SWY 82

“Family…”

At Lestel’s words, the tears Simon had been holding back finally spilled down his cheeks.

“Yeah. I think of you as my brother. Don’t you feel the same?”

“N, no. I mean, yes–I consider you family too. Just like Alum, you’re a precious younger sibling to me.”

Though they hadn’t spent many years together, Simon genuinely thought of Lestel as his younger sibling, and Lestel deeply cherished the brothers in return. That was why he had gone out so readily to find the antidote. Simon had worried himself sick over him departure because of Alum. He had beaten himself up countless times, thinking that if he was going to lose both of them, he should have at least protected one.

“Then come with me.”

Simon, swelling with emotion like he might agree right away, unexpectedly hesitated. His gaze turned toward the window. It was clear the survivors were weighing heavily on his mind.

“Are you worried about them?”

At Lestel’s question, Simon fell into brief thought, then gave a bitter smile.

“…Yes. I’ve been desperately waiting for your return. I kept telling myself, once you came back safely, I’d never part with you again. I lost Alum, but I swore I wouldn’t lose you. And yet… it’s laughable, but I can’t stop thinking about them. They trust me. They rely on me.”

“You said some of them helped you, didn’t you?”

“They did, but…”

“And Elieas said she had a proposal. Want to hear it? You know who she is, right?”

Hearing her name, Elieas, who had been standing a distance away to avoid interrupting, looked over.

“I do. I was wondering why she came along in the first place.”

Simon’s face stiffened slightly as he glanced at Elieas. It seemed he had a rough idea of why Elieas had come in person, especially after sending several people already.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

Simon eyed Elieas warily. It was clear he wouldn’t have agreed so easily if not for Lestel being here.

“Hear her out. I don’t think her idea is a bad one.”

Lestel stepped toward the window with Simon and spoke quietly.

“But they want to absorb us. We’re stable here. I don’t see why we should move over to City Hall. There’ll be problems adjusting. We might be rejected.”

“We don’t know if it’s a one-sided absorption or a chance to stand as equals. With your abilities, I think you could negotiate with Elieas as an equal.”

“……”

“She seems to want to rebuild Verden—maybe not exactly as it was, but close. For that, she needs a larger group. Yuel apparently agreed to cooperate with her too.”

“Yuel did?”

Simon’s eyes widened in surprise.

“He did.”

Simon glanced briefly at Elieas, rubbed his chin, and after a long moment, nodded.

“Alright. I’ll hear her out.”

“Talk it through, think deeply, then decide.”

“Understood. When will you be leaving Verden?”

“As soon as we confirm Delos’s location.”

“What? Isn’t Delos at the mansion on the eastern gate? How did you end up with those people?”

“Delos ran away. I was kidnapped there yesterday, and Elieas and Yuel helped me escape.”

“What? K, kidnapped? Are you saying Delos kidnapped you?!”

Simon’s face twisted in shock at the unimaginable news. Lestel lightly patted his shoulder, where a dangerous air had started to build.

“I’m out safe now, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Ha, I didn’t even know you’d returned, let alone that you were kidnapped… I owe a debt for saving you. I’ll talk with Elieas and come back. Please rest in the meantime.”

“Talk thoroughly and think carefully. Just because I got help from them doesn’t mean you have to accept anything that doesn’t sit right with you.”

“Yes.”

Simon let out a short breath, straightened his back, and adjusted his clothes. Only after making sure his posture and expression were perfectly composed did he take Elieas’s group and leave Lestel’s room. Once the three of them were gone, Lestel walked over to the fireplace and moved the frame sitting on top of it, revealing a hidden safe. Curious, Sharhan walked over to join him.

“A safe?”

“I kept artifacts in here.”

He had stored artifacts they hadn’t sold or used. Inside were a whistle, heatstones, mana stones, and magic contracts. It looked like they had stocked up heavily on heatstones for winter. Lestel and Simon had brought those to the north and made a fortune selling them, which had allowed them to found the Black Pearl.

Noticing Derry sneaking glances at them while pretending not to be interested, Lestel tossed him a mana stone.

“Huh, huh? T, this is…”

“A mana stone. Just like we talked about, I’m giving it to you.”

“Th, thank you!”

Derry grinned and tucked the stone away carefully. Then, after watching Lestel and Sharhan peer into the safe side by side, he scratched his temple.

“I’ll go check out the mansion a bit.”

“Be careful. The survivors here might be wary of you.”

“Don’t worry.”

Once Derry had confidently left, the room was finally quiet with just the two of them. As if waiting for this moment, Lestel pressed his lips to Sharhan’s. Caught off guard, Sharhan let out a dry laugh but eventually responded. He knew he’d grown weaker to Lestel lately, and it bothered him, but he couldn’t help it.

‘How am I supposed to say no when he’s this desperate?’

From the arms wrapped around his waist, the beating heart pressed against his chest, to the way his tongue swept through his mouth, Lestel’s longing and desire came through vividly.

After a long, passionate kiss, they pulled apart, both breathing heavily. Lestel still clung close, his lower body pressed against his, his hands wandering along his waist.

“Honey, we’re doing it tonight too, right?”

He didn’t bother to specify what “it” was.

“……”

Of course, the answer didn’t come easily either.

‘My back still aches…’

Meeting Lestel’s hopeful green gaze, Sharhan couldn’t bring himself to say, I really don’t want to do penetration again.

“Shan, honey. We’re doing it, right?”

His hand continued to roam along his waist, then slipped down to caress his firm backside. His touch was unmistakably suggestive, and Sharhan felt his breath hitch slightly.

He almost said, If you really want to, then I’ll be on top tonight, but swallowed it back.

‘He’s bad with pain and always overreacts… there’s no way he’d handle the pain of his first time.’

Still seeing Lestel as fragile and delicate, Sharhan finally made up his mind: I’ll just bear it again, since I’m stronger and more resilient.

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

It hurt, and it was uncomfortable, but not to the point he couldn’t endure it. Maybe one day he’d come to enjoy it.

“There’s oil in here, so it’ll be easier tonight.”

Lestel reached deep into the safe and pulled out a glass bottle. When he opened it, a familiar, subtle floral scent wafted out. It was high-quality scented oil.

“Why’d you stash scented oil in the safe?”

“To use with you.”

“You crazy bastard.”

“I got the frostflower scent you love most. Do you like it? I pretty much bought up everything on the market.”

Frostflowers grew mostly near Sharhan’s hometown, with a clean, subtle fragrance. But they were hard to cultivate, and their small blooms made them difficult to distill, so the oil was very expensive.

Sharhan’s mother had loved frostflower oil too, but it was so pricey that she only used it on special occasions. That Lestel had bought it specifically for sex left him speechless.

He shoved the grinning Lestel aside and stuck his head deep into the safe to peer inside. Sure enough, way at the back, where it couldn’t be seen at a glance, were several neatly lined-up bottles.

Seeing the extent of Lestel’s desire made Sharhan’s ears turn red. He muttered under his breath, “You lying bastard.” From the moment they reunited, Lestel had claimed to be filled with desire for him, but the stash of oil proved he’d been planning this long before.

Instead of confronting him about the lie, Sharhan scratched his neck. He already knew what Lestel would say.

That smug bastard would just say, “I wasn’t ready to tell you yet.”

Their sudden physical closeness still felt strange and awkward, considering they’d spent their lives as rivals. And more than anything, if Lestel ever confirmed what Sharhan already suspected… there would be no turning back. That fear lingered in him.

Not wanting to look at Lestel, Sharhan kept staring into the safe. Something inside caught his eye, a small leather pouch, half the size of his palm. When he opened it, he found a gray stone and a transparent one inside.

“What’s this?”

“It came from the coffin. That one… I’ll show you what it’s for later.”

Lestel pointed to the transparent one and set it aside.

“And this gray one… Simon and I call it a smoke stone.”

“A smoke stone?”

“If you throw it on the ground, it releases smoke.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously? That’s useless… but I guess it could come in handy. Let’s bring it along. And this is a contract, right? I’ll take it. I’ll figure out how to use it later.”

Sharhan packed the smoke stone, heatstones, whistle, and contract into his bag. Lestel, seeing how quickly and possessively he moved, sighed softly and poured the scented oil bottles into an empty water flask.

He saved one bottle, though, the one he planned to use tonight.