MIIS 8

Chapter 8

That day, Azel ran away.

He wore an expression so frightening it was almost shocking, then turned his back and disappeared.

Just when I thought I was inevitably headed back to prison, I was surprisingly guided somewhere else instead—through Seymour.

It was the very room where I had first opened my eyes after arriving here.

“You may stay here for the time being.”

After personally seeing to my accommodations, Seymour vanished, and just like that, I became an actual guest of the mansion.

Well, at least I avoided prison… but still.

There was still a problem.

Am I being… a little too neglected?

Azel—that bastard—was avoiding me.

“At this rate, forget one month. It’ll take ten years.”

A sigh rose all the way up to my chin.

“Where are you going?”

As I let out one long sigh after another and opened the door, someone immediately spoke to me.

The person smiling slyly in my direction was none other than Seymour.

This place should be full of people, so why does everyone move around like ghosts? Why is Seymour the only one I ever see?

There should be plenty of servants in the mansion, not to mention Azel’s followers—yet I hadn’t seen a single one besides Seymour.

It seemed they were all avoiding me, just like their master.

“I’m going to look for him.”

“Oh dear. Sounds like it’ll get noisy again.”

Of course, that wasn’t going to stop me.

For the sake of my future plans, we needed to get closer—one way or another.

Around this time each day, Azel usually shut himself away deep inside the mansion, lost in thought.

He’d long since grown tired of the blazing sun, of walking along deserted forest paths.

No—if one were to dig deeper, the truth was that the entire world felt like a bed of needles to him.

This mansion had once been his sanctuary, and because of that, dozens of lifetimes were soaked into every place his feet touched.

A daily life where even reminiscing and being hurt had become a luxury was more than enough to leave Azel listless.

But even so—

This was not the kind of disturbance he wanted.

“So this is where you were.”

“…How did you find this place too?”

“There’s always a way.”

The grin on her face made it hard to guess the woman’s age.

Despite her mature appearance, the mischievous, innocent smile she wore was strangely fresh.

The woman who had silently cried when she first saw Azel no longer shed tears.

Instead, she smiled so brightly it left onlookers flustered, pestering him relentlessly.

“So, what do you say?”

“About what.”

“The weather’s so nice. Want to go on a date with me?”

Just like that.

That damn ‘date.’

He nearly blurted out something decidedly ungentlemanly.

The woman was unnecessarily bold. Shameless, even—she kept asking him out despite being rejected every time.

And she won’t even tell me.

Azel still didn’t know her name, or her age.

And yet she sat beside him, chattering away as if trying to seduce some innocent young man. It irritated him.

Though in reality, I’m no innocent youth—just an aged monster wearing a fresh shell.

That familiar self-loathing tightened around his throat.

Yet absurdly enough, the woman didn’t even give Azel time to sink into his disgust.

“You’re ignoring me again? Fine. Then today, you have to give me a name.”

She leaned in closer, and the faint scent of her skin brushed his nose.

“Calling me ‘hey, you’ or ‘woman’ every time isn’t nice. It feels too distant. Doesn’t it make you uncomfortable too, Azel?”

“There’s no need to call you anything. You’re the one who came looking for me over something pointless.”

Had anyone else behaved like this, he would have already cut off their head. Lukewarm human warmth was repulsive.

But the reason Azel avoided her wasn’t disgust—it was closer to confusion.

She acted as if she didn’t understand the concept of personal space.

Just like now.

“How is this pointless! That’s so mean!”

“Get away! What are you doing!”

“Why? I’m not even touching you!”

The woman hopped into the seat beside Azel.

She spread her hands to show there was still this much space between them—barely the width of a palm. It was absurd.

I should just leave.

If he kept engaging with her, he’d get dragged into her pace again. As he tried to stand, someone grabbed the hem of his clothes.

“Let go.”

“I’m sorry. Don’t go.”

She had raised her voice petulantly just moments ago, but now it dropped low.

“I’ll stay quiet. Just stay here.”

When Azel reflexively turned his head, their eyes met.

Her calm blue eyes looked straight at him without wavering. For some reason, whenever he met her gaze, Azel found it hard to refuse her.

“You’re not going to lock me up again, right?”

“If you keep acting this recklessly, I might have to.”

“Oh. Then I really shouldn’t joke around anymore.”

“So you admit you were joking until now.”

When he sat back down, the woman smiled quietly at him.

It wasn’t a teasing smile. The innocence from before was gone, replaced by something else.

“Even if you lock me up again, I don’t want the basement.”

The words sounded strangely sincere, and Azel paused for a moment.

“This place has a good view outside.”

Had he imagined it? The woman had already turned her gaze toward the window.

“When you sit here… what do you think about?”

It wasn’t an easy question to answer.

Once upon a time, Azel had sat here, staring out at the wide-open window, thinking countless thoughts.

Most of them were about things he had lost—things he missed dearly.

He no longer allowed himself to remember.

Lost time never returned. Thinking about it was meaningless.

“Nothing. I’m just resting.”

As if she’d expected that answer, the woman let out a small laugh.

Just as irritation threatened to rise, her gentle voice continued.

“When I look at windows, I think of the past. Wide-open views were something I could never dream of, so it feels strange when I see them.”

He turned at her cryptic words, but her eyes were still fixed outside.

“I could see people’s feet passing by against a backdrop of gray walls. Just feet, really. There wasn’t trash everywhere, but when I watched those busy feet going by, I’d always end up wanting to see the sky.”

It was a strange thing to say.

A window where you can’t see the sky?

What kind of architect would build such a horrible house?

Unless you were locked up…

Wait.

…Locked up?

A sudden thought made his lips part and freeze.

—

“How is the woman?”

“Same as yesterday. Still knocking on the walls. She looked quite unstable.”

—

The woman who had looked particularly anxious when she was imprisoned.

The words she’d said—even if you lock me up again, I don’t want the basement.

Could it be…

As Azel considered the possibility—

“When I could finally see the sky, I didn’t feel anything at all. People’s hearts are funny like that.”

Unaware of his thoughts, the woman continued speaking.

What is it? Why is he staring like that?

Thinking I’d get thrown back into prison if I pushed my luck any further, I changed the subject—but Azel’s gaze felt strangely intense.

That only made me try harder to pretend I noticed nothing.

“Back then, every day in that cage-like room, I kept thinking—if I could just get out of there, I’d do anything.”

Of course, this sudden outpouring of TMI had a purpose.

This is how people get close, right? Sharing pointless stories about the past.

Staring at such a wide window had brought back memories, too.

That shitty semi-basement.

Back in college, I’d actually lived in a semi-basement apartment.

Trying to find a place near campus didn’t leave many options.

Back then, watching people’s feet pass by was part of daily life—and that was when I learned just how many crazy people existed in the world.

“So when I finally got out of there, I was really happy. Like—ah, finally! I even thought that.”

Now that I said it out loud, I guess it was a memory.

But not one I ever want to relive.

And a地下 prison? Absolutely not.

As I finished reminiscing and turned my head, my eyes met Azel’s immediately.

It seemed he’d been watching me the entire time.

“…?”

But for some reason, the look in his eyes was unnervingly fierce.

What’s with him?

Was he really that pissed about my earlier joke?