4.1 Arabian business
The most unbearable thing was the unfamiliar sensation.
Something he did not know.
Something alien to him.
Something he had never encountered.
Something that existed in a place entirely removed from himself from the start.
He could not stand such things.
Pain was rather acceptable. That was something Christoph knew. He already knew what it felt like, what mood it induced, and what happened because of it. He could endure what he knew.
But the unfamiliar was something he couldn’t help, no matter how hard he tried to bear it.
Because he didn’t know it.
And because he didn’t know it, he didn’t know how to respond to it.
‘Unfamiliar…? I don’t know. I’ve never given much thought to touching others, but I’m not one to enjoy skinship either. It’s a different story in bed, but in daily life, being stuck to others is cumbersome and annoying. But I’m not sure about it being “unfamiliar.”‘
A colleague had once spoken indifferently.
That colleague, who possessed a personality that made others avoid him just like Christoph, spoke in a tone of disinterest.
‘But it can’t be entirely unfamiliar. For starters, as soon as you’re born—ah, right, in your case it was a nanny—anyway, a newborn can’t survive without the touch of another. Contact with others can’t be completely unfamiliar.’
‘But I don’t remember it.’
Christoph replied displeased.
‘As far as I can remember, I did everything myself. The nanny prepared my meals or got my clothes ready, but I was the one who put food in my mouth or clothes on my body.’
The colleague murmured, “Hmm.” He was clearly uninterested. He looked at him with eyes that said, Why are you telling me your life story?
He was that kind of guy anyway. Christoph hadn’t told him expecting anything. It was simply because he was the closest person and someone he had known since childhood, making him the easiest to talk to without needing to provide useless explanations.
‘Does it even matter? It’s not like you get burned or melt if you touch someone else. If you want to, there’s no problem with you touching others. Anyway, since you hate unfamiliar things, just meet people you’re familiar with. They’ll avoid touching you on their own.’
Christoph nodded at his indifferent words.
Indeed, it wasn’t a huge problem. Up until now, although there had been several unpleasant incidents because of it, they hadn’t escalated into major issues.
…Yes, unpleasantness.
That unfamiliar sensation when touching someone was [unauthorized copy]Read on Read BL Novelstruly difficult to bear. There was no doubt that such a thing was called unpleasantness.
So, he just had to avoid touching others. Since he could touch others if necessary, there was no reason for major problems to arise, just as before.
Therefore, despite occasionally hearing suggestions to go to a hospital for counseling, Christoph decided to give up on that part.
Above all, the thought that while sitting there for counseling, the doctor might say, ‘Now, let’s see how much better you’ve become…’, and touch him, made him feel sick just imagining it.
Because of that.
That weakness, which he had never even had the chance to get used to, was now driving Christoph into a corner terrifyingly.
With a chilling and unfamiliar feeling that made it hard to even breathe.
‘You said the relationship between a man and a man is just rubbing, licking, and sucking. …If it hadn’t been you who said that, I would never have believed that a human like you existed at this age.’
It was a sneer.
However, without even the rationality to judge it as a sneer, his brain moved solely on the instinct to escape this situation.
If he had thought more rationally and calmly, perhaps he could have escaped. Even with one arm tied, he might have avoided the worst-case scenario.
But when that large hand gripped and pressed his shoulder, embracing him from behind.
When his back, waist, and pelvis were pressed tightly against another person’s body heat beneath his shoulder blades.
His thoughts vanished.
The only thought that occurred to him was that he had to flee from this state. Rather than fighting back by knocking the opponent down, he simply had to avoid him.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to bear it. This unfamiliar feeling of being held tightly.
Stop it, don’t do that, his lips trembled, but no sound came out.
Yet, strangely, the man seemed to have heard it.
‘Do you hate it? Want me to stop?’
A voice mixed with a rough laugh bit into his earlobe. Hard enough to hurt. But rather than pain, a ghastly sensation shook his body.
‘I have no intention of going all the way. …I didn’t. There was no reason to get an erection for a man. But…’
The arm embracing Christoph’s body tightened further. He felt suffocated.
The arm that wrapped around him so firmly, as if it would never let go, felt as though it would dig right into his body.
Like a starving snake that had found a frail victim and coiled its long body around it, the hand embracing Christoph refused to let the body slip away.
‘Right here.’
Along with those short words.
A shock that felt as if it would shake his brain.
‘Nothing other than excrement has ever touched here, right?’
Fingers digging into the inner thigh reached a place buried deep in the flesh.
Unconsciously flailing and thrashing his body, he looked back at the man behind him with eyes wide in horror.
Right over his shoulder, he locked eyes with the man who had been tracing his shoulder line with his tongue. They were barely a hand’s span apart.
‘Di… dirty…’
The words left Christoph’s mouth in a fragmented, disbelieving manner.
Christoph was someone who couldn’t stand a single speck of dust and entered the bathroom at least twice a day to wash his entire body with neurotic precision, yet this was a place he had never even touched himself, except when washing. He hadn’t even thought of touching it.
‘Does a mysophobe like you also have a place on your own body that you consider dirty? Right, then you probably never imagined that when men ‘merely’ lick and suck each other, they lick and suck here too.’
‘…!!’
This time, a different kind of shock shook his head.
He was so horrified that for a moment, he forgot the warmth of the stranger’s body enveloping him.
‘How… filthy…!’
The man looked at that bloodless face with satisfaction. His eyes narrowed pleasantly.
It was repulsive.
This man always smiled as if he were kind. Even though there was no mirth in his eyes, people always said he had a gentle smiling face. Everyone was blind.
Christoph thought that if people could look into those cold eyes and still call him gentle just because the corners of his mouth curved upward and his eyes crinkled slightly, they might as well have their eyes plucked out.
The only time this man’s eyes truly smiled was at moments like this.
When a scheme concocted with those twisted intentions succeeded magnificently.
‘…!! Ah, that, …!’
But then, the fingers that had been circling and fiddling with that filthy place pushed slightly inside.
His body shuddered violently. Everything below his waist stiffened.
Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it…
His stomach churned. He felt like he was going to vomit.
The fact that he was pressed so tightly against another person, the fact that the man was stroking that filthy place as if it were nothing, the fact that the depth of the intrusion was gradually increasing, and the fact that it was this godforsaken man.
It was ghastly.
This man had to be insane. Not only was he a complete pervert, but he was a lunatic who enjoyed filth. Otherwise, there was no reason to obsessively touch that filthy spot, since Christoph would have hated it regardless of where he was touched.
He had known the man was unpleasant, but he hadn’t thought he was filthy.
That was one more reason to hate him.
‘Don’t… don’t touch me…’
Christoph barely managed to whisper. He couldn’t help the tremor in his voice.
But the man only smiled. Simultaneously, he pushed the fingers probing below even deeper.
His body surged once more.
The fingers, which had been delving inside slowly and carefully, gradually sped up as they grew accustomed to the sensation. Moreover, at some point, another finger had joined in.
The sensation of being stirred wildly below felt as if his mind were being churned. It felt as if the soft tissues of his brain were being haphazardly scrambled into a mess.
Meanwhile, the chest that had been incessantly stroked and rubbed was now being pinched or pressed hard at the fragile, small tips. Every time those tips—already swollen red and pointed—were pressed, his body flinched reflexively.
What is this?
It was horrific. Goosebumps broke out. A chill ran down his spine, but the man’s chest was pressed tightly against his back. Sweat seeped out, making them slide against each other, making the contact feel even more vivid.
His entire body.
His entire naked body.
Was enveloped by this man.
As if wrapped by something massive and overwhelming so that he couldn’t move an inch, it felt as though there wasn’t a single spot on his body that wasn’t touching this man.
Stop it. Don’t touch me. I feel like I’m going crazy. My stomach is churning, I’m going to be sick.
‘Ugh, …, ngh…’
His stomach tightened sharply. He felt as if vomit were about to surge up.
But at that moment, the man growled lowly into his ear.
‘If you vomit just because you’re nauseated by my touch, after you opened your legs for me, I’ll lay you [stolen content]on top of your own vomit and ram myself into you. [visit our site]Don’t be sick while I’m touching you.’
With eyes wide and trembling, tears leaking out from a stomach turned upside down, Christoph stared at him.
He couldn’t even imagine the state of mind that allowed someone to mutter such filthy, creepy words so nonchalantly.
Christoph realized that he had viewed the man far more favorably than he actually was. He was a man who should never be associated with.
‘Ram… ram…’
As he thought about what that meant, his face turned pale again. The thought of the vomit… made his stomach churn even further.
But then, the man suddenly pulled away. He released the arms that had been hugging Christoph, withdrew the hand that had been excavating below to the point of soreness, and distanced his body.
Reflexively, Christoph let out a sigh of relief.
His body was still trembling and his mind felt frozen stolen contentas if paralyzed, but the sensation of the cool [Read on Read BL Novels]air touching his skin returned.
However, Christoph’s relief was short-lived.
The man, who had been observing his face intently, let out a smirk. It was a twisted smile, as if he were somewhat offended.
‘We’re out of time. I have to go to the banquet soon. I’ll save the licking and sucking for next time; for now, I’ll show you what I said I’d teach you. …Yes, the thing you called filthy.’
As soon as he finished speaking, he flipped Christoph’s prone body over. Christoph twisted his waist in a sudden jerk, but the hand gripping him firmly did not let go.
And as Christoph lay slanted, looking at the ceiling with his arms tied to the table, he froze the moment he saw the man spreading his legs and pushing his hips between them.
It was because the member swaying from the man’s groin entered his sight.
Standing more powerfully upward than before, the thing looked far more menacing than when he had seen it half-erect earlier. That dark object, swollen thick and heavy with bulging veins, looked like a terrifyingly gruesome weapon.
No, come to think of it, there was no reason to feel it was a weapon.
It wasn’t as if bullets or knives were going to fly out of it; at most, he would just rub that thing against his body…
‘…Richard… stop it.’
Those words barely leaked from lips that had lost all color, turning a pale, ghostly white.
Christoph knew.
The object itself was filthy enough that he wouldn’t want to hold it unless he were washing or using the restroom, but more than that, there were times when an even filthier fluid was secreted from it. Especially when it was as hard and erect as this.
The mere imagination of that hideous, unpleasant thing rubbing against his body made his mind go blank, and if that secretion were to get on him…
His face turned sallow.
‘Stop it? Do you even know what I’m going to do?’
The man arched an eyebrow. Half amused, half curious.
From that subtle tone, Christoph instinctively realized that this man was planning something far more seriously unpleasant than he had imagined.
From his pale lips, a tiny voice, barely audible, stammered out.
‘If you… if you use me… to relieve yourself… I swear, I will truly kill you.’
Christoph spoke in a low, razor-sharp voice.
He truly intended to kill him.
No, everything the man had touched him with so far had been so horrific it nearly drove him mad. He didn’t know how many times he had vowed to kill this man the moment he escaped this place.
And if he were to do something as filthy as that.
The mere thought made him want to scream. He might actually lose his mind.
In front of Christoph, who was frozen like ice with a pale face, the man said nothing.
Looking at Christoph expressionlessly for a long time, as if he had been struck by something, he suddenly rubbed his forehead slowly. He rubbed his furrowed brow as well.
‘…You’re trying to make me wither, aren’t you…?’
Christoph glared with wary eyes at the man muttering incomprehensible words.
Wither? What? Is that some kind of heinous slang? As Christoph stared at him, the man suddenly looked up and gazed at him.
Slowly, his gaze swept over Christoph from head to toe. A gaze that felt like licking.
Seeing Christoph instinctively shrink back, [unauthorized copy]the man suddenly frowned. It unauthorized copywas impossible to tell if he was smiling or angry.
‘Unfortunately, Christoph… the way you’re trembling even while glaring at me just makes me harder.’
I didn’t expect that seeing you shudder would make me this aroused, the man muttered to himself, a flicker of bewilderment crossing his face.
His hand brushed over his groin. Unconsciously, Christoph’s gaze followed that hand.
Every time that object—which still, or perhaps due to his imagination, seemed to have risen even more ferociously—peeked through his fingers, Christoph felt a chill.
The man’s gaze nailed itself to Christoph’s stiffening face. Suddenly, he swallowed hard.
In that moment, Christoph realized. This man was also nervous. Like Christoph, who was shrinking in horror bordering on terror, this man, who never lost his composure in any situation, had a heart beating a palm’s width higher than usual.
‘For a while now… it’s been aching. To the point where it simply cannot wither.’
The moment he finished those words.
The man lunged over Christoph.
As Christoph reflexively swung his arms and shrank back, the man grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back, then gripped both thighs and pushed them up past Christoph’s head.
His body was bent so far that his knees almost touched his head. Between his legs, spread wide enough to pull the muscles, the man’s form appeared close.
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
In his scrambled mind, unable to even guess what was about to happen, only the image of the man looking down at him was vividly engraved.
The expressionless face was looking down at Christoph’s private parts. As if he were seeing such a place for the first time, his gaze was nailed between the legs, observing every minute detail with curiosity.
‘…!!’
The moment he realized this, blood suddenly rushed to his face.
A terrifying surge of shame welled up, so strong that he forgot the sensation of the hands gripping his thighs.
Reflexively, he shrank and twisted his body. His waist trembled slightly.
His face was hot. His face was as hot as his mind, which was burning with shame. His ears and the nape of his neck felt as if they were on fire.
Then, the gaze shifted from his private parts to his face, staring so intently it felt as if it would bore a hole through him.
‘Let go… don’t look!’
Out of shame and indignation, his mind so scattered he didn’t know what was what, Christoph didn’t even realize his eyes had grown red and hot.
Suddenly, he felt the strength in the hands gripping his thighs loosen slightly.
The next moment.
‘…! …!! …, …!!’
Not even a scream came out.
No moan, no shout; not a single word escaped his lips.
It felt as if the brain’s function for speech had simply ceased.
He couldn’t tell what was happening, no proper thought or judgment occurred to him, and his mind felt completely crushed and mixed up.
Even though his eyes were wide open, he could see nothing.
Between his legs, into the place where fingers had been entering and exiting just moments ago, something was forcing the narrow gap open and pushing inside.
As if frustrated by the difficulty of entry, the thick tip was roughly carving through visit our sitehis [visit our site][visit our site]insides, pushing deep to go further up.
Thump, thump, thump. Like a wedge being driven into his body.
At regular intervals, it slammed into him quickly. It would pull out slightly, then slam back in as if striking him, repeating the process.
It felt as if everything inside him was being pushed and crumpled. More than pain, what he felt vividly was a terrible pressure. He felt as if he would burst from being crushed.
A low moan was heard. Only upon hearing that sound did Christoph realize that he had been screaming silently with trembling lips, unable to make a sound.
That low moan, mixed with rough breath, was the only sound he could hear.
Only after it had filled him completely, to the very end, as if piercing through his entire body, did the man finally stop moving. Yet, even though it could go no further, as if it were still not enough, he thrust his hips upward a few more times with a sense of urgency.
‘…!!’
His mind went black, then [Read on Read BL Novels]red, [stolen content]then white. He didn’t know what was what or how this had happened.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. His vision was blurry. Something flowed down his cheek and soaked his ear.
Between his legs was hot. A burning, stinging sensation stole away all other senses in his body. Thus, he didn’t even feel the man overlap their lips as if starving. He only flinched reflexively.
But as his body shrank, the dull pain below became even more acute, making him gasp. Simultaneously, a short, beast-like moan escaped the man’s mouth like an exclamation.
‘…Christoph, be honest.’
Perhaps because of the rough breathing, or perhaps because his hearing had been affected by his haywire senses, the voice sounded extremely coarse. A breath, cruelly excited as if a predator had pounced on its prey and bitten deep into the flesh, scorched Christoph’s ear.
‘Have you ever opened your legs for anyone other than me?’
‘…?!’
‘I’m asking if you’ve ever spread your Read on Read BL Novelsgroin Read on Read BL Novelsnaked and shaken it in front of another man.’
Though his face was pale, Christoph looked at him with a bewildered gaze, as if he couldn’t comprehend the words.
His vision was blurred, so he couldn’t see well.
He barely managed to turn his head and rub his eyes with his arm. His arm was soaked.
Only then did he look at the man again, but his vision was still too distant to see clearly. However, he could tell the man was glaring at him with terrifying eyes.
Why… I’m the one who should be glaring at you.
Lacking the strength to glare back, he barely blinked his distant eyes.
Looking straight into those eyes, the man moved his hand to where their groins were tightly locked. With his thumb, he traced the entrance that was engorged and stretched to the point of tearing, having barely accepted his thick, erect member. Christoph’s lips twitched.
‘You have, haven’t you? Otherwise, there’s no way you’d know how to tighten [visit our site]Read on Read BL Novelsand suck me [stolen content]in like this. Am I wrong?’
‘…—.’
Christoph bit his lip.
He couldn’t understand what the man was talking about. His mind was still a tangled mess. However, he could clearly sense the malice embedded in that voice.
Suddenly, an uncontrollable rage surged.
The man was tormenting him so horribly and was even mocking and insulting him with vile words.
‘Ri, hard, …, …—kill…!’
But cutting off the fragmented words he barely managed to spit out, the man shoved his hand into Christoph’s mouth. Forcing open the mouth of the man who was biting his lip until it bled, he glared at Christoph with eyes filled with cruel excitement.
‘Come to think of it, in a place where men are constantly tumbling over each other, there’s no way a guy like you [visit our site]stayed pristine. Weren’t you all Read on Read BL Novelsjust [unauthorized copy]acting innocent, —you little seductress?’
Adding an insult as if fueled by anger, he suddenly thrust his hips forward again, slamming into Christoph’s groin as if striking him.
Thwack. The sound of flesh colliding was heard along with a small, squelching noise.
With his body stretched tight, the speed of the man’s hip movements gradually increased.
The only fortunate thing was that the sensation concentrated between his legs was so overwhelming that it stole all other senses from his body.
The feeling of his lips being bitten, the feeling of his tongue being sucked, the feeling of his entire body being roughly stroked and occasionally hugged breathlessly as if in a surge of emotion—all became distantly blurred.
Only the sensation of being torn apart inside was horrifyingly vivid, leaving his waist trembling incessantly.
‘You’ve never used this body? A guy like that sucks and shakes his hips this well? Ha, ridiculous. —Tell me. Which number am I?’
Thump, thump, thump. The powerful and rapid movements, like driving a wedge, filled his body along with the beating of his heart. Even though there was no more room to enter, he kept pushing, kept pushing. Something flowed squelchingly along the cleft of his buttocks, making him shudder.
Christoph barely squeezed out a voice. He no longer thought about killing him or not letting him off. Only the instinct to escape this state dominated his mind. To be in a state that was even slightly easier to endure.
‘Stop… stop moving, I… I can’t breathe…’
His choked voice was barely audible even to himself.
Tears poured out. Every time he blinked, the pooled tears rolled down and collected in the curve of his ear.
‘…, I thought your tears would be blue, too.’
The man whispered, pressing his lips against Christoph’s. His lips felt ticklish.
Soon, a tongue approached his eyes, licking them with a searing heat.
While that happened, the hips that [stolen content]had been pounding against him [visit our site]suddenly stopped. At the same time, Christoph gasped.
The member that had been barely squeezing inside him seemed to swell.
And in the next moment.
‘……!!’
A low groan sounded, brushing closely against his face. Hot breath touched the corners of his eyes.
Along with it came a sense of mass, filling his body and bursting forth.
Christoph shuddered at the feeling of it being poured into him, erupting violently in intermittent surges.
His body froze instinctively. Tears continued to stream from his wide-open eyes like a broken faucet.
Rather than pain, it was a chilling sensation. The feeling of becoming so distinctly wet—the realization that his body was truly joined with someone else—struck him like a bolt of lightning.
‘……!’
Above the pale, frozen, and motionless Christoph, the man held him in a suffocating embrace for a while, breathing heavily. Whenever his hips trembled occasionally, the ejaculation, which he thought had stopped, continued.
Ejaculation.
The moment that word flashed through his stark white mind, Christoph’s complexion turned pale, and his lips trembled.
Only then did he realize.
He realized vividly through his own body how a relationship between a man and a man takes place. Simultaneously, it was the realization that he had had sex, beyond any doubt, with this man—Richard Tarten.
But that was the last of his consciousness.
Even though he no longer had the strength or mental fortitude [stolen content]to move a single finger, Christoph lost consciousness while faintly [unauthorized copy]hearing the sound of the man [unauthorized copy]calming his ragged breath, his face buried in Christoph’s shoulder, holding him tightly so he couldn’t move.
“……. Christoph?”
Thinking he had heard something like a mutter in his sleep, Jeong Tae-ui lifted his gaze from his book and looked toward the bed.
However, it seemed he had misheard.
Christoph remained with his eyes closed, looking no different than he had a moment ago.
Just as he had been when Jeong Tae-ui first entered the room, he was fast asleep, curled up like a fetus with his arms crossed over his chest as if trying to embrace himself.
Jeong Tae-ui sat in the chair beside the bed, quietly fanning visit our sitehimself unauthorized copywith the book he was reading while staring blankly at Christoph.
He had been worried because Christoph said he had a slight fever and wasn’t feeling well, but fortunately, he didn’t look particularly ill. When he checked his forehead after confirming he was asleep, it did feel slightly warmer than usual, but it was close to a normal temperature.
Wondering what to do, he sat in the chair for a moment and picked up a random book nearby to read. He thought he would sit there for a bit and then return to his room if there were no signs of Christoph waking up.
It was while he was reading that he thought he heard Christoph mutter something.
But when he turned his head, Christoph was still asleep, exactly as before. He must have misheard.
“…….”
Jeong Tae-ui put back the unheard-of philosophy book, which he couldn’t understand at all even after reading a whole chapter. Then, he tilted his head and looked at Christoph.
He slept quite beautifully.
Below his fair, clear face, unauthorized copyhe wore pajamas as neat as stolen contenthis stolen contentpersonality, buttoned tightly up to the neck.
Jeong Tae-ui believed that wearing only underwear was the most comfortable way to sleep. Once, on an extremely exhausting day, he had collapsed onto the bed naked after a shower and fallen asleep, only to find that his fatigue had actually accumulated more by dawn, leaving him unable to leave the bed all the following day. Since then, he stopped sleeping completely naked.
Even now, when he felt tired and wanted to sleep comfortably, he wore only underwear, or perhaps a light piece of clothing over it. Thus, Jeong Tae-ui looked with great admiration at Christoph, who maintained a perfect dress code even while sleeping, just as he did when awake.
“He really is just a sculpture when his mouth is shut and he’s not moving.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered to himself while staring at Christoph.
The blonde hair flowing softly over his forehead and cheeks, the white skin that was only slightly flushed around the cheeks, and the straight, carved line of his nose.
He already knew, but that level of beauty was nearly perfect…….
“……. Are his eyes a bit swollen?”
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head.
Now that he looked, his eyes did seem a bit swollen.
But usually, they weren’t, and every time he saw them, he thought they were flawless, so they weren’t naturally swollen. It seemed they were only slightly swollen now.
“He hasn’t even been asleep that long, so why are his eyes swollen…….”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, finding it strange.
It was then, while Jeong Tae-ui had been staring intently at Christoph for a long time.
At some point, perhaps because the gaze felt prickly, the inner corner of an eyebrow twitched slightly. Once, twice, the eyes wrinkled as if frowning, then smoothed out, and the eyelids lifted.
Blue pupils were revealed beneath.
Their eyes met.
“…….”
“…….”
For a moment, there was silence.
Separated by a moderate distance—about an arm’s length—Jeong Tae-ui rested his elbows on his knees and leaned his chin on his hand, gazing steadily at Christoph. Christoph, who had opened his eyes while remaining in the same sleeping position, stared back at Jeong Tae-ui intently.
Blink, blink. Every time he blinked, it felt as if one could hear the long eyelashes rustling and colliding if they listened closely.
“……. Tae-yi.”
Suddenly, Christoph whispered, breaking the silence.
Before answering, Jeong Tae-ui slightly raised an eyebrow.
Now that he looked, it wasn’t just his eyes that were swollen. His voice was also heavily thick. Anyone seeing him would think he had just woken up from a twenty-hour sleep.
“Are you feeling very unwell?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked, wondering if he was actually quite sick despite looking okay. Christoph blinked blankly for a moment, as if he didn’t understand what he was talking about.
“Me?”
Christoph instead frowned slightly and asked back in a tone that questioned what he was talking about.
As was always the case when he first woke up, Christoph seemed to be in a bad mood. However, the way he just blinked without moving made him look as if he hadn’t fully woken up yet.
Half-drunk on sleep and drenched in dreams, Christoph, who had been blinking with a hazy, frowning face, suddenly asked.
“Have you been here the whole time?”
“Huh? Uh…… since about 30 minutes ago?”
“……. While I was sleeping, you…….”
Suddenly, Christoph’s elegant eyes narrowed sharply. Jeong Tae-ui flinched instinctively and shifted his body back slightly.
Did he get caught admiring his face? But what’s the big deal about that? He was just looking. Surely he’s not going to ask for an admission fee…….
“You were hugging me.”
At the coldly uttered words, Jeong Tae-ui gasped.
“I didn’t!!”
He was being framed most unfairly.
Almost reflexively, Jeong Tae-ui shouted like a scream, his eyes wide as he scooted further away from Christoph.
“First of all, if I were going to hug you, I’d do it proudly while you’re awake; why would I sneakily hug you while you’re asleep? I’m not that cowardly and insidious person! Second, I don’t have that kind of hobby! I have never once looked at you that way, and even if Ilay were sleeping, I wouldn’t sneakily hug him like that!”
Well, if it were Ilay, he would open his eyes the moment one knee even touched the bed in an attempt to sneakily hug him.
As Jeong Tae-ui desperately made his excuses, Christoph glared at him with a deeply suspicious expression.
“Really……?”
“Of course I’m serious!”
“……. Is that so?”
Still suspicious, Christoph tilted his head slightly. He tilted it to the other side as well. Only after repeating that once more did he mutter, still suspicious but as if granting understanding with broad generosity.
“Well, if you say so, I’ll take your word for it.”
It’s not ‘taking my word for it,’ I really didn’t touch a single finger on you! If I were to sneakily touch someone who hates touching others so much that he shudders, how would I handle the aftermath if I got caught!
Jeong Tae-ui screamed inwardly, but he gave up on shouting it out loud. He didn’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill by talking too much.
“But why bring that up all of a sudden? Did you have a dream?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked with a sigh.
‘A dream?’ Christoph frowned again. He scowled for a while, rolling his eyes as if forcing himself to recall a hazy memory, then tilted his head slightly. His cheek, slightly pressed against the pillow and bulging out, looked soft.
He wanted to poke it, but in a situation where he was being framed and suspected, he’d be torn to shreds if he did. Jeong Tae-ui suppressed his itching fingers.
“It wasn’t a dream…… someone was definitely hugging me. They were stuck to my back, hugging [Read on Read BL Novels]me tight. It was suffocating and unpleasant, so I struggled, but they wouldn’t stolen contentlet go. I fell asleep while grinding my teeth, thinking I’d deal with them as soon as I woke up…….”
“It was a dream.”
Jeong Tae-ui reached a clear conclusion.
At least two pieces of clear evidence that it was a dream appeared in Christoph’s words.
First, if someone had been hugging him, there was no way Christoph would have stayed still given his personality. Far from being hugged, he would have wrecked someone just for lightly touching him. No, before that, anyone who didn’t know about Christoph’s aversion to touch would have already been wrecked just by entering this room without permission.
Furthermore, even granting that someone had hugged him from behind, there was no way Christoph would have just gone back to sleep after thinking he’d deal with them later.
As Jeong Tae-ui explained the evidence point by point, Christoph seemed convinced by the logic, yet his suspicious expression didn’t fade.
“Was the dream that realistic?”
“Hmm……. I was sleeping because I was exhausted, and someone hugged me from behind like this, and I could hear the sound of low, regular breathing. Their breath visit our sitetouched my shoulder. It was ticklish and chilly, so I shrugged my shoulders a lot.”
“……. Then why didn’t you wake up?”
“My eyes wouldn’t open. I couldn’t move a single finger.”
“Ah. Then you had sleep paralysis.”
Jeong Tae-ui reached another clear conclusion.
This time, Christoph asked back with slightly wider eyes, looking a bit less suspicious.
“Paralysis?”
“Yeah. You said your eyes wouldn’t open and your body wouldn’t move.”
“Yes.”
“That’s sleep paralysis. Have you never had it? I get it sometimes when I’m tired.”
“I’ve never had that before…….”
Christoph nodded as if impressed and muttered. ‘I see, so that’s sleep paralysis, it’s my first time,’ he murmured, his face finally freed from suspicion and returning to a look of general acceptance.
Returning from a fierce expression to a peaceful one, Christoph suddenly lifted his head. He looked at the clock on the nightstand. Then, he frowned slightly again.
“But why was I sleeping at this hour?”
“Huh? ……I heard you were sick. According to Richard.”
“Sick? Me? Richard said that?”
Christoph tilted his head, not understanding.
“Yeah. So, he told me to come check on you. He seemed worried.”
The last part was a slight lie.
Of course, the tone itself had been quite worried, but he didn’t think Richard was seriously worried about Christoph. He wasn’t the type of person to worry over a slight fever.
When Jeong Tae-ui spoke, Christoph also glared with sharp eyes as if it were impossible.
“That guy is worried? Hmph. ……But why am I sick?”
Christoph muttered, not knowing.
Jeong Tae-ui shut his mouth. He suddenly had a strange feeling.
It felt like a conversation with someone whose memory was slightly blank. His [unauthorized copy]focus was [Read on Read BL Novels]still a [stolen content]bit blurry, as if he were still slightly intoxicated by sleep.
“……. Chris. Earlier, while having tea with the guests from Saudi Arabia, you put Tiger Balm on Richard’s eyes and the two of you left the drawing room together. ……Did you perhaps fight after that and get hurt or something?”
Without mentioning that he had eavesdropped, Jeong Tae-ui jogged Christoph’s memory.
Is he still not fully awake? Does he think this is part of the dream too?
As Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head in wonder, Christoph muttered ‘Hmm’ with a frown.
“Tiger Balm……. Right, I did that……. And…… what happened?”
As expected, he seemed to be not fully awake.
Christoph slowly shook his head as if it felt heavy and sat up. He pushed himself up from the bed, looking exhausted.
It was at that moment.
The moment he leaned his body against the head cushion, Christoph suddenly flinched.
Seeing Christoph shrink his body noticeably and widen his eyes, Jeong Tae-ui was startled and widened his eyes in turn.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, down below…….”
Christoph muttered to himself unconsciously and fumbled his hand under his pajamas. He blinked his wide eyes like a surprised child while feeling beneath his buttocks.
“Why?”
“It’s a bit damp down here……. Something is leaking out…….”
Christoph, who had been speaking intermittently [stolen content]with a blank face, suddenly froze in terror the next moment.
The expression vanished from his face in an instant.
Jeong Tae-ui watched in bewilderment as the color drained from his face, leaving it pale.
“Chris…… what’s wrong.”
“…….”
Christoph did not answer.
His gaze, fixed on the edge of the bed, did not move, as if he couldn’t hear a thing.
Suddenly, his bluish lips trembled.
“Christoph. ……Chris?”
When Jeong Tae-ui called him again cautiously, light slowly returned to Christoph’s glass-like eyes. His eyes, filled with a cold and fierce blue light, glared terrifyingly as if something were there in the air.
“Chris.”
“……. It’s nothing.”
Christoph answered bluntly. However, his low, suppressed voice was trembling slightly. It was a tone filled with an agitation he couldn’t control.
A reddish hue slowly returned to the face that had been frozen pale. That redness spread not only across his face but from his ears to the nape of his neck. Though hidden by the pajamas, it seemed his entire upper body—no, his whole body—was burning up.
The hand that had been lying lifelessly on the blanket was now gripping it into a fist. The fist, with white knuckles protruding, also trembled.
He was furious to the core.
Seeing Christoph, who was suddenly enraged yet claiming it was nothing, contrary to his [Read on Read BL Novels]usual stolen contentself, Jeong Tae-ui cautiously held back.
“……. Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine! Dammit, it’s just, ……it’s just a bit wet!”
Now even the corners of his eyes were red. His eyes had already been slightly swollen, and with the redness, he looked like someone who had been crying. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he looked like he was about to cry.
“Wet, ……. ”
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Christoph, who was still frozen motionless with his hand under his pajamas, beneath his buttocks. After a long silence, he reached a conclusion.
He tried to choose words that were as cute as possible and wouldn’t be grating to the ear, but it was difficult. No matter what word he used, it ended up being an extremely embarrassing thing to say. So, eventually giving up, Jeong Tae-ui asked very cautiously using a word that might sound somewhat cute.
“…. Pee-pee…?”
“NO!!”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked hesitantly in a small voice, Christoph shouted as if he were about to jump up.
Facing that trembling face as he snapped his head up to glare at Jeong Tae-ui, the corners of his eyes were even redder. He really might cry at this rate.
Though it was unlikely, if he actually cried, Jeong Tae-ui felt he would be so flustered he wouldn’t know what to do, so he quickly waved his hands.
“No, it’s just a joke, a joke.”
Thinking that one could actually kill with a gaze, Jeong Tae-ui intentionally moved further away.
After glaring at Jeong Tae-ui in silence for a long time, Christoph eventually turned his head away, huffing.
His lips were still trembling. The fist gripping the blanket also trembled. Watching Christoph shaking with rage, Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head.
Even if that comment was a joke, for the area down there to be wet.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Christoph, who was still stiff and unable to remove his hand from beneath his buttocks, and suddenly his expression vanished. It was because another reason for that area to be wet had come to mind.
“……. Christoph. Did something bad happen with Richard?”
His voice came out surprisingly quiet and calm, even to himself.
When things felt too surreal, it often happened this way. Even as he saw Christoph flinch and frown subtly, neither denying nor confirming, Tae-yi’s emotions didn’t immediately surge.
Instead, a headache flared up. A severe one.
Jeong Tae-ui rubbed his temples hard with his thumbs and glanced at Christoph. Still wearing a blunt and fierce expression, Christoph was staring into the void.
“Um, ……”
He opened his mouth to say something, but not knowing what to say, [unauthorized copy]he closed it again. It felt awkward to ask anything.
Whether he noticed Tae-ui’s predicament or not, Christoph glared at the empty air as if it were his sworn enemy for a long while before letting out a displeased sigh.
“Forget it. It’s not the first time I’ve had a ‘bi-yeok’ with that bastard. ……I still can’t forgive him, though. I’ll kill him, that Richard bastard……!!”
He muttered as if exhausted, then began to tremble and grind his teeth as if anger had surged again.
Standing beside him, Jeong Tae-ui looked at him with a very ambiguous expression. It felt as if someone had suddenly given him a light flick on the back of the head.
“Uh……. ?”
The word ‘bi-yeok’ coming from that mouth sounded strangely familiar. He felt like he had heard a similar term not too long ago. The word itself had been shocking, but the actual content had turned out to be quite trivial.
Tae-ui blinked, watching Christoph, who was still consumed by rage, muttering, “How should I kill this piece of shit?”
Could it be similar to that time? Like, it was actually just a slight graze? ……No, but he said it was wet. If it was Read on Read BL Novelsenough to get wet down there…….
Having thought that far, Jeong Tae-ui shook his head.
He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He felt there was nothing good to be gained from it. Moreover, perhaps due to the effect of the fable of the boy who cried wolf, the moment the word ‘bi-yeok’ came out of that mouth, the situation suddenly felt incredibly light.
No, strictly speaking, even just touching the area could be a serious matter depending on how one looked at it, but it was still far more comforting than the worst-case scenario.
And even if it really were the worst-case scenario…….
“……. Why?”
Perhaps sensing Tae-ui’s lingering gaze, Christoph—who had been muttering “that filthy thing in that filthy place……” with a face harshly distorted by anger and clutching his mouth as if nauseated—glared at Tae-ui and asked sullenly.
That filthy thing in that filthy place…….
He felt like he was about to grasp the situation, but unauthorized copyJeong Tae-ui decided not [Read on Read BL Novels]to add any more to his headache and thought visit our sitehe’d consider it later, shaking his head.
However, as he shook his head, he realized he was clenching his fists. Startled by the slight tremor in his hands, Tae-ui consciously relaxed his grip. In doing so, he realized something. He was angry.
“My, my…….”
Jeong Tae-ui took a deep breath, spreading his fingers one by one.
There are times when it is appropriate to be angry on behalf of someone else, and times when it is not. Likewise, there are times when it is acceptable to intervene with anger, and times when it is not. It depends on the situation and the position one holds.
And right now.
“Before I leave this house, I will make sure to snap that bastard’s neck with my own hands.”
Watching Christoph make a vow to himself while grinding his teeth, Jeong Tae-ui finally straightened his last curled pinky finger.
“……. Chris. Are you okay?”
When Tae-ui asked quietly, Christoph turned to him with a fierce face.
“I’m not okay. It was extremely, ……extremely unpleasant. I felt like throwing up, but I couldn’t even do that. It was absolutely, absolutely horrific. The chills……, ……ugh……,—Let me tell you, don’t interfere when I try to kill him like you did before. If you step in to stop me, I’ll really clear you out of the way first.”
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Christoph in silence for a few seconds. Even while clutching his mouth and chest as if his stomach were churning, Christoph finished his harsh words and glared at him, gesturing as if asking why he wasn’t answering.
Tae-ui suddenly laughed. The tension left his shoulders.
“Right, then that’s settled. ……Don’t worry. I won’t get in your way. I might even watch from the side and testify in court. ‘I saw nothing’.”
At that, Christoph fell silent for a moment, then suddenly frowned strangely and let out a short laugh. “What is that?” he muttered, and Tae-ui saw the tension leave Christoph’s shoulders as well.
Then, as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him, Christoph’s expression hardened.
“……I need to wash. I’m filthy.”
Speaking in a voice laced with every bit of his displeasure, he pushed himself up. However, the moment he stepped out of bed, he collapsed weakly.
“Are you okay?!”
“I’m, ……. ugh, it’s leaking again…….”
Christoph shuddered with a pale face, lying prone on the bed.
Jeong Tae-ui stood awkwardly beside him, hovering as if to help but not quite doing it, and scratched his head. He knew Christoph would hate it if he touched him, but he looked too weak to get up on his own. But…….
“……Didn’t you wash and fall asleep?”
Come to think of it, the way he had been dressed when he fell asleep was very neat. Even now, though they were slightly wrinkled from his movements, he was wearing crisp pajamas that looked as if they had just been taken out of the closet.
“……. I didn’t?”
“Now that I think about it……,” Christoph answered suspiciously and then fell silent.
Jeong Tae-ui also fell silent.
A strange silence flowed between the two for a moment.
“Well then……, ……I guess so.”
Tae-ui glossed over it. Christoph also nodded along with a highly suspicious look on his face.
There was only one hypothesis that could explain this situation, but no matter how much he thought about it, it seemed too absurd to mention. Christoph must have been thinking something similar.
Christoph, who repeatedly stumbled and fell like a newborn calf—Tae-ui eventually reached out to help, but Christoph glared at the hand and refused, saying he wasn’t in the mood for anyone to touch him right now—finally managed to reach the bathroom, sharpening his tongue with every step: I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him.
Standing at the threshold and unbuttoning his pajamas, Christoph stopped abruptly, lost in thought.
Tae-ui, who was about to head back to his room since Christoph seemed too annoyed to be bothered and he himself still felt uneasy, asked curiously when he saw Christoph standing still.
“What is it?”
“……. No matter how much I think about it, I have no memory of washing myself and putting on these pajamas.”
“Uh…….”
Jeong Tae-ui hesitated and shut his mouth.
The topic he had tried to ignore had eventually resurfaced.
Of course, Tae-ui had thought it was strange too.
He had wondered why Christoph, who [stolen content]had been sleeping so neatly dressed unauthorized copyin pajamas, couldn’t recall the memory even while half-awake.
But the reason he hadn’t voiced that question was simple.
If Christoph, after experiencing something harrowing at the hands of Richard, had fallen into such a deep sleep that he couldn’t immediately remember. And yet, he was lying in his own bed, clean and properly dressed.
In this situation, no matter how much one thought about it, there was only one conclusion. The problem was that the conclusion was simply unrealistic.
However, after a moment of silent contemplation, Christoph finally spoke that unrealistic conclusion aloud.
“It has to be Richard. He’s the only one who would put pajamas on me and lay me in bed.”
“……. Right……, realistically.”
Tae-ui had thought that he himself would be more likely to believe that hypothesis than Christoph, but Christoph was the one to bring it up seriously first.
Facing Christoph’s serious expression, Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head.
“Maybe he did it because he has a shred of conscience.”
If he had such a conscience, he wouldn’t have done such a thing in the first place, but Tae-ui put it positively for now. More than anything, he was surprised that Christoph had first mentioned the possibility of Richard’s good deed—if it could even be called a good deed.
He had thought that even if all the evidence pointed to Richard washing his unconscious body, dressing him, and putting him to bed, Christoph would firmly shake his head and claim he had sleepwalking instead.
Christoph stopped unbuttoning his pajamas and stared at Tae-ui for a long time before looking down at his attire again.
He was wearing stiff, fluffy pajamas that had been cleanly laundered. His body had also been washed clean, as there was no stickiness or sliminess. Though he couldn’t help the things leaking from inside his body.
“Richard……”
Lost in thought, Christoph suddenly spoke in a small voice.
Tae-ui responded with a questioning “Hm?” His heart thudded.
Could it be that despite the atrocious things done to him, he felt like acknowledging a small act of kindness?
Tae-ui fixed his gaze on him, as this was a side of Christoph he rarely saw.
Christoph remained silent, appearing to ponder a bit more, then suddenly tilted his head slightly and continued in a whisper.
“Did he obtain the blood of Nessos?”
Tae-ui stared at Christoph in silence for a while. Christoph’s eyes were sparkling with seriousness, as if he had come up with a very plausible hypothesis, and he was seeking Tae-ui’s opinion.
“……. By any chance, are those clothes sticking to your skin and not coming off?”
“No…….”
“Or do you feel some kind of burning pain through the clothes?”
“I don’t.”
“Then it’s probably not that.”
“……. I suppose so.”
Nodding, Christoph entered the bathroom with a frown, still wondering, ‘Then how on earth did this happen?’
Feeling an admiration that bordered on emotion at Christoph’s consistently vicious view of Richard regardless of the situation—though it was a situation that deserved such a view—Jeong Tae-ui let out a sigh.
The strength left his body.
I still have a long way to go before I can truly judge people. Come to think of it, when Richard first came to Berlin, he had said Richard had a good impression, only to receive a cold glare from Ilay.
“…….”
Sighing once more, he patted his heavy chest a couple of times.
Thinking that he should just collapse into bed without even washing once he got back to his room, Jeong Tae-ui dragged his heavy feet out of Christoph’s room.
* * *
As if hiding somewhere and waiting for the perfect timing, the phone began to ring the moment Jeong Tae-ui opened his door and stepped inside.
Ring, ring—the short, rapid sound indicated it was an internal line.
“Huh,” Tae-ui paused for a moment before striding over to pick up the phone.
“What is it, calling me of all things.”
As soon as he spoke, a short silence followed from the other end. Only then did he scratch his head, thinking, Ah, maybe it’s someone else.
There were very few people in this mansion who would call him. And the most likely candidate among them had entered the bathroom a few minutes ago and was likely scrubbing himself raw. That left one other highly probable person.
“……. Hello?”
When Tae-ui responded cautiously, as if to make up for his previous remark, an answer came back without hesitation.
「I suppose you haven’t made a single friend while staying in this house. Seeing as you naturally assume the person calling is me.」
“What, it is you after all.”
It was indeed Ilay.
Jeong Tae-ui grumbled with a frown and sank deeply into the plush sofa. It felt like the perfect moment to fall asleep.
“I was actually thinking of stopping by your room.”
As Tae-ui muttered, the voice on the phone replied, “Why, did something happen?”
There was no particular reason. As he left Christoph’s room, the thought had suddenly occurred to him to drop by Ilay’s before returning to his own. When one’s mind is frayed and exhausted, random thoughts often surface.
However, as he walked toward the central staircase, he had stopped. The east wing where Ilay’s room was located was too far to travel with such a tired body and mind.
Better not. He didn’t have anything specific to say, and if he was unlucky, it would likely just make him more tired.
Having reached that conclusion, he had turned back and returned to his own room.
「How is Christoph?」
Tae-ui, who had vaguely thought it was unlike Ilay to ask after someone else, suddenly snapped awake. His eyes narrowed.
“Come to think of it, you knew, didn’t you.”
「Knew what.」
“That Richard touched him. You must have heard everything.”
「Hmm? Ah.」
The voice, muttering as if he had only just remembered while pretending not to know, was irritating.
However, after glaring at the innocent phone, Jeong Tae-ui eventually sighed. Even if he had known in advance, what could he have done? He might have been able to barge in and stop it immediately, but overall, it probably wouldn’t have led to a better result.
「They were always so eager to Read on Read BL Novelstear each other apart whenever they met, so I figured [visit our site]it was only a matter of time.」
“No……, I don’t think people who are just eager to tear each other apart usually resort to such extreme actions.”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered, pressing hard on his throbbing temples.
「Still, he’s not unconscious or unable to move, right?」
“Yeah, he looks a bit strained, but he woke up and is walking around fine. ……No, that’s not it. I don’t think that’s the problem.”
「Unless you’re talking about the political issue of how Richard or Christoph will use this situation, the problem you’re referring to is the psychological shock and burden, isn’t it?」
“Yeah, that’s right.”
「Then how is the situation any different from a few hours ago? You already thought of them as people who had ‘bi-yeok-ed’ each other, so what is there to worry about? The thought that ‘they ended up bi-yeok-ing’ is the same now as it was before; the only difference is the physical burden.」
“……. Now that you put it that way, you’re not wrong, but…….”
It felt like some kind of sophistry, but no immediate rebuttal came to mind. Then, thinking of Christoph—who had trembled with rage about killing Richard but didn’t seem to have fallen into a more negative psychological state—Tae-ui sighed and nodded.
“I guess so. Anyway, what’s up.”
「I just wanted to hear your voice.」
“……. Who are you.”
Tae-ui asked with genuine seriousness, but the other side seemed to take it as a joke. A low chuckle was heard.
「I called to see if you made it back to your room safely.」
Jeong Tae-ui wanted to give the same answer as before, but he kept his mouth shut.
He hadn’t walked a dangerous night road; he had only moved within the mansion. What reason was there visit our sitefor him not to Read on Read BL Novelsreturn to his room safely? Moreover, [unauthorized copy]Tae-ui wasn’t some fragile, mysterious woman; why was there a need for such a check-in call?
“What’s there to stop me from returning to my room safely? It’s not like the house is rigged with booby traps.”
「You’re a worry, Jeong Tae-ui. I feel like you’re the type to follow a stranger just because they offered you candy.」
“I am not!”
Jeong Tae-ui denied it seriously.
Actually, there had been such a time. Nearly 30 years ago, back when Jeong Tae-ui was still naive.
However, he hadn’t followed. He hadn’t really wanted the candy, and moreover, he felt it would be wrong to receive a gift from a complete stranger.
The reason he hadn’t followed was slightly unconventional, but regardless, he hadn’t followed.
However, the voice on the phone snorted.
「You wouldn’t follow if they just offered it. But for example, if they said, ‘I have some candy over here that I want to give to your friend XX, want to come with me for a second?’, then you would follow.」
“…….”
That had happened too.
A man had said he had a precious book he wanted to give to his brother, and since his brother loved books, Tae-ui had followed him along. He had only been saved because he happened to run into the lady next door on the way.
“Did you run a background check on me?”
When Tae-ui asked suspiciously, there was a brief silence. Only then did Tae-ui realize his mistake. His mouth had betrayed him.
「Tae-yi……, ……. ……. Seriously, don’t make me worry.」
This man’s voice seemed to grow just a visit our sitelittle more serious. To actually hear him sound like this—it felt like his stolen contentbig mouth had finally paid off a bit.
Jeong Tae-ui let out a small chuckle.
This was it. This was why he was still with this man.
“Actually, if you really want to talk about who should be worried, it’s you, not me…”
「Me?」
A response came back, sounding surprised. Then again, had this man ever been told that someone was worried about him?
“I mean, think about it. You might get snatched up by some anti-terror special forces, or someone holding a grudge might suddenly burst in and swing a knife, or you might get hit by a bomb while doing something absurd after leaving the house for work.”
Now that he said it, they were all scenarios that were highly probable yet simultaneously seemed unlikely, but it didn’t matter.
On a night as tiring and languid as this, it was nice to pass the time with idle chatter. It was also nice that the partner was Ilay. And it was [Read on Read BL Novels]even better to hear the hint of a smile from the other end.
Come to think of it, how long had it been since he’d had such a pointless conversation over the phone with this man? …This isn’t so bad.
It was just then.
A heavy knock sounded.
“…?”
As Jeong Tae-ui turned his head toward the bedroom door in confusion, a voice spoke through the phone.
「A guest has arrived… I’ll have to hang up now.」
“Huh… what?”
Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head, thinking the knock had come from his own door, when he heard the sound of a click [unauthorized copy]of the tongue, as if annoyed.
「Bothering me in the middle of the night. Right, then, good night.」
With those final words, the call ended.
Jeong Tae-ui stared blankly at the receiver.
There was no way the performance of this phone was good enough to transmit a knocking sound so clearly…
Just then, the knock sounded again. This time, it was definitely his bedroom door.
Talk about perfect timing.
Jeong Tae-ui put down the receiver and approached the door. Thinking of the very few people who would visit his room at this hour, he opened the door.
“What is it?”
“…I apologize for the late hour. I came because I wished to speak with you for a moment.”
Facing Jeong Tae-ui, who had greeted him bluntly in informal speech, the man remained silent for a moment before nodding politely and speaking.
A man who radiated a sense of incongruity just by wearing a white thobe and ghutra—the VIP from Saudi Arabia was standing there.
“S-sorry. I thought it was a friend.”
Flustered, Jeong Tae-ui apologized and stepped aside from the door.
He was the man who had come with Malik. His name… he’d heard it earlier, but what was it…? It would be incredibly rude to ask for his name again.
While Jeong Tae-ui was breaking into a cold sweat and racking his brain, the man quietly entered the room and sat at the table as guided. Jeong Tae-ui sat in the seat opposite him.
The man gazed at Jeong Tae-ui for stolen contenta moment. His visit our sitedark [unauthorized copy]brown eyes scanned every corner of Tae-ui’s face, as if trying to find something. Then, he finally spoke.
“I am Karim Aziz.”
“Ah, yes. …I’m Jeong Tae-ui.”
He was relieved that the man had given his name, but Tae-ui wondered if it had been obvious on his face that he’d forgotten it.
“You look very much like Mr. Jeong Jae-ui.”
Jeong Tae-ui raised an eyebrow slightly at the familiar name coming from Aziz’s mouth. Soon, he tilted his head and smiled, saying, “Ah, yes.”
“Is that so? I’ve heard many times that we’re brothers who don’t look alike.”
“No. One look and it’s clear you are brothers.”
Aziz spoke firmly while shaking his head, and he didn’t sound like he was lying, but Jeong Tae-ui nodded stolen content[visit our site]ambiguously, thinking of his brother, who [stolen content]he felt didn’t look like him at all.
“I assume you’ve met my brother.”
While keeping the conversation on the man’s topic, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly thought of the guest who had gone to see Ilay.
…Aha.
Regardless of knowing the reason, guessing a phenomenon itself isn’t surprisingly difficult. It’s just that pinpointing the reason after guessing is the complicated part.
“I met and spoke with Mr. Jeong Jae-ui once a few years ago,” Aziz said calmly.
Unlike Malik, he didn’t smile much and his manner of speaking was quite blunt, but that was actually more comfortable. At least there was no obligation to exert social energy in return.
“He probably wasn’t a very interesting person to talk to…”
As Jeong Tae-ui gave a bitter smile, thinking of his brother who usually stayed quiet [visit our site]and only mumbled something when [visit our site]a thought suddenly occurred to him, Aziz shook his head.
“He was a truly wonderful person. Even at a young age, his insight was so exceptional that I marveled, thinking I would never be able to catch up to him even as time passed.”
Aziz, who looked as if his hair would start turning gray in a few more years, spoke quietly and lowered his gaze.
Jeong Tae-ui scratched the back of his neck, feeling awkwardly bashful. At the same time, he sighed inwardly. It was because he could see the direction the conversation was heading.
Jeong Tae-ui paused in thought for a moment and then looked up.
He had experienced several times already that in situations like this, there was no benefit to dragging things out.
“Thank you for thinking highly of my brother. I haven’t seen him for several years and have barely heard any news, so it’s nice to hear about him after a long time. We spent time together when we were young, but as we grew older, our meetings became infrequent and we developed our own lives, making us no different from strangers.”
“Of course, I still love my brother,” he added with a bright smile.
Aziz gazed at Jeong Tae-ui.
This man was no fool. There was no way he hadn’t understood what Jeong Tae-ui was trying to say. A man like Malik would have smiled nonchalantly and pretended not to understand before bringing up the topic, but this man wouldn’t do that.
As expected, Aziz lowered his head slightly as if lost in thought again.
Jeong Tae-ui nodded inwardly, thinking of the other person who would be sitting in front of Ilay right now.
An excellent selection of personnel. People of that ‘snake-like’ variety should be sent to Ilay. …But I wonder what they’re talking about over there. Even if the final goal is the same, the stories they present wouldn’t be the same.
As Jeong Tae-ui glanced at the phone, Aziz spoke again, having finished his thoughts.
“Mr. Jeong Tae-ui. The person I serve wishes to bring Mr. Jeong Jae-ui on board by any means to obtain his help. Therefore, we have attempted to contact Mr. Jeong Jae-ui several times, but the organization he belongs to is displeased, making contact difficult, and even when I asked Mr. Jeong Jae-ui to contact us, he has not given a proper response.”
“Ah…”
He was about to say, That’s probably because my [Read on Read BL Novels]brother got distracted by something else and forgot, but Jeong Tae-ui shut his [unauthorized copy]mouth. Judging by the flow of the conversation, there didn’t seem to be much benefit in saying that.
To get a response from Jeong Jae-ui, you couldn’t just ask him to contact you after thinking about it. Being busy running multiple thoughts in his head simultaneously, he didn’t remember those kinds of requests well.
Unless a firm promise was secured as to when he would respond, there were almost no cases where he replied to a simple request to get in touch. That’s why people who knew him well either got the answer immediately upon contacting him or contacted him again later.
But if he told this man that, it would obviously just make things annoying for his brother… …, wait, then it would make things easier for me.
Jeong Tae-ui blinked a few times and then gave Aziz a bright smile. Sorry, brother.
“My brother doesn’t really look around at other things once he focuses on one thing. Especially with promises like things that can be done or not without much consequence. So, you should get an answer immediately when you reach him, or if it’s difficult to answer on the spot, you have to keep contacting him until you get a response.”
As Jeong Tae-ui spoke, Aziz’s eyes widened and he nodded repeatedly. “I see,” he murmured, his voice filled with admiration.
“Now then, please try contacting him again and I hope you get a good result.”
Jeong Tae-ui smiled brightly, feeling as if he had just dumped a burden.
However, for some reason, the man—who should have stood up immediately to go settle things himself or report it to his superior—lowered his head slightly and fell into thought again.
After remaining lost in thought for quite a while in front of a puzzled Jeong Tae-ui, he looked up with a heavy expression.
“The person I serve is worried that the reason Mr. Jeong Jae-ui is not responding might be due to some unpleasant incident from the past.”
“An unpleasant incident?”
Repeating Aziz’s words, Jeong Tae-ui tilted his head. He was about to ask what kind of unpleasant incident, but Aziz spoke first.
“As you know, Mr. Jeong Tae-ui, we once hosted Mr. Jeong Jae-ui at a villa in a resort, and we wonder if he is avoiding contact with us because his feelings were hurt at that time…”
Jeong Tae-ui knew about the villa in the resort. He had also been trapped there with his brother, and after escaping… didn’t that eventually lead to this current situation?
Jeong Tae-ui scratched his head.
He couldn’t say for sure since he didn’t know what happened when he wasn’t around, but his brother didn’t seem to have hurt feelings back then. On the contrary, his brother had stayed in that quiet and peaceful space quite naturally. If Jeong Tae-ui hadn’t gone, he might still be there.
If anyone had a reason to be upset, it was Jeong Tae-ui. For some reason, the owner of that villa hated Jeong Tae-ui. However, he treated Jeong Jae-ui with utmost courtesy and respect. He even maintained politeness toward Tae-ui in front of Jeong Jae-ui.
To put it bluntly, Jeong Tae-ui hated that man.
Even setting aside the fact that the man hated him too, come to think of it, he didn’t even keep the promise to let them go if they gave him the blueprints… Ah.
“That’s right… then again, my brother hates it when promises are broken.”
Jeong Tae-ui murmured, vaguely recalling the past.
Not that he was the type to get angry and argue about it, though.
At Jeong Tae-ui’s mutter, which sounded like talking to himself, [unauthorized copy]Aziz nodded with a heavy face. [unauthorized copy]Then, he looked straight at Jeong Tae-ui and spoke.
“Therefore, if possible, we would be deeply grateful if Mr. Jeong Tae-ui could help us.”
Jeong Tae-ui flinched, snapping out of his memories, and looked at him.
He hadn’t expected him to be so direct. Then again, looking at the order of the words laid out previously, it was a natural progression.
“Me…?”
Jeong Tae-ui murmured awkwardly.
Actually, there was nothing to be awkward about, nor anything more to think about. Many people had made such requests to Jeong Tae-ui before. And every time, Jeong Tae-ui had refused.
If Jeong Tae-ui asked, Jeong Jae-ui would likely grant almost any request. It was similar to how Jeong Tae-ui would grant almost everything Jeong Jae-ui asked for. Both Jeong Tae-ui and Jeong Jae-ui were aware of this fact.
That was why Jeong Tae-ui did not convey the wishes of others to Jeong Jae-ui. He didn’t know if those [visit our site]wishes were [unauthorized copy]actually good for Jeong Jae-ui or if they were things Jeong Jae-ui wanted.
Even judging by his own discretion, he only passed on messages if he was certain it was absolutely beneficial for Jeong Jae-ui, but such cases were rare.
It was the same now.
No, now he felt more strongly that it could actually be a bad thing. Above all, wasn’t the person trying to bring in Jeong Jae-ui none other than that man? The person Jeong Tae-ui personally disliked, Raman Abid Al Saud.
“It’s absolutely not because of my personal feelings… but it’s a bit difficult for me to convey such a request to my brother.”
A lie popped out from the very first sentence, but the latter part was the truth.
Jeong Tae-ui looked at Aziz, his lips twisting in a troubled expression.
At any other time, he would have refused flatly, but that was the problem. The person behind Aziz was Raman, and further, the company that had provided the loan to Tarten.
Having demolished his private villa and even bombed the capital of that country, his position was weak. Very weak.
But still, he had no choice but to refuse.
Even if it meant becoming incredibly thick-skinned, Jeong Tae-ui did not want Jeong Jae-ui to be involved in munitions, nor did he want him to be swept up in the political arena where power struggles raged.
“Of course, we are not simply asking for a favor.”
Aziz did not back down. Then again, there had rarely been a case where conversations proceeded as simply as ‘I refuse’ or ‘Yes, I understand.’
“We will provide Mr. Jeong Jae-ui with the highest level of convenience during his stay with us. My superior has stated that in terms of the luxuries he can enjoy, it will be in no way inferior to those of direct royalty. There will be absolutely no negligence in his treatment. Furthermore, the compensation will be sufficient enough that he will not find it lacking. Also—”
Aziz continued to list detailed explanations regarding safety, stability, and convenience. By the time he reached the specific amounts, Jeong Tae-ui felt like his head was spinning just listening to it.
Having finished the explanation of what would be provided to Jeong Jae-ui, Aziz added briefly:
“Mr. Jeong Tae-ui, if you help us, we will certainly not treat you poorly either.”
The astronomical sum repeating endlessly in his ears suddenly made Jeong Tae-ui lose his sense of reality, and he replied tiredly, “Ah, yes.”
Come to think of it, today had been an incredibly tiring day. And he was tired to the very end. If he fell asleep today, he might not wake up tomorrow.
“I appreciate your offer, but it will still be difficult.”
Feeling that if he dragged out this exhaustion any longer, he wouldn’t be able to wake up not only tomorrow, but the day after and the day after that, Jeong Tae-ui spoke flatly.
“I have no intention of helping with any kind of solicitation to my brother. It was so in the past, and it will be the same in the future. I am well-acquainted with Jeong Jae-ui, the brother of Jeong Tae-ui, but I am not close to Jeong Jae-ui, the genius researcher and developer who accepts such solicitations.”
Jeong Tae-ui spoke firmly and shut his mouth.
He silently conveyed that he had no intention of hearing more on this topic through his interlaced fingers and his posture, leaning straight back in the chair.
Aziz lowered his head slightly again.
Refusing wasn’t a comfortable thing to do, so Jeong Tae-ui waited for him to speak, hoping he would just leave.
When he finally looked up after being lost in thought for a bit longer, his expression had become solemn.
Aziz straightened his posture. Then, looking straight at Jeong Tae-ui, he spoke in a tone that was calm as before, but more resolute.
“I would be grateful if you could accept if possible. Right now, I have come to visit Mr. Jeong Tae-ui, who is a guest in Tarten, but once Tarten repays the loan borrowed from us, your position may be somewhat different when we meet again. Why not think about it once more?”
It wasn’t a threatening tone. Rather, it contained a hint of suggestion, almost as if he felt a vague sense of pity.
This was the main point.
Jeong Tae-ui sighed, thinking of his own situation as an unintentional terrorist. Then, he shook his head.
“I’ll see you next time.”
When Jeong Tae-ui answered concisely, Aziz, who had been gazing at him for a moment, finally nodded and stood up.
“I apologize for the intrusion at such a late hour,” he left as a greeting and walked toward the door. Just before opening the door and leaving, he hesitated for a moment and turned his head.
“I owe a debt to Mr. Jeong Jae-ui. It was likely a trivial matter that he doesn’t even remember, but regardless, I received help and have always remembered it. Therefore, I do not wish to say anything bad to Mr. Jeong Jae-ui’s younger brother. The person I serve shows favor to those who treat him with goodwill, but he is mercilessly cold to those who do not. Thus, if Mr. Jeong Tae-ui helps with what he desires this time, it would be a very fortunate thing for Mr. Jeong Tae-ui.”
Aziz finished speaking quietly. His eyes, looking at Jeong Tae-ui, were waiting for an answer. This was advice he was giving to Jeong Tae-ui out of pure goodwill.
However, while appreciating it, Jeong Tae-ui had no choice but to shake his head once again.
Aziz nodded, and this time, after leaving a final farewell, he left the room.
* * *
“It’s a case of ‘nothing to lose, so why not give it a shot,’ isn’t it?”
Christoph suddenly muttered.
Jeong Tae-ui, who was tying back the curtains, looked back at Christoph. The sunlight streamed in dazzlingly bright, reaching the foot of the bed.
“I mean… I didn’t exactly put it in such a calculating way.”
“Regardless of the phrasing, that’s the gist of it.”
Christoph was in a terrible mood this morning.
He was a man who was generally grumpy in the mornings, but today was exceptional. In Read on Read BL Novelsfact, he had been able to walk reasonably well yesterday, but upon waking up this morning, it seemed as though the area below his waist wouldn’t move properly.
Thanks to that, Jeong Tae-ui was currently bearing the brunt of Christoph’s irritability, muttering to himself that this was simply how muscle pain worked.
“Hmph… Once they persuade you to bring in Jeong Jae-yi, they’ll have achieved their ultimate goal. Then they’ll just propose different repayment terms to us. They get the Jeong Jae-yi they wanted, and they get a separate repayment from us. It would be the perfect scenario for those bastards. You did well to refuse.”
“Uh…”
It wasn’t that he regretted refusing, but it meant that the danger to Jeong Tae-ui’s own safety was now a certainty.
However, facing Christoph, who was cheerfully proclaiming that he had done well to refuse, Jeong Tae-ui felt somewhat conflicted.
“But come to think of it, you said Al Faisal is the one with the actual authority over the loan repayment. I heard he was Raman’s guardian, but I guess they must be very close.”
As Jeong Tae-ui voiced the question that had suddenly occurred to him, Christoph, who had finally managed to lie face down with a groan, arched an eyebrow.
“Al Faisal has probably delegated full authority to Raman by now. He originally had no sons, so Raman is practically like a son to him. I believe I heard that Al Faisal has stepped back from [Read on Read BL Novels]the front lines and is living a leisurely life tending to his garden. …Hmph, seeing a man who grew his business in his youth by aggressively devouring other companies without blood or tears live peacefully in his old age… the world really isn’t that fair.”
Jeong Tae-ui could accept the first half of the statement as informative, but the second half was, no matter how he thought about it, just pointless venting.
But today, he decided he would understand whatever temper tantrum this guy threw. Of course. He knew all too well how much the man was suffering, both physically and mentally.
Jeong Tae-ui nodded, shedding tears of mourning in his heart.
“Damn it, I even had a dream last night about going to kill that bastard the moment I woke up.”
Tossing and turning, Christoph let out a groan and began to grind his teeth, muttering fiercely once more.
“Considering you two are usually evenly matched, if you barge in on Richard in that state—already injured and not physically fit—you’ll be at a disadvantage ten times out of ten.”
“Why would I be at a disadvantage?!”
“If you can move, feel free to try.”
Jeong Tae-ui shrugged. Christoph glared at him with eyes like an axe, looking indignant.
“Whose side are you on?”
“…If I pick the wrong side now, Ilay will kill me…”
Jeong Tae-ui muttered gloomily. Christoph glared at him with disapproval. Then, he suddenly lowered his voice slightly and asked.
“You like Ilay, don’t you?”
Jeong Tae-ui, who was unlocking the window latch, stopped his hand. He turned around to confirm the small voice he had heard.
Christoph was lying face down on the bed, burying his chin in his arms. His gaze, fixed on the pillowcase, was not looking at Jeong Tae-ui.
“…Yeah.”
It was a bit embarrassing to say, but it wasn’t a lie, and since the person in question wasn’t there, it was easier to admit.
“I see…” Christoph trailed off. Jeong Tae-ui watched him for a moment longer before turning back to unlock the window latch. It was stiff, perhaps slightly rusted, and wouldn’t open easily.
With a grating, irritating little sound, the latch finally gave way, and as he swung the window open, another whisper, like a monologue, reached his ears.
“You won’t come to me, will you?”
Jeong Tae-ui remained looking out the window without turning his head. He stayed like that for a while before turning back after a deliberate pause.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“…Nothing.”
Christoph muttered bluntly. Then, [unauthorized copy]while still lying Read on Read BL Novelsface down, he slowly pulled the duvet up to cover his shoulders.
Jeong Tae-ui leaned against the window in silence, looking outside. The clear, faint noises of the morning were drifting in from outdoors.
What can’t be, can’t be. If that’s the case, it’s better to realize it quickly.
As he stared blankly outside with a slightly bittersweet feeling, he occasionally saw people hurrying out to run errands.
Come to think of it…
“Don’t you have work today?”
Jeong Tae-ui asked, looking back at Christoph.
Of course, it would be excessively cruel to tell him to work in that condition, but since Christoph’s time wasn’t entirely his own these days, he asked anyway.
The moment Jeong Tae-ui asked, Christoph’s eyes sharpened.
“Who cares. It’s not my work anyway.”
“Ah… right…”
Indeed, given his physical state, there would be nothing more miserable than having to work for the human who put him in that condition.
Jeong Tae-ui nodded in understanding.
“If Richard is human, he wouldn’t push you to work right now—”
—Knock, knock.
The moment Jeong Tae-ui opened his mouth, there was a knock.
Before the silent Jeong Tae-ui or the annoyed Christoph—who stolen contentonly flicked his eyes toward the door without answering—could visit our sitereact, the door opened immediately without waiting for a response.
“I believe I mentioned yesterday that today’s schedule begins at ten-thirty.”
The person who entered, saying this, was Richard, who might not even be human.
Following the direction of his glancing gaze, Jeong Tae-ui looked at the wall clock; it pointed exactly to ten minutes to ten. It was time to depart to follow the schedule.
After giving Christoph a look the moment he entered, Richard then noticed Jeong Tae-ui standing by the window and arched an eyebrow slightly.
“So you were here.”
“Yeah, well.”
Jeong Tae-ui cut his words short. Facing this man immediately made him feel uncomfortable, and more than that, from the moment he entered the room, a fierce aura began to emanate from the bed where Christoph lay.
“Richard…!”
The voice that had previously been sulking and only letting out occasional groans now flowed out, a tone lower and agitated.
“You…”
Christoph pushed himself up. He flinched and grimaced, momentarily stopping his movement, but he managed to sit up slowly. The reason his body was trembling slightly wasn’t just because of the pain.
“You piece of shit, how dare you shamelessly enter this room with that face…!”
His lips trembled, turning pale.
His hand gripped the sheets, twitching as if he wanted to pounce and snap Richard’s neck at any moment, but in the end, he couldn’t stand up.
Richard, standing at a distance where he could easily reach Christoph if the latter took just one step out of bed, looked down at him coldly. Ignoring his words, he turned his gaze to Jeong Tae-ui.
“I have something to discuss with Christoph for a moment. Could you please excuse us?”
“I have nothing to discuss with you!”
Christoph shouted abruptly, then coughed dryly a few times, as if his throat had gone parched. Richard barely spared him a glance, continuing to signal Jeong Tae-ui with his eyes to leave.
And Jeong Tae-ui, after hesitating for a moment, shook his head.
“I don’t feel like leaving right now.”
Jeong Tae-ui knew what had happened between them. In fact, not even a full day had passed since then.
In a situation where a rapist and a victim meet, if he quietly left just because the rapist told him to, it would be the same as tacitly consenting to the crime. He absolutely could not do that.
“Besides, this is Christoph’s room, so unless Christoph asks me to leave, I don’t wish to.”
As Jeong Tae-ui added, Richard looked at him in silence. As always, a faint smile lingered on [stolen content][unauthorized copy]his lips, but his eyes were not smiling.
“If that is your wish. Please understand that some unpleasant conversation may follow.”
After speaking politely, Richard turned his head away from Jeong Tae-ui. It was as if the man didn’t even exist in that space.
He was looking only at Christoph. Only at Christoph, who was clutching his throat and coughing, yet glaring at him with terrifying eyes.
“Are you too tired and wish to rest?”
He suddenly asked softly. A cool smile appeared on his lips and in his eyes. Christoph replied in a low voice.
“…If I were weak enough to want to rest over this much pain, I wouldn’t have survived this long.”
“Right. Then get up immediately. There is a lot to see on today’s schedule.”
“…I’d have to be insane to spend the whole day on a schedule with you.”
After glaring at Richard in disbelief for a moment, Christoph replied harshly and slowly pushed himself up.
He forced his legs, which lacked strength, and his waist, which throbbed with pain every time he moved, to drag himself out of bed. He stood up by gripping the bedpost.
Cold sweat had faintly broken out on his forehead. However, he stood on two legs, facing Richard as if to show he would not appear weak any longer.
“I am not going anywhere with you, you perverted piece of shit…!”
Just like his trembling voice, the hand gripping the bedpost was shaking. If there had been a single knife in that hand, he surely would have lunged at the man and stabbed him, even if his own body broke in the process.
However, Richard, who had been watching Christoph calmly without a single movement, suddenly smiled.
“So you do want to rest. …Perhaps while receiving nursing care from the person you like, spending a leisurely time together.”
With those words, he glanced at Jeong Tae-ui, who was leaning against Read on Read BL Novelsthe window with his arms crossed. Jeong Tae-ui stood blankly until that gaze returned to Christoph, blinking only after a delay.
Why the hell are you looking at me?! …Though he wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Christoph. You must accompany me. In the first place, you agreed to stay with me and assist my work until the succession is decided. Today is no exception. —If it is difficult to walk, I shall prepare a wheelchair for you.”
“…Ha. A wheelchair so you can push me?”
“I can do at least that. Since even sitting would be difficult for your body.”
A smile resembling mockery flickered in Richard’s eyes. Then, he suddenly leaned slightly toward Christoph. A voice that sounded almost concerned whispered.
“Seeing you like this, it seems the hole I pierced is throbbing so much that you have no strength in your legs. Your legs were quite strong when you were wrapping them around my waist and tightening them.”
“…!!”
It happened then.
Christoph’s face turned pale, and he suddenly let go of the bedpost and lunged at Richard.
He slammed into Richard, who was just one step away—within reach just by leaning forward and extending an arm—and the two of them tumbled to the floor together.
The sound of the tea table next to the bed being knocked over echoed loudly. Teacups and the teapot shattered. And overlapping that was the heavy sound of two people crashing onto the floor.
“Richard, you… you… just die…!!”
Straddling Richard’s stomach on the floor, Christoph strangled his neck.
There wasn’t a trace of color left in his naturally pale face. Blue eyes overflowing with murderous intent looked down at Richard. The delicate hands wrapping around and squeezing his neck had the shapes of bones and joints slightly protruding.
“Chris…!”
Jeong Tae-ui, who had instinctively moved away [unauthorized copy]from the [unauthorized copy]window to approach them, stopped after a few steps.
It wasn’t Christoph, but rather Richard who was glaring at Jeong Tae-ui terrifyingly.
Don’t come closer, don’t interfere and just watch from there, you are nothing more than a spectator in this moment—that is what he was saying.
Once he confirmed that Jeong Tae-ui had stopped, Richard looked back at Christoph. A slight frown creased his brow, as the hand squeezing his windpipe was indeed painful.
But in the next moment, his hand moved.
Richard’s hand first grabbed Christoph’s wrist, which was clutching his neck. He seemed to apply a bit of strength as if to push him off. However, Christoph didn’t budge. Instead, he tightened his grip even further.
Soon, Richard let go of Christoph as if giving up. But instead, he moved that hand to Christoph’s waist.
After lightly stroking the waist, the hand slid inside the pajamas, and Christoph flinched. A look of disgust mixed with the murderous intent that had been shimmering in his eyes as if he had half-lost his reason. His slightly recoiling hand, however, still strangled Richard’s neck.
With his face slightly contorted in pain, Richard without hesitation slid his hand from Christoph’s waist down into his pants. [visit our site]He caressed the [stolen content]buttocks that were half-exposed as the pajama pants were pulled down, and at one point, he gripped them firmly.
“…!!”
Christoph’s expression hardened. Then, anxiously, he squeezed Richard’s neck even harder. As if telling him to hurry, hurry up and die.
Richard wasn’t entirely relaxed. But his hand was clearly moving calmly. Calmly, as if carefully searching for what he desired.
Even while grimacing in pain from the lack of air, Richard seemed to smile faintly. At that expression, Christoph’s face took on a look of bewilderment, yet became even more fierce.
But after a few seconds.
“Chri…!”
“…!!”
The moment Jeong Tae-ui, who had been watching them with an anxious expression, [visit our site]instinctively hardened his face, and the moment Christoph’s eyes [Read on Read BL Novels]widened [unauthorized copy]and his body recoiled fully, were almost simultaneous.
Having somehow freed his penis from his zipper with one hand, Richard had used the other hand to push Christoph’s waist and press that piece of flesh between his buttocks.
The moment the glans touched the entrance leading into the body, he pushed his member inside without hesitation.
Thump. Only the bulging tip burrowed in and settled inside Christoph’s body, which had been completely unprepared and unsuspecting.
Simultaneously.
Christoph, who had frozen in shock for a moment, instinctively released Richard’s neck and struck his face with his fist. Again and again, frantically.
“Chris—”
Jeong Tae-ui, who reflexively tried to stop him, took a couple more steps forward and then stopped.
He didn’t know whether he should stop them or help.
However, with the dark penis burrowed slightly into Christoph’s body, and the posture fully visible, Jeong Tae-ui didn’t know where to look.
Then, as if only now hearing the short voice of Jeong Tae-ui calling him, Christoph paused his hand. He slowly turned around.
When his eyes met those of Jeong Tae-ui, who couldn’t hide his bewilderment, Christoph’s expression vanished instantly.
“Uh… Chri…”
As Jeong Tae-ui muttered awkwardly, Christoph’s expression suddenly changed, and he screamed terrifyingly.
“Get out! Don’t stay there, get out now!!”
Seeing Christoph suddenly fly into a rage and point toward the door, Jeong Tae-ui hesitated in confusion. But seeing this, Christoph became even more hysterical.
“I told you to get out! Get out of here!! Get out now!!”
Faced with Christoph screaming as if he had lost his mind, Jeong Tae-ui had no choice but to leave.
Just before stepping out the door, Jeong Tae-ui looked back at them anxiously and hesitated, but Christoph, glaring at him with a pale face, screamed again for him to leave the moment he slowed his pace.
After Jeong Tae-ui left, leaving behind one last anxious sigh, Christoph breathed heavily while staring at the firmly closed door. His breathing was unstable, as if he were having a panic attack.
“I suppose you wanted to look impressive in front of the guy you like. What do you think, Christoph Tarten? From where that man was standing, he must have seen everything. Every single fold of the hole that was stretched wide open from being pierced.”
Richard’s voice drifted slowly from beneath Christoph.
Christoph lowered his bloodless face to look at Richard, his gaze sharp enough to carve him to pieces.
“You… you did that on purpose.”
“I did?”
“On purpose, this…!!”
Christoph pushed himself up. The object that had been burrowed slightly between his thighs rubbed against the entrance as it slid out.
Shuddering at the sensation, Christoph swung his fist again.
But Richard didn’t let himself be hit this time. He caught that fist, then grabbed the other, gripping both wrists in one hand.
Pulling Christoph toward him as he raged and shook his wrists frantically, Richard brought his lips close to his face.
“Christoph. I called your mother this morning.”
In that instant.
Christoph’s movements stopped.
With a face suddenly devoid of expression, Christoph stared at Richard, who was not even a span away.
“I told her I’d prepare a room for her at Tarten, so she should come whenever it’s convenient for her.”
“…—”
“She was overjoyed and said she’d come as early as today.”
The strength slowly drained from Christoph’s arms. He merely stared at Richard with blue eyes as expressionless as a doll’s.
Richard released Christoph’s arms. However, the arms that had regained their freedom did not attack Richard again; they simply dropped slowly to his sides.
“I told her it might be hectic today and tomorrow because there are precious guests from outside at the mansion, so she said she’d come early the day after tomorrow.”
“The day after tomorrow…”
His lips parted slightly, and he repeated only those words.
“You must be happy, Christoph. How long has it been since you’ve seen your family?”
Christoph didn’t answer. Like a marionette with its strings cut, he sat atop Richard with his arms hanging limp, simply staring down at him.
Suddenly, Richard laughed.
“Now… wake up, Christoph. Are you planning to stay spaced out like this when you’re about to see your mother for the first time in so long?”
Richard sat up. Because of this, Christoph, who had been sitting on him, nearly fell backward, but Richard caught him by the shoulders with a quick “Whoops,” supporting him.
“Your mother seemed very worried about you. When she asked how you were doing, I told her you were doing well. I told her you’ve been a great help lately by assisting me with my work, and she was delighted.”
Christoph slowly looked down at Richard’s hand gripping his Read on Read BL Novelsshoulder. [unauthorized copy]Reading the [unauthorized copy]flicker of displeasure on the expressionless face, Richard slowly let go.
“Ah, but don’t worry. I didn’t go as far as to tell her that you lost your virginity for the first time yesterday. …No, should I say you gave up your maidenhood?”
Even between a mother and son, talking about such things is a bit much, isn’t it? As Richard spoke lightly, only then did Christoph flinch, shut his mouth tight, and turn his gaze toward him. Looking narrowly at those eyes filled with an anxiety and resentment that seemed ready to crumble at any moment, Richard gently set Christoph aside and stood up.
As Richard tidied his clothes and brushed off the dust from his hem, Christoph murmured softly.
“…Fine, I’ll help you. Until the moment you succeed Tarten, I will help you exactly as you wish.”
“Ho, I appreciate that. I’d be even more grateful if you didn’t forget that sentiment in the future.”
“In exchange, once the succession is decided, I will definitely kill you.”
Still sitting on the floor, Christoph looked up at Richard, who was standing and looking down at him. His transparent blue eyes were trembling slightly. So were his lips, pale with the same hue as his eyes.
Richard narrowed his eyes. Then, he smiled.
“As you wish. As long as you don’t forget to follow my orders until then, do whatever you like afterward.”
If you can, he added silently.
In front of Christoph, who silently lowered his gaze to his clenched fists, Richard turned away. Clack—the moment he stepped off the rug, the forgotten sound of his dress shoes echoed again.
“I’ve already pushed back the schedule. But I can’t delay it any further, so get ready and come down. We have to move quickly today.”
“…—”
The cold voice grew distant with every footstep.
Just as Richard was opening the door, he rubbed his jaw where he had been hit earlier, then turned back as if suddenly remembering something.
“I only tried it once, but you reacted quite violently just from [visit our site]the tip going in a little. I suppose you’ve become very sensitive after getting stolen contenta taste yesterday. —Ah, right. To give you visit our sitea compliment, you were the most flavorful body I’ve tasted so far. Though you’re still far from ripe.”
Grind. Fingernails dug into palms as they scratched the wooden floor.
Leaving one last satisfied smile for the trembling Christoph, Richard closed the door cheerfully and left.
* * *
From somewhere in the distance, the sound of dry thunder echoed again.
However, after listening for a moment, there were no cheers following it, so it seemed to have been a miss.
Jeong Tae-ui let out a sigh and resumed his walk.
Rustle, rustle. The grass, grown long enough to reach his shins, slightly hindered his path.
The forest wasn’t deep yet. Looking up, there was more blue sky visible than sky hidden by leaves.
In this low grassland where it was highly unlikely for a fox to roam, Jeong Tae-ui was strolling as if taking a leisurely walk. Occasionally, the sound of horse hooves, people shouting boisterously, and gunshots could be heard from afar, but those sounds all came from deep within the forest.
Above his head was a sky as deep blue as Christoph’s eyes, and at his feet, lush green blades of grass covered everything in sight. The large trees that occasionally blocked his view, and the desolate yet refreshing air wrapped in a silence broken only by the distant noises—he liked it all.
“Everything else aside, it would be great if I didn’t have to hear those gunshots.”
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue in disappointment at the sound of thunder echoing once more.
Every time he heard it, he thought the same thing: there could be no sound more barren and fierce than that.
“Now then, where… should I take a little nap…”
“—You’d better be careful not to toss and turn in your sleep and get shot for being mistaken for a fox.”
The person calmly muttering things he didn’t even want to imagine was a man who had already arrived and settled in nearby, one step ahead of Jeong Tae-ui.
Jeong Tae-ui frowned upon discovering the man sitting comfortably atop a massive tree, a rarity in such a shallow forest.
Ilay.
How on earth does this guy appear like a ghost everywhere I go? Is he secretly following me—ah, but he was already here first.
“What a horrible thing to say… Well, it’s fine. I came out wearing clothes in a color that could never be mistaken for a fox. Better safe than sorry.”
Jeong Tae-ui puffed out his chest proudly, pointing to his conspicuous yellow clothes—which indeed would not look like a fox to anyone. Then he spoke to Ilay.
“If anything, those reddish [visit our site]clothes you’re wearing [stolen content]are exactly the color of a fox. Shouldn’t you be the one being careful?”
Jeong Tae-ui carefully observed the man looking down at him with dark eyes.
Today, a hunting event had been arranged for the precious guests from afar. Although it was essentially voluntary, the atmosphere was such that almost all the young people were being driven toward the hunting grounds.
Thanks to that, Jeong Tae-ui had also dragged his reluctant steps into the forest, slung with a gun.
Ilay was no different. He had likely come here to hunt as well.
Perhaps because of that, since arriving today, he had cast aside the sophisticated and intellectual attire Jeong Tae-ui usually saw him in.
A loose shirt and trousers that were easy to move in, and gloves.
Whether it was because it had been a long time since he’d seen him dressed like that, or because of the environment where gunshots occasionally rang out, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly felt an instinctive sense of danger from the man.
Noticing this as Jeong Tae-ui slightly narrowed his eyes, Ilay, leaning against [unauthorized copy]the tree, curled [unauthorized copy]the corner unauthorized copyof his mouth ever so slightly.
“You know it well, Tae-yi. That my prey is you.”
“When you say things like that, it doesn’t sound like a joke.”
“A joke?”
Ilay questioned lightly. However, he didn’t elaborate and simply gave a smirk. That made it even more unsettling.
As Jeong Tae-ui watched him with wary eyes, Ilay scanned him from head to toe and spoke.
“If you wander around so defenselessly, you’ll likely be hunted without a soul knowing.”
“Anyone who would mistake a perfectly walking human for a fox wouldn’t have participated in the hunt in the first place.”
“It’s not just foxes that get shot. You never know who might be hiding, targeting whom.”
Jeong Tae-ui fell silent again and looked up at him. When this man spoke like this, he sometimes couldn’t tell if it was a joke or a serious statement.
“If someone is facing a threat to their life, the most likely culprit would be…”
You, you. Omitting those words, Jeong Tae-ui stared intently at Ilay.
Ilay arched an eyebrow and leaped down from the tree.
Seeing that large frame jump down effortlessly from a height much higher than a human head was, once again, almost wondrous.
It truly seemed as if this man’s body was born for ‘unhesitating and clean violence.’
“You said you have to keep an eye on the succession candidates; is it okay for you to be in a place like this? Does hunting skill serve as a criterion for judgment too?”
“For Richard, today is more of a reception than a hunt.”
Hearing Ilay’s words, Jeong Tae-ui nodded, thinking, Ah, right.
This morning, though his pace was still slightly slow, Christoph had joined the hunt following Richard, his body moving reasonably well.
Seeing Christoph, who was very diligent about the dress code, wearing riding gear instead of hunting attire, Tae-ui guessed that Christoph didn’t have much intention of hunting either.
Earlier, while strolling up the forest, he had seen them entering another forest entrance quite far away. The Arab VIP, Richard, and Christoph.
Christoph seemed to have noticed Jeong Tae-ui as well, but he soon turned his head bluntly and rode his horse into the forest.
Perhaps because he felt awkward after showing such an embarrassing side of himself yesterday morning, Christoph had barely spoken to Jeong Tae-ui since then. Whenever they crossed paths in the dining hall or elsewhere, he would turn away with a fierce, angry face.
Hmm… well, if I had been seen in a full-on insertion situation like that, I might die of embarrassment too… … …If you put it that way, I should have already died several times.
It was while Jeong Tae-ui was despairing over this sudden realization.
A gunshot rang out from a distance. A few seconds later, cheers followed. It seemed a poor fox had been sacrificed.
“Why don’t you try catching one too? The foxes around here are of high quality and sell for a high price.”
“Hmm… I don’t have such aristocratic hobbies as hunting.”
“You probably want to say it’s a sadistic hobby, not an aristocratic one. Then again, I don’t like fox hunting much either. Chasing something that only runs away is boring.”
“No, you’ve got it wrong. That’s not why I don’t hunt…”
Jeong Tae-ui quickly waved his hands, fearing he might be misunderstood in an unpleasant way.
Meanwhile, from somewhere far off, another cheer followed a gunshot.
Unconsciously looking in that direction, Jeong Tae-ui suddenly murmured.
“It would be quite flustering to get caught up in a hunt while taking a leisurely stroll in the forest. …Then again, foxes wouldn’t appear this close to the edge, so as long as I play around here, I won’t get caught up in it.”
“Hmm… not necessarily. If you’re just a little unlucky, you can easily get caught up even here. For example—”
But before Ilay could give an example, the inner forest suddenly became noisy.
“That way! It’s going that way!”
“It’s a huge one! …Wait, there’s another one, two… no, there are three!”
“Drive them that way! That way!!”
Several excited shouts overlapped. Those shouts, the sound of horse hooves, and the occasional random gunshots were drawing closer and closer.
“Uh…”
As Jeong Tae-ui looked in that direction with suspicious eyes, Ilay murmured leisurely beside him.
“Yes, exactly a situation like this.”
“Wait, this is no time to be so calm, it’s better to avoid—”!!
But at the same time Jeong Tae-ui shouted, a beast could be seen bursting through the brush with tremendous momentum from the inner forest.
The one running in the lead was a dark, reddish-brown beast.
The reason he didn’t immediately recognize it as a fox was that its body length far exceeded one meter, nearly twice the size of an average fox. Following it were two more foxes, not as large as the first but still larger than average.
“Uh, …uh, …”
But the problem wasn’t the foxes.
Since Jeong Tae-ui and Ilay were blocking the path, the foxes veered off to the side.
A human, far more dangerous than a fox, was galloping right behind them. On horseback.
To avoid it, the galloping horse was far too fast. Furthermore, the fact that the rider’s horsemanship wasn’t particularly skilled was another factor in the misfortune.
“Ugh…!!”
The rider, who discovered Jeong Tae-ui standing in the middle of the path too late, widened his eyes in panic. Chasing the foxes that had veered off beside Jeong Tae-ui was no longer the issue.
“M-move…!!”
The massive horse lunged right in front of Jeong Tae-ui’s nose. He caught a glimpse of the rider pulling the reins frantically, but it was already too close.
Damn it, this isn’t just a case of being ‘a little’ unlucky…!
Jeong Tae-ui left everything to fate and lowered his body as much as possible, praying that the horse would pass over him without trampling him.
And just as he closed his eyes tight.
Bang—.
Right by his ear.
A deafening gunshot rang out.
And simultaneous with the shot, a chilling neigh of a horse.
Following a momentary silence came a voice screaming in confusion, and then a heavy vibration as something collapsed onto the ground.
“…”
When Jeong Tae-ui opened his eyes, he saw a white horse lying collapsed less than a meter away, and the rider tumbling and groaning right behind it.
A dark red hole had been pierced through the horse’s forehead. Beside it, the white fur was gradually staining red.
“It’s not usually this unlucky. …I’ve thought this occasionally, but Tae-yi, you might have a rather harsh fate.”
Ilay approached, speaking nonchalantly from behind Jeong Tae-ui. Crunch, crunch, the sound of stepping on grass accompanied by a pungent smell brushing against the tip of his nose.
After staring blankly for a moment at the horse that shuddered in convulsions before finally stopping all movement, Jeong Tae-ui sighed and murmured, “I think my fate is very harsh, in my opinion…” before turning around.
From somewhere, he was now lightly spinning a .38 caliber revolver.
However, Ilay, who had stepped up beside Jeong Tae-ui, looked down at the horse indifferently and suddenly frowned slightly.
Following his gaze, Jeong Tae-ui realized there was visit our siteanother hole pierced in the side of the horse’s neck. He [Read on Read BL Novels]turned his head toward the direction from which the shot must have come.
From a distance, Christoph was slowly approaching.
With a rifle slung in one hand and a still desolate expression, he looked at Jeong Tae-ui, then quickly averted his eyes when their gazes met.
Clip-clop, clip-clop. Approaching with a brisk pace, the horse stopped a few meters away from Jeong Tae-ui.
“…Thanks, both of you.”
Jeong Tae-ui murmured after a moment of silence in the subtle atmosphere.
But regardless of whether Jeong Tae-ui murmured or not, Christoph looked down coldly at Ilay from atop his horse, and Ilay looked back at Christoph with an impassive gaze.
“If you were going to shoot, you should have done it properly. From this position, you can’t cut off the breath in one go. What’s the point of the horse collapsing after a person has already been trampled to death?”
Ilay spoke, pointing his finger at the wound Christoph had inflicted. At that, Christoph let out a scoff stolen contentand turned his head away. He seemed subtly offended.
Just as Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and was about to open his mouth, a voice calling for Christoph echoed from the direction he had come.
The moment he heard that voice, Christoph’s expression hardened even before he looked back. With a face that had grown fiercely grim, he merely glanced over his shoulder.
Standing some distance away was Richard. Even from here, Tae-ui could see him beckoning with his hand.
Christoph clicked his tongue. Then, he pulled the reins and turned the horse’s head.
As he prepared to vanish like the wind, having arrived like an arrow, Jeong Tae-ui instinctively shouted after him.
“Chris!”
Having walked a few steps, he paused for a moment and looked back.
However, having nothing in particular to say, Jeong [unauthorized copy][unauthorized copy]Tae-ui hesitated for a second before shrugging and speaking.
“Thanks. For coming to help.”
At that, Christoph remained silent, looking somewhat dissatisfied. At some point, he whipped the horse’s head around and tossed back a short remark.
“Take care of yourself.”
The desolate glare he cast seemed to say, ‘You’d better keep a low profile so you don’t have to run into me again,’ but Jeong Tae-ui stared at him blankly for a moment before nodding obediently.
When he replied, “Yeah, thanks for worrying about me,” Christoph seemed to turn his head slightly, but he soon galloped away.
As Christoph quickly receded and returned to Richard in the distance, and the two eventually vanished into the forest together, Jeong Tae-ui stared blankly in that direction and suddenly muttered.
“He really did leave like the wind… But wasn’t he supposed to be entertaining those Arab guests?”
“He must have had something important enough to abandon his [unauthorized copy]guests. Unless it was truly urgent, [Read on Read BL Novels]the abandoned guests will be quite displeased.”
Ilay spoke slowly. Jeong Tae-ui gave a half-hearted agreement, “I guess so,” and only turned around after hearing a groan of “Ouch…” The rider, who had fallen from his horse but fortunately seemed to have escaped serious injury, was groaning while clutching his leg.
Jeong Tae-ui clicked his tongue and helped the young man, who was heading back with a hurt leg instead of having hunted a fox.
* * *
“I wondered where you were running off to so suddenly; was it that man after all? You recognized him well, even from that distance.”
Richard spoke with admiration. Christoph glanced at him and walked a few steps ahead.
“How could I not. He sparkles.”
There was no immediate answer to Christoph’s blunt mutter. Not having expected a response in the first place, Christoph walked for a while, then suddenly looked back when he noticed the presence following him had vanished. Richard was looking at him from a short distance with a peculiar expression.
“…?”
As Christoph frowned slightly in confusion, Richard quickly composed his expression and approached.
“Sparkles… that man does?”
When Richard asked, Christoph glared at him irritably this time.
“If you don’t see it that way, you don’t need to. I’m the only one who needs to see it.”
After snapping sullenly, he muttered to himself with a huff, thinking that the bastard Rick probably sees it too.
Following a few steps behind and watching [Read on Read BL Novels]Christoph with strange eyes, Richard unauthorized copylet out [stolen content]a short laugh and asked.
“Is there a round halo shining behind his head, like in a Buddhist painting?”
“What nonsense. I have no religion. I’ve never loved God.”
At Christoph’s cold response, Richard frowned slightly as if the conversation had gone off track, but he let it slide.
After walking ahead with a gloomy face, lost in thought for a while, Christoph suddenly looked back at Richard with narrowed eyes. His gaze was somehow subtly mischievous.
“You’ve never had anyone look that sparkling to you, have you?”
“Hmm…?”
“And yet, you told me that I don’t know how to love anyone.”
Suddenly, Christoph’s expression unauthorized copydimmed slightly. His face, which seemed to fade unauthorized copypale for a moment, soon returned to a desolate and indifferent expression as he glared coldly at Richard.
“I’ve thought about it carefully since then, and that’s not true. I’m not like that. If this isn’t loving someone, then what on earth is?”
Christoph shook his head slowly.
His voice, which had dropped subtly, sounded as if he were speaking to himself.
“Hmm… so you’re saying that when you love someone, they look like a Buddhist painting in your eyes?”
“I said it’s not a Buddhist painting!”
Christoph shouted abruptly. Then, as if granting a favor, he sighed and continued.
“I don’t know… I’ve never seen anyone else look like that, so I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone, but hearing the other guys in the mobile task force, they say if someone looks prettier than they actually are, it means you’ve fallen for them.”
“Prettier than they actually are…”
Repeating Christoph’s words, Richard watched his back for a moment and tilted his head slightly.
“Then, if by any chance—”
However, as he opened his mouth, he stopped mid-sentence. Christoph looked back curiously, but Richard did not speak again. He simply walked forward in silence.
The two horses, walking side by side with a slight offset, were gradually entering a dense forest path. Although it was dense, a well-maintained riding trail that horses could pass through continued in a gentle curve.
Looking up, green leaves filled the view more than the sky.
“If it weren’t for the occasional sound of gunfire, it would feel like a leisurely stroll.”
At Richard’s sudden mutter, Christoph, who seemed to be thinking the same thing, nodded blankly. Then, as if suddenly snapping back to his senses, he frowned.
“Why the hell should I be taking a stroll with you?”
“Since we aren’t actually taking a stroll, that statement is incorrect.”
Richard replied coldly. He cast a gaze toward Christoph that was just as cold as his words.
“They should be around here somewhere, so it’s about time we encounter them. …Let me tell you, Christoph. Because you suddenly turned your horse and fled, leaving them behind, I had to leave them as well to chase after you. I did get permission before leaving, but it was a very rude act toward guests we’ve welcomed as VIPs in our home. —Don’t forget. You must assist me properly with my work. Even if you set aside your personal feelings.”
“—…”
Richard continued, brushing away branches with the back of his hand that grew denser and occasionally blocked his view.
“You surely know, but they are important guests. ‘Extremely’ important. Since we have to negotiate from a disadvantaged position from the start, it won’t be easy. …Do not do anything, even the smallest thing, that would stir up unnecessary trouble.”
Christoph did not answer. Richard glanced at him but did not press for a response. It was something Christoph knew well, without the need for words.
They had been repaying massive loans over several decades. And this was the final one. Once this loan was repaid, Tarten would have [visit our site]nothing left to do but leap forward.
The guests who had arrived ahead of this final repayment were them.
He knew they weren’t the type of people to be so naive as to move solely on personal feelings, but one never knows which trivial corner or insignificant reason might cause a deal to collapse.
When they turned the fourth bend in the road, they saw the hindquarters of a horse obscured by trees in the distance. Seeing the light, rhythmic pace of the steps, it seemed they, too, were enjoying a stroll more than the hunt.
“Malik! Aziz!”
When Richard called out loudly, the swaying hindquarters of the horse stopped abruptly. As the horse turned around, Malik, sitting atop it, became visible. As they rounded the path a bit more, Aziz beside him and another young man, who seemed to be their attendant, appeared.
Approaching them lightly, Richard apologized once more for leaving them. Malik smiled and shook his head. Behind him, as was almost always the case, Aziz supported him by occasionally nodding in silence by his side. The unfamiliar attendant, appearing to be of a much lower rank than them, stood back and showed no sign of intervening.
“Fox hunting is all well and good, but the forest is so beautiful that we were taking our time looking around. I am truly envious that you possess such a lush green forest.”
As Malik looked up at the sky covered in dense leaves with admiration, he suddenly locked eyes with Christoph, who was standing [Read on Read BL Novels]slightly behind Richard, and tilted his head curiously with a smile.
“But may I ask why you rushed off so suddenly?”
“…The direction the people chasing the fox were riding toward was the direction where someone I know was.”
Christoph muttered, subtly revealing that he didn’t particularly want to answer. Nevertheless, Malik asked repeatedly, completely unfazed.
“Aha… you must have been worried about your friend. So, was everything alright?”
Christoph shook his head. It was evident that if he could answer without speaking, he would prefer not to.
Richard, who let out a quiet sigh beside him, stepped in.
“It could have been dangerous, but it seems no one was hurt. Then again, since Riegrow was with them, nothing would have happened even if Christoph hadn’t gone.”
At the mention of the name Riegrow, Malik raised an [Read on Read BL Novels]eyebrow slightly. He tilted his Read on Read BL Novelshead [unauthorized copy]and drew out his words slowly.
“Then, could that friend perhaps be…?”
“Yes, you likely already know. It is Mr. Jeong Tae-ui, the younger brother of Mr. Jeong Jae-ui.”
Richard spoke as if in passing. Christoph, glancing at him, had an expressionless face.
“I see… Hearing Aziz talk about his brief conversation with him, he seemed to be a very upright person, perhaps a bit stiff. What do you think, from your perspective?”
Malik asked Richard, gesturing toward Aziz with his eyes. Richard tilted his head slightly, saying, “Well.”
“Christoph would know more about his personality or behavioral habits than I would, but in my view… the man himself is quite unremarkable and fine, but the people around him are rather demanding.”
As Richard spoke with a low laugh, Malik also smiled meaningfully. “Haha, the people around him, indeed…” he repeated, appearing to think about something for a moment.
Clop, clop, clop, clop—the cheerful sound of several horses’ hooves echoed in succession. Malik, who had been entering the forest as if enjoying [visit our site]a stroll atop a lightly walking horse, suddenly looked [Read on Read BL Novels]around the path where the trees seemed to be thinning out and widened his eyes.
“There is a stream flowing down there. A stream in the forest… The atmosphere is lovely, shall we rest for a moment?”
Following him as he stopped his horse under a suitable tree and hopped down, the others also stopped.
However, Malik, who had stopped while talking about the stream, didn’t even look in that direction; instead, he strolled under the trees and perched himself on a suitable rock.
“It is quiet here, making it a good place to talk.”
Malik spoke with a beaming smile.
Richard sat on a rock opposite him, and Aziz sat behind Malik, while Christoph and the attendant did not sit. Christoph glared at the rock right next to Richard and simply leaned against a tree in the back, while the attendant lingered near the horses as if tending to them. Christoph glanced at the attendant and tilted his head suspiciously, but said nothing.
“Since it would be ridiculous to beat around the bush in front of people who deal with information, I will speak directly: the person I serve desires above all else to bring Mr. Jeong Jae-ui into our business. However, as you know, he is already affiliated with UNHRDO, and the matter of persuading him is not something that can be set as a condition for Tarten’s repayment.”
The story Malik brought up so bluntly was something the Tarten side already knew.
Richard nodded without showing it, but Christoph, who was leaning against the tree with his arms crossed behind him, frowned slightly.
Christoph had heard this mentioned when discussions were taking place within Tarten. That Al Faisal—to be precise, his protégé—wanted to bring Jeong Jae-ui to a laboratory he kept independently linked to his business.
That was understandable. The name Jeong Jae-ui had already become an absolute brand in some circles. Even if they couldn’t obtain a specific result from him, the laboratory could operate very effectively just by having that name.
But the situation now was different from a few years ago.
Prince Ali, Al Faisal’s younger brother, who had been embroiled in a power struggle at the time, had signaled the end of that conflict by taking office as Foreign Minister last year. After that, there would be no one to hinder his path.
For Al Faisal, who already held power, the incidental value gained from Jeong Jae-ui’s name was not as great as it once was.
And yet, he was stubbornly insisting on Jeong Jae-ui. To the point where one wondered if the cost-benefit ratio would even make sense given the massive offensive he was launching.
Questioning voices had arisen within Tarten as well. Opinions were divided on whether Jeong Jae-ui stolen contentpossessed some visit our siteother value that they were unaware of.
In the end, no conclusion was reached, and only the fact that Al Faisal wanted Jeong Jae-ui remained.
“…Therefore, I wondered what else there might be that is difficult to resolve independently and would warrant Tarten’s help. While thinking about that, I reached a conclusion regarding the debt that has not yet been repaid.”
Even while Christoph frowned and tilted his head, Malik’s words continued.
“You likely remember the mysterious bombing that occurred in Riyadh a few years ago. …Regarding that part, there is no need for a detailed explanation, as you likely possess more information than we do, so I shall omit it.”
Yes, at that time, even Tarten had been nearly turned upside down.
It was already a well-known fact that the second son of the Riegrow family was a lunatic, but no one had dreamed he would commit such a large-scale act of madness.
When it was revealed that Ilay Riegrow had led the terror in Riyadh, every intelligence agency from Tarten’s 1st Intelligence Bureau to the 6th Intelligence Bureau was mobilized all night.
At the time, Christoph had been called to Lebanon on a short-term contract with [unauthorized copy]the Israeli government forces to confront [Read on Read BL Novels]Hezbollah, so he was distant from the news. He remembered feeling a bit dazed later, after completing his contract and returning, upon hearing the news that ‘Rick had bombed Riyadh and destroyed Raman Abid Al Saud’s villa to rescue Jeong Jae-yi.’
Christoph had heard that the man named Jeong Jae-ui was a talent coveted by countless people with bloodshot eyes, but even so, why would Rick—?!
That incomprehensible question was resolved a few days later when he learned that the person Rick had actually tried to rescue was not the genius Jeong Jae-ui, but the ordinary man Jeong Tae-ui, who had been caught up and held alongside him as a bonus. However, opinions were again divided as to why he would go to such lengths to save this unheard-of person named Jeong Tae-ui, but that question was also soon resolved.
He had snatched up that man named Jeong Tae-ui and—according to rumors—gone to Berlin to settle down hand-in-hand; there was nothing more to be said.
At that time, the name Jeong Tae-ui temporarily rose to the number one unofficial popular name among the former T&R Mobile Unit, the Tarten Intelligence Bureau, and those who knew the madman named Rick.
‘Why hide him in Berlin and protect him so much? He should show his face.’
A few years ago, when Christoph, who only knew the name Jeong Tae-ui through rumors, had muttered indifferently upon briefly encountering Riegrow, Riegrow had smiled chillingly and spoken coldly.
‘He’ll wear out.’
“…”
Suddenly remembering what Riegrow had said back then, Christoph’s eyes flared.
At the time, he had brushed it off, thinking the guy was crazy, but thinking about it again now, he felt a surge of anger.
So that’s why he kept him so tightly hidden. By now, that guy’s face would have been riddled with hundreds, maybe thousands of holes.
While Christoph grumbled inwardly, his stomach twisting for no reason, Malik’s story continued.
“……However, the fact that Jeong Jae-ui’s younger brother was among those culprits is something my employer took a keen interest in.”
Christoph looked down at Malik, who spoke as if he were genuinely sorry, and scoffed internally.
He knew there were times when a bit of window dressing was necessary, but this was no way to talk in front of a man who sat in a position where every piece of information flowed in.
“It’s not that Jeong Jae-yi’s brother was among [Read on Read BL Novels]the culprits; they just slotted [Read on Read BL Novels]him into Read on Read BL Novelsthe ranks of the culprits…”
Instead of a scoff, Christoph muttered bluntly.
His voice was so low that it didn’t reach the others, but Richard, who was standing right in front of him, quietly cast a chilling gaze toward Christoph. Christoph shut his mouth again.
Malik continued to speak for a while longer, but Christoph barely listened. Whether Al Faisal wanted to welcome Jeong Jae-ui or not, he didn’t care. The only important thing in this story was—
“……Therefore, it would be ideal if we could obtain Mr. Jeong Tae-ui’s cooperation through peaceful means and resolve the matter amicably. However, upon gauging the situation, it seems that will be difficult. My employer has already instructed me that in such a case, it is acceptable to use a suitable level of forceful measures.”
The moment Malik’s words fell, Christoph, who had been indifferently watching the water flow in the distance, stiffened slightly. He shifted only his eyes to look at Malik.
Richard listened quietly and simply nodded. Only after Malik fell silent for a moment did Richard finally speak.
“Does that mean you intend to obtain Mr. Jeong Tae-ui’s cooperation by employing any kind of physical means?”
Malik smiled broadly. Behind him, Aziz shifted his [visit our site]gaze [unauthorized copy]Read on Read BL Novelsslightly, betraying a subtle sense of discomfort despite his blunt demeanor.
“And do you intend to borrow the hand of Tarten for that?”
When Richard asked again, Malik shook his head.
“No, for now, no conclusion has been reached. We cannot decide the method of repayment for the loan on our own, so after sufficient discussion, I will convey the matter to my employer. Though, once the discussions are over, the result likely won’t differ much. For now, rather than the loan repayment, I would like to make a small request first.”
Malik, who had been smiling and waving his hand, suddenly straightened his posture with feigned politeness as he spoke those last words.
“And that request is…?”
As Richard questioned him, Malik smiled broadly again. He paused for a moment before speaking.
“You were kind enough to host this hunt today, but it’s possible that one of the people I brought with me might make a slight mistake and injure someone. Since this would happen within the Tarten estate, such an unfortunate incident would be most regrettable, but I ask for your generous understanding. ……Ah, of course, it is unknown whether such an unfortunate event will actually occur, and it would be ideal if it did not, but one never knows with human affairs, do they?”
Richard fell silent. His expression [Read on Read BL Novels][Read on Read BL Novels]remained calm and soft, but he remained lost in thought for a while, unable to speak.
And behind him, Christoph was staring at Malik with a blank face. Soon, his gaze shifted to Aziz standing behind him, and then to the attendant who was tending to the horses a short distance away.
Calluses formed on the joints of the index and middle fingers. The slight bulge beneath the thick vest—a short-barreled gun, unsuitable for hunting.
Richard’s gaze also swept over the attendant for a moment, but he pretended not to notice and turned back to Malik. His eyes were smiling calmly as usual, though they seemed slightly troubled. That made them all the more inscrutable.
“An unfortunate incident… If such a thing were to happen to a guest staying at my home, it would indeed be most unfortunate.”
With a troubled laugh and a slight tilt of his head, Richard’s attitude was nothing less than a reluctant, tacit approval.
It was then.
“Regarding a ‘suitable level of forceful measures,’ exactly what level is considered suitable?”
Christoph, who had remained silent throughout, asked.
At the sudden question from Christoph, who had consistently acted as if he had no desire to participate in the conversation, Malik’s eyes widened in momentary surprise. However, he soon beamed.
“Haha…… As long as it doesn’t threaten their life or cause a permanent disability, I believe it would be suitable.”
Christoph shut his mouth again.
Richard stared intently at Christoph for a moment.
To the man hiding his emotions beneath a blank face, he was silently conveying:
You are here to assist me. You are not here to interfere.
Christoph did not look at Richard. He stared stubbornly and intently at the attendant’s fingers. Fingers as accustomed to pulling a trigger as Christoph’s own.
Richard frowned slightly as he looked at [visit our site]Christoph, but soon returned unauthorized copyto Malik with an indifferent face.
“It would be better if no unfortunate accidents occurred, but if it is unavoidable, there is nothing to be done.”
At Richard’s quiet words, Malik smiled smoothly. He nodded slowly, agreeing.
“Then, since we have rested enough, shall we begin the hunt? It has been a very long time since I’ve caught a red fox, so I am looking forward to it.”
Malik slowly rose from the rock. As the others followed suit, Malik looked back. The attendant tending the horses noticed the gaze and gave a slight bow.
No words were spoken. Only a brief exchange of glances passed between them.
Noticing the gaze directed at the attendant, Malik spoke nonchalantly with a smile.
“He is a very skilled hunter. He will move separately from us. I hope he catches a splendid fox as well.”
Richard nodded. He gazed at the attendant visit our sitefor a moment, and just as the man gave a nod and mounted his horse to leave, Richard suddenly spoke.
“There are occasionally fierce beasts in the hunting grounds as well as foxes, so it would be wise to be cautious.”
The attendant looked at Richard with a brief expression of confusion when Richard added, “Beasts that are not good to provoke,” but he nodded formally and turned away.
“Fierce beasts…….”
Malik murmured subtly with a bitter smile.
“In a hunting ground where one maintains a distance, the hunter is overwhelmingly advantaged.”
Malik muttered lowly, let out a sigh, and turned around as if to conclude the matter.
“Then, shall we depart—”
However, the moment he turned, he fell silent.
Behind Richard, Christoph was holding his gun up with a blank expression.
Without any precise aim, as if playing a prank, he held the gun carelessly without a hint of tension, yet it was pointed exactly at Malik’s head. From a distance of barely ten feet.
Malik’s complexion changed for an instant, but he soon returned to his usual face and gave Christoph a faint smile.
“That is a very well-maintained gun. Though it doesn’t look like a gun for catching foxes.”
At Malik’s words, Richard’s expression, who had his back to Christoph, stiffened. In front of him as he turned around immediately, Christoph still pointed the muzzle at Malik without batting an eye. A small click sounded as the safety was disengaged.
“The gun that man is holding isn’t suitable for fox hunting either.”
Christoph muttered indifferently. Strength entered the finger resting lightly on the trigger.
“Christoph, put the gun down.”
Richard spoke in a low but fierce tone.
For the first time since entering the forest, the smile vanished from his face. In fact, such a face was rare to see.
With a gaze full of hostility, he pressed Christoph lowly.
“Christoph. You haven’t forgotten the promise, have you?”
“……. Since the beast saved that bastard once, this time it’s my turn.”
Christoph murmured quietly.
Just then, the attendant, who had just started to ride away, noticed the subtle commotion behind him and looked back in confusion.
And the moment he saw the gun in Christoph’s hand.
As he reflexively drew a gun from his vest, Christoph tilted the muzzle slightly to the side and aimed. Simultaneously, he flicked his index finger.
A short, dry sound.
A small, lethal piece of lead grazed right past Malik.
A momentary silence where no one could utter a word.
And then.
A grotesque groan leaked out.
Slightly below the heart, the attendant stared blankly at the small hole pierced through his torso.
Letting out a small, grotesque, and confused groan as if he hadn’t yet grasped the situation, he eventually glared at Christoph with wide eyes. He aimed the gun he had belatedly drawn at Christoph, but it was too late. [unauthorized copy][stolen content]Another hole was pierced through the hand holding the gun.
“……!!”
No one could say anything; they remained silent in the face of this sudden and unexpected event. Meanwhile, Christoph watched expressionlessly as the attendant tumbled off his horse and rolled onto the dirt ground, and murmured:
“My… for such an unfortunate incident to happen to a guest staying at my home, it is truly an unfortunate accident.”
Repeating Richard’s words exactly as if reading from a book, Christoph lowered the hand holding the gun.
With a face slightly drained of color, Malik looked at the attendant, who was clutching his stomach and letting out low groans. Aziz also looked at the attendant with a grave face before turning a hostile gaze toward Christoph.
And Richard.
Having momentarily lost all expression, he looked at Christoph with terrifying eyes and murmured like a groan.
“Christoph……!”
However, Christoph, who didn’t even give him a glance, looked indifferently at Malik, who was staring at him, and tilted his head slightly.
“Is this what you meant by ‘not threatening their life or causing a permanent disability’?”
“…—!!”
Malik, who had been about to say something, shut his mouth. The smile had been completely washed away from his face.
When Malik glanced at Aziz, who had rushed to the attendant to examine the wound, Aziz carefully checked the injury and signaled to Malik. Malik nodded.
Without delay, Aziz put the attendant on the horse and climbed up behind him. As he hurriedly turned the horse’s head, Aziz glared fiercely at Christoph.
“The price for this foolish act will not end with you alone……!”
Leaving only those words filled with vivid rage, [Read on Read BL Novels]he galloped [visit our site]away [visit our site]hurriedly. The urgent sound of hoofbeats vanished in an instant.
And in that place, only silence remained with the three of them.
“I didn’t expect the answer to my words to come back in this manner.”
Eventually, it was Malik who broke the silence first.
He, who usually spoke with a gentle face and a broad smile, showed not a hint of a smile. He looked at them with a face frozen like ice.
“I didn’t know Tarten would help in this way.”
As Malik spoke in a quietly suppressed voice, the corners of Christoph’s mouth twitched.
It wasn’t Tarten. It was something Christoph did as an individual.
However, in this place, those words carried no more weight than a speck of dust.
“Mr. Christoph Tarten. I have understood your intentions well.”
Putting an accent on the name Tarten, Malik spoke quietly yet firmly.
It was then.
“I apologize. This is all my failing.”
The person who spoke and bowed deeply was Richard.
Christoph, who had been silently staring at Malik with a blank face, widened his eyes slightly and turned his gaze toward him. His face was so surprised that even his blankness vanished.
As far as Christoph knew, Richard had never bowed to anyone other than the elders or the heads of the family.
In the first place, he never created situations that warranted [visit our site]an apology, nor [Read on Read BL Novels]was he the type of person to bow to others.
Though he always wore a kind and affectionate smile, Christoph knew that was not his true nature. He knew how towering Richard’s pride actually was, even if it wasn’t clumsily revealed.
Such a Richard was bowing. For something he had not committed.
Christoph clamped his mouth shut. His tightly pressed lips twisted slightly.
Malik looked down coldly at the deeply bowing Richard. Those icy eyes did not move an inch.
“Not only this individual, but also the person I serve and the organization I belong to held Tarten in great trust. If that weren’t the case, such a relationship would not have been formed in the first place. Because we believed so, we were able to consult on important and intimate matters.”
“…….”
“Even if it is an act committed by an individual, it is the way of the world that the group cannot entirely escape responsibility for the actions of an individual.”
Malik spoke in a low, sunken voice. However, that voice, which seemed to flow calmly and softly [visit our site]on the surface, was tightly closed. stolen contentWithin it, anger and hostility were coiled.
Though he was a mere attendant, he was a colleague. A fellow countryman who had come to a foreign land together had been seriously injured by an unimaginable act. Their temperament was neither moderate nor peaceful.
“Regardless of the circumstances, one of our people has been injured. ……As you said, it is a very unfortunate event. Especially now, with important matters ahead.”
Malik concluded his words. A hint of displeasure leaked faintly through the end of his suppressed speech.
Without lifting his bowed head, Richard spoke gravely.
“I apologize. I have no excuses, but I will certainly take responsibility for this matter and offer a formal apology. In the name of Richard Tarten, I ask for your forgiveness.”
—In the name of Richard Tarten, I ask for your forgiveness.
The moment those words left his mouth, Christoph unconsciously grit his teeth.
If it weren’t for this situation, he was a man who would never have [stolen content]uttered such words even if a knife were held to his throat. No, he wouldn’t have even thought of such words. He surely never imagined there would be a day when such words would come from his own mouth.
Malik, who had been looking down at Richard coldly, frowned slightly.
Christoph suddenly inhaled. Then, he glared fiercely at Richard.
Christoph looked at Malik. Malik met that piercing gaze.
“A debt is paid exactly as it was given. ……Then, this should be enough for the debt I will take responsibility for paying.”
Christoph raised the hand holding the gun. Malik’s eyes narrowed momentarily. In front of him, Christoph without hesitation pressed the muzzle against his own chest, slightly below the heart—the exact spot where the attendant had been pierced. Then, he looked at Malik.
Malik frowned slightly. The gaze he cast upon Christoph was cold.
Perhaps he didn’t think Christoph would actually shoot himself. Or perhaps he truly intended to collect that debt in kind.
Malik gave a cold scoff [unauthorized copy]and gestured as if to Read on Read BL Novelssay ‘do as you please,’ and Christoph nodded.
He had considered this from the beginning. He had intended to pay the price himself.
There was no hesitation in the finger pulling the trigger. Not a single flicker of emotion crossed his face.
But it was the moment Christoph began to pull the trigger. Richard, who had been watching him with a terrifyingly cold gaze, suddenly lunged toward Christoph, violently knocking his arm away. And immediately after, he struck Christoph’s cheek mercilessly.
Bang! The dry gunshot from the displaced hand embedded itself in a tree trunk.
Without a shred of mercy, Richard struck him. Caught off guard, Christoph was forced back a couple of steps. Realizing he had been hit, Christoph snapped his head up and glared fiercely at Richard.
But Richard wasn’t looking at Christoph.
He was standing before Malik.
Dropping to his knees and visit our sitebracing himself with his hands on the ground, Richard slowly, very slowly, lowered his head.
His rigid face was bowed, nearly touching the earth.
“You may find this brazen, but I ask that you consider my feelings, out of the affection you hold for our ally. Though his temperament is hasty and cruel, he is my kin. I beg your generous forgiveness, so that neither of these two men be harmed.”
Richard fell silent for a moment. His tightly clenched jaw trembled slightly.
“—…No matter what you decide, I know the anger of the one your ally has injured will not easily fade, but I sincerely apologize so that this does not leave a stain on a relationship that has lasted so long.”
As Richard bowed again, as if to press his forehead into the dirt, Christoph watched him with a face frozen pale.
“Richard. ……Get up.”
Christoph spoke quietly.
Both Malik and Richard remained silent, leaving only Christoph’s voice [unauthorized copy]echoing, [Read on Read BL Novels]but Richard [Read on Read BL Novels]didn’t budge, as if he couldn’t hear. And before his bowed head, Malik looked down at Richard in silence.
A man who had likely never begged for forgiveness from another, nor been looked down upon in such a manner, was now prostrate on the dirt floor.
“Richard. ……Get up!!”
Christoph’s voice grew louder.
It was as if Christoph were the only living soul in that spot; the other two did not move.
Christoph gasped. Then, he lunged at Richard, grabbing him by the collar and hauling him up.
“Get up, I said get up! Why are you stepping in on something I did…! Get out of the way!! I’ll take whatever I gave!”
“……Christoph. Do you think shooting yourself in the chest will solve everything? I will hold you accountable for what you’ve done later, so stay still. Keep it clearly in that head of yours that you dared to wield the Tarten name as you pleased, despite bearing it.”
Richard spat the words out harshly, his voice low and strained through gritted teeth.
He violently shook off Christoph’s grip on his collar and turned back to Malik.
As Richard knelt once more on the dirt, Malik, who had been silent until then, finally spoke.
“……I understand your meaning well.”
His voice was still cold and chilly, but the rage from moments ago had subsided.
Malik likely knew. Having maintained a relationship with the Tartens for so long, there was no way he didn’t know what kind of man Richard Tarten was.
Could anyone who knew him have imagined Richard Tarten bowing his head in the dirt to seek forgiveness before Malik?
“I am almost overwhelmed by your gesture, so please, stand up.”
Malik spoke slowly after a pause. Richard rose slowly, though Malik made no gesture to help him up.
Standing straight, Richard looked wretched.
Yellowish dirt clung to the knees of his trousers, to the hands and sleeves that had touched the ground, and to his forehead and hair. The sight served as a vivid reminder that he had buried his head in the dirt.
“This incident is deeply regrettable and unfortunate, but it would be a pity for a long-standing friendship to crumble over such a thing. I shall receive a corresponding explanation at a later date, but I will not make an issue of the restitution that will soon be returned. I shall inform the person I serve accordingly.”
“Thank you,” Richard replied, bowing his head lightly once more.
Even after speaking, Malik stood for a moment with a blunt, cold expression as if something still felt unsettled, but he soon turned to leave.
“Then, as I am concerned for him, I shall return first. You went to the trouble of arranging a pleasant gathering, and I apologize for not being able to enjoy it to the end. ……However, today is not the only day to enjoy the hunt, so if there is another opportunity, let us enjoy it then. I hope that next time, no unfortunate and useless accidents occur.”
The final sentence, spoken in a slightly lowered tone, was directed at Christoph.
Christoph immediately grasped the [stolen content]hidden meaning. Even if he managed to disrupt one [stolen content]day, there was plenty of time ahead.
Malik was telling him that he had simply acted like a fool.
Malik gave a cursory glance at Christoph, who was staring at him with an expressionless face, and then turned his horse.
Though he had decided not to make an issue of it for now, Malik rode away toward the edge of the forest without a single look back, his face devoid of any trace of a smile.
The sound of galloping hooves eventually faded, leaving only silence behind.
“…―.”
Christoph stared at Richard with his lips pressed tight.
Richard, brushing the dirt off his elbow with an expressionless face, didn’t spare him a single glance, though he must have felt Christoph’s gaze.
“Who told you to interfere on your own. ——Who told [visit our site]you to beg for forgiveness in such a miserable state?”
Christoph spoke, forcing down his agitated voice.
Only then did Richard shift his eyes to glance at Christoph. A terrifying rage flickered in that gaze, but he said nothing and looked away again. Then, as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, Richard stared silently at the dirt that had rubbed off onto his skin.
He, who had likely never imagined dirt touching his forehead, stared down at the back of his hand without moving for several seconds before suddenly turning around.
Stalking down the sloping hill toward the stream, Richard ripped off his jacket and threw it onto a rock. His movements were violent as he stripped off his dirt-stained trousers and shirt, flinging them atop the jacket. His suppressed indignation was evident in every gesture.
Christoph followed behind him.
By the time they reached the stream, which was strewn with pebbles of various sizes, Richard had already cast aside all his clothes and immersed himself in the water.
The water only reached his thighs, so he bent his waist to soak his entire body. He splashed water violently over his face and arms as if striking himself with the current, and then, at one point, he plunged completely under the surface.
Christoph stood by the [unauthorized copy]bank, watching Richard, who remained [Read on Read BL Novels]submerged in the shallow water for a long time.
He hadn’t wanted this. Even when he had pulled the trigger almost impulsively—though a part of his mind knew this would happen—the worst-case scenario Christoph had imagined was simply receiving the same treatment in return.
He hadn’t known he would have to see this. He had never intended to see such a thing.
As Christoph glared at the water’s surface through gritted teeth, Richard, who had been submerged for a long while, suddenly rose, creating a splash. Countless droplets fell back onto the surface with a rhythmic sound. And there, in the center, stood Richard, drenched.
After standing still for a moment, he slowly turned around. As he began to walk out of the water, he stopped abruptly upon seeing Christoph standing right beside the stream.
“I never asked you to do that for me.”
“…….”
Richard did not speak. His heavy, sunken face did not look at Christoph.
“I! ―…I could have taken responsibility. If the same wound wasn’t enough compensation, you could have [unauthorized copy]just shot me in the heart or Read on Read BL Novelsthe head. You didn’t have to kneel, not you, who carries the Tarten name!”
Christoph shouted.
At that, Richard, who had been stepping out of the water without so much as a glance at Christoph, stopped. He turned his head to look at him.
“You could have taken responsibility……? By being shot in the heart or the head?”
Muttering this, Richard suddenly let out a low, dry laugh. Along with that laugh came a frigid gaze.
“In that case, that heart and head would belong to me now.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I never asked for that. I might let you shoot me, but I’m not handing myself over to anyone.”
Christoph spat back. Richard, who hadn’t been speaking seriously in the first place, turned away and stepped out of the water. Water pooled beneath his feet.
“You didn’t have to do Read on Read BL Novelsthat. You. You, who must inherit the Tarten [Read on Read BL Novels]legacy. visit our site―…There was no need to do something so pathetic.”
Christoph’s voice trembled slightly. Like everyone in the Tarten family, even if he had been away, even if he thought he would never return, Tarten was his pillar.
Christoph bit his lip to suppress the tremor in his voice.
But then.
Richard, who had been walking toward his clothes, suddenly paused. After standing still for a while, he slowly turned back to Christoph. His eyes were filled with a pitch-black, lightless indignation.
“Pathetic? ―…If it’s pathetic, so be it. Since you are also a Tarten, I couldn’t just stand by and watch you die before my eyes. Decades of restitution are finally about to end; I couldn’t let that be ruined. I couldn’t let us clash with them and hinder our future ascent.”
Each word spat through his gritted teeth grew harsher. What began as a low whisper had, by the end, become a suppressed, razor-sharp shout.
Richard approached Christoph step by step. With every stride, he glared at him with a gaze like a wildfire. Words poured from a tongue that seemed to drip with poison.
“I can bow my head as much as necessary. If needed, slamming my head into the unauthorized copyground is nothing. I can do it, as much as it takes! If that is what must be done! ——But if I don’t have to, I will never bow my head to anyone! Even if they crush my skull!”
Richard bellowed. That loud cry and his terrifyingly rigid face were venting his own humiliation.
“If you hadn’t done that, if you hadn’t committed such a foolish act because of your petty, personal feelings, I wouldn’t have had to. Tarten wouldn’t have suffered a loss! Yes, compensation! Do you have any idea how much we’ve lost today because of your idiocy? I’m sure you do!”
“――I can just pay it back!”
Christoph shouted, unable to contain his anger.
“I—I intended to from the start! It was a simple matter of blowing my head off right there! I’d rather have that than see you kneeling and bowing your head for my sake!”
Christoph screamed in rage.
He was angry. He was insanely angry. When had he ever been this furious?
But as Christoph gasped for air after pouring out his anger in one breath, Richard had unauthorized copystolen contentalready composed himself and was looking at Christoph with cold, detached eyes.
No, it wasn’t detachment. It was a frozen state, built from layers of intense resentment and rage.
“Fine…… then that makes things simpler. Pay me back.”
Richard said shortly.
He took a step toward Christoph. As he closed the distance to where he could reach out and touch him, Christoph reflexively took a step back. For every step Richard took, Christoph took another.
“I’ll… pay. I’ll pay you back.”
Christoph answered firmly. Richard continued.
“I don’t need money. Any apology money would come out under the Tarten name anyway. Once the loan restitution is finished, money will pour in enough to throw away; such things have no value.”
“Then, what――.”
“Humiliation equal to mine.”
At Richard’s words, Christoph lost his answer. He understood what he meant, yet he couldn’t believe it.
“Shall I put it more simply? I did something I wouldn’t do even if a knife were at my throat, so I will extract the same from you.”
“―…. The same, you say.”
Christoph frowned and glared at Richard.
When Richard took another step forward, Christoph’s back was already to the stream. Taking one more step back, Christoph only realized he was standing on the boundary between land and water when he heard the splashing sound at his heels.
Richard reached out. For a moment, Christoph checked his footing, fearing he would be pushed into the water, but the hand gripped Christoph’s shoulder. Christoph flinched and reflexively tried to shake him off, but the grip was too firm to break.
Christoph’s face stiffened, and he glared fiercely at Richard. His eyes, devoid of all expression, were as visit our siteblue as ice. [unauthorized copy]His lips, which parted as if to say something before closing again, were just as blue.
The strength slowly left Christoph’s arms. However, as if he loathed the sensation of Richard’s grip, the muscles in his arms twitched occasionally—a subtle movement felt through a single layer of clothing.
Suddenly, as if he hated even holding him, Richard shoved Christoph away.
Losing his balance, Christoph stumbled back a couple of steps and splashed into the water, where he tripped over a rock firmly embedded in the stream.
With a loud splash, water sprayed everywhere, but it wasn’t deep. He fell back on his backside, but the water acted as a cushion, so it didn’t hurt.
Wiping the spray from his face with his palm, Christoph looked up fiercely at Richard, who stood a few paces in front of him.
Standing on the bank exactly three or four paces away, Richard approached slowly, his gaze never leaving Christoph, who sat fallen in the water. He stopped right in front of Christoph. Not even a single step’s distance between them.
He looked down at Christoph for a while, and then finally spoke.
“Suck it.”
Christoph frowned slightly. For a moment, it seemed he didn’t understand what he had heard. A look of confusion crossed his face, followed quickly by a look of shocked suspicion.
But as Christoph slowly shook his head, as if denying the thought that had flashed through his mind, Richard stepped even closer.
Just a few inches from the tip of Christoph’s nose was Richard’s naked body. Specifically, in the center of his groin, a dark piece of flesh hung heavily, swaying.
Watching Christoph’s horrified gaze fixate on it, Richard pushed his hips forward slightly. As the object approached his face, Christoph recoiled his head as if he had seen a giant, hideous insect.
“Suck it, Christoph.”
Richard repeated.
Christoph slowly raised his pale face to look up at Richard. His pupils trembled unstablely, like glass about to shatter.
“You lunatic, you pervert……! Who would do something so filthy, ――no.”
Curses leaked through his pale lips. Richard scoffed.
“I believe you said with that very mouth just a moment ago that you would pay me back.”
“…―.”
“I told you. I will extract exactly what I endured, something I wouldn’t do even if a knife were at my throat. ……Ha. To you, who changes color just at the thought of touching something below.”
Unable to say anything, Christoph only glared with a haggard face and slowly shook his head.
“Putting something this filthy in my mouth, ……I’d rather have a knife in my throat. Absolutely not.”
Christoph spoke firmly. But as if he had expected such a response, Richard narrowed his eyes and smirked.
“I did that horribly undesirable thing, but you can’t? [stolen content]That’s problematic. [unauthorized copy]……Christoph, you’re [stolen content]forgetting something important.”
Richard moved a fraction closer. Consequently, Christoph shrank back further.
“You didn’t even keep your promise to help me. Far from helping, you did the opposite. Have you forgotten the conditions of the promise?”
The moment Richard asked suggestively, Christoph’s expression froze instantly.
“I suppose you’ve also forgotten that the day your mother comes running in sheer joy is tomorrow.”
Christoph said nothing. He simply stared at Richard with a stark white face. Looking down at that frozen expression, Richard spoke in a low voice, his face remaining cold, without so much as a twitch of an eyebrow.
“Christoph. I am not joking. I am deeply displeased by the thought of you, let alone your mother, setting foot in the Tarten estate. Those who have been cast out once deserve to remain outside for the rest of their lives. Normally, she shouldn’t even be allowed to step on the soil of Dresden.”
Christoph’s shoulders hunched.
It was a cowardly threat. Despicable and filthy. [Read on Read BL Novels]Richard wasn’t even shouting at Christoph in a fit of excitement. His member hung heavy and limp.
He was saying this solely to see Christoph shudder in disgust.
Christoph’s face grew paler and paler. As he became as pallid as a doll, a firm voice dropped over him once more.
“Suck it.”
“……I don’t… want to. ……I can’t.”
Richard let out a low snort, having clearly heard that voice which was nearly drowned out by the sound of flowing water.
“‘Can’t’? That’s better than ‘won’t.’ Christoph. There is nothing in this world that cannot be done. I even prostrated myself on the dirt floor to take the blame for the mistake made by a wretch I loathe so terribly, so what is it that you ‘can’t’ do?”
A harsh anger laced his voice.
However, as if realizing it himself, he remained silent for a moment to suppress that anger. stolen contentThat was how he [Read on Read BL Novels]was. While he occasionally displayed raw emotion when dealing with Christoph, he fundamentally hated revealing his feelings [unauthorized copy]overtly. He had to appear before people with a consistently calm and gentle face.
The raw intensity he had shown until jumping into the water had already faded significantly. Having quelled half of his twisted rage in the water, he was now suppressing the remaining half.
Richard spoke again in a low, coldly settled voice.
“I will say it one last time. ——Suck it.”
Christoph didn’t move a muscle. He only stared with vacant, pale eyes at the piece of flesh swaying before him.
Richard did not wait long.
Without hesitation, he gripped Christoph’s jaw and forced it open, then seized Christoph’s hair with his other hand and ruthlessly pulled him forward as Christoph flinched.
“No, I don’t—!!”
Suppressing Christoph, who was twisting his [visit our site]body with wide, Read on Read BL Novelsterrified eyes, [visit our site]Richard forced his member into the open mouth.
“Listen carefully, Christoph. If you so much as pretend to bite, you will see your mother wailing outside the gates of Tarten tomorrow. I will make sure that happens…!”
The voice, murmuring like a curse, clearly reached Christoph’s ears.
He tried to turn his head to spit out the flesh invading his mouth, but it was futile. The hand gripping his hair firmly held his head in place.
“……! ……!!”
The sound of splashing water grew loud. Muffled groans, unintelligible shouts, and cries bordering on screams mingled with the sound of the water.
“Let me tell you, I will never pull out until I ejaculate in your mouth. The more you try to avoid it, the longer you’ll have to keep my thing in your mouth, so you’d better use your head wisely, Christoph.”
Richard spoke while easily holding the head of Christoph, who was struggling desperately to shake it.
Though it seemed to have hardened slightly since entering the mouth, the member—which was still hanging heavy—had only been taken in about [unauthorized copy]halfway. As Richard continued to shove the rest in unauthorized copyrelentlessly, Christoph soon found himself unable to breathe.
It was agonizing.
He felt nauseous and suffocated because of the member piercing deep into his throat. Saliva he couldn’t swallow pooled, making the flesh in his mouth feel even more slick and visceral, turning his stomach. He had no idea what to do.
He shook his head frantically just to escape the situation, but even that was impossible.
“Christoph. Did you sleep well last night?”
At the sudden, random question Richard tossed out, Christoph could only look up with his eyes, his head unable to move. Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“I barely slept yesterday, or the day before. After tasting what your body tastes like, the sensation lingered. The feeling of your waist slipping through my palms, the feeling of your back rubbing softly against my chest, the feeling of your nipples peaking between my fingers, the feeling of your lower half swallowing my penis whole and squirming. And above all, the sight of you, Christoph, crying and struggling so much. ……I came several more times throughout the night, recalling those sensations and that sight. ……Ah, yes, I’m starting to feel it now.”
While Richard murmured as if talking to himself, the member in Christoph’s mouth began to swell and harden. He began to thrust, very slowly.
At the sensation of the flesh sliding out and then suddenly slamming into his throat, unauthorized copyChristoph began to choke.
He tried to cough, feeling as if his lungs were tearing, but Richard, noticing quickly, gripped his jaw and held it open, refusing to let go.
“I told you, don’t even think about pretending to bite. Christoph, if you don’t suck it properly, this won’t end even by sunset today. I’m erect now, so all you have to do is lick and suck. ……Do it. Now.”
Physiological tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. Gasping for air, Christoph shook his head.
“Christoph, don’t you get it? From now on, this will be your daily routine for a while. ……I actually felt pity for that psychopath with his mysophobia and haphephobia, so I thought I’d spare him from being touched in that way, but today you’ve thoroughly washed away that sentiment.”
Richard slowly thrust his hips forward in front of Christoph’s mouth. The depth piercing his throat grew deeper. Suddenly, Richard clicked his tongue.
“If it takes several hours every time you do this, what do you plan to do? Or do you want to keep my thing in your mouth for hours every single day?”
Christoph’s eyes widened. He forced his head up slightly, as much as he could, to look at Richard.
Rubbing his thumb over the cheek of unauthorized copyChristoph, who stolen contentwas holding his member, Richard met Christoph’s horrified gaze and smiled coldly.
“Did you think it would end with just once? Christoph. To be honest, in that moment earlier, instead of bowing my head, I seriously considered killing you along with those three and burying you right there. Then I wouldn’t have had to bow. Do you understand? Even after 10 or 20 years, I will never be able to forget. The fact that I knelt and bowed my head to someone else. ……Therefore, I will take exactly that much back from you. I will plant memories and sensations in your body that you will never forget until the day you die. For the time you have left.”
Gently stroking the cheek of Christoph, who was staring at him without even blinking, Richard added in a low voice.
“You’ll never be able to forget. I’ll make your body so empty and aching that it throbs unless I fuck you every night. Ah, right. After I’ve carved it firmly into your body, I’ll prepare a wonderful gift for when you leave Tarten. Perhaps a mold to fill your lower half every night.”
“…―!”
Christoph convulsed. Water splashed due to his struggling body. Even as the droplets hit his face and entered his eyes, suffocating him and blurring his vision, Christoph shook his head frantically.
Even when he instinctively tried to bite, he couldn’t because of the hand that had pushed fingers into his mouth and was gripping his jaw tightly.
“If you want to stay like this until sunset, that’s fine too. If you want to taste my penis to your heart’s content until the hunters come looking for us.”
“……! ……!!”
“Otherwise, there is only one way, Christoph.”
Richard spoke quietly.
Christoph, who had been struggling desperately to push Richard’s legs away, finally realized the reality. In that reality, Christoph could not defy Richard.
He wanted to vomit. His stomach churned, feeling as if it would flip over at any moment.
But he was certain that this man would not remove his member from his mouth even if Christoph vomited. He would surely stay like that until the end, and once he had thrown up everything, he would tell him to hurry up and continue.
He should have just killed him.
At any point in the past when he had hated him so terribly, he should have just killed him.
Christoph cried. It was a physiological reaction to the member piercing his throat, causing nausea and blocking his breath, but it was also a mixture of anger, resentment, and shame that felt as if it were burning his mind black.
If only he could kill this man right here, right now.
Yet, while sighing deep in his heart, Christoph knew.
No matter what happened, he could not defy Richard’s words until he left Dresden.
Just as he had been unable to defy anything his mother said from before he even came of age until now.
For the same reason, according to the promise he had made, he had to follow his words until he left Tarten.
Christoph wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Then, with his eyes closed, he brought his trembling tongue to the hot piece of flesh filling his mouth.
Amidst that pitch-black shame and humiliation, Christoph realized that Richard was right.
He would never be able to forget the memory of this moment for the rest of his life.
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