I Don’t Want To Be An Ojakgyo

When Shuraina pushed him away when he tried to heal her, he looked choked up before grabbing at his hair in annoyance.

"I, no, our entire household exists only for that purpose!"

When Shuraina began to shout, Swanhaden shouted right back. When Shuraina just sat back, stunned at Swanhaden's words, Swan quickly put his hand on top of her shoulders and poured his magic onto her shoulder.

[Heal]

White magic rushed through Swanhaden's hands and lingered on Shuraina's shoulder. Shuraina's injury quickly began to grow smaller before disappearing completely.

And at the same time, the injury that disappeared on Shuraina's shoulder began to bloom onto Swan's shoulder. The injury had disappeared quickly thanks to the natural healing magic, but Shuraina watched the entire process unfolding before her eyes, stone-faced.

"The reason why you're always covered in injuries, just as I thought……"

Swanhaden resented how sharp Shuraina was. She knew too much. If this continued, he would have to erase her memories himself before the duke even stepped in. Swanhaden glanced at Shuraina, realizing how screwed up his life was, before slowly blinking.

"The reason why I'm always brimming with injuries is to increase my natural healing abilities. The heir of the family is beaten every day to increase their healing abilities."

"………"

"You know how they say that the Blanche family can save people who are even at the brink of death. That's because they've basically been on the brink of death every day to increase their healing abilities."

"……….."

Swanhaden confessed the secret of the Blanche family.

The heirs of the Blanche family began to undergo training that increased their natural healing abilities from childhood. When they had trained enough, they began to heal others' injuries, which was almost twice as painful compared to treating their own injuries. Then, as time passed, they would begin to feel less and less pain when they treated others' injuries. When they were able to heal others without pain, that was when the heir would become the new Blanche duke.

Throughout the legacy of the Blanche dukes, there wasn't a single one that was completely sane. The heirs were always miserable, insane in their pain throughout their lives, and ripped the previous duke alive as soon as they received the title. And that was how the anger and hatred of the family had been passed down, generation after generation.

Swanhaden was the most powerful heir throughout the history of the Swanhaden heirs. Because of that, the amount of pain that Swan had to suffer through was worse. The more powerful they were, the worse the pain and physical injuries became.

Until now, Swan had tried time and again to be kicked out of the family or to escape. Even now, that was why he was trying not to receive the title of the heir of the duke.

Once Swanhaden finished explaining the history of his family, he looked at Shuraina. Shuraina blankly stared at the ceiling, as if stunned.

Swan glanced at Shuraina, looked to the injury on his body, then opened his mouth.

"Anyway, you, you were the one that temporarily increased my natural healing powers when I passed out, right? It looked like you used my magic stone to research white magic a ton."

"…..Eugh."

He didn't realize she was a girl, but was annoyingly sharp in other areas.

Swanhaden's guess was spot on. Shuraina had expected something similar to Swanhaden's actual situation. She had studied the magic in the stone and had found a way to give his natural healing magic a temporary increase in power like a 'buff'. She couldn't use white magic, but she could create a magic circle that took a lot of the characteristics of it. Shuraina wanted to be of help to Swanhaden.

Swanhaden covered his whole body with his blanket and turned away. Then, he yawned as if he was about to fall asleep and spoke to her, voice sharp and angry.

"Stop it."

"……."

"Don't ask for trouble. Unlike you, I don't have pity towards other people. I'm not going to save you if you fall in danger."

He didn't want her to be more deeply intertwined in his troubles. Without realizing it, Swanhaden was worrying about someone else. He didn't want her to be roped into other problems just because she was worried for him. He even thought about erasing her memories and sending her home. She could just forget him, and just forget about all she had learned of the Blanche family's secrets altogether.

But for some reason, he didn't want to. He didn't want her to forget all the time she spent with him.

Swanhaden thought again and again about erasing Shuraina's memories, but chose to instead tell her, over and over again, not to come back.

He always told her to go away, but spending time with Shuraina was fun. When Shuraina actually tried to leave, he always looked at her, eyes full of longing and as if pleading not to go.

"I'm going to start head back. Good night, Swanhaden."

This time was the same. Once Swanhaden grew calmer, Shuraina tried to leave as she yawned wide. Swan didn't really know why, but he didn't like the idea of Shuraina leaving.

He stared at the back of Shuraina as she prepared to leave and spoke.

"Wait."

"Why?"

"I can't sleep. Stay with me a bit longer."

At Swanhaden's words, Shuraina paused her circle activation, stood still, then walked towards him.

"You usually tell me to leave fast. What's up?"

"I don't know. It's your fault."

Shuraina tilted her head in confusion as she listened to Swanhaden blame her as he grabbed onto her.

"I"m scared to be alone now."

It was a very childlike statement. Swanhaden wriggled his toes, full of tiny scars.

"Before, even when I was hurt, I just thought that it was my bad luck for being born into this stupid family, right?"

Swanhaden looked at his toes and continued speaking.

"Now, being in pain makes me sad, like everything's unfair, and it makes me feel lonely."

"You, you're the Swan that I know, right?"

Instead of a verbal response, Swan just stared at Shuraina with his round, bright eyes.

Shuraina ended up being stuck there because of how cute Swanhaden was. She was weak against all things cute and weak.

Shuraina sat at the end of the bed, then laid next to Swan and covered herself up with the blanket when it got too cold. When Shuraina precariously laid on the end of the bed, Swan shifted to the right to make some more space. He pulled her arm and dragged her into the bed.

Shuraina laid comfortably in the bed for a moment, blanking out, before she asked Swanhaden a question.

"Mm, but how am I supposed to make you fall asleep?"

"You were humming when you came in. Sing something."

"……when'd you hear that?"

I had been humming because of how happy I was about Hestia, but it seemed like he had heard it. Shuraina's face turned bright red.

Swanhaden looked at Shuraina before closing his eyes and speaking.

"Lullaby."

"……I wouldn't recommend it."

"If you sing it I'll give you a magic stone."

Shuraina immediately agreed to Swanhaden's suggestion. His magic stone was rare, and it was extremely powerful so there wasn't even a moment of thought needed.

When Shuraina began to sing a lullaby that she knew, Swanhaden, who had been quietly listening to it, frowned and asked her a question.

"………..are your vocal chords damaged? Want me to heal it?"

When Shuraina stood up to go back home, he grabbed onto her and placed her back onto the bed.

"Keep singing. I don't hate it."

Swanhaden closed his eyes and waited for her to keep singing. Shuraina sighed and started to sing again.

Shuraina fell asleep mid-song. Swanhaden shot her a dismissive glance. Swan put a hand on sleeping Shuraina's shoulder, then teleported her to her bed in her room.

Shuraina's father, earl West, called for Shuraina early in the morning. It was so that he could tell her how he thought the duke was arriving, so if she could please play with his son.

Shuraina was happy to hear that Swanhaden would be coming, but Hestia, who was right beside her, didn't seem to welcome it very much.

"Shushu, by Swanhaden, they're talking about that closed off duke's heir, right?"

"Yeah, Sden is here. Swan sden."

"Sden…..? Who's Sden? Are you talking about Swanhaden? Are you close enough to call each other nicknames?"

"Mm…… Probably. But I'm probably the only one thinking that."

Hestia grew angry.

"What? Shushu, you're the one that's more invested?! When you're not even clinging onto me?"

When Hestia grew angry, Shuraina just watched Hestia with a questioning gaze. Hestia saw at Shuraina's look and controlled her expressions.

When they headed to the training hall, Swanhaden had already gotten ahold of his sword.

Swan was wearing a black long-sleeve shirt and had bandages covering his neck. He swung his wooden sword without a care before using his sword to doodle a duck on the ground.

Swanhaden had been aimlessly walking around the training hall before, but as soon as he saw Shuraina he had stalked over to her. He stopped when he discovered a pink blob glaring at him and began to speak.

"Shuraina, what does this kid do?"

"Oh, I'll introduce you. She's Hestia."

"If you're a girl, then they must be a boy? I can feel the aura of a general."

Hestia, who was already wary of Swanhaden to begin with, became stone-faced at the pliment? that she received. Shuraina burst out laughing at the unexpected situation.

Hestia held tightly onto Shuraina's arm and glared at Swanhaden.

"Shushu, he's out. He failed. No."

Swanhaden, who had suddenly received a fail grade out of nowhere, just touched his ears and pretended not to have heard Hestia's attacks.

Swanhaden didn't have a concept of male or female. He had spent such a long time trapped in his room that for Swanhaden, Shuraina was the first girl his age that he had seen.

Because the first girl he had ever seen was Shuraina, he was under the impression that Hestia was a guy. Hestia was wearing a dress and had long hair, but Swanhaden had realized after looking at Shuraina that clothes and hair length weren't a deciding factor in gender. He had thought that there were also boys that wore dresses and had long hair.

'The Blanche duke had long hair too.'

Swan concluded that Hestia was a boy.

"It's not even raining. Why do you have an umbrella? She has to duel me, so why don't you just go extinct or something."

Swanhaden taunted Hestia, poking fun at her parasol, as he tried to take Shuraina away. Hestia looked teary-eyed and faced Shuraina, getting ready to showcase her cuteness to Shuraina who was especially weak against cute attacks.

"Shushu, are you really close with him? You're closer with me, right? Don't play with hiiiiiim….."

When Hestia clung onto Shuraina, speaking with a nasally voice, Swan looked absolutely disgusted.

"Shuraina, is this kid sick? Do I need to heal them?"

Shuraina didn't know what to tell Swanhaden. She decided to side with Hestia and told Swan to lay off slightly. Then, Swan scowled at Shuraina's reaction.

"Are you closer to me or them?"

At Swanhaden's words, Hestia began to approach him with a face that looked moments away from grabbing him by his throat. But Hestia also seemed curious about Shuraina's response: she just watched Shuraina's face and waited.

Shuraina internally searched for an answer that would satisfy both of them, but ended up running away.

Swanhaden watched as Shuraina ran away and laughed before frowning and touching his neck area. The bandage on the back of his neck was flowing blood.

Swanhaden quietly snuck out of the training hall to rewrap new bandages on his neck. The overflow was getting worse.