[He doesn't really respond to that first part. He's not about to acknowledge that his worrying about this situation with Kohan could have been what triggered his stress to go up so much, even if the timing seems to fit.]

...it's not that simple. Even if knowing would take the pressure off of myself, I don't want to do anything that would make things more difficult for him. [Like he did when he told Anise. He doesn't want his feelings to be a burden -- to be an inconvenience to Kohan, even if he knows Kohan would never say so. After all, Kohan's already had to deal with false memories his whole life. The last thing he needs is to deal with false emotions. And though it's become increasingly clear that Ion's feelings are sincere, he still can't say the same for Kohan.]

[There's a bitterness in his next words -- a bitterness he didn't have before coming to Luceti. After all, it's only in Luceti that he's really experienced love, and so far, most of his experiences have only ended bitterly. Perhaps that's the reason he's trying so hard to deny these feelings exist.] I just... wish I didn't feel this way at all.