“How’s your injury?”
At the teacup suddenly thrust before his eyes, Kiss turned his head expressionlessly. Deus, who was smiling brightly, gestured with his eyes for him to take it quickly. Kiss, who put the teacup down on the table, muttered.
“Were we close enough to ask after each other’s wellbeing?”
“I can’t ask after your dead mother’s wellbeing.”
When Kiss looked at him with a cold gaze instead of answering, Deus wrinkled his nose.
“Alright, alright.”
After briefly pretending to tremble as if scared, Deus, who sat down on the opposite sofa, put a cigar in his mouth. The tobacco leaves burned away, creating acrid smoke. Kiss, who had been quietly looking at the tributes piled in one corner of the room, opened his mouth.
“Acting too selfishly isn’t good. Among the nobles who support you, there aren’t only those who are favorable toward you. With each of your actions, someone’s head flies off.”
“Mm.”
“It would be good to listen seriously.”
“Kiss, don’t get too angry.”
Deus, who leaned forward, met his gaze directly. Then he dropped several sugar cubes into Kiss’s teacup. Kiss’s gaze, which had been watching the sugar cubes slowly sinking, fixed on Deus who was smiling.
“It doesn’t suit you.”
A cold silence descended. Kiss, who gripped the teacup with one hand, threw the gripped teacup carelessly. With a crash, the shattered teacup pieces scattered about. Deus clicked his tongue.
“Not very gentlemanly.”
“If you need something to play with moderately, I’ll get you something new. Whatever his status, Ash is human. When royalty associates with humans, they won’t hear good things. It’s like rolling around with filthy livestock.”
“That child……”
Deus, who had been tapping the sofa armrest with his index finger as if thinking about something, sighed. Then he continued speaking calmly.
“Is attracted to you. It seems he hasn’t realized it himself yet though.”
“……”
“And yet you’re still viciously thinking only of yourself.”
“I’m not here to listen to such unpleasant talk.”
Kiss smiled irritably.
“It’s natural that Ash is attracted to me. Even that was part of my plan.”
“What plan? Assassinating the empress and starting a coup d’état?”
Kiss remained silent. He’d hated this aspect of Deus since childhood. Though he seemed to act carelessly pretending not to know anything, at critical moments he pierced through situations with only intuition. Like a beast whose senses had become keen from starving for days. An ominous light settled in Deus’s eyes.
“You want the imperial throne, right? I’ll give it to you, it’s not difficult. I had no greed for such things in the first place. Compensatory psychology for affection you didn’t receive from your parents…… you’re old enough to resolve such things on your own.”
“……”
“Then the common enemy is simply narrowed down, isn’t it?”
Deus, who stood up, picked up a bottle of wine from among the piled tributes. Kiss, who had been silently watching Deus reading the wine label with a more serious expression than usual, answered.
“What do you want?”
“Stop touching that child.”
“……”
“And help me become emperor. After eliminating the empress and reorganizing the major powers within the imperial family, I’ll hand it all over to you without leaving a single puppy behind.”
The red wine filled the glass with a gurgle. Deus, who added “you didn’t seem in the mood for tea,” held out the glass with a bright smile. Kiss took the glass expressionlessly.
Even though it was clearly a proposal beneficial to his revenge, anger welled up at that innocent face smiling without guile. Deus, who had been glancing at Kiss who was just staring blankly without drinking the wine, shrugged his shoulders.
“Don’t worry, what I want to fuck isn’t this country but Ash. You don’t need to answer right away either. When you’ve reached a conclusion, answer me then.”
“……”
“And try being a little honest.”
Deus clinked his glass against Kiss’s glass. A chilling voice pierced Kiss’s ears.
“You’re regretting it, sending that child to me.”
Click.
Kiss, who left Deus’s bedroom, moved his steps. The corridor shrouded in darkness was more than unpleasant, it made him feel dirty. His stomach churned at the indescribable emotion.
Deus’s proposal was certainly attractive. Moreover, the price for that attractive proposal was merely Ash—there was no reason not to refuse.
<I’ve been hurt alone before too, you know.>
Kiss’s steps, which had been walking only forward, stopped. For some reason, the slight fever that had started from the day he returned from the Void hadn’t easily subsided. The white hand that had touched his forehead and the worried expression kept coming to mind.
<That feels really terrible, doesn’t it?>
Kiss, who had been standing still, turned around again as if deciding something. Just as he was about to return to Deus again, an unforgettable voice echoed in his ears.
<Kiss.>
The specter of his mother, whom he couldn’t even remember well now, embraced his neck. Whenever he tried to choose something for himself, he recalled his mother who had always embraced his neck with an agonized expression.
<I have nothing left now, so you absolutely can’t abandon me. You can’t have anything you like besides me. You can’t have anything you want to do.>
Kiss, who had been quietly looking back at the corridor where darkness squelched, turned around again. The emotions Kiss left behind settled down like snow over the pitch-black corridor.
* * *
“It’s natural that Ash is attracted to me.”
I slowly woke from sleep at the murmuring voices. Through the gap where light faintly seeped in, I glimpsed Kiss’s face. A cold voice devoid of any emotion pierced my ears.
“Even that was part of my plan.”
I closed my eyes again while listening to the faint conversation sounds. How long had I been asleep like that? I slowly raised my upper body while lying alone in the darkened bedroom. My mind remained dazed even after the storm had passed. It was because I felt a different sense of dissonance than before.
‘This is strange, my body condition should definitely be bad……’
I frowned while clutching my forehead at the raw scenes passing before my eyes again. It was strange. Even though it should have been something Ash’s stamina could never handle.
‘Rather, my body got better.’
The wheezing sound that had bothered me with each breath didn’t come out, and the chronic migraines that had plagued me had disappeared. There’s only one thing that’s changed from before.
Just as I tried to stand up putting my feet on the floor, I frowned at the semen flowing down my thighs. The foreign sensation felt below my waist was considerable.
“What do you think is the reason I don’t die easily?”
Deus, who had approached from behind at some point, embraced my waist. I barely suppressed the surging anger and pushed away the arms embracing my waist. I muttered toward Deus who, far from being pushed away, rather pressed his body closer.
“Because you’re shameless.”
“Precariously wrong.”
“……”
“Frighteningly strong magical power flows through my body. In my blood, in my sweat, even in my semen…… magical power that tries to return the body to its original state is endlessly circulating.”
I hesitated and turned my head at the action of lightly biting my shoulder. Deus, whose eyes met mine, made an expression that seemed somewhat dejected. I was dumbfounded at the expression like a puppy caught rummaging through the trash. My body condition had certainly improved, but even if what he said was true, there were things that couldn’t be forgiven.
“If recovery was simply the purpose, you only needed to come once.”
“Is there a fool who only smells deliciously grilled meat?”
“I’m not meat.”
“Really?”
Deus, who let out a small laugh at my choked voice, caressed my lips. My nerves stood on edge at the fingers naturally rummaging through my tongue. Deus, who had been caressing the raised tendons under my tongue, whispered.
“While you were sleeping, I imagined dissecting you by body parts.”
“……”
“The part that seemed like it would be most delicious was definitely here. Because it’s small, warm, and soft.”
Saliva I couldn’t swallow dripped down my chin. After playing to his heart’s content, sandwiching and rubbing between his index and middle fingers, and also scratching the side of my tongue, he soon kissed my earlobe and asked.
“How much will you sell it for?”
No matter how much I twisted my body, I eventually bit down hard on Deus’s fingers that wouldn’t let go. I glared at Deus who finally let me go only after drawing blood. Deus, who was looking indifferently at the fingers dripping blood, spoke in a delighted voice.
“The tooth marks are so cute. I won’t heal this wound.”
“Heal it, you psycho.”
I passed by Deus who was clutching his fingers with a touched expression and entered the bathroom. My whole body was sticky with semen and sweat. I looked dubiously at the bath that was too luxurious to call an ordinary bathroom, then dipped my feet in. As my body entered the warm water, the tension naturally eased.
‘Still…… I’m glad it seems fine.’
I’d been secretly worried about Kiss who had been injured receiving Lucky’s attack instead of me. Fortunately, it seemed he had recovered quickly.
It was actually a bit ridiculous that I, who had tried to kill Kiss if necessary, was worrying about Kiss, but still, it was true that I’d sustained my life thanks to Kiss anyway.
I stopped mid-motion while sweeping up my wet hair as Kiss’s words came to mind again. The emotionless voice rang through my head again.
<It’s natural that Ash is attracted to me, even that was part of my plan.>
For some reason, with complicated feelings, I submerged my head into the water. I glimpsed Deus’s face watching me from outside the water. It was an expression that seemed as displeased with the current situation as I was.
