Garuel Monzasi, a knight whom Cadel could not even attempt to recruit when he was leading the mercenary corps.

‘I’ll take him in right now and suck the honeydew out of him.’

He was much happier at the opportunity to recruit a healer than at being promoted to the Knight Order. Cadel wondered whether he was a materialistic person or a simple and honest person.

“Ah, Sir Cadel.”

An outdoor corridor led to the banquet hall, where Garuel, leaning against a pillar, spotted Cadel and waved lightly. Cadel forced the corners of his mouth to twitch and made his way over to Garuel.

The appointment ceremony was over, but the banquet was not. Normally, the hosts of the banquet, the Scarlet Scales Knight Order, would have lingered as long as they could, meeting various people, but Cadel had kept his promise to Garuel and left the banquet hall immediately. Since he had told them in advance, Van and Lydon were also free to disperse.

“Let’s get out of here. You never know when you’re going to get caught hanging around.”

As they made their way out of the castle, a carriage pulled up in front of the gates. Naturally, with Cadel inside, Garuel signaled the coachman to start.

“Where are we going now?”

“Now that the appointment ceremony is over, I need to get paid for my help.”

“What……. You’re not trying to sell me or something, are you?”

“No way. I’m the type of person who has to get my hands on precious things.”

He slyly rolled his eyes lazily in front of Cadel, who looked full of suspicion.

“I got a nice room.”

“A room……?”

“The price I want is one night with you, my dear Sir. And I plan to get it there.”

Nice room, one night.

Cadel was stunned for a moment, trying to process the implications. The pleasant sound of Garuel’s laughter ringing in his ears was slowly fading away like a hallucination.

* * *

“Are you sure you want to drink with me today?”

Garuel refilled the glass across from him, sending him a coy glance. Cadel nodded meekly, but couldn’t keep the stiff smile off his face. He couldn’t relax, his body and mind attaching impure meaning to Garuel’s every gesture, every glance.

‘Get a grip, man. He’s probably just saying he wants to stay up all night and get drunk with me. I’m sure he’s just joking because he’s always been good at saying weird things. What am I bothering with all this for?’

As Cadel raised his glass, trying to compose himself, Garuel’s wine bottle clinked lightly against his own. Ever since they entered the room, his gaze has remained on the corner of Cadel’s stiff mouth.

“Are you nervous?”

“……Me? I’m not nervous. Not at all.”

“Your hands are shaking too much. Do you have hand tremors?”

Although his hands were shaking so much that one could believe it was a tremor, Cadel just snorted and emptied his glass in one go. Setting the glass down with a clatter, he turned to Garuel, who was watching him with a smirk.

“I was shaking because it was heavy, it was heavy, you hear.”

“Your hands shake because your wine glass is heavy?”

“Yes. I’m just as fragile as I look.”

Is admitting that you’re nervous worse than declaring that you’re weak? It was a pride that couldn’t seem to be shaken. Garuel raised an eyebrow in interest and refilled Cadel’s empty glass.

Uncomfortable with the awkwardness of the situation, Cadel drained his glass repeatedly, right after it was poured.

“I must have a lot of alcohol in my system.”

“Drink as much as you can.”

“Have you ever been drunk?”

“A lot.”

“What is your drinking habit?”

“It’s called the homing instinct. If I get drunk here, I might make a fuss and go on a rampage to return to the castle.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll have to fill your glass to the brim then.”

As Garuel said that, he put back the wine bottle he had been pouring. His eyes were soft as he looked at Cadel while resting his chin on one side.

Cadel had been drinking nonstop, and he was getting pretty drunk. His cheeks were slightly flushed and his lips were moist and deeply colored.

Garuel reached out and waved his hand in front of Cadel, who stared down at his drink like a guilty man. When he let out a low laugh at the gaze that reflexively followed his touch, Cadel openly flinched and swallowed his dry saliva.

It was quite amusing to see a man who was normally sober and sharp act like a naive boy when situations like this occurred.

“The earring, take them off.”

“……Why?”

“It’s like I’m drinking with someone else. Well, that look is kind of attractive, too.”

It wasn’t even a request to take off his clothes, it was just a request to remove an earring. Nevertheless, Cadel hesitated as if he had been asked a difficult request. Then, when Garuel tilted his upper body and said that he would take it out himself, Cadel was startled and quickly took out his earring.

His darkened hair and eyes began to regain their true colors. Cadel took a small breath and shoved the earring into his pants pocket.

“Is that good enough?”

“Yes. You are pretty.”

“……Why are you calling me pretty, pretty? Is it a habit of speaking?”

Cadel mumbled something that didn’t really make sense. He ran a hand through his hair and gave Garuel a questioning look.

Are you really serious about what you say? Garuel narrowed his eyes as if trying to understand Cadel’s intentions, then slowly stood up.

“……What’s wrong?”

Garuel, ignoring the panicked voice, sat down lightly on the table in front of Cadel. Then he stretched out his hand to Cadel’s stiff face.

“I’m upset that my innocent courtship is being labeled as a joke, and I’m about to list the details of where and how you’re pretty.”

“Please, please don’t.”

Soft fingertips lightly brushed Cadel’s hair. As Garuel ran his thumb down the exposed, smooth forehead, Cadel’s eyes trembled slightly. The corner of Garuel’s mouth quirked upward at the honest response.

“Hate it?”

“So why would you want to do something so embarrassing?”

“Sir, you are very shy indeed.”

“And you should have some sense of shame.”

His tone was accusatory, but in truth, Cadel couldn’t even make eye contact with Gael. His face was in tears as if he wanted to turn and run at any moment. In fact, he was turning on his toes, ready to flee at any moment.

‘Why is the atmosphere like this? Why is he doing this to me? If this continues, what’s the point of recruiting…….’

Cadel had an ominous premonition that something unimaginable was about to happen to him, and Garuel was consumed with the desire to make Cadel’s premonition a reality.

‘I didn’t specifically call him for this purpose.’

Now, Garuel had had his share of debauched nights to prove his inherent lowliness, but he was not a man blinded by carnal desires to begin with.

He was going to take it one step at a time. Gaining favor, opening up, getting close, and then getting physical.

Coveting Cadel’s body wasn’t something that was completely out of the plan, but it was the last thing on Garuel’s plan. It was like a sip of water given to an athlete who finished a long race.

‘I don’t know if he realizes it, but when he’s agitated like that, the viewer gets agitated too.’

There was a good chance Cadel wasn’t aware of this with how Garuel had observed him so far. The long eyelashes fluttering nervously, the maroon eyes rolling in scrutiny, the awkward, uncomfortable gaze. And the lips that twitched in confusion. Garuel sighed in pain, wanting nothing more than to soften the stiff corners of that mouth.

“You agreed to pay whatever the price was. I feel guilty when you’re stiff like this.”

“……What are you trying to do?”

“What are you envisioning?”

Cadel pursed his lips at the sincere gaze, and he racked his brain furiously, trying to think of a way out of this situation. So desperate was he that the sound of his mind racing could be heard by Garuel.

After a short silence, Cadel tugged on Garuel’s arm. He looked up at him, his eyes pleading.

“Don’t do this.”

“……Do what?”

“I want to see you for a long time. A pure lifesaver without any hesitation.”

Garuel felt the hand on his arm tighten. A look of desperation, of pleading, made Garuel’s mouth fall open, but not out of guilt, of course.

‘Why are you provoking people like this?’

Cadel had no idea how fervently he was fueling one man’s sadism. He shouldn’t have known. Because if he did, Garuel would never be able to defeat him.

“So, what should I not do? I can’t think of anything.”

Garuel gently brushed his fingers across Cadel’s wrist as he gripped his arm. The small touch sent a shiver down his spine.

He grabbed the hand that was about to fall away and pulled Cadel up. The force was so strong that Cadel’s upper body tilted.

Garuel swept his eyes over Cadel’s face as he drew closer. The terrified face looked as if Cadel might spit out something at any moment, but it was impossible to tell if it would be a shout or a tear.

“I need you to tell me in detail. You’re smart, Sir. Tell me one by one. What should I not do and why should I not do that? Please make me understand.”

Actually, there was nothing Garuel wanted to hear at this point. He just wanted to dig a little deeper into the man in front of him.

Garuel stared into Cadel’s eyes, which were shifting slightly, and slowly bent down. However, he passed Cadel’s bewildered face and landed his forehead against Cadel’s shoulder in a gesture of grief. The clear sound of his ragged breathing struck a nerve.

“……Don’t.”

At the tremor in Cadel’s voice, Garuel bit his lip, giving up on a response. His hesitation was fleeting. He released his grip on Cadel’s hand and leaned in deeply. Then he slipped his arms around his waist and under his knees, lifting Cadel up in one swift motion.

Cadel sucked in a short breath at the unexpected turn of events, instinctively wrapping his arms around Garuel’s neck to keep from falling, but even that didn’t last long.

His body snapped out of it just as quickly as the feeling of being lifted had come in, and he felt something fluffy against his back. Cadel realized that he had been placed on the bed in the blink of an eye.

Garuel whispered into Cadel’s stunned face.

“I won’t know unless you tell me. And since I don’t know, I have no choice but to continue.”

Cadel flinched as if on fire, unwrapping his arms from around Garuel’s neck and squeezing his shoulder, which was pressed against him.

“Please, please wait.”

Garuel’s purple eyes, which were originally dark in color, glowed unusually dark today. Even though only one side was exposed, the emotions stirring within it were clearly revealed.

Desire. It was a reflection of the thirst he was feeling. It was hard for Cadel to accept, his impure desires, and the fact that the object of those desires was him and no one else.

He had never in his life thought that he would be the object of desire by a person of the same gender, or that he would be able to fulfill that desire. A light kiss or a hug was fine. He could accept that. But nothing more.

“It’s too…… too fast.”

“……Fast?”

Cadel nodded vigorously at the blunt question. Garuel stared at him, unmoved by the force that pushed him away. He lifted the hand that had been supporting his weight and gently swept a hand through Cadel’s disheveled hair. It spread like a painting on the white sheets, and his irregular breathing rustled with it.

“Your men have treated you too kindly.”

Muttering to himself, Garuel smiled languidly.

“Well then, shall we take it slow? According to your own pace, my dear Sir.”