Chapter 319 - 243: A Fledgling Affection

Chapter 319: Chapter 243: A Fledgling Affection

A caregiver and a patient are not partners for life.

The job takes up too much time, pulling one away from their own life.

Whether it’s after a long time or due to an accident, the moment of separation always comes.

The same was true for the Tiefling and Sir in the Shadow of Evil.

Beyond Reach did not choose to express the sorrow of this parting in an overly conspicuous way.

There were no intense conflicts, no deliberate melodrama, and no overly emotional performances from the actors.

The two said their goodbyes on a quiet evening.

Sir even said with a smile, "You can’t spend your whole life taking care of a disabled person, can you?"

The Tiefling didn’t answer. He just pushed Sir back to his bedroom, fulfilling his duties on the last day of his caregiving career.

The next day, he bid a cheerful farewell to the new friends he’d made over the past few months—the butler, the secretary, and the others at the manor.

He was indeed an interesting young man. The manor staff’s attitude toward him had shifted from initial wariness and distrust to a pretty good rapport.

As he was leaving, he saw a new batch of applicants for the caregiver position sitting neatly outside, waiting to be interviewed.

This time, however, there were no unusual applicants like him. Every one of them looked like what you’d typically expect a professional caregiver to be.

’Maybe the Shadow of Evil should have ended here,’ Peter thought.

Sir had rediscovered his hope for life, the Tiefling had set his clueless brother straight, and he had even found another proper job.

If it had ended like that, it would have been a great comedy.

It would have made the audience laugh heartily, well worth the price of admission.

Besides, his ticket hadn’t cost anything, so it was all upside for him.

He had a gut feeling that after they separated, things would not go well for the two protagonists.

He was afraid that if he saw something sad, he would start crying in front of Grace.

On screen, Sir watched from behind a window as the Tiefling’s lonely figure departed. He looked like a dilapidated, lifeless statue, foreshadowing that this was not the end.

Tragedy is the destruction of what is valuable in life for all to see.

In this Shadow of Evil, the first hundred or so minutes depicted two marginalized individuals redeeming each other and building a life full of hope—only for the unfeeling camera to tear it all down, piece by piece.

Sir found a new caregiver. He was diligent, meticulous, and professional. Every action was thoughtful, but he treated Sir like a priceless artifact.

He was cautious and careful, as if there was a barrier between them.

There was no reckless driving, no dark jokes, no camaraderie like that between best friends.

The more diligently the caregiver worked, the more Sir despaired. To the caregiver, Sir was just the job itself; he had no life of his own.

Without the Tiefling’s support, Sir no longer had the courage to take the next step with the pen pal he’d been happily chatting with online.

They had agreed to exchange photos, but the one he sent was taken back when he wasn’t disabled.

His disability once again became a flaw he dared not face—a flaw both physical and psychological.

Everything the Tiefling had helped him improve was gradually regressing.

As time passed, one caregiver after another came and went. The light in Sir’s eyes grew dimmer, and his will to live faded.

He no longer groomed himself. A scraggly, graying beard crawled across his chin and cheeks.

When his condition flared up, he would even refuse help, leaving the poor caregiver at a complete loss.

He was even more despondent than before the Tiefling had arrived.

’What a cruel story.’ Peter found it hard to keep watching.

’Perhaps Sir’s final end will be to take his own life.’

What was even more pitiful was that it seemed he couldn’t even decide his own fate. The professional medical team would just save him.

The frequent laughter from the audience had vanished. A heavy silence fell over the theater, the atmosphere thick with oppression.

The Tiefling’s situation was no better.

He had returned to his own kind.

The streets, gangs, petty thugs, and bad company. They gathered at night, did nothing, and wasted away until dawn.

Living one day at a time, with no other aspirations.

However, he did help his younger brother escape that violent environment, preventing another young life from being senselessly lost one day in some forgotten corner.

He tried to find a proper job, but due to his race, he faced constant rejection.

In the end, it was the Zog Group’s Tiefling Employment Support Program that gave him a chance.

It was product placement time for the Zog Group, but the integration was so good that the audience didn’t even realize it was an ad.

The audience members all silently praised Zog Group.

’They’re really doing a good thing.’

Yet, before walking into the Magic Cinema, most of them had felt that "Zog Group must be out of its mind. Why would they give opportunities to devious and vile Tieflings instead of hiring so many available Humans?"

Humans are such a fickle species.

At the same time, the audience grew curious about how this Shadow of Evil would end.

No one could imagine how these two tragic protagonists could possibly get a happy ending.

If it turned out to be a sad ending, they would definitely cry while flaming Zog online.

A good Shadow of Evil was a good Shadow of Evil, and flaming was flaming. The two weren’t mutually exclusive.

On the screen, Sir began to convulse again, this time more severely than ever before.

As before, he staunchly refused the caregiver’s help, forcing himself through the episode as if he were torturing himself.

The butler saw what was happening. Not wanting the man she had served for so many years to die a painful death from his illness, she secretly contacted the Tiefling.

’How will he help Sir this time?’ Peter couldn’t imagine.

’Will he give up his hard-won job, abandon his brother who just left the gang, and go back to being a caregiver?’