“Um, Master.”
He heard a voice calling him, but Rowy just buried his face in the pillow and shed tears profusely. Once he cried it all out, he’d be okay again. Because morning always comes.
“Hiing….”
The long night felt pitiful and tears burst out again.
“Master.”
The voice was heard a bit closer. Rowy just sobbed and cried. He didn’t have the mental capacity left to care about others.
“Master.”
The voice came from right beside him. The blanket lifted slightly. His chest felt heavy, his mood was depressed, and his eyes stung. Anyway, the worst. Rowy roughly raised his hand and shooed away the intruder.
“Go away.”
Sobbing leaked into his voice. That made him sadder so he sniffled again. Ice cream or whatever. I’m depressed. I’m a depressed person. Rowy dug into the ground, digging down and down.
And at that moment, his hand was suddenly grabbed.
“What.”
“Excuse me.”
To dare grab his hand without even the master’s order. If his head had hurt just a little less, he would have scolded him right away. Rowy lifted his tear-filled eyes and glared at Van. However, Van didn’t care at all and pulled Rowy right out from under the blanket. His strength was so great that Rowy was seated on the bed before he could even make a gesture of resistance.
“What are you….”
“Shh, please stop crying. You’ll collapse at this rate.”
A large hand carefully wiped away Rowy’s tears. At the sudden situation, Rowy’s tears stopped a bit.
“What are you doing?”
“Comforting you.”
And… he was pulled into an embrace just like that. At the solid sensation touching his entire body, Rowy sucked in a breath. A large hand slowly stroked down his back. In the end, tears fell pit-a-pat from Rowy’s eyes again.
“Heuuk….”
Originally, when someone comforts you, you cry more.
“Shh, it’s okay.”
“Heu, heuhueong….”
Tears and snot all poured out. Rowy hugged the slave and wailed. Van patted Rowy without saying anything. Pitiful crying continued to flow out. The tears continued for quite a while after that. Van’s warm hand didn’t stop and stroked Rowy’s back for a long time.
* * *
“Sniffle.”
And so Rowy was currently almost limp, held in Van’s arms. After hugging him and crying it all out, all his strength left and he couldn’t move properly. Like a mage, Rowy had absolutely no stamina.
“Are you alright?”
Van was still patting Rowy’s back. His consciousness gradually awakened at that hand. Rowy glanced out the window. It was still the middle of the night.
“I want water.”
“Here it is.”
He had cried so much his voice was all hoarse. Van quickly presented the water that was beside them. After receiving and drinking the water, he recovered a bit of energy.
“Thank you.”
It was a pitiful voice. Rowy, who wasn’t normal, said thank you for the third time today. If Josef had seen it, he would have taken him to a healer immediately, but Van, who had seen Rowy for the first time today, looked distressed and not knowing what to do, kept stroking Rowy’s back.
“Will you wash and change clothes?”
“Too bothersome….”
“Still.”
Van coaxed Rowy and put him down on the bed, then quickly brought a hot towel. Van, who carefully wiped his face and hands and feet, now flipped Rowy forward and backward almost like handling a doll and changed him into pajamas.
‘A strong slave is really convenient.’
Rowy thought with a head hazy from crying too much. Actually, Rowy didn’t really like being attended to. Even though being attended to was quite natural for Rowy, who was born in a ducal family. People around blamed Rowy saying he was sensitive but….
‘Well. This isn’t bad though.’
He handled a completely limp adult man without much effort, swoosh swoosh. Rowy, who completely entrusted his body to those hands, felt a strange satisfaction.
‘It’s like, magic.’
To have clothes changed automatically without using magical power. A slight smile of satisfaction hung on Rowy’s lips.
“Van.”
“Yes.”
“Hold my hand.”
“Yes.”
Van readily held Rowy’s hand. Rowy, lying on the bed, smiled faintly. It was about a smile of satisfaction with an obedient slave, but with all his strength drained, he only looked pitiful.
“You can’t let go until I fall asleep.”
“I’ll stay by your side.”
Rowy, who exhaled a sigh, pulled that hand and brought it to his chest. Thump thump, the warm hand was placed over Rowy’s heart. Rain began to fall drop by drop from the sky. The scenery outside the window darkened instantly with rain clouds covering the moon. Night was always a time of depression. And yet….
Pat, pat.
“Please sleep now.”
Rowy fell asleep as if losing consciousness just like that.
* * *
Van diligently stayed by Rowy’s side all night. Rowy, who woke up and stared blankly at the held hand, smiled faintly. However, the sky where rain was still falling was gloomy, and his mood wasn’t completely better.
“Are you still feeling unwell?”
“Mmm. Nom.”
From the morning, asking to be washed, change my clothes, carry me and take me there—Rowy, who threw almost tyrannical tantrums, wasn’t even eating with his own hands now.
“Mmm, I don’t like cucumbers.”
“…Yes.”
Van, who would listen to anything Rowy said, couldn’t shake off the thought that at this point, rather than indulging his whims, shouldn’t he be disciplining him?
‘His habits seem like they’ll get bad.’
Even while thinking that, Van kept attending to Rowy.
“How annoying. Why is it suddenly raining?”
Seraphila, a warm island country, generally had good weather, but occasionally rain poured endlessly like this. He checked on boat service to return to the island, but as expected, only received news of cancellation. Rowy’s mood sank endlessly downward. Van, feeling sorry for the dejected Rowy, suggested.
“Shall we go eat ice cream again?”
“…Yeah.”
That’s a good idea. Now that it’s come to this, I should at least eat more ice cream. Rowy nodded weakly.
“Shall I carry you on my back on the way?”
“Yeah!”
* * *
“Welcome.”
“Hello.”
The shop they visited again was quieter than yesterday. It seemed to be because of the weather.
“Um… are you feeling unwell? Do you need help?”
“No?”
The employee who saw Rowy enter the shop carried on someone’s back failed at expression management. Rowy of course didn’t care though.
“…I’ll guide you to a private room.”
The employee, trying hard to compose their expression, guided the two to a room in the corner of the shop. It seemed better to isolate them.
“Honey ice cream. Strawberry parfait too. And almond cookies and apple pie and….”
During that short time walking to the room, Rowy recited orders in succession. What else was it? That choco….
“Just bring everything on the menu.”
Smelling the sweet scent, my mood definitely seems better than before. Rowy swung his feet more vigorously. Van carefully put such Rowy down in the guided seat. Before Rowy even got down from Van’s back, he had a welcome cookie in his hand.
“Didn’t you order too much?”
“Mmm? You eat too.”
Rowy said generously. Of course, yesterday too, all the desserts Rowy left over went into Van’s mouth, so it was a meaningless show of favor.
“I have to eat the honey ice cream first. I won’t leave that. If you want to eat it, order separately.”
“It’s fine.”
Who wants to eat honey ice cream that badly? Van smiled a bit, finding his master, flushed with anticipation, suddenly cute.
But is it okay to eat this many sweets? If he gets a stomachache… Van’s expression suddenly became serious. From yesterday, having indulged his whims so much, Van had come to treat the adult man completely like a child.
“Your desserts are here.”
The food was prepared quickly. Rowy’s eyes sparkled at the desserts that filled the table. Van, who pushed the ice cream in front of Rowy, pulled the hot things toward himself.
“I’ll cut and cool the pie for you, so please eat other things first for now.”
Rowy already had his nose buried in the honey ice cream, so no answer came back. Van now familiarly cut the pie. When he cut the apple pie, the filling inside flowed out. A situation where honey flows when you cut and stab with a knife. It was a strange feeling. How should I put it….
‘It’s peaceful.’
Van thought. A pastel-toned space where sweet scent lingered, and the beautiful master before his eyes. Could he have ever imagined such a sweet scene would unfold in his life, always chasing demons?
Was that why? Suddenly, he thought he wanted to settle down. Van glanced at Rowy. Rowy was still fighting with the honey ice cream. For being so greedy, his appetite was small and his eating speed was quite slow. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of nibbling with a tiny spoon.
Van cut the pie in front of him a bit more leisurely. It seemed he should match his master’s eating pace. Because while avoiding burning his mouth, he couldn’t just feed him completely cold food.
The swordsman holding the dessert knife didn’t make a single sound while cutting the pie, and Rowy also elegantly spooned the ice cream with his ingrained aristocratic spoon handling. Peaceful time flowed like that. Time satisfying to both Rowy, who ate lots of sweets, and Van, intoxicated by the cozy atmosphere. The two with nothing particular to do could probably have spent hours like this.
“On a date?”
Waah they are the cutest 🥺 from the comforting scene to the ice cream date everything about them is just so sweet! Thank you for the chapter 🤍
not a fan of the power imbalance but at least it’s not abusive rn