By Zephyria 
I couldn’t understand even after hearing it, so I couldn’t say anything. Aska, seeing my bewildered expression, added,
“I didn’t know at first either, but after doing various experiments at night, I found out that I don’t necessarily have to swallow the saliva.”
It was a kind explanation, but the phrase ‘various experiments’ bothered me. What on earth did he do while I was sleeping? I wanted to ask right away, but I spoke about the main point first.
“But why did you feed it to me?”
“I told you. You gave me blood, so I gave you some too.”
“I mean, why? What does me giving you blood have to do with that?”
“I have nothing to give you. But you’re not a monster, so I can’t give you my blood. And it’s a bit weird for a person to drink blood.”
Aska tried his best to explain to me, who couldn’t understand. But even after hearing it, I was still puzzled.
“Isn’t it a bit weird for a person to drink saliva too?”
“Isn’t that what happens when you kiss anyway?”
“Well, yes… but the purpose isn’t to eat it…”
I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence. The more I explained, the weirder I felt.
“Married couples are allowed to do it, right?”
“…”
It was clearly a strange situation, but I couldn’t explain it. As I frowned, Mahir mediated between us.
“Talk about things like that when it’s just the two of you. Let’s get back to the main topic for now.”
“Yes, anyway, that’s how I’m healing him.”
“So, he’s not completely healed yet?”
Aska nodded at Mahir’s question.
“He was almost completely healed, but Kyle didn’t listen to me and moved his Mana again, so he got worse again. But I’m keeping a close eye on him every night, so he’s getting better smoothly.”
As soon as Aska finished speaking, Mahir looked at me with ghostly eyes. Before I even had time to be embarrassed by the conversation with Aska, I turned my gaze away with a guilty expression.
“I’ll call a physician…”
“I’ve already tried everything. Neither the physician nor the Wizard noticed anything strange.”
“How many people know?”
“About what? My condition? Of course, no one knows except Aska.”
“You…!”
As if he had finally exploded at my words, Mahir stood up from the sofa with a furious expression, holding a teaspoon. Aska also stood up and stood in front of me, as if he was about to hit me.
Hiding behind Aska’s small back, I only poked my head out to the side and said,
“He’s getting better, I told you?”
“That’s right. He’s really getting better. He’ll be completely healed in a few days. If he’s not completely healed, I’ll take responsibility and be punished. You can hit me then, or tie me up, lock me up, and starve me, and I won’t complain.”
I was only half joking, but Aska’s voice was overly urgent. He seemed really scared, so I gently grabbed Aska’s shoulder.
“No, it’s not that serious…”
“It’s all my fault anyway, so if you’re going to scold someone, scold me, and if you’re going to hit someone, hit me!”
“…”
“…”
Should I find this admirable again? No, it’s not that kind of feeling…
I felt strange and was opening and closing my lips, but Mahir sighed and put the teaspoon back down. Then, he sat on the sofa, neatly arranged his clothes, and asked Aska, who was still panting,
“Do you see me as someone who hits just anyone?”
“It’s not that, but if someone has to be hit, I thought it would be better for me to be hit. I heal quickly no matter how much I’m hurt.”
“…”
“…”
It was the second time Mahir and I were speechless. Until just a moment ago, I had only found Aska’s actions admirable, but that wasn’t the case.
It was becoming too much, so I reached out and turned Aska to face me.
“Just because you heal quickly doesn’t mean you can get hurt.”
“But if one of us has to get hurt, it’s better for me to get hurt than you. You don’t heal quickly when you get hurt. And you whine a lot when you’re in pain.”
“…I wasn’t whining, I was really in pain. Anyway, the Duke is worried, he’s not going to hurt us or put us in jail. Apologize quickly.”
At my words, Aska looked at Mahir with a sulky expression and bowed deeply.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. And I’m sorry for yelling earlier.”
“Hyung, apologize quickly for threatening him with a spoon. Don’t you know you shouldn’t even drink cold water carelessly in front of kids?”
“…Okay, I… went too far.”
Mahir sighed, holding his head, and said. I sat Aska, who was still pouting, on my lap and stroked his back to calm him down.
Then Mahir scolded me.
“I know you try not to keep people by your side, but why didn’t you tell Asella either? What if something goes wrong? When something unexpected happens, at least one person should know the whole situation.”
“If Aska wasn’t here, I would have, of course.”
At my words, Mahir clenched his fist tightly. If Aska hadn’t been there, he would have stood up from the sofa again and slapped me on the back.
“What could your young Bi, who has no ties and an unclear identity, do in that situation? Where could a child who has been isolated all alone ask for help?”
“…”
Those were piercing words. I had been protecting Aska in my own way, but looking at it the other way, it meant that I had isolated him alone in this vast palace.
It was a fact I already knew, and even if I could turn back time, I would have made the same choice, but somehow I felt a little gloomy. Aska must have noticed, because he wrapped his arms around my neck. Reflexively, I also hugged Aska’s small back.
The gesture and the small warmth, as if comforting me, stirred my heart.
Suddenly, I remembered him saying that it would be less scary to be together when being tortured. Of course, this wasn’t the same situation, but somehow I realized what he meant.
“…”
Even though he had been digging in the soil and rolling on the floor in the Greenhouse since dawn, and there was dirt everywhere and his clothes were dirty, the scent from his neck wasn’t bad.
No, it wasn’t just not bad, it was incredibly good. The feeling of his hair touching my cheek was also nice, and I unknowingly opened my eyes, which had been closed, and suddenly met Mahir’s gaze.
His face was contorted as if he had seen something unsightly, so I cleared my throat a couple of times and gently pulled Aska away.
“So, I told Hyung.”
“When would you have told me if this hadn’t happened today?”
“Well, I told you anyway.”
“I knew you were hiding something, but this…”
I couldn’t even count how many times Mahir had sighed.
“When are you ever going to grow up?”
At those words, I heard Aska giggling softly in my ear. I put Aska down next to me, handed him some cookies, and said,
“Eat this.”
No, I’m an adult now and I’m married, so if you’re going to say things like that, can’t you say them when it’s just the two of us? Why do you have to say things like that when Aska is here?
In that short moment of frowning and glaring at Mahir, Aska had already emptied the plate.
“Aska.”
Mahir called him, handing him the plate in front of him.
“Yes.”
Aska answered with cookie crumbs on his mouth and took it.
“Kyle has never said he was in pain since he was a child, even when he was sick. So, his wounds festered and rotted. I caught him cutting out the dead tissue by himself.”
“…”
I couldn’t help but be flustered by the sudden revelation. Aska was just as flustered, looking at me as if he were looking at a monster. I smiled and shook my head.
“It was a wound the size of a fingernail. It wasn’t a big deal, he’s just trying to scare you.”
“You stay quiet.”
I had no choice but to shut my mouth at Mahir’s stern voice.
“Now you have to watch over him carefully. Do you understand?”
Mahir, who had been looking at me with cold eyes, spoke kindly to Aska. He’s my brother, so why is he acting like that? I was pouting when Aska answered with a determined voice.
“I will watch over him carefully. I can tell right away even if Kyle is just a little bit in pain.”
It seemed like I would only make a fool of myself if I said anything, so I just kept my mouth shut. Mahir looked at Aska, who was determined, and me, who was grumbling, and smiled with a relieved expression.
“I’m relieved that you two seem to be getting along well.”
“What if Kyle is in a lot of pain and I can’t do anything by myself?”
“Write a letter… or I’ll have one of my people temporarily reside in Talim, so you can tell him. Then I’ll know right away.”
“Thank you.”
I stared blankly at Aska, who was smiling brightly, and then frowned.
“This is my castle. Who are you going to let reside here without my permission?”
“Just until you get better.”
“Are you planting a spy so openly?”
Mahir spoke to me as if he were coaxing a child.
“Then you send your people to Jihad. Then it’s fair, right?”
“That’s a really good idea.”
Aska chimed in from the side like a sycophant.