Chapter 81

Theo couldn’t even think to move his foot and just stared blankly at Blaine. Blaine, clutching his thigh and sniffling back tears as he lifted his head, froze when he recognized Theo. His eyes widened in shock, then he instinctively glanced back and forth between the window and Theo. He clearly hadn’t even imagined that Theo would come jumping out through the window.

Their gazes crossed as if probing each other, but Blaine eventually avoided eye contact, while Theo’s brows furrowed even deeper.

“What are you doing here?”

Theo asked the question, but he wasn’t expecting an answer. Rather than Blaine’s words, his eyes first swept over Blaine and the surroundings. Judging by how Blaine was sitting on the stone border beneath the flower bed under the window, this didn’t seem like a place he had just passed by. For a moment, Theo wondered if Blaine had been lured in by Father’s group and dragged into some shady scheme, but there was no sign of them nearby.

Then what was he doing here?

The unanswered question spun endlessly in Theo’s head, and the foot pressing down on Blaine’s thigh unconsciously put on more strength. As the heavy weight bore down on him, Blaine, flustered, forced his eyes open through the pain and called out to Theo.

“H-Hyung….”

His hands flailed helplessly near Theo’s foot. He clearly wanted to ask him to move it, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Ignoring Blaine’s frantic movements, Theo checked the time. 3:15 a.m. In-game, it was broad daylight, but in reality, it was undeniably the middle of the night. Theo looked back at Blaine.

Seeing him whimper and look up with a pitiful, rain-soaked-puppy expression made something ache in Theo’s chest. With a reluctant sigh, Theo moved his foot and stepped down from the flower bed.

As soon as the pressure lifted, Blaine let out a breath of relief, rubbed his thigh a few times, and then stood up awkwardly.

“Why are you here?”

Theo asked the moment Blaine straightened up. Blaine pressed his lips together, looking troubled. He knew he had to say something, but his mind had gone completely blank. Over countless nights, he had rehearsed excuse after excuse for the day he might get caught. Yet now that it had actually happened, not a single word came to mind, and his mouth wouldn’t open. All he could do was lower his head like a guilty man.

“Blaine. You’re not going to answer?”

When Blaine still said nothing, Theo finally urged him. Blaine squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

“…….”

Theo stared at the top of Blaine’s head and swallowed a sigh. Then he changed the question.

“How long have you been here?”

Since they parted in the evening? Or had he come back later for some reason? Theo really hoped it was the latter.

“…Not that long…”

“What?”

“Since shortly after I moved to Ratteon…”

“…What?”

For a moment, Theo couldn’t process what he had just heard. He had asked since when, so why was Blaine suddenly talking about moving to Ratteon…

“…….”

Theo’s thoughts abruptly stopped. Then, scenes of Blaine waiting for him outside the door, night after night, surfaced in his mind. The jumbled puzzle pieces in his head began to fall into place, slowly but unmistakably.

“I asked how long you’d been here—as in, tonight.”

“…Huh?”

“So what you’re saying is that you’ve been doing this ever since you moved to Ratteon?”

“…….”

Realizing his slip, Blaine hurriedly covered his mouth. His face drained to a deathly pale. Learning the truth behind something he had never even suspected, Theo pressed a hand to his forehead, utterly stunned.

“It hasn’t been that long since you moved to Ratteon… it’s been over three months. You weren’t just waiting in the mornings—you were waiting all night? Every night? All that time? Why would you do something like that… and how did you even manage your fatigue…?”

Mid-sentence, Theo seemed to realize something and lifted his head. Then he reached a hand out toward Blaine.

“Hand it over.”

“Pardon?”

“Retai Powder.”

Blaine hesitated with an awkward look, fidgeting on the spot. But when Theo barked “Hand it over!” again, Blaine hurriedly pulled out a leather pouch, his face on the verge of tears.

Theo stared at the unmistakably thin pouch before snatching it and checking the contents. The Retai Powder, which had been full to the brim when Holanghee had given it to him, was now more than half gone.

“Just how much of this did you take…?”

When Theo looked at him in disbelief, Blaine bit his lip, his expression tight with anxiety. Theo tossed the pouch back to him and said,

“If you’re going to use it like this, give what’s left back to Holanghee.”

“Hyung…”

“And go home. Right now.”

Even if sleep was treated more like a luxury item for third- and fourth-generation players, Theo, a second-generation player, couldn’t understand going months without sleeping. Aside from the times Blaine had slept when they went to Rakvana, or the few nights he’d stayed over at Theo’s place, this meant he had barely slept at all. And who could possibly guarantee that going without sleep for that long wouldn’t cause even the slightest side effects?

Blaine, flustered by the firm dismissal, scrambled to speak.

“H-Hyung… I was just… here…”

The unspoken “Can’t I stay?” lingered in the air, but Theo cut him off mercilessly, raising his voice.

“Here what? What, is there honey smeared on the ground or something?”

“No….”

“This wasn’t just a day or two. What did you say—since right after you moved to Ratteon? Are you insane? Or did you just really like this house? Or this flower bed? Is that it? If that’s the case, then just buy the place already!”

“That’s not—”

“Then what are you still hanging around here for? You have some lingering attachment? Aren’t you leaving?!”

Theo even stomped his foot and angrily pointed down the road. Faced with how genuinely furious he looked, Blaine visibly deflated. After hesitating with quivering lips, he finally turned around weakly. He didn’t make it far before stopping again, then timidly looked back and asked,

“Hyung… can I come back tomorrow morning?”

“…….”

His slumped shoulders and drooping ears looked pitiful. Letting out a sharp breath as he brushed his bangs aside, Theo finally nodded in reluctant defeat. Blaine bowed awkwardly, bending all the way at the waist, then headed back toward his own place.

Theo remained there with his hands on his hips until Blaine disappeared from sight. Then, as if something suddenly came to mind, he hurriedly pulled up the display. A despairing groan slipped out.

“Ah…”

Damn it. It sold.

The next morning, when Theo opened the door, Blaine was standing there, hunched like a criminal awaiting judgment. It looked as if he hadn’t moved from that spot at all. For a split second, Theo wondered if Blaine had pretended to leave, only to come back and spend the entire night there—but without saying anything, Theo stepped out of the house and headed toward the relay station.

The two of them didn’t exchange a single word inside the carriage. Or rather, it was Theo who kept his mouth firmly shut. His face was as indifferent as ever, yet somehow colder than usual, and Blaine couldn’t bring himself to speak up either.

Theo, who had kept silent the entire way, finally spoke after they arrived in Lucilvania and stopped in front of the guild house.

“You brought the Retai Powder, right?”

“Yes…”

“If you think it’s a waste of money, come with me right now and list it on the exchange. If not, return it to Holanghee.”

“It’s… not a waste of money, so I’ll return it to Holanghee…”

Hearing that it wasn’t a waste of money left a bitter taste in Theo’s mouth, but he deliberately ignored it and nodded before heading into the guild house.

When they went up the stairs and entered the central hall, Mastar greeted them first—along with his maid outfit, which somehow looked even more extravagant than before. After exchanging greetings with Mastar, Theo glanced around and asked,

“Where’s Holanghee?”

Mastar pointed toward the workshop.

“She should be in the workshop.”

Theo nodded and headed that way, with Blaine silently following behind him. Mastar tilted his head at Blaine’s unusually subdued demeanor, but didn’t dwell on it and instead asked if they wanted something to drink. Theo waved it off and stepped into the workshop.

“Holanghee.”

Holanghee, who had been sitting in front of alchemy tools, turned around at the sound of his voice. When she saw Theo and Blaine entering the workshop together, she stood up with a puzzled expression.

Even when they stopped by the guild house, the two of them rarely came into the workshop. There was usually no reason to. Seeing them come all the way here to find her meant they must have something to ask.

“You busy?”

Theo glanced at the alchemy tools she had been using. Papers, a mortar, and potion bottles were spread out everywhere—it looked like she had been in the middle of making something, and he wondered if he had interrupted her.

“No, not really. I was bored, so I was planning to make a bit more poison.”

“Then can we talk for a moment?”

“Huh? Sure. Want to go over to that table?”

Holanghee pointed to a table set off to one side of the workshop, and the three of them gathered there and sat down.

Once seated, Holanghee stared straight at the two of them sitting across from her, clearly asking what this was about. Theo gave Blaine a look, and Blaine silently placed the noticeably thin leather pouch on the table.

“?”

Holanghee stared at the pouch in confusion. Then she quickly realized what it was.

“Isn’t that the Retai Powder I gave you?”

As she asked, Holanghee looked back and forth between Theo and Blaine. Theo nodded and spoke.

“Yeah. We’re returning it.”

“Huh? Why?”

“He’s been taking it and staying awake for months.”

“…What?”

Holanghee stared at Blaine in shock. Blaine sat next to Theo with his head lowered, looking like a convicted criminal.

After blankly staring at him for a moment, Holanghee opened the pouch and checked how much Retai Powder remained.

“He didn’t sleep at all while taking this much? No—why? What was he even doing?”

Her voice was filled with disbelief. Theo glanced at Blaine once, then let out a long sigh.

“I don’t know what he was doing all night either.”

He didn’t bother saying that Blaine had been spending those nights in front of his house. It wasn’t something that would make anyone feel better—neither to say it nor to hear it.