Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 157

『 Translator – Divinity 』

Lilliana said with a determined look.

“I’m sorry to Eugene, who was kind enough to invite us, but I don’t think we can leave Damian alone right now.”

“But Lily, do you even know where Damian is? Are you sure you can find him?”

Casey tried to dissuade her, and Eugene also nodded in agreement.

“And it’s better for me to go than you. I can’t let you go alone when it’s so dark.”

Their arguments made sense, so Lilliana thought for a moment and nodded.

“Then Eugene, you search that way. Brother and I will go the other way.”

As Lilliana instructed, Eugene turned left from the villa, and Lilliana and Casey turned right to search for Damian.

“Damian!” Lilliana shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the fireworks and didn’t carry far.

“Damian!”

It was dark all around, with only the faint moonlight and the exploding fireworks in the sky to provide any illumination. Lilliana ran, relying on those lights, to find Damian as quickly as possible.

“Damian, where are you?!” Lilliana shouted anxiously.

Meanwhile, colorful fireworks continued to bloom beautifully in the night sky.

***

Damian wiped away the cold sweat and covered his ears.

‘Damn it…’

He had run towards the darkest, most secluded spot he could find, but he didn’t know where he was. He could only close his eyes tightly and curl up.

Bang! Bang, bang! Boom!

Every time the fireworks exploded, he felt nausea rising from within him. Cold sweat trickled down his cheeks despite his efforts to wipe it away.

‘It’s just fireworks,’ Damian repeated to himself.

‘Fireworks where no one dies.’

No one dies.

This isn’t a battlefield.

No one is trying to harm him.

Those sounds are meant to entertain people. They’re not the sounds of shells raining down, forcing him to run for his life.

He knew that. He knew it. But…

Why was his body acting according to the fearful memories engraved in the deepest recesses of his mind?

Bang!!

His body flinched.

Although he knew it logically, and his reasoning was functioning properly, hearing those sounds made his whole body burn, and the pain was unbearable. It was as if he could smell the gunpowder right next to him. If only he couldn’t hear the sounds…

He wished someone would save him, but he knew there was no one. So all he could do was hide where he couldn’t see the fireworks or hear the sounds.

However, the fireworks display was larger than he expected, and perhaps because they were setting off so many fireworks, he couldn’t completely escape the noise.

He tried to cover his ears as best as he could, but the sound of the explosions still pierced through. He felt like he couldn’t breathe properly because of the acrid smell of gunpowder.

‘Lilliana will be worried…’

Knowing Lilliana’s personality, she wouldn’t just sit still because he was gone. She would definitely be looking for him, who had disappeared without a word. He should have at least given her an excuse before leaving. That way, she could relax and enjoy the fireworks.

Ah, I messed up.

Damian bit his lower lip. He had wanted to give Lilliana only good memories today, but he ended up ruining it at the last minute.

It seemed like it would be better to go back to Lilliana now. That was probably the better option. But his legs wouldn’t move. His legs were perfectly fine, but he couldn’t muster any strength in his body.

So Damian remained crouched where he was, eyes tightly shut. Waiting for the fireworks to stop.

“Damian!”

He heard a familiar voice from somewhere.

“Damian! Where are you?!”

A high-pitched, yet clear and bright voice… It was Lilliana. As he expected, she had come all the way here to find him.

Damian couldn’t answer her call; his voice wouldn’t come out. But if he stayed hidden like this, Lilliana wouldn’t be able to find him.

Damian wished Lilliana would give up on finding him and go back to enjoy the fireworks. All he could do was curl up in the darkness, covering his ears.

“Damian!”

Why are you here when you came all this way to have fun? Please go back, Lilliana.

Damian grumbled inwardly. At the same time, he was angry with himself. Why was he like this, making Lilliana worry? A bodyguard like him…

“Brother, you go that way. I’ll search this way.”

“Okay. Don’t go too far.”

Hearing Casey’s voice as well, it seemed like everyone had come out to look for him. Damian felt even more self-loathing.

“Damian!”

The footsteps, presumably Casey’s, faded away, and then Lilliana’s voice came closer. However, she didn’t seem to find Damian and just wandered around nearby.

Damian unconsciously opened his mouth and took a deep breath. Then, he called out in a voice that sounded like a sigh.

“Lilliana…”

“Damian, where are you?!”

Lilliana’s voice, which had been close by, started to fade again. Damian squeezed his lungs with all his might and shouted.

“Lilliana!”

The footsteps paused for a moment, then quickly approached him.

“Damian!”

Lilliana found Damian at the boat dock, not far from the villa.

He was crouched inside the largest boat, which seemed to offer the most cover, his hands covering his ears.

Damian’s eyes regained some light as he saw Lilliana.

“Lilliana…”

“Damian, what are you doing here? Do you know how worried I was when you suddenly disappeared? I was looking for you! You should have told me where you were going…”

Lilliana complained, but Damian didn’t have the composure to respond.

Bang!

At the sound of another firework exploding, Damian flinched and lowered his head further, as if believing that no one would be able to find him if he hid like that.

Lilliana was certain of what Damian was afraid of, and why he was acting this way. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

“Damian! It’s okay! There’s nothing to be afraid of! It’s just fireworks!”

Damian’s eyes briefly focused on her voice. He moved his lips and barely managed to speak.

“I know, I know. I know, but… I want to run away…”

Bang! Bang!

Damian’s body trembled. Lilliana didn’t know what to do with Damian, who was covering his ears and trying to hide further.

“Damian, what can I do for you? Hmm?”

“…”

Damian didn’t answer, as if he didn’t even have the energy to listen to her anymore. Lilliana hugged him, trying to calm him down.

“Damian, it’s okay. It’s really okay. Your war is over. Okay? The war is over now.”

But Damian shook his head, his body trembling. Lilliana felt like she was going crazy. She just wanted these fireworks to be over. Damian’s breathing was becoming increasingly erratic.

Lilliana desperately thought about what she could do. It seemed like some kind of shock therapy was needed to bring Damian back to reality.

In Asher’s case, whenever Damian suffered from hallucinations and flashbacks, he would throw a bucket of cold water on him.

It was a bit rough, but it did bring him back to his senses to some extent, so Damian couldn’t really complain, even though he ended up drenched.

Although others criticized Asher, saying why make a pitiful guy even more pitiful…

But she couldn’t just throw Damian into the ocean, could she?