CH 105

Luisen and Carlton sat side by side on the sofa. This time, they had wine; the glasses were filled before they were clinked against each other in celebration of their victory. The sound of glasses hitting each other sounded so refreshing, and the purple liquid shook inside.

“What about Morrison? Is he still in the middle of interrogation?”

They had found a dying demon worshiper in the banquet hall–the man who pretended to be Viscount Boton. They had thought everyone was dead, but there he was; Morrison took the man as he was still breathing. Luisen had no idea how the inquisitor was going to interrogate someone who couldn’t even open his eyes. Morrison was incredibly exhausted, but he was still incredibly happy; the man said that following the Duke definitely was the correct decision.

“I stopped by a while ago, and he was still in the middle of his interrogation. Morrison told me a few things he discovered.” Carlton said.

The demon worshippers were small in scale–there were a total of 12 people who titled themselves, in almost a priestly manner, a worshiper. It seemed that they intended to adapt the allegory of the twelve apostles. They called each other by their numbers, and one of them seemed to be a fairly high-ranking figure in the kingdom: Ruger’s father.

“His father?”

“Ruger was not acknowledged, but instead an illegitimate son. Those guys didn’t seem to keep secrets between them.”

“Oh….”

So, it was a lie that Ruger was the third son of some aristocratic family. Luisen had expected that and wasn’t too surprised.

“Which noble?” Luisen asked.

“That hasn’t been uncovered yet.”

“I suppose they won’t reveal that too easily. Still, a lot has been found in such a short time.”

“Yes, well… the screams of a man hanging onto his last breaths are so loud…” Carlton frowned. The interrogation scene showed that the heretic inquisitor’s notoriety wasn’t an exaggeration. “Anyway, don’t go near him.”

Even Carlton looked unsettled. If Morrison had found out this much from a dying man in a short period of time, then the scene definitely didn’t look good. Luisen vowed to go nowhere near Morrison for the time being.

Carlton continued, “And, it seems those bastards are also in the capital.”

“The capital?”

“Yes. It seems that Ruger had been in the capital, at the royal palace.”

“The royal palace…” Luisen recalled the king and the first prince before reflexively wiping that train of thought. There were many people in the palace: servants, knights, administrators etc. Some nobles even lived in the royal palace when they visited the capital.

“What kind of person would he be…? I’d like to know before I run into him at the palace,” Luisen furrowed his brow.

“Morrison has decided to share that information as soon as he finds out more. If he continues on as he has been, then the information should be uncovered soon.” Carlton, uncertain how he should loosen Luisen’s expression, pressed at the young lord’s forehead with his thumb. Luisen glared at Carlton for a moment before letting the mercenary do as he pleased because he looked so happy.

The touch, which began as a joke, became more and more significant. It swept down the back of the young lord’s sensitive ear. Carlton’s face also lost its smile.

The mercenary’s gaze was so intense that Luisen felt dizzy. Even the sounds of breathing felt tense. Luisen lowered his eyes slightly before closing his eyes altogether as Carlton gripped his chin.

As if he were waiting for that moment, the mercenary’s lips covered the young lord’s. When Luisen opened his mouth slightly, a searing tongue pushed inside. An intense grape flavor, from the wine, massaged his taste buds. It made Luisen’s head even dizzier to think that Carlton was tasting the same notes as he was.

The two pulled at each other’s bodies and deepened the indulgent kiss. They fell into a trance from the heat and touch of each other’s bodies. Before he knew what happened, Luisen was lying on the sofa and Carlton, naturally, was on top of the young lord.

Carlton’s knee squeezed in between Luisen’s legs. As the mercenary’s shadow cast over the young lord, Luisen swallowed dryly. He was half-nervous yet secretly eager.

However, Carlton touched Luisen’s forehead with his hand.

“Why?” Luisen asked.

“My Duke, you have a fever right now.” With a grave expression, the mercenary placed his hand inside Luisen’s clothes. The fingers were the same, but the heat had been taken out of the touch. “It’s quite high. You can’t feel the fever?”

“Uhh…” Come to think of it, Luisen thought his muscles had been aching since earlier. His head felt a little dazed, and his eyes felt dry. He had thought this was all because of last night’s struggles, but it turned out to be body aches from a fever.

“You’ve been overdoing it with your lack of stamina. It’s understandable that you’ve become ill.” From Carlton’s point of view, it was rather incredible that the young lord had endured thus far…especially considering his physical condition. The young lord must have persisted thanks to his mental fortitude and had simply surpassed his limit due to last night’s events.

“You’ll truly need to rest now.” Carlton slowly raised his body, still fiddling with Luisen’s cheek. He then lifted the young lord into his arms, took him to the bed, and laid him down. The mercenary covered the young lord with the blanket–all the way up to the neck. He even carefully drew the bed curtains so the young lord could sleep well.

“Sleep.”

“No, I can’t sleep like this.” Luisen said, ‘How am I supposed to sleep after a kiss like that?’

Luisen tried to willfully raise his upper body, but Carlton wouldn’t ever compromise with Luisen’s health.

“If you continue now, you may actually faint.” Carlton pressed Luisen back down, tucked the young lord’s arms in, and laid next to the young lord’s side. When Luisen tried to rise again, he placed his hand on Luisen’s chest to stop any further movement.

“I said I can’t sleep,” Luisen grumbled as he forcefully kept his eyes wide open. ‘I won’t sleep–I’ll never sleep. Let’s see who wins.’

Carlton laughed as if he found the young lord amusing. He patted Luisen’s chest with a regular rhythm and hummed a familiar lullaby. It was a bit awkward since this was the first time the mercenary sang, but the young lord felt that, due to the pleasant voice, the song was melting in his ears. His body was wrapped in warm bedding; the lullaby soothed his tired mind. Naturally, the tension and strength fled from his body.

Luisen tried his hardest, but his eyelids kept becoming heavier. Seeing the young lord’s struggles, Carlton gently began to croon and assuage the young lord, “Don’t worry and sleep. You can always continue at any time.”

“Are you going to stay here?”

“Of course. I will continue to stay by your side.”

“Then… Alright…”

As soon as the anxiety and tension left his body, Luisen fell asleep. He couldn’t overcome the fatigue and the fever-born body aches.

Carlton lay still beside the young lord, watching Luisen’s sleeping face. ‘Is he even going to remember what we talked about right before he went to sleep?’

On the surface, it sounds as if the mercenary merely promised to be next to his side while he’s sleeping, but that answer also belied Carlton’s own determination.

Luisen’s near death experience during the previous night came as a great shock to Carlton. He was so startled; he could not figure out Ruger’s intentions. Even though the attendant hesitated in front of Luisen, the mercenary swung his sword. He didn’t particularly want to know the reason for Ruger’s hesitation then, but he happened to think back on that hesitation during his conversation with Morrison.

Apparently, loyalty and betrayal were both essential elements for the birth of a Death Knight. As soon as Carlton heard that, he realized that Ruger was about to spare and save Luisen at the last minute. Furthermore, the man was motivated by love.

There’s validity to the saying that like can recognize like. Ruger’s behavior and attitude resembled Carlton’s. He fell in love with someone who’s standing was hard to ignore and overcome; though he struggled to forget those emotions, his heart was full of lingering feelings, and he couldn’t help chasing after Luisen.

There was no tragedy greater than his fate: to become a cursed knight due to love.

Though it wasn’t any of Carlton’s business whether Ruger’s death was a tragedy or not, the mercenary had clearly gleaned what Aesop’s fable he could from this incident. If one continued to hesitate and waver like Ruger, neither love nor success will be within grasp. Only the worst end would remain: a futile death with nothing earned.

Carlton finally understood. Even if he died, he didn’t want to lose Luisen. He wanted to stay with the young lord for a long while. And, for that end, he would do anything.

Come to think of it, he had been quite unlike himself recently, speaking and thinking so weakly. If Luisen didn’t love him deeply, then he could simply seduce the young lord and deepen the young lord’s emotions. If it would be difficult to stand by Luisen’s side in his current position, he could climb to a similar standing using all he had accumulated thus far. There were sure to be many other obstacles, but he could break through them all.

Of course, that wouldn’t be as easy as he made it sound, but he was no stranger to hardships. Carlton’s life had always been a struggle for him to achieve and possess the impossible. Even if he had to break through the thorny path with his bare body–even if a battle completely unlike any other battles he fought was waiting for him–he was willing to take the risk…if the reward was Luisen Anies.

Deep in sleep, Luisen burrowed into Carlton’s arms. The mercenary took a break from his thoughts to fix his posture to make the young lord more comfortable.

‘Doesn’t this mean that he trusts and relies on me?’

The young lord was reassured enough to sleep now that Carlton was here; even though the young lord was in the throes of fever, he wanted to continue with intimate acts. Considering all of these, Luisen’s feelings towards Carlton weren’t so frivolous either. Though, the mercenary was unsure if the young lord was cognizant of the depth of his own emotions.

Carlton carefully stroked Luisen’s hair with his fingertips.

‘What should I do to help him become more aware of that? Does he also think of me all day?’

As the senior mercenaries around him used to say, a relationship may require some push and pull.

Carlton pinched the young lord’s cheeks slightly–Luisen’s tranquil sleeping face was so annoying. Then, his slight resentment melted away quickly because the young lord’s furrowed brows looked so lovely.

‘Let’s sleep well for now. Later, I won’t let you sleep even if you beg me for it.’

Carlton embraced Luisen gingerly. And, just like that, the mercenary fell asleep peacefully as well.

***

After sleeping soundly and fully recovering with some food, Luisen set out for the capital with his companions and the Eastern Great Lord’s band. The traveling party became much smaller than it had been; the Eastern Great Lord–who knows what the winds of change had done to him–sent back the nobles that were dragging their speed down and left a few soldiers to clean up Viscount Boton’s estate.

Morrison separated from them at the viscount’s mansion as well. He said he would not proceed to the capital immediately but would instead further interrogate the demon worshiper and act on his own. Luisen was sorry to see him go, but they decided to continue to exchange information once they opened up lines of communication with each other.

When they left the Boton estate, the group was able to move quickly without much trouble.

And, after a while…

Luisen and Carlton arrived at the capital.

‘Finally!’ Luisen deliberately stepped out of the carriage to set foot on the capital grounds.

It was a long and rough journey, and the hardships made him even more joyous to see the city. The young lord and Carlton held hands and shared their mutual delight.