For You In The Cage

Episode 74: Wedding (VII)

Yulif stepped on the railing and jumped off.

There was no time to think. His body moved before his head. He has to use magic. The regression side effect completely disappeared after Canaren saved him from the lake. Although she was a little tired, his magic was always overflowing. However, Yulif was so surprised that he couldn’t recall the magic he used as naturally as he breathed. For a moment, it felt like his heart and his head had stopped at the same time.

Canaren was falling. Her golden hair, the hem of her white dress fluttered in the wind. Yulif stretched out his arm with all his might.

“Canaren!”

Canaren looked at him. The lively eyes in the village were now as insensitive as a doll. Hundreds of thoughts ran through Yulif’s head.

Originally, she and him weren’t supposed to leave the castle. Even if Deltinus blocked off the tricks, there was always a variable. Still, the reason why he took Canaren to her village was in the hope that she would not lose her hope.

In just three months, she would have the complete freedom she desired. So only three months. To make her give up on love, he will talk harshly and do terrible things, but he hoped she could hold on for three months.

Still, it ended up like this. Canaren folded her wings in front of him and threw her body. Like her skies, she gave up her flight and took her down.

‘Do you really want to die like that? Did the wounds I gave you hurt that much? Was it painful enough that you couldn’t last 3 months? Otherwise… Was it easier to lay down your life than to let me go?’

‘I’m so sorry.’

The affection that Canaren had bestowed upon him was pure and blind. It was her only love for him. It made Yulif live and Canaren die.

Not like this time. That way, that way, again, he couldn’t lose her again forever.

Yulif erased his past memories, stopping them from interrupting him. As soon as he did this, Canaren’s hand touched his. Taking his hand, she desperately pulled him closer and hugged him into her arms. His heart, which had stopped in the warmth that touched him, was beating again. His stone-hardened head moved again. Blood spurted from his frozen fingertips and toes.

‘Magic. I have to use magic.’ Thinking so, Yulif’s eyes were filled with white wings. It was the wings of Canaren. Then, Canaren’s arm wrapped around his waist.

Canaren, who pulled Yulif into a tight embrace, looked up at him and smiled mischievously. The two of them, facing each other tightly, stopped slowly in mid-air.

“This is it.”

“…What?”

Yulif asked briefly, as if he was stunned. Canaren chattered with a subtly flushed face.

“It’s a wedding custom! I told you there was a special custom.”

At that moment, Yulif’s brow furrowed slightly as he remembered what Canaren had said just before jumping off. It’s a wedding custom. But wasn’t this dangerous? Yulif’s expression was serious.

Canaren shrugged her shoulders and hurriedly added an explanation.

“Marriage is, of course, having a relationship with someone you love, but trust is as important to us as love. It’s a way to show each other trust.”

Yulif was speechless. He seemed to be listening to the story, but there was no reaction, so he was nervous. Canaren glanced up at him. Her shoulders shrank more and more, and her voice became quieter.

“First, one person trusts the other and jumps from a high place. Then the other person jumps down and catches the person who jumped first. It is the person who falls first who spreads its wings to prevent a fall. Never let other people spread their wings or even save them. It is a ritual that can only be passed by trusting each other. It’s about overcoming fear, and building up the determination to be together and trust in the other person.”

Even after finishing the story, Yulif still kept his mouth shut. Canaren flapped her wings and climbed back up to the bell tower. It wasn’t hard because Yulif was helping her with his magic.

As soon as she got down to a safe place inside her railing, Yulif released his arm and grabbed her by the shoulder. Her shoulder ached as she grasped his strong hand.

“Yu-Yulif? What’s wrong? It hurts…”

“Don’t ever play with your life.”

“Play… huh?”

“I’m not a Hwira, so I don’t know about customs. Just because I know how to speak a little bit, doesn’t mean I am a member of the Hwira clan. From my point of view, it’s just…”

—It’s just a horrible act that makes me think I might lose you again.

Yulif swallowed those words. He didn’t mean to tell her who didn’t know anything about it. Canaren bit her lips as she looked at him, shutting his mouth with an angry expression. She didn’t know why he was angry, but he was very offended by her.

“You said it. You can’t do it if you don’t trust your partner. I believed in Yulif. Even if Yulif didn’t love me, I believed he would jump down for me. This is not a light-hearted prank!”

Even if it was a marriage without love, there was faith. That’s all Canaren had to lean on. But he thought she was kidding. As Yulif said, it was also a dangerous custom. One can’t do that with a light heart.

Canaren was more desperate than anyone. She was desperate. She wanted to somehow prove that this marriage was not meant to be a substitute for someone else in his life. Not to anyone else, but to herself.

And although dangerous, Canaren had wings. The bell tower was high enough that Pionia could be seen at a glance. She couldn’t not spread her wings, so there was no chance that she would die. Canaren didn’t jump in without thinking.

“Whatever you were thinking, I can’t tolerate this.”

Yulif’s tone and eyes were rough and fierce. He knew Canaren was shaking with physiological fear, but he couldn’t control it. As scared as she was, Yulif was more. Maybe she was more terrified of him than he was. So sharper words came out. Trust. It was because of her faith in him that she showed.

Canaren believed in him. She believed him and said that from such a high place, she folded her wings and jumped. He once said he had a woman she loved, and he killed her with his own hands, and he even said he didn’t want her to be taken away by the emperor because she resembled this other woman? His proposal was a mess, and the wedding was all about sitting in the bell tower and watching the sunset?

Canaren’s love for Yulif will devour and burn her. It’s like this when he’s still around, and it was obvious what Canaren would do after he died. She would hold onto his cooling body and cry. She would throw away the rest of her life and time to grab hold of his futile body, which was crumbling when time ran out. Without looking back.

His spine chilled at the sight of the distant future that was clearly drawn in front of him. Yulif held Canaren, who twisted her back slightly in her pain, immobilizing her.

“Do this only to the Hwira people you like. Don’t trust me without wings to hold on to you and fly with you.”

“What?…I don’t understand what you are saying? Yulif, why are you so angry?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Is his name ‘Muasa’? They say you’ve both been engaged since childhood. He seems to like you too, so go to him… ”

The thorny words that had been pouring out of their minds suddenly stopped. Because Canaren put her arms around Yulif’s neck and kissed his lips.

Canaren’s lips were warm and soft. The sweet breath that leaked from between her dry lips tickled Yulif’s lips. The arms around his neck were so good that the touch of her wet lips was so stimulating that Yulif unconsciously closed his eyes. A bright light flickered like fireworks exploding in various places in the blackened vision.

Every time Yulif said something hurtful to Canaren, it felt like he was vomiting blood. Seeing her holding back her tears in front of him even though her heart was being ripped to pieces, Yulif’s heart had already been ripped to pieces till there was nothing left to burn.

It was a cruel curse in which their affection for each other hurt each other.

However, Yulif did not resent Canaren. It didn’t matter what happened to his own mind. It was good that he had to suffer his whole life enough to wish for hell. If only Canaren could be happy. So Yulif was willing to hurt her because of her. Because he had to pay for hurting her.

But as soon as Canaren’s lips touched, his burnt heart was set on fire again. New flesh sprouted from the torn, cut, and cracked, and flowers bloomed on it. A heart that had died in the pitch-black darkness was engulfed in light. It was a miraculous moment.

Yulif wanted to cry out loud. He wanted to say sorry. He wanted to apologize for hurting her. However, contrary to his longing for her, he ripped off Canaren roughly. Tears welling up in her eyes were dripping down.

“Don’t say anything too harsh. Today… Today is our wedding.”

Canaren struggled to smile.

Yulif’s expression clouded for a moment. Could this be called a wedding? He didn’t even give her a ring. There was no one to give blessings, and there were no guests who wished for a happy future at least. Still, Canaren seemed to want him to believe so. The fact that she was married to Yulif seemed very important.

“Never.”

Yulif clenched his fists instead of wiping the tears from her white cheeks.

“Don’t touch me.”

With those words, Yulif turned her back on her.

“…Hu, ugh.”

A suppressed cry erupted from behind. Yulif opened the door and locked himself in the passageway leading to the stairs. He shut the door and hit the wall several times.

“Damn it…”

At first glance, a shadow of liquid flickered in his eyes as he clenched his teeth. He punched his hand until his hand went bloody, but the anger didn’t go away. It only got thicker as time went on.

Finally, a few tears fell from his eyes as he leaned his forehead against the wall. Tears mixed with the drops of blood flowing from his hands and disappeared without leaving a trace.

The two quietly wept with the door between them. The first kiss, which was cold and dry, without feeling any afterglow or emotion, marked the end of the wedding.