Chapter 178:

Chapter 178:

Garuel Monzasi, a knight whom Cadel could not even attempt to recruit when he was leading the mercenary corps.

‘I’ll take him in right now and suck the honeydew out of him.’

He was much happier at the opportunity to recruit a healer than at being promoted to the Knight Order. Cadel wondered whether he was a materialistic person or a simple and honest person.

“Ah, Sir Cadel.”

An outdoor corridor led to the banquet hall, where Garuel, leaning against a pillar, spotted Cadel and waved lightly. Cadel forced the corners of his mouth to twitch and made his way over to Garuel.

The appointment ceremony was over, but the banquet was not. Normally, the hosts of the banquet, the Scarlet Scales Knight Order, would have lingered as long as they could, meeting various people, but Cadel had kept his promise to Garuel and left the banquet hall immediately. Since he had told them in advance, Van and Lydon were also free to disperse.

“Let’s get out of here. You never know when you’re going to get caught hanging around.”

As they made their way out of the castle, a carriage pulled up in front of the gates. Naturally, with Cadel inside, Garuel signaled the coachman to start.

“Where are we going now?”

“Now that the appointment ceremony is over, I need to get paid for my help.”

“What....... You’re not trying to sell me something, are you?”

“No way. I’m the type of person who has to get my hands on precious things.”

He slyly rolled his eyes lazily in front of Cadel, who looked full of suspicion.

“I got a nice room.”

“A room......?”

“The price I want is one night with you, my dear Sir. And I plan to get it there.”

Nice room, one night.

Cadel was stunned for a moment, trying to process the implications. The pleasant sound of Garuel’s laughter ringing in his ears was slowly fading away like a hallucination.

* * *

“Are you sure you want to drink with me today?”

Garuel refilled the glass across from him, sending him a coy glance. Cadel nodded meekly, but couldn’t keep the stiff smile off his face. He couldn’t relax, his body and mind attaching impure meaning to Garuel’s every gesture, every glance.

‘Get a grip, man. He’s probably just saying he wants to stay up all night and get drunk with me. I’m sure he’s just joking because he’s always been good at saying weird things. What am I bothering with all this for?’

As Cadel raised his glass, trying to compose himself, Garuel’s wine bottle clinked lightly against his own. Ever since they entered the room, his gaze has remained on the corner of Cadel’s stiff mouth.

“Are you nervous?”

“......Me? I’m not nervous. Not at all.”

“Your hands are shaking too much. Do you have hand tremors?”

Although his hands were shaking so much that one could believe it was a tremor, Cadel just snorted and emptied his glass in one go. Setting the glass down with a clatter, he turned to Garuel, who was watching him with a smirk.

“I was shaking because it was heavy, it was heavy, you hear.”

“Your hands shake because your wine glass is heavy?”

“Yes. I’m just as fragile as I look.”

Is admitting that you’re nervous worse than declaring that you’re weak? It was a pride that couldn’t seem to be shaken. Garuel raised an eyebrow in interest and refilled Cadel’s empty glass.

Uncomfortable with the awkwardness of the situation, Cadel drained his glass repeatedly, right after it was poured.

“I must have a lot of alcohol in my system.”

“Drink as much as you can.”

“Have you ever been drunk?”

“You agreed to pay whatever the price was. I feel guilty when you’re stiff like this.”

“......What are you trying to do?”

“What are you envisioning?”

Cadel pursed his lips at the sincere gaze, and he racked his brain furiously, trying to think of a way out of this situation. So desperate was he that the sound of his mind racing could be heard by Garuel.

After a short silence, Cadel tugged on Garuel’s arm. He looked up at him, his eyes pleading.

“Don’t do this.”

“......Do what?”

“I want to see you for a long time. A pure lifesaver without any hesitation.”

Garuel felt the hand on his arm tighten. A look of desperation, of pleading, made Garuel’s mouth fall open, but not out of guilt, of course.

‘Why are you provoking people like this?’

Cadel had no idea how fervently he was fueling one man’s sadism. He shouldn’t have known. Because if he did, Garuel would never be able to defeat him.

“So, what should I not do? I can’t think of anything.”

Garuel gently brushed his fingers across Cadel’s wrist as he gripped his arm. The small touch sent a shiver down his spine.

He grabbed the hand that was about to fall away and pulled Cadel up. The force was so strong that Cadel’s upper body tilted.

Garuel swept his eyes over Cadel’s face as he drew closer. The terrified face looked as if Cadel might spit out something at any moment, but it was impossible to tell if it would be a shout or a tear.

“I need you to tell me in detail. You’re smart, Sir. Tell me one by one. What should I not do and why should I not do that? Please make me understand.”

Actually, there was nothing Garuel wanted to hear at this point. He just wanted to dig a little deeper into the man in front of him.

Garuel stared into Cadel’s eyes, which were shifting slightly, and slowly bent down. However, he passed Cadel’s bewildered face and landed his forehead against Cadel’s shoulder in a gesture of grief. The clear sound of his ragged breathing struck a nerve.

“......Don’t.”

At the tremor in Cadel’s voice, Garuel bit his lip, giving up on a response. His hesitation was fleeting. He released his grip on Cadel’s hand and leaned in deeply. Then he slipped his arms around his waist and under his knees, lifting Cadel up in one swift motion.

Cadel sucked in a short breath at the unexpected turn of events, instinctively wrapping his arms around Garuel’s neck to keep from falling, but even that didn’t last long.

His body snapped out of it just as quickly as the feeling of being lifted had come in, and he felt something fluffy against his back. Cadel realized that he had been placed on the bed in the blink of an eye.

Garuel whispered into Cadel’s stunned face.

“I won’t know unless you tell me. And since I don’t know, I have no choice but to continue.”

Cadel flinched as if on fire, unwrapping his arms from around Garuel’s neck and squeezing his shoulder, which was pressed against him.

“Please, please wait.”

Garuel’s purple eyes, which were originally dark in color, glowed unusually dark today. Even though only one side was exposed, the emotions stirring within it were clearly revealed.

Desire. It was a reflection of the thirst he was feeling. It was hard for Cadel to accept, his impure desires, and the fact that the object of those desires was him and no one else.

He had never in his life thought that he would be the object of desire by a person of the same gender, or that he would be able to fulfill that desire. A light kiss or a hug was fine. He could accept that. But nothing more.

“It’s too...... too fast.”

“......Fast?”

Cadel nodded vigorously at the blunt question. Garuel stared at him, unmoved by the force that pushed him away. He lifted the hand that had been supporting his weight and gently swept a hand through Cadel’s disheveled hair. It spread like a painting on the white sheets, and his irregular breathing rustled with it.

“Your men have treated you too kindly.”

Muttering to himself, Garuel smiled languidly.

“Well then, shall we take it slow? According to your own pace, my dear Sir.”