Kiss, who had been silent for a moment, responded with a faint smile. Ash sighed as if he’d expected as much. Ash, who got off the bed, headed behind the partition for changing clothes. He opened his mouth while roughly picking up and putting on clothes he didn’t even remember taking off.
“After you left for the imperial palace, Lord Kiss, I kept thinking about why your attitude regarding Deus changed. If it really bothered you, I thought you would have eliminated him by any means necessary.”
Kiss, who had been quietly listening with his arms crossed, chuckled.
“You’re saying scary things. Even I don’t have the courage to assassinate the Crown Prince. It would be better to only say things you can take responsibility for.”
Kiss’s gaze turned beyond the partition. For some reason, there was no response. Kiss, who thought it odd, got up and headed behind the partition. Ash, who had been struggling alone trying to fasten the buttons in the back, awkwardly avoided his gaze. Kiss’s gaze landed on the white nape clearly exposed.
“For some reason, the servants aren’t coming into the room today……”
“……”
“Should I just stay undressed? I’m a sun person anyway, so I have a lot of body heat.”
Kiss, who had been looking with an indifferent face at Ash spouting incomprehensible words, approached closer. Then he turned his shoulders to make him face forward and began fastening the buttons. Ash, who had been staring at Kiss’s face reflected in the mirror placed opposite, fidgeted with his hands.
Unlike Deus where silence was natural, for some reason, standing before Kiss alone made him feel like he had to say something. Kiss’s gaze, who fastened the last button, landed on Ash in the mirror. Ash, who had been moving his lips as if to say something, turned his head to meet his gaze directly.
“Perhaps you thought you could use me to handle Deus?”
A disappointed face formed on Kiss’s retina. Ash, who had been hesitating at Kiss’s appearance just looking down at him, spoke with his gaze lowered.
“I don’t mind being used, I sometimes use people too. But…… if that’s the case, you could have coaxed me nicely. You treat other people so kindly, yet why won’t you even do that basic thing for me?”
“Why should I? I let you receive the Crown Prince’s favor that others want but can’t have. Rather, shouldn’t you be thanking me?”
“Again with that……”
Disappointment settled on Ash’s face. Kiss, who sighed at that appearance, rummaged through his pocket. Ash’s eyes widened at the sparkling something Kiss held out. A crystal paperweight placed on Kiss’s palm was sparkling, receiving light. Kiss spoke in a calm voice.
“Take it.”
“……”
“I brought it from the imperial palace. You said so when you were young. That you wondered how beautiful glasswork made by imperial craftsmen would be when even glasswork made by ordinary craftsmen was beautiful.”
Radiance rippled over the transparent crystal surface. It was a luxury item that couldn’t be made with ordinary magic and technology. Ash, who had a surprised expression for a moment, stepped back with suspicious eyes.
“Is it okay to just bring something like this?”
“Well, if I get caught, my head will be cut off.”
“You’re lying, right? No, hurry up and take it back. No matter how carefree my personality is, I won’t be able to sleep from anxiety if I have something like this.”
Kiss smiled brightly. Then he took out another paperweight from his other pocket.
“Don’t worry, I knew you’d say that so I stole one more. This makes us both accomplices.”
“Don’t make me an accomplice when I was just staying still in the first place.”
“I wouldn’t do something that stupid. Anyway, you don’t seem to like it much. Then should I take it back?”
Ash, who had hesitated, grasped Kiss’s hand holding the paperweight. Kiss, who had been looking at that appearance with an indifferent expression, opened his palm again. Ash, who had been staring at the paperweight, smiled faintly as if he’d never been disappointed. Kiss’s hand watching that smile hesitated and trembled.
‘Forgiveness comes so easily.’
Even thrown into the monster’s room as prey, even insulted openly that he was being used. He hated that stupid face that smiled with just this small gift.
When everyone was striving to fill their own interests, Ash acted as if only his sincerity was the most precious treasure in the world.
‘Did Deus see this face too?’
The sparkling light caught on the paperweight brightly illuminated Ash’s clear skin. A strange sense of relief washed over him. He was certain that even Deus couldn’t have seen that smile.
‘What Ash likes is me.’
The reason he readily accepted Deus’s proposal was ultimately because he was confident Ash’s heart wouldn’t change. Since he would return to him in the end anyway, there was no need to tie him down by his side.
‘Even if everything changes, that fact alone will never change.’
Even if Deus had a change of heart and refused to hand over the throne, it didn’t matter. He didn’t believe Deus’s words in the first place, and after removing the Empress, what he’d remove next was Deus.
After all revenge was finished, he could get Ash back then. Ash would love him in that moment anyway.
“Like this.”
Kiss, who naturally embraced Ash’s shoulders, brought the paperweight to his eyes.
“If you bring this to your eyes like this, I can also see the scene you’re looking at. It’s possible to share what you’re seeing.”
Ash’s eyes sparkled even more than before after hearing the explanation. Ash, who had been peering into the paperweight with an interested expression, exclaimed in admiration.
“As I thought, this is a type of magical tool.”
“Right, they say it’s usually a gift a husband going to war gives his wife.”
“……”
“You seemed to regret being apart from me.”
The hand embracing Ash’s shoulders soon naturally swept along his waistline. Ash, who flinched, slowly turned his head. It was a distance where their lips seemed about to touch at any moment. Ash, who pushed away Kiss’s forehead as he playfully brought his face close, pulled his body back.
“Don’t say scary things. Going to war means war has broken out……”
Ash’s lips parted slightly as he realized something mid-speech. It was because of the original work’s content that came to mind as soon as he heard Kiss’s words. Ash, who urgently turned around, grabbed Kiss’s forearm.
“Has another Guardian already been discovered?”
At Ash’s voice that was too confident to call a simple guess, Kiss raised one eyebrow. At such an expression from Kiss, Ash avoided his gaze with an ‘oops’ expression.
Just as chilling silence continued, Kiss affirmed in a calm voice.
“Yes.”
“……”
“The problem is that a monster presumed to be a Guardian was discovered at the border adjacent to the Kingdom of Knabar. Fortunately, the Kingdom of Knabar doesn’t seem to know about the Guardian’s existence yet, but if they notice that we’re subjugating a Guardian in their territory……”
Ash’s complexion darkened.
“There will be a diplomatic dispute, because they’ll feel like the Primordial Evil is being stolen.”
Kiss, who lifted Ash’s chin with his index finger as he anxiously fidgeted with the paperweight, lowered his upper body and whispered.
“What needs to be resolved immediately is the Crown Prince. To include Deus in the expedition, he must be recognized by the vassals as being in a stable state. Because he is strategically helpful.”
“……”
“How much etiquette have you taught him?”
Ash silently averted his gaze. Kiss, who grasped the situation, sighed as if he’d known.
“What on earth did you give your body for? You should have just sucked his dick moderately and ended it.”
“I didn’t give it! That bastard got excited by himself…… No, no matter how I think about it, it’s impossible. He doesn’t think normally in the first place. Can’t we just release him in some mountain?”
“You’re the one who dragged him to the entrance saying he was pitiful when he was confined in the mountain, Ash. Soon he’ll come down to the village, destroy crops, and even eat people. What are you planning to do?”
At Kiss’s full-scale rebuttal, Ash bit his lips tightly. Kiss was right. In any case, he was the one who dragged Deus out from that Void. So he also had to take responsibility. Just as his distress deepened, someone knocked on the door. Kiss, whose face froze subtly, spoke in a low voice.
“I told you not to let anyone in.”
“I apologize, Lord Kilius. Someone was sent from the Serpent family. It seems to be quite urgent……”
Unlike Ash whose face brightened, a cold energy settled in Kiss’s eyes.
