Chapter 54

When Kinaine opened his eyes, there was no one around. Only sunlight streaming through the window brightly illuminated the empty room.

"Ugh."

He felt a terrible pain as if his entire body had been shattered into pieces. Kinaine, grimacing and enduring the pain, looked at the bandages loosely wrapped around his body.

And the traces of intimacy left on his body.

The moment he saw them, memories of the night he had thought was a dream came back to life.

'Shut up. This is what you want anyway.'

'Suck it. You can do that, right?'

'What did you do in the human realm? Were you perhaps a male prostitute?'

...So that wasn't a dream?

Kinaine hurriedly felt his chest with trembling hands. Fortunately, the ring he had been wearing around his neck was still there.

Clutching the ring tightly, Kinaine tried to calm his increasingly rapid breathing.

Thanks to the dream incense's effects having completely worn off, he could think extremely clearly.

His lover was dead...

'Then what is this?'

The traces left on his body and the pain in intimate places spoke clearly. He had been intimate with someone last night.

The hazy memories gradually took shape, as if unveiling. The first thing that came to mind was golden eyes.

As far as Kinaine knew, there were only two beings in this world with eyes of that color. No, perhaps it should be said there was only one now...

Kinaine swallowed hard as he finally recalled who he had slept with.

"The dragon..."

"Lord Nine! You're awake!"

The surprised voice of a girl interrupted Kinaine's thoughts. Ramu, who had been standing at the doorway, ran over with tears glistening in her eyes.

"I'm so glad!"

"Was I asleep for long?"

His memories were fragmented and scattered. His mind was as much of a mess as his body. Kinaine asked about the most important thing first.

"What happened with the test?"

"Is that important right now? I thought you were going to die!"

"If I was disqualified, I need to look for another way..."

Ramu was taken aback by his matter-of-fact words. She finally felt that something was strange.

"...What wish are you trying to make, Lord Nine?"

Ramu was just as desperate for this opportunity. No matter the cost, she wanted to make the man before her the dragon's bride to regain what they had lost.

However, if she had gone through the same things as Kinaine, would she have remained here without running away?

"What kind of wish makes you not value your life?"

Kinaine noticed that Ramu wasn't asking out of mere curiosity. Ramu was afraid. Kinaine guessed that his attitude of disregarding everything for his goal seemed to be making her uneasy.

The dragon must have a proper mate. Kinaine, being human, didn't know exactly what that meant, but all spirits knew this fact, and Ramu was no exception. Though she had decided to help Kinaine for the sake of the winged tribe, Ramu questioned whether it had been the right choice.

Kinaine looked at Ramu quietly for a moment before speaking.

"I... made a very big mistake in the past."

"..."

"I just want a chance to undo it."

Just as Ramu, who had been silent for a moment, was about to say something, another voice came from the doorway.

"You came in first in the first test."

Kinaine's eyes widened.

"Lord Asad... Ugh!"

As Kinaine tried to sit up, he clutched his chest.

"You shouldn't get up yet!"

Ramu exclaimed in alarm. But Kinaine managed to sit up completely.

Their eyes met in mid-air. At the same time, the afterimages of last night flashed through their minds once again.

So it really wasn't a dream.

Asad, who had been leaning against the doorway, entered the room and jerked his chin.

"Hey, little wing. You go out."

"But..."

As Ramu was about to say something, she hiccupped when her eyes met Asad's. No matter how brave a girl she was, she couldn't help but be intimidated in front of the dragon. The reason she hesitated to leave despite this was probably because she was worried about him.

Kinaine created an opening for Ramu to leave.

"Ramu, go outside."

"...Alright. Call me if anything happens."

When Kinaine said that much, Ramu couldn't hold out any longer and left the room. Soon the door closed, leaving only Kinaine and Asad in the room.

Asad sat down on the chair by the bedside.

"Your servant girl, isn't she treating me like some kind of magical beast?"

Considering the dragon's behavior she had seen since coming here, it's understandable. Though he thought this, Kinaine didn't add anything and brought up a different topic.

"You said I came in first?"

"Yes. Why, is something wrong?"

Asad's eyes narrowed. Though there was no reason he couldn't lie... Kinaine answered honestly.

"Yes. Because I didn't catch that magical beast."

It was because he was certain the dragon knew everything and was asking anyway. If he knew everything, there was no need to lie and incur his wrath unnecessarily.

"I don't have the skills to hunt such a magical beast."

"Hmm..."

Asad clicked his tongue like a hunter who had witnessed his prey not falling for the trap he had set. It was too obvious to just let it slide. It seemed the dragon had no talent for lying at all.

"Still, you wriggled more earnestly than I expected."

"...Were you there?"

How long had he been watching?

Come to think of it, every time the magical beast's tentacles struck him, he had felt as if a very thin, transparent wall was softening the impact. The only being who could do such a thing here was the dragon.

"...I thought it was sheer luck that I survived that magical beast, but it wasn't. Did you intervene, Lord Asad?"

"That's right, I saved you."

Though he had asked with certainty, hearing the affirmative answer was still surprising. This was because the dragon hated him, didn't he?

"Why? Don't you dislike me, Lord Asad?"

"You act smart, but you're much more stupid than I thought."

The face as beautiful as a saint in a sacred painting smiled.

"I saved you because I dislike you. Dying like that would be too easy for you."

The white hand without a single scar poked Kinaine's cheek. Despite Kinaine flinching at the casual contact, the face of the one who poked him showed no particular thought.

"The dead feel nothing. Only the living can give meaning to pain. Right?"

I see. With his cheek pressed by the finger, Kinaine understood that even saving him was the dragon's way of showing hatred.

It made sense that one wouldn't allow an intensely hated opponent to die comfortably. If he were to meet Hasan again... he too would wish for him to live in terrible pain rather than meet a peaceful death.

"Yes, I understand."

Though he didn't understand why he was poking his cheek and fiddling with his hair.

However, it wasn't the atmosphere to ask why he was touching him, and above all, there were more curious things, so Kinaine brought up another topic.

"So you saved me because you wanted me to live longer and suffer more, Lord Asad."

"That's right."

"Then why did you make me come first in this test?"

"Otherwise you'd be disqualified. Disqualification means expulsion from the dragon palace, and I can't let you go that easily."

"Then is the reason you spent the night with me also because you dislike me?"

At the calm question, the hand fiddling with his hair stopped.

"...You remember quite well for having inhaled the scaled tribe's dream incense for so long."

Muttering that it didn't seem to work well on humans, Asad removed his hand from Kinaine's hair. The dream incense not working well was because Kinaine was already accustomed to various strong drugs, but Asad had no way of knowing that fact.

"You didn't have any expectations from that night, did you? Let me be clear, that act had no particular meaning. If I had to give a reason, it would be because I'm an alpha and you're an omega."

Trait-bearers who are physically attracted to each other having relations is not a special thing. That's what Asad was saying.

It wasn't uncommon for trait-bearers to have such thoughts. Many thought that if necessary, they could mix bodies, as it was the fastest way to alleviate the pain of periodically occurring ruts or heat cycles.

Kinaine wasn't that type, but he had no intention of criticizing the dragon for being so. He was only distressed by the situation of having mixed bodies with someone other than his lover. And having to suppress even such emotions so as not to affect the black magic.

"Well, I hope you're not thinking of talking about responsibility or anything. You're not exactly pure, are you?"

A mocking gaze swept over Kinaine's body.

Though he could guess what kind of misunderstanding he had, Kinaine didn't feel the need to deny it. It was true that he had experience, and he didn't think the dragon would care about the fact that it was the first time with this body.

If there was even a hint of expecting responsibility in his words, he might try to kill him again, saying he was being troublesome. Kinaine answered as calmly as possible.

"How could I dare to do that? As you said, I don't remember much, perhaps because of the dream incense..."

"You don't remember?"

He had said it meaning that if he didn't remember, there would be no talk of responsibility. However, for some reason, Asad, who had been consistently cynical, frowned as if he had stepped in something unpleasant and glared at Kinaine.