* * *
Jerome stared impassively at Karen, who lay dying, then turned his back and began tearing away the rose vines entangling Jeanne.
Thorny vines pierced his hands, but no matter how many he pulled away, they kept regenerating, engulfing Jeanne’s body once more.
It seemed to be a form of control mechanism Karen had placed on her to immobilize her.
The thorns had deeply embedded themselves into Jeanne’s delicate flesh.
‘Tearing them off forcefully might hurt her.’
From the time Karen mimicked that woman, Jerome had realized how formidable her mental magic was.
It blurred the lines between dreams and reality, something only a true master could achieve.
But this time, things were different.
This required permission.
To reach the deepest recesses of her subconscious, he needed Jeanne’s consent.
Grasping Jeanne’s chin gently, Jerome spoke in a soft voice.
“Listen to my voice. Invite me into the room of your unconscious mind.”
“…”
“If I force my way in, your subconscious might be harmed. That’s why I need your permission.”
Jeanne slowly opened her eyes at Jerome’s voice, looking at him silently.
Her empty gaze betrayed no emotions.
She briefly opened her eyes, then quietly closed them again.
Watching her, Jerome seemed to come to a realization.
“Karen, you meddlesome fool…”
Karen must have anticipated he’d attempt to access Jeanne’s subconscious and wound the rose vines within her inner world as well.
After a moment of hesitation, Jerome cautiously kissed Jeanne.
He bit her small, rosy tongue and drank in her essence.
Only when Jeanne’s tense body relaxed entirely did he pull away.
“Ugh… ah…”
“It’s okay. I’m here to help you.”
Jerome’s hand, resting on Jeanne’s abdomen, moved slowly inward.
Jeanne groaned in discomfort, the sensation akin to something intrusive brushing against her insides.
As her face flushed red, Jerome kissed her cheek.
He navigated the damp, narrow passage, searching for an entrance.
Jeanne let her head drop back, trembling as her legs instinctively pressed together.
Their breathing grew heavier, mingling in the charged atmosphere.
Jerome murmured in a deep, commanding voice.
“Jeanne, this is an order.”
The persistent rose vines wrapping around his fingers made it difficult to find the entrance.
Ultimately, Jerome resorted to his last option—his hypnosis magic.
Unlike his usual spells designed to dominate others, this was different.
A gentle, pleading tone reached Jeanne’s ears.
“Let me in, into your inner world.”
With the sound of a bell tolling, darkness enveloped Jerome’s surroundings, signaling that he’d successfully entered Jeanne’s subconscious.
Taking a deep breath, he stood and began walking toward a white door visible in the distance.
“So this is Jeanne’s inner world…”
Jeanne’s subconscious felt warm and dark, exuding a faint, pleasant scent of flesh.
The ground was soft beneath his feet, but certain spaces carried an unsettling chill that sent shivers down his spine.
As Jerome walked toward the door, he paused abruptly and muttered with a slightly flustered expression.
“This place feels… oddly sensual.”
Suppressing his rising emotions, he continued forward and grasped the white door’s handle, turning it.
When the door opened, Jerome found himself in a nameless forest.
The serene atmosphere made it clear this wasn’t the familiar eastern woods.
As sunlight streamed down, Jerome squinted and shaded his eyes with his hand.
Despite the tranquil setting, the endless forest felt oddly eerie.
Pushing through the rose vines blocking his path, Jerome heard the faint sound of water flowing nearby.
‘A stream?’
Following the sound, Jerome made his way toward it, parting the underbrush to reveal a shallow creek.
His gaze swept the area before pausing on a dark figure crouched near the water.
It struck him that this might be the embodiment of malice within Jeanne’s subconscious.
Such entities were potent and perilous, capable of devouring intruders entirely if they weren’t careful.
‘Well, dying here wouldn’t be the worst outcome.’
Jerome’s steps faltered as he recalled an old fortune teller outside the academy.
“Tsk, tsk. How unfortunate. There will be no women in your life. Marriage will be impossible. Even if you find a lover… you’ll ultimately die inside them.”
He hadn’t forgotten it—how could he?
It had been such a foreboding prediction.
A smile tugged at Jerome’s lips as the memory surfaced.
“That old crone wasn’t a fraud after all.”
The dark figure stirred at the sound of his voice, standing up.
As Jerome’s eyes met its gaze, his smile faded.
It was a boy with pale skin and dark brown hair, a rare sight in the empire.
Though Jerome had never seen the face before, the soul within the boy was unmistakably familiar.
This was Jeanne as a child.
Jerome blinked slowly, murmuring.
“Darling?”
The boy scrambled to his feet and tried to flee, but Jerome snapped out of his stupor and gave chase.
He caught up quickly, lifting the boy off the ground as he squirmed and kicked.
The childish tantrum made Jerome chuckle as he rubbed his cheek against the boy’s.
“You’re baby Jeanne. So cute, unbearably cute. I could just eat you up.”
“Let go!”
“Did you know? You’ll grow up to be my wife. You’ll cling to me, crying so sweetly. Maybe you should start practicing tightening up now…”
Jerome stopped mid-sentence.
Droplets of water fell to the ground near his feet.
Noticing the shift in mood, he looked at Jeanne’s face.
The boy, his cheeks flushed, was weeping bitterly.
Jerome asked, puzzled.
“Why are you crying?”
“I lost the fish.”
“Why don’t you go catch it again?”
“But the fish doesn’t like me. It probably swam away on purpose… to leave me behind.”
Crying over a fish’s supposed dislike seemed absurd, but to the child, it was a profound sorrow.
Jerome gazed at him for a moment before shifting the boy into a more secure embrace.
Jeanne, now small and frail, felt as if he might break at the slightest pressure.
“No one really likes me.”
The boy’s voice was tired and resigned.
After a brief silence, Jerome sighed.
Brushing the damp hair clinging to Jeanne’s face, he whispered.
“That’s not true. I like you a lot.”
“Who are you?”
“Someone who loves you more than anyone else in the world.”
Jerome rubbed his nose against the boy’s tiny one.
Jeanne, his tear-swollen eyes narrowing suspiciously, turned his head away.
He didn’t seem convinced.
Jerome groaned inwardly.
Though he’d found Jeanne within this fabricated world, figuring out how to bring her back to reality was another challenge entirely.
Tightening his hold slightly, Jerome asked.
“How about this—I teach you how to catch the fish?”
“…?”
“But you have to promise not to cry anymore.”
A spark of curiosity lit up in Jeanne’s tearful eyes.
Jerome smiled and held out his pinky, sealing the promise.
“Yes, really.”
The boy, who had rolled up the cuffs of his pants, stepped into the stream.
His lips slightly parted in concentration, and Jerome stifled a laugh at the boy’s blank expression.
Following Jerome’s advice, the boy herded the fish toward him.
After closely watching the water, Jerome suddenly shouted.
“Got one!”
“What? Really?”
The boy’s face lit up as he hurried over to Jerome, urging him to show what he’d caught.
Jerome bent down and revealed a small fish cupped in his palm.
“Is this the one you were looking for?” Jerome asked warmly.
The boy’s excitement dimmed for a moment as disappointment crossed his face.
“No, that’s not the one I was looking for.”
“I see. That’s a shame,” Jerome replied.
“My fish… I think it’s left me for good.”
“Sounds like my story too. My beloved guppy left me without a second thought,” Jerome said nonchalantly.
The boy hesitated, then asked, “Hey, why do you think all this water keeps flowing? What’s the point?”
“Why do you think?”
“There’s nothing at the end of the river, no meaning or value to it. I don’t get why it flows so endlessly.”
“I used to think the same,” Jerome admitted.
He stepped out of the stream and sat down on the bank, gesturing for the boy to join him.
As the boy settled beside him, Jerome wrung out his wet shirt and spoke again.
“But after meeting you, I realized something. Paradoxically, the lack of meaning is its own kind of meaning.”
“Stop using big words,” the boy complained.
“Alright,” Jerome said with a playful smile.
“Let me put it in simpler terms for you…”
He hesitated, then lowered his gaze, speaking in a soft, measured tone.
“Jeanne, you’re my joy. You’re the best line I’ve ever found in a book opened by chance, the childhood wish I made on a falling star, and something that won’t rust even after centuries pass.”
“……”
“You’re so precious to me that even if this world is fake, I can’t just destroy it carelessly. So… won’t you come back to me? Into my arms?”
Dandelion seeds fluttered in the wind as the boy, staring blankly ahead, slowly turned to Jerome.
Unlike Jerome’s usual confident demeanor, his profile carried a quiet sadness, as though he might vanish at any moment.
The boy hesitated briefly before inching toward him.
Jerome nodded with a pleased smile.
“Good, that’s it. Watch your step on that rock.”
Jerome spread his arms and clicked his tongue like calling a puppy.
As soon as the boy stepped into his reach, Jerome pulled him into a tight embrace.
The boy, his cheek pressed against Jerome’s broad shoulder, looked puzzled.
“If this world is fake, then where do I go now?”
“You return to the real world you came from.”
“Is it better than here?”
“Sadly, it’s a world on the brink of destruction.”
The boy’s eyes widened as he processed Jerome’s words.
Jerome, brushing a hand through the boy’s hair, added with a rare spark of vitality in his usually cool gray eyes.
“But you don’t need to worry about anything.”
“……”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect your world.”
For the first time, Jerome felt an unfamiliar sense of stability, a realization of what it truly meant to be alive.
He gently pressed a brief kiss to the boy’s forehead.
“Yes, I’ll do anything. For you.”
* * *
I knew it!! it’s Karen!!
Jerome has such a way with words