Chapter 147 - A Good Bath (R-13)

R-13 (The following scenes contain betrayal and some child abuse. Caution is advised when reading. As a reminder, in case of abuse in general, seek help from the proper authorities or friends)

Of course, the biggest reason was to see if there were any traces of Levi on his body. Fortunately, the panacea was no joke and his body was as clean as ever.

"Oh, I'm sorry… It's just that my friends liked men too, but nothing ever happened between us so I thought…" Dante apologized with some embarrassment.

"I'm not like your friends, okay?"

Rutger said tossing the clothes on the wooden chair, the light from the lighting items touching the priest's pale, pale skin which looked similar to a Nile lily, milky and delicate.

The few  blonde's hairs were accentuated by the light making the beauty more beautiful and attractive, but the priest did not observe himself with that kind of look and quickly stepped into the wooden bathtub.

"You can turn around now," Rutger said already in the water, the refreshing effect was immediate and he felt much better.

Dante walked over and tossed in two sachets of dark green herbs, then the citrus scent rose from the tub.

"This is an herb that only reacts to cold water," Dante said seeing the color of the water change to a pale green.

"A very good smell," Rutger said closing his eyes, his body felt so good.

"It also has mind and body relaxation properties," Dante commented, taking a sponge to rub Rutger's back.

Sponges came from the Western Continent, they were made from discarded fabrics used to create musketeers that covered the beds of the rich at night. They were very gentle on the skin and very useful for rubbing the back.

It was better than the sponges from the sea that were caught in the port town where Dante came from, those only clean the feet that had the thickest skin.

"Have you ever used liquid soap?" Dante asked pulling out a small frosted glass bottle of orange liquid.

"This is something only the noblest wear," Rutger commented casually. He vaguely remembered his mother getting a bottle of perfume and another bottle of liquid soap on her birthday given by his father.

These items were very luxurious where Rutger came from, he didn't even have access to this type of item and were given to his mother only on birthdays or important anniversaries.

He used scented soap which was luxurious but much cheaper than liquid soap. Even the scented bath sachets had grades and qualities in between.

He remembered well how happy his mother was with those gifts, even the day before she had discovered that his father was cheating on her with a mistress or two.

She was a noblewoman who had to maintain status and be virtuous, which meant allowing her husband to have love affairs. Mostly, she didn't want Rutger to see her hurt or for knowing his father's behavior to find it normal. She wanted her son to be better than that womanizing father.

Rutger, on the other hand, remained ignorant of all this until his mother died and his father remarried, when his stepmother punished him for apparently no reason other than to discover that his father had lovers playing outside.

What he hated most were people who had more than one relationship.

Well, he didn't have any relationships, maybe he had turned against relationships a lot longer than he'd known Levi Mulder.

Or it may have been the coming together of the two traumas that made him so ambitious in his ecclesiastical career.

Or so cruel.

Of course, Rutger still didn't have that self-awareness and just let himself be enraged by all the feelings and pains he'd been forced to suppress for many years.

Dante poured some of the liquid from the sponge and ran it down Rutger's back, the milky liquid frothing gently under the water. The scent of orange blossoms was soft and delicate, the soft touch made the man open his eyes in surprise.

"The perks of living in a thriving port city," Dante said with some pride.

As a native of the port city, this type of item was considered a luxury, it was something common where he lived.

Not that it was as cheap as Dante made it look, but it wasn't impossible to buy. Also, many of Dante's and his friends' missions were for merchants who for some strange reason, or traveling abroad, had returned with some unwanted friends.

Big demons, small demons, or just a few cursed items.

The port city priests worked hard and were often rewarded with small gifts as thanks in addition to the usual payment that was given when requesting missions.

Dante had a few more of these bottles of liquid soap, perfume, and scented sachets, which were quite common as gifts that represented how grateful the merchants were.

Mention should be made of the blessings that maritime merchants and merchants from other nearby towns asked for blessings and paid with silver and gifts to make the journey safer or for items to sell well outside the town.

"Really enviable," Rutger said mockingly, making Dante self-conscious.

The two were silent until Dante tried to rub Rutger's legs, he was stopped and the sponge was taken from his hands.

"I do this," Rutger said, still with some embarrassment. Dante was not a servant, but a colleague of his. Being touched like that wasn't right.

Rutger felt very awkward with the prospect of the other man touching him so intimately, unfortunately, he didn't seem to dislike it. So he was more proactive in preventing Dante from getting any closer.

"Want me to wash your hair?" Dante offered helpfully, already pulling out another vial a little bigger and bluish in color, the liquid looked white.

"And what do you have in there now?" Rutger asked, finding Dante's pride a little amusing.

Gold, jewelry, and silver… Showy items… No, Dante preferred those practical items that showcased his contacts among merchants.

How funny. But it's still enviable.

Could Rutger still keep the man away?

"This one is for cleaning your hair… This one came from the Eastern Continent…" Dante started to explain with some complicated words that made Rutger confused, but he seemed very serious and attentive to what the other was saying.

Dante's fingers were thick and callused, which was normal for those who wanted to be holy knights. He had a good training base with an old knight close friend of his teacher.

His fingers gently massaged through his short blond hair, the foam from the shampoo glided down his slender neck, and the clean scent of grapes mingled with all the other aromas from the tub.

Dante's eyes suddenly caught on that image, he was a little embarrassed and his face flushed, thankfully, Rutger couldn't see it.

The poor man shook his head, clearing whatever thoughts of desire and sin might be.

Father Rutger was too handsome for Dante, but he couldn't take advantage of the situation just because Rutger had said he liked men, right?

Well, Dante as a very kind, honest, and a conscientious man pushed away his sinful thoughts and continued to wash his new friend's hair.

Rutger couldn't have imagined taking a cold shower to be so pleasurable, even a hot shower couldn't compare to the feeling of relaxation he felt at that moment.

"Now I know why your friends think you're the best washer"

Rutger commented after finishing his shower, he was wearing a loose white outfit that was actually worn under his everyday priest's robe.

His hair was still wet, he was feeling very relaxed and he was sitting on the bed with Dante who was drying his hair with a thicker cotton cloth.

"Is your body better?"

"Yeah…" Rutger said turning to Dante.

Just then he thought that Dante's face was very close, he could feel the warm breath touching his skin.

Poor Father Bernardis was taken aback and stared at Rutger a little foolishly.

Rutger had previously thought that Dante's face was very unremarkable, which in fact was true if not for the little black speck at the corner of his lips.

It hadn't caught his eye before but now seemed very visible to him.

Perhaps it had been a long time since Rutger had been treated so sincerely, or after telling him how much he liked men, he felt very comfortable with Dante.

If anyone asked why Rutger was kissing Dante, he wouldn't know how to respond.

Rutger's warm, soft lips took Dante by surprise, he stood there for a while until Rutger himself pulled back in surprise at himself.

"I... I'm sorry" Rutger said in a low voice and touched his own lips still surprised to himself. He couldn't look into Dante's face.

His face was cupped and Dante's lips, which were thicker than usual, covered his with far more ardor than the previous kiss. Their sharp breaths mingled and things got out of hand as Dande's tongue slid over Rutger's.

Dante gripped his waist and their bodies fell on the bed, but they didn't stop kissing, Rutger's hands gripped the man's clothes tightly and his body trembled a little.

Rutger had never kissed like this so heatedly and without much thought of what it felt like to be touched like this.

His mind was blank and he could only feel Dante's heat against his body.

"Father Rutger?" Someone called at the door. It was one of Levi's subordinates who was investigating the captain's possible poisoning.

They began to investigate for visiting and non-regular priests and novices.

The two men stopped kissing and looked at each other in surprise, their swollen, wet lips and quickening breaths together with Rutger's slightly flushed face and

Dante's stunned gaze made it clear what they were doing before.

Dante cupped Rutger's face again, he didn't care about the people at the door that was locked.

The holy knights left because of Father Rutger's lack of response, they didn't know whether or not he was in the room, as he had the door locked, they could only look elsewhere.

"You said you didn't do anything to your friends…" Rutger complained as Dante kissed his neck and gave him a light bite, leaving his body weak.

He'd never felt so weak from the pleasure and didn't even know he could feel positively agitated.

"You said you weren't like my friends," Dante said very wisely pulling the fabric off Rutger's shoulder leaving goosebumps.

"Did you plan this all along?" Rutger questioned with new caution as he felt Dante's hand creep up his thigh.

Dante stopped moving and looked at Rutger, his lips swollen and his face flushed, but his eyes were wary and faintly afraid.

And that's exactly why he should have reined in his desires, the wary look and suspicion was an expected response.

After all, would there be a person in the world who could be so good without expecting anything in return?