Loving The Mad King

Rine - The Fourth Alter (2)

Rion didn't respond to Odette's words. He took the chair and climbed onto it to untie the rope that was hanging from the ceiling. However, when he looked up he felt dizzy and his neck hurt too.

"If you're dizzy, don't force yourself. I'll let it go," said Odette, watching him. "Here, let me do it."

"I don't need your help," Rion replied flatly.

"Okay." Odette crossed her arms. She knew this man was too stubborn, so she didn't insist to help him.

Fifteen seconds passed, but Rion still didn't manage to let go of the rope, and instead felt even more dizzy from looking up for too long, plus the chair kept on rocking, which made him feel even more dizzy.

Odette let out a tired breath, then held the chair so it wouldn't sway, even though Rion had said he didn't need help.

"What are you doing?" Rion asked, looking down.

"Playing chess," answered Odette lazily, raising an eyebrow.

"..."

"I'm being very kind, if I was someone else I would have left you," Odette raved, but soon she was surprised because Rion suddenly fell and hit her.

THUD.

Odette's eyes widened when she saw that Rion's face was very close to hers, and her heart suddenly beat very fast, as the man's warm breath spread across her face.

'Rion, when you look at him closely, he just looks more handsome.' Odette batted her eyes.

'Why does this woman suddenly look beautiful? Can hanging yourself damage your eyesight?' Rion furrowed his brows. 'Yeah, maybe it damaged my brain and, by extension, my vision.'

After a few seconds of silence, Rion finally stepped aside from above Odette. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall on you like that."

"I was shocked. I thought you wouldn't apologize." Odette got up and sat opposite Rion.

"If I'm wrong, I'll apologize. I won't apologize for something I didn't do. Now let go of the rope."

"You said you didn't need my help."

"Now I need it."

Odette couldn't help but smile when she heard Rion's words. Sometimes, this guy was funny too. Without saying anything, she rushed to untie the rope and it didn't take long for her to finish the job.

"Well, it's done. Asking other people for help isn't something to be ashamed of. If you had let me help you earlier, then this would already be over with," said Odette while giving Rion the rope. 

"What are you going to do with it?" she asked when she saw Rion staring at the rope.

"I was just wondering where Rine got this rope from."

"Does Rine always do this?"

Rion nodded. "Rine did many ways to end his life." 

Rion told Odette everything Rine had done to kill himself. Sometimes, he climbed to high places to jump, sometimes he stabbed himself, sometimes he poisoned himself, and sometimes banged his head against a wall.

Odette was silent.

"I've kept myself away from all dangerous objects, but sometimes I get confused because Rine can always easily find things he can use to kill himself. For example, this rope." Rion stared intently at the rope in his hand then grabbed his neck, which felt painful.

Odette explained that maybe Rine had prepared all these things, but Rion didn't know because Rion didn't have Rine's memory.

"Don't be so tense and worried, because that will make the alters show up more often. Come on, we have to treat your neck, it looks bad." Odette reached out. 

Rion didn't move.

"What's wrong? Are you saying you don't need any more help?" she asked as Rion just sat there, staring at the rope.

Although he seemed hesitant, Rion finally grabbed the girl's outstretched hand and stood up.

"I know you're strong but there's nothing wrong with accepting other people's help," said Odette while supporting Rion. For a moment, she smiled and then started to take Rion by the hand out of the room.

"Brother!" Anwen ran and immediately hugged Rion after Rion returned.

Now their relationship was much better, although it still looked awkward at times. However, because Anwen and Rion were both trying to mend their relationship, their situation improved faster. All this time, they really just needed to talk to each other.

"Brother, what happened to your neck?" Anwen was surprised to see the noose marks on Rion's neck.

"It's okay, don't worry." Rion smiled as he gently patted Anwen's head.

Odette noticed this. Rion looked completely different when he was talking to Anwen.

"Your Majesty." Trish came over. His face was sweaty. He must have walked around the castle many times. Just like Anwen, he was also shocked when he saw that the king's neck was injured.

"I'll explain later. We have to treat it immediately," said Odette.

Trish nodded and led the king to his room, while Odette would go to the doctor for medicine.

"I'm sorry. I was careless," Trish said in an apologetic tone as soon as Rion sat on the bed, but the king said Trish didn't need to be so overbearing.

"What exactly happened?" Anwen asked after sitting down next to Rion.

"I don't remember but it seems I was taken over by Rine, and he tried to commit suicide by hanging himself," Rion explained, which made Anwen and Trish very shocked.

"Get rid of this, don't let Rine find it again." Rion gave the rope he was holding to Trish.

Odette came with the medicine Rion needed. She asked, "Could you change into something lighter and looser?"

"I'll get it." Trish hurriedly opened the cupboard and took out a light white shirt.

"Brother, where are you going?" Anwen asked as Rion got off the bed.

"To go change clothes."

"Why don't you change over here?"

Rion didn't answer and just walked towards the bathroom. Seeing her brother's behavior, Anwen laughed, and told Odette that Rion was actually very shy.

After half a minute, Rion finally came out wearing a white shirt with the top button unbuttoned. Odette wasn't lying, but Rion looked cool. However, she had to keep her mind sane and got rid of the thought of how cool he was. This man was her patient.

After Rion returned, Odette started treating the wound on Rion's neck. She looked very skilled at handling wounds.

"Are there any other body parts that hurt?"

Rion shook his head.

"Okay. Let me know if you have any complaints such as headaches, difficulty breathing or anything else that makes you uncomfortable."

"Miss Ody, what actually happened? I find it hard to believe that there is an alter that can make my brother do something like that."

"Alters as that do exist. One of my senior patients also has DID, and one of his alters always injures himself. He has a prosecutor-like personality," Odette said.

When she saw them looking at her with confused expressions, she explained.

"The alter actually wants to protect, but by giving punishment. When the host makes a mistake, the alter will punish the host by doing various dangerous things such as hurting himself or even committing suicide. About Rine, I still need to learn, therefore I hope you can tell me more. Open-up to me, Rion."