3.2 Have no choice but to
The doctor said with a grim, stiff expression that he could have died.
The injured area itself wasn’t particularly fatal, nor was the wound excessively large, but the amount of blood loss had reached a dangerous level.
After lecturing him for a long time with a stern face, saying that a very serious situation could have occurred if he had been just a little later, the doctor finally turned to leave.
While the person who actually should have heard the lecture remained unconscious and buried in the bed, Jeong Tae-ui, who had been unfairly scolded, was only able to return to his room after being physically and mentally worn out.
Ilay, who had disappeared somewhere while Jeong Tae-ui was being lectured and only appeared after he returned to the room, snorted at the doctor’s remarks that Tae-ui grumbled about, while rubbing a bruise ointment he had brought from somewhere onto Tae-ui’s purple-bruised elbow.
“If a person dies from that much, then what am I? A ghost?”
“…Either way, it means you’re not human.”
Jeong Tae-ui massaged the back [unauthorized copy]of his neck a few times, and once Ilay finished rubbing in the [stolen content]ointment, he held out his hand for the tube.
Ilay, who was about to close the tube, placed it on Tae-ui’s hand with a puzzled look.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
He was hurt more.
His whole body was aching here and there. Every joint creaked. He thought to himself that this was all thanks to a certain someone who had driven right up behind him and bumped into him several times… but he decided not to say it out loud and opened the ointment tube.
“I’m not exactly hurt, but I think I sprained something. It’s a bit stiff.”
He muttered this while feeling around his neck and applying the ointment. However, Ilay brushed Tae-ui’s hand aside and grabbed his neck firmly.
“The neck… Come here.”
Unable to resist the grip pulling his neck, Jeong Tae-ui went “uh, uh, [visit our site]uh” as he was dragged and sat down with his back visit our siteturned to him. As soon as he sat, Ilay suddenly grabbed the hem of his shirt from below and yanked it upward, leaving Jeong Tae-ui sitting there suddenly naked from the waist up.
The touch of the palm slowly sliding down from the nape of his neck to his waist, as if inspecting his body, felt somewhat chilling.
Regardless of whether Jeong Tae-ui flinched, Ilay slowly scanned his body, then moved his hand back up and used his thumb to press firmly and slowly down along Tae-ui’s cervical vertebrae.
“The neck is easy to turn into a chronic ailment if injured incorrectly… You should take better care of your own body. How long has it been since you left home, and you’re already in this state?”
Hearing that clicking tongue, Tae-ui felt a spark of irritation. Rubbing his eyelids, which were growing heavy with fatigue, he muttered.
“That’s because someone kept ramming into me with a car…”
Thanks to a certain someone who was still sticking to him, not even a meter away, even now.
The moment he muttered that, the memory from just a few hours ago came back vividly.
On the road along the riverbank.
After Richard jumped off the moving car while dragging Christoph.
Jeong Tae-ui ran. He drove the car like a madman. He could swear that if he had entered a race at that speed, he would have easily placed in the rankings.
He had expected it wouldn’t be easy.
He had already been driving almost bumper-to-bumper, so maintaining a distance of more than one meter—especially when the opponent was Ilay—was something he had anticipated would be quite difficult.
However, Jeong Tae-ui had actually held a sliver of hope. The fact that he didn’t need to maintain a distance of over a meter constantly, but only needed to widen the gap once; the given time was about ten minutes, which wasn’t that short; and furthermore, if they followed the course Ilay mentioned, there were at least three curves in between. Due to the structure of the car and the trajectory of the drive, the distance inevitably widens at curves. Tae-ui hoped that if he timed it right, he might be able to create a gap of about one meter.
So, he drove while risking his life at a speed where a major catastrophe wouldn’t have been strange, even worrying that the engine might explode.
And the result was…
“Ah… Come to think of it, you were seriously trying to run away.”
The hand pressing his nape tightened slightly.
Jeong Tae-ui, who had been quietly leaving his neck to those ferocious hands, flinched and shouted.
“Would I risk my life as a joke to run away from a guy who just rams iron hooks into people!! Wouldn’t you do the same?!”
Only after shouting did he realize he had made a slip of the tongue.
This man was the type who wouldn’t run away, but would instead stop his car in the middle of the road and settle things right then and there.
Jeong Tae-ui hurriedly tried to take back his words and salvage the situation.
“And you, ramming into me so mercilessly… it’s a miracle there wasn’t an accident.”
“Hm? Ah—… an accident doesn’t happen from just that much.”
The culprit who had rammed him from behind spoke with shameless composure.
Hearing this man’s nonchalant words—saying someone doesn’t die from that much even when they almost bled to death, and that an accident doesn’t happen from that much even when ramming a car at over a hundred kilometers per hour—only added to his fatigue.
“Tae-yi. Keep your promise.”
“…”
“Tae-yi.”
“I get it. Unless it’s an unavoidable situation, I will absolutely not touch Christoph. Happy?”
“Good.”
This was the conclusion reached after a fierce chase where he had put his life on the line.
If it were an unavoidable situation, it couldn’t be helped, but he must not intentionally make contact with Christoph.
He thought it was a relief. He had wondered what if Ilay made some more extreme or excessive demand, but this was a request he could sufficiently accept.
Moreover, as he nodded to that request, Jeong Tae-ui felt a sense of relief on one hand.
No more. That thought had been gradually surfacing. He must not become any closer to Christoph. It wouldn’t be good for Christoph.
Jeong Tae-ui could unhesitatingly cut off things he couldn’t take responsibility for or things that weren’t his burden. So, at least for Christoph’s sake, no more.
That was what he felt.
Sitting silently with his back to Ilay and looking down at his legs, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly sighed and said weakly, pretending to look over his shoulder.
“But I hope you won’t tell me I have to push [Read on Read BL Novels]Christoph away even when he touches me slightly. …For now, anyway.”
A brief silence followed over his shoulder, and then the sound of a quiet click of the tongue was heard. No particular answer came back. Jeong Tae-ui didn’t push further. He only let out a small groan of pain.
It had been a truly long night.
Unable to even think of protecting his body—which felt like a piece of cotton soaked in water—from those clutches, he left himself quietly in Ilay’s care. Lifting his heavy eyes to look at the clock, it was almost dawn.
He felt like if he fell asleep now, he wouldn’t be able to wake up for three days.
As the touch massaging his neck made his body grow increasingly languid, he eventually closed his eyes. Sleep washed over him like a tidal wave.
To think I’m getting sleepy even while leaving my neck to these hideously beautiful hands, my nerve has really grown, he muttered to himself in a corner of his mind.
“Being a succession candidate is not something a human should do.”
“What happened tonight [Read on Read BL Novels]wasn’t because you’re a succession candidate, but a matter of [visit our site]human relationships.”
“No, no. Rather than that…”
Jeong Tae-ui shook his head languidly. Meanwhile, he thought of Richard, who should be at the shop by now.
After returning to the mansion, Richard received only the minimum necessary treatment and soon stood up again. Although he hadn’t lost consciousness from blood loss like Christoph, Richard was a wreck to the point where he looked almost the same externally; yet, without resting for a moment, he went straight back to the shop.
Saying he had to settle the state of the shop, which must be a mess, before resting, he had left the mansion as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Is that level of responsibility expected once you become a succession candidate? He looked so exhausted I wondered if he could even drive properly.”
Jeong Tae-ui sighed lightly and shrugged.
“He’ll have to hurry and settle things. The interior of the shop can be fixed in a few days, but there might be innocent customers who were harmed in that chaos, and he’ll have to look after colleagues who might find it hard to leave the hospital for a while.”
“Still, he’s on the verge of collapsing and dying himself—”
“I told you, you don’t die from that much.”
Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth.
He wanted to say, That’s because you’re not human; a normal person would die at that point, and it wouldn’t be strange at all, but he felt it wouldn’t work even if he said it. Since Richard hadn’t actually died, there was no way it would work.
“Your muscles are just a bit tense; it doesn’t seem like you’re injured. …Lie face down.”
After thoroughly checking Jeong Tae-ui’s neck, Ilay patted his back.
Jeong Tae-ui, whose body had been pleasantly relaxing under the slow massage of his neck, lay face down without a word. Soon, a touch that gently worked out the tension in his back started from just below his neck. He even went full-scale, bringing body oil from the bathroom and pouring it over Tae-ui’s back before rubbing it in.
Jeong Tae-ui let out a languid sigh. It felt good.
“Ah… this is good…”
At the languid voice exhaled like a sigh, the hand moving down his back paused for a moment. Soon, that hand swept across his back with the palm.
“Hearing you say that makes me want to ‘feel good’ too.”
“… …Can’t I just rest for one day before we do that?”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered in a sorrowful voice, Ilay laughed out loud. The large hand began to rub the muscles of his back again.
“You understand quite well.”
“If I didn’t have intuition, do you think I would have survived this long? It’s not like I have superhuman strength like you, or great abilities like Chris, or the mental fortitude to survive solely on the responsibility of inheriting a family like Richard…”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered, half-drunk on sleep, a faint breeze touched the nape of his neck. It was the sign of Ilay laughing behind him. He suddenly asked.
“How much do you think the market capitalization of T&R is?”
“Hmm…?”
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head while lying face down. It would have been hard to guess even in his normal state, but asking while his mind was hazy made it even harder.
“I don’t know… probably huge.”
“It’s 20 billion US dollars.”
The numbers he spoke so calmly almost snapped him back to alertness for a moment, but since they weren’t numbers that felt real, he dipped his feet back into the swamp of drowsiness. Even then, he didn’t forget to grumble.
“Why the sudden bragging about money, you diamond-spoon…?”
Once again, a breeze brushed against the nape of his neck.
“T&R’s assets and my personal assets have nothing to do with each other… but isn’t it a good thing if I have [visit our site]a lot of money? You just have to live your life spending it like water.”
“Huh…? No, I just think if I earn it myself and spend it myself…”
“Ah—right, right. Come to think of it, you decided to earn money to support me. Until the day I die.”
At the words added to the end, his sleep vanished instantly this time.
“What?! No, wait, not until the day you die, just until you can reasonably make a living on your own—”
As he spoke, something felt off. No, it was a fact he already knew, but even now, while Jeong Tae-ui wasn’t exactly earning a living, this man was eating and living very well.
However, before Jeong Tae-ui could appeal this absurdity, Ilay continued speaking while pressing firmly into the joints of Jeong Tae-ui’s spine.
“Tarten’s total assets on their own aren’t of that scale. However, the ‘merchandise’ they handle far exceeds that value. But you see, T&R is relatively fine. For instance, even if the elder died today, the survival of the company wouldn’t be at risk. But it’s a different story for a place that lives off information. The weight hanging on a single mouth is different. Moreover, in those kinds of operations, if the center of gravity shakes, the impact reaches all the way to the bottom. Simply put—”
Ilay paused for a moment. Jeong Tae-ui, who had been half-asleep, opened [visit our site]his eyes slightly with a curious “Huh?” But he ended up bolting upright when Ilay suddenly grabbed his shoulder and wrenched it.
“Ow!!”
“What have you been doing to make your muscles harden like stones?”
“After spending a night as tumultuous as tonight, it’s only natural they’d harden! Anyway, what did you mean by ‘simply put’!”
“If you end up like this over something of that magnitude, it means it’s impossible for you to hold a key position in Tarten.”
“I won’t do it, even if you make me! Ow, ow, ow…”
Seeing how he kept waking him up just as he was about to fall asleep, it seemed he wouldn’t be letting him sleep peacefully.
Jeong Tae-ui debated whether to give up on the massage and try to sleep, or postpone sleep to loosen up his body, and chose the latter. This wasn’t a common occurrence, and surprisingly, the touch felt incredibly good.
Even though the hands pressing into his hardened muscles were quite painful right now.
“If he were the kind of guy whose life was threatened by that much, or who would collapse and rest because he felt he needed to, he wouldn’t be in that position now.”
Listening to Ilay speak with such leisure, Jeong Tae-ui let out a bitter sigh to soothe the pain.
“Christoph did well to quit that power struggle early on.”
“Why, are you worried?”
At the question laced with amusement, Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth. After being lost in thought for a few seconds, he let out a quiet breath and shook his head.
“No… seeing how he’s still like that even after quitting, I don’t think it was just because of that power struggle.”
“There is nothing more foolish than worrying beside someone who doesn’t cherish their own life.”
As if he were finished, Ilay lightly patted Jeong Tae-ui’s [unauthorized copy]waist. [stolen content]When Tae-yi looked up and said, “Oh, thanks,” Ilay wiped his back with the clothes that had been tossed Read on Read BL Novelsaside and even lightly turned him over to lie on his side.
“Christoph shouldn’t have stopped competing halfway.”
“Hmm?”
“Or, no matter what happened, he should have never returned to Dresden for the rest of his life.”
Ilay spoke in a tone that wasn’t particularly serious, wiping the oil from his hands with a handkerchief from the nightstand.
“Unfortunately, Richard is a man with very strong pride, though he rarely shows it. And he has a memory good enough to remember every single trivial detail from before he even grew up. The worst part is, he knows how to endure for a very long time to achieve what he wants.”
“…I don’t really see why that’s unfortunate or a bad thing based on that alone.”
“Well, for example, imagine someone who remembers in vivid detail the moment their pride—which no one had ever managed to scratch—was trampled by muddy feet, and spent a long time enduring and refining themselves just to pay back that memory, only for it to suddenly vanish into thin air.”
“…”
“If it were me, I would have sliced him into pieces.”
No, if it were this man, there would have been no process of enduring for a long time. He would have settled it cleanly the moment he felt annoyed.
Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips bitterly and scratched under his chin. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before shaking his head.
“I still don’t really get it. I don’t think I would have handled it that way, but… well, you never know until you’re actually in that situation.”
“They’re just guys who make things difficult for no reason, aren’t they?”
“…I don’t know… the range of what you call ‘not difficult’ is just so wide…”
He wondered for a moment if there was anything that was actually difficult for Ilay Riegrow to handle, but nothing came to mind. Of course, not everything in the world would be easy for this man either, but if it were him, rather than struggling to untie a complex and tangled knot, he would likely just slice through it with a knife.
Jeong Tae-ui turned toward Ilay and lay on his side. His body, loosened just right as if [visit our site]he Read on Read BL Novelshad been soaking in hot water, felt wonderful.
“But in terms of personal preference, rather than a personality that makes you wary because it’s hard to figure out what they’re thinking, I prefer a personality that’s a bit shocking but has no hidden agendas… so I’d rather side with Christoph over Richard.”
“Ah, in that case, you may kill Richard depending on the situation.”
“…”
Jeong Tae-ui remained silent for a while, his eyes closed in a languid, pleasant state. When he slowly opened them, the smile was gone from his face.
Wondering when he would ever be able to fully understand this man, he looked up at Ilay suspiciously. Now, he couldn’t even follow the context of the conversation.
Having wiped the last bit of oil from his pinky, Ilay tossed the handkerchief into the trash can and met Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze. He didn’t look like he was joking, nor did he look particularly serious.
“It’ll be a bit tedious, but I’ll protect you.”
“If I have to kill Richard to side with Christoph, I’d rather just declare neutrality.”
“Ah, rather than that—”
Ilay, who had just opened his mouth, frowned slightly. Then he gazed intently at Jeong Tae-ui as if thinking about something.
Jeong Tae-ui knew this familiar gaze well. It was the look of someone contemplating how to most easily convince an opponent with a different way of thinking. It was a gaze he often sent to this man as well.
Suddenly feeling amused and lighthearted, Jeong Tae-ui let out a chuckle.
Even after spending several years together at such a close distance, a vast river of mutual misunderstanding still flowed between this man and himself. And no matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like that gap would ever be filled.
And yet.
Even though he and the other were so different.
Even though it would continue to be like this.
Still, the men known as Jeong Tae-ui and Ilay Riegrow would continue to move forward together on these parallel lines.
This relationship, which perhaps most people experienced, suddenly felt incredibly pleasant.
“Rather than that?”
Jeong Tae-ui prompted.
Looking at the lingering smile in Jeong Tae-ui’s eyes, Ilay chose his words for a moment longer before shrugging slightly and speaking.
“I mean that if a need arises, do not hesitate to inflict great harm upon him for the sake of your trivial safety.”
“…I think that’s a matter to be decided after considering human decency.”
Jeong Tae-ui fell into thought. He wasn’t thinking [Read on Read BL Novels]about human decency. He was thinking about the [unauthorized copy]relationship between ‘trivial safety’ and ‘great harm.’
He wasn’t a fool. Ilay knew that too.
…The conclusion wasn’t particularly pleasant.
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head vigorously.
“Ah—seriously, why are those bastards fighting like this even though they’re grown adults, what a mess, what a mess…”
“That’s why I’m asking why you’re wandering into the middle of a fight.”
Stopping his head-scratching, Jeong Tae-ui looked up at Ilay, who was sitting cross-legged beside him and looking down.
If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have come… he muttered under his breath, and then he plopped his head right onto the man’s knee next to his face.
“Ah, I don’t know. You’ll protect me. I’ll just trust you completely.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t feel a bit like he was rubbing his foot against an axe, but he couldn’t hold out any longer. He felt like he was dying of exhaustion. Right now, he felt like he could sleep even using a guillotine blade as a pillow.
He closed his eyes resting on the dangerous knee, but nothing happened. Only a piercing gaze stabbed into his cheek.
Ah, whatever. This guy sometimes falls asleep using my knee as a pillow, it’s not like my knee will wear out if I do it once, so who cares.
Just in case, to be safer, he fumbled his hand over and quietly gripped Ilay’s forearm.
Suddenly, a low breath fell over his head. “Hmm.”
“Tae-yi. You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you.”
“Huh…?”
“You. Gradually—”
“…?”
“…No, never mind.”
Thoughts like you’re gradually climbing over my head or you’re gradually becoming fearless flashed through his mind, but he stopped thinking.
Right now, he was too exhausted to think of a single more word, the drowsiness pressing down on his eyelids was so heavy that it wouldn’t vanish even if an axe were swung at his toes, and moreover, this hard knee was unexpectedly and surprisingly comfortable.
It felt as if it were telling him that this long and arduous night had finally come to an end.
* * *
“What are you doing? Looking all depressed by yourself.”
“Hmm… thinking a bit about the permanence of time…”
Sitting alone in the wide dining hall, staring blankly at an open newspaper while chewing on hard rye bread, Jeong Tae-ui answered gloomily.
Yohan, who had come down with hair sticking out in all directions as if he had just woken up, sat across from Jeong Tae-ui with half-open eyes and pulled a cup toward him, tilting the teapot. Only the sound of pouring water echoed quietly.
It was quiet and peaceful.
And yet, on the other hand, that long and arduous night he thought had ended was continuing.
He had hoped it would all be a dream upon waking, but it seemed life wasn’t that easy. Then again, when had his life ever been smooth?
“I thought you were sleeping until the sun was high in stolen contentthe [Read on Read BL Novels]sky, and you’ve only just woken up? Tsk tsk, how lazy…”
Yohan, who drank the tea in one gulp as if it were water, nagged Jeong Tae-ui, who was chewing bread in silence. And with his face still chewing bread, Jeong Tae-ui stared intently at Yohan, who hadn’t even washed his face, with sleep crust still on his eyelashes.
It was true that Jeong Tae-ui had also fallen asleep at dawn and woken up late in the afternoon, so he couldn’t be called diligent, but hearing those words from Yohan, who hadn’t even washed, made the phrase ‘the pot calling the kettle black’ appear very clearly.
As if sensing Jeong Tae-ui’s subtle gaze, Yohan frowned and waved his hand.
“No, no. Despite how I look, I woke up at the crack of dawn, went for a jog, read the newspaper in the main hall, drank tea, and even greeted the elders of the house. That newspaper you’re reading right now is the one I read in the main hall this morning and brought here. Well… I did go back to sleep after that, though.”
“What on earth made you wake up that early.”
He thought it was pointless since Yohan had fallen back asleep, but Jeong Tae-ui was too mentally exhausted to nitpick Yohan’s words.
He had woken up around three in the afternoon.
He hadn’t slept little. Rather, perhaps because he had slept too much, he stayed dazed for a while after waking up before finally shaking his [unauthorized copy]heavy head and leaving the room. [Read on Read BL Novels]And when he came out after washing up, Jeong Tae-ui noticed an anomaly.
To be precise, there was no anomaly.
It was just that the gazes of the people passing by had become a level sharper than yesterday.
They weren’t people who sent friendly gazes to begin with, so it wasn’t surprising, but those looks were definitely special. Specially hostile.
As if they wanted to knock him down on the spot but were barely suppressing their anger, they glared at Jeong Tae-ui as if looking at an enemy who had killed their parents. He didn’t even have time to wonder why they were acting this way.
It wasn’t just the people of the Tarten family.
Even the servants, who had remained peaceful as they had nothing to do with the internal strife, had a very chilly atmosphere.
There was no need to wonder about the reason.
Considering the carnage Christoph [stolen content]had unauthorized copycaused last night, it would be stranger if the atmosphere remained unchanged.
How many people had been carried out nearly dead from that spot yesterday? And what about the state of the shops being completely wrecked? Even in the house—specifically in the stables—several people had been carried out. Probably, more people had bled from yesterday’s sunset to today’s sunrise than all the people who had bled since Jeong Tae-ui arrived at this house combined.
The atmosphere, which had been gradually becoming hostile over time, had plummeted to its worst in a single night.
He could feel it. A needle-like, stinging atmosphere floated pricklingly in the air.
Even when he entered the dining hall a moment ago, two men who had been sitting at a table talking before him looked at him, made a gesture of spitting, and left aggressively. If they had been a rougher sort, the atmosphere was such that they would have thrown a punch at Jeong Tae-ui right then and there.
While sitting with an uneasy heart, flipping through the newspaper half-heartedly and chewing bread, Yohan had entered in his disheveled state.
Facing Yohan, who was the same as yesterday, the murderous intent lingering in the air seemed to soften a bit.
Pulling the basket in front of Jeong Tae-ui and taking a large bite of bread, Yohan scratched his head.
“I didn’t really want to wake up early either, [visit our site]but the atmosphere outside was incredibly hectic. Seven? Eight? Anyway, people were visiting the house in lines from [visit our site]the crack of dawn; they were pacing back and forth outside the window, it was so noisy.”
Complaining that since he was already up, he tried to run a lap around the forest, read the paper, and drink tea leisurely, but the elders wouldn’t let him go once they sat him down, Yohan finished a fist-sized piece of bread in just two bites. Then he reached for a second piece.
“That many people came this morning? I didn’t know because I was sleeping. Well, I was tired last night… But why? Is today some special day?”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked, Yohan glared at him with narrowed eyes while chewing bread.
“How can you ask me that? You were there too.”
“Huh? Where?”
“The place where Christoph went to Richard’s shop and caused a scene.”
Jeong Tae-ui stopped eating bread and remained speechless for a moment with his mouth open. Only then did his brain start working properly.
“…He certainly caused a stolen contentserious scene… but was it a grave enough situation for [visit our site]people to gather at the house?”
“Two people died, four are unconscious, and seven are in critical condition; it’s only natural the old men are freaking out.”
The bread in his hand dropped. His complexion hardened instantly.
“Died? …They died?”
“Yeah, two. One in the stables, one at the shop. And one of the four who are still unconscious is in critical condition right now. If that one dies too, that’s three lives in one night. It’s relatively quiet here. The main hall is a disaster with the old men. It was so bad that I was dragged away while drinking tea and suffered under the old men’s nagging.”
Facing Yohan, who was rubbing his half-open eyes and asking if it was better now, Jeong Tae-ui swallowed the bread that wouldn’t go down.
He thought several people were sprawled out yesterday, but there were actually deaths. No wonder the air felt as stinging as a blade.
“What about… Christoph?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked, pulling the visit our siteempty cup in front visit our siteof Yohan. He felt like the bread would get [unauthorized copy]stuck in his throat if he didn’t drink something.
“Hmm? I don’t know, he’s probably lying down? When the old men dragged him away this morning, I followed and saw that he probably won’t be able to open his eyes for a while.”
“Ah… right, I guess so.”
Even Jeong Tae-ui had been collapsed for half a day before waking up. If Christoph were already up and walking around, Jeong Tae-ui would have fled this monster-den of a house immediately.
Pouring the remaining tea and wetting his throat in silence, Jeong Tae-ui glared at Yohan, who was emptying the bread basket at an alarming speed before his eyes.
He was already an unwelcome presence in Tarten. Christoph was not treated with affection, even by those who did not actively oppose him. Everyone feared him and found him difficult to deal with. And now, even more so.
“A guy who gave up his succession and practically cut ties with the family leaves for over a decade, only to come back and throw a wrench into the family affairs—it’s only natural that the old men are truly determined this time. Even before, the Elder had shielded him when others suggested doing something about him, but this time, they won’t be able to just let it slide in silence.”
“……Richard must be absolutely thrilled.”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered while sipping his tea, Yohan snorted.
“Where would he have the time to be thrilled? He took quite a bit of damage himself because of yesterday’s incident. ……As expected, since I just woke up, I don’t have much of an appetite.”
Only after quickly emptying half of the basket filled with bread did Yohan push it to the center of the table and brush the crumbs from his lips. He then gave a casual glance to Jeong Tae-ui, who was staring intently at him.
“The decision for the successor is less than a month away. At this point, no matter how Christoph provoked him, he shouldn’t have fought.”
“Hmm…… I don’t particularly want to defend him, but considering the carnage yesterday, I think it would have been hard to just stand by and watch. Moreover, someone actually died; wouldn’t it be more of a problem to just watch that happen?”
“Then he should have just shot the other guy in the head immediately instead of engaging.”
Gulp. Jeong Tae-ui stopped just as he was about to swallow his tea and stared blankly at Yohan. Yohan, who was picking up a piece of pecan that had fallen among the breadcrumbs, was not speaking in a joking tone. He looked at Jeong Tae-ui with a face that wasn’t overly serious, but wasn’t empty either. Along with the words “should have shot,” he even made a gesture of firing a gun with his finger.
This guy shows his extraordinary side in such unexpected places again……
“Isn’t it a bit much for [visit our site]Read on Read BL Novelssomeone who’s going to be the leader to just casually shoot and kill a blood relative?”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke hesitantly, but Yohan snorted again.
“There are specific opponents and specific situations where that works. In this case, no matter what happened, no matter the result, it was a fight Richard would win. Any excuse would have worked. But instead, he stepped in and fought for no reason, getting himself injured all over—what on earth was he thinking?”
As Yohan grumbled that thanks to this, the house was in an emergency, his ears were ringing, and it was all very unpleasant, Jeong Tae-ui frowned slightly.
Just shoot and kill them without needing to get your hands dirty.
Yohan might be right. Unless one could crush the opponent from a position of overwhelming superiority, Richard had made a mistake that someone aspiring to the leader’s seat should not have made. Someone was already dead, he himself was a wreck, and yet he hadn’t decisively suppressed the opponent. In many ways, it was a losing trade.
“Still…… there shouldn’t be any problem with the succession.”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered that there wasn’t any other rival standing in his way, Yohan shrugged.
“Well, in the end, there probably won’t be much change, but the timing isn’t great. [stolen content]If [visit our site]things go south, the date for the succession decision might even be postponed.”
“That’s possible?”
“Who knows…… the key will depend on how the discussions with the guests who are arriving soon are wrapped up, but well, you never know.”
Yohan muttered indifferently while carelessly flipping through the newspaper.
Guests, huh. I suppose many people visit as the succession date approaches, Jeong Tae-ui thought, nodding, when a small snippet of an article in the economy section caught his eye.
It was a short article analyzing the ripple effects of rising oil prices, along with a vague mention regarding oil policy by Ali, who had succeeded Ban Dar Al-Fad as Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister late last year.
Noticing where Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze was lingering, Yohan followed his eyes, skimmed the article, and muttered, “Ah.”
“This middle-aged man seems to be thriving after pushing Rashid aside to become Minister. Well, it’s because his younger brother is supporting him so reliably.”
“Brother?”
I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere, but it’s always hard to remember Middle Eastern names, Jeong Tae-ui thought as he asked back. Yohan also seemed unable to recall immediately, furrowing his brow with an “Hmm.”
“You know, that guy. The one who stepped out of the power struggle early on and went back to managing the business. Al…… Al…….”
Muttering “What was it?” and continuing with “Al, Al,” Yohan eventually shrugged as if giving up. He then let out a sigh.
“I hoped Rashid would win if possible, but I guess the world doesn’t work the way you want it to.”
“? Why. Was he the moderate?”
“No, with Ali seizing power, it’s like giving wings to a tiger on that side, so that’s a bit……. Ah, whatever. That’s a problem for the old men or Richard to worry about; I’ll just stay here and wait for the fruit to fall into my lap.”
As if he had grown bored of talking, Yohan waved his hand and leaned back. Jeong Tae-ui muttered “Hmm” and lowered his gaze back to the newspaper.
There were no articles that seemed particularly unusual or important.
Rising oil prices. Come to think of it, I think my brother said he was gifted an oil field; his pockets are going to get quite full. Though he’s the type of person who wouldn’t care whether his pockets were growing or not.
Jeong Tae-ui stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment.
There was something gnawing at the back of his mind, like a mouse nibbling away, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
In this situation where both the circumstances and emotions were complex, the only thing Jeong Tae-ui could do right now was—.
“……Shall I go see if Christoph is dead or alive first.”
In this viciously turning situation, he felt he should first check on the man who, despite being the central figure, was the only one resting peacefully in a coma. He had to confirm, albeit a bit late, whether the man who had been carried into the mansion last night in a corpse-like state was actually still alive.
Leaving behind Yohan, who added, “When the old men stormed in there this morning absolutely furious, I tagged along and saw him; it looked like he wouldn’t be waking up for a while,” Jeong Tae-ui left the dining room, dragging his heavy legs.
Christoph was lying alone, almost buried in the bed.
Except for the two or three tubes extending from a pack hanging on a hook above the head of the bed and connecting into the bed, he looked as if he were sleeping as usual.
With the blanket neatly pulled up to just below his chin, Christoph lay there, breathing softly as if in a deep slumber.
Jeong Tae-ui looked down at that face, which remained pale even in the daylight, for a while before pulling the curtain beside the bed slightly. Sunlight entered the dim room as much as the curtain was drawn. Yellow sunlight shone upon Christoph’s feet.
It was much better. Rather than lying like a corpse in the shadow of the dark curtains, he looked slightly warmer now that sunlight touched at least his feet.
“Christoph. ……Are you sleeping?”
He spoke quietly to the sleeping man. No answer returned.
Jeong Tae-ui pulled over a chair from beside the table and sat next to him.
He looked like a literal corpse last night, but although he’s still pale, he at least looks like a living person now.
“Hey…… I heard the elders are in an uproar because of you, yet you can sleep so peacefully. After turning the whole house upside down.”
I know this isn’t the first time, but they seem quite serious this time…… Jeong Tae-ui sighed, muttering words that the other man couldn’t possibly hear.
Last night, when Richard had carried Christoph up the riverbank.
Jeong Tae-ui had been momentarily speechless upon seeing the two of them, drenched and covered in blood. Encountering that sight in the pitch-black night possessed an indescribable intensity.
He had stood speechless for a moment before Richard, who had called Jeong Tae-ui’s name accurately, and just as he was about to receive Christoph’s support from him, Ilay quietly reminded him from behind.
‘It hasn’t even been a few minutes since I told you not to forget the promise.’
The moment he heard that low voice, Jeong Tae-ui stopped reflexively in an awkward posture, and Richard watched him from a few steps away.
The streetlight shining obliquely from behind was dim, so his expression wasn’t clearly visible. However, he could tell that his eyes were very strange.
As if looking at something rare and odd, wary, cold.
……Cold.
Jeong Tae-ui had vaguely known that Richard didn’t particularly harbor any affection for him. He was a man who smiled kindly at everyone, but Jeong Tae-ui wasn’t foolish enough to mistake that for genuine liking.
But how should he describe that feeling? It felt so unfamiliar, as if he were a different person from the one he had known until now, so Jeong Tae-ui just stared at him in silence.
Perhaps noticing Jeong Tae-ui’s gaze, Richard looked down at his feet for a moment and then raised his head, smiling as usual. He tossed Christoph aside carelessly, as if shaking off a hideous snake crawling on his shoulder. Just before Christoph hit a rock and collapsed, Jeong Tae-ui caught him narrowly and glanced at Ilay.
‘Supporting him is fine, just supporting him.’
Regardless of whether it was Christoph or anyone else, supporting someone who had fainted and was collapsing was simply the decent thing to do.
When Jeong Tae-ui argued this, Ilay shrugged almost imperceptibly, but he didn’t specifically stop him.
‘Mr. Jeong Tae-ui.’
Just as Jeong Tae-ui was about to move toward the car while hauling Christoph, he turned around at the sound of his name being called from behind. The person who called Jeong Tae-ui’s name slowly and with clear pronunciation was Richard.
However, it didn’t seem like he called him because he had business with him; after scanning Jeong Tae-ui for a moment, Richard shifted his gaze to Ilay.
To Ilay, who was looking at them with a composed yet displeased face, as if something was bothering him, Richard smiled slowly.
‘I see, so that’s how it is.’
‘…….’
Ilay, who remained silent for a moment at Richard’s subtle remark, also let out a faint, short laugh. So what. It was a cool and arrogant smile that seemed to say exactly that.
Richard shrugged slightly. Then, he turned his gaze away from Jeong Tae-ui, who was carrying Christoph, and looked at Christoph, who was already sprawled out like a corpse.
‘That guy already knew, didn’t he?’
‘Who knows.’
‘If he wanted him without knowing, it’s pitiful; if he wanted him while knowing, it’s foolish. ……Ha.’
Richard let out a low snort. At that short laugh, which sounded extremely amused, Jeong Tae-ui smacked his lips bitterly.
Richard was consistently polite and courteous. Even earlier at the shop, when everyone treated Jeong Tae-ui harshly, believing him to be Christoph’s ally, only Richard did not break his polite demeanor. And he probably would continue to do so. As he did with everyone.
And yet, he hated only Christoph intensely. Looking at Read on Read BL Novelshis usual behavior and personality, it was beyond puzzling—it was bizarrely blatant.
With a personality like that, it would suit him better to be calm and kind while coldly cutting him off.
“……Then again, if we’re talking about that, you, who are indifferent to everyone, really hate that guy too.”
Jeong Tae-ui suddenly muttered to himself while looking at the sleeping Christoph.
The sight of him with only his face exposed from under the blanket was still breathtakingly beautiful, but if he were to lift that blanket, there would be bandages wrapped around various parts of his body.
It was just as Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and pulled the curtain slightly to block the sunlight that had stretched deep into the room.
When he turned back after closing the curtain by a hand’s breadth, Christoph was opening his eyes. The moment he turned, he locked eyes with those clear, glass-like blue eyes.
“Ack……!”
Startled as if a porcelain doll had suddenly snapped its eyes open, [Read on Read BL Novels]Jeong Tae-ui shrunk his shoulders and stared at Christoph.
“……You’re awake? How does your body feel?”
Asking a beat late, Jeong Tae-ui quietly calmed his racing heart.
Ah, I was really startled for a second. Maybe because he looks like a statue, it really felt like a porcelain doll opened its eyes, which made it more shocking. It’s a good thing it was daytime; if it had been late evening and dim, my heart might have stopped……
Tapping his chest lightly and sitting back in the chair beside the bed, Jeong Tae-ui soon realized.
The awakened Christoph was not looking at Jeong Tae-ui. He was casting his gaze somewhere into the void. Seeing nothing.
“……Chris?”
Blink. He closed and opened his eyes once, his long eyelashes fluttering. Only then did those pupils turn toward Jeong Tae-ui.
Even though he was looking at Jeong Tae-ui, Christoph said nothing. [unauthorized copy]As he just stared [stolen content]blankly as if he had [visit our site]become an idiot, Jeong Tae-ui asked quietly.
“Does it hurt?”
After a bit more silence, Christoph spoke in a raspy voice.
“My head hurts……. My ears are ringing.”
He could hear him muttering “It’s noisy” under his breath.
Jeong Tae-ui glanced at the tube leading into the blanket. Even though there should be pain-relieving components, Christoph was asking for medicine with a furrowed brow.
As Christoph tried to lift his body, he frowned more. He didn’t let out a groan, but a brief flash of pain crossed his expression. However, before the pain, he looked at the needle of the tube inserted into his wrist as if it were a nuisance and muttered irritably.
“What is this…….”
“Don’t you remember yesterday?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked Christoph, who was muttering as if he didn’t know why such a thing was attached to his body. Christoph raised an eyebrow and looked at Jeong Tae-ui, blinking a few times. His gaze, still slightly dazed as if not yet fully awake, seemed to be recalling memories. Then, he slowly nodded, “Uh.”
“I remember……. Falling into the river…….”
Coming out of the river…… as he tilted his head slightly with a grumpy face, tracing his memories one by one, Christoph seemed as though the memories weren’t coming back clearly.
Well, after bleeding that much, there was no way his head wouldn’t be foggy. It wouldn’t be strange if he had exhausted all his energy just to stay upright on two legs.
Watching Christoph tilt his head slowly and grimace as if recalling something from months ago, Jeong Tae-ui sighed.
At any rate, he looked fine. Although his body was somewhat restricted, seeing him wake up and move without serious complications made his heart feel much lighter.
Come to think of it, this guy isn’t the type to be restless or anxious just because the atmosphere is tense, so as long as he’s okay, that’s enough.
I’m leaving soon anyway, Jeong Tae-ui was [visit our site]comforting himself, when he suddenly [visit our site]saw visit our siteChristoph clench his fist and looked up.
Then, he flinched and shrunk back.
Christoph was glaring at his fist with a sharp intensity. His pale, expressionless face instantly flushed with a terrifying rage.
“……What’s wrong.”
Jeong Tae-ui asked, pushing his chair back a few inches.
The Christoph who, until a moment ago, had been tilting his head indifferently and casually, albeit slightly irritated, was gone; in his place was a Christoph with an aura that looked as if he would snap someone’s neck at any moment.
“Richard…… I’m going to kill him.”
The sound of grinding teeth was mixed into that voice.
As always, that sharp voice contained an undeniable [visit our site]truth, and Jeong [visit our site]Tae-ui leaned back another hand’s breadth.
“Are you still not over it……. Richard looked like he’d have to walk around wrapped in bandages for a while too, so why don’t you just think of it as being even.”
It was just as Jeong Tae-ui spoke hesitantly to Christoph, who looked like he would bolt out right now to find and rampage at Richard.
Suddenly, as if some thought had occurred to him, Christoph’s face turned pale.
“……I feel like throwing up.”
As soon as he muttered that, seeing Christoph cover his mouth as a grotesque groan leaked out, Jeong Tae-ui hurriedly grabbed a trash can within reach and held it out. As soon as Christoph took the trash can almost by force, he began to vomit with agonizing and nauseating groans.
As if pouring out everything inside his body, he retched for a long time, and just when it seemed to subside, he would clutch the trash can and heave painfully several more times. Patting the back of Christoph, who continued to retch intermittently even though there was nothing left to come out, Jeong Tae-ui frowned.
Was something wrong with the medicine? He looked fine, but perhaps he wasn’t. Why was his stomach suddenly turning so violently that he was in such agony?
Jeong Tae-ui was seriously considering whether it would be better to go [unauthorized copy]out and call a doctor, [Read on Read BL Novels]and just as he couldn’t stand it anymore and turned to leave, Christoph—his hand gripping Tae-ui’s sleeve tightly, veins standing out blue—muttered with a choked voice, his head still bowed toward the trash can.
“Water… towel.”
“Uh, hold on.”
It seemed he had calmed down a bit. Tae-ui felt anxious since Christoph had been gagging repeatedly, but he hurried to the bathroom and returned with a towel soaked in water. He also handed a cup of water to Christoph, who was leaning against the headboard and silently wiping his mouth with the towel.
Even after rinsing his mouth, Christoph seemed to feel unwell for a while, occasionally catching his breath. Only after a considerable amount of time had passed did he finally set the water cup down and let out a displeased sigh.
During that time, he glared into the void with eyes that shimmered as if a bluish fire had been lit in them, and he spoke as if talking to himself.
“Richard, that murderous…!”
However, he stopped mid-sentence and clamped his mouth shut. He covered his mouth with his hand as if another wave of nausea was surging up.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Christoph with a face that was both worried and suspicious.
It was a well-known fact that Christoph hated Richard, but today it seemed exceptionally intense. Had he dreamed of meeting his sworn enemy on a narrow bridge just before waking up?
As he thought this, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly realized something.
He didn’t know how much they had fought after falling into the river.
After they jumped from the car, Jeong Tae-ui had been too preoccupied with a desperate chase—one where he felt his own life was threatened—to think about anything else. By the time he managed to return to the spot to rescue them, Richard had appeared, carrying an unconscious Christoph, looking as though they had just finished a fierce struggle.
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head.
“Why? Did Richard say let’s make up and then stab you in the back the moment you turned around?”
He didn’t think that was likely, but he asked anyway to gauge the nature of this extraordinary rage.
Suddenly, Christoph shut his mouth tight stolen contentlike a clam. His eyes gradually grew red. His deep blue eyes became increasingly glossy.
Jeong Tae-ui flinched and recoiled.
He’s not crying, is he? No, he must be angry. He looks like he’s so furious he doesn’t know what to do with himself and wants to burst into tears.
He had thought they just had a severe fight, but something felt off.
“…What’s wrong…?”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked tentatively while reading Christoph’s mood, Christoph, who was breathing heavily with rising anger, grit his teeth. Without even looking at Tae-ui, Christoph gripped the blanket tightly and glared at it as if he wanted to kill it. After panting for a long time, he muttered through clenched teeth.
“That bastard… did… did [biyuk].”
“Huh?”
Tae-ui didn’t hear him clearly. The voice was Read on Read BL Novelstoo low, visit our siteand it was hard [visit our site]to understand because Christoph was shivering and grinding his teeth in the middle.
When Jeong Tae-ui asked “What?” again, Christoph’s eyes grew even redder. Tae-ui, who had leaned slightly toward Christoph, quickly pulled himself away.
Ah. Dangerous. Dangerous. Since Christoph usually had a pale, expressionless face, the vivid peach-colored flush made him look pretty. No, he knew that Christoph was a man whose looks were unrivaled, but since he wasn’t his type, he had just ignored it. If he wasn’t careful, he might start finding him cute, or his tastes might actually change.
No, absolutely not.
Trying to steady his heart by tapping his chest, Jeong Tae-ui cleared his throat a couple of times and asked cautiously again.
“What is it? What did Richard do?”
“That bastard…!”
Opening his mouth only to say “That bastard,” Christoph grit his teeth again and couldn’t continue for a while. His eyes became even glossier; it really looked like he was about to cry out of frustration and unfairness.
Just as Jeong Tae-ui’s heart began to throb with anxiety, Christoph suddenly [unauthorized copy]shouted [stolen content]in a low, strained voice.
“That bastard… did [biyuk]! …To me!”
Gasp… Jeong Tae-ui inhaled sharply.
It felt as if his heart had dropped.
“Uh, bi… huh? Bi-yeok…?”
His tongue felt stiff, and the words wouldn’t come out.
No, he first doubted if he had heard the words correctly.
What did he just say? Unless his ears were playing tricks on him, it sounded like he said biyuk. Or had he been misunderstanding the meaning of biyuk all this time? Or did this guy misunderstand…
Jeong Tae-ui’s tangled thoughts came to a sudden halt.
In front of a dazed and blank Jeong Tae-ui, Christoph muttered while staring at his trembling fists.
“To think that bastard and I would do [biyuk]… of all people, with that bastard…!”
The reason why not only his eyes but also his neck were flushed was due to shame and rage.
Jeong Tae-ui stared intently at the white-haired man without even blinking, then at some point, cleared his throat and asked.
“What… exactly did Richard do to you?”
“That bastard… grabbed… [it].”
“What?”
“He grabbed my genitals! He even touched that area!”
The thought that his flawless white face flushed like a peach was a magnificent sight crossed his mind for a moment, but seeing the blue eyes that had finally begun to waver, Jeong Tae-ui hurriedly raised his hand.
“No, wait, wait, just calm down first… Other than that?”
Actually, that in itself was shocking. Touching someone else’s genitals is something that rarely happens unless there are extreme circumstances. If Richard had pulled or grabbed it to attack the groin in a somewhat cowardly manner, that would be one thing, but simply ‘grabbing’ it was certainly hard to imagine.
However, since the word biyuk that Christoph had spat out while trembling had already delivered a massive shock, this story didn’t feel nearly as surprising.
“Other than that…? What else?”
Christoph looked at Jeong Tae-ui suspiciously for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes as if struck by a great shock and shook his head violently.
“I—I didn’t touch him! I didn’t touch that thing of his! Don’t tell me you think I…!”
“No, I didn’t say you touched him…”
Jeong Tae-ui quickly waved his hand.
Suddenly, a cold sweat broke out.
He didn’t know where to start or what to say. Because he couldn’t grasp the situation, he found it even harder to speak.
But one thing was clear.
“I don’t know how he ended up touching a place like that, but I definitely don’t think that’s [biyuk]…”
Muttering in a small voice that was almost a monologue, Jeong Tae-ui wiped the sweat with the back of his hand. However, as if he had heard it, Christoph glared at Jeong Tae-ui with fire in his eyes.
“You! I’m telling you that I did [biyuk] with that perverted piece of trash, of all people, and you say it so nonchalantly as if it’s not your business?! If it were you, wouldn’t it be horrific to have sexual intercourse with a human being who makes you feel disgusted just by touching you?!”
He couldn’t possibly meet those eyes, which visit our site[visit our site]looked at him as if he had been betrayed by [visit our site]a lifelong best friend. Even Jeong Tae-ui couldn’t tell where the conversation had gone off the rails.
“No, it’s not like that, I mean, it would definitely feel gross, but still…”
If he had just said, “That guy touched my genitals,” Tae-ui would have readily agreed, saying, “Wow, that does feel gross, what a weirdo.” But because he said, “I did [biyuk] with that guy,” there were no words to respond with.
…Wait a minute.
A thought suddenly flashed through Jeong Tae-ui’s mind, and his heart felt heavy. Slowly, very slowly, he turned his gaze toward Christoph and spoke with a trembling heart.
“Christoph… then, by any chance, does that mean you and I… did that too?”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked cautiously, recalling the time Christoph had fiddled with his groin recently, Christoph paused.
The flushed face that had been trembling with rage that seemed ready to soar to the heavens suddenly went blank as if he had been caught off guard, and he hesitated, glancing at Tae-ui.
“Well… …No, still, back then you [unauthorized copy]touched it over the clothes, you didn’t do it directly… I mean, of course…”
Suddenly, Tae-ui’s head spun and his vision went dark.
Jeong Tae-ui slumped back into the chair and pressed his throbbing temple firmly with his thumb.
He had suspected it, but it seemed that in this guy’s head, it was already recorded that he had a deep relationship with Jeong Tae-ui.
No. Absolutely not. Definitely not.
He wanted to grab Christoph and explain everything step by step, but not knowing where or how to start, Jeong Tae-ui pondered for a moment and decided to avoid the problem for now.
“R-right… anyway, so you’re saying you did that with Richard. But how on earth…”
As Jeong Tae-ui spoke haltingly while rubbing his temple and the space between his eyebrows, Christoph suddenly declared with a serious face, as if he had just thought of something.
“Let me tell you, although I happened to do [biyuk] [stolen content]with that bastard, it’s different from you. Read on Read BL NovelsIt’s completely different from what I did with you.”
Facing Christoph, who was staring at him seriously with a bright red face and anxious, teary eyes, Jeong Tae-ui could only give a short answer: “Uh, yeah.” No, I mean, let’s just drop this topic now…
“Aha… something like that happened? I didn’t know that.”
But it was then.
Before Jeong Tae-ui could even open his mouth, a low, slow voice pierced his ear chillingly from behind.
“…!!”
Even pouring ice water on his heart wouldn’t have been more shocking than this.
As Jeong Tae-ui froze like ice, unable to move, the presence of a man stepping on the carpet drew closer, step by step.
Christoph was looking [unauthorized copy]up at the man over Jeong Tae-ui’s shoulder with a displeased expression.
“What. Since when were you eavesdropping?”
“Eavesdropping? Let me tell you, I wasn’t the one who failed to close the door properly. I wasn’t the one who yelled loud enough for the voice to be heard outside the door, nor is it my fault that you were so out of it that you couldn’t even hear my footsteps.”
The relaxed voice approached along with the presence. Eventually, the presence stopped right behind Jeong Tae-ui. A gloved hand rested lightly on his shoulder.
“If I had known you were having such an interesting conversation, I would have come sooner.”
The leather glove stroking his shoulder softly was as cold as a snake.
Jeong Tae-ui slowly, hesitantly raised his head.
Standing behind him was the owner of the voice, Ilay Riegrow. And a man was standing at the threshold, about a dozen steps away from them, rolling his eyes in bewilderment as if he had come for some business.
As Jeong Tae-ui looked back and forth between them, Ilay looked down at him and [Read on Read BL Novels]whispered, “I’d like you to [Read on Read BL Novels]tell me the details later.”
“No, there’s nothing more to tell…!”
However, as Jeong Tae-ui tried to push himself up from the chair, Ilay pressed down on his shoulder to keep him seated and turned his gaze toward Christoph.
“I’m glad you look fine. I was worried I’d have to hit you to wake you up if you were still asleep.”
“Why are you here?”
Christoph spoke sullenly. He didn’t forget to cast a glance at the man lingering at the doorway and snap, “Don’t come in. I never said you could enter my room.” At that, the man, who had stepped about half a foot inside the threshold, hurriedly backed away and spoke hesitantly.
“The elders told me to bring you…”
Turning his gaze from the man, who couldn’t finish his sentence and was stammering, to Ilay. Ilay smiled leisurely and nodded once.
“It’s as he says. Christoph Tarten, who has caused a [stolen content]definite accident despite being in a position practically equivalent to an outsider. [visit our site]The higher-ups of Tarten are looking for you. They told me to bring you even if you refuse, and they sent me along as well.”
Christoph looked with a displeased face at the man who generously suggested that if his body was too sore to walk on four limbs, he would prepare a wheelchair.
“I appreciate the offer, but I can walk on my own. Where is it?”
Pulling the tube connected to his wrist haphazardly to remove the needle, Christoph got out of bed.
Although he frowned for a moment the instant his feet hit the ground, he soon stood facing Ilay with his usual indifferent expression.
Ilay extended one arm in an exaggerated manner toward the door as if to lead the way.
However, Christoph glared at him and turned toward the wardrobe. Approaching it with a slight limp that would be hard to notice without looking closely, he began to glare into the wardrobe, just as he did every morning.
And Jeong Tae-ui, behind Ilay—who was standing facing Christoph with his back to Tae-ui—began to sidle toward the door like a crab.
Jeong Tae-ui vowed. The moment he stepped out of this room, he would pack visit our sitehis bags immediately—no, he’d throw everything away—and return to Berlin. Then, at least until Ilay finished his business here and went home, he would be able to preserve his life.
It was a moment where he realized why, even though a person should live with a long-term perspective, he had no choice but to engage in short-term escapism.
Just as he signaled the man still hesitating in front of the door to move aside and grabbed the doorknob.
Without even turning his head, Ilay spoke slowly.
“You have to come along too, so could you spare some time?”
“Uh, m-me? Why do I have to…”
Jeong Tae-ui flinched, shrugging his shoulders, and looked back hesitantly. Only then did Ilay turn his gaze toward him and speak as if it were nothing.
“The higher-ups are curious about the colleague who went to that place with Christoph last night. It’s nothing major; you’ll just need to give a light testimony. You don’t have to worry about that part.”
Does that mean I should worry about other parts? Perhaps because he had a guilty conscience, Jeong Tae-ui stopped in his tracks, guessing [stolen content]the hidden meaning between the [unauthorized copy]words. In his heart, he wanted to dash away in a short-distance sprint, but he didn’t have the confidence to succeed.
He glanced at Ilay.
He looked relaxed as usual. His calm and dependable appearance didn’t seem particularly angry or excited.
“…”
Jeong Tae-ui read his mood for a moment and then scratched his head.
Maybe it doesn’t really matter? Of course, Christoph’s words stemmed from a complete misunderstanding, and as he said, he had absolutely never done [biyuk] with him. However, it was true that Christoph had fiddled with his groin, and it was also true that there was nothing good about mentioning it.
But… well, did it not matter anyway?
Jeong Tae-ui sighed.
Come to think of it, he had ended up living in close physical proximity with men, and it might be ridiculous to take it too seriously. By nature, he disliked having free relationships with multiple people at once, but since that guy’s concepts [Read on Read BL Novels]regarding the lower body were different from others, he might consider it trivial.
Still, it didn’t feel particularly pleasant. Anyway, it was a relief that he seemed to have survived.
Whether he knew Jeong Tae-ui’s mind or not, Christoph was glaring into the wardrobe with a displeased face from a distance, and Ilay simply stood there leisurely without showing any particular sign.
* * *
A room within a room.
When he opened the heavy door inside the spacious office of the main building and entered, Jeong Tae-ui was first surprised that the room within the room was much larger than he expected, and second, he thought that this was not a place he should be entering.
As Jeong Tae-ui followed Christoph, who unauthorized copyentered first, Ilay [stolen content]entered [unauthorized copy]last and quietly closed the door.
And they were completely cut off from the somewhat bustling atmosphere of the office.
Although they were separated by only a single door, the place beyond and this place were entirely different spaces. If the outside was a space open even to outsiders, this was a space permitted only to those close to the name Tarten.
Five or six men were waiting for them in the room.
A chilly and cold silence hung there, as if the temperature had dropped by several degrees.
“You called for me.”
The person who broke that silence was Christoph.
Despite clearly feeling the chilly silence directed toward him, Christoph did not shrink or appear oppressed in the slightest. Rather, his tone sounded as if he were about to click his tongue in annoyance.
The reactions of the men facing Christoph varied. Some glared with stolen contentsudden anger, some clicked their tongues, and others wore troubled expressions.
Jeong Tae-ui stood quietly beside them, shifting his gaze to a man who showed no reaction at all.
Among them, the most familiar face was Richard.
Only his arm, wrapped in bandages and hanging beneath his suit, looked restricted. It had been less than a day since Tae-ui had last seen him in a wretched, blood-soaked state, yet Richard stood calmly beside the others. Even in this situation, it was typical of Richard to give a polite nod of greeting when his eyes met Tae-ui’s.
Tae-ui’s gaze then shifted toward the window.
By the window, where the late afternoon sun cast long rays, stood a short elderly man. Aside from Richard, he was the only person Tae-ui had seen before. He was the master of Tarten, referred to as the Elder.
Christoph’s eyes twitched slightly, as if he had noticed the Elder at almost the same time as Tae-ui, but as the man standing in front spoke, his face returned to a sculpture-like expressionlessness.
“I wish to ask what happened last night.”
The man asking in a heavy voice seemed to be the oldest among them, excluding the Elder.
“It is exactly as you know, Uncle.”
Christoph answered nonchalantly. The man called Uncle twitched an eyebrow. With a face that looked more uncomfortable than displeased, he stared intently at Christoph.
“Exactly as I know? What do you think I know?”
“I mean as you heard from him.”
Christoph answered without even turning his head, glancing briefly toward Richard with a flick of his eyes. Richard raised an eyebrow as the arrow of attention flew toward him, but showed no other reaction.
The Uncle slowly looked at Richard and then spoke to Christoph again.
“Then, it is correct to say that a few people, including Moritz, did something wicked at the Masa, leading you to hurt them, and subsequently, you went to where Richard was and fought with him and other brothers, which resulted in this.”
Christoph answered with a slight nod.
Watching Christoph stare expressionlessly at his uncle, Tae-ui thought to himself, ‘He seems to trust Richard in his own way, believing that Richard wouldn’t be despicable enough to twist the story to his own advantage.’ But on the other hand, he wondered if it wasn’t a matter of trust, but rather a matter of knowing the other person’s character well.
While Tae-ui was pondering that difference, the Uncle’s gaze shifted from Christoph to Tae-ui, who was standing behind him.
“I presume you are the young man who was with Christoph.”
Realizing belatedly that the words were directed at him, Tae-ui gave a light nod and a soft, “Ah, yes.”
Even without making eye contact, he could feel the cold gaze staring at him. It was a gaze that judged and evaluated others by its own standards.
Tae-ui had no intention of caring about the judgment of someone who had nothing to do with him and would continue to have nothing to do with him. However, he felt that appearing as an overly polite and courteous young man would be a form of deception, so he lifted his head and looked the man in the eye.
The Elder in the back still showed no sign of speaking. He simply watched them, as if he had left all the disciplinary decisions in this room to the Uncle—who was likely the person currently holding the second position in Tarten. Seen this way, he looked like a generous old man.
Turning his gaze back from the Elder to the Uncle, [visit our site]Tae-ui found that the man had [visit our site]already finished his calm observation and asked:
“What do you think?”
Tae-ui couldn’t open his mouth immediately.
It was difficult. The intent behind the question was difficult, and the man himself was difficult.
This Uncle was an unpredictable person. Tae-ui could not tell if he harbored goodwill or hostility, what he was thinking, or what his emotional state was.
Tae-ui looked down at his feet and let out a quiet sigh. Then he looked up.
“I believe it would be more helpful for them to express their opinions of each other than for me to give my opinion of them.”
And I don’t know the situation well enough to make any judgment about this incident, Tae-ui added inwardly. The Uncle nodded coldly and said:
“That is not a very helpful thought.”
Tae-ui ended up laughing weakly.
“That’s because I’m an outsider who has no intention of being helpful or a hindrance to anyone in Tarten.”
Normally, he was an outsider who didn’t even have the right to enter this place. For Tae-ui, this setting was as uncomfortable as a pair of shoes that didn’t fit.
The Uncle murmured, “Hmm,” and stared at Tae-ui. This time, he looked at him longer than before before asking:
“I heard you are here as Christoph’s guest. What kind of person are you?”
Again, Tae-ui couldn’t answer immediately.
This man made everything so difficult.
Such a comprehensive question. Of course, what he wanted was an answer regarding how he came [unauthorized copy]to know Christoph, why he was staying here, and what his identity was, but Tae-ui hesitated. He didn’t stolen contentknow which answers were acceptable or which words were forbidden.
The delicate situation currently surrounding Tarten, and his own situation.
Weighing these things, Tae-ui glanced at Richard. He found it slightly surprising. Richard likely already knew about Tae-ui, yet it seemed he hadn’t mentioned it.
After pondering for a moment, Tae-ui decided to give a minimal answer that wasn’t a lie. Since everyone who needed to be here was present, someone would add more if necessary.
“I came to get back a book I lent him, but it ended up becoming a long stay.”
However, as Tae-ui suspected, the answer was too short. Just as the Uncle raised an eyebrow and was about to speak again, Richard, who had been standing silently beside him, quietly added:
“It seems they know each other through T&R.”
At that, the Uncle closed his mouth and looked at Tae-ui. Tae-ui looked at Richard in brief bewilderment but soon retracted his gaze.
It wasn’t entirely wrong. Tae-ui was related to T&R [visit our site]in his own way, and it [unauthorized copy]wasn’t a lie to say that’s how he met Christoph.
Remaining silent after hearing words that weren’t the exact truth, Tae-ui simply looked up at the ceiling.
Now that I think about it, it’s not just my name that’s unlucky; the position I’m in is unlucky too, he thought to himself.
Fortunately, the adults, including the Uncle, didn’t seem to have much more business with Tae-ui.
A conversation took place among them for a while. There was very little he could understand. It wasn’t a matter of language, but rather that some agreement had already been reached before Christoph and Tae-ui arrived; only brief questions and agreements, the conclusions of which were impossible to guess, were exchanged.
Then, the Uncle finally called out, “Elder,” and the old man nodded in a way that was ambiguous in meaning. With that, a certain conclusion seemed to have been reached.
The Uncle turned to Christoph.
To Christoph, who faced them with an indifferent expression as if he didn’t care what punishment was handed down, the Uncle spoke heavily.
“Christoph. When you renounced your succession and left this place, we agreed to act as if the other problems you [stolen content]caused here never happened. Since it was unlikely you would return unless something major occurred. However, for you to return briefly before an important matter and cause [Read on Read BL Novels]such a problem again—even considering the cause, the result is far too excessive.”
Tae-ui swallowed hard. The taste in his mouth was bitter, as he could guess what words would follow. He shifted his eyes to look at Christoph.
Christoph remained expressionless. He was simply calm, without any sign of surprise or distress. Perhaps he had expected this from the start. Thinking that since the moment he left this place long ago, he had no more lingering regrets or attachments.
“Therefore, you shall leave Tarten immediately. And do not come here again. Once you leave this time, do not come to Dresden. That is the final courtesy you can show to Tarten, the family that gave birth to you.”
“I will do so.”
As soon as the Uncle finished the short sentence, Christoph answered readily.
Tae-ui watched them and then quietly lowered his gaze. He didn’t feel like watching that nonchalant scene any longer.
Come to think of it, Christoph had once mentioned that he originally had no intention of returning to Dresden. That he had only come this time because it was unavoidable.
Thus, the decision of the Uncle and the [stolen content]family elders [stolen content]to tell him not [unauthorized copy]to return could not give him a great shock.
Nevertheless.
When he woke up in a large bed, frowning as he greeted the morning; when he rode a horse through the forest, pristine and haughty without a speck of dust; when he turned the pages of a book in the library amidst the book dust dancing in the golden late afternoon sunlight.
Recalling how those things seemed as natural as if they were ingrained in his body, Tae-ui felt a bitterness in his throat. Even if he didn’t want it, this was the place that suited him best. At least more than rolling around in the dirt covered in blood.
“As my uncle said, I will leave Dresden as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow. And as long as I am alive, I will not return here.”
In front of Christoph, who answered without regret, no one spoke for a moment. Perhaps they were feeling the same sense of loss as Tae-ui.
However, just as the Uncle nodded and was about to speak, someone else spoke first.
“I will take his help.”
The moment those words fell, heavy yet light, a short silence of surprise flowed through the room.
Richard, who had been listening to their conversation silently from the side, was shifting his gaze from Christoph to the Uncle.
“Guests from the Middle East will arrive soon; I will welcome them together with Christoph. Since he has dealt with the Middle East while being in T&R’s mobile task force, I believe I can receive help from him. In doing so, I will ensure he pays the price for what he has done this time.”
Those relaxed and powerful words had likely not been mentioned beforehand.
The adults present all looked back and forth between Richard and Christoph with surprised and unexpected expressions. And Tae-ui looked blankly at Christoph, whose indifferent face was now spreading with surprise followed by displeasure, then at the calm and relaxed Richard, and finally at Ilay, who raised an eyebrow as if it were slightly unexpected but showed no other sign.
“I won’t.”
The one who spoke immediately was Christoph.
However, as if he had heard nothing, Richard ignored him and continued.
“The time to decide who will succeed Tarten is not far off. And as it stands, I cannot convince myself that I possess the leadership necessary to lead Tarten. If unauthorized copyI cannot derive a result that benefits both parties from an opponent—whether they [stolen content]harbor goodwill or hostility toward me—then my ability is insufficient to succeed Tarten. Therefore, for my own sake, I will use his help to spend the remaining time excellently.”
Regardless of his hidden intentions, the words themselves were flawless. Even if he was on bad terms with Christoph, Richard was suppressing his emotions and presenting a rational solution that would be beneficial to both sides.
However.
“I will not. As my uncle said, I will leave Dresden soon and never return. I will sever ties with Tarten, except for the debts I must repay. I will not be associated with you, nor will I follow your words.”
Christoph, openly displaying his displeasure, spoke sharply with clear pronunciation and turned away without hesitation.
“Chris,” someone among the adults called from behind, but he walked away as if he hadn’t heard, passing by Tae-ui and Ilay to open the door and leave.
Before anyone could stop him, Christoph left so decisively that the wooden door closed heavily. As Tae-ui stood there, wondering in bewilderment if he should follow him out now, a quiet voice followed after a short silence behind his back.
“He will.”
Speaking leisurely, Richard picked up the cup in front of [unauthorized copy]him. A faint scent of coffee wafted from him as he moistened his lips.
“I do not wish for the conclusion to be his expulsion from Tarten. I do not want to lose one of my precious brothers in such an extreme way. Even if he is an absurd troublemaker.”
A soft smile bloomed along with a warm and benevolent voice.
“Therefore, I will settle this by receiving his help to resolve the matter smoothly. Although he will likely hate it intensely.”
While the adults offered a few words of encouragement and praise to Richard, who smiled helplessly as if it couldn’t be helped, Tae-ui just watched him in silence.
That gentle and kind smile, not a single hair out of place.
* * *
After Christoph left, Tae-ui, who had truly become the ‘lone’ outsider in that room, wondered at what point he should leave, but that worry didn’t last long. The Uncle, who was about to speak, saw Tae-ui and gestured for him to leave.
Of course, an outsider should not be present while discussing the secret affairs of the family.
Tae-ui promptly gave a polite greeting and turned around.
He locked eyes with Ilay, who was standing by the door like a gatekeeper.
Ilay narrowed his eyes and looked at Tae-ui with a somewhat meaningful expression, but he stepped aside to clear the path without a word. He even opened the door himself and gave a polite gesture pointing outside, as if telling him to get back safely.
‘There’s a saying that people die when they do things they don’t normally do.’
As Tae-ui murmured very softly while passing him, Ilay narrowed his eyes and whispered back in a similar volume.
‘I’d prefer it to be death by overexertion during sex.’
Hey, I don’t want that! Do you have any idea how heavy you are?!
Barely suppressing the urge to shout, Tae-ui stepped out through the open door. Then, with a low voice saying, “Until next time,” the door closed.
Tae-ui stood blankly in front of the door for a moment, then shook his head and turned away. The gazes of the people busily moving about in the office outside the door occasionally touched Tae-ui and then vanished. As expected, this was not a space for Tae-ui.
It was different from Berlin. Kyle’s house and this place were too different.
During the years he stayed there, he had never felt uncomfortable. It was no different from a house where one lives with family.
But this place—perhaps because Tae-ui was not part of the family here—was like a sophisticated community. Something positioned somewhere between a family and a company.
I want to go back to Berlin. The thought suddenly occurred to him. To the place that had now become where Tae-ui belonged.
“Uh… but what happens if I fall out with Ilay later?”
At the sudden thought, Tae-ui tilted his head as he left the office and headed toward the west wing.
Even if he returned to Korea, he no longer had family there. He wasn’t particularly close with the few relatives he had.
“Then I could go live in New York where my brother is… No, I probably wouldn’t get a visa. What country gives a visa to a terrorist? It would be better to just live comfortably with friends in Korea. But I wonder if I can even go back to Korea…”
Muttering to himself, Tae-ui crossed over to the west wing. The people he passed in the main building were all strangers; it was actually better once he returned to the west wing, even if the gazes there were as sharp as blades.
…He had nowhere to return to.
He has nowhere to return to, other than where he is right now.
Jeong Tae-ui didn’t know what that felt like. It wasn’t a feeling one could understand simply by imagining it in their head. He could only guess.
Where would that man go back to?
“Chris.”
Jeong Tae-ui quietly called out to the man sitting at a table in one corner of the room, silently tapping his fingernails together. Even though he clearly knew Tae-ui had arrived, he didn’t spare him a glance. He only stared intently at his own fingertips.
Tae-ui sighed and stepped into the room.
“Do you… need help packing?”
Only then did Christoph give Tae-ui a brief glance. He spoke as if spitting the words out.
“I have no luggage. There is nothing here I wish to take with me.”
Tae-ui pulled out the opposite chair and sat down in front of Christoph, who had essentially said he could just leave as he was. After a while of further silence, Christoph suddenly muttered as if talking to himself.
“I shouldn’t have come here. I told myself I would never come back.”
Yet, this place suited him. Although he remained an outsider among the people, the various spaces of this house fit him quite well. Even if this wasn’t where he truly belonged.
But soon, he would leave this place and never return. For some reason, Tae-ui felt a sense of regret at that fact.
“Yeah, maybe it would have been better not to come if it was just going to leave you feeling this upset.”
Tae-ui nodded quietly in agreement. At that, Christoph shot him a dissatisfied glance.
“I’m not ‘upset.’ As if I’d be upset over something like this.”
Watching Christoph speak sullenly, as if the idea were absurd, Tae-ui let out a small chuckle.
“Where are you going once you leave here? Where are you living now?”
“Wherever I feel like. Since my work requires me to travel throughout the year anyway.”
“How about Berlin? Kyle’s house is a bit away from the city center, so it’s quiet and nice.”
“Berlin… Kyle hates me.”
After a moment of thought, Christoph shook his head. It was somewhat unexpected. Tae-ui had thought he would proudly hold his head high and say, Whether he hates me or not, I’ll live there because I want to.
“Why? Ilay is there, too.”
Tae-ui brought it up, swallowing the words And I’m there for now, but as soon as he spoke, Christoph’s eyes turned bleak.
“Rick… No, definitely not. Berlin has bad energy. Now that I think about it, Tarten has a massive branch office there. Richard goes there often, too. No, it’s really not a place for a person to live.”
Facing Christoph, who was shaking his head vehemently, Jeong Tae-ui—who lived in a place with equally bad energy—smacked his lips.
Richard was not a subject to dwell on for long. He quickly shifted the topic.
“Then maybe another sibling… Come to think of it, do you have any siblings?”
The moment Tae-ui asked, Christoph stiffened. His lips tightened, and his expressionless eyes looked straight at Tae-ui.
It was as if he were facing a complete stranger.
He gazed steadily at Tae-ui with eyes as blue and emotionless as a sculpture, and then, he slowly shook his head.
“No… I don’t. My father passed away early.”
“Ah…” Tae-ui replied ambiguously, hesitantly scratching his cheek.
Maybe it would have been better not to ask.
However, facing a suddenly silent Christoph, Tae-ui felt it would [visit our site]be even more awkward if unauthorized copyhe stopped talking as well.
“Oh, I see. What about on your mother’s side… any siblings there?”
“No. My mother has always lived alone.”
Christoph picked up the teapot resting on the tray beside the table. The sound of water pouring into the teacup echoed.
He seemed unfazed. He drank his tea quietly with such a composed air that Tae-ui’s previous hesitation felt awkward in comparison.
Tae-ui scratched his cheek again.
“Hmm… you must have been close with your father.”
“My mother loves Tarten dearly.”
Christoph spoke concisely.
His face was so serene that it seemed he was in a better mood than when he had been sitting there looking displeased. It was a face devoid of anger or irritation—simply expressionless.
“Even now, she always misses this place. I heard she calls the elders every day to check in. In fact, she loves Tarten far more than those born with Tarten blood.”
Suddenly, the hand lowering the teacup to the saucer stopped.
Still, as if time had frozen, without even blinking, his mind seemed to wander elsewhere.
As if he had truly turned from a human into a sculpture, the color slowly began to drain from his lips.
Tae-ui watched him silently, then picked up the teapot and poured more tea into his half-empty cup. Steam rose above the cup along with the sound of the water. Slowly, his pupils drifted down to watch the stream of liquid.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen my brother in several years.”
“Brother…?”
Christoph repeated Tae-ui’s words like a parrot and slowly raised his gaze. Tae-ui acted as if it were nothing, humming a small “mm,” and pulled the empty teacup toward himself.
“After I went to Berlin, I barely ever left the house, and my brother was too busy to find time to visit me. I think we only spoke on the phone a few times… He’s my only family, but I haven’t heard his voice in a long time.”
Christoph stared blankly at Tae-ui. He seemed to be listening intently to the story. Color returned to his expression.
“A brother… Your brother was Jeong Jae-yi. The one they call the lucky genius.”
“Yeah. His luck is truly beyond words. For instance, if he pours hot water and the glass cup shatters, he’ll be perfectly fine without a single scratch, while I—who was just going to get a rag to wipe up the water—would slip on it, skin my knee, and burn my foot.”
“What… is your luck bad in proportion to how good his is?”
“No, it’s not like that. I’m just saying it’s like that. Instead, how should I put it… my brother was surprisingly naive. If I got hurt like that, he’d feel subtly guilty and not know what to do, even though it wasn’t his fault. Thanks to that, I made him do my homework many times.”
Thinking back, the brother with an ordinary sibling had suffered a lot of losses. [Read on Read BL Novels]The younger brother asked him for help with homework, asked him to explain [Read on Read BL Novels]problems he didn’t understand, and occasionally used his brother’s name in social situations, even if unintentionally, while the brother gained nothing from his sibling.
But Jeong Tae-ui thought that even if he had been the older brother, he would have been happy with that. Just as he still liked his brother now, even though they no longer exchanged any gains or losses.
I really should try calling him once, I should at least hear his voice occasionally, Tae-ui thought. Watching him, Christoph muttered.
“Even if you got along that well, you can’t see each other much now.”
“Huh? Oh… well, still, it’s enough just to keep in touch occasionally and confirm that we’re both doing well. Since you can’t live together forever even if you’re family, that’s just how it is. Even if you’re apart and don’t contact each other often, you just hope they’re okay, hope they’re living well.”
Tae-ui shrugged.
Christoph stared intently at Tae-ui before dropping his gaze back to the teacup. He looked at the orange liquid conveying a warm heat beyond the rim, and then, suddenly curving his eyes faintly, he muttered.
“Yeah… that’s nice.”
It seemed like he was smiling. In reality, Christoph didn’t smile, and Tae-ui had never seen him smile properly, but the stolen contentslightly softened visit our sitecurve of his eyes looked like a smile. So, Tae-ui smiled too.
Warm and glowing, the late afternoon sunlight filtering through the window resembled the tea in the cup. The deep orange color close to gold, the pleasantly warm heat, and the languid, quiet silence.
Perhaps because of the sunlight, Tae-ui shifted his gaze away from Christoph’s cheeks, which looked slightly flushed. And like him, he drank his tea. Unlike Christoph, who drank silently and elegantly, Tae-ui made rhythmic slurp, slurp sounds.
Suddenly, he felt that none of it mattered.
Even if the higher-ups of Tarten were noisy, even if the atmosphere of the house was ominous, even if Christoph had been sentenced to exile and had to leave this place soon—at this very moment, weren’t they drinking tea here in such peace?
With nothing to torment him.
Peaceful and cozy.
Even if he could never return here, it was enough if he could spend this moment in such silence.
Then.
Just as they had finished their second cups of tea, basking in the sun like old, gentle beasts nodding off, and as the evening sun began to set.
The phone rang.
Breaking the silence.
Christoph frowned, looking displeased.
As if the sound tearing through this tranquil air was extremely grating, he glared at the phone.
As if he wanted to soak in this atmosphere a little longer, Christoph didn’t try to get up from his chair and simply glared at the phone. Watching him, Tae-ui stood up when the neurotic ringing sounded for the sixth time.
“Leave it. It’s annoying.”
But just before Tae-ui could take a [unauthorized copy]step, Christoph [Read on Read BL Novels]muttered irritably, and Tae-ui shrugged and sat back down.
The phone continued to ring for a long while after that before cutting off.
When silence returned, the face of Christoph, who had been glaring fiercely at the phone, softened somewhat.
However, before Christoph could pick up his teacup again, the phone began to ring once more, and it didn’t stop even after ringing for a long time.
“…It seems to be an urgent matter.”
When Tae-ui gestured toward the phone at the grating sound, Christoph stood up with a displeased face.
Walking over as if he were about to slam the receiver down the moment he answered, he grabbed the handset roughly. And the moment he spoke bluntly in a voice that sounded as if ice were dripping from it—”Hello”—
‘Christoph! What is happening?! Why are you telling me not to come to Dresden? I’ve already finished all my preparations to go there and was just waiting for the day to leave! Oh, my god… Christoph! Christoph!! Say something! What on earth is going on?!’
A woman’s voice, wailing like a scream, could be heard through the receiver.
And Jeong Tae-ui saw Christoph’s shoulders stiffen faintly as he held the handset.
As if he were turning into something other than human.
Until not even a hint of vitality could be felt in his paling face.
He became that cold. The face that the evening sun had illuminated in gold cooled down like a night shadow.
Watching that sight unfold right before his eyes, Jeong Tae-ui’s heart cooled as well.
Tae-ui had never seen a person change in such a way.
Mother, Christoph’s lips seemed to move. But perhaps it was nothing more than a slight tremor. His lips trembled like a butterfly struggling, entangled in a spiderweb.
‘How long… how long [unauthorized copy]have I waited… to be able to go there, to [Read on Read BL Novels]visit Tarten, how long…!’
The voice on the phone was sobbing.
How could you do this to me, you should know my heart, how could you do this, the voice, audible even to Tae-ui through the receiver, sobbed in grief.
With a face frozen like lead, Christoph barely moved his lips every now and then. But no words leaked from those lips; they only fluttered as if trying to make some excuse.
Christoph, Christoph, a voice mixed with tears called his name. It sounded like a ghost calling from deep underground.
She was Christoph’s mother.
The person who had created this delicate and beautiful man, this pale and lifeless sculpture.
‘Christoph, I was driven out of that place because of you, and now I cannot even return there because of you. Christoph, if only it weren’t for you, if only the one I gave birth to wasn’t you…!’
“…—!”
Before he knew it, his body moved faster than his thoughts.
Coming to his senses belatedly, Jeong Tae-ui realized that at some point, he had snatched the receiver from Christoph’s hand and hung up the phone.
However, unaware that the call had ended, and unaware that the receiver was no longer in his hand, Christoph stood there blankly like a ghost. As if he had been led away by the ghost pulling him from underground and had become a ghost himself.
“…Chris.”
Tae-ui called him quietly. The voice didn’t seem to reach his ears.
He didn’t answer, didn’t look back, and showed no sign of understanding; he just stood there vacantly.
“Chris.”
Tae-ui called him again. And he carefully [unauthorized copy]placed a Read on Read BL Novelshand on his arm. At Read on Read BL Novelsthat moment, Christoph flinched and stepped aside as if shaking off the hand.
It was then. The phone began to ring again, like a piercing scream.
Christoph shuddered and curled his body. As if he wanted to retreat but his feet wouldn’t move, he shifted his body back slightly while remaining standing.
Jeong Tae-ui pulled out the phone line. Soon, the screaming of the telephone stopped, and silence returned to the room.
“…Christoph.”
Again, there was no response.
Christoph remained curled up as if embracing himself, clutching his mouth with one hand.
Tae-ui wondered if he was feeling nauseous, but even after watching for a while, Christoph showed no sign of vomiting. However, before long, the hand clutching his jaw as if to cover his mouth began to tremble intermittently. That trembling spread to his arms and shoulders, and eventually, his entire body shook faintly.
“Chris, Christoph.”
Tae-ui called him anxiously. He still seemed unable to hear Tae-ui’s call, his gaze fixed, but at one point, he muttered almost inaudibly.
“I can hear the sound. Inside my ears, constantly, constantly…”
“Christoph. You can’t hear it. I can’t hear anything. It’s quiet here. There’s no sound.”
Tae-ui spoke, but Christoph still didn’t look back. He continued to keep his gaze nailed to some point in the air.
“It’s noisy… don’t scream like that, I can hear you even if you don’t shout, please be quiet…!”
To someone other than Tae-ui, to someone screaming incessantly in his ears, Christoph was shouting softly. But the voice leaking from his pale lips was so thin that it was woefully insufficient to block the sound that Tae-ui could not hear.
“Christoph!”
Tae-ui grabbed his arm again. This time, too, [stolen content]he flinched and tried to shake Tae-ui off. But this time, Tae-ui didn’t let go. He tightened his grip on the arm [visit our site]and refused to let go even as Christoph struggled.
After he shook his arm violently two, three times and Tae-ui still didn’t let go, only then did Christoph finally look at him. Wide, bright blue eyes turned toward Tae-ui.
“Let go.”
“Christoph, it’s okay.”
“Let go…!”
Christoph swung a fist at Tae-ui.
However, the arm that had been dislocated the previous night and still creaked whenever he moved could not exert much power, and it only managed to barely shake off Tae-ui’s hand.
Tae-ui, who had tried to hold onto Christoph until the end, accidentally lost his grip, stumbled back a couple of steps, and tripped over the table. The teacups and other items on the table crashed down with him.
With a loud noise, the thin teacups and the teapot shattered. Amidst the Read on Read BL Novels[visit our site]glass shards scattering around him, Tae-ui looked up at [unauthorized copy]Christoph from his fallen position.
Startled again by the sound, Christoph flinched, and only then did he look at Tae-ui. Not at someone else, but at Tae-ui.
The trembling lips that had been about to call Tae-ui’s name instead let out a thin moan.
“It’s cold… my ears hurt. …I feel like my eardrums are going to tear. It’s noisy.”
Repeating the same words like a young child who only knows a few phrases, Christoph hugged himself. A faint trace of blood appeared near his waist, as if a wound had opened.
Muttering “It’s noisy, it’s noisy” while clutching his ears, Christoph suddenly looked around as if he had thought of something. His eyes, as if searching for something, fixed on the side table. A slender fountain pen lay there, its sharp tip exposed.
The moment Christoph took a step toward it, Tae-ui realized instinctively.
“Chris, don’t!!”
He bolted upright from his seat. His [visit our site][Read on Read BL Novels]hand, bracing against the floor, brushed against a shattered teacup and was cut, but stolen contenthe didn’t even have the luxury to feel the pain.
By a hair’s breadth, just before Christoph could grip the fountain pen and plunge its sharp nib into his own ear, Jeong Tae-ui managed to seize his wrist.
“Stop it!!”
Jeong Tae-ui forcibly snatched the fountain pen away and threw it. Then, he landed a punch squarely on Christoph.
With a dull thud, Christoph stumbled back a few steps before coming to a halt against the wall. He then looked down at his feet, pale, while hugging himself with one arm.
“Chris, don’t do that. It’s okay. No one is saying anything to you. I’m talking to you right now.”
Jeong Tae-ui approached Christoph.
The distance between them was about three steps.
However, he could not get any closer. That was the maximum [Read on Read BL Novels]proximity Christoph could allow at the moment.
“I can hear the sounds,” Christoph whispered. Only his lips moved, as if he were a statue speaking.
“I can hear them. They keep talking to me. Constantly. They’re speaking inside my ear, so it’s useless to cover them. I am…”
His lips trembled as if hesitating, then closed. Looking at those bluish, parched lips, Jeong Tae-ui asked.
“What kind of sounds…?”
In an instant, Christoph’s trembling stopped.
He lifted his head. Deep blue, clear eyes looked at Jeong Tae-ui. As if he had lost his soul, like a recorded automaton, he suddenly muttered.
“That I am deficient.”
Tae-ui’s breath hitched.
In the silence where even breathing had stopped, only a low, quiet voice lingered.
“I am empty somewhere. Since birth, or perhaps even before that, from some fundamental root, something is missing. Here? Or here…? …It’s gone. I’m empty, so I cannot be filled.”
Slowly sliding his hand from his chest to his head, Christoph touched his temple with his fingertips and shook his head.
As he spoke, warmth gradually returned to his voice. By the time he finished, his gaze no longer wandered as if he were soulless, nor did he speak without inflection like a machine. He was simply a bit quieter and paler than usual.
“…Chris.”
“So, this is only natural.”
Christoph spoke quietly. With those words, he leaned against the wall and silently fixed his gaze on a void slightly below him.
This is only natural. That he was like this. That he had [unauthorized copy]left Read on Read BL Novelsthis place. That he lived this way. That he existed in this manner.
It wasn’t resignation or giving up. Such emotions only arise when one had hoped for something in the first place.
It was simply a matter of course. As if it had been designed and decided that way from the start.
“Christoph. You are…—”
Jeong Tae-ui wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a few seconds, he shut his mouth.
No words came to mind. Even if there were words he wanted to say, they were not his to give. No matter which part of Christoph it was, it wasn’t Jeong Tae-ui’s place, nor could it ever be.
He simply called his name once more, quietly. Chris.
He didn’t answer. He kept his gaze cast downward in silence.
However, as if a wave had passed, Read on Read BL Novelsthe [stolen content]abnormal excitement and tremors from before were gone. He was simply still and quiet.
Then, at some point, he spoke as if talking to himself.
“My mother loved Tarten. She adored everything the name Tarten provided. The visible and the invisible. …That’s why she loved Richard. Like her own biological son. Because she already knew he would become the master of Tarten.”
Each word followed the next sporadically, as if breaking apart.
“For a while after I was first chosen as a succession candidate, she looked at me, but once she decided it would be difficult for me to succeed Tarten, I… became the greatest obstacle to the Richard she loved.”
Even that was natural. Just as it was natural for anyone to think of him however they wished.
And yet. Despite that.
“Still, I…—”
“…Christoph.”
Christoph fell silent. The words that should have followed never came, no matter how long the wait. Those words melted back into Christoph’s body.
“My head hurts. I need to take my medicine.”
Christoph lifted his head. He then walked toward the chest of drawers where the medicine bottles were kept.
His languid yet steady gait and expression were already no different from usual.
He frowned, muttering softly that it was too noisy and his ears hurt, but he was his normal self now. It was as if, upon crossing a certain threshold of pain, he had conversely become comfortable.
Christoph poured a handful of white pills into his palm. Without counting them, he tossed the heap of pills into his mouth all at once. Chewing the medicine without water, he headed toward the bed.
“I’m going to rest, so please leave.”
“Chris.”
No answer came.
With his back turned, Christoph loosened his tie and draped it carelessly over the back of a chair, then unfastened his cufflinks.
After watching him for a moment, Jeong Tae-ui sighed and turned away. He knew he couldn’t say anything to him right now, and that it wasn’t his place.
Just as Jeong Tae-ui reached the door, dragging his feet heavily under the weight of hesitation.
There was a sound of knocking.
Beyond the wooden door, just as Jeong Tae-ui was about to grab the handle, someone had come and was knocking.
A slow, soft sound.
Jeong Tae-ui hesitated for a moment. Looking [visit our site]back, Christoph still had his back turned—as if he hadn’t stolen contentheard the sound, or perhaps had no intention of hearing it.
“…”
However, he couldn’t ignore the person standing beyond the unlocked door forever, and Jeong Tae-ui had to leave.
Half in response to the knock, and half to escape the room, Jeong Tae-ui opened the door. He came face-to-face with the person standing outside.
“…!”
“Hmm…? Ah, it’s you. Were you with Christoph?”
A man about half a palm shorter than Jeong Tae-ui stood at the door.
Seeing the man acknowledge him with a generous smile, Jeong Tae-ui bowed his head slightly and stepped back.
It was the Elder.
Ilay was standing in the hallway.
Once again, he stood by the door, dressed in a pristine, flawless suit.
However, the posture that had been impeccably straight became subtly skewed the moment the old man entered the room and the door closed.
To be precise, it wasn’t his posture that skewed. It was his aura.
The feeling of being a kind and upright young man from just a few seconds ago vanished completely; in its place was ‘Ilay.’
“Were you having a pleasant time?”
As Jeong Tae-ui closed the door and stepped out, as if switching places with the old man who had gone inside, Ilay tilted his head and smiled faintly. A white canine tooth peeked through his lips.
“Pleasant, my foot…”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered like a sigh.
He was certainly exhausted to the point of death today. He felt it himself, but he was likely hundreds of times more tired than he realized. Otherwise, there was no way he would feel even a faint sense of relief the moment he saw this man, unless his mind had gone slightly haywire.
Without a word, Jeong Tae-ui grabbed Ilay’s suit lapel and slid his hand inside. Ilay arched an eyebrow slightly, but he let out a smirk, allowing Tae-ui to fumble against his chest.
“Were you interrupted right in the middle of getting heated? What’s gotten into you, acting so clingy in a hallway where people are coming and going this early in the evening?”
“Clingy, who’s clingy… Besides, there’s no one here anyway.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered grumpily while [unauthorized copy][Read on Read BL Novels]searching inside the suit. Then, he found what he visit our sitewanted in the inner pocket and pulled it out. Cigarettes.
He walked to the window at the far end of the hallway, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag; Ilay followed leisurely behind him.
“You don’t have to be the gatekeeper? Weren’t you supposed to stay by the door until the Elder came out?”
Without even looking back at the man who had escorted the Elder here, Jeong Tae-ui exhaled smoke out the window, rested his arm on the windowsill, and leaned his chin on his hand.
“In this ’empty’ hallway, you’re the only person I need to keep an eye on.”
Leaning against the window beside Jeong Tae-ui, Ilay looked down at him, his eyes curving with amusement. Even though he felt that gaze clearly, Jeong Tae-ui stubbornly stared only out the window.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you this cranky,” Ilay said. There was a hint of laughter in his voice, as if he were looking at a growling puppy.
Jeong Tae-ui flicked the ash. Perhaps because he had been inhaling so intensely, or perhaps because of the type of cigarette it was, it had already shrunk by more than half despite only a few puffs.
“Did Christoph bully you? [unauthorized copy]He’s not the type to be Read on Read BL Novelssad about receiving an expulsion order from Tarten anyway.”
“…I should go back to Berlin.”
Ilay fell silent for a moment and looked down at Jeong Tae-ui. He arched an eyebrow, watching Tae-ui, who had blurted out something out of context and was now staring at the tree-lined street in the distance while smoking.
“That is welcome news, but I’m curious about the reason for this sudden change of heart.”
Jeong Tae-ui didn’t answer. Instead, he discarded the quickly burned-out butt and put another cigarette in his mouth. Even then, he didn’t give the man beside him a single glance. And then another. By the time he had smoked half of the third one.
“I’m such a wreck that I feel relief just by looking at you—of all people—when I’m this depressed.”
Jeong Tae-ui suddenly muttered. His gaze remained stubbornly fixed on the distance.
Looking down at Jeong Tae-ui, Ilay made a strange face for a moment. A look of slight bewilderment crossed his face, as if he had heard something difficult to understand or completely unexpected, but Jeong Tae-ui continued to stare straight ahead.
“… …And yet.”
Ilay slowly prompted the rest of the sentence. Only after exhaling a long cloud of smoke did Jeong Tae-ui mutter.
“And yet, that guy doesn’t even have that. He doesn’t even have that.”
“Aha.”
Ilay nodded as if he had a rough idea. Then, as Jeong Tae-ui tried to take out another cigarette after finishing the third, Ilay snatched the pack from his hand.
Only then did Jeong Tae-ui finally turn his gaze to Ilay and look at him with dissatisfaction.
“Well… anyway, since the expulsion order has been issued, once he leaves this place, I’ll go back to Berlin too.”
“Hmm. You’ll go back as soon as Christoph leaves?”
“Yeah. I only came here to get a book from him in [unauthorized copy]stolen content[Read on Read BL Novels]the first place, so I have no other business.”
“I see…”
This time, Ilay took one out for himself, put it in his mouth, and tucked the pack into his inner pocket. He exhaled smoke out the window and muttered as if to himself.
“Then you’ll be staying here a bit longer.”
“Huh?”
“Because Christoph will only leave after the succession decision is finalized.”
At Ilay’s words, Jeong Tae-ui stared at him blankly. Then, he frowned slightly. Ilay simply watched him with amused eyes.
“The decision was made for him to leave Tarten immediately.”
“He won’t leave. Not immediately.”
Jeong Tae-ui looked at him puzzledly. Then, he suddenly looked toward Christoph’s room.
The old man who had entered the room had not come out yet, even while Jeong Tae-ui had smoked three cigarettes in a row.
…Ah.
“Was the decision overturned? Did the Elder personally overturn it?”
“It wasn’t the Elder who overturned the decision. You heard it too. What Richard said about taking what he needs to take from Christoph.”
But Christoph had refused.
Unless the Elder had personally stepped in to persuade Christoph, he didn’t seem like the type of person to move just because of Richard’s words.
“The Elder won’t tell Christoph to stay here and help Richard.”
Ilay spoke as if he had read Jeong Tae-ui’s thoughts. Exhaling smoke as if eating a light snack, Ilay seemed somewhat pleased.
“But he won’t tell him to never return to Tarten again, either.”
“…What does that mean, then?”
“Always follow your own heart. Do not forget the name Tarten. That is what he always says.”
Jeong Tae-ui followed the smoke Ilay exhaled with his gaze toward the window. Following the gray smoke as it quickly scattered into the air, he ended up sighing.
“He grew up under someone like that, so why is that kid like that?”
“Why do you think?”
Jeong Tae-ui didn’t answer Ilay’s [visit our site][unauthorized copy]unauthorized copycounter-question. Even if he had a guess, he didn’t want to say it out loud.
“…I should go to my room and rest. If I want to leave with Christoph tomorrow morning and go back to Berlin, it’s better to rest early today.”
“Tomorrow, huh… I don’t think that’ll happen.”
Ilay said only that and curved his eyes subtly.
Just as Jeong Tae-ui frowned and was about to open his mouth to say something.
Christoph’s door opened. And from inside, the old man walked out, looking just as generous and relaxed as when he had entered, as if he had finished his business.
The moment he heard the door opening, Ilay tossed the cigarette butt out the window. Leaving behind a startled Jeong Tae-ui, who was staring intently at the flowerbed below to see if a fire had started, Ilay approached the man.
“Have you finished your business? Then I shall escort you back to the main building.”
“No, no. That’s not necessary. It seems you two still have [Read on Read BL Novels]more to discuss; finish your conversation and rest for the day. Since I’m already here, I think I’ll head unauthorized copydownstairs and see how my nephews are doing.”
The old man laughed, waving his hand. He then saw Jeong Tae-ui, who had belatedly turned around from behind Ilay and was smiling awkwardly.
“You must be quite busy as well. Still, please enjoy your stay while you are at Tarten. As they say, if you can’t avoid it, enjoy it.”
Leaving those words behind, the old man smiled warmly and turned away. Ilay followed after him, but the old man waved him off, tossing a few words of refusal over his shoulder. Ilay, seemingly having no intention of forcing himself on the refusing old man, offered to accompany him a couple more times before cleanly greeting him and stepping back.
The old man leisurely walked down the hallway and soon turned toward the central staircase, disappearing from sight. Jeong Tae-ui remained in place for a moment longer before walking toward Ilay—or more accurately, toward the path leading to his own room.
“I thought this before, but he really is an old man with a great impression.”
“Ah, now he is.”
At those words, which implied he hadn’t been that way in the past, Jeong Tae-ui looked at Ilay curiously but didn’t ask. Ilay also didn’t answer questions that weren’t asked.
Then again, to build a household of this scale, one couldn’t just be kind and warm. He [stolen content]must certainly possess his own brand of negative traits. Unless it was a relationship where one needed to know him deeply, there was no need to know. It was better not to.
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head.
“Anyway, I’m going to my room. …Should I say goodbye to Chris?”
Muttering that he seemed to be in a very bad mood, Jeong Tae-ui went to Christoph’s room, hesitated for a moment, and then quietly knocked on the door.
There was no answer from inside.
As Jeong Tae-ui knocked again, this time more cautiously, Ilay approached from behind and flung the door open without hesitation.
“Christoph, are you sleeping?”
At that brash attitude, Jeong Tae-ui lightly touched his forehead, thinking to himself, Right, he was always this kind of guy, as the interior of the room was revealed.
Since the old man had just left, it was only natural that Christoph was not sleeping.
Likely in the same state as when he was talking to the old man, he was sitting neatly at the table. Staring at the empty chair opposite him where the old man had sat.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Christoph with curiosity, as he stared into the empty void without blinking once, as if lost in deep thought—or like a doll with no thoughts at all.
“Christoph. Are you okay?”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked, only after a long pause did Christoph slowly lift his head.
Suddenly standing up, he strode toward Jeong Tae-ui. At the direct, frontal approach that felt like a charge, Jeong Tae-ui stopped his step as he entered the room, thinking, Huh? However, the place he was heading toward was not where Jeong Tae-ui was.
Christoph brushed past Jeong Tae-ui. It was as if he couldn’t see Tae-ui at all; he passed so closely that their shoulders nearly touched, yet he didn’t spare him a single glance. Ilay, who was standing right behind Jeong Tae-ui, was the same.
As if possessed by something, Christoph kicked open the door and stormed out, walking straight down the hallway. The sound of his somewhat anxious footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
“Huh…?”
Jeong Tae-ui looked back blankly. However, Christoph was already gone from the spot, leaving only Ilay, who was gazing out the door with a thoughtful “Hmm…” He, too, soon seemed to lose interest and averted his gaze from the outside.
“That guy…”
Where is he going all of a sudden… Jeong Tae-ui trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. He wondered if he should follow Christoph, who had rushed out as if he’d lost his mind, but seeing Ilay walk toward the window with complete composure, his urge to scramble after him diminished.
“He must have remembered some sudden business.”
Standing by the window, Ilay murmured while keeping his back turned, looking outside. For some reason, his voice sounded amused. It seemed this man was in a fairly good mood tonight.
Jeong Tae-ui stood there blankly for a moment with a frown, then scratched his head vigorously and sank into the plush stool at the foot of the bed a few steps ahead.
Should I go back to my room? Yeah, let’s go back. He felt that taking a light shower and heading to bed would be the best course of action right now. A can of beer before sleep would be the icing on the cake.
However, as he started to stand up to [unauthorized copy][stolen content]leave, the sudden disappearance of the room’s owner weighed on his mind.
“He’s not going to ride a horse in this darkness while out of his mind, is he? That’s dangerous.”
Not long ago, Christoph had rushed out suddenly, claiming he was going to ride a horse while appearing to be in a precarious state. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t do the same now.
“Well, even if he did, it wouldn’t be dangerous if it’s Christoph. …By the way, Tae-yi.”
Suddenly, Ilay’s voice seemed to drop an octave. Jeong Tae-ui lifted his heavy head and looked up at Ilay.
“Before you worry about him, isn’t there a conversation between us that we haven’t finished?”
Ilay, who had been leaning against the window frame looking out at the darkening exterior, had turned around at some point and was now watching Jeong Tae-ui.
His face, wearing a faint expression resembling a smile, looked somewhat entertained. He really did seem to be in a good mood tonight.
“…?”
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head.
Did we stop in the middle of a conversation?
As Jeong Tae-ui watched him inquisitively, Ilay slowly began to walk toward him. The way he approached slowly felt somehow like a giant predator closing in on its prey, triggering an instinctive sense of crisis.
It was strange. His expression was calm and he was smiling—albeit subtly—yet Tae-ui felt a chill run down his spine.
While he was wondering why, Ilay spoke.
“Right, shall I ask about the story we left unfinished earlier? What did you say you did with Christoph?”
As he asked with an amused tone, Jeong Tae-ui responded with a vacant “Huh…?” while thinking.
Right, it’s the eyes. While [visit our site]a faint smile played on his lips, there was unauthorized copysomething chilling contained within the eyes that narrowed as if smiling.
“With Christoph, what…?”
When he asked back blankly, unable to quickly grasp the context, Ilay stepped closer and kindly clarified.
“When I came to call Christoph earlier, you stopped what you were saying. I think I need to hear the rest of that story. Now, did you say you had a ‘exchange of fluids’ with Christoph?”
The moment those words left Ilay’s mouth, Jeong Tae-ui snapped awake as if he had been splashed with cold water. His fatigue vanished in an instant.
But by the time Jeong Tae-ui snapped out of it, his eyes widening in shock, Ilay was already within four or five steps of him.
“Wait, wait! You’re having a huge misunderstanding right now!!”
“A misunderstanding, is it.”
Ilay stopped walking. Just one step away from Jeong Tae-ui, who was perched on the stool.
Tae-ui tried to push his hips back, but it was of little use. Even if he retreated while sitting on the stool, it was only a matter of a few inches.
“Let me tell you first, that absolutely never happened. The only person I’ve slept with—I mean, since I met you, I haven’t done it with anyone but you, not even once!”
“Is that so? What a coincidence. I haven’t slept with anyone else since I slept with you, either.”
Jeong Tae-ui found himself surprised for a different reason by Ilay’s still composed tone.
Those words, which sounded as if he were claiming, ‘I am remaining chaste for you,’ were somehow extremely unexpected. It wasn’t that he thought Ilay played around wildly with other people, but hearing it directly brought a fresh wave of surprise.
“Uh… r-really? I also…”
As Jeong Tae-ui scratched the back of his neck, feeling unnecessarily shy, Ilay also gave a thin smile. Seeing that smile made him feel a bit more at ease. Above all, after hearing something so unexpected, his thought process wasn’t functioning properly.
Ilay whispered softly into the ear of the slightly confused Jeong Tae-ui.
“Right, then what did Christoph mean by those words?”
“Ah, that. As you know, that guy is a bit of a novice. He squeezed my groin a bit before, and that’s what he was talking about.”
“Aha. Your groin? Christoph did? …I wonder how such a thing happened, hmm?”
“Ah, that’s—”
Jeong Tae-ui, who had started speaking innocently, suddenly stopped.
Right in front of him, Ilay was taking off his gloves.
After carelessly tossing the gloves—the ones he used to ruthlessly slit throats without batting an eye—over his shoulder, his white hands were revealed.
It wasn’t a bad sign. For a man who always wore gloves while harming people, taking them off wasn’t a precursor to something gruesome. [stolen content]In fact, it would be more unsettling if he kept them on.
And yet, as the gloves were flung to the floor and those white, beautiful hands were revealed, Jeong Tae-ui’s heart suddenly leaped.
“No, I mean, as you know, he doesn’t really know how things work, so—”
“So, he squeezed your groin a bit and calls that an ‘exchange of fluids’? Haha, what a guy. …So, in his head right now, it’s as if you and he have formed some sort of grand relationship.”
“Huh? Uh—wait—is that how the story goes…?”
It was strange. The conversation was flowing in a weird direction. It wasn’t technically wrong, but it was heading in a completely different direction from what Jeong Tae-ui intended or hoped for.
“In short, it means he judges that the relationship between you and me, and the relationship between you and him, are in a similar situation.”
“There’s no way that’s…”
Jeong Tae-ui waved his hand, trying to deny it. But in front of him, Ilay stepped forward [unauthorized copy]while undoing the cuffs of his wrists with his white hands. He lightly hooked his foot on Read on Read BL Novelsthe frame of the stool Tae-ui was sitting on and then kicked the frame without hesitation.
“…!!”
The stool slid across the floor and slammed into the bed. Pushed along while still seated, Jeong Tae-ui lost his balance slightly from the light impact of hitting the bed.
Though he only swayed a few times, by the time he regained his balance and straightened himself, the situation had deteriorated severely. A white, beautiful hand covered the area below Jeong Tae-ui’s collarbone and pushed him over.
He tried to resist reflexively, but it was useless. It was a monstrous strength unimaginable from such a beautiful appearance.
“Tae-yi. I’m pretty sure I carved this into you before. That this is mine.”
That hand pressed down slowly from below the collarbone down to the abdomen. At the heavy weight sweeping down his body, Jeong Tae-ui held his breath.
What’s yours… The voice murmuring the words lacked strength.
A memory suddenly surfaced. This man had definitely said that before. Stubbornly, [unauthorized copy]he had carved that forced claim into Jeong Tae-ui. visit our siteIn a way that he unauthorized copydidn’t want to remember, but couldn’t forget.
The hand, which had descended to the front of his trousers, changed direction and dove inside his shirt. Then it began to climb back up over his bare skin. From the stomach to the chest, thoroughly scanning his body with a palm.
He thought it was strange that a hand that looked cool enough to be chilly could be this hot.
“Should someone else be playing with my things as they please? Even if it’s you, you shouldn’t recklessly give this away, if nothing else. …Why did you give my thing to another guy on your own, hmm?”
“Give what? I didn’t give it…!”
The thought that he should first question why this was ‘his’ flashed through his mind, but he felt it wouldn’t work even if he said it, and more than that, a surge of unfairness took precedence.
At this rate, it made him sound like some loose guy who gave his body to anyone.
Ignoring Jeong Tae-ui’s cry of unfairness, Ilay easily pulled down his trousers with his other hand. As he pulled down the underwear at the same time, the area from the waist to the thighs was exposed to the cool air.
“Did you forget already? Then I’ll carve it in again as many times as it takes. How many more [unauthorized copy]times should I [Read on Read BL Novels]carve it? How deep should I carve it so you never forget again? That this body is mine.”
His voice was relaxed. Just like the expression he had been showing, it seemed to be laced with an amused smile. It was loose, as if he were playing a prank, to the point where it wouldn’t be strange if he let go at any moment and said, ‘It was just a joke.’
And yet…
“…Are you angry?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked, frowning slightly.
He got that feeling. Even though he was smiling, it felt as if his insides were twisted. Wearing the sophisticated and polished mask of a Riegrow visiting Tarten, he wasn’t acting out emotionally, but Tae-ui felt certain that he was twisted inside.
“Angry? Yes, I am certainly angry that you handled my thing as you pleased.”
He spoke as if it were no big deal… but he really was angry.
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue inwardly.
Come to think of it, they were partners who shared a bed. Regardless of how this man viewed Jeong Tae-ui, there was no way he would feel good if his partner had that kind of touch with someone else while they lived together. …Though he didn’t seem like the type of person to feel jealousy or envy like normal people.
“Sorry.”
Jeong Tae-ui murmured like a sigh. However, the mouth that was about to add an apology closed mid-way.
His exposed lower half suddenly became hot.
“Il…!”
He couldn’t even finish calling the name. Because another sound almost leaked out instead of the name, Jeong Tae-ui hurriedly covered his own mouth.
The two hands wrapping around his thighs from his buttocks seemed to lift his body into the air effortlessly, and then, without hesitation, Ilay took the limp piece of flesh in the center into his mouth.
With one hand covering his mouth, he instinctively grabbed Ilay’s hair with the other. He [unauthorized copy]struggled visit our siteto push away the man who had his groin in his mouth, but it was impossible since he couldn’t even apply proper strength due to panic.
“…!!”
In an instant, his neck turned red.
It felt like the one with someone else’s genitals in his mouth should be the shy one, but this man was composed. Without changing his expression, he lightly nibbled from Jeong Tae-ui’s member down to the flesh near the root.
“Il, Ilay, —…!! Wa, wait, wai…!!”
“I have to see if the taste changed after being touched by another guy. Stay still.”
Ilay, who seemed to pull his mouth away for a moment, said only that and then slowly licked upward with pressure. And Jeong Tae-ui, after trying to push him away, gave up and instead pulled the blanket over his face.
He wondered for a moment if this was the feeling of someone running out of a burning bathhouse with only their face covered, but even that thought soon vanished.
Even with his face buried in the blanket, he couldn’t block out the wet sounds coming from below. The sound of eating mixed with squelching noises, creating a highly erotic sound.
This wasn’t his first time receiving oral sex. They had rolled around like beasts without a single thread of clothing on, so this wasn’t something to be surprised about. Not that it was. But still.
Jeong Tae-ui tried to compose himself, thinking, Right, this is nothing compared to what we usually do. But the problem was, even though it was a regular activity, he hadn’t grown used to it even after several years. He had never once enjoyed it with a relaxed mind, shaking his hips to the rhythm like a sport.
This man wouldn’t let him. Just like now.
“…Ack!! Don’t, don’t scratch, it hurts!!”
“It’s not that it hurts, your body is just starting to get impatient.”
The man’s lips moved while still holding the member. That light sensation was one thing, but at some point, a finger that had been massaging the concave fold inside the groin dug in and scratched the inside, making his body jump.
As he struggled to escape that hand, the mouth holding his member tightened slightly. He felt hard teeth press lightly against his skin, and instinctively, the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
“Don’t bite! I’ll die!!”
“If you stay still, I won’t bite. Relax your body.”
The grip on his buttocks tightened. It was a strength powerful enough to leave finger marks like bruises.
He was a man who wouldn’t hesitate to bite if one didn’t stay still. In fact, a few years ago, in a similar situation, Jeong Tae-ui had thought, There’s no way he’ll bite, and had kicked this man’s shoulder to push him away. And that ‘no way’ became reality.
He had been bitten so severely that it almost required a hospital visit, and the bite marks remained for several days.
It had really hurt back then. It really, really hurt. He had even fainted for a few dozen seconds. He hadn’t been able to get up even after being slapped in the face by those white, fierce hands. That was one of the few times he had heard the words ‘I’m sorry’ from Ilay Riegrow’s mouth.
He hadn’t been bitten since then, but that experience seemed to have remained as a kind of psychological trauma. Since then, whenever this man brought his mouth to his lower half for oral sex, his body automatically tensed up.
Just like now.
“Relax your body.”
Even with someone else’s member in his mouth, he murmured effortlessly, while the finger stirring inside Jeong Tae-ui’s body began to trace larger circles. And Jeong Tae-ui’s body instinctively tensed up from the sensation of the mouth scratching or rubbing his member just enough not to hurt—like short bursts of electricity—combined with the sensation of his insides being pried open.
“I told you to relax.”
Ilay clicked his tongue. Simultaneously, he bent the finger inside the body somewhat roughly, opening him up. With a reflexive “Ugh,” Jeong Tae-ui curled his body and grabbed his hair.
“Even if I want to relax, I can’t…—ah, …ah, ah!!”
Whether he heard Jeong Tae-ui’s plea, which was half-sobbing, the finger scratched the inside of his body.
Annoyingly, it was exactly Jeong Tae-ui’s stimulation point.
The mouth holding the member, which had quickly risen past halfway, became even tighter. He felt breathless from the clingy tongue and the mucous membrane of the mouth sucking intensely.
The climax approached in an instant. The object, which had risen with heavy power, was about to explode [unauthorized copy]almost the moment Jeong Tae-ui held his breath…—.
“…?!”
…or so it should have. If only the white hand hadn’t gripped the base, and the mouth that had been sucking so intensely hadn’t pulled away as if nothing had happened.
“Ilay…”
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Ilay, half-dazed and bewildered.
Having gripped the member just before the climax, Ilay lightly kissed the tip and narrowed his eyes. Then he spoke quietly.
“Listen carefully and nod, Tae-yi. First, if you stay still while another guy touches your groin again, I will get rid of that guy first and then make it so you can never use your thing again unless it’s with me. If you want to walk around with a dildo shoved in your body and a chastity belt on whenever you’re not with me, feel free to roll your body however you like.”
In a situation where the pleasure burning through his body had suddenly turned into a torture of endurance, Jeong Tae-ui, who had been listening to his words hazily, soon turned pale and widened his eyes in horror. But Ilay’s words didn’t stop there.
“Second, always prioritize yourself in any situation. If you step forward to help some other guy in a clumsy way and get even a [visit our site]single scratch on your body, the guy you tried to help will [unauthorized copy]face a much worse fate, and I’ll make you cry in regret until that wound heals without a single scar.”
“What…! How could you possibly know when a scratch would happen…! No, more than that, Dil, Jeong, ……!! ……Not many people touch another man’s crotch, and besides, it could just be an accidental brush in a public bath or a pool!!”
Jeong Tae-ui shouted, abruptly pushing himself up.
Cold sweat trickled down. Because there were so many instances where this man’s words sounded like jokes but weren’t, he couldn’t afford to ignore a single syllable.
“Getting a scratch while living a normal life is, of course, unavoidable. And it’s possible for lower bodies to accidentally brush against each other in crowded places. I will be the one to judge that, based on the degree of intent. ……You understand, right?”
“Where is the justice in such tyranny! This isn’t how people—.”
However, Jeong Tae-ui’s protest, which he had been shouting at the top of his lungs, did not reach its end.
The hand gripping the base of his crotch tightened slightly. Simultaneously, a tongue flicked up to lick the glans, and fingertips precisely pinpointed and scratched a stimulation point inside his body, pouring oil onto a lower body where the spark had already burned to the end of the wick.
“Hey, what am I….”
“You just need to nod. ―You understand me, right, Tae-yi.”
Even as Jeong Tae-ui pleaded with a tearful voice, it didn’t work. Only Ilay’s stern, cutting interrogation returned.
Feeling a vague premonition that nodding would be like digging his own grave, Jeong Tae-ui merely looked at Ilay with anxious eyes, causing the grip on his lower half to tighten further.
“Ack… wait, wait….”
Right now, the stimulation was dizzying, but it felt as though it would cross over into a painful level if it went on just a bit longer. Jeong Tae-ui grew desperate.
He hurriedly overlapped his own hand over Ilay’s, but Ilay merely stroked the member up and down a couple of times as if demanding an answer. Then, he suddenly lowered his voice and whispered smoothly.
“What’s wrong? There’s no problem at all. You just have to make sure other guys don’t touch your body carelessly and avoid getting involved in other guys’ dangerous business. In fact, it should be a very simple matter that you don’t even need to worry about, right?”
“T-that’s true, but….”
However, the conditions attached to those words were too terrifying. Just imagining it made the blood drain from his head.
Watching Jeong Tae-ui’s lips flutter anxiously, Ilay arched an eyebrow.
“Then think about it some more. While you think, I’ll be taking care of my own business.”
Speaking in a nonchalant tone, Ilay used the finger that had been poking deep inside Jeong Tae-ui’s body to stir the interior in several large circles. A flushing sound echoed from the lower half that had begun to get wet and sticky.
But before he could blush at the sound.
“……Wait!! I’ll do it, I’ll do it! I’ll do as you say!! So, …―!!”
“Think about it a bit more slowly. Yes, try thinking for another ten minutes or so. That way, I can savor this leisurely.”
As Jeong Tae-ui shouted something close to a scream before gasping for [visit our site][Read on Read BL Novels]air, Ilay slowly traced the area that had begun to soak with the tip of his tongue.
“Actually, I’ve been craving this for a while. Seeing it so deliciously congested and twitching, I wonder just how fresh it tastes.”
His low laughter and breath tickled the lower body. Finding even that hard to bear, Jeong Tae-ui chose instead to curl his body and pull the man’s head into an embrace.
This bastard, I hope he buries his face in there and suffocates to death.
He spat out venom while weeping inwardly, but soon he lost the luxury of even having such thoughts.
* * *
‘I would be displeased if I were to never see you again in this land.’
The old man spoke quietly with a generous smile.
Christoph stood blankly before the old man, head bowed, looking only at the old man’s chest. He could not meet his eyes.
Since long ago, Christoph had been unable to look at him directly. He was always a difficult person. A person one must not approach carelessly, nor look upon. A person whose name even his mother did not dare utter.
Yet, Christoph liked the old man. He respected and adored him. He wondered if this was what it felt like to have a religion.
‘I have always thought that it would be nice if you could roam the outside world freely and come here to rest whenever you grew tired. Where else could be as fitting for you as this place?’
That wasn’t true. This place was always uncomfortable, like clothes that didn’t fit. As with anywhere else, this place was not comfortable.
Yet the old man said it. That this place suited him.
‘For the short time remaining, how about lending your strength to that child?’
When the old man spoke quietly, Christoph hesitated and lifted his gaze. From the chest to the wrinkled neck, the smile-lined mouth, the slightly bent but not unsightly nose, and the eyes with laughter lines etched into the corners.
Though the sun had set and the sky had begun to turn indigo, the old man’s eyes shone clearly in a gold-like brown, as if they had received sunlight. They were eyes that seemed capable of reflecting the filth of whoever looked into them.
Christoph bowed his head again.
The old man was telling him to help Richard.
He was telling him to do so in order to rescind the order of exile from Tarten.
‘Once I step back and become an old man quietly aging, please visit me occasionally and be my companion in conversation.’
From the end of the old man’s words as he spoke with a calm smile, the faint scent of death wafted. It was a distant, hazy, and peaceful scent.
However, the flow and texture of stolen contentthe old man’s time had already changed from that of a young man.
Now, the old man was merely warming his fingertips with the last ember of charcoal that had almost entirely burned down to white ash. Then, at some moment, he would stand up from that spot and leave. To a solitary sanctuary where no one could follow.
Christoph parted his lips slightly, but no words leaked out. He didn’t know what to say himself.
The old man gazed at Christoph. Within that gaze lay countless things that Christoph could not fathom.
Suddenly, the old man slowly raised his hand. And he took Christoph’s hand.
The moment the wrinkled hand was placed upon his own, Christoph instinctively flinched at the unfamiliar sensation. Though he barely managed not to shake it off, the old man neither gripped the visibly flinching hand tightly nor let it go.
‘Christoph. You are my lovely child. In this Tarten, there is no child who is not lovely. You are my fair and lovely child. I grew Tarten solely for you all, and without you, Tarten has no meaning.’
The old man whispered.
He occasionally spoke in such a manner.
It was hard to describe exactly, but they were words that felt like they were squeezing his heart. Words that made breathing feel stifling and the heart ache, yet were not unpleasant—he would occasionally say such things.
He wanted to hear anything the old man said. He wanted to do anything the old man desired. If he did, Christoph felt good too.
And yet.
Christoph could not nod in the end.
The depths of his body were still frozen. His mother’s voice, sounding like a piercing scream over the phone, still clung to his ears and would not leave. That was why his body would not move.
‘I am sure you will get along well with that child as well. ……And if that happens, things will be different from how they have been.’
What?
Christoph did not know what would be different. But he could not ask. All his nerves were focused on the unfamiliar warmth stolen contentof the hand the old man was holding. He wanted to shake it off and rid himself of that unfamiliar sensation at any moment. Even though he didn’t dislike it, it was so unfamiliar, and the skin of another [stolen content]person—not a sensation he was well-acquainted with—was so raw that he wanted to escape it quickly.
‘Christoph. Will you visit me occasionally even after you leave this place?’
The old man asked.
But Christoph could no longer return to Tarten. He had decided so himself. Therefore, he could not answer.
But if that were the case, it would be better to answer that he couldn’t, yet he couldn’t even give that answer.
In one ear, a woman was sobbing and wailing. Yet in the other ear, the old man was whispering quietly.
Those sounds interfered with each other, making it impossible to understand either.
His head began to ache. He felt his heart pounding and the blood draining from his body. As if his body were no longer his own.
Cold sweat seeped from his back. A sensation of being unauthorized copydominated by something other than himself slowly filled his body. It was a sensation he had tasted several times before. One he loathed with a shudder.
The old man gazed silently at Christoph, who remained unanswered, and eventually smiled quietly, gently tapping Christoph’s hand.
‘Get some rest. I shouldn’t have robbed you of the time to think alone and slowly.’
The old man rose from his seat and turned away.
He grew anxious. He wanted to grab him and say something. That he would do as he wished, that he would follow any of his words—he wanted to say that.
But his cold, frozen legs would not move.
In the end, Christoph could not utter a single word, and with the old man’s benevolent smile as the last image, the door closed quietly.
The door closed. Before his eyes. Quietly. Firmly.
From outside the door, he heard [visit our site]the old man visit our sitehaving a short conversation with a familiar voice. Then, the sound of [unauthorized copy]his footsteps gradually faded.
Shortly after, someone knocked on the door, but though he heard the sound, he didn’t truly hear it. Riegrow and Jeong Tae-ui opened the door and entered, but it was the same.
In that space where the old man’s footsteps had vanished, Christoph remained standing alone and blankly.
―Christoph. You are my lovely child. ……You are my fair and lovely child.
Suddenly.
Only then did the old man’s low words.
Only that late did they reach Christoph’s brain.
Suddenly, his heart ached. Because it contracted as if squeezing out blood, he couldn’t breathe for a moment. Thump, thump, his heart beat painfully.
Christoph stood up. And he hurried his steps.
He had to chase after the old man. He had to catch up to him as quickly as possible and tell him. That he would follow the words he had spoken.
It was only a matter of a few days. He could help that guy. For a period of less than a month, he could endure rubbing shoulders with that guy. Once that time passed, he would never see him again.
He had no lingering attachment to something like Tarten. He didn’t care if he could never return here. No, rather, he didn’t want to return.
But for the sake of the elder.
If he could visit him, be a companion on his walks, and a companion in conversation.
He could do that much.
Christoph went to the main building without hesitation. To the old man’s room in the main building.
Perhaps if he faced the old man now, Christoph would [stolen content]be [unauthorized copy]unable stolen contentto say anything again, but the old man would surely understand Christoph’s intention and nod with a generous smile.
Thinking so, recalling that smile, Christoph rushed in one breath to the innermost part of the main building, to the old man’s room, the most comfortable and quiet place in the mansion.
“…―.”
But no one was there. Perhaps the old man had stopped somewhere else before returning.
He could have just waited a while, but he grew needlessly anxious. He wanted to say it as quickly as possible. That he would follow the elder’s words.
Where could he have gone? ……Right. Since he was in the west wing, he might have looked around the west wing. In that case―it might be Richard. Lately, the elder had frequently spent time with Richard, who was to succeed him, teaching him various things. So, he thought the old man might be in Richard’s room talking with him now.
He didn’t even want to go to that unsightly fellow’s room, but to follow what the elder said, he would have to face him often for a while anyway.
Christoph clicked his tongue. And he forced his reluctant feet to move toward Richard’s room, located one floor below his own.
―Why do you hate Richard so much?
Jeong Tae-ui had asked him once. It wasn’t just Jeong Tae-ui; it was a question he had heard several times.
Just as there is no reason for liking someone, there is no reason for hating them. Rather than a specific event triggering a like or dislike, there were far more cases where small, unconscious things accumulated to create those feelings.
In the first place, Richard hated Christoph. He didn’t know the reason. At some point, he just felt it. Ah, this person hates me.
And gradually, Christoph came to hate Richard. The reason was―.
“……. Are you alone?”
Christoph, who had burst into Richard’s room without even knocking, stood at the door and looked around the room suspiciously.
The old man was nowhere to be seen.
And in one corner of the room, Richard Read on Read BL Novelswas [Read on Read BL Novels]sitting in a chair by the bed, in the middle of a phone call with someone.
Regardless of whether he was on the phone, Christoph looked around the room once more and frowned.
“Where is the elder?”
“……One moment.”
Without taking his eyes off Christoph, Richard spoke quietly into the receiver, pressed the hold button, and set the handset down. Then, he looked at Christoph coldly and spoke.
“What is it, Christoph. It’s quite an event for you to visit my room.”
“…….”
Christoph glared at him.
It seemed the old man hadn’t come [stolen content]here. [Read on Read BL Novels]Whether he had already come and gone or hadn’t arrived yet, it was certain that he wasn’t here now.
Although he had come here looking for the old man, since he had run into him like this, there was something he had to say to Richard. Following the elder’s words, Christoph had decided to assist Richard for a while, so he had to tell him that.
―Until the succession is decided, I will stay with you for a while and help you with your work.
“…….”
However, his lips only fluttered imperceptibly; the words did not leave his mouth. He hated saying those words.
Richard waited patiently for Christoph to speak. Christoph tried to start speaking, then frowned and shut his mouth, repeating this a couple of times. He ended up clicking his tongue, becoming anxious with himself.
Even then, Richard did not rush him. Instead, he leaned back leisurely in his chair, interlacing his fingers as he watched Christoph. A relaxed yet amused light flickered in his gaze.
At that moment, he realized.
This man already knew what Christoph was trying to say.
How…―?!
The moment that thought occurred to him, Christoph shut his mouth. He glared at him with piercing blue eyes, then bit his lip and turned around.
How?! It was obvious. He already knew. He didn’t know how he had made the request to the elder, but he already knew Christoph would act this way.
Anger surged.
He was so infuriated that his insides felt overturned.
Just as he turned to leave the room and was about to slam the door shut, a slow voice from behind called Christoph to a halt.
“The elder is not here. Christoph. Didn’t you come because you had something to say to me? Why not finish your story before you go. Otherwise, who knows when we’ll see each other again.”
He paused.
Christoph stopped. And he slowly looked back.
The reason he stopped wasn’t because Richard told him to finish the story. It was because that leisurely tone, as if he saw through everything, was extremely grating.
“…―Did you tell the elder?”
When Christoph asked lowly, Richard arched an eyebrow. A hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.
“To the elder? I did? What would I have said?”
“You wouldn’t have called me back just to pretend you don’t know, Richard.”
His fingers twitched. He wanted to slap that man’s face.
He hated that about him. Yes, he truly hated that side of him.
Always reassuring people with a smiling face, while it was impossible to know what he was thinking behind it. He always seemed to be standing one step back, yet when one realized it later, there were countless times when everything had happened exactly as this man desired.
Christoph glared at him head-on. Without taking his eyes off him for a second, as if he wouldn’t miss even the smallest clue.
And Richard, eventually, laughed. Slowly. That kind and good-natured smile.
The corners of Christoph’s mouth twitched. It was rare for Richard to show him such a smile. Unless he had some ulterior motive.
“To the Elder—well, it’s not as if I specifically told him anything, but since he seemed so regretful, I simply offered some consolation. He is particularly fond of you, after all.”
“…….”
“Of course, it’s not just that. If you were to assist me in my work, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for Tarten, so the Elder likely leaned toward you. Now then, what did the Elder say to you?”
His interlaced fingers lightly tapped his knee. That leisurely gesture Read on Read BL Novelswas irritating. So was that relaxed [visit our site]smile. And the way his eyes curved.
“……You hate me.”
When Christoph spoke abruptly, Richard fell silent. As Richard looked at him with confusion at the sudden break in context, Christoph continued.
“Then why do you want me to help you with your work? We could have just never seen each other again.”
Only then did Richard seem to understand Christoph’s point. Ah, that, he murmured lowly, nodding his head before speaking nonchalantly.
“There isn’t any grand reason. First, it is for the sake of Tarten.”
Richard slowly rose from his chair. He walked toward the window, drew back the curtains, and continued as he looked down at the outside world already blanketed in darkness.
“Regardless, this is the place I will soon inherit. It is my responsibility and my desire to make this place prosper. And you, whether you wish it or not, have received an education in Tarten and, above all, you understand the current situation very well. With guests from the Middle East arriving soon, you are the perfect person to assist me and work for Tarten.”
As he spoke, he opened the window halfway. A visit our sitecool night breeze drifted in through the gap. He gave a light wave, as if he had caught the eye of someone he knew outside, and continued.
“Second, at this critical juncture for the succession decision, my reputation has been severely tarnished because you entered my domain and made a complete mess of things. Especially for someone in a position who must be perfect in all matters and skillfully resolve any problem. In other words, my leadership and dominance have been called into question. ……I’m very grateful, Christoph. For interfering with me once again.”
For some reason, his voice sounded cheerful. Though it shouldn’t have been, there was a subtle smile in his tone, as if he were anticipating something pleasant.
“However, if you decide to help me under my command now, those points can be smoothed over. The ability to make someone you are on bad terms with work for you is also a very important asset. In that sense, you must faithfully assist me.”
Richard stopped speaking there.
Narrowing his eyes as if enjoying the cool night breeze that suddenly drifted in, Richard savored the air for a moment before slowly turning back to Christoph. To the man who was staring at him in silence, he gave the final reason.
“Third, because I want to see you miserable.”
The moment the words left Richard’s mouth, Christoph’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly. However, he didn’t bother to get angry and merely let out a scoff.
“I appreciate the honesty.”
“Don’t forget, Christoph. Had you not given up on the succession, you would have spent your entire life moving under me. If you hadn’t run away so cowardly, you would have been my subordinate until the day you died. —That has now been reduced to just a few days of helping me.”
Richard spoke softly. For the first time since Christoph entered the room, a faint, suppressed hostility seeped into his otherwise relaxed voice.
Christoph glared at him intently before speaking.
“I won’t do it. Do you really think I’ll do what you want?”
Even at those words, laced with sarcasm, Richard didn’t budge. Instead, as if he had regained his smooth rationality, he tucked the hostility away and returned to a faint smile.
“Even if the Elder told you to help me?”
“—….”
Christoph’s face clouded slightly.
The words ‘I still won’t do it’ did not immediately follow.
He intended to follow whatever the Elder said. For the Elder’s sake, he could endure a few days of doing something he hated. That was his intention in coming here.
And yet, facing this man, he couldn’t bring himself to nod obediently and submit. An instinctive repulsion bound the tongue that sought to consent.
“……I won’t, …….”
Richard watched with amusement as Christoph spoke in fragmented sentences, hesitating. He watched him for a while, as if admiring the way Christoph refused to look away despite his hesitation and displeased expression, before turning around as if suddenly remembering something.
“Oh, I completely forgot. I’ve kept them waiting too long.”
He clicked his tongue as he approached the phone he had put on hold.
As Richard picked up the receiver again, Christoph shouted in an angry voice.
“Richard, we aren’t finished talking yet.”
“Of course we must finish. But before that, it would be rude to keep them waiting so long, so I’ll finish this call first. I was actually thinking it was about time to hang up, but the other party wouldn’t let go, which was quite troublesome. ……Ah, that’s right. Christoph, would you like to take it? I think that would be better.”
Richard held out the receiver to Christoph. Christoph looked back and forth between the receiver and Richard with eyes mixed with confusion and hostility.
“Why should I take your call—.”
“You’d better take it. I’m sure it will help you make a wise decision.”
Richard laughed lowly. His finger released the hold button.
From the receiver held out to Christoph, whose expression of displeasure had suddenly vanished, a brief silence followed before a small voice leaked through.
Hello? Hello……?
That refined, high-pitched voice, laced with a hint of anxiety, was one Christoph could not possibly fail to recognize, no matter how faintly it came through the receiver.
Instantly, the expression vanished from Christoph’s face.
To Christoph, who was staring blankly without any intention of taking the receiver, Richard gave it a light shake.
Christoph looked up at Richard with only his eyes.
“Won’t you take it……?”
Richard asked with a faint smile.
Christoph stared at him piercingly and slowly took the phone. The moment their fingers brushed, he flinched and jerked his hand back, nearly dropping the receiver. However, Richard quickly caught it and whispered softly, “My, you must be careful.”
Christoph pressed the [visit our site]receiver to his ear. The anxious whispering Read on Read BL Novelsof Hello, hello sounded right in his ear.
“……Mother.”
As Christoph spoke quietly, his voice sounding as if it were coming from a strained throat, there was a brief silence on the other end. After a few seconds, the voice returned.
‘Christoph……? Why are you there?’
The voice rose slightly in confusion. While he spoke haltingly, saying he was there on business, Christoph felt a gaze pouring over his face. It was a gaze that seemed to devour every single expression without missing a beat. A gaze certain that its desire would be fulfilled.
‘Oh, I see……, yes……, I see. Since you’ll be helping Richard with his work, you’ll have much to discuss.’
Her voice was quite different from when she had called Christoph a moment ago. While a faint trace of anxiety and unrest remained, she was much calmer and sounded excited, as if she were happy.
‘Richard told me. He said that since I’ve been away for so long, it’s about time I returned to Tarten. Of course, if he only calls for me, I would return there in a heartbeat. He said he is a generous and broad-minded person, and that he has already forgotten about the quarrel he had with you. Isn’t he such a wonderful person?’
Christoph lifted his gaze to look at Richard. [stolen content]His eyes met those of the man who had sat back down in his chair and [Read on Read BL Novels]was watching him leisurely. In that moment, Richard’s eyes curved into a narrow smile.
A chill ran down Christoph’s spine. The blood drained from his body.
‘Christoph. Please help him well. If he inherits Tarten with your help, wouldn’t that be a good thing for you too? He is a very good person. Hmm? You understand me, right?’
The mother who had wailed in despair and grief was no longer there. In her place was a mother swelling with a vain hope that would surely never be realized—the hope that she might return to Tarten.
And the man before him surely knew. He knew that Christoph could not tell her, ‘Such a thing will never happen.’
His hand began to tremble slightly. So, he gripped the receiver tightly. So that it wouldn’t shake. Seeing the hand where the knuckles stood out white, a satisfied sigh escaped Richard’s lips.
His breathing became labored. Christoph looked down at his feet, trying not to show his ragged breath. His mother was still rambling in an excited voice in his ear, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. It was drowned out by the noisy clamor swirling in his head.
‘……Christoph. Christoph? Are you listening to me?’
“Ah……, yes, Mother.”
‘Why aren’t you answering? You’ll help Richard with his work, won’t you? You’ll help him with all your heart so that his work goes well, right? Yes, Christoph.’
Christoph’s lips twitched as if convulsing. He tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. His bloodless lips had lost even their speech.
Christoph, Christoph—her voice calling him gradually became anxious and sharp.
Only when that voice began to tremble thinly with anxiety did Christoph finally manage to answer. With a choked voice, he barely managed a single word: “Yes.”
Then, her voice settled in relief, and the light of excitement and overflowing joy returned.
‘Yes, please tell him for me. How much I love Tarten. How much I long to stay there again……. Yes, you know.’
He knew.
His mother loved Tarten so passionately that she would plead so softly and affectionately even [stolen content]to Christoph, who always kept a cold, distant reserve. Returning [unauthorized copy]here and staying in this mansion again was her only dream. Ever since she had been forced to leave this place [unauthorized copy]long ago, she had been suffering from depression, relying on sleeping pills.
When Christoph finally ended the call without being able to say anything else, Richard, who had been watching him the whole time, stood up with an “Oops,” and gently took the receiver that Christoph was still clutching as if frozen, and set it down quietly.
“Did you enjoy your cozy mother-son chat?”
Christoph did not answer. He simply stood there blankly, staring into the void.
Richard let out a hum of a sigh and sat back in his chair. He placed his interlaced hands on his lap and watched him. As if he were willing to wait forever until Christoph spoke.
With a face hardened like lead, staring at nothing, Christoph finally spoke slowly.
“Richard, did you…… tell my mother that you would welcome her back to Tarten……?”
“Ah, I did mention that it would be more comfortable for her to return and live here. Along with saying that it was a pity I couldn’t help her because I don’t have the authority in Tarten yet.”
Christoph shifted his gaze to Richard. A gaze as sharp as a blue-honed blade, matching the color of Read on Read BL Novelshis pupils, met Richard’s, but Richard showed no sign [stolen content]of [visit our site]hesitation. Instead, a faint smile appeared, as if he were enjoying himself.
“That looks much better than that indifferent face of yours, which always looks as if you can’t stand the boredom, Christoph.”
“So.”
“Hmm?”
“If you had the authority, would you actually have the intention of calling my mother back to Dresden?”
Even as he asked, Christoph knew. Although the succession had not been finalized, Richard already possessed sufficient authority for such a thing. Just as Richard himself knew.
And Richard made a troubled face at the question. He frowned slightly and gave a pained smile. Then, he answered shortly.
“Hardly.”
“……!”
The moment those words fell.
Christoph lunged at Richard. He threw his entire body at the man sitting comfortably in the chair.
As if he had expected it, Richard didn’t seem particularly surprised, nor did he dodge; he ended up tumbling off the chair, entangled with Christoph. The heavy wooden chair rolled away, and the sound of the two of them crashing onto the floor echoed heavily.
“You……!!”
A fierce rage, so intense it turned his vision black, enveloped his entire body, yet those were the only words that could burst out.
Christoph pinned Richard’s chest down with his knee, practically mounting him, and grabbed him by the throat. He tightened his grip as if intending to snap his windpipe. Richard, unable to breathe, didn’t seem panicked, but he frowned as if in slight pain.
“Why, why would you……!!”
Perhaps because he was grinding his teeth, his voice came out trembling.
He couldn’t control the rage that had surged instantly, staining his vision red.
He hated the man before him so terribly he didn’t know what to do with himself.
In a black surge of anger so deep that he didn’t even think to punch or strike him, Christoph choked him as if half-possessed, biting his trembling lips.
But then, Richard, who had been passively offering his neck to Christoph, suddenly struck Christoph’s wrist.
The wrist, far too injured to function properly, was easily knocked away by a light blow.
“Why? I told you. Because I want to see you miserable.”
Richard rubbed his crushed throat, coughed a couple of times, and spoke with a low click of his tongue.
“Just for that—.”
“Just? Not at all. That is the most important and primary reason.”
Richard chuckled. The words were light, but they were no joke.
For a moment, murderous intent flashed across Christoph’s face. His hand rose right above Richard’s throat.
Even so, without trying to avoid or block it, Richard remained composed.
“Are you going to get rid of me? At this point?”
“…—.”
Above Richard’s throat, Christoph’s hand stopped. His trembling hand desperately wanted to snap this man’s neck, but he slowly shook his head.
“That is not a wise method, Christoph. If I were you, I would think differently.”
Christoph glared at him with terrifying eyes before slowly withdrawing his hand. Still shaking with rage, he spoke in a low voice, barely suppressed.
“Since my mother’s wish won’t be granted anyway, I have no reason to help you.”
“Is that so? As you wish. Tell your mother that. Tell her, ‘Even if I help him, he won’t welcome you back to Tarten, so I’ve decided not to help him.’ If she contacts me, I’ll just say I never said such a thing, and that’s the end of it. Her resentment won’t come back to me. You know well enough who she would trust more, between me and you, poor Christoph.”
A sigh of mock pity mixed into the end of his low whisper. Christoph’s face had already faded to a pale hue.
This man knew exactly what Christoph reacted to. He also knew that his words were true, and that Christoph knew it too.
Richard, who had briefly glanced at Christoph’s bluish lips, suddenly wiped the smile from his face. Then, with an expressionless face—one that, in Christoph’s eyes, suited him far better than that benevolent smile—he spoke.
“But well, fine. It would be unrewarding for you if it were this one-sided, so how about this.”
Richard let out a light sigh and raised his hand slightly.
“If you follow my wishes to my full satisfaction until the day the succession is decided, and I inherit Tarten.”
“…—.”
“Then I will consider calling your mother back to this mansion.”
Christoph looked down at Richard with eyes full of rage for a long time, then let out a low, solitary scoff.
“Consider. What a fancy word.”
Both of them had seen countless fools who, blindly trusting a proposal without a firm answer, stuck their necks out only to suffer the consequences.
“You want me to accept such an unstable, losing deal—and with you as the counterparty, no less?”
“But your options are very limited.”
Richard let out a smirk. Christoph flared up again and shut his mouth. Looking at him, Richard shrugged his shoulders as if granting a great favor.
“Fine. Then I’ll give you a firm answer. Once things end as I wish, I will give your mother a wing of this mansion. Does that satisfy you?”
“…….”
Christoph didn’t answer. Instead, he withdrew the knee that had been pressing down on Richard’s chest. As Christoph stood up quickly, as if he didn’t want to be in contact for a second longer, Richard grabbed his ankle.
As Richard’s fingers dug into the bare skin beneath the crumpled hem of his trousers, Christoph’s face immediately hardened.
“Let go.”
He recoiled as if a snake had brushed against him, but the fingers tightly gripping his ankle did not loosen.
“I gave you a firm answer. Now you say it clearly with your own mouth. That until the day my succession is decided, you will diligently assist me and work under me.”
“…….”
“Never say ‘Nein’ to the things I intend to do. Do not do anything that puts me at a disadvantage; help me, but only do exactly as I tell you. Understand?”
Richard’s gaze looked straight at Christoph.
Christoph glared at the hand clutching his ankle and remained silent for a while. He seemed to bite his lip as if he absolutely did not want to open his mouth, but eventually, he spat out in a low voice between his teeth.
“……Let go.”
“Answer me.”
“I get it, so let go!”
As if the resentment he had barely unauthorized copyunauthorized copysuppressed suddenly surged, Christoph shouted and violently shook his leg free.
Releasing his grip the moment Christoph spoke, Richard stood up lightly. He looked down at Christoph, who was irritably brushing off his ankle without even trying to hide his displeasure.
“You clearly said you understood with your own mouth.”
“Don’t you dare go back on your word later. If you do, I’ll shove a bullet into your head, no matter who tries to stop me.”
“Aha, by all means, if you can.”
Richard spoke leisurely. Christoph glared coldly at him as he spread his arms wide, as if inviting him to try.
It wouldn’t be long. Not much time remained until the day of succession. Once that time passed, Christoph would leave Dresden and never return. He might occasionally return in secret to help the old man on his walks, but he would never officially visit Tarten again. Then, it would be the end with this man.
He could think of this as a parting gift thrown to someone he would never have to face again.
“What do I need to help with?”
Christoph spoke bluntly.
His stomach was already starting to feel uneasy. It was a light nausea; he felt that if it got any worse, he might throw up again.
While he thought it would be wonderful to pour vomit over that hateful face, the thought that he must not show any weakness in front of him was stronger.
In front of Christoph, who was rubbing his chest, Richard opened his mouth nonchalantly.
“Regarding Tarten’s business, there is nothing you can help with, since you’ve been away from this place for so long. You just need to follow me like my secretary, doing menial errands and showing everyone that we are on good terms. In the meantime, I’ll see just how useful a human being you actually are.”
I don’t have great expectations anyway, so don’t feel pressured, Richard’s added words brushed past his ears.
Christoph turned away, roughly rubbing his pale, bloodless lips with the back of his hand.
He didn’t want to stay there any longer. The misery of the visit our sitedecision he had made himself weighed down his shoulders.
From the moment he came to this room, he had intended to lend a hand. And it had happened exactly as he thought.
However, the form in which that decision was reached was extremely irritating.
This was not entirely a decision made by Christoph himself. Even if the result was the same, this was closer to something achieved through threats and oppression.
Richard did not try to stop Christoph as he strode toward the door without looking back. The way he brushed dust off his collar was cheerful.
Then, just as Christoph was stepping out the door.
“Ah, that’s right. Christoph.”
He spoke as if he had just remembered something.
The words caught Christoph, who had been trying to ignore him and leave.
“In a few days, a guest will arrive from Riyadh.”
Christoph’s quick pace gradually slowed. Only after stopping a few steps away from the door did he frown and look back.
“There will be a final negotiation regarding the repayment of the loan. You’ll be interested, right? Since it’s a matter involving your precious friend.”
Christoph glared silently at Richard, who put a peculiar accent on the words ‘precious friend.’ Looking straight at Christoph, Richard spoke in a low but clearly audible voice.
“Do not forget. You are helping me, and no one else. Do not defy my words. ……Under any circumstances.”
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