Eliya had something more important to say.
The place she took Judas was the bedroom.
On the wall facing the bed, there was a crystal-shaped ice leaning against it.
Trapped in the unmelting ice was a woman.
It was the same face Judas saw in the afterlife.
As Eliya’s biological mother who opened a new world, she was currently referred to as ‘the Holy Mother’ among the people.
Eliya brought Judas here to deal with matters related to Maria first.
Judas, who had secretly hoped for a different outcome, faced the truth, feeling utterly pathetic.
Her embarrassed expression was merely a reflection of their earlier moment of sharing saliva.
“Maria…”
Eliya slowly approached and caressed the ice with her fingertips.
It was cold.
At the same time, it was warm.
Within it was a person.
Even if she had deceived herself,
She was Eliya’s everything, her world, and her warmth.
“I know it was mom who guided you in the afterlife.”
“……”
“That means… Mom is now… dead.”
A bittersweet smile appeared on Eliya’s face as she gazed up with longing eyes.
“I’m ready to let her go.”
Eliya couldn’t bear to handle her biological mother’s corpse alone.
So she had left it untouched until now.
Turning slowly, Eliya said, “Can you help me? I really don’t think I can do this alone.”
With her lips tightly pressed together, she forced a smile.
But tears continued to flow from her eyes.
Judas stepped forward, wiped her tears, and pulled her into a warm embrace.
In his broad and solid arms, Eliya leaned helplessly.
It was okay to be weak.
It was okay to show her vulnerabilities.
In this man’s embrace, whether it was now or anytime, that was perfectly fine.
“Lady. Your mother is still alive.”
“…What?”
Eliya’s memories of the afterlife were hazy.
She had been asleep there at that time.
Therefore, she did not know about the conversation between Judas and Maria.
Of course, she was unaware that Judas had made a deal with God.
“But… Mom guided you from the spirit realm… Didn’t she?”
“Yes. That’s true, but she is not dead. It’s hard to believe, but…”
Judas scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
To be honest, saying it himself felt strange.
“I made a deal with God.”
“Really?”
However, Eliya believed him without any doubt.
Instead, it was Judas who was taken aback.
Eliya smiled gently at him.
“From now on, I’ll believe anything you say.”
She remembered the pain of not being able to trust him.
So, Eliya decided to trust him unconditionally.
Even if he deceived or betrayed her, it wouldn’t matter.
Of course, she was confident that he wouldn’t.
“Then, please release the ice.”
Eliya felt nervous for some reason and exhaled deeply.
She held Judas’s hand tightly.
She felt much more reassured than before.
Closing her eyes tightly, she slowly opened them.
The ice imprisoning Maria gradually began to melt from the top down.
It evaporated into the air without turning into water.
Thanks to that, Maria remained dry and fluffy.
Eliya immediately healed the wound on Maria’s abdomen.
The same phenomenon that occurred when healing Judas happened again.
Golden flames filled the void left by Maria, forming clean, fresh flesh.
Judas carefully extracted the dagger.
Eliya healed the spot again.
“Is it done…?”
“Yes. It’ll take some time, but she will regain consciousness.”
Judas, who said this, felt a bit anxious inside.
What if she didn’t wake up?
He slowly grasped Maria’s wrist and checked for a pulse.
Eliya, worried, pressed her ear against Maria’s chest.
Wondering when her heart would beat.
And not long after,
-Thump.
Both Eliya and Judas detected the signal of life.
It was faint but a certain pulse that had just started beating.
“Huff….”
Judas exhaled in relief.
“Mom….”
Eliya remained nestled there.
How long had it been since she felt the warmth of her mother’s embrace?
Though still cold, she would soon regain her body heat and breathe again.
Imagining that scene brought joyful tears to Eliya’s eyes.
Judas waited for her to soak in that feeling.
As Eliya finally raised her body, she dove into Judas’s arms.
“Thank you….”
“Not at all.”
“If it weren’t for you….”
Her voice, caught in her throat, began to sob against his chest.
Judas smiled bitterly, stroking her hair and wiping her tears.
“I never knew you were such a crybaby.”
“Waaah….”
“Your mother will wake up safely.”
“Yeah… thanks.”
They could no longer delay eating.
However, because she couldn’t leave Maria’s side, they instructed for food to be sent to the kitchen.
Eliya ordered sandwiches, something quick to prepare, as she had been fasting for too long.
While waiting, Judas tidied up the room.
Cleaning Eliya’s bedroom had been Maria’s responsibility, and Eliya had been too busy to attend to it.
She hadn’t even realized it needed cleaning, and it had been left for days.
Eliya planned to bring someone in to help, but Judas discouraged her.
No one could clean Eliya’s bedroom but him, it seemed.
That statement carried a deeper meaning, indicating that Judas no longer considered himself “just anyone” to Eliya.
Though feeling shy for no reason, Eliya smiled happily to herself.
“I’m not planning a deep clean anyway; I’ll just tidy up until the sandwiches arrive.”
Ultimately, she couldn’t stop him.
As he cleaned, Eliya followed him around.
She kept about a step behind to not get in the way.
But she couldn’t allow anything more than that.
She trailed closely, observing him.
Compared to her, he did quite well with household chores.
It was a reflection of his life before he came here.
Eliya knew because she had traveled through his memories.
He had lived alone since he was very young and had to confront and solve all matters by himself.
Without anyone’s aid, he managed cooking, cleaning, and laundry on his own.
A life similar yet different from hers.
Unlike her, who had Maria by her side, he had no one.
A life endured without a single family member.
Eliya wanted to become his family.
And also, to create a new family together…
‘…!’
As Eliya let herself drift into fanciful thoughts, she suddenly hugged him from behind.
Her face turned as hot as freshly melted cheese.
“Ah, Lady?”
Judas was taken aback by the sudden embrace.
“Why are you doing this?”
“…Just because.”
Eliya mumbled, unable to clearly articulate her thoughts.
In that moment, she realized everything had changed.
His body heat, the sensation of contact, the muscular contours she felt from behind made her acutely aware of him.
It was something she had never consciously considered before.
She hugged him to hide an unspoken embarrassment, but that only intensified her blush.
The urge to remain close was battling against the feeling that she shouldn’t be.
In truth, the problem had been brewing since earlier.
‘I want to kiss….’
The impulse to press their lips together was erupting like a volcano.
Outwardly, she pretended otherwise, suppressing it.
Judas, worried he might not feel the same, also feared that pressing the issue again would make him seem lighthearted.
Even he didn’t realize he had such desires himself.
He found himself drowning in deep thoughts to avoid his instincts.
What could be meaningful about kissing that made him so fixated on it?
It was merely a touch of flesh.
What difference was there between holding hands, embracing, or brushing shoulders compared to touching lips?
Ah. This stems from the unique characteristics of the lips as a physical feature.
The mouth is an area prone to the intrusion of foreign substances and requires extreme sensitivity and caution.
No one would place their lips upon a creature or substance they had never encountered before, that much was evident.
Thus, the act of touching lips is a behavioral indication of profound trust in the other person…
‘Not helping!’
Dismissing those reflections only made the visuals of them kissing swirl even more vividly in his mind.
Rejecting instinct was an exercise in futility.
As Eliya became ensnared in unfamiliar and new emotions, Judas focused on his cleaning tasks.
Eliya stayed glued to him, leaving him no choice but to move awkwardly while walking.
His mind was not functioning normally either.
‘I can’t believe it….’
Memories of them embracing, kissing, and sharing saliva kept replaying in his thoughts.
In fact, Judas had decided to start cleaning for that very reason.
Remaining still with Eliya only invited troublesome thoughts and impulses that became unbearable.
Though they had devoured each other just before, starting again felt somehow more challenging now.
He feared it might come off as taking her for granted.
‘And also, that’s true… but, still, we haven’t really defined, um….’
What kind of relationship were they? What did they feel for each other?
It was vague since they never really settled that issue.
That’s how he perceived it.
In fact, it was even more confusing now due to the warmth and softness he felt on his back from the sudden embrace.
‘I’m cleaning right now… cleaning….’
Unbeknownst to either, they were both quietly fighting to extinguish the flames that had sparked in their hearts.
*
The unexpected twists and awkwardness were shattered when their food arrived.
They managed to conceal their desires successfully.
However, Judas entered the second trial.
Eliya tried to sit on his lap.
She wanted him to feed her the sandwich.
Although she had often been placed on his lap during meals, it was always deep enough into his thighs to be a bit overwhelming.
Thus, there had been more than a few moments of awkwardness.
But given the current circumstances, simply letting her sit like usual could lead to a whole new set of troublesome surprises.
If he refused, she would surely question him, and he’d have to touch upon issues that he didn’t wish to disclose right now.
In the midst of addressing the situation…
“……….”
As Eliya waited, Judas made a significant decision.
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