Chapter 28

Ever since that incident, Theo had completely changed.

The prickly, sharp personality that was basically his default was nowhere to be found.

It was hard to get used to Theo, who refused to leave my side for even a second and occasionally watched me with an anxious, uncertain expression.

If I had to describe it, it felt like taking care of a five-year-old toddler who had only grown physically taller.

However, since the person who provided the reason for Theo to change like this was me, I wasn’t annoyed at all—I just felt a deep sense of pity for him.

“How long are you going to trail along behind me?”

“How long…? I haven’t really set a limit.”

…Let me correct myself. To be completely honest, it was occasionally a bit burdensome.

***

“Sorry, I’ve gotta go!”

Theo watched the back of Iris as she hurried out of the lounge.

‘Looks like he’s starting to make his move.’

Theo’s red eyes sank darkly.

Frey Lis. He could guess that he had started to make a move.

After falling into thought for a moment, Theo was easily able to guess Frey’s intentions.

Judging by his madness, he would surely try to take Iris to the temple using any lie he could conjure.

Frey’s brooding, ominous eyes flashed through Theo’s mind, causing him to wrinkle his brow.

A guy like that, soaked through and gleaming in his eyes with incomprehensible religious devotion, was indescribably creepy.

If you couldn’t call a guy like that a religious fanatic, what else could you possibly call him?

Inside the quiet lounge, only the ticking sound of the clock’s second hand rang out anxiously.

Theo tapped his fingers against the desk in time with that sound.

In truth, Frey’s existence had been enough to make Theo feel intimidated, and Theo had genuinely felt a sense of crisis.

It had been bad enough that he had clung to Iris and babbled pathetic nonsense asking if demons really existed in this world.

“You’re just you. There’s nothing more important than that.”

“……”

“I told you to let me know if anyone tries to slap some weird name on you. I said I’d take responsibility and put them in their place.”

However, looking back, Theo was glad he had shown Iris such a vulnerable side of himself.

Because hearing that reply had allowed him to figure out what Iris was thinking.

Still, he couldn’t let his guard down. Theo knew how tempting Frey’s gestures must be to Iris.

Iris had always wanted to leave the orphanage and become independent.

Yet at the same time, she would often gaze into the distance with a lonely expression.

Theo guessed that she probably wanted to leave the orphanage and make a new family. That was precisely why he had pressed her the way he did.

Because when Iris made a new family, the one standing by her side had to be Theo himself.

To an Iris like that, Frey had undoubtedly offered to become her family.

That was the only kind of problem she could possibly agonize over this much.

Theo thought hard. What could he do to keep Iris from leaving his side?

As he pondered, the image of Iris gently comforting him flashed through his mind.

Come to think of it, whenever Iris acted like a genuinely weak child, she would always grow soft toward him.

For some reason, Iris treated Theo as someone who needed to be protected.

Whether the image of him being oppressed by the other kids had been deeply branded into her brain or for whatever reason, it was definitely true.

Theo vividly recalled the ways Iris had sometimes doubted him, yet ultimately placed her complete trust and reliance in him anyway.

Iris had a personality where she simply couldn’t stand to see Theo get hurt. To a degree that almost looked obsessive.

Iris was just that kind of ridiculously kind person, and Theo loved that trait of hers to the point of distraction.

‘Whenever I cried, she had no idea what to do with herself.’

A smile blossomed on Theo’s lips. It was the kind of smile that would look like nothing more than innocent, naive amusement to anyone who didn’t really know him.

Theo was certain that he was unequivocally in love with Iris.

She was his sole salvation, cast down to a Theo who had been drowning in a mire of mud.

Yet he also knew very well that he didn’t possess any definitive weapons to bind Iris to his side.

Because a young, unremarkable Theo had very few things he could actually do.

So, to hold onto her, he had no choice but to cling to her as much as it took to sway her heart.

Using the kind of fragile, desperate behavior that Iris liked and grew weak toward, to the point where she wouldn’t even dare to think about leaving him.

“Don’t go.”

“……”

“Please…”

Theo’s prediction had hit the mark perfectly. When faced with a weeping, pleading Theo, Iris showed clear signs of wavering without fail.

It wasn’t that Theo was telling a total lie.

He genuinely, desperately hoped that Iris wouldn’t leave.

Part of it was because, whenever he wasn’t gripped by this intense obsession over Iris, he was just an innocent kid like any other.

However, whenever the matter involved Iris, his personality deviated sharply from his usual self.

As if he had turned into a completely different person.

Sometimes, he couldn’t even remember what actions he had taken.

Because of that, whenever Theo treated Iris, he felt like a stranger to himself.

He could be an endlessly ordinary child, yet transform in an instant into a chillingly ruthless human being.

And at this very moment, he felt like he was losing his mind all over again.

Watching himself move of his own accord as if someone had hijacked his body, Theo wondered if he might truly be a devil incarnate.

Still, what did it matter? Theo was gradually assimilating with that other self of his.

And very soon, he realized that whether he was a devil or not made no difference at all.

Because Iris would accept even a version of him like that.

Furthermore, he was well aware that he hadn’t actually committed any directly malicious acts of his own accord yet.

Rather, he was faithfully fulfilling the role of the good boy that Iris desired.

So, this time too, Theo didn’t think he was doing anything bad.

He was simply reading the situation and figuring out the exact method to make Iris feel weak and protective.

“You know it. I can’t do this without you.”

And he also knew that the secret to telling a perfect lie was mixing in just the right amount of truth.

Ultimately, Theo got what he wanted.

As Theo trailed after Iris like a gentle lamb, she was already looking after him naturally, like an older sister caring for a young younger brother.

Theo figured that being perceived by Iris as a mere little kid was thoroughly distasteful, but right now, he had no other choice.

Touching her sense of guilt was the absolute best way to keep a hold on Iris.

Frey, encountering Theo and Iris in their newly strange relationship once more, wore a look of bewilderment.

Inwardly, Theo sneered at him.

Then, whenever Iris looked away, he would flash a cold, mocking smile directly at Frey.

Theo didn’t know precisely what kind of words Frey had said to Iris.

However, he was certain of this one thing.

No matter who tried to lay a hand on Iris, Iris would never manage to slip away from his side.

***

Theo’s change in attitude didn’t end as a temporary whim.

“Theo. That book you treasure so much that went missing? It was actually me.”

“Is that so?”

“A-and the stain on your scarf, too!”

“It’s fine.”

If anything, Theo was growing gentler and milder by the day…

I simply couldn’t get used to a Theo like that.

I had assumed that about three days after that day when Theo had bawled his eyes out, he would go right back to his usual self.

I had intended to stay by his side until then to help him ease his mind.

Yet it had already been several weeks, and Theo hadn’t returned to normal at all.

Instead, he stuck to me like glue every single day, speaking in the sweetest, softest tones.

On top of that, those bright, sparkling eyes of his were the hardest thing of all to get used to.

However, there was something else that truly shocked me.

It was the way Theo treated Frey.

During tutoring sessions, Theo no longer shot wary glares at Frey or acted rebellious.

“What is it…?”

“……”

Instead, he even went so far as to offer a smile whenever his eyes met Frey’s.

My eyes widened in sheer astonishment.

Why on earth, and how far, had Theo changed?

“Instead of looking at me, please look at the book.”

“Of course.”

Answering that way, Theo offered a light, smiling gaze.

Frey didn’t seem to like Theo’s changed attitude at all.

Every single time his eyes locked with Theo’s, Frey would wrinkle his brow as if he had a bad taste in his mouth.

Since Frey was someone who rarely showed any changes in expression, I found it a bit puzzling.

The relationship between Theo and Frey hadn’t been great to begin with, but whenever sparks flew between the two of them, the one always picking a fight had been Theo.

Frey would smoothly let those moments slide by, so things never escalated into them openly snarling at each other.

Frey’s mature handling had always managed to extinguish the sparks between them.

Yet now, Frey was showing an even colder reaction toward a Theo who had grown kinder.

That was the exact opposite of the Frey I thought I knew.

‘Why is he reacting like that all of a sudden?’

Had all the emotions he’d steadily piled up toward Theo finally exploded?

Regardless, Frey’s reaction to Theo wasn’t just some ordinary response triggered simply by Theo changing.

Even while seeming curious as to why Theo was acting this way, Frey also looked intensely irritated.

On the other hand, Theo would completely ignore Frey’s gaze, only to occasionally flash a brilliant, radiant smile right at him.

That kind of behavior from Theo only poked further at Frey’s nerves, twisting Frey’s face into a grim, menacing look.

‘What on earth is wrong with you people?’

And caught in that suffocating atmosphere, I was slowly withering away, entirely at a loss for what to do.