He definitely knew that I wasn't being sincere. After all, I wasn't acting like the same kid Big Boy was familiar with. My dazed, intoxicated face, the unnaturally upbeat tone of voice, and the crimson glow of the brand on my torso… all these pointed to the same conclusion—I wasn't being sincere.0

Every sign screamed that my hypnosis seal was active.0

‘I’m not in my right mind anymore. You know I don’t mean what I’m saying. I’m being controlled right now.’0

Of course, it was still painful. Even knowing that it wasn’t real… even knowing that it couldn’t be true, Big Boy still looked like the sky had come crashing down on him.0

Anger, grief, and a bitter trace of regret were all mixed together within him. 0

Big Boy had always believed that those who stayed with him would end up becoming miserable, so my words cut even deeper. He was feeling self-contemptuous; he was feeling regret over one wrong choice; he was afraid that perhaps my words were true after all, and he was questioning whether I was ever truly happy when I was with him.0

Compared to that, swords and arrows flying...0