Chapter 148

Having unwrapped all the lengthy bandages, Kinaine followed Tiron's instruction to keep his foot from touching the water by entering the bathtub with one leg hanging outside. When he touched the water, he felt a slight tingling sensation, perhaps from wounds that were still fresh. Fortunately, it didn't hurt much.

Humans were strange creatures. Even after experiencing such things, they could still feel joy just from immersing their bodies in warm water.

He was in the middle of washing himself while having these newfound thoughts.

Splash—

Water poured over his head. Tiron had emptied a bucket of water over Kinaine's head.

"......"

Did he want to take revenge like this? If so, pouring boiling water would have been better.

However, from the words that followed, Kinaine realized that Tiron had done it with a different intention than he had thought.

"You're filthy! Wash properly! Here, there's dirt all over here too!"

Tiron snapped at him as if scolding Jane, the daughter he had cared for.

"Here?"

"Lower!"

Tiron commanded without daring to touch him. It seemed that in his view, Kinaine's bathing was far from satisfactory.

Am I in such an unbearably dirty state?

Along with the newfound shock came belated embarrassment. He began to imagine how foul he must have smelled to Asad, whose sense of smell was already sensitive. Though he mocked himself for being embarrassed about merely giving off a dirty smell after having shown all sorts of unsightly appearances, it couldn't be helped.

Kinaine began to wash himself, moving as Tiron directed, as if he had become a puppet.

"Just so you don't misunderstand, I'm not doing this because I like you. It's just that, being in a position where I have to stay by your side, it's hard to bear your smell. And I can't force the servants to attend to a black mage's bath."

Tiron spoke coldly, but it couldn't help but sound like an excuse. Perhaps he realized this himself, as he closed his mouth and just continued pouring water over Kinaine.

Kinaine focused on washing his body without bothering to speak. Then a faint voice was heard.

"...Can you really restore my hometown to its original state?"

Kinaine sensed the hope faintly blooming in Tiron's voice. He thought it was fortunate that he could avoid crushing that hope.

"Yes."

"...!"

No sooner had the word ended than Tiron's hand strongly gripped his shoulder.

"Aah!"

But Tiron immediately fell back with a scream. It was because of the magic Asad had placed. It seemed to activate when others touched him, and Kinaine couldn't help but be surprised by its stronger-than-expected power.

"Are you alright..."

But Tiron, disregarding the pain, urgently continued speaking.

"Th-then restore it right now! No, please restore it. Hmm? If you do that, I'll do anything you want..."

Bang—

At that moment, the closed bathroom door opened without any warning. Due to the intruder who appeared without a word or knock, silence descended in the bathroom.

Tiron, after confirming who it was, hurriedly backed away and bowed his head.

"......"

The intruder slowly examined Kinaine's naked body. The pale skin, the scars densely covering his entire body, the body so thin that bones were visible.

Only after seeing this appearance, which fully revealed the hardships its owner had endured, did the intruder finally smile a twisted smile.

"You, leave."

"...Yes, Your Majesty."

After Tiron left and the bathroom door closed again, Hasan approached the bathtub without hesitation. And the moment he reached out and wrapped his hand around Kinaine's wet hair.

Crackle!

A bizarre sound echoed throughout the bathroom. Kinaine could understand the situation. Asad's magic and the guardian spirit's protection had collided.

"Huh?"

—Aaaagh! I'm dying! It hurts!

The guardian spirit's scream was faintly heard and then disappeared.

Hasan, who had finally removed his hand from Kinaine, muttered.

"Interesting."

It was a voice devoid of any amusement.

"You knew from the beginning that the monster was a dragon, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Kinaine kept his eyes closed and showed no expression, but he was inwardly surprised. How did Hasan know that Helio and Asad were the same being? The two differed in appearance, personality, and even manner of speech.

"Don't pretend you don't know. There couldn't possibly be another being in this world with such eyes."

Hearing that answer, Kinaine realized anew that Hasan and he were indeed blood brothers. Hadn't he also recognized Asad by his eyes? The only difference was that while he had fallen in love at first sight upon seeing those eyes, Hasan had felt fear.

"I'll say it again, I don't know what you're talking about. Go spout nonsense somewhere else."

"You're trying hard. If you wanted me to believe that, you shouldn't have looked at the dragon with the same eyes you looked at that monster."

"...How could I have looked at anything when I can't even see? You're saying strange things."

Kinaine denied it to the end, but he knew that Hasan wouldn't believe him anyway. Unlike others, it was difficult to deceive Hasan. He was someone who had watched him with an obsession bordering on madness. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Hasan was the person who knew him best in this world.

"To think that both of them, whom I thought I had killed, were alive—how curious."

But Hasan wasn't displeased. Rather, he seemed pleased.

"You knew the monster was a dragon and went looking for him, right? What were you going to say? Were you going to confess that our bodies had actually been switched, that it was me in your body who tried to kill the monster?"

"......"

"No, you couldn't have. Your heart would have stopped right there if you had said those words."

Hasan let out a short laugh.

"Moreover, the dragon doesn't seem to remember properly. Did his memories get blown away when his appearance changed? I don't know how it happened, but it must have been heartbreaking. To have your lover not recognize you after a difficult reunion..."

Kinaine remained unmoved.

"Get to the point. You didn't rush over here as soon as the dragon left just to say such things."

"Yes, that's right. There are some things I'd like you to tell me. For example, what happened between you and the dragon in the past, or how you seduced him."

"What?"

It was natural that even if Hasan had been watching him all along, he wouldn't know all the personal matters between him and Helio.

But why did he want to know? It was difficult to grasp the intention behind his words, as it didn't seem like a topic brought up to mock him.

Hasan, apparently having no intention of hiding his motives, immediately revealed the reason himself.

"In the past, that monster really cherished you. I need that attention now."

From those words alone, Kinaine could roughly guess Hasan's scheme. Hasan was trying to use the memories of when he was Helio as bait to gain the dragon's attention. Kinaine clenched his fist under the water.

"...Don't tell me you're planning to revive his memories for such a reason? You haven't forgotten that you harmed Helio in that form, have you? He would never forgive you if he recalled all his memories."

"Well. What if I say the black mage controlled me?"

"......"

"If I say I was under an evil spell when I killed my lover, and I've been suffering for a very long time... What do you think? Would the dragon forgive 'Kinaine'?"

Hasan smirked after seeing Kinaine's expression.

"Oh, little brother. It's become so easy to hurt you that it's not even fun anymore."

"......"

"So cooperate willingly when I want to torment you less. In fact, this could also be a way to save tens of thousands of lives."

Hasan leaned down and whispered in a soft voice into Kinaine's ear.

"I plan to drive out the magical beasts from this world with the dragon's power."

"......"

"You've always wanted to play the hero, haven't you? If you just nod your head, you can save all those people out there."

A cold sneer appeared on Kinaine's lips.

"You can save people... Do you really think I'd believe that? If that was your intention, you would have protected the kingdom's people from magical beasts from the beginning. Not by sealing off the capital and locking yourself up in the safe palace alone. You just want to stand above others with the dragon backing you."

Perhaps due to anger, his breathing became rough for a moment, but after a while, Hasan regained his composure.

"This is your last chance. If you help me, I'll kill you gently right here. But if you refuse..."

"I refuse."

"......"

Hasan's expression froze coldly at the unhesitating answer. He turned his back and coldly spat out.

"You'll regret it."

After Hasan left, Kinaine, who had been immersed in thought in the bathtub for a while, rose from the now lukewarm water.

As soon as he opened the door, Kinaine sensed someone standing in front of him and stopped in his tracks.

"Who..."

"It's me."

"Tiron? How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long. I came back because you were taking so long to come out."

Tiron's voice trembled awkwardly, but Kinaine, lost in thought, didn't notice. Nor did he notice that Tiron was looking at him with confused eyes.

* * *

Asad returned that night, just as he had said he would.