BMD 548

“…….”

The silence stretched. It was the same lack of response as before, but this time, the atmosphere felt somehow different.

As Leonardo waited for an answer that might never come, he felt his mouth go dry. He had heard countless times that Laina’s first emperor had died of heart disease. However, facing such a strong and beautiful king in person, he found it impossible to believe that the man had not lived out his full natural lifespan. The longer they spent together, the deeper his doubts grew.

Perhaps he simply wanted to deny it. To believe it wasn’t true, that it was merely a baseless rumor fabricated by later generations. That there was some way for him, having drifted into this place, to stop it.

That was why he wanted confirmation from the man himself.

“Is that enough as a price?”

Then, Theodore, who had seemed unlikely to speak, unexpectedly asked back in a calm tone.

Leonardo, who had been staring at the man’s back, merely blinked. For a moment, Read on Read BL Novelshe wondered [visit our site]what he meant, then he quickly remembered that he had mentioned a price was needed for him to sing a lullaby.

Fearing the offer might be withdrawn, Leonardo nodded vigorously.

“Yes, it is.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the price was paid.

“It is true.”

The moment he heard it, Leonardo’s mind went blank.

The muscles around the eyes and forehead of this body twitched and stiffened. Was this the reaction of someone who had dared to toy with a king?

‘What?’

Leonardo had no idea what kind of expression he was making.

“…It’s true?”

“My ancestors, generation after generation, passed away in the midst of a pain that felt as if their hearts were burning. It is like a calamity that strikes without warning or pattern.”

Theodore, who had been lying on his back, slowly turned to lie flat on the bed. Propping his head up with one hand, he gazed at the ceiling. For someone speaking of death, his face was remarkably peaceful. He was so composed, as if he were relaying someone else’s story, that it almost felt surreal.

“They say one wakes up abruptly in the middle of the night, face flushing and breathless. Then they writhe as if their solar plexus is being crushed. The pulse races uncontrollably, and the pain in the chest intensifies. By the time the hands and feet grow cold… they collapse, drenched in sweat.”

As Theodore listed the symptoms one by one, his other hand moved up toward his open collar. His fingertips pressed gently against the spot where his heart resided.

“It feels as if every single blood vessel is twisting and being squeezed. It is so agonizing that one might believe death would be preferable.”

At first, it sounded as if he were reciting rumors heard from others. However, contrary to his peaceful expression, his gradually paling complexion revealed a chilling truth.

“Have you… experienced it?”

“Twice. They were the worst moments of my life.”

As if recalling those times was painful, he closed his eyes briefly and then opened them. Beside him, Canaria, who had been dozing, started and quickly checked his complexion.

Leonardo’s lips trembled, becoming as pale as Theodore’s face.

“Is there no way to treat it? Are there not many talented people in the Royal Palace? If you use healing magic….”

“Every possible method has been tried.”

“Was there no improvement?”

“I stopped because only innocent people were dying. Too many precious lives were executed simply because they failed to save the former king. I did not wish to repeat such atrocities.”

His eyes, appearing both hazy and resigned, were somehow [Read on Read BL Novels]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[visit our site]->sorrowful. Leonardo, who had been asking urgently, eventually fell silent, merely staring blankly at the man’s face.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes with the back of his hand, Theodore glanced back at him during the ensuing silence.

“Why do you wear such a sad expression?”

As their eyes met—the Gold Eyes meeting his—Leonardo raised a hand to feel the face of this body. The skin and the corners of the mouth felt slumped. Even setting that aside, his eyes were growing hot again.

Leonardo bit his lower lip hard.

‘Damn it, stop crying already.’

He tapped his forearm with his fist, as if warning Nomon. Despite this, the heat in his eyes would not subside. Eventually, unable to hold back, he spoke his true feelings.

“…How could I not be sad? You’re telling me that Your Excellency is in pain.”

“You are quite the tearful stolen [unauthorized copy]contentfellow for a man. We haven’t known each other for very long, yet….”

Theodore’s reaction was one of disbelief. Even so, he slowly extended the hand that had been resting on his chest toward the body.

“Come to think of it, I am strange as well. I find myself telling you useless things.”

It seemed he intended to wipe away the tears while lying down, but the distance was just slightly too far to reach. Staring at the fingertips flickering before him, the body’s upper half instinctively leaned forward. Leonardo knew this was Nomon’s will. The body, moving toward the king of its own accord, lightly touched its nose against the back of Theodore’s hand.

Theodore paused slightly at the sensation. However, he soon extended his hand further and affectionately stroked the face. Leaning into the touch, Leonardo asked in his own voice.

“Are you in pain now?”

“I am fine now. It has been several years since it last happened.”

“Then… doesn’t that mean you’re cured?”

“It would be wonderful if the pain had vanished for good, but I cannot let my guard down. All my anceunauthorized unauthorized copystyle="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[visit our site]copystors slept in that manner.”

“Then instead of fighting demon beasts in a place like this, shouldn’t you be preserving your health in the Royal Palace? What if the illness worsens?”

Leonardo argued in a frustrated tone. This was because a fragment of a memory that sent a chill down his spine had surfaced. When he had faced the core on the peninsula, he too had felt a burning pain in his heart. What if that was because he and Theodore shared one body, and the residual symptoms of the disease were strangling him?

To face the king of the demon beasts inhabiting this land, a human must draw out power that is difficult for a human body to handle. He had done so himself. The problem was that, unlike Leonardo, who had experienced such pain for the first time, he could not be certain if Theodore’s heart—which had already suffered through it twice—could withstand it.

Because of this, an irreverent attitude surfaced again, but Theodore merely shook his head benevolently.

“All humans die. Everyone in this world knows that fact. Yet, despite that, do we not all struggle to lead our own lives?”

The moment he heard those words, Leonardo felt as if he had been struck in the back of the head.

Theodore had said that his heart pain was irregular, striking suddenly without warning, making it impossible to predict the timing. He said it was the same for the predecessors who had passed. Therefore, rather than being trapped in the palace, consumed by the fear of when it might strike, he declared that he would live freely, as if such a thing had never existed from the start.

“My day of death is not set in stone, so I do not wish to live like a caged bird.”

The low voice repeated, ‘I do not wish to be bound by fate.’

It was a whispering tone, but it sounded clearer than anything to Leonardo. Consequently, he found himself with nothing left to say.

“It is an undeniable fact that the lifespans of kings have been short for generations. But because of that, one must see more of the world, experience more, and do the things only they can do while they are alive. That must be the reason I was born into this land under the name of a gift from God.”

“…….”

Leonardo’s eyelids flickered.

A gift from God.

That was the meaning behind Theodore’s name. It had also been the decisive clue that allowed him to discover the secret of entering the Castle of Romance. But never had that name felt so cruel as it did now. If he truly were a gift from God, God would not have bestowed his life upon a body with such limitations.

In this era, the existence of God was taken [Read on Read BL Novels]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[Read on Read BL Novels]for granted, but such beliefs vanish when one rolls around in a battlefield.

It was the same now. Leonardo wanted to resent the heavens. If the royal family, which had broken taboos to maintain powerful strength, had truly incurred the wrath of God, why did Theodore have to bear the price?

Then, a certain person suddenly came to mind. Would the entity that gifted the Castle of Romance also know this fact?

“Does that person know?”

Theodore’s hand slid away.

“Who?”

“The master of the Divine Beast.”

Theodore, who had been staring quietly at the body, turned his head halfway toward the wall of the tent.

His reaction suggested he wondered why [[visit our site]class="wm" style="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">stolen content]that person was being brought up as a topic of conversation again. He seemed not to want to think about him much.

“I do not know the details. I will find out eventually.”

“What if you asked that person for help….”

“No.”

A firm voice cut him off. Theodore glanced at the body and warned him sternly.

“Have you forgotten that he and I are enemies? An enemy’s weakness is a classified matter that can overturn the entire tide of battle. Do you intend to repay the grace I have bestowed upon you with betrayal?”

“No matter what anyone says, I am on Your Excellency’s side. Isn’t that why you told me these secrets, because you think the same of me? Or perhaps you are hiding it from him because you don’t want to cause him worry?”

At this moment, Theodore might have wondered, ‘What kind of fellow is this?’ He could have grown tired of scolding the impudent face that spoke as if it knew everything. However, the corners of this body’s eyes were still damp, and that was a remarkably useful weapon when dealing with Theodore.

It seemed the soft-hearted Sun King found it difficult to say cold words to such a face.

Staring at the red-rimmed eyes in the darkness, he let out a small sigh.

“Think what you will.”

At that resigned sigh, Leonardo grew anxious that the man’s mouth would close once more. Unable to bring himself to grab the sleeve, he gripped the bedsheet and hurriedly added.

“If you do not wish to be bound by fate, why do you not try to carve out a relationship with that person? Does he have a fiancée?”

“I do not know what you are talking about. It is not as if he and I are to enter a marriage contract, so why is this coming up now?”

For a moment, Leonardo’s chest ached. It was not the pain of the heart, but the pain of the soul.

Suddenly, he realized that the reason he was pushing for a relationship between Theodore and Aetas, even while acting so insolently, was that he viewed Theodore as a mirror of himself. Theodore had called the master of the Divine Beast both an enemy and a friend, and had only implicitly left the fact that there was someone he held in his heart.

And had he not also held unauthorized [stolen content]copythe Duke of Agrizendro, whom he could call both an enemy and a friend, in his heart?

Perhaps he wanted to hear that it is okay, that one can carve out their own fate.

Even if only for this short life, which would not be strange to end at any moment.