Chapter 16: Don’t Go Crazy

【Eksu PoV】

“Eksu-kun… I mean… Eksu… it’ll be nice to have you at my house… you know… meet my parents. Your mother said that this is an important step for any relationship.”

My mother is complicating my life again.

We’ve been in this carriage for 10 minutes now, and in those 0 minutes, all Elizabeth has said is about how meeting her parents will improve our relationship.

Honestly.

I don’t know what to think… I don’t want to seem like I have the wrong mindset; after all, I’ve seen her grow up.

It’s complicated, at 18 years old my hormones are raging, and a woman… even if she’s younger than me, at least younger mentally, is trying to flirt with me every day.

Every single hour.

Every single minute.

It’s complicated.

Even more so now that she’s grown up so much… in specific areas… like… well… you know where.

It’s been very complicated for me, as a young man—with hormones raging—to withstand so much temptation.

I’m not a saint.

I’m not castrated.

…
…
.

Damn…

If only she weren’t so crazy.

If only she didn’t live all day long testing my patience with fight after fight.

And to make matters worse, my mother covers up everything she does and supports me.

My father,…
…
.

He has no opinion.

For him, everything my mother says is law.

“Eksu… are you okay…?”

“Yes… he is…”
Siegfried replied, looking at me as if I were a soldier who had just lost a war.

Well…

I’m not okay.

I’m not okay at all.

I had to accept the trip against my will.

I’m having to accept a future romance with Elizabeth against my will too, so no… I’m not okay at all.

But the worst part is that I can’t say any of this, because if I did… nothing will change.

“He doesn’t seem okay at all…”

Elizabeth put her hand on my head.

Like a mother checking her child’s fever.

“He’s fine… trust me… he’s just really anxious to see his family… isn’t he… Eksu-kun?”

“YES…”
I couldn’t answer anything other than that.

Well…

It’s not that I couldn’t.

It was more that even if I answered, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Since my mother has already brainwashed her so much that she truly believes I love her,
and at some point, I’m starting to believe I have so much feeling for her.

Damn…

Get a grip, Eksu.

I can’t let my mother get inside my head.

I can’t let her win this one.

Not this one.

I looked out the window.

Trees.

Trees.

And even more trees.

The view was as repetitive as my problems.

I glanced at Siegfried again.

His expression was still full of pity.

I guess he understands my pain better than anyone else.

After all, he’s also been through a lot because of Elizabeth.

But he’s lucky.

At least Elizabeth ignores him most of the time.

That would be paradise for me.

Being ignored by Elizabeth… wow, what a beautiful dream.

Why couldn’t that have happened to me?

Seriously, I would’ve gladly traded places with Siegfried.

He could have Elizabeth’s attention and I’d just vanish into the background.

Sounds like a perfect life.

But no.

I was chosen.

Chosen to suffer.

Because of some stupid skill I never asked for.

Thanks a lot, 【Absolute Defense】.

You’ve protected my body from harm… but you failed miserably at protecting my peace of mind.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, Elizabeth leaned in closer.

Too close.

Her scent, mixed with that stupid orchid perfume, filled the carriage.

She took my hand gently, smiling like the perfect girlfriend she wasn’t.

“Eksu, we’ll have so much fun together. My parents will love you!”

Her grip tightened just a bit.

Not enough to hurt, but enough to remind me that I couldn’t escape.

Fun?

Yeah, right.

Her definition of fun was fighting from sunrise to sunset.

I could already see my future clearly.

Getting punched by Elizabeth in front of her smiling parents.

What a lovely family reunion that would be.

My parents would probably cheer her on too.

Just imagining the scene made my stomach twist painfully.

I wanted to jump out of this carriage and run.

Run far away.

Maybe join a circus.

Or become a hermit deep in the mountains.

Anything sounded better than dealing with Elizabeth’s parents.

Because if Elizabeth is this crazy…

Then her parents have to be twice as bad.

Who else could’ve raised someone like her?

No rules. No discipline. No sanity.

And to make things worse, my own parents supported this madness.

I was trapped between two insane families.

If I survive this, maybe I should write a book.

A manual on how to survive crazy relationships.

Maybe someone else could learn from my suffering.

But then again, no one deserves to suffer this much.

My thoughts were suddenly cut short by Elizabeth.

Again.

She smiled sweetly, bringing her face even closer.

“Eksu, you’re making a weird face. Are you nervous?”

Weird face?

This is my normal face now, thanks to you.

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out.

My brain refused to cooperate.

Siegfried chuckled quietly.

Traitor.

I shot him a glare, and he quickly turned to look out the window.

Coward.

I sighed deeply.

“Maybe… a little nervous.”

Elizabeth’s smile grew wider.

She looked genuinely happy.

Too happy.

God help me.

At this rate, she’d plan our wedding by tomorrow morning.

I shivered at the thought.

Maybe Siegfried was right all along.

I should just give up and accept it.

Accept Elizabeth.

Accept my fate.

But then I remembered.

I’m stubborn.

I’ve made it this far without going completely insane.

I won’t lose to my mother.

I won’t lose to Elizabeth.

And I definitely won’t lose to Siegfried’s stupid laughter.

With that in mind… I continued the journey.

I hope I don’t go crazy.