Chapter 161 - Chapter 158: Episode 156 - Closed Eyes
The Succubus Lord knew that Lee Seon-ah had thrown himself in the way to save her from the assassin, who had been lying in wait under a stealth spell.
He was the most noble Demon King in the Demon World.
It was hard to believe that he, the Demon King's consort, had sacrificed himself for her.
She felt a mix of guilt and gratitude that he had ended up this way because of her.
Repaying him for saving her life was the absolute bare minimum of decency.
Whether human or demon, that much was a given, so the Lord began to consider what she could do for him.
'Since he can't open his eyes, he'll need someone to look after him... No, at the very least, he'll need someone to be his eyes when he goes outside.'
The Lord decided to stay by his side until his eyes, injured on her account, had recovered.
It wouldn't be a full repayment, but she intended to find out what he wanted while she cared for him and give it to him.
Even if the Demon King tried to stop her, he still needed someone to act as his eyes when he stepped out.
And so, the Succubus Lord decided to send all her troops back to the Demon World and remain on Earth for a while.
It was a decision made solely to repay Seon-ah for his sacrifice.
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Seon-ah tried to dissuade the Lord, who was being stubborn about looking after him, but it was impossible to change her mind.
The house he lived in wasn't just for him and Sophia.
He knew her plan was impossible because Ji-ah and Lee Shin-ah lived there too.
When he pointed this out, she relented, agreeing that if she couldn't live with him, she would at least be his eyes whenever he stepped out of the house.
It was a burdensome request, but seeing that she wouldn't back down any further, Seon-ah had no choice but to give his permission.
However, he insisted that she must never call him by his Demon World title, that she must hide her true nature, and that since living together was out of the question, she had to find her own place.
She readily agreed, but he still felt uneasy.
Although she had hidden her horns with mimicry magic, he couldn't shake the worry that she might get caught at any moment.
By the time the fog began to lift, the three of them exited the main gate of the amusement park, which had now vanished.
Upon exiting, they discovered the bodies of two guards, and Ji-ah had already reported the incident to the police.
Since it was almost certainly Seo Ju-ha who had killed them, he revealed that the body of the wanted Scavenger was also inside.
Now, everything was resolved except for one final problem.
They headed to the hospital to check on the last remaining issue: Seon-ah's condition.
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No matter how much I used my healing ability, my eyes wouldn't open.
When I was slashed earlier, I felt an intense, burning pain in my eyes, along with the sensation of something spreading through my body.
That was the result of me using my ability with all my might to neutralize what was spreading.
And now, at the Han-il Guild's medical center, the doctor's words hit me like a physical blow.
"Patient Lee Seon-ah. Your optic nerves are completely destroyed. It will be impossible to recover them, even with healing abilities."
After hearing that, I couldn't hear anything else the doctor was saying.
In a state of shock, I held onto Ji-ah's hand and moved wherever she led me until we left the hospital.
Lee Ji-ah's hand was gripping mine tightly.
And the sweat on her palm was increasing with every step.
"Seon-ah oppa... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
"Ji-ah... It happened because I made a mistake... You don't need to be sorry."
My eyes ending up like this wasn't her fault.
It was my own recklessness in trying to save the Succubus Lord, and Seo Ju-ha's cruelty in swinging her dagger at my face. Ji-ah had no reason to feel guilty.
"If you put it that way, it's my fault too... I couldn't even take care of myself properly... It's my fault for causing trouble for my consort-nim."
A voice drifted in from the side.
A woman was walking next to Seon-ah.
With blonde hair and tanned skin, she looked like a foreigner; it was the Succubus Lord, still using her mimicry magic.
"I am truly... sorry."
"It was something I wanted to do..."
Seon-ah didn't bother to tell her that she was just returning the favor for his kindness.
If he did, she would only feel even more guilty.
She was the one who had volunteered to withdraw her troops and look after him until his eyes recovered.
'Now that she knows my eyes will never recover, she'll probably go back to her territory...'
I never imagined it would end like this after helping someone.
Thinking that it was a cheap price to pay for my recklessness—assuming that getting hurt would just be a matter of healing—my heavy heart felt a little more at ease.
If the blade had gone deeper, I might have suffered brain damage instead of just losing my sight, becoming a vegetable or dying instantly.
I had to be grateful that I only lost my eyes.
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When I asked Ji-ah for the time, I realized it was already around lunch.
The Succubus Lord parted ways with us as we were almost at the house.
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I stood in front of the house, still led by Ji-ah's hand.
Realizing that we had entered the gate last night, fought through the dawn, and only now were returning, I was terrified of how Sophia would react.
Furthermore, the image of Sophia being angry yet worried when she saw my injured eyes was vividly painted in my mind.
Ji-ah seemed to be thinking the same thing; her hands were trembling.
As we opened the door, a tremendous roar poured out.
"Lee Ji-ah! What the fuck have you done!"
The voice belonged to Lee Shin-ah.
"You stayed out all night with your cousin Seon-ah? Do you know how much your aunt is running around trying to find you two right now? I was worried sick, waiting here for you to return. What did you do last night? Do you want to be confined in the annex like your sister?"
She didn't just look angry.
Lee Shin-ah was in a state of absolute, extreme rage as she shouted at her younger daughter.
Her eldest daughter, Hyun-ah, had been moved to the annex next to the main building.
Lee Shin-ah, having noticed that Hyun-ah's power had completely vanished because she hadn't been able to perform absorption for a long time, had removed her restraint suit.
She had kept her confined in the main building for a while, but moved her to the annex as soon as Lee Min-ah and Lee Seon-ah arrived.
Hearing that she would be treated the same way as Hyun-ah, Ji-ah's face turned pale.
She knew exactly what state her sister was in, and the prospect of being locked away terrified her.
Even if she kept her position as successor, being unable to step outside was a miserable existence.
Living in that cramped house while bumping into her idiot-like sister made her blood boil.
"Aunt, I'll explain."
Seon-ah spoke up, trying to shield Lee Ji-ah.
"Seon-ah... why are your eyes like that?... Are you hurt?"
Although he had healed his physical wounds, Lee Shin-ah felt a strange sense of unease when she saw Seon-ah with his eyes closed.
Seon-ah looked as if he couldn't see an inch in front of him, having clearly come home with Ji-ah's help.
Seeing their hands still tightly clasped, she knew something was wrong.
"Aunt... actually, I asked Ji-ah to take me into the gate yesterday... but..."
Seon-ah recounted the events in the gate one by one.
However, he left out the story about the Succubus Lord.
When he finished telling her everything—that he lost his sight after letting his guard down against Seo Ju-ha, that Seo Ju-ha died by Ji-ah's hand, and that his eyes would never recover—Lee Shin-ah's expression shifted from anger to shock, and she quietly pulled him into a hug.
"...You've been through so much. Don't ever do anything this dangerous again..."
Lee Shin-ah hugged Seon-ah tightly, patting his back.
Seon-ah felt the warmth of her embrace and the gentle rhythm of her hand on his back.
He realized he hadn't said the most important thing to Shin-ah, who was so clearly worried.
"I'm sorry..."
It was a simple apology.
Since Sophia was likely worried sick, he felt he should apologize to her first rather than making excuses.
After checking on them, Lee Shin-ah started making a phone call.
"Hello?... Sister, Seon-ah and Ji-ah are back... They're at the house now."
"Okay... I'll be there..."
The voice on the other end was Min-ah's.
She sounded completely exhausted, the mental toll of worrying about Seon-ah evident in her tone.
Upon hearing they were home, Min-ah said she would return immediately and hung up.
Lee Shin-ah hadn't told her about Seon-ah's condition, fearing that Min-ah would arrive in a state of total shock.
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Yu-rin had entered the gate and was hiding, watching everything unfold.
The monsters collapsing, the scavenger deactivating her stealth, even the woman who resembled Seon-ah—she saw it all.
When the Succubus Lord finally emerged from the gate, Yu-rin couldn't help but be deeply agitated.
Especially when they shouted, staring at the ground and calling out Seon-ah's name.
It finally hit home: I couldn't see Seon-ah's face.
Seeing that Succubus Lord reminded me of what I had vaguely heard back at the mansion while in a dazed state.
The Succubus Lord's words, guaranteeing that I would never be able to see Seon-ah again.
That Succubus Lord was undoubtedly the culprit who had blinded me to Seon-ah.
To fix what happened to me—in other words, to see Seon-ah again—it was clear that I needed the help of that very person: the Succubus Lord.