Chapter 66

In the dim dawn light, Kinaine muttered.

"Heavy..."

It felt like a hot boulder was pressing down on his body. Though he tried to move it, it was so heavy it wouldn't budge at all. How did he end up trapped under such a huge rock? After struggling for a while, Kinaine finally opened his eyes wide.

Naturally, there was no huge rock. What he had mistaken for a boulder was a muscular body embracing him like restraints.

Kinaine swallowed a sigh as he confirmed that an arm as thick as a thigh was wrapped around his upper body.

'Somehow I feel like this happened last time too...'

They were pressed so tightly together that he could feel the regular rise and fall of the chest against his back.

Wasn't this attitude very different from what he had said a few hours ago?

'Don't take off your upper clothes. It'll kill the mood.'

After saying that, now he was clinging tightly to that body he said he didn't want to see. Though he knew it was just a sleeping habit, it felt amusing how his actions completely contradicted his own words.

'Didn't he not have this sleeping habit before?'

The memory-lost Helio seemed to have become a completely different being, like his changed name. His appearance, personality, even his sleeping habits had changed - except for his eye color, nothing reminded him of how he used to be.

Carelessly saying hurtful things while acting as if he didn't care about such things at all. The arrogance of acting as if no one was above him. These suited the dragon, a supreme being, but were far from the Helio that Kinaine remembered.

But even so, he kept trying to find traces of his former self in this man. Though his mind thought he shouldn't, the heart wasn't something that would do as wished.

'So I wish he wouldn't shake me up first...'

He had thought it would end with that one time, but it seemed the dragon had developed a taste for intimacy. Though he should push him away himself, in front of Asad's pheromones, even such thoughts flew away, leaving him unable to do anything.

'It would be easier if it were emotions that would disappear with the pheromones as you said.'

The problem was that it wasn't. Sighing, Kinaine soon began painfully unwrapping the arms holding him. The dragon must have been sleeping deeply, for he continued breathing evenly without waking once even as Kinaine used considerable force to remove his arms. His sleeping face looked as peaceful as a child who had eaten and played to his heart's content, making Kinaine end up chuckling despite himself.

And as he got up.

"Ugh."

A low groan immediately escaped between his lips. Kinaine's eyebrows rose slightly at the unpleasant sensation of liquid trickling down his legs.

"Nine!!"

As Kinaine was wiping the moisture from his body, he heard a loud voice calling him and poked his head out of the bathroom door.

"I'm here."

"You!"

With large strides, the half-naked man instantly approached the bathroom. His beautiful face was completely distorted. Though he had just seen him sleeping peacefully like a child, now he looked no different from an evil spirit.

Why was he so angry?

When he unconsciously tried to close the door in surprise, a veined hand immediately shot out and grabbed it.

Creeak, the door slowly opened. When his eyes met the flashing golden eyes through the door gap, chills ran down his spine. Suddenly, he remembered the moment when he had been strangled.

"Why did you disappear without saying anything? Do you want to die?"

However, the moment he heard the voice grumbling like a child, the tension melted away like snow.

Kinaine glanced at the fresh clothes he had placed in front of the door.

"You were sleeping so well, I didn't want to wake you."

He quickly reached out to grab the clothes and turned around, hurriedly beginning to dress. Though his back was also covered in scars, it was still better than showing his face.

Fortunately, Asad seemed more concerned with what he had just heard than with his nakedness.

"W-who said I slept well? I have insomnia, you know?"

How could he sleep well in such a narrow, uncomfortable place? You must be seeing things wrong. While Asad spoke without pause, Kinaine, having finished dressing, regained his composure.

As he fastened the last button, Kinaine replied calmly.

"Is that so? Then I must have seen wrong."

"Yes, that's right. And from now on, don't move without my permission. Understand?"

"What?"

When Kinaine turned around at the surprising words, Asad was looking at him with a shameless expression. It was an unreasonable demand. No matter what, he was a being with his own will, how could he need permission even to move? Was this another form of torment?

"...Wouldn't that be more troublesome for you, Lord Asad?"

"Who said to report everything? I'm saying get permission when you're going somewhere. If you're going to wash, say you're going to wash."

That's not understanding why he needed permission in the first place. After a moment of silence, Kinaine answered.

"I'll think about it."

After briefly looking blank at the unexpected answer, Asad realized he hadn't misheard and let out a disbelieving laugh.

"You'll thiiink about it? When I tell you to do something, you do it. You..."

"More importantly, don't you need to wash, Lord Asad?"

Before Asad could properly get angry, Kinaine quickly changed the subject.

"Since the facilities here aren't good, I think it would be better for Lord Asad to go to the main palace."

"Ha. Ah, so you're telling me to get out right now?"

Though that wasn't his intended meaning, the dragon, whose mood was already spoiled, couldn't take even words meant for his benefit in a good way.

Kinaine quickly opened his mouth to deny the sarcastic words, but Asad was faster.

"That's not what I..."

"Though I do enjoy bathing, unlike humans like you, I have no problem maintaining cleanliness without washing."

When Asad snapped his fingers, a light enveloped him. Where the light disappeared stood a man whose hair, which had been disheveled from sleep, was now as neat as if combed.

Wow. Kinaine marveled. Magic could be this convenient. The magic he knew was focused only on destruction. It was a moment when he newly realized how different the dragon's magic was from black magic.

"You fool. Here, take this."

Asad, who had snorted at seeing Kinaine's slightly widened eyes of surprise, threw a silk pouch the size of his palm. What is it? As he examined what was inside with curiosity, there was an herb that gave off a bitter scent strong enough to make him frown.

"Brew and drink it."

"What is this?"

"Contraception medicine."

The fingers rummaging through the pouch suddenly stopped.

"..."

The trembling in his eyes quickly disappeared beneath his eyelids. Asad didn't notice that momentary wavering.

"It's Jet, you know him? He kept insisting I bring it, so I had no choice but to come... Good timing, right? To think it would be needed again like this."

Kinaine smiled bitterly at Asad's particular emphasis on 'had no choice.' He didn't need such emphasis to understand well. There was no way Asad, who remembered nothing, would have come here because he wanted to see him.

"...I see."

"Though being with you doesn't feel bad, you having my child is a different matter. A human bearing my child, it's disgusting just to think about."

Asad lowered his head and stared intently at Kinaine's face.

"What, do you want to have my child?"

His tone was probing. His observing gaze seemed ready to teach a lesson if he discovered even a hint of desire harbored by a human.

Kinaine answered without hesitation.

"No. I have no such thoughts."

This time it wasn't an empty phrase. Want to have Asad's child? He had never had such thoughts even once.

To begin with, he wasn't accustomed to life as an omega. This soft body that heated up at an alpha's pheromones still felt unfamiliar. And now a child... how could he have imagined such a thing?

His only desire was to stay by his lover's side until his short remaining life ended.

"..."

Their gazes met in mid-air. Naturally, the dragon couldn't read any desire in the human's face.

"Hmm."

Not finding what he was looking for, Asad finally stepped back.

'Lord Asad, the fastest way to become the dragon's bride is to have a child. Do you think that human would miss this opportunity?'

Asad thought Jet's advice when delivering the contraception medicine was right. The reason for participating in the selection was ultimately to become the dragon's bride. Though leaving an impression on the human was unintended, he didn't think the human would miss this opportunity.

If he had shown even a slight hint of such thoughts, Asad had planned to crush him so it could never happen again, but the human's reaction was unexpected.

Finally, Asad shook his head.

"I really can't tell. Whether your words are sincere or not."

Since humans were good at lying, he might be deceiving him.

"It's not harmful to your body, so don't worry about that. And from now on, I'll take it."

'From now on?'

As Kinaine was repeating the words he had heard.

Asad, narrowing his eyes, jerked his chin toward Kinaine.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to prepare the medicine?"