Chapter 16

I can still feel the healer’s handprints on my wrists, and the scent of the herbs they left behind fills the air in this room. The sound of their footsteps faded in the distance, signaling that they had gone out. Finally, I could breathe a little easier, at least for a while. I kept my eyes closed, even though I couldn’t wait to open them. Lying here pretending to faint was more tiring than I imagined.

‘God, when am I going to open my eyes? I’m already so tired from forcing my eyes to stay closed when I’m not sleepy.’ I thought in frustration. ‘At this rate, I’m going to die of boredom and stinging eyes.’

I waited a few more seconds, making sure it was completely quiet. After that, I slowly started moving my eyelids. Just a little, just enough to make sure that this room was completely empty. But, just as I was about to open my eyes fully, I heard the sound of the door creaking softly. I immediately closed my eyes again.

‘Shit! Who is it? I was just about to open my eyes. How long do I have to go on like this? There’s always someone who interferes with my life, you son of a bitch.’ I thought angrily.

My heart was racing, I was almost caught off guard. I could hear soft footsteps approaching, someone walking into this room. It didn’t take long to guess who was coming. There was only one person who could move that quietly and had an aura that made the air around him feel suffocating.

Jade.

Does my daily life always have to have the two of them coming to visit me in this palace? I wondered more and more about their lives that seemed to have nothing to do but keep an eye on me and come to watch my face or rather Dean’s face every day.

I remained silent, not daring to move an inch. If I get caught now, everything will fall apart. They would instantly know I was just pretending to faint, and that would be a disaster.

‘Why did he have to come in now?!’ I thought angrily. ‘I’ve just barely managed to get out of this charade.’

I felt a chill as Jade stopped right beside my bed. He was so close, that I could feel his presence without even having to see him. The soft sound of his breathing, almost like the whisper of the wind, rang in my ears.

No one spoke for a few seconds. Just a silence that made my whole body tense up. I tried to catch my breath, making sure to keep the rhythm steady so it wouldn’t look like I was faking. But, it wasn’t easy, especially when I could feel Jade’s piercing gaze, penetrating every corner of my lying body.

Then, I felt something touch my temple. A hand. Jade’s cold, soft hand. The touch sent goose bumps all over my body, and I had to fight hard not to react.

“Poor you,” Jade said suddenly in a low but clear voice. “You must be very distressed that there are other princes who want to ruin our relationship.”

‘What? What relationship?’ I thought spontaneously, almost losing control. I had to stop myself from wincing or opening my eyes. ‘Since when did he and I have a relationship like he said? Maybe before coming here, he hit his head and said something like that.’

‘Damn it, what the hell. Turns out an angel can be narcissistic too? What kind of relationship do Dean and Jade have? Even Dean doesn’t like this matchmaking.’ I almost laughed if only the situation wasn’t this serious.

Aside from the stinging eyes and boredom, there was now a new thing that made me so tortured in the midst of pretending to be a fainting person, it was the unbearable amusement to laugh when hearing Jade’s words. That very calm and composed face turned out to be narcissistic too.

Jade continued to touch my temple gently, and I could feel his long, cold fingers moving carefully, as if I was something fragile that needed to be guarded with great care. He then sat on the chair next to my bed, still silently observing me. I could feel his intense gaze on my face. To be honest, this was starting to make me uncomfortable.

‘What is he waiting for? Why doesn’t he just leave?’ I asked myself.

I began to fidget inwardly, but kept my body from showing any signs of it. Jade, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be moving anytime soon. He sat there like a loyal guard, as if afraid that I would suddenly disappear if he left me.

Damn, why should I be the one trapped inside Dean’s body? If anyone should be the victim of this crazy arranged marriage, why not someone else? But then, I realized-the real Dean must have gone through all this before he decided to end his life. Maybe this is why. The pressure of Jade and Junigo’s obsession.

I could only stew in resentment as time passed by. I don’t know how long I’ve been lying here, pretending to faint in front of an overly narcissistic angel. Jade didn’t speak again after that sentence, but his sharp gaze still felt like a thorn in my skin.

After a while, I started to feel another discomfort. Something very strange. Jade’s face was getting closer, and I could feel her breathing. ‘What? Wait a minute... what is he doing?’

His breath felt warm on my skin, and I suddenly felt my heart racing.

‘Oh my God, is he going to kiss me?’ I thought in panic.

The thought made panic instantly hit me. I held my breath, trying to stay calm, but in my heart I almost screamed.

‘No way! I can’t let this happen. How could I let someone kiss my face? I mean, Dean’s body!’

In my entire life, no one has ever kissed me, not even on the cheek. And now, I’m trapped inside someone else’s body, with an angel about to bring his lips to my face. What was I supposed to do? There’s no way I’m going to suddenly wake up now, because that would only make the situation even more awkward and I’d obviously be labeled a liar.

But on the other hand, I really didn’t want to go through this strange experience. It wasn’t just a matter of the body I was occupying, but also my own identity. I, Jou Porska, had never once been in a situation like this.

I could feel Jade’s face getting closer, until I could imagine how he was only centimeters away from my face. The seconds seemed like an eternity, and in my mind, I played out various possible scenarios.

‘Should I keep pretending to sleep?’ I clenched my jaw hard, trying hard to restrain myself from reacting.

Jade’s face kept getting closer, and I really didn’t know what to do. Panic began to creep into my mind, making every second feel more and more suffocating. Was he really going to kiss me? And what would happen after that? How should I behave if that really happened?

Is this a common thing among angels? I don’t understand how their habits are in the heavenly palace or what is commonly called the palace of Aetheris, but Jade’s actions made me have a new perception of how the angels live there.

Or perhaps their lives were similar to those of the gods of Olympus? But didn’t Junigo often say that the lives of angels like Jade were far from such things and were boring? Isn’t that statement very contradictory to what is happening right now?

I was getting more and more confused in the midst of my anxiety.

My heart is beating faster and faster. I could almost hear it beating inside my head. It feels like a time bomb ready to explode. I felt trapped in an increasingly difficult situation, and I was beginning to regret having decided to pretend to faint in the first place.

But then, all at once, I heard a small sound outside the door. The sound of footsteps. The door to the room opened slightly, and the voice of the palace maid sounded in the room. “Mr. Jade, do you need anything?”

That voice changed everything. Jade seemed to come to his senses from whatever he was thinking about, and he immediately moved away from my face. I could feel the distance between us widening, and a long sigh of relief slowly escaped from my chest.

Jade cleared his throat softly before answering. “No, I was just watching him. You can leave.”

“Yes, sir,” the servant replied, and the door closed again.

I could guess from the way the man beside me was talking that he seemed to be quite upset because what he wanted to do now was interrupted by the palace maid who suddenly entered my room. But because of that, I also feel very grateful to him because with that, I didn’t get kissed by this man.

Wait, why do I absolutely refuse to be kissed by a man as handsome as Jade? Even though this is a golden opportunity, maybe once in a while I can feel a kiss from his handsome face. Too bad he didn’t do that, now I’m starting to doubt my sanity as a human being because how could I think that I don’t want to be kissed by a man as handsome as Jade.

I was still pretending to faint, but the relief I felt was unparalleled. Jade slowly stood up from his seat and stepped back. He didn’t say anything else, just looked at me once more before finally exiting the room.

As soon as I heard the door slam shut, I let myself let out a long sigh. ‘Gosh, that almost happened.’ I almost got caught in an unexpected and really awkward situation. I vowed in my heart to be more careful from now on.

But, in the end, one thing was clear, Jade’s obsession with Dean was getting scary. I need to find a way to get out of this as soon as possible, before things get completely out of hand. Although I myself also feel confused about where to start so that I can find a way to get out of here and return to my home world.