calm her down.
“Damn it! Dalia, get a hold of yourself! Open your eyes!” No matter how loud he shouted, it didn’t make a difference. She couldn’t hear him.
Kaichen gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on her wrists and pressed her down with his knees. When she felt a heavy weight pressing down on her making her unable to move, Dalia struggled a while and then seemed to calm down a little. Dalia burst into tears. Saliva, mixed with blood, dripped down from the side of her mouth.
Kaichen frowned.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…… I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose.… Please, please. Let me go. I’m sorry, I…… No, no!”
“Dalia, stop! Come to your senses!” Kaichen wondered what she was hallucinating about. She cried and seemed terrified and apologized constantly.
Dalia always brushed off the details of her life in those hundred years as though they were nothing. But seeing her like this, Kaichen realized that she had been pretending. Dalia tried to hide the facts of her past and darker memories under the guise of pretense and tried to pass them off as nonchalantly as she could.
“I don’t want to die. Please,” sobbed Dalia. “Please don’t let me die.”
Kaichen clenched his teeth.
“I’ll help you,” he said. “So, stop it now.” He pressed his palm down on her chest, near her heart. There was no time to be embarrassed. He needed to save her.
Her skin was burning under his palm. He could feel her heart fluttering. He generously infused her heart with his mana. The mana flowed through his palm and to her heart. The mana spread throughout her body through her blood vessels. With shuddering and soft feel of her body on his palm and his heart beating as if it was about to explode, Kaichen generously infused her heart with his mana. The mana that flowed into the heart spread throughout the body through blood vessels. Doing something like this needed utmost caution and attention to detail, but for someone as experienced as Kaichen, it wasn’t very difficult.
If the subject who received the mana unconsciously or consciously blocked it, it would be dangerous. But fortunately, Dalia didn’t resist it perhaps because she was in no frame of mind to do so anyway. Dalia’ breath stabilized. She was still in pain. Her eyes were unfocused, but her face seemed to ease a little. She closed her eyes hurriedly.
“Open your eyes, Dalia. It’s okay now,” he said gently.
“Teacher…,” she mumbled. He was annoyed but he kept quiet.
“I tried… I couldn’t make the cure. Can… you help?” she winced. “If you could… I would be grateful.”
She was always so annoying, and he always detested her. Nothing could change that. But why then was he feeling his chest constrict in sympathy?
“You fool!”
Dalia blinked weakly. Her eyes still unfocused. Her body trembled. Kaichen reached for her forehead. He felt his heart sink at the sight of her closing her eyes. He had cast the sleep magic so that she could drift off to sleep and be rested but seeing her so helpless pricked his heart. She looked as though she was going to die.
Why? He wondered why he felt so worried and sad for her. The places where she had kicked him when struggling throbbed. But seeing her so helpless begging for her life had been more painful to witness.
He tried to deny it to himself, but it was clear that he was worried about this annoying woman. He didn’t want to see her in pain. It’s because she is my research subject, he tried to justify. Nothing else. He needed to save her because he needed her to uncover the truth about the forbidden magic, that’s all. But she wanted to eat the food she cooked… just a little. He knew that the excuses he made weren’t convincing, but she brushed the thought off.
