.13 – Ivan still needs to thank me properly

translator: xiin

editors: alamerysl, BlueBug & Macabre

Ivan finally arrived at Buspoka after several detours. The entire Capital was covered in snow, and the entrance and exits were strictly controlled. Ivan was stopped there, then taken directly into the palace.

Because Xue Ling had previously mentioned that Ivan would come to Buspoka, Kent had ordered the soldiers at the gate of the city to search for suspicious figures and bring any youth who registered themselves as Ivan into the palace.

Half a month’s traveling and torment had already exhausted Ivan both physically and mentally. Too many hostile things had happened along the way. People were afraid of his hair and eyes which were gradually changing color, but after they learned that he was a healer, they would turn around and beg him for aid.

Ivan had already begun to control his urges to heal after discovering that healing others would only accelerate the progress of the poison in his body. He was devastated. On the one hand, his inherent goodness was firmly rooted, and he just couldn’t help but want to save anyone in need. On the other hand, he didn’t want to die. After several internal debates, he told himself that he could only save more people if he survived. The people who were asking him for help now could wait until he found Kent and healed himself. He could return to save them then.

Ivan knew that this was not what Xue Ling would want to see, but he really wanted to tell Xue Ling that there was nothing that couldn’t be solved with love. He could forgive those people who had administered poison to him because they were in low, humble positions. If it hadn’t been them, someone else would still have been hired to give him poison. He also did not hate Kent’s mother. He knew that, from the Queen’s standpoint, he did not appear to be very suitable for Kent, but he believed that as long as he could see the Queen, he would have ways to persuade her. After all, the feelings between Kent and him were so deep; the entire world should be moved by their feelings.

Xue Ling did not know which direction his thoughts had taken. When he learned that Ivan had entered the palace, he asked the system to open up a live stream for him while he stayed curled up in bed, lazy and relaxed. Xi pushed open the door and entered, and Xue Ling waved him over. "Ivan entered the palace. Would you like to watch it with me?"

Although Xi could not sense the system’s existence, he knew that there were some peculiarities about Xue Ling and understood that Xue Ling could monitor Ivan at will. Although he was dissatisfied that Xue Ling was always paying attention to other people, Xi still sat down beside him and used his divine power to create a big screen in front of them that displayed Ivan’s every move and action.

Xue Ling, who had previously said that he was extremely disgusted with Xi, found a comfortable position and nestled himself into Xi’s arms despite his words, and waited to watch the ending of this grand play.

So far, Ivan still had no idea how strong the poison in his body was. Xue Ling wanted to see if Kent would tell him the truth, or if he would simply use Ivan to try to stop his revenge.

Xi’s hands gently massaged his head, and he seemed to be completely uninterested in the two of them. "We’ve already reached this point. What will you do next?"

Xue Ling comfortably toyed with Xi’s hands and carelessly said, "Have Ivan personally kill Kent."

“Huh?” Xi’s hands paused, and he frowned, puzzled. "How do you plan to do that?"

"I don’t have to do much. Just tell Ivan that only you have the ability to cure his poison. If he wants to be saved, he’ll need to abide by the original terms of our contract and help me kill Kent." Xue Ling narrowed his eyes. He looked lazy and relaxed, but his eyes were murderous.

Xi lowered his gaze. "You’ll owe me for doing things using my name.”

Xue Ling sighed and lifted his head to look at him. His head was resting on Xi’s knee. He raised his hand, and slid his fingertips up along Xi’s neck before finally pinching his chin and tugging his head down. "Yes, I’ll owe you again. Great god, what do you want me to do to make up for it? Use my body as payment?"

Xi spoke somewhat helplessly, “I don’t want to develop this kind of relationship with you.” He didn’t only want the simple ** contact. After that incident, he understood much more about ’feelings’ and ’love’, and his love for the man in his arms was almost overflowing. The other party obviously knew his feelings and intentions but liked to rile him up and then carelessly leave him to the side and watch his anxious and helpless appearance. “You know that.”

Xue Ling’s hand stilled for a moment. He sneered, but did not reply.

A long time later, he finally spoke, "I’m getting my revenge on you."

“Getting revenge?” Xi showed a bitter smile. "What did I do to you..." After speaking halfway, the Beast God who had obviously gained a lot of knowledge during this period, suddenly remembered how he had gotten to meet this little wolf cub, and recalled how he had imprisoned him for half a month because he didn’t understand how he really felt about him... "Is it because I spanked your butt?"

Xue Ling raised his head and glared at him, his face written full of the words ’you still dare bring it up’, as though that period of time was the greatest disgrace of his wolf life. Because he was extremely irritated, his cheeks were a little flushed, and Xi gave the corners of his eyes a kiss before saying in amusement, "Who told you to be so disobedient back then?~"

He did not intend to apologize and even found it amusing to recall that scene. He pinched Xue Ling’s cheeks, and after Xue Ling slapped his hands away, Xi rubbed his head instead. "You’re the one who said it. All grievances and debts between us have been cleared out. Regardless of whether it was something I did to you, or how you made use of me, hasn’t it all been settled already?"

Xue Ling: “...” That was what he’d said, but he was still angry!

He turned his head away from Xi and ignored him. On the screen, Ivan was already crying in Kent’s arms.

They hadn’t seen each other for barely two weeks, but Kent’s lover seemed to be much more haggard. The arduous journey had caused Ivan’s face to lose all its baby-fat roundness as he lost considerable weight. His little face was sharp, and together with his pitiful big eyes as he cried grievously, Kent put down his suspicions, held him in his arms, and listened to his tearful complaints.

“My hair and my eyes, if not for... If not for... I think I would also have no way to arrive here and see you..." Ivan was full of fear towards the poison in his body. He was no longer able to absorb the power of light, and it felt terrible to be slowly corrupted by darkness bit by bit. He suffered every day and only the thought of Kent sustained him on the way to Buspoka.

“Kent, they said that you’re the Prince, the Crown Prince even. I don’t care what identity you have, I only know that you’re my lover. You wouldn’t have the heart to watch me suffer day after day, right?" He leaned into Kent’s arms and caught his hand, bringing it to his chest. "This heart is still beating because it loves you. How could you bear to watch it gradually stop, to watch as I die?"

Xue Ling’s lips twitched. Even operas did not have such dramatic scenes. He really couldn’t tell that Ivan was such a person. It turned out that the two of them interacted like this in private...

“Ivan...” Kent’s face was full of sorrow. He stroked the back of Ivan’s head, and was silent for a long time before saying, "It was Oliver who helped you, right?" Although Ivan had omitted that person’s name, Kent was still very clear about what was going on. "He brought you out of the Demonic Beast Forest?"

“He doesn’t have good intentions...” Ivan looked like a weeping beauty as he cried, "Believe me, Kent, he won’t forgive me, let alone you...”

“Ivan, my dear Ivan, if you do me a favor this time, we will remove the poison, and I will persuade my mother to allow me to marry you as a Princess. In the future, you will become this country’s Queen." He lightly patted Ivan on the back, and said, "Ivan, help me persuade Oliver to not retaliate against the royal family any further.”

Ivan was stunned. He didn’t know what was going on, but when he heard Kent’s words, he looked up in surprise, wiped away his tears and spoke oddly, “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

Xue Ling yawned and saw Kent start explaining the matter of the robberies to Ivan as well as how he had arrived at the palace and injured Murphy. The main point was that Oliver had now become very strong and they had no way to fight against him now, so they could only use his weakness to attack. It seemed as though Kent was worried that Ivan would not be able to pull up the determination to face Xue Ling, so he told him everything about what had happened.

"Fallen Heaven is a poison with no cure. Normally, the dosage that you’ve been given would be enough for you to be completely overrun with darkness and die within three days, but you’re still alive now. It’s definitely because of something Oliver did. Since he has a way to repair his demonic core that was broken apart by the forced termination of the contract, and even managed to raise his power to his present level, he would naturally have a way to save you." Kent held Ivan’s hand and spoke with certainty.

Ivan still hadn’t recovered from the powerful effects of Fallen Heaven, and he was still a little weak now. Since it was Oliver that allowed him to live to this day, then what if he wanted him to die...

Ivan felt as though he had been surrounded by deep fear. Kent’s reassurances did not give him the slightest bit of comfort.

“Kent, what are we going to do? How could he be willing to save me? If he was willing to save me back then, he wouldn’t have simply watched on as I drank the poison."

“But he came to the palace especially for you.” Kent sighed, “If he didn’t really care about you, then why would he come to strike at me just before you arrived in Buspoka?”

“...” Ivan was silent for a moment and seemed convinced by this statement. He frowned and said, “Even so, we don’t know where to look for him... He has the initiative."

“If he really cares about you... Knowing that you arrived at Buspoka, he will certainly come to see you again and give us the opportunity to make our requests."

“...”

“Don’t worry, I’m here.” Kent kissed Ivan’s forehead and raised his hand to call his servant over. “You should go down with them to wash up and rest first. I’ll go over to see you later. Relax, I will help you solve everything. Trust me."

Ivan nodded, but when he turned and left, there was a different plan in his eyes.

Although he was still naïve, he was no longer the Ivan who believed everything that Kent said... He had already met Oliver, and in that person’s gaze, he seemed to be a dead man walking. How would Oliver have gone to find Kent for him...

Ivan suddenly recalled... That he had once cursed Oliver...

He hadn’t told Kent about it back then, so Kent didn’t know that Oliver had set a curse on him that prevented him from doing anything to him... He was unable to kill Kent, but he still came to threaten him. What on earth for...?

Ivan followed the maid and turned to leave while still deep in thought.

Xue Ling shifted his gaze away from the two men, stretched, and stood up. "Not watching anymore. Let’s get ready. Tonight, we’ll finish them off."

“You really don’t need me to lift your curse?”

“No need.” Xue Ling spoke indifferently. “I don’t necessarily need to make a move myself in order for him to die. What’s the point in lifting it?"

“...”

Xue Ling turned around and gave Xi a beautiful smile. "How will Ivan change after Kent dies? I’m very curious."

Now that things had reached this point, he had already changed this world’s story. The Devil King named Kaiji, and that messy and horrible devil world plot had already fluttered far, far away on the wings of Xue Ling’s butterfly effect. "Perhaps Ivan still needs to thank me properly for giving him such a good ending."