“Damn it!”
Bang!
The twin brothers surrounding Baron, who had returned furious, broke out in cold sweat. Baron, who was grinding his teeth as if punching the wall wasn’t enough to relieve his anger, muttered with veins bulging in his neck.
“How in the world did that lowly human bastard get the Crown Prince as his backing?”
After the rumor spread that Deus Zebron, first in succession order, had recovered from his madness. The nobles’ interest was focused solely on the Crown Prince who had never shown himself until now.
As if mocking the rumor that had spread like fact during the period he didn’t show himself—’the Crown Prince is ugly’—it was revealed not only that he possessed handsome features as if sculpted by God, but also that he still had no fiancée, and this fact spread through high society. Recently, no matter which salon one went to, noble ladies were busy bringing up Deus’s story.
<Ah, he truly is a beautiful person. I was moved because he’s a handsome man with a distinctly different atmosphere from Kiss-nim, who is like a quiet snowy field.>
<That’s right, he’s like a vigorously burning volcanic region. You can feel his untamed wildness, shall we say. I wish the Crown Princess selection ceremony would start soon.>
Kiss, considered the Empire’s greatest beauty, and Death, considered the Empire’s greatest handsome man. The existence of these two breathed a rosy wind into high society that had been withering without proper gossip for a while.
Moreover, in Deus’s case, even his bloodline was perfect, so all the elders of the traditional and conservative Serpent family supported Deus.
‘So I was thinking of somehow making a connection.’
Baron, who had roughly wiped his dripping bloody fist, bit his lower lip. No matter how much one professed loyalty for the family, it would be difficult to become Family Head without solidifying one’s support base. That’s why he’d planned to make the Crown Prince his backing. A terrible memory flashed through his mind.
‘To think a pink diamond worth a house in the capital… was said to be worse than that livestock bastard’s used tissue!’
Because Deus had praised Ash in front of all the nobles, citing ridiculous reasons like ‘the integrity of a loyal subject who doesn’t forcibly try to look good to those in power’ and ‘a frugal appearance that doesn’t indulge in luxury unlike a noble family’s offspring,’ high society kept mentioning not only the Crown Prince but also Ash.
‘Why is that lowly livestock bastard receiving more attention than me!’
It had been that way since before. Just because he was adopted, because he was weak. Ash had monopolized Father’s attention. Every time Baron saw Father, who was cold to him, being affectionate only to Ash, Baron felt as if Ash had stolen the affection he should have received. That’s why there was an element of tormenting Ash even more.
‘This won’t do. If Ash continues to receive Deus’s favor like this… the family will try to support Ash too. I have to prevent that at all costs.’
The twin brothers, reading low-pressure Baron’s mood, quickly clung to his side.
“Hyung-nim, didn’t that livestock bastard pull some trick? Like brainwashing the Crown Prince. Or maybe he got something to blackmail him with.”
“That’s right! And anyway, all royals are fickle, aren’t they? Maybe His Highness the Crown Prince just sees Ash as a new toy. Since he was such good prey to play with.”
The twin brothers clicked their tongues as if disappointed. Until recently, they had definitely played with Ash like that, but it was disappointing that they couldn’t play as roughly as before due to Ash’s changed personality at some point. Baron, who had stopped dead at the twin brothers’ consolation, frowned.
“I don’t care what the reason is.”
“…”
“If a toy breaks, that’s the end of it.”
A sinister smile appeared on Baron’s lips.
* * *
“Why on earth did you do that? Deus.”
“…”
“And what’s with that funny way of speaking that’s neither formal nor informal?”
I sighed while looking at the tributes piled up like a mountain. Seeing Baron trembling in wounded pride was beyond enjoyable—it was satisfying. But knowing that the safest way to preserve oneself in noble society was not to attract attention, I couldn’t hide my uncomfortable feelings. Unlike me who was troubled, Deus, who was leisurely lying on the sofa reading a book, hummed and said:
“I couldn’t help it. He dared to call my cute Ash filthy.”
“…”
“And as for the way of speaking, the Crown Prince in here talks that way.”
Deus flipped over the book he was reading to show me the cover. Thinking ‘what is this,’ I checked and it was a romance novel titled 『That Young Lady’s Secret, Sticky, Suspicious, and Suggestive Circumstances』. Just as I was thinking the title was unnecessarily long, I frowned and asked:
“Where did you get that?”
“I confiscated what young maids were reading with the Crown Prince’s authority.”
How very busy with official duties. Deus, who had stood up abruptly, strode toward me. Then with an unprecedented serious expression, he grabbed my shoulders and pushed me against the wall.
“Don’t you understand yet? I can’t live without you. You are my soul, my flame…”
“…”
“Wait a moment.”
Deus, who had unrolled the book again, muttered as if memorizing lines, then looked at me again. Then shamelessly continued the dialogue as if nothing had happened.
“And…”
“…”
“What was it again?”
“Are you a goldfish?”
How do you forget a sentence you saw just 30 seconds ago? I let out a hollow laugh watching Deus open the book again as if he wouldn’t give up. It was such an everyday sight that it was hard to believe this was the bastard who had tortured and sliced people without a care until recently.
“How is it? This world.”
“Exceptionally boring.”
Deus, who had closed the book with a thud, turned toward me with an indifferent expression.
“I came because you said you’d show me a new world, but what is this? It would have been less boring to go out and catch a few sows, but I can’t even go out as I please.”
“…You can do something else instead of hunting sows.”
“Impossible. I can’t get excited by anything other than inflicting pain on someone.”
To say he can’t get excited without inflicting pain—it was a fetish I absolutely couldn’t understand. Deus, who had been quietly watching me show a slightly subtle reaction, approached with a face devoid of laughter.
“What’s with that expression?”
“What about my expression?”
“It’s an expression that says you can’t understand.”
“Because I really can’t understand.”
It was natural to feel uncomfortable. I didn’t have the perverted hobby of getting excited watching people suffer. I sighed and shook my head.
“Deus, that’s not normal. I don’t know what it was like in the Void, but you can’t do that here. You also can’t carelessly kill people…”
“Ahhh!”
At Deus’s action of suddenly shouting loudly into my ear, I unconsciously stepped one foot back. Deus, who had grabbed the collar of frozen me in surprise, pulled me closer. Deus, who had been looking down at me gagging with my collar grabbed as if amused, smiled faintly and said:
“Look, if you want to play mommy, nurse me first.”
“Ugh…”
“Sorry, sorry I didn’t tell you in advance. But I really hate hearing things like ‘you shouldn’t do that.’ So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t.”
I glared at Deus while clutching one numb ear. I spoke in a deliberately calm voice.
“I’m saying this for your sake. You’ve been alone in the Void continuously. That’s why you can’t distinguish what’s normal and what’s abnormal.”
“…”
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Even if it was cruel to Deus, it couldn’t be helped. If he went around modifying or slicing people here like he did in the Void, he’d surely be beheaded before becoming Emperor. At my attitude of not backing down, Deus, who seemed to be pondering something, sparkled his eyes.
“I understand perfectly.”
As soon as he finished answering, Deus, who had put me down on the sofa as if throwing me, naturally overlapped his body. Just as I was about to flip my body and escape from the psychopath’s clutches at the familiar development, instead I was trapped in Deus’s embrace, unable to move due to the arm strongly hugging my waist.
“So, it’s okay to release my crude fetish on Ash instead of other people, right?”
“…”
How do you twist my advice to reach such a crazy conclusion? Without time to deny it, a large hand entered inside my clothes. Deus, who firmly grasped my chest like before, kissed my earlobe with sucking sounds.
“Right? Am I good?”
Even when I struggled with all my might, this monster bastard didn’t budge, but rather the more I struggled, the more I could feel Deus’s member pressing against my buttocks gradually hardening. Intense resistance seemed to be included in that crude fetish too.
How long had I struggled? Eventually, a sulky voice pierced my ear as I lost all strength in my body and my fighting spirit.
“If you say no, I’ll go hunt sows.”
It was truly an un-Lucky♥ development.
