Chapter 154

It was an unexpected answer. Asad remained silent, not knowing how to take these words.

The one who had uttered them was simply looking at Asad with a smiling face.

Why did he keep staring?

Come to think of it, since taking the third sip, Kinaine hadn't taken his eyes off him for a moment.

To Asad, the gaze of others evoked nothing more than annoyance. But strangely, when Kinaine stared at him intently, a feeling similar to embarrassment washed over him.

Asad absently brushed his cheek with his hand. Surely there wasn't anything on it? Now that he thought about it, he seemed to have come without tidying his hair. The clothes he was wearing also didn't seem to be the most flattering on him.

Once he started noticing one thing, suddenly everything bothered him. But since it would be strange to leave immediately to change clothes, Asad pretended to be distracted and stroked the ends of his hair. His already glossy hair now shone so brightly it seemed to emit light.

Only after releasing his hair did Asad cast a sidelong glance at Kinaine, who was still staring at him.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Because I feel good looking at Lord Asad."

"W-what..."

For a moment, he felt as if he couldn't breathe. Unable to face Kinaine directly, Asad covered his mouth with his hand and stared into empty space.

"...Y-you feel good just looking at me?"

"Yes."

"You must really like me a lot."

"Of course."

Kinaine answered without blinking an eye. Though it was Kinaine who had said the embarrassing words, it was Asad's ears that grew hot.

He wanted to grab Kinaine right away and ask how much he liked him and hear the answer. He wouldn't tire of hearing the same answer hundreds or thousands of times.

But.

"Then why don't you want to marry me? If you like someone, isn't it natural to want to marry them?"

Huh? Asad felt a sense of dissonance in his own words. He realized who had been pushing for marriage all along.

Perhaps misunderstanding that Asad was hurt, seeing his eyes wavering in shock, Kinaine blurted out as if making an excuse.

"It's not that I don't want to. I just thought I wasn't worthy."

Toward the silent Asad, Kinaine unhesitatingly reached out his hand. Considering that Kinaine rarely extended his hand first, it was definitely the effect of the alcohol.

The hand that caressed his cheek soothingly was skillful. Though Asad shuddered at his deftness, he didn't push away the hand stroking his cheek.

"When I was in the spirit realm, I heard how important a dragon's mate is. And also how tragic the end can be for a dragon who chooses the wrong mate."

Kinaine looked at Asad's two differently colored eyes and said calmly.

"I'm afraid I might ruin Lord Asad."

This alcohol wasn't a truth serum. If one didn't want to speak, one could remain silent, and one could also lie. But Kinaine opened his mouth and spoke his true feelings. In fact, he had wanted to keep talking all along.

"Actually, I met an acquaintance from the past as an opponent in the dueling tournament. The difference in skill was so great that I could have ended it at the level of subduing him. But I chose to kill him. I wanted revenge."

Kinaine recalled Gale, the former guild master he had faced in the dueling arena. The guild master had exploited him for many years, claiming he would look into ways to undo black magic. If he hadn't met Kor, he would have been used by the guild master until meeting a miserable end.

He couldn't forget the unpleasant elation he had felt when killing the guild master.

"I realized then that it wasn't just my body that had been damaged by black magic. I thought I was holding up well, but that was an illusion. I'm not the same person I used to be."

Unbeknownst to Kinaine, the energies of demonic energy and alcohol were fighting within his body. When demonic energy evoked negative thoughts, the alcohol's energy suppressed them, and conversely, demonic energy reawakened what the alcohol's energy had suppressed. That's why Kinaine hadn't completely forgotten his worries like others who had drunk this alcohol.

However, thanks to the alcohol's energy, Kinaine was honestly confronting his emotions that he had been ignoring to control black magic. More precisely, the emotions he had been suppressing all this time were bursting out strongly as a reaction to the alcohol's power.

"That's why I wanted to rescue the guardian spirit even more. It would make me feel like I was the same person as before. Like I could say I wasn't completely ruined."

Kinaine paused for a moment.

"If I were such a person, I thought I could indulge in the desire to become Lord Asad's mate."

Kinaine removed his hand from Asad's cheek. Simultaneously, Asad lowered his head and pressed their lips together. It was a short, light kiss. No wonder, as even the one who initiated the kiss wore a surprised expression. His trembling eyes even looked aggrieved. As if it had been beyond his control.

"Ahem, I see. So you do want to be my mate, but you want to be worthy of being a dragon's mate, is that it? You want to recover the guardian spirit and show an impressive side of yourself."

It didn't seem like such a simple story. But the conclusion was similar.

"It seems a bit different, but I suppose it could be seen that way."

"That's fine then. I understand. You should have said so earlier, what's so difficult about saying that?"

That he couldn't say he desired Asad because it felt like committing a sin.

But Kinaine didn't say that. Seeing Asad looking somewhat relieved, such words seemed unnecessary.

Asad cast his gaze out the window. Somehow the snowfall seemed to have weakened, but that wasn't important. The sky had already darkened. He now knew that sufficient sleep was important for humans.

Asad rose to his feet.

"You should get some sleep now."

"Ah, it's already this late. That's a shame."

"You're sad that I'm leaving?"

"Yes."

To be honest, the newly honest Kinaine was now a bit frightening. Asad rubbed his throbbing chest and then in one swift motion, embraced Kinaine and lay down with him on the bed.

"Lord Asad."

"I know. I just put a barrier outside the door with magic."

"It will arouse suspicion."

To recover the guardian spirit from Hasan, it was important not to arouse his wariness. If he sensed danger, Hasan would never keep the bracelet far from his body.

That's why Kinaine wanted it to appear as if Asad had lost interest in him. That's why he had asked Asad to use separate rooms and act coldly in front of others. Hasan would underestimate Kinaine, who was isolated and distant from the dragon's attention. That complacency would become Kinaine's weapon.

"Then there's no point in us having stayed apart all this time."

"I'll leave if it seems like someone's coming."

Though he knew he should say no, somehow he didn't feel like it. In the end, instead of pushing Asad away, Kinaine carefully embraced him.

Asad, who had momentarily stiffened in surprise, pulled Kinaine's waist closer. Their bodies pressed tightly together. The sound of a heartbeat, whose it was impossible to tell, echoed in their ears. That loud sound, which should have been annoying, wasn't bothersome at all. Rather, it made them feel increasingly at ease.

Before long, Kinaine's eyelids slowly grew heavy. A low voice reached his ears.

"Just know this. Whether you recover the guardian spirit or not, you will marry me."

It was a strangely confident tone. Even a dragon couldn't see the future, so how could he speak with such certainty?

"Why are you so sure?"

He must have muttered it without realizing. Asad didn't miss the voice that an ordinary person would have failed to hear.

"There's a reason. Actually, I just realized it... Are you curious?"

Kinaine couldn't tell whether he had nodded or not. Sleep was overwhelming him beyond endurance.

"I'll tell you after tomorrow passes. Why you have no choice but to marry me."

Asad's voice slowly faded from his ears.

* * *

At the same time.

Hasan was listening to information brought by his guards at his castle.

It was about the opponent he would face tomorrow evening.

According to their findings, Kor was a 29-year-old mercenary with unclear birthplace and background. This wasn't particularly unusual, as such cases were common among mercenaries. Based on testimonies from several mercenaries who had worked with him, the guard's assessment was that it wasn't a forged identity.

Of course, the guard didn't know that those mercenaries had undergone some memory manipulation by Asad's magic.

"Hmm."

"Is there something that concerns you?"

"One thing..."

Hasan's eyes narrowed thinly.

"That swordsmanship, it seems familiar."

Since Kor had finished all his matches within one minute, there wasn't enough information to determine what kind of swordsmanship he used. However, the glimpses that were revealed gave a strangely familiar feeling.

But according to the monitor, Kinaine hadn't left the separate palace at all. Even their appearances were different.

"Well, it's better to be certain."

Hasan ordered the guard. To bring the doctor, Tiron.