SWY 56

Sharhan could clearly feel the desire in Lestel’s gaze. The desire to be inside him but still, he asked just to be sure.

“Of course.”

The answer was exactly what he’d expected.

‘What the hell is “of course”? That shameless bastard.’

While Sharhan was struggling to catch his breath in disbelief, Lestel resumed trailing his lewd gaze over his stomach. That wasn’t enough, he even reached out and touched just above Sharhan’s navel, murmuring, “Feels like I could go in all the way here,” making Sharhan’s mind go completely blank. Swatting Lestel’s hand away, Sharhan snapped,

“What the hell is ‘of course’? I could be the one to fuck you.”

“Honey, I’m bigger than you.”

“…”

“I mean, height and dick size, I’ve got you beat in both.”

“Y-you don’t have me that beat! And what’s height got to do with dick size anyway? I’m topping. I’ll be the one doing the fucking.”

Sharhan was also a man, fully equipped, and there was no reason he couldn’t top. Chin lifted in defiance, he stared Lestel down, clearly saying, Don’t even think about fucking me. Lestel looked at him for a moment, then let out a small laugh.

“You said you’d never sleep with me. Changed your mind already?”

“I haven’t changed my mind! I’m not going to sleep with you. I just meant, if – if it ever did happen, I’d be the one fucking you. So get rid of that look like you’re about to rip into my guts.”

That explicit stare really did make it feel like Lestel was rummaging around in his belly, making him squirm from the inside out.

“When are you ever going to be honest, honey? You said no kissing, but now you let me kiss you every night. You came from me sucking you off, didn’t you? Don’t you think there’s a huge gap between what you say and what you do? So when you say you’ll never sleep with me, what I’m hearing is, we’re absolutely going to sleep together someday.”

“No, we’re not!”

“Well, we’ll see.”

Lestel’s smug grin was so irritating, Sharhan nearly punched him right there. Honestly, he didn’t even know how things had gotten to this point. No matter what he said, the truth was that he kept getting swept up by Lestel.

He was starting to get a sinking feeling that, at this rate, they might actually end up having sex. Nervous, he bit his lip and issued a firm warning.

“If you want to sleep with me, you’re the one taking it. I’m topping.”

“Honey, my ass is still pure. So that’s a no.”

“And you think mine isn’t?!”

“You said you’ve used it.”

“What?”

“Front and back, right? I’ve only used the front. But since you’ve used both, you should be the one to bottom.”

“T-that’s…”

The words ‘That was a lie’ rose to his throat, but he swallowed them back down. He’d been posturing like he’d lived a wild life, so he wasn’t about to admit now that he’d never actually done anything, front or back.

“Besides, I’ve wanted to sleep with you way more, and for way longer than you have. So I should be the one doing the fucking.”

“What kind of bullshit logic is that? W-wait–what? For way longer? Just how long have you been fantasizing about doing all this crazy shit to me?”

Lestel looked momentarily flustered, like he’d slipped up, but then responded shamelessly.

“Since the moment we reunited.”

“What?”

Sharhan’s eyes widened in disbelief, then narrowed. Come to think of it, Lestel had been unusually clingy ever since they met again.

“You didn’t hear me? I said I’ve had impure thoughts about you since the moment we met again.”

“I heard you. I’m just so stunned I’m speechless. What the hell, are you in heat or something? How the fuck did you live for three years to come back and get horny for me? Are your eyes even working right?”

“Of course they are, Sharhan Kaios.”

“Haa… I seriously don’t know how to deal with you lately. The Lestel I knew was more noble than anyone. Now you’re cussing without a second thought, spouting filthy shit like it’s nothing. I guess you were right when you said people get corrupted fast. But don’t blame that on me. Who the hell corrupted you?”

As he spoke, his irritation surged. Sure, he’d changed too, but not like this. Lestel had changed so much it was hard to keep up. For someone who’d snapped over hearing a conversation with Abel, it was laughable.

‘Who the hell should really be angry here? You never even told me who you ran away from home to find.’

To be honest, he had a pretty good guess.

“Honey, do you know the hidden meaning behind ‘most noble’?”

“There’s a hidden meaning?”

“When people talk about me and my father, they always say we’re more noble than anyone else.”

“And?”

“What they mean is, we’re better than anyone at pretending.”

“Huh?”

“Not just me and my father, those so-called high-ranking nobles who act all graceful and elegant? Behind closed doors, they’re the most vulgar and depraved of all. Think back to why the war started. It was because of Rascul. You think those nobles, obsessed with pleasure, are making love all graceful-like in bed? No. They’re dirty, crude, and foul. That’s what turns them on. If they acted noble even during sex, would that be fun? Imagine them saying, ‘Now, I shall insert my member’ – you’d lose your erection before it even started. If you ever saw how they really fuck, you’d be so embarrassed you’d die.”

“…”

“And that’s not all. They’re fake and selfish too. The more ‘noble’ someone is, the more fake they are. The best liars around. They say they’re acting for the people, for their vassals – but behind the scenes, they teach that it’s fine to trample the powerless if it benefits their house or their power. Even if it means their wife or child. You were a noble too, honey, but your family collapsed before you ever saw any of that, huh?”

Lestel smiled faintly, as if mocking himself. Sharhan stared at him blankly for a moment before blurting out,

“So were you one of those nobles too?”

“That’s how I was raised. By the most ‘noble’ of all, my great father, who supposedly had the bluest blood.”

Sharhan stared at Lestel in silence. The thought that maybe even the Lestel from before the three-year gap wasn’t the person he thought he knew, it made his chest feel strange. A sense of unease crept in, and even a little desperation.

‘The old Lestel used to be like the lines on my palm.’

He’d been able to read Lestel like an open book, just like the palm lines he could see any time he looked at his own hand.

“Lestel… what did you lie to me about? What did you hide from me? What were you pretending to be?”

“It wouldn’t be any fun if I told you easily. So go figure it out yourself.”

“Why are you hiding so much?”

“What am I hiding now?”

“Tell me who you ran away from home to find. Who the hell was it? Someone from the Academy? Or someone you met after I left? Did you fall in love or something? Did they run away because they didn’t want you?”

Lestel let out a soft laugh at Sharhan’s probing tone.

‘Why does that guy laugh at everything?’

Sharhan furrowed his brows.

“You know him too.”

“Who is it, then?”

“Think about it. You’ll figure it out.”

“Hah, fuck. You could just tell me straight, but no–you’re acting all mysterious now, like you’re some kind of enigma.”

“Watch the swearing.”

Lestel pulled Sharhan into his arms and lay down. Sharhan, dragged along helplessly, was still racking his brain.

‘Someone I know?’

As expected, only one face came to mind. Before and after entering the Academy, the person Lestel was closest to had been Sharhan. Except for when they were asleep, they spent nearly the entire day together.

Plenty of people wanted to get close to Lestel, not just because of his abilities but also his prestigious family. But Lestel ignored them all, he wasn’t the type to open up easily.

That’s why it had been so shocking to learn that Lestel had someone in his life close enough to make him flip out and go chasing after them. His mind had been a mess of confusion at the time, but now that some time had passed and he could think clearly, something about it still didn’t add up.

‘If someone made that bastard abandon his house and the Academy and run off like that, no matter how I look at it, it’s gotta be me.’

The only reason he couldn’t be entirely sure was the question of why. Even if he had disappeared without a word, what could have driven Lestel to spend years searching for him? He had no answer. And on top of that, all this talk earlier about faking things and lying, now he was even more confused.

‘Is it not me? But if not me, then who?’

The thought that he might be completely wrong, and that Lestel had someone else, sent a cold pang of disappointment through his gut.

‘Disappointment? Why the hell would I feel that?’

Just as he shook his head quickly, Lestel’s hand crept toward the front of his pants.

“Hands off. Don’t go getting my dick hard for no reason.”

“Told you, I’m sex-starved.”

Lestel’s hand finally reached his front, but Sharhan smacked it away with a scoff and rolled toward the wall. As expected, Lestel followed and clung to him again.

***

Before sunrise, Sharhan and Lestel got up and woke Derry, who was still fast asleep, then headed downstairs. Abel, already awake, had neatly folded his blanket and was massaging his legs. It looked like his knees hurt.

“See? I told you. Sleeping on the floor makes your knees ache.”

At Sharhan’s scolding, Abel gave an awkward smile.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Well enough. Let’s eat and get moving. How many people are still in the Blue Spider’s Goblet?”

“There used to be about thirty. Now it’s down to twenty. Some died, some left.”

“You’re just going to say goodbye and leave, right?”

“That’s the plan, but… With only half the twenty as combatants, I’m not sure I’ll be able to go. Ras is injured, and if both Renel and I leave, I’m not sure how the rest of them will survive.”

“But you can’t just stay either.”

“Yeah. I’ve got family to worry about.”

“You sure you’ll be okay on your own? It’s pretty dangerous out there. The moving corpses can pop out of places you’d never expect.”

“Moving corpses?”

“Oh, that’s what we call them.”

“‘Moving corpses,’ huh… That’s a fitting name. Anyway, do you know anything about them?”

Reading something in Sharhan’s expression, Abel asked urgently. With a sigh, Sharhan told him about what had happened in Luhas. Abel’s face turned bright red.

“Fucking hell. I was holding onto hope that maybe there was still somewhere safe left. But if what you’re saying is true, then those things are everywhere in the Empire.”

“There might still be a safe zone.”

It was a hopeless thought, but Sharhan wasn’t ready to give up on the possibility that somewhere existed beyond Lord Luhas’s reach. He handed the remaining rations to Abel, who looked like he was drowning in despair.

Barely managing to fill their stomachs just enough to stave off hunger, the group gathered their belongings and stood. Then they left the tavern and made their way toward the Blue Spider’s Goblet.

The early morning air was bitterly cold, and the streets were eerily silent. The well-paved imperial road – usually pristine thanks to the heavy taxes poured into maintenance – was now filthy with carriages, corpses, waste, and abandoned belongings. Crude wooden barricades were also scattered throughout.

But there was no sign of human life. Only the occasional moving corpse, shuffling slowly or swaying in place. Whenever they appeared, Abel would step forward and decapitate them cleanly.

“You’re not planning to stay long at the tavern either, right? Got a plan for how to get through the eastern gate?”

Abel, who had been walking in silence, spoke quietly.

“Not yet. First, I need to meet Ras and head to Lestel’s manor.”

“The merchant lord’s estate? Where is it?”

“It’s in central Verden.”

That’s where all the wealthy estates were clustered.

“That place is…”

Whoosh

A sharp noise tore through the air, slicing it like a blade.