Chapter 20 - I want to protect you

Guided by Rege’s words, Jian Qiao looked over.

Before his eyes, groups of disoriented people were writhing on cushioned sofas, on the carpets, even on the tables.

Have you ever seen a piece of cheese that’s been parasitized by maggots? The scene in front of him was no different. Unrestrained privilege produces corruption, and corruption becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, insects, mold, and all other filthy things.

As if in a trance, Jian Qiao seemed to detect the peculiar odor of a swamp and the reek of moldy corpses emanating from it.

He stretched out his slender index finger and gently touched the tip of his nose.

The glass of red wine he’d drunk just now inundated his blood, flooding through his body. Two burning red spots slowly crept into his cheeks. He was always very pale, but now he resembled a rose on a mountainside, blooming with rare and brilliant color.

And his slightly knitted brows and tightly pursed lips added to his aura of vulnerability.

Rege glanced at him carelessly, and the light in his eyes froze.

After a while Rege looked away with difficulty, and at the same time removed the glass of wine placed next to Jian Qiao’s hand.

“A glass of warm water.” He snapped his fingers at the attendant standing in the corner.

The attendant immediately fetched it.

Jian Qiao realized Rege had ordered this cup of water for him, and couldn’t help but feel grateful when he looked at him.

The gratitude caused his dark eyes to shine with a liquid radiance.

Rege quickly glanced at him and said in a deep voice, “No need for thanks. If you can’t even drink, you’d better go back to your remote Desolette. I can’t stay in Grande every day, let alone spend every moment watching you. What if I’m too late next time, what will you do?”

This was a problem Jian Qiao hadn’t yet figured out how to solve, and he fell silent.

He hadn’t promised to return to Desolette because there was so much he had to do.

Rege also sensed the other man was determined not to go back. He pointed to the clusters of people who were writhing like maggots and said, “See? Instead of the fresh smell of rain falling on flowers and green grass, there’s only the stench of alcohol, sweat, and opium. This isn’t the place for you.”

The gentleman Earl was clean and pure, he really couldn’t bear to see him covered in filth.

Jian Qiao picked up the glass of water and took a small sip. In a soft voice he retorted, “But here you are. Next to you, all the stench is blocked. All I can smell is a cool and refreshing fragrance, like goose feather snow falling on pine and cypress trees.”

He couldn’t help but twitch the tip of his nose to prove he was telling the truth.

Rege’s body had a distinctive and overwhelming scent, formed by years of close contact with cold steel weapons and the oil used to maintain them.

The cool metal gave off a smell like blood because of the rust. To get rid of the rust, you had to scour it with sand and gravel, and the high heat generated by the friction made the bloody odor smell burnt. After that, the weapon maintainer rubbed fine tung oil into the cold, shining blade.

The rich smell of tung oil together with the burnt smell of iron produced a wonderful chemical reaction, finally forming a sword-like fragrance that was sweet but not too sweet, cold but not too cold.

This was also the first time Jian Qiao realized the scent of a sword was not at all unpleasant.

He looked directly into Rege’s blue eyes and said seriously, “I like your scent. Sitting next to you feels wonderful.”

Rege was caught up by an indescribable burning sensation. He wanted to speak but his throat was clogged with a mass of superheated air, which made his mouth dry and his head dizzy.

He could only lift his glass and drink the deep red liquid in one gulp. The spicy wine didn’t relieve the heat, instead it ignited a fire in his heart. Squeezing his fist he felt a sticky layer of sweat emerge from his palms.

The night before he fought his most powerful opponent he’d never been this nervous. No, to be more precise, it was excitement. The fire in his heart burned throughout his body along his veins.

He drank two more glasses of wine one after the other. Only then was he able to suppress his tumultuous mood, and he said in a muted voice, “Thank you for liking it, but I still advise you to leave. See that? Every single person here is filthy. They might bathe only twice in their lives, once when they’re born and once when they’re married.

“They may wear gorgeous clothes, but when night comes, peel off the glamorous wrapping and you’ll find their bodies are blackened and stinking. This is the group of monsters you aspire to fit in with. They spray strong perfume not to add extra embellishment, but to cover up their increasingly putrid bodies.”

He waved at the attendant and asked for a bottle of spirits.

The attendant was about to bend down to serve him when Jian Qiao intercepted the bottle and personally filled Rege’s glass.

Rege stared at the considerate Jian Qiao, and his Adam’s apple couldn’t stop rolling up and down. He drank up the wine the other party poured for him and continued, “So, go back to your Desolette. Or sooner or later you too will become a stinking beast.”

If Jian Qiao became a person like Andrew, Rege would regret it.

This pure flower should blossom in the high mountains of Desolette, where the cliffs would protect its bloom and the mists would retain its fragrance. That was the safest place.

Thinking of this, Rege gently tapped the table with the empty wine glass, signaling Jian Qiao to fill it up again.

He was convincing Jian Qiao to leave Grande, and a slight tingling sensation began to roam the corners of his heart. He needed a dose of alcohol to numb himself to the strange feeling.

Jian Qiao carefully looked at Rege and found his face was normal and his eyes were clear. Only then did he pour the wine.

“But here you are,” Jian Qiao said with a sigh. “You’ve always been among the monsters but you’re not affected at all. You’re always clean and fresh. You don’t need sumptuous clothes to decorate yourself, you’re already the best there is. I see a pack of monsters, but I also see an incredibly lovely person. If I stay with you I can ward off the torrents of filth and lust.”

Jian Qiao pressed his heart with his thin fingertips and said softly, “Grande has you, and that alone is reason for me to stay a long time.”

At that moment, he’d obviously forgotten what he said to Rege the first time they met.

He’d said he was going to leave after he attended the king’s banquet, because Grande was Rege’s domain. At the time he viewed Rege as a dreadful scourge. Now he knew this man was the safest fortress.

Rege: “…”

The flames in Rege’s throat, heart, and body began to burn violently again. He gazed steadily at this obstinate man who refused to leave despite his persuasion, and fell into a long silence. His disordered thoughts prevented him from organizing a complete sentence.

All he knew was that this person was stirring up his heart with the sweetest and stickiest words.

It was hard to break free from this vortex of honey. He could only spit out two words in a hoarse voice, “More wine.”

He needed a lot of alcohol right now to numb a heart that was beating too fast.

Damn it! That gentleman Earl must have studied the art of complimenting people! Otherwise he wouldn’t be so powerful! Look at his words, “the best there is”, “an incredibly lovely person”. After all these years I never knew I was so likeable.

Rege’s eyebrows tightly furrowed, as if he were very disgusted by this lavish flattery, but the corners of the mouth rose uncontrollably.

Jian Qiao covered his glass with his pale hand and said in a soft voice, “All right, stop drinking. It’s time we left.”

The gilded hall had become no more than a place to vent animal lust. If they stayed any longer, Jian Qiao would faint from the stench emitted by these people.

Rege immediately stood up and said, “Let’s go.”

He grabbed his coat and casually threw it to Jian Qiao. “Wear it. You sweated a lot just now, your inner layers are probably soaked. As soon as you feel the cold wind outside, your little body will need to lie down.”

After saying that, he made a tutting sound as if he were very disgusted with Jian Qiao.

“Thank you.” Jian Qiao put on his coat and said seriously, “You see, when I’m with you I don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Shut up, I’m tired of hearing your compliments.” The corners of Rege’s mouth curled up slightly, then immediately pursed and put on an impatient expression.

The two walked out, side by side, and took a deep breath in unison.

Two carriages drove over from separate directions, one engraved with an anemone and the other depicting a roaring lion.

Seeing Jian Qiao being helped into the carriage by the manservant, Rege suddenly stretched out his hand, caught the door that was about to close, and said seriously, “Why won’t you go back? Don’t use me as an excuse, tell me the real reason. In a few days I’ll return to the army. The barracks are a long way from the center of Grande, and I have to train. When that time comes I won’t be back for two or three months. If you think I can protect you, you’re thinking wrong.”

Jian Qiao sighed and slowly said, “Well, the real reason I’m staying is to open up a food supply route for my people. The city of Desolette is surrounded by mountains, there are no large plains. We simply don’t produce enough food for our rapidly growing population.”

Jian Qiao closed his eyes and his tone became pensive, “Have you ever witnessed a scene full of dead bodies lying in the snow? A mother holding her starved child up to the sky weeping, children kneeling in front of their parents’ graves wailing. It’s a hell on earth. And I never want to see such sights again.”

He opened his eyes and said slowly, “So here I am. I want to establish good relations with the great lords who have rich lands, and I want my people to be able to buy enough food to survive the winter. And I’m trying to sign free trade treaties with those great lords. I want my people to be able to travel to any city without being killed by the local nobles for the absurd reason of being a ‘foreigner’. I want them to live.”

He gestured to his thin shoulders and spoke in a low voice, with unmistakable determination, “Sometimes a heavy burden can’t be avoided, do you understand?”

Rege looked into these dark and deep eyes and fell into a long silence.

He certainly understood this truth. The night his sister resolutely broke up with her lover of several years and rode to the palace alone in a carriage, he’d understood—the reason nobles are nobles is because they’re born with certain responsibilities.

But he hadn’t expected the gentleman Earl to also have such consciousness. The other man insisted on staying in Grande not because he was bewitched by power, not because he yearned for a luxurious life, not because he wanted a chance to climb up.

He was doing this for his people, simple as that.

Rege let go of the hand that was blocking the carriage door and took two steps back. Looking deeply into the eyes of the gentleman Earl, he said in a deep voice, “I want to correct a mistaken impression. Jian Qiao, you’re not weak at all. As a sign of respect I’ve decided to stay in Grande a while longer. I’ll leave only when you’re ready to go.”

So, what was the difference between that and just saying “I’ll protect you”?

TL Notes:

锦上添花 – add some extra embellishment – to add a beautiful thing to a contrasting beautiful thing; add flowers to embroidery — superfluous

可爱的人 – lovely person – cutie, angel, darling