I Will Hold Your Hand Gently

Chapter 14: Her Clear Gaze

Those who bore honest clear eyes are ones to be feared. Remember Zwei, if you ever come across anyone who looks at you with such a gaze, you can either one, kill them, or never encounter them again.

These were the lessons ingrained in Zwei's mind by his master during his upbringing as an assassin. Though he often pondered the significance behind those words, their true meaning remained shrouded in mystery to him. Yet, he clung to them with unwavering resolve, allowing them to shape his decisions and mold his identity, until the fateful encounters with Alice, Reinhart, Jerold, and others. 

Zwei felt the foundation of his conviction trembling with each new face, each piercing gaze piercing through the veils of his guarded demeanor with disarming clarity and challenging the boundaries of his understanding. He glimpsed a reflection of truths he had long sought to bury, and at that moment, the teachings of his past collided with the stirring of something unfamiliar within him. The presence of these individuals stirred something dormant within him, a yearning for connection and understanding that defied the confines of his training. For the first time, Zwei found himself grappling with the realization that perhaps there was more to life than the cold calculus of survival. 

And Zwei realized the reasons behind those words his master spoke to him. People with honest clear eyes were far and few as well as easily prey to the God of Death. Whereas those whom he had dealt with for years as an assassin were close and many, like cockroaches on earth. His master understood that individuals dwelling in the shadows were susceptible to the influence of figures similar to Alice. So for Zwei's sake, his master wanted him to live even if it was the life of an assassin.

Zwei thought that people like Alice would never come from a house as sinister and vile as the Spheral House. Alice, who used to guide him just from her mere presence was no longer beside him. While it is true he is on the brink of a berserk state, he doesn't want to receive help from the Spheral House. He acquired a massive amount of pills for that very reason. To avoid receiving any guidance from the Spheral, and to numb the accumulating pain of the miasma building up inside of him. And yet, his mind processes were once again shaken by the very woman sitting across from him. Her clear gaze without a hint of malice was nothing but genuine concern for him despite the venomous words he spoke to her. She didn't even hesitate to offer her hand to him, not even fearing for her own life.

"Even if you cannot bring yourself to trust me, tainted by the blood of the Spheral lineage," her voice was soft but resolute, "I ask of you to have faith in my capabilities as a Guide."

She said to use her, to have faith in her abilities as a guide, and for her to atone for the wrongs the Spheral House had committed. Was she truly someone from the Spheral House? Was she really the beloved hidden child of those repulsive humans?

How could someone like her come from that House...

Zwei could not help but doubt it. The Spheral House despised those who did not carry what they considered 'Noble Blood.' Due to their backgrounds, the Spheral House cannot accept individuals like them as their monarch. Reinhart was the son of a concubine, and Alice was the daughter of a Duke of the Icela Kingdom. As ridiculous as it is, that was all the reasons they needed to harm them and teach their relative to be just as hostile towards Alice and Reinhart.

"Sometimes the answers are just there, and we might be just overthinking it. How about asking her directly, Zwei?"

Jerold's words echoed through Zwei's thoughts. If her demeanor was merely a facade, he possessed the ultimate leverage—her very life hung in the balance. However, if she truly diverged from her lineage, she could prove to be a valuable asset in his ongoing struggle against the Spheral House.