Without rejection coming from Esther’s side, their kiss only escalated. Beelzebub’s long and strong finger caressed down her neck, slipping in gently inside the collar of her dress.

Esther didn’t notice any of his sneaky movements with his delicious the kiss felt to her. She felt as though her body had turned into a warm bottle where a warmth sourcing from her lips and her heart spread all over her body.

Beelzebub pulled away to look at Esther’s face. He shivered with a grin when finding her face melting in pleasure. 

“While I thought you would be experienced, you seem to be far from it,” he whispered and Esther watched the way he licked his lower lips as if to reclaim the trace of her lips, appearing as if he didn’t have enough of her. 

Beelzebub leaned forward for Esther to close her eyes but instead of a kiss, she heard his shuddered sigh. 

Her eyes opened to see him chuckling and leaning his back to the wall.

.

Esther felt her heart dropped at his sigh and chuckle, “Are you teasing me again?” 

Beelzebub’s red eyes looked at her with one eyebrow raised, “Surely you don’t think the man you love is such a bastard? Why would I be teasing you in such an evil way, Esther? Think about it, have I ever hurt you?”

Esther with her eyes narrowed spitefully answered, “You did.”

Beelzebub chuckled, remembering that Esther meant of their last conversation where he had deliberately pushed her away. “That was inevitable, darling. I didn’t want you to become my precious because I know once you did became a precious person to me, you will become nothing less compared to my own heart. I was afraid.”

Looking at Beelzebub’s face, Esther could tell his sincerity. Before she thought Beelzebub to be a person who is difficult to read but now, between the darkness inside the cave, she learned that he wasn’t as difficult to see through. 

He was a man who had his own fear. Even though he was a high demon and known to be a person without a fear due to his carefree attitude, in fact, he pushed people away from him and put them on arm’s length simply because he was afraid to lose his treasured person again. 

Beelzebub slide his hand over her face and Esther didn’t swat his hands again, causing him to smile. “However, I don’t blame you for being angry toward me. I deserve for I waited that reaction from you.”

Esther’s heart moved. She was filled with a lot of overwhelming emotions, making her to wonder what she should say when she Beelzebub winced.

“Are you alright?” Esther asked, suspicions filled her eyes when Beelzebub didn’t reply her by words and rather a smile.

“Beel?” Esther questioned. She hurriedly saw how his hand settled over his stomach and pulled his arm away to uncover what he had been hiding. 

Beelzebub didn’t put a fight when Esther hold his hand. Finding the red color all over the shirt, Esther’s heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach.

“When did this happen?” She didn’t noticed it. Unlike other demons, she was lesser than them when it comes to sensing scents of blood or the fellow demons. 

It was until now that she saw his wounds that she realized he had been wounded. “Did this happen when you try to protect me?”

Beelzebub pushed aside her hands gently, “It’s alright. This is nothing to me.”

“How is this nothing to you?!” Esther shook her head in response. “You know that unlike Ian if you’re critically wounded you could die.”

Worries smeared her face and Beelzebub felt bad for causing such a wounded expression on her face. At the same time, he can’t help but enjoy the concern and care she showed to him.

“This wounds are nothing to me,” he tried to convince her but alas with his pale complexion and the amount of blood that oozes out off his wounds were clearly dangerous. 

Esther spoke and Beelzebub felt as though he heard her sobbing but his conscious was slowly fading away. “Don’t cry,” he whispered when all of his sight turned black in second.

“Beel? Beel?!” Esther tried to wake him up. Seeing how he was completely out of light, Esther tore his shirt to look at the wound on his stomach, realizing that when they had fallen earlier, Beelzebub must had fallen on the end of a sharp stone or branch to protect her. 

Esther wasted no second to study the wound before leaving the place to bring water using a seashell she found near to clean the wound.

Sweat beaded her fair forehead. Her hands might be trembling, Esther didn’t know as she couldn’t bother with her anxiousness and nervousness when Beelzebub’s life was on the line and his fate lies on her.

“Stay with me,” Esther grasped on one of his hand as she poured her magic to heal his wounds. “Don’t die on me right after you confessed! I won’t forgive you if you did,” she said between her breaths, saying whatever she could to bind Beelzebub from parting away from this world.

While Esther kept calling on his name to make sure he stay conscious, Beelzebub’s consciousness had faded into the other side of his dream.

He opened his eyes to see a blurred face of a person sitting next to him. A melodic voice slipped from her mouth, making him feel all peaceful in his heart.

Even though he wasn’t completely awake, Beelzebub knew who this person was. It was his mother and this was once again his dream. 

Since he lost his parents there never been a day where he didn’t see them in her dream. Part of the reason was perhaps guilt. He felt guilty for being the only person to stay alive when his parents died. If there was another emotions he had to add, it would be sadness and loneliness.

He wondered if in the past his childhood self knew about the danger that came on his parent’s life, would he enjoy the time he had more. Perhaps he wouldn’t be wasting his time arguing with his father, he could try being the gentle and polite son that his mother wants, and maybe instead of pressuring and taunting Welyn, he could slowly study about her, becoming friends faster before their times run out.

Beelzebub at first could only see his mother spoke before finally her voice became clearer to his ears. 

“Did you sleep well?” His mother asked him.

Beelzebub gently nodded his head and smiled.

His mother seemed to return his smile. He couldn’t be so certain as her face was blurry to his eyes but he didn’t fail to notice how the corner of her lips lifting upward. 

“Then it’s time for you to wake up, honey.”

Beelzebub snapped his eyes opened, waking up from his dream when he saw his hand clutching tightly to Esther’s neck, pinning her on the surface of the bed as she struggles to get away. 

“Beel!” Esther shouted for his name and he noticed this wasn’t the first time she had screamed for his name to wake him up based on her voice that became hoarse.

As if he was struck by thunder, Beelzebub jerk his hand away from her neck. His red eyes went still at the red hand mark around Esther’s neck.

“Did I do that to you?” He asked. Even though he knew the answer, he still asked. Not because he wanted to look away from the reality but because he couldn’t believe on his own action that had almost taken Esther’s life.

“Beel,” Esther pushed herself from the bed and Beelzebub shook his head, backing away from her as far as possible.

“Don’t. Don’t come close to me now,” Beelzebub held one hand over his head. It was his greed! “You asked me Esther. Why did I keep on hurting you with my words and why did I pushed you away. It was exactly because of this. I wish to not hurt you or worse take your life.”

Esther’s blue eyes was affixed while looking at him and Beelzebub could see the slight fear on her face. 

“Exactly because I want to keep you alive, protecting you from the other danger around you which include myself. Can you leave me for a second?”

Esther didn’t know what to say. She was also shocked and confused, deciding to leave as both of them weren’t on a stable condition to speak to each other.