The familiar words spoken by Lyr made Yilu frown.
She had once responded to Lyr in the same way, never expecting the tables to turn.
When the way you treat others is returned to you, it’s often hard to accept.
“Does this look like ‘fine’ to you?” Yilu’s face was full of worry as she instinctively reached out to wipe the cold sweat from Lyr’s forehead.
“Weren’t you in a similar situation before? And you responded to me the same way.”
Lyr’s eyes grew darker; even in the night, the clear blackness was visible.
“This is different from before. Why are you so stubborn?” Yilu was a bit annoyed. She was concerned about him, yet he was being obstinate.
Lyr coughed and laughed a few times. Being called stubborn by Yilu—he wondered if that counted as a compliment.
“I suddenly realized that the things you said to me before make me feel a little better now.”
Yilu was puzzled, not understanding Lyr’s meaning. Had she said something noteworthy to him?
Lyr took heavy breaths, relaxing slightly. If he could, he would just lie down on the ground right now and not care about anything.
Just like in the Knights, after training to the point of extreme exhaustion, he would lie down right there.
“Right now, my mind is full of those malicious voices, as if everyone wants me dead.”
Lyr expressed his current feelings.
Even he, who had been trying hard to restrain himself all along, was starting to doubt whether he should exist in this world under these hostile words.
He knew the most direct way to silence those voices was to make everyone disappear, but he couldn’t do that.
Otherwise, he would be truly yielding to the Curse’s will.
“But the annoying things you’ve been saying to me before have made me kind of used to it. So now, in front of you, even though there’s still noise in my head, I can adapt a little.” Lyr found it funny.
All this time with Yilu, she had indeed been saying she hated him, but it never got to him.
Now, even when Yilu’s harsh words echoed in his mind, he didn’t feel repulsed, because in front of her, this was only natural.
Yilu’s hand paused, her expression turning sour.
After hesitating for a moment, she gathered her courage and said to Lyr, “I did say that, but I never actually hated you!”
“Really? Then I’m honored.” Lyr’s mind was unstable; his reply was casual and indifferent.
Seeing this, Yilu bit her lip and cupped Lyr’s chin, making him look at her, wanting his limited attention to focus on her.
This startled Lyr, and he noticed Yilu staring intently at him, as if saying silently, ‘Look at me.’
“I never hated you! Never… Well, if I’m being honest, at first I did dislike you a little, but just a little!”
Her contradictory words made Yilu feel awkward. She made Lyr look at her, yet her own eyes kept darting away and then back, checking Lyr’s expression.
“But later I found that being with you makes me happy. The only thing that upset me was that you never seemed to look at me properly, just treating me like a friend’s little sister. That really made me hate you.”
Lyr was amused by Yilu’s wavering words. “Didn’t you just say you didn’t hate me?”
“Oh, that’s not the point! Don’t you understand what I mean?” Yilu was furious; if Lyr weren’t in this state, she would have punched him. “Don’t you really get it?”
Her cheeks flushed red, whether from embarrassment or something else.
Of course, she was asking herself the same question.
Did she not understand Lyr’s meaning either?
Being in front of Yilu did make Lyr feel a bit better, but he was still exhausted.
His expression was weak, and even smiling took effort. “Didn’t I already answer you just now? It’s not directed at you.”
“Just now…” Yilu almost didn’t catch on, puffing her cheeks. “Fine, I’ll take that as your answer. But remember, I’ll ask you again next time.”
Given Lyr’s current state, she didn’t want to press further, afraid he would feel worse.
“By the way, did that guy do anything to you?” Lyr perked up, wanting to know what happened after Yilu disappeared.
“No.” Yilu lowered her hand and shook her head. “That guy took me to the Tazhi family’s dungeon, said a bunch of weird things, and then brought me here.”
“That’s good.”
“Do you know something?”
Just like Lyr had found her accurately, Yilu felt that Lyr must know something.
“I was planning to keep it from you, but now it seems I should have brought you here directly. Then there wouldn’t have been so much trouble.”
Even this Curse, Lyr considered, was of his own doing.
“She wanted to bring you here to find the power left by the Nightmare Witch. It’s said that only her bloodline can open the place where the power is stored.”
“Then how do you know?”
It was Yilu who had the Nightmare Witch’s bloodline. She didn’t understand how Lyr knew so much, and from his words, he had been hesitant to tell her.
“The Academy Director told me. I was worried about getting you involved in some things, so I didn’t tell you.”
“You…” Yilu’s anger flared. “This is exactly why you’re so annoying, always interfering in others’ affairs without asking.”
Lyr didn’t argue, still trying to regulate his breathing.
He didn’t think he was wrong. He could suffer on his own; there was no need to involve Yilu.
Finally, Yilu just sighed and moved to help Lyr up.
Just as the scene was calming down, an unpleasant voice sounded in the distance.
“How touching. I almost hate to interrupt.”
This voice immediately put Lyr on edge again. As he turned around, the thorns that had gone still with Nie Qi came whirling toward him, their sharp tips like sword points about to pierce him.
Yilu saw it too. Without a second thought, she pushed Lyr away with her arm.
The thorn that was meant to strike Lyr’s back and impale him barely missed thanks to Yilu’s push.
But the thorn didn’t stop; it went straight through Yilu’s palm.