Venomous Snake (2)
“Will families gather under my banner?”
I ask my grandmother as if lamentingly.
“They were loyal to Asena, not to me.”
The next families I checked while looking down at the documents were not the families that were originally loyal to Pryster, but the families Asena recruited with her own strength.
It was surprising to see the strength she had built up over the years as the head of the household…
Now that Asena was down, everything seemed to be useless.
grandma says
“Everyone will gather. The alliance that Asena has built is stronger than you think.”
“……”
It was the first time I took charge of Gaju’s work, and it was full of awkward things. I’m not sure about either of them, and I’m just worried. It was even more so when I thought that my choices could change the lives of hundreds or thousands of people.
As if to reassure me, Grandma continued.
“…they have no choice but to gather. Families loyal to us sometimes have interests, but there are also bigger factors.”
“…?”
“I don’t know you kind. And since Asena didn’t show up like this in front of you, you wouldn’t know.”
Immediately after, Grandma looked at me with a slightly proud smile.
“Everyone is afraid of Asena. She doesn’t show her emotions, so the allied and… subordinate families will notice. They don’t know what she’s happy about or what she’s angry about. So if you don’t help us in the steadfast cause of war… you’re afraid of reprisals. Do you see how great this is?”
I was a little surprised at what she told me, but I soon understood. If she’s a villain… that’s enough.
Did you read my expression? said the grandmother.
“Oh, do you think it’s bad?”
“yes? No, I didn’t think of that.”
“Hmm. So, is it surprising that Asena embraced the families by force? But don’t worry too much. Asena is doing well for the subordinate families. That’s enough. I just mixed a little bit of fear in the process. A smooth rule must have the power of fear.”
“It must be the relationship Asena has built up, so I have no doubts about that. Doubt is what I am doing to myself. Even though I’m the deputy governor of the state…. I’m from a commoner and I’m wondering what you think of me, who was expelled from my family. Maybe the families will turn their backs on me for Asena. The perception that Asena doesn’t like me must have been so widespread.”
“There is no point in worrying about this. Write a letter or something. There are a lot of Jeonseo-gu to be blown away today.”
– Tak Tak Tak Tak!
In an instant, the harsh footsteps heard from outside the door shifted my grandmother’s gaze.
A knock is heard immediately.
– Tick Tick Tick!
“Liana, Kaden! This is Helen!”
At that urgent sound, I say.
“come in.”
– Kick.
Helen opened the door and said as soon as she saw our faces.
“Asena-sama is awake…!”
****
Asena opened her eyes at the familiar scent. When she opened her eyes, the attendant who was nursing next to her was startled by the Hornbi Baeksan Mountain and started shouting something, but Asena could not hear her.
she just thinks
He said he couldn’t die.
It was to the point that I felt like I was more alive than before I went to sleep. And she was disgusted with herself as if she was healthy again.
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
For a long time, it was only certain that he had fallen asleep.
I had a dream where I couldn’t see anything, let alone Cayden, but I felt the passing of time…
After the servant runs out in surprise, she is left in the room alone.
Looking around, she quickly recognized what the familiar scent had awakened her.
It was Cayden’s scent. This was his room, his bed.
And when she realized she was in his room, the realization that Caden’s departure wasn’t a nightmare struck her hard.
Because she missed him and lay in his bed.
He shouted hundreds of times as if he had promised himself that he had not given up hope that he would be alive, but deep in his heart he was accepting that he had left.
At his own orders and greed, he was shattered.
Asena reached out to where Kaden had always been lying. He seemed to be shivering.
Unknowingly, she began to cry.
Not long after waking up from a long slumber, his mind was still not fully… But the fact that he had left and the pain he felt in his chest did not change the level.
“….brother…”
Her voice, weakly broken, looked for him as if pleading. As soon as she wakes up, she finds him.
In the next moment, the energy drained from his body. I couldn’t stand this reality at all. I didn’t even want to hold on.
Her eyes were about to close again.
“…Sena…!”
was it a hallucination? Kayden’s voice, which I desperately wanted to hear, echoed in my ears. Asena smiled an embarrassment involuntarily, and then began to gradually let go of consciousness.
It was satisfying to finally hear his voice.
“Asena!”
At the sound of the second sound, Asena’s heart was pounding and she was startled.
Her helpless eyes twinkled, and she began to look around.
And he was standing right in front of me.
She was staring intently at her, breathing heavily, with the bandages tied around her wounds.
Asena felt as if the world had stopped.
I couldn’t even breathe.
Even if you blink your eyes. Even if I wake up thinking it’s a dream
He stood there.
“…can you come to your senses…?”
he says
Asena’s shoulders began to tremble.
I couldn’t even answer. I couldn’t even make a sound.
Instead, only tears were shed.
Covering her face with her hands, she silenced the sound and began to burst into tears.
Because I didn’t even have the right to make a sound. Because I didn’t deserve to cry.
But I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing… I just had to forcefully cover it up like this.
She couldn’t hold back her tears. No matter who saw her, no matter how shaken her shoulders, she shed tears endlessly.
I heard Kaden approaching.
For the first time, she resisted her instinct to want Cayden.
I wanted to throw myself in his arms and hug him. I wanted to feel his warmth by wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.
But I couldn’t. I can’t do that shamelessly to him who almost killed me with my own hands.
Cayden might have already hated him.
Asena has nothing to say about him.
So he came back, who he thought was dead… But Asena couldn’t look at him or touch him.
The more the tears grew, the more difficult it became to hold back the sound of breathing.
I started getting dizzy. My head got dizzy.
For a moment, I also had the illusion that seeing Kaden was not my imagination.
I wondered if all of this was just a fantasy she saw as she went crazy.
As proof of that, there was no sound coming from Kayden, who was standing next to him.
Still, she couldn’t stop crying.
I couldn’t take my hands off my face. I couldn’t even look at him.
Because he was dirty and at the same time afraid that he would hate him like he was going to kill him… he couldn’t make any changes to his body.
– Kick… Knock.
There was a sound of the door closing.
Did he leave him alone? Or, as I thought before, everything may have been an illusion.
At that moment, something touched Asena’s head.
Even though she trembled at the touch, she could easily figure out what it was.
Because it was a familiar touch.
“…drop.”
his voice said
It was then that Asena knew what the sound of the door closing was.
Although he and he must be left alone, Asena has returned to her true form, and he has bitten all the servants.
Asena couldn’t take it any longer.
He released his hands and flew his arms in the direction the voice came from.
Her face bumped into a familiar touch, and her arms grabbed the body of the man she was drawing.
Asena still shrugged her shoulders and shed tears.
I prayed and prayed that this was not a dream. If this is a dream, and if Kaden’s death is a reality, then she won’t be able to bear the gap any longer.
If this is a dream, I will change my name immediately after waking up from the dream.
“…Mi…I’m sorry…Ugh…I’ll be like this for a while, brother…”
His hand brushed her hair.
Every time Asena felt his touch, his presence became more vivid. I started to feel it.
****
A long time passes
Her tears soon calmed down.
But her arms did not lose strength. Putting her head on me, she doesn’t even move.
When I wondered if I was sleeping like this, she put strength in her arms and hugged me as if to confirm my existence.
Where did she go when she said she would stay like this for a while… no matter how long I wait, she won’t let me go.
As much as he was relieved that she awoke without dying, he was generously watching her actions… but now it had to come to an end.
Otherwise, I thought she would never let me go.
“…Asena, let me go now.”
In my opinion, she didn’t vomit.
It was different from her, who was stubborn when they were alone sometimes.
Just like Kirsi, Asena changed.
She shook her head and looked up at me.
This was the first time she had seen her face to face after waking up.
Asena’s swollen eyes looked at me, and she held back her tears again.
As much as I had calmed down my tears, I began to spit out the words I had been wanting to say.
“…You just woke up, I’ll tell you later… I’m mad at your behavior, Asena.”
“……”
“Because I thought I was dead…if I act like this…”
i hate this I suppressed the desire to preach now.
“…for now, just take care of your health from now on. People…don’t worry about it.”
Like this, I just spit out my words and turned around.
The moment she turned around, her foolish arms turned towards me, but then she clenched her fists and turned back.
– Tub. Tub.
The moment she left and stood in front of the door, she said:
“…that was a lie…!”
“……”
I stopped walking.
“…they say you hate your brother…! Saying that you will hate your brother for the rest of your life…! You said you would curse your brother…!”
A sob added to her voice. It was as if we were talking about our last farewell.
“….I…! Because my brother was expelled from the family… huh… it won’t change that he got hurt because of an ungrateful bitch like me…! I don’t even ask for forgiveness…! Still… it was a lie to say I hated you…”
“…..”
“Knowing that it was the last time I cursed my brother like that… I knew that those were the last words I said to my brother….
As much as she regretted it, she was correcting those words as soon as she came to her senses.
“It was a lie….oppa…oppa…”
I looked back at her.
Sobbing on my bed… Asena.
As I left, I hoped she hated me. I didn’t know it would come back like this, but I sincerely hoped that she would turn her heart away.
But wishing it that way means on the other hand… something.
I know it won’t, that’s what I want.
I had to tell her what was hidden deep in my heart by looking at her.
My voice, which sank through Asena’s cries, continued.
“…I knew.”
There was no need for her to correct it.
