CH 43

♛

He turned the hand that was holding Yi-Gyeol’s neck to the side and laid his body upright. He got on top of him and looked down, watching him quietly. Yi-Gyeol’s face, with his own shadow, looked so serene. Even though he was caught in his grasp and in a situation where he did not know when he would die, he abandoned everything and slept like a person without a care in the world.

Sethian’s face gradually descended and touched Yi-Gyeol’s lips. He grabbed his chin with his hand, forced his lips apart, and pushed his tongue in. A sticky sound of two tongues mingling and the mixing of saliva inside the mouth could be heard. A faint moan escaped Yi-Gyeol’s mouth as if he was short of breath, and his throat slowly moved up and down. The slender neck that was caught in Sethian’s grasp trembled and swallowed the mixed saliva. He could clearly feel his life flowing into him.

The warning sound in his head grew louder. It’s like a soundbox that’s screeching and reverberating all over his whole body.

Ignoring the warning, he released the hand that was wrapped around Yi-Gyeol’s neck. The heat of his grip transmitted to his neck, he could see it blooming into a crimson color. The burning color that remained on his pure white body felt like shackles he personally engraved on him.

‘My shackle. My trace.’

Thinking so, the strange sound that resonated throughout his body disappeared in an instant.

Sethian’s lips moved towards Yi-Gyeol’s neck. He buried his lips and sucked the delicate flesh hard. Feeling that it wasn’t enough, he nibbled with his teeth as well.

“Mmm….”

Yi-Gyeol’s eyebrows frowned slightly and a groan flowed through his lips. He didn’t open his eyes, but his breath got a little hot, perhaps because of the aftermath of the kiss.

When he took off the lips that had been buried on his neck, the red mark he had engraved remained quite clear. It was only a red mark, but it seemed like a sign that he was the one who holds the power between them and a brand of his domination.

The corners of Sethian’s lips raised as he wiped the red traces left on Yi-Gyeol’s neck with his fingertips.

There was no need to think too hard.

In order to maintain his body and rule over everything, he definitely needed the throne.

Once he ascended the throne, he would build a castle for him and put him in shackles and lock him up. Secretly, without recognizing that he is trapped, just like how he is unaware of the existence of the red traces like now.

⋆♚⋆♛⋆♚⋆

Sethian had suddenly become busy since a few days ago.

Every time Yi-Gyeol opened his eyes in the morning, he was often in bed alone, and they could eat together only once or twice out of five times. Even so, he still came to him from time to time out of nowhere and kissed him into confusion followed by gnawing his neck with a tingling sound, leaving a trace. Now, if you count the number of new marks on his neck without having to count the times he received vitality, that is the number of times they have kissed. He asked him why he kept leaving marks on his neck, but he just raised the corners of his mouth slightly and didn’t answer.

Yesterday, when Sethian returned before he could even go to bed after a long time, he asked why he was so busy. Sethian, who was about to kiss him out of the blue without prior notice, said that it was time to start preparing, and swallowed his lips.

He doesn’t know what it is, but as a result of looking around in his soul state, it was clear that Sethian was busy. He doesn’t know exactly what he was busy with, but if you think about it, it was only natural.

Sethian is the Crown Prince. It is said that he would not necessarily become the emperor, but he must be the closest person to the position. He felt sorry and grateful to think that he kept taking time for himself even though it was natural for him to be busy like now from the beginning, so he couldn’t say anything to him.

He didn’t grumble or complain about why he was busy. He always greets him with a bright face every time Sethian comes back.

In the meantime, it was already a few days later after Roa checked his condition once more in the agreed after a week.

“Crown Prince Sethian recommended taking a stroll.”

Yi-Gyeol, who was standing by the window and looking out, turned around in surprise at the words Lenox had said.

“Can I really do that?” When Lenox nodded, a bright smile surfaced on his face and he looked excited.

Lenox put on the overcoat he had brought in advance and scanned Yi-Gyeol’s body with his eyes.

Although he was still skinny, he had already gained quite a bit of weight, so it is now a body that couldn’t be connected to any negative modifiers thereafter. If you insist on attaching something, the expression being ‘slender’ would be appropriate.

But what surprised Lenox the most was Yi-Gyeol’s face. His body still needs more flesh and muscles, but his face already had a moderate amount of fat on it. Previously, his cheeks were hollow and there was no flesh around his eyes, so he looked lacking. Whereas, it was quite nice to look at him now, and his distinct features shone more clearly. It was now an undeniable fact that he quite stood out because of his exotic appearance.

Lenox, who was briefly distracted by Yi-Gyeol’s face, remembered what Sethian had told him to do as he straightened his clothes.

‘If there are any bastards who dares to hang around, kill them.’

It was a command that was uttered with killing intent, so he gets chills every time he thinks of it.

He was very curious about the man in front of him, whom Sethian cherished, but neither Lenox nor Kirsty nor anyone else dared to ask about him.

‘Curiosity shortens a person’s lifespan.’

No one is ignorant of what those words mean. Due to Sethian’s cold orders, everyone in the Emerald Castle knows not to be curious about the ‘man with an exotic appearance’. And it was the same with his close aides, Lenox and Kirsty.

“Where are we going?”

Yi-Gyeol, fully dressed in a jacket, asked in an excited voice. He is obviously a grown-up young man, but he’s so cute and bright that it makes Lenox smile without even realizing it.

“We will go to the garden outside the castle. It’s your first stroll, so let’s not walk too long.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Seeing Yi-Gyeol leading without even knowing the way, Lenox couldn’t help but smile.

But he somehow finds his way so well.

‘This should be the first time he’s been out of the bedroom though….’

He couldn’t help but wonder. Not only the Emerald Castle but all the castles were composed of complicated roads resembling a maze. So he heard that servants and maids who enter the castle for the first time spend nearly a week just memorizing the road thoroughly using the internal map before they start working. Nevertheless, its structure is so confusing that even he takes the wrong way himself sometimes, so it’s surprising that Yi-Gyeol could find the way on his own like now.

He thought that walking inside the castle was also a stroll so he let him take the lead, thinking that they would wander for a long time, but they came out of the castle without a single blockage and headed straight to the garden.

When Yi-Gyeol reached the garden, he looked around at the flowers in full bloom and exclaimed. He had already seen them in his OOBE state. There was actually no distinction whether he was looking at all kinds of colorful flowers, simple flowers, or weeds in his soul state, so there was really nothing new about it.

Nevertheless, the reason why he exclaimed was because of the scent that filled the tip of his nose in the fully bloomed garden. Unlike seeing the flowers with only his eyes in the state of soul, now that he can even smell their scent, his heart is simply overwhelmed.

It was a scent he hadn’t smelled in over 5 years. There were obviously purple irises in his musty and dark room, but they were just faded artificial flowers that had no scent at all. Until he had gotten sick, he didn’t feel even a single hint of inspiration from the scent of flowers, but now, even though he’s just passing by like this, his lungs feel refreshed and feel better as if he had inhaled oxygen.

Like a person possessed by something, Yi-Gyeol, who couldn’t take his eyes off the flowers and sluggishly moved, suddenly opened his eyes wide when he saw a white butterfly passing in front of him.

He thought it was just a butterfly staying on a fragrant flower at first. However, as far as Yi-Gyeol knows, there was only one white butterfly that gives off a soft light like the one just now.

‘Why do I see a soul?’

He was rather taken aback. Originally, he could only see butterflies when he was in the soul state due to the OOBE phenomenon. He thought it was only natural since he was in the same soul state as them, but he is inside his body at the moment. It’s the first time he’s ever seen a butterfly even though he’s not in that condition, so he blinked several times wondering if he had seen it wrong.

A butterfly flapping its wings is slowly flying somewhere. Yi-Gyeol wanted to check again whether the butterfly really was a soul. It would be a bit disappointing if he was wrong and it’s just a simple white butterfly, but if it was a real soul, it would be very strange. Perhaps he could hear the voices of the souls himself like Sethian does, or see the souls directly like one of his brothers.

Before he knew it, all the attention that was on the flowers just a moment ago was now focused on the white butterfly flying in the distance. Yi-Gyeol walked a little faster and chased the butterfly. Fortunately, its movement was slow, so he was able to get close to it in no time.

The white butterfly landed on a large red rose. It looks like a real butterfly that repeatedly spread its wings slowly and folded them. However, Yi-Gyeol, who came close enough to clearly distinguish the difference, was convinced that the butterfly was actually a real ‘soul’.

The moment he slowly lifted the tip of his finger towards the white butterfly with a curious heart.

“Joo Yi-Gyeol-nim, over there is…!”

With Lenox’s urgent voice, someone else’s hand suddenly reached out from the side and grabbed his wrist.

“Who are you?”

He turned his head, startled by the familiar voice. It was none other than the second prince, Zair, who tightly grabbed Yi-Gyeol’s wrist.