Chapter 29

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Warning before you read this chapter: You might find some words/statements that are disturbing. Read at your own risk.

Before you read, (A)=Ashia, (K)=Kaligo, (D)=Desian

Chapter 29 – Male Nature

No matter how Kaligo was feeling now, Ashia was just looking at the two of them with a blank expression, then turned her back and entered the store.

“Oh, she just went inside. Be cool like her.”

Kaligo opened his mouth, suppressing his anger at Desian’s sarcastic voice. “What do you mean by that?”

“What else? There may be some reason to congratulate a friend on his engagement.”

Kaligo continued to speak, shaking off Desian’s hand on his shoulder. “Betrothal. Was it something that could be decided without the parties involved?”

“The Imperial Princess of that empire directly named you. Do you think a Grand Duke like you would be able to refuse?”

“There is nothing that cannot be done. I think you want to see what great things I can do with my position as the Grand Duke.”

“…”

Kaligo looked at Desian and tilted his head slightly. Then his eyes grew sharper. “You still don’t know which side she will take.”

With clenched teeth, Desian stared at Kaligo with his gleaming golden eyes as if he was a spy. Then he raised the corners of his mouth as he laughed lightly, pretending to tap his shoulders as he lightly threw his words, “Are you mad that I tried to touch that wizard? Do you like her that much?”

“…”

“Don’t worry. She’s much more my type than I expected, but it’s not like I’m going to try it right now. Only pure curiosity, no, just the good impression of her. That’s right, let’s just leave it like that.”

Whether it was his curiosity, it was a feeling that Kaligo didn’t accept from him.

“…I think you chose the wrong person to relieve your dirty greed.”

“Dirty greed?” Desian smiled brightly as if he had heard a funny joke. “And what are you? You think you look so clean and pure, don’t you?”

“…”

“Isn’t it the same for you? You want to put her next to you when your heart wants to, you want to touch her when she’s beside you, and when you touch her, you want to kiss her and move with your body… Can you still say no?”

Despite his blatant expression, Kaligo still had his calm expression. “Yes. I think of that way towards the woman in my heart.”

“See, that’s just our male instinct.” Desian put his arm back on Kaligo’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve rolled around with that woman already. Well, it wasn’t the first time we shared something.”

“…”

There was a fierce energy that permeated through Kaligo’s eyes as he glanced at Desian’s arm on his shoulder.

But not noticing it, Desian continued to mock him. “I’m just curious about something. How great was her skin under her skirt, and what did that proud woman look like when she was disheveled while trapped under you—keook!”

In an instant, Kaligo was quickly pushed his neck against the carriage.

Kwaang.

His breath stuttered. Although he had learned swordsmanship and fighting skills, he was still not comparable to Kaligo’s physique and strength, who steadily fought on the battlefield. In addition, Kaligo had been devoted to training with the Knights Templar in recent years. In other words, he was not an opponent that could be taken lightly.

“Keok! You!”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Keook!”

“What have you learned while watching me?”

Desian’s eyes become fiercer from the pain. Ashia had talked to him like that earlier, and now, even Kaligo was talking to him in the same way, in a tone of reproach.

“Ah, if you learned something, you wouldn’t have been exposed like this… And it is regrettable that Your Highness is indeed the one who will be the next Emperor after His Majesty.”

“This b*s(t**d)…”

“If you think about the future of this empire…” Kaligo stopped talking for a moment as he ground his molars and murmured slowly, “Isn’t it better for the sky to turn upside down, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

(T/N: turning the sky upside down = throwing into disorder or confusion)

Turning the sky upside down – it only meant treason. Desian’s eyes distorted at Kaligo’s words.

“You…Keuuk!”

As Desian struggled, Kaligo pressed his neck again. “If you mention that person with that filthy mouth one more time, I’ll tear you apart before that impossibility happens.”

He pulled back and relaxed his arm.

Desian, who felt a little more alive then, caressed his neck. “You keep saying I’m dirty.”

“…And… You?”

“…”

Looking into Kaligo’s narrowed eyes, Desian let out a small laugh. “Am I the only one wallowing with women? Am I the only one dirty? You’re just pretending to be noble.”

“…”

His sarcasm continued as he continued to cough. “What? Abstinence? Ha, all the dogs passing by will laugh at you. What does she know about all the women you called behind her back and played around with?”

“…”

“Think of the many potions we drank while playing, Grand Duke.”

Potions…

As Desian mentioned the potion, there were scenes that quickly ran through Kaligo’s mind.

These were the potions that Desian gave him, saying that they were drugs to keep sexual excitement from subsiding. At that time, the man named Kaligo Etous was busy pouring the drug into his body without even knowing what the side effects were. He was truly an idiot.

“It was only a few years since you were soaked in those potions. Did those potions disappear from your body after only a few years?”

Kaligo’s expression was calm despite Desian’s continuous sarcastic remarks.

‘It was a potion.’

Since he met Ashia again, he had been ignoring the most important fact that he was wasting his time.

“How long was it? It could take 10 years or 20 years for all of those ingredients to disappear.”

“…”

“…With a body like that, would you be able to hold the woman you have in your heart? Trying to get pregnant in a hurry, huh? Do you think a normal child could be born?”

A faint wrinkle appeared on Kaligo’s firm forehead. He remembered what Renna had told him once.

-Kaligo …don’t you think we should have children?

– I would like to have kids. I wish this Duke’s mansion would be livelier with the laughter of the children.

She’d brought it up during dinner once. Her cheeks were flushed red as she told him that having two children would be enough, and when her words didn’t work, she eventually begged in tears.

-Please, Kaligo … just one, please? Please give me… a chance.

She tried to convince Kaligo that if it was because she was weak and fragile, it was really okay and that she would be careful. Renna really wanted to have children.

Ha, he was about to burst out laughing. This situation was absurd, and it was amazing to see himself worrying like this.

When he knew for the first time that Ashia was in this world, he just thanked her for being alive. He should have been happy with just that, but with his greed slowly rising inside him, he invited her to the Grand Duchy to see her up close once more. He just wanted a confirmation that time: have you been well, how are you doing now, is there no one who’s bothering you now, or is there anything that you lack? That shouldn’t count as being greedy, but no—he was greedy.

That greed eventually shook him and his resolve to see her from a distance and let her live her life fully. So now, that worry felt so ridiculous.

If only I had stopped there… If we had lived without knowing each other’s existence…

He already felt that he was losing control of himself in front of her. Even if he drank the medicine, it didn’t work at all when she was near. No matter how effective the potion was, it wasn’t to this extent… Even with the touch of a fingertip, her pulse and warmth made his desire flare.

“…”

Kaligo, who had been silently rolling his eyes slowly for a while, turned his head toward the store.

‘Renna… Can I go back? Can I live without you again? To that time I was only relieved that you existed in the same world as me and lived happily ever after … Can I go back to that time and live?’

Kaligo’s handsome face contorted in anger. He has never been more resentful to the original owner of this body than today.

Unable to guess what was Kaligo thinking, Desian leaned back on the carriage and continued speaking again. “Well, pregnancy can be prevented with a contraceptive potion… Actually, girls or whatever, shouldn’t we just enjoy them?”

Kaligo’s eyes flashed like lightning and turned to Desian.

“What a trashy b**t**d.”

“What? What did you say?”

The two men clenched their fists, raising them

“[Restraint]”

They heard Ashia’s cold voice behind them. In an instant, tiny roots came out between the cracks on the stone floor and quickly tied them up.

“Wh-what is this!”

While Desian twisted his body in bewilderment, Kaligo looked at Ashia with a relatively calm expression. Ashia crossed her arms on her chest as she looked down on the two men from the stairs pathetically.

(A) “What the hell are you doing in front of someone else’s sacred place of business.”

(K) “Ashia.”

(A) “It’s noisy. The important thing now is that the two of you are disrupting business. You’re rude and disrespectful.”

(K) “…”

(D) “…”

‘If you want to fight, fight in a secluded place; it’s ugly to see two grown-ups fighting.’

Ashia clicked her tongue and went back to the store.

Desian, who was staring blankly at the place where she disappeared, let out a sigh. “…Wow. I think I understand why you’re clinging to her. I just got goosebumps.”

“…”

It was fortunate that they were tied into a corner of the alley where people rarely passed by, but they became a spectacle to the rare people that did.

The Crown Prince and the Grand Duke of the empire were famous.

Time passed slowly, but Ashia’s magic showed no signs of weakening.

With the cold wind of midwinter, large snowflakes fell lightly on the heads of the two men who were rooted on the ground like trees.

(D) “Ugh, it’s cold. Now stop playing around and undo this.” Desian shook his chin and looked at Kaligo.

(K) “…”

(D) “I said undo this.”

(K) “I can’t.”

(D) “What?”

(K) “I can’t.”

(D) “What nonsense. If you can’t, who will solve this?” Desian whined endlessly.

Either way, Kaligo ignored Desian’s voice, frozen in the cold, and only looked towards Ashia’s shop. He thought that it didn’t matter at all if he stayed up all night like this because he never got cold anyway.

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