The blue eyes facing her were too intense. Their gaze exuded a feeling of sadness or obsession, as if they couldn't bear to look away for a moment.
Lariette looked at the beautiful face that filled her field of vision in confusion, unable to understand the situation.
"What's gotten into him all of a sudden?"
It was embarrassing for her. He suddenly asked if there was something he didn't know, offered to call the priest, and when she declined, he got angry that she wouldn't send him away.
"Are you angry because I was with Doha?"
It was a good enough reason to be angry, and the most likely assumption given the circumstances.
But it was Asrahan who stopped Lariette when she tried to explain why she had left him and what had happened.
Besides, Doha had the pendant she had given Asrahan; he must have known it was him. It wasn't right to come and react like this for that reason.
"If it's not that, then what is it? If it's not about Doha, what's the point of saying that?"
Lariette guessed all imaginable reasons, but nothing proved helpful. In the end, she achieved nothing; she was just stupidly asking.
"Where am I supposed to go?" Lariette felt embarrassed for asking such stupid questions even when she had answered them.
However, there was no other word to ask.
"—If you escape, you will be responsible for the consequences."
"Yes, that's exactly what you said one day."
She felt a chill down her spine hearing him say that with a face full of madness right in front of her nose. She asked again, still calmly facing his penetrating gaze.
"What kind of... consequences?"
It was also a foolish question, but very serious for Lariette. She swallowed saliva, with a strange mixture of fear and anticipation. Soon, the tightly sealed mouth opened, and Asrahan's hoarse and restrained voice came out.
"I won't let you leave me."
"What? Where would I go?" Lariette tilted her head.
Embarrassed or not, Asrahan continued.
"Whenever it is, wherever it is, I'll be with you."
"Even if it's the underworld."
Asrahan added in his mind. If she dies, he will die too. He had no lingering feelings in a world without her, but he wanted to live with her more than anything else.
Married or not, having children or not, he just wanted to spend eternity with her. To do that, Lariette had to receive treatment. He was going to grab the Pope by the collar if he let her go. But Lariette, whom Asrahan knew, was quite stubborn.
If he tried to force her to seek medical treatment, she would probably reject it until the end. It was obvious that she would deny even her condition unless she witnessed the scene.
So Asrahan wanted to check her physical condition by her side. The idea was to question her and find out the truth if any anomalies appeared. Unaware of this, Lariette looked at him, becoming increasingly confused.
"Well, I'd love to."
Asrahan, who had been avoiding Lariette until 10 minutes ago, saying that he will now always be with her, was a good proposal. No, it was quite pleasant for her, who had intended to seduce him. That meant there were more opportunities. She didn't know what the hell he was thinking about those things, but for that reason, as soon as she realized it, it was enough.
