The moment I opened my eyes, what I saw was Cesare sleeping face-down beside me.
‘Is this the infirmary?’
Having regained consciousness in the Academy’s infirmary, I slowly sat up. Mitche was nowhere to be seen, but right next to me, Cesare was dozing off with his face buried in my bed.
‘Did I barely make it back? How many days has it been?’
I moved my stiff body and blinked my blurry eyes as I looked around. Judging by the crumpled clothes, empty dishes, and piles of books scattered around Cesare, it seemed he had spent quite a long time here.
‘Did he actually nurse me or something? This bastard with his shitty personality?’
Unable to believe it, I stared intently at Cesare’s face. His white skin seemed somehow rougher, and his hair was sticking out mercilessly. Even the shirt he was wearing was considerably wrinkled.
For Cesare, who had perfectionist tendencies, to be in such a disheveled state. My heart began to race with the feeling of sneaking a peek at something I shouldn’t be seeing.
‘If he keeps his mouth shut, this gorgeous bastard is actually the mastermind.’
His appearance, which I examined carefully, was still like a luxury sculpture.
‘This bastard whose eyelashes are like butterfly wings. This seductive bastard whose lips are like cherries. His voice is… crazy. Anyway, crazy bastard.’
His hot breath coming through his slightly parted lips made me feel hot as well for no reason. Unconsciously, I slowly reached out my hand and touched his black hair that had fallen over his forehead.
Still, as he slept without moving, as if entranced, I slid my fingers along and caressed the bridge of his nose. And gazing at his long black eyelashes, I slowly touched his upper lip.
Come to think of it, we still have a few kisses left.
—Thwack!
“……!”
My entire body froze at my wrist suddenly being grabbed. Before I knew it, his eyes had snapped wide open and were staring intently at me. Feeling awkward, I tried to pull my hand back. But his grip was so strong I couldn’t move at all.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to, ahem, wake you….”
Perhaps because I hadn’t used my voice for so long, the end of my voice cracked and only hoarse sounds came out, making it sound strange. However, the dark red eyes that had been filled with dark shadows gradually began to light up at my voice.
The hand gripping my wrist trembled. Cesare suddenly sat up and pulled me into his arms so tightly I couldn’t breathe.
“Urk!”
“Lionel! Lionel!”
Cesare roughly tousled my hair and hugged me tightly to his chest. Rather than the fluttering feeling of being embraced, I was simply surprised because he had never hugged me this intensely before.
“I’m, okay.”
With a bewildered heart, I barely managed to raise my numb arm and patted his back. Surprisingly, he even sobbed quietly.
“Damn it! Do you know how many days, how many days… you were unconscious…?”
His temper hadn’t gone anywhere, as profanity-laced anger burst out.
“S-sorry….”
“You fucking bastard! Damn…! Kup. Acting like you’re nothing!”
Fucking? Let me introduce myself, he says while sitting there.
Though my lips jutted out in a pout at Cesare’s untimely self-introduction, it was difficult to respond properly because he was rubbing me forcefully against his firm chest.
“Mmph. Mph, br-breathe.”
“Lionel. I thought I was losing you. I thought… I’d never see you again…!”
‘So he was really worried.’
Since he was human too, it seemed he had some affection for a subordinate who had served him for several years.
“Phew. I guess I was stupid and caused trouble again.”
At my words, which I blurted out to calm Cesare down, he hugged me even tighter as if he was angrier. His tear-filled voice came through directly.
“Damn it! Please shut your stupid mouth! Who says you’re stupid?”
The heartbeat of his heart touching me hotly was quite pleasant to hear.
“Mmm…. You did. Hehehe. You just said so.”
“I thought I was losing you… I… because of me…. Kheuk.”
At Cesare’s voice, which came out full of affection as if he had truly been worried, I decided to just enjoy this moment of returning to reality, and quietly patted his back while closing my eyes.
My previous prediction had been correct. No matter what this bastard does, I won’t be able to distance myself from him. How could I distance myself from him when he clings to me this hotly?
* * *
After I woke up and calmed down a bit, Cain came to visit me and explained what had happened while feeding me plum pudding since I couldn’t move well.
“When you fell, Cesare deployed a mana field for you, so you avoided instant death. But he couldn’t absorb all the impact from the fall… so you almost died.”
Cain stopped talking and pressed his lips together as he gazed at a distant mountain. He seemed hell-bent on not showing himself crying. I also felt choked up, so I deliberately gave a brighter smile to console him.
“It’s okay. I survived like this, so that’s what matters. Ah, by any chance, do you know what my aunt is doing right now?”
“Actually, Cesare said that if Auntie found out you were unconscious, she wouldn’t be able to handle it, so he prevented anyone from telling her. We tried to inform only your grandfather by sending word to the Mellans main merchant guild. But no one knows where he is, so we’re not sure if the message reached him….”
“Phew. That’s a relief! If my aunt had found out, she really would have collapsed. I’ll contact Grandfather separately.”
I let out a deep sigh of relief at the news that my aunt didn’t know. Cesare was smart, so he was quite meticulous about such trivial matters. Grandfather must be traveling somewhere looking for business ideas, so he’d receive the contact separately later.
“Still, you really got your money’s worth for all the times you catered to Cesare. He lived here the whole time. Because he wanted to see you open your eyes.”
“Cesare was here the whole time?”
“Yeah. He wiped you down with water saying your body would dry out, aired out the room. He kept massaging your body saying stimulation helps when you’re unconscious, took alternative assignments, didn’t go to class, and just nursed you here. He didn’t even take midterms.”
“Midterms…?”
Wait. I feel like I heard something huge. As my mouth fell open at content my brain couldn’t accept, Cain closed it for me.
“Yeah. That bastard who was obsessed with grades didn’t even take the exams. Rye, because of you. He lost his four-year consecutive scholarship too.”
Cesare Yanox, that scholarship lover, lost his scholarship? No, but besides that.
“Exam period… is over?”
“Ah, the exams all ended two days ago.”
—Pfft pfft.
“What about me! My exams?”
As I got heated and spat out the pudding in my mouth, Cain blocked it with the blanket and got angry.
“Argh! You always barely avoided failing anyway—what difference does it make if you fail? Disgusting, really!”
“Of course it makes a huge difference, you protein monster! I really studied hard this time! Aaaaah!”
“Rye! Absolute rest!”
I couldn’t rest. I had to do well on the exams to get into the Taitus Principality tour group. In the past, I’d planned to go on a trip with Cesare and do lovey-dovey stuff, but now I had the clear purpose of meeting Cesare’s father. From the point I learned I had to complete the artifact, the tour group was my only hope.
For an imperial citizen to enter the Taitus Principality, they had to go through complicated immigration procedures. Even then, they could be rejected, so going with the Academy group was the easiest way.
But to have missed the exam itself.
I was panting in panic when Cesare entered just then.
“Why does Lionel have that stupid expression again?”
But behind him, another man wearing deep purple priest robes followed him in. Seeing me, he approached with a friendly greeting.
“Wow, seeing you awake, you’re even more of a pretty boy! Well, well, did the Young Duke of Yanox’s prayers reach the Divine One!”
“Who…?”
At the man addressing me so casually, I asked with a blank look, and Cain answered instead.
“This is Priest Heiss. When you got hurt, he happened to be at the Academy and helped you. He’s an alumnus of our Academy.”
“Ah! Thank you for treating me when you must be busy.”
When I bowed in greeting, Priest Heiss cheekily placed his hand on my shoulder and said.
“Thanks for what? Your body responds so~o well to divine power that the treatment itself wasn’t difficult. I stopped by because there’s something I need to check one last time.”
When Priest Heiss winked one eye, I could immediately guess what that examination was.
‘Could he be the priest Cedric brought? The one who checks divine power.’
“Cain, let’s go out so he can examine him.”
Just as Cesare was about to take Cain and clear the room, Priest Heiss stopped Cesare for a moment.
“Ah, Young Duke of Yanox, please don’t leave but stay. I have something to tell you.”
“Me, sir?”
Looking puzzled, Cesare sent Cain out and came to my side.
“Do you need me?”
“I think it’s better to show you directly than to explain.”
Priest Heiss placed his hand on my forehead and began to emit a pale golden power. At the warm and calming feeling, I gently closed my eyes. And when I opened my eyes slightly again….
“Hiiik! Wh-what is this!”
Above my body, which was rippling with a pale golden aura, black and sticky things were moving. Those things, complexly tangled like thread, squirmed like snakes and even hissed.
When I looked at Priest Heiss in panic, he said calmly.
“These are servants of taboo restrictions (禁制). It’s one of the higher-level brainwashing magics that deceives and persuades a person, then restricts their ego. I discovered it while treating you—taboo restrictions were placed on Mellans-kun. As you can see, there aren’t just one or two.”
“……!”
It seemed the priest had discovered that I was under Cesare’s brainwashing magic. Though I had known about it, I didn’t know how to react, so I just kept my mouth shut and stared at Priest Heiss.
“Who dares to do such a thing!”
I heard Cesare’s indignant voice from beside me.
‘He’s the one who put them on me, and now he’s acting!’
I was astounded by the shameless bastard’s attitude, but even that was on a handsome face, so I couldn’t bring myself to curse at him.
“The taboo restrictions can’t be touched unless you’re the caster. Since it’s magic that touches the unconscious, if someone else touches it, you’re likely to become an idiot right away.”
“Hiiik.”
Cold sweat ran down my spine at the identity of the brainwashing magic, which was more terrifying than I thought.
“I… don’t know how to take this.”
Cesare replied as if testing him, perhaps thinking to observe the situation.
“Hmm. I thought the Young Duke of Yanox would know something since you’re proficient in magic and are Mellans-kun’s close friend, but as expected, you don’t know.”
Those were Priest Heiss’s meaningful words. He withdrew his divine power from my body and stepped back. Then the black things wrapped around my body also hid their appearance.
“Gentlemen. Brainwashing magic is extremely dangerous magic. Perhaps Mellans-kun falling from the building was also due to these taboo restrictions.”
“Ah, come to think of it, my body wouldn’t move according to my will before I fell!”
I had definitely fallen while trying to run away from Cedric. But there was no fundamental reason to avoid Cedric. The voice in my head just kept urging me to run away.
‘When I see Cedric, run away… did he brainwash me with that kind of content?’
My face went pale. The bastard had put brainwashing magic on me again. I almost died because of it.
‘Why would he put that kind of brainwashing on me? Was he worried I’d contact the imperial family through Cedric?’
I looked at Cesare with devastated eyes, but his expression was completely unreadable. I asked Priest Heiss about the treatment first.
“So I can’t break this for my whole life? I could die again! And we can’t know what kind of taboo restrictions they are?”
Priest Heiss narrowed his eyes, then stroked his chin and muttered.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know how to handle mana. I don’t know much about brainwashing magic, but I do know exactly one mage who’s proficient in it.”
