Len POV:

We reached the large, derelict estate without saying a word. I watched his feet come to a stop just outside the entrance while strange emotions swirled inside of me. I felt conflicted.

I put my back against the wall and sighed with frustration.

“I’m a horrible person. I’ve killed so many people in order to survive, in order to look after Marina. Eventually, they started calling me the number one assassin of District 4. It was notoriety I didn’t want or ask for, but what could I do? Stop and starve, or kill and live? I refused to sell my body the way Mum did... but maybe I should have.”

I looked down at my hands shaking as I clenched my teeth. The lives of the hundreds of people I had killed flashed before my eyes.

“No, I could... have found other work, but the pay... I needed money to get out of here, not to survive here.

I don’t think I can face her anymore. How would she react after finding out the truth? Would she hate me too? I... I have too much blood on my hands!”

Lyon didn’t reply immediately, instead, he slowly turned around to face me. The moonlight made his ocean blue eyes glow slightly while I bit my trembling lip as I met his gaze.

“You’re still alive. You might not be able to rectify the past, but you can change your future.”

My eyes widened at his words. He was only a couple of years younger than me, but he had this wise aura around him at times that made me question his age. However, it wasn’t so simple.

“Y-you don’t understand! I tried...No, I was planning on killing you, Lyon! I was going to take your life and then escape with Marina!”

My heartbeat raced. It was true—I really did plan on killing him. It was only yesterday that I received an update telling me to capture him alive.

I shifted my gaze to the ground. I didn’t like the way he looked at me with understanding eyes even after knowing this fact. I didn’t like how kind and caring he was to me, because... because everyone wants something from someone in the end and he... He was no different.

“!”

I instantly locked onto his movements as he took a few steps forward. His lips formed a warm smile before parting.

“You’re a kind person, Len. I won’t tell you not to worry about it, because those hands took the lives of many. However, your bond with Marina is special—you’re like sisters.

If I were you, I’d tell her the truth. If you keep it bottled up inside, it’ll only torment you as time goes on.”

His eyes looked slightly sad as he spoke. I didn’t know what circumstances he had gone through in the past, but I felt like now wasn’t the right time to ask.

I calmed down and thought it over again. I couldn’t keep going on like this. I couldn’t keep lying to her face, so I decided to tell Marina... Everything.

“You’re not alone. Let’s go together.”

He stretched out his hand as a light breeze blew between us. I wiped the tears away and stared at it for a few seconds before grabbing hold of it. I watched him smile contently while he looked up at the tall estate looming over us.

‘Maybe, just maybe it’s okay to believe in others...’

***

We were greeted by the sight of dozens of unconscious bodies as we arrived at the floor I lived on. Judging by what they were wearing, it was easy to tell whose men they belonged to.

“Brunaulf...!”

I clenched my fists and was about to rush ahead to check on Marina when I saw Lyon crouch down. He put his fingers to their neck, checking each of their pulses before letting out a relieved sigh.

I didn’t like it.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Why do you care about these scumbags?”

My eyebrows crumpled together as I glared at him. These men were obviously sent to harm Marina, yet Lyon was showing care and concern? It didn’t make sense, especially after what he did to Brunaulf.

“Life is life, Len. Do you really think every single one of these men here wanted to follow Brunaulf?”

“I...”

‘Tch.’

I clicked my tongue and looked away, unable to answer his question. A few minutes ago, I was pouring my heart out to him and now I was berating him for caring about some scum. I was being such a hypocrite.

I walked up to the door and opened it.

“Who the hell are you?!”

I pulled out a knife from my pocket and my Ki exploded as I saw Marina's head resting on a strange woman's lap. She wore a waitress outfit and had freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her face was devoid of any emotion as I yelled at her.

“Step away from Marina.”

My voice grew cold while I manipulated the air currents around the blade. The strange woman looked at me then at Lyon.

“Len, this is Ness. I asked her to protect Marina.”

My anger subsided slowly as I glanced at the unconscious men on the landing.

‘This was her doing then?’

I lowered the knife in my hand gradually. My eyes narrowed while I observed her dark ginger hair tied up neatly in a bun.

‘How did he know Marina was in danger? Just how many steps ahead did he plan?’

My gaze shifted to Lyon, but I couldn’t grasp just what he was thinking. I let out a sigh, slowly lowering the knife as I closed the door behind me.

“Sorry about that. I’ve been on edge lately. Thank you for protecting Marina.”

“No problem.”

The woman called Ness replied bluntly. I paid no attention to her response, instead, I sat down on the floor and observed Marina's body to make sure she wasn’t injured anywhere.

Sure enough, she was fine and a few seconds later, her eyes flickered open. I watched them light up as she jumped into my arms.

“L-Len...!”

She gave me a huge hug and immediately started crying. My heart throbbed as I stroked the back of her head gently to help calm her down.

“Ness, I hope I didn’t give you too much trouble.”

Lyon sat opposite me and spoke with Ness. Her posture was perfectly straight and she moved in a graceful, but almost robotic way. It was strange.

“It’s fine. Don’t forget your promise.”

“I won’t. I’ll get you a huge one this time.”

A hint of red spread across her face but vanished just as quickly as it came. I wondered what the relationship between the two of them was since Lyon had barely lived here for a week.

On the other hand, he was really good at connecting with people. I even k-kissed his cheek...

‘...’

I shook my head at the strange thoughts floating through my mind. I had been far too stressed lately.

“L-Lyon...!”

Marina belatedly realized that Lyon was in the room too. Her gaze alternated between me and him. I gave her a slight nod as her lips spread into a bright smile. She jumped into his arms, cuddling him tightly.

“M-missed... Y-you...!”

“Me too, Marina.”

He grinned as they embraced. I glanced at Ness and barely made out her eyebrows furrow slightly. She seemed to notice my gaze as her expression quickly returned to normal.

“Marina is a pure soul. It’s beautiful. Her very existence denies Outer Astril.”

I was taken aback by her sudden words, but she wasn’t wrong. My eyes rested on Marina who had started sobbing again in Lyon’s arms.

I often wondered, what would Marina be like if she didn’t have that condition? My answer was always the same: Marina would still be Marina. Her condition didn’t define her, it was simply a part of her.

“You’re right. That’s why I want to leave this place.”

I smiled while Ness examined me quietly. I watched Marina and Lyon talk together when I noticed her face flush deeply as she realized just how close she was to him. It was sweet.

“Then you should stay by Lyon’s side. You won’t make it alone.”

I narrowed my eyes at her reply. I didn’t deny that leaving this place was a tall order that I was likely to fail, but I didn’t like the way she said it. I parted my lips to speak, but she continued on.

“Lyon will rule the South.”

‘!’

I immediately understood what she was implying, but I still wasn’t sure how I felt putting my life, no, Marina's life in his hands. It would be better if I got to know him well first, after all, it’s easy to be blinded by one side of a person and ignore the rest.

Ness didn’t talk much after that, but the atmosphere was pleasant. I observed her interaction with Marina and found out that they got along well with each other, so that helped ease my mind more.

I smiled to myself and hoped that things could stay like this a little longer. Just a little longer.

*Knock, knock*

All of our eyes moved in unison, quickly locking onto the door. None of us were expecting anyone, so I couldn’t help feeling tense as I moved towards the sound of the knocking slowly.

Marina moved back onto the bed behind me and looked at me with concerned eyes.

“Why’s there so many knocked out guys here? Weird.”

It was the sound of a woman’s voice, but I didn’t recognize it either.

“Hey! Open up! I’m here to pay the newcomer a visit. I know you’re in there!”

She sounded irritated. I shifted my gaze to Lyon, but he shook his head when Ness suddenly spoke up.

“It’s fine. Let her in.”

I pondered for a few moments on what to do, but I figured with the three of us here, we could handle the unexpected. I grasped the door handle tightly and opened the door.

“Tch. What took you so long?”

A young woman wearing a grey hoodie and a dark blue cap brazenly walked in and stood in front of Lyon.

‘Looks like this one has an attitude.’

I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I closed the door and observed the situation. I moved next to Marina who tugged on my arm nervously.

“Oh? You’re pretty cute, ain’t ya?”

I felt the veins on the side of my head bulge. I couldn’t put my finger on why I was so annoyed, but I just knew I didn’t like where this was going.

Lyon smiled at her in response. He definitely didn’t know her and that made me feel at ease for some reason. I glanced at Ness, but as usual, her face was hard to read.

‘I wonder how Ness knows her then?’