CHAPTER 545: RICHARD’S ANGER

Richard’s attention was abruptly snatched away as his gaze flickered to Coco who was struggling to hold back tears.

He was about to yell at her for holding onto his hair like he was some kind of rope, but his reaction came to a sudden halt as he fully took in the sight of her tearful expression, his focus shifting from the situation at hand to the sadness evident in her eyes.

Richard’s body went still, his own thoughts and actions momentarily forgotten upon seeing Coco’s state.

"Coco?" He murmured, his tone sounding like a scoff with his gaze fixated on her.

Coco didn’t answer him and kept staring at Cleora who stared at the two of them with a puzzled look on her face which was accompanied with an obviously strained smile.

"Cocooooo!"

Richard and Coco snapped out of their own thoughts when they heard the sound of a distant voice calling out her name.

"Coco! Cooooocooo!"

The voice echoed through the air, the familiar sound instantly capturing their attention.

Richard and Covo exchanged glances, curiosity and uncertainty written on their faces as they turned back to the direction where the shouts were coming from.

"Who is that..?" Richard muttered, his eyebrows furrowing and eyes squinting into a glare.

Richard clicked his tongue, completely disregarding Cleora’s and Leo’s presence as he prioritized the distant calls by starting to walk towards that direction.

"That sounds like one of your husbands." The goleter commented to Coco.

Coco’s heart skipped a beat, her tear-filled eyes widening as her lips parted in disbelief— the thought of being in their arms brought comfort to her entire being.

Doubt and hope mingled in her heart, her emotions in a turmoil as she strained her neck to hear the voices more clearly

"Coco?! Coco!"

Coco swallowed the lump forming in her throat as she cast a glance on Cleora’s way, her voice laced with reluctance and exhaustion. "Can we.. Can we go? I don’t want to stay here any longer.."

Richard paused and turned to her, his eyes scanning her features for a moment before he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, let’s go." The goleter grumbled, his grip on her adjusting gently as he prepared to make their departure.

However, as they began to move, Cleora grabbed Richard by the arm and tugged him.

"Please, wait—" Cleora called, panic lacing her voice.

The goleter’s eyes went wide when he got pulled back— the woman’s physical strength taking him completely aback.

"I healed her, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to actually fix every broken tissue in her body! I must keep an eye on her for the next couple of days to ensure proper healing—" Cleora got cut off when Richard growled and snatched his arm out of her grasp.

"That pig hurt her and you want her to keep being in his ugly presence?" Richard hissed, his scornful gaze boring at Cleora’s panic filled ones.

"No, no, no! I won’t force that on her! I just want to make sure that she’s—" Cleora started and tried her best to reason, but Richard merely turned in his heels and walked away.

As Richard led Coco away from Cleora and Leo, her gaze flickered back to them one last time.

Coco doesn’t know if her tears or brain were tricking her, but at the last second, she could see hurt, hope, and recognition in Cleora’s eyes as she watched Coco and Richard walk away.

Seeing that, Coco couldn’t help, but feel a little hopeful as well.

But that wouldn’t be possible, right..? For mama to get here, she must die back on Earth.. Coco thought as she buried her face on Richard’s shoulder, unconsciously seeking comfort in his presence.

Richard could sense how bad Coco’s emotional state is at the moment, but he doesn’t know how to comfort a human so all he could do was respond by tightening his grip on her, hoping that it was enough.

With every step he takes, the distant voices grew slightly more distinguishable, their owner still calling out her name with an intensity that couldn’t be ignored.

"Coco! Where are you?!"

Richard diligently followed the sound of the voices, and as they drew closer, the two of them were able to discern the identities of the voices’ owners.

There was no mistaking it— the voices belonged to Coco’s husbands.

Coco slowly pulled herself away from Richard’s shoulder, the tears on her cheeks glistening faintly and raised a hand to wipe away the tears from her eyes.

Richard snuck a discreet glance in Coco’s direction, his grip on her remaining firm, and couldn’t help, but be confused by the sight before him— the person who had once bested him, now openly displaying her vulnerable side, tears staining her cheeks.

It was a big difference to the image he had built of her in his mind and the sight stirred something unfamiliar inside him.

He felt another presence of a king beast this morning and immediately knew that it was after Coco— just the thought of that king beast being the reason for Coco’s tears fueled his irritation, causing his expression to darken.

Richard clenched his teeth and grumbled to himself, regret coursing through him.

He should have followed his instincts and ignored Coco’s command, finishing off Leo instead of stopping just because the woman healed Coco.

Maybe then, Coco wouldn’t be in this state, her tears staining her face as she sniffled like a crybaby in his arms.

Richard could feel his anger threaten to escalate just by the mere sound of Coco trying to hold back her tears, but he inhaled sharply and kept his emotions in check.

Too much anger can lead to destruction. Richard reminded himself firmly as he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to maintain control

It was quite strange.

Richard had never felt this much anger ever since he was created by the fairies on a whim— yet, here he was, getting mad at his brother for making his weak human cry.