Chapter 72

But there was no disagreement about the fact that Asad had kept his promise. Though Rahu had become a bit strange, he appeared unharmed and fine.

'I didn't think he would really grant my request.'

Did he like this body that much? Or...

Kinaine lowered his head and smelled himself. A troubled look briefly crossed his face before disappearing before Ramu could notice.

"Ramu, we have perfume we bought, right?"

"Yes, we have several. Should I bring them?"

"Yes."

Most trait-bearers proudly displayed their pheromones and didn't use perfume. In Kinaine's case, he hadn't used it because he thoroughly controlled his pheromones.

But now circumstances were different.

"We have several, which one would you like?"

"The strongest scented one, please."

Finding Kinaine's request strange, Ramu tilted her head.

"Not the best smelling one, but the strongest?"

"Yes, as long as it's strong, I don't care what it smells like."

"We do have one like that... but it's not meant to be used straight, you're supposed to mix it with water. You know that even the nicest scent can become unpleasant if it's too strong, right?"

Kinaine didn't answer and just shrugged. By now, Ramu knew Kinaine well enough that she didn't ask further, thinking he must have his reasons.

"Sometimes it's hard to understand what you do, Lord Nine."

That was all she said.

There was only one reason why Ramu couldn't understand Kinaine's actions.

The fact that Ramu wasn't a trait-bearer.

If she had been a trait-bearer, she would have immediately understood why Kinaine was trying to cover his entire body with perfume. Any trait-bearer would have noticed Asad's pheromones emanating from his body.

After finding Rahu, Asad had embraced Kinaine every day as if he had earned that right, and each time he had covered Kinaine with his pheromones. As a result, Kinaine was in a state where he exuded dominant alpha pheromones as if they were his own.

'To do this when we're not even lovers.'

Kinaine swallowed a sigh while enduring the strong perfume scent being sprayed all over his body.

Actually, an alpha marking things they liked with their pheromones was a natural instinct. It was very common for young alphas who had just awakened their traits to thoroughly mark things they liked with their pheromones. However, as they became adults, they were taught not to mark non-lovers with their pheromones and corrected their behavior.

But who would dare teach such things to the dragon?

Looking at the dragon's attitude that showed no consideration for others, it wasn't hard to guess that there had been no such person around him.

'That must be why he's like this.'

Asad was just marking things he liked with pheromones like a child following instincts. Kinaine knew well that there was no affection in this act.

The increase in skinship and showing possessive behavior was also just alpha instinct. Because alphas considered anything marked with their pheromones as their own.

Knowing this but still being shaken was the problem, Kinaine smiled bitterly.

It seemed the dragon had no intention of letting go until he got bored of his new toy, so Kinaine needed to keep his heart in check. After all, he would be the one getting hurt if he mistook the dragon's possessiveness for affection.

'He'll probably get bored of this soon too.'

Though he couldn't say he knew Asad, who wasn't Helio, well, it wasn't hard to guess the dragon's fickleness from his emotional and willful nature.

How long would the dragon's interest in playing with an insignificant human last? Another week? At most a month?

"Ah."

Kinaine suddenly groaned while covering his mouth.

"See? I told you strong perfume scents can feel unpleasant. Would you like to wash again?"

Thinking it was because of the strong perfume smell, Ramu approached with a worried face. Kinaine shook his head and slowly backed away.

"No, there's no time for that... um, just a moment."

He slowly headed to the bathroom. He maintained a composed appearance until he entered the bathroom and closed the door, but.

"Ugh..."

The moment the door closed, his straight-standing body swayed greatly and collapsed to the floor.

His hand, covered in scars, clawed at his left chest as if tearing at it. It was an action born from being unable to endure the pain that struck his entire body.

Kinaine bit his lips at the pain that felt like his heart was being finely chopped with a carving knife. Though he had closed the door, this palace was so old that soundproofing was poor. Afraid his groans might leak outside, he bit his lip and endured. Blood vessels stood out in his wide-open eyes, and blood beaded on his lips.

Though he was used to pain, the pain of black magic destroying his body was the kind that no human could ever get used to.

"Kugh..."

His trembling hand covered under his nose. As expected, he soon felt his hand becoming wet.

The pain lasted for less than a minute, but to Kinaine, that minute felt as long as a year.

But as all things must end, finally the pain began to slowly subside.

"Haa..."

Kinaine breathed in and out heavily, panting like someone who had run for a long time. The first thing he checked upon being freed from the pain was his clothes.

'Fortunately, I didn't soil my clothes this time.'

Kinaine smirked while looking at his dirtied hands instead of his clothes. Having experienced this several times, he had handled it relatively well.

The heart pain had started in earnest from the day Asad had brought the contraception medicine.

The day he learned that his death could be the answer to undoing Jinaks' curse. As if the black magic in his body was celebrating its master finally finding the answer, the pain came irregularly.

'I thought I had at least a year left.'

Kinaine quietly watched the bloody water flowing down as he washed his hands.

Come to think of it, the reason he had estimated his remaining lifespan at 1-2 years was because of what the doctor who had accompanied him while working as a merchant caravan guard had said.

'Your pulse feels very weak. Do you have a chronic illness? If you want to live long, you'd better quit being a mercenary and find other work. At this rate, you'll last 1-2 years at most.'

But Kinaine had continued his mercenary activities even after hearing the doctor's words. In doing so, he had gone through countless dangerous situations and suffered injuries both large and small. Like when he had cast mind control on the bug in the Gold Pot, he had even used black magic when necessary, as long as it didn't harm others.

In the end, he had come this far by sacrificing his body and soul. So it wasn't strange that his remaining time was shorter than what the doctor had predicted.

He had no regrets about consuming his lifespan. If he hadn't done so, he wouldn't have met Asad.

'How much of my life remains now?'

Not being a doctor himself, he couldn't know his exact remaining time clearly. But the heart pain was growing stronger and would last longer than now. He thought death would come when his body could no longer endure it. And that day would come before too long.

I'm not afraid.

Kinaine muttered inwardly as if casting a spell on himself.

Because he feared death, it had always been by Kinaine's side. Sometimes he had even desperately longed for it. There were times when he had resented his life for not ending even in near-death situations. And yet...

"..."

Contrary to his self-assurance, Kinaine's hands were trembling finely. He stared at them blankly as if looking at something not part of his body, then hid them in his sleeves.

If this had been before knowing Asad was Helio, Kinaine would have accepted the current situation calmly.

But he was different now.

When he left the bathroom, the twin winged tribe members' gazes lightly scanned him up and down. They had found it strange that Kinaine had gone into the bathroom and not come out for a while. But since there appeared to be no problem on the outside, their gazes soon fell away.

Kinaine smiled.

"Let's go now."

Kinaine admitted it. That now he had become afraid of death.

But he had never once stopped his steps just because of mere fear.