It Begins with Isaac Chapter 19.1

The car, racing over rugged terrain, shuddered violently with each jolt. For hours, its wheels spun futilely, as if they might detach, before barely inching forward. Asil stretched his stiff upper body and peered out the window. Beyond the narrow path, barely wide enough for a single car, the landscape was entirely forest. Despite driving endlessly through the dense woodland, the Grand Duke’s castle remained nowhere in sight, not even as a distant speck.

As the wheels caught in a crevice of small stones and spun uselessly again, Valery let out a sigh through clenched teeth. Cain, the driver, stepped out and pushed the car from behind with all his might. Asil flung open the door to assist Cain, but Valery’s firm grip on his wrist kept him rooted, squirming uncomfortably as if sitting on thorns.

Cain returned, took the wheel, and drove on. Valery, who had been rifling through documents, leaned back deeply into his seat. Seeing him stare into space, lost in thought without a word, Asil drew the pistol from his side and meticulously cleaned its barrel. He hoped focusing on something would ease the faint nausea creeping up, but moving his hands only seemed to churn his stomach further. In the end, Asil stuck his head out the window. Breathing in the crisp air repeatedly calmed his stomach, if only for a moment.

Asil had never suffered motion sickness on horseback or in a carriage, but the prolonged shaking in the confined space of the car made it hard to quell his nausea voluntarily. Cain and Valery, accustomed to traversing the empire by car, appeared unaffected on the surface. Yet, they too failed to hide their irritation whenever the car jolted. The road to the castle seemed arduous even for them. Valery’s expression, in particular, was not just tense but filled with a sour displeasure.

When the car lurched violently again, Asil, who had leaned so far out the window that he might have tumbled out, let out a stifled “Ugh!” as he fought back the urge to vomit. Valery pulled him back by the nape of his neck and patted his back. Stroking Asil’s back, hoping to settle his stomach, Valery suddenly shouted at Cain.

“At this rate, someone will collapse before we arrive!”

“My apologies.”

Cain no longer felt unjustly blamed. He apologized mechanically, but Valery, preoccupied with Asil’s pale face, paid no attention to Cain’s response.

As Valery gently rubbed his back, Asil seemed to feel better, and Valery’s expression softened at the sight of Asil accepting his touch. When others vomited nearby, Valery typically cast them out without mercy, barking at them to walk back on their own. Cain, who remembered Valery’s cold voice and indifferent face all too well, felt a chill watching through the rearview mirror as Valery leaned forward, craning his neck to check Asil’s complexion.

By the way, according to the map, the destination was only two hours from the capital, but the unexpectedly rough terrain slowed their progress significantly. After hours of monotonous driving through the same forest path, Cain glanced back in shock at Asil, who, with a retching “Ugh!” had soaked Valery’s shirt with vomit. Valery, unfazed, stripped off his thin summer shirt, rolled it up, and tossed it out the window. Thankfully, he was wearing a short-sleeved undershirt.

“Sorry… ugh… my apologies.”

Asil mumbled, covering his mouth to suppress another wave of nausea.

“It is fine. It is not something to apologize for.”

Valery kicked Cain’s seat, signaling him to stop the car. As Cain quickly pulled over, Valery led Asil outside. Asil darted toward the forest, grabbed a tree, and bent over. With a loud “Urk!” water poured from his mouth. The water he had been sipping incessantly to combat motion sickness mixed with bile, erupting noisily. While Asil retched, Valery snatched the map from Cain.

“Is this our location?”

“Yes, sir.”

“We might as well walk. Take the car ahead and announce our arrival. I will walk with Asil.”

“Yes, sir.”

Walking would mean arriving past evening. Thinking it better to go ahead and explain the situation, Cain drove off immediately after Valery’s order. As the car faded into the distance, Asil, still clutching the tree and vomiting, felt a large hand rubbing his back and slowly straightened up.

“I am sorry. My stomach was just…”

“Are you feeling better now? Can you walk?”

“Yes. You should take the car, Colonel. I will walk… uh…”

“I already sent Cain ahead. Come on, get up.”

Valery slid his hand under Asil’s armpit, helping him stand, and handed him a water bottle. Asil rinsed his mouth with the nearly empty bottle and took a deep breath. Having emptied his stomach and filled his lungs with fresh air, his nausea thankfully subsided.

Asil followed Valery, who led the way. The sound of their steady footsteps echoed through the forest. Asil occasionally glanced at Valery’s back. His silence suggested he was lost in thought again. Throughout the journey to the castle, where the Grand Duke was recuperating on Princess Bride’s orders, Valery often wore this sharp, preoccupied expression, mulling over something.

Even with Asil nearby, Valery sometimes grimaced fiercely. Unlike before, when he would smooth out his scowl in Asil’s presence, he was clearly in an unusual state. Was he doing it now? Asil quickened his pace to walk beside Valery, and Valery, who had been staring ahead with furrowed brows, glanced down at him.

“What? Want me to carry you?”

“No, sir.”

Valery’s brow relaxed. As Asil, hurrying, tripped over a protruding stone and stumbled, Valery quickly grabbed his arm to steady him.

“Such vile taste.”

“Sir?”

“That man, I mean. Our honorable Grand Duke. He enjoys watching others struggle.”

Asil clamped his mouth shut, fearing someone might overhear Valery’s brazen insult of the Emperor’s younger brother and the empire’s commander-in-chief. Fortunately, they were deep in the forest. On this arduous path, akin to a pilgrimage for ascetics, only Valery and Asil were present.

“So, under the pretext of recuperation, he bought this abandoned castle in the middle of nowhere. He believes the path to visit the Grand Duke must be grueling and inconvenient. That his presence is so difficult to reach, that those who brave such a treacherous journey should rejoice as if meeting the Emperor himself.”

“You would not understand, but that is the kind of man he is. Do not be shocked if he is different from what you imagined.”

Rumors about the Grand Duke and his son abounded in the empire. Of course, speculations about the relationships among the imperial family were generally unreliable. For many in the empire, meeting the Emperor or any royal was the ultimate life goal. The populace painted them as ethereal figures, inflating their stories like clouds and spinning tales to their liking. An old man claimed the royals, bound by thick blood, shared unbreakable bonds, while a young man argued they competed for power their entire lives, their relationships predictably fraught.

People spoke only what they wanted to believe. Thus, despite hearing long ago that the Grand Duke and his son’s relationship was utterly deplorable, Asil had never taken such rumors at face value. As if mocking him, Valery did not cease insulting his father. Listening to Valery, Asil realized the source of the irritation that had gripped him for days was none other than Valery’s father.

“I have no time to waste on that man.”

Valery’s inner thoughts slipped out abruptly. He pursed his lips, perhaps embarrassed at revealing his heart to Asil, and fell silent. Knowing what Valery meant by “time,” Asil quickened his pace in awkwardness, striding past him.

A month’s grace. The final chance to sever the ill-fated bond with Valery. This month was not just Valery’s opportunity but Asil’s as well. If Valery failed to change Asil’s heart, Asil could leave him.

Valery would allow it. He would finally let Asil go. Even if Asil fled far beyond Valery’s reach, Valery could no longer pursue him. He could not seize Asil’s siblings, brandish them, or threaten him. He had promised. He would not do so.

“It could be a false promise.”

Honestly, Valery was not a man known for honor. If he were truly honorable, he would not have treated Asil as he did. Would a man who forced himself on others, kept them by threats, and loved possessively ever keep a promise willingly? If Asil’s heart remained an unyielding stone wall, leaving Valery only with despair, would he truly acknowledge their ill-fated bond and let Asil go gracefully?

Asil did not know. If Valery dismissed the promise as nothing, Asil would be trapped forever, unable to escape. The opportunity would cease to be one, and their ill-fated bond would deepen, leading to eternal ruin.

“Let us not hope too much.”

Asil kicked a small stone at his feet with a thud. If things went wrong, it would be no different from now. Even the worst outcome would merely resemble the present. If Valery shattered the promise after the month’s grace, Asil would only be disappointed again; nothing else would change.

But if Valery truly gave up on Asil, kept his promise, and let him go, Asil resolved to request a posting to a remote frontier, far from the capital. He would live at the empire’s edge, traveling the continent as a soldier. And when he no longer wished to be a soldier, with no one to hold him back, he would set off somewhere new. The thought of a solitary life was daunting, hard to envision, but as with the days he had endured, he would find a way to survive.

Another stone hit his toe, rolling far away. Asil’s gaze followed the stone’s low arc, bouncing along the ground. His line of sight soon wavered slightly. Valery had quietly taken his hand. Asil’s hand, swinging back and forth with each step, was firmly grasped by Valery’s strong grip, swaying in tandem. Their joined hands, trembling together, stirred a faint breeze between their bodies.

Asil did not shake off the hand, neither warm nor cold. He let Valery hold it, remaining still. He felt sweat pooling between their palms but endured the awkwardness by fidgeting his fingers, not rejecting Valery.

“Damn it, a month… Did I agree to this for nothing?”

The promise, which he had hoped for, was surely destined to shatter quickly. Had he unwittingly played into Valery’s hands by agreeing to it? Having offered a chance, he could not simply push Valery away. Suppressing the urge to scratch his itchy palm, Asil forced himself to speak. To diffuse the stiff atmosphere, he blurted out whatever came to mind. Otherwise, the sensation of Valery’s fingers gently stroking the back of his hand would feel too vividly conscious.

“Colonel, do you resemble the Grand Duke much?”

Valery, displeased that Asil brought up such a trivial man while they walked hand in hand, answered quietly.

“Very different. That man lost his legs. I am walking perfectly fine on my two feet.”

“Before he lost his legs, well…”

He toyed with the back of Asil’s hand, snug in his grasp, as he thought of the Grand Duke. It had been years since they last met face-to-face, so the image did not come readily. Instead, he recalled the Emperor. As brothers sharing blood, the Emperor and the Grand Duke were eerily similar, so Valery described the Grand Duke effortlessly. Blonde hair, blue eyes. A stern, aloof demeanor but with elegant, aristocratic features in perfect balance—a cold, handsome man. Before illness ravaged him, that was the Grand Duke’s face.

“Quite similar, in face.”

Just the face? Valery considered the Grand Duke objectively, setting aside personal feelings. In truth, he and the Grand Duke were quite alike, both outwardly and inwardly. Their tendency to view everything but themselves as inferior, their struggle to tame fiery tempers, their reckless use of force… Valery mentally listed the traits they shared. As fragments of past moments he preferred not to recall flashed like photographs in his mind, he clicked his tongue softly.

“Asil, the rumors circulating are all true.”

“The ones about my father and me having a relationship so vile it is beyond wretched.”

They are all true. Valery whispered lowly and spoke no more of the Grand Duke.

When Valery and Asil arrived at the Grand Duke’s castle, darkness had long cloaked the walls like a curtain, marking the late evening. Only upon reaching the gate did Valery release Asil’s hand. His hand, held tightly for hours, tingled. Asil clenched and unclenched his fist to restore circulation while taking in the castle.

Having lost his legs long ago, the Grand Duke traveled the empire for recuperation. He stayed briefly at renowned hot springs or built mansions in the heart of pristine nature, teeming with wildlife, to seclude himself for years. The castle, purchased a few years ago and transformed into a new retreat, was pristine and splendid, belying its age. Yet, its architectural style clearly bore the marks of time. Asil gazed up at the castle, its red bricks meticulously stacked, then glanced at the gate, which showed no sign of opening despite surely having noticed their arrival. As Valery approached the gate, curtains on the windows above the wall drew shut in unison.

“Here we go again.”

Valery grumbled in a voice split evenly between boredom and irritation. He kicked the gate forcefully, loudly calling for someone. Asil thought he was summoning Cain, who had arrived earlier, but the name shouted was unfamiliar.

“Zenyard! Open this now, or it will be like last time!”

At that moment, Asil noticed one window’s curtain slowly being drawn back. A sliver of light from the room flickered through the gap. As a beam of light traced the window, Valery, perhaps seeing it too, let out a low scoff. He shouted “Zenyard!” once more. That call seemed his final warning, as Valery caused no further commotion. Instead, he rummaged at his waist, pulled out a pistol, and aimed it skyward, firing twice with a loud “Bang! Bang!” The gunshots echoed raucously through the silent forest, devoid of human presence. Asil, mindful of the Grand Duke inside, rolled his eyes awkwardly.

“Colonel, perhaps…”

You should restrain yourself… Asil swallowed the words about to spill out. Even though the Grand Duke and Valery were father and son, their relationship, as Valery had admitted, was practically the worst. This was a provocative act. Even between a cordial father and son, such behavior would raise eyebrows, yet Valery carried it out unabashedly.

“He is feeling bold today.”

Valery chuckled emptily, raising the pistol again, this time aiming at the gate. Fortunately, Zenyard flung the gate open and greeted them in a rush before Valery could embed a bullet in the gate’s center.

“V-Valery, sir. It has been… been a while.”

Zenyard, wiping cold sweat from his brow, bowed to Valery. He was an elderly man with white hair, having served the Grand Duke’s household for thirty years. In other words, Zenyard had long endured Valery’s ferocious temperament, no less formidable than his master’s. Fearing that further defiance might lead to Valery ramming the gate with a car, as he had during his last visit, Zenyard had no choice but to rush out. Indeed, Valery had intended to summon Cain and order him to crash the car into the gate if Zenyard did not appear promptly.

“You grow bolder with age. What, did His Highness say to punish his son the moment he enters the castle?”

“No, sir! How could you say such a thing! You are the Grand Duke’s only son, how could…”

“Where is my aide who arrived earlier?”

“Well, he…”

According to Zenyard, Cain had failed to gain entry. He was likely waiting near the castle for his superior’s contact. Valery nodded cursorily, clicking his tongue. He did not bother reaching out to Cain. After all, Cain’s role in visiting the Grand Duke was merely that of a driver. Spending a night outside in this summer weather would not kill him. Following Zenyard, Valery gestured to Asil. The gate slammed shut behind them with a loud thud.

“A new aide?”

“Asil Richard. Please call me Lieutenant.”

Unable to speak casually to Valery, Zenyard, who had served the Grand Duke’s heir for years, addressed Asil, who trailed behind. As Asil introduced himself, Zenyard mumbled “Richard, Richard” under his breath, narrowing his eyes. He had heard of Asil’s notorious fame somewhere but could not recall exactly. In such an isolated place, newspapers were scarce, and radio signals were spotty, leaving him out of touch with capital news.

“You will not have cause to call the lieutenant by name. Mind your own business.”

Entering the simply decorated hall, Valery clicked his tongue irritably. He plopped onto a couch by the unused summer fireplace. Asil naturally stood beside him, but Valery pulled his wrist, making him sit next to him.

“Has His Highness retired for the night?”

“The G-Grand Duke, he…”

Asil noticed a pitiful habit of Zenyard’s. The white-haired old man stammered profusely when flustered. Having spotted this within ten minutes of meeting him, Valery surely knew it too. Valery draped his arm over the couch’s backrest, snapping his nails audibly. His lips curled into a smile, signaling Zenyard to speak truthfully. Avoiding Valery’s gaze, Zenyard muttered in a thin voice.

“He is having a late dinner in the dining hall.”

“I see. I have not eaten dinner yet either. Sharing a meal with my father after so long sounds like a fine idea. Do you not agree, Lieutenant Richard?”

“It… seems like a good idea.”

Asil was not sure it was a good idea. But knowing the response Valery expected, he gave a rote answer that drained the color from Zenyard’s face. Before Zenyard could cling to their legs, Valery stood abruptly and headed for the dining hall. Typically, a mansion’s dining room was on the first floor, and in old castles, tradition placed it opposite the hall. They crossed the hall and walked down a long corridor. Zenyard trailed behind, half-sobbing, but the poor old man dared not touch Valery, only stomping his feet in distress.

From the dark corridor’s end, light flickered, coloring the walls and floor. Even dining alone, the Grand Duke never ate in his room, always lighting candles on the grand dining table and demanding at least five dishes. He relished others’ toil on his behalf, viewing it as compensation for his lost legs. Valery inwardly acknowledged he knew the Grand Duke too well.

“Your Highness.”

The Grand Duke, about to put a piece of perfectly roasted vegetable in his mouth, turned toward the dining hall’s entrance. Asil, standing behind Valery, looked at his father and opened his mouth in shock. In Asil’s imagination, the Grand Duke was a towering, domineering middle-aged man with a fierce demeanor, much like Valery.

“You seem to be eating well, at least.”

But the Grand Duke before him… Asil scanned the gaunt hand gripping the fork and the sunken cheeks trembling as they glared venomously at Valery. His face, shadowed darkly down to the cheekbones, looked not middle-aged but more haggard than an old man nearing death. The Grand Duke raised a skeletal arm, pointing not at Valery but at Zenyard, cowering at the back, his voice quivering.

“I told you not to let him in!”

“I am sorry, so sorry! Your Highness, I am sorry…”

Even his bellowing voice carried a faint metallic rasp.

“Get this wretch out of my sight, now! Or I, I myself will…”

“Do it yourself? With those legs?”

“You, you bastard!”

“Finish your meal. I need to fill my stomach too.”

Valery mocked the Grand Duke, who screamed as if spitting blood, watching the scene like a theatrical act. His sneering smile and the sharp scorn from his lips drove the Grand Duke to madness. The Grand Duke pounded the table with his fists, summoning the servants, but they lingered at the entrance, wary of Valery’s gaze. That was the one thing the Grand Duke hated most in the world: not being feared himself, but his son being feared. And that scene was unfolding before his eyes again.

“Get out!”

“I will stay the night. I need to show Princess Bride I made this much effort…”

A crash rang out. Asil stared blankly as a dish, hurled at Valery’s forehead, hit the table’s edge and shattered. Unable to contain his rage, the Grand Duke had thrown a glass dish at his heir. Asil examined the scattered fragments. Though the Grand Duke looked frail, his strength surpassed that of many active soldiers. Had Valery not quickly turned his head, his forehead would surely have been bloodied.

Valery acted as if such incidents were routine, unbothered. He calmly checked that Asil was unharmed, then reached for the plate in front of the Grand Duke. The plate, with its rolling vegetables, flew toward the wall behind the Grand Duke and broke.

“Gasp!”

The servants crowding the entrance gasped in unison. Asil did too.

“Father.”

Smashed tomatoes, staining the wall red, dripped to the floor. The roasted vegetables, reduced to mush, sullied the dining hall like vomit.

“Stop just saying you want me gone quickly… Put in some effort.”

“Damn it, the sooner this conversation ends, the sooner I can leave, right?”

After the father-son argument, akin to a physical brawl, subsided, dishes and food were set before Valery and Asil. Asil desperately wished to avoid dining with this father and son, but he could not escape Zenyard’s meddling.

Asil rubbed his sweat-soaked back against the chair. He wanted to throttle his past self for agreeing to accompany Valery.

“You did not have to come. It is just one day…”

Even as he said this, Valery’s face betrayed that he could not bear to waste a single hour, let alone a day. He had no intention of squandering the month’s chance Asil had given him. If Asil had insisted on staying at the mansion, Valery could not have forced him, but he sent a pitiful signal with desperate eyes. Facing those trembling eyes, Asil found it hard to refuse to join him.

The image of Valery pleading for a chance lingered faintly, like a delicate pattern. Asil, too flustered to respond then, sensed resignation emanating from Valery as he passed by powerlessly. Though resignation belonged to Asil, not Valery, he seemed long accustomed to it, striving to act nonchalant.

Recalling Valery, who had cast aside noble pride to beg desperately, Asil decided to live as the person Valery wanted for this one month. Whether he left after the month or not, he would never again comply so obediently. Asil resolved to show Valery kindness. If it blurred the haunting image of his pleas, it was worth doing.

“Still, I should not have come…”

Asil aggressively dismantled a roasted perch and stuffed it into his mouth. As Valery’s aide, he could not leave the table early even if he finished quickly, but focusing on the food helped him ignore the presence of the Grand Duke and Valery, if only slightly.

Fortunately, there were no more shouting matches or flying dishes as before. The Grand Duke and Valery ate silently. The sounds of chewing, clinking cutlery, and gulping wine filled the table. Asil’s mind gradually eased. Having finished the perch, he reached for the mushroom stew.

“Stop meeting with the Third Prince.”

Having drained his wine, Valery finally broached the main topic.

“Did you think I would not know?”

The Grand Duke was in contact with the Third Prince. Learning of this, Bride ordered Valery to persuade the Grand Duke. Though retired from the front lines, the Grand Duke still held the rank of commander-in-chief, a powerful figure. If he and Valery diverged in allegiance, the officers would be caught in confusion, potentially splitting the faction if they let their guard down.

Asil, learning the purpose of this sudden visit for the first time, froze with his spoon mid-air, unable to hide his shock and halting his meal.

“Her Highness is greatly displeased.”

“Since when did you care about others’ feelings?”

The Grand Duke, who unapologetically called the princess a “thing,” wiped his hands on the white cloth on his lap.

“You should stop your own pointless antics. You do not seriously think Bride is fit to be Emperor, do you? All she can do is curry favor with His Majesty and greedily eye positions beyond her station.”

“Haha, did you not once say her ambition was admirable? You doted on her as your favorite niece… Strange.”

“Unlike her, the Third Prince is calm and sharp, so he will make a fine ruler.”

“I did not know you were so interested in Dius’s child. I thought you could not even remember his name.”

Each time the Grand Duke spoke, Valery’s voice, laced with mocking laughter, followed closely. Despite his polite tone, his insolent responses pinpointed contradictions in the Grand Duke’s words, flaunting them to his face. The Grand Duke’s face, which had briefly regained composure, soured further with each exchange.

Asil kicked Valery’s shin under the chair. This was no ordinary figure but the commander-in-chief. To Valery, he might be a despised father, but to Asil, he was a superior—a distant, intimidating superior whose gaze he feared to meet. Yet, despite Asil’s kicks and stomps signaling disrespect, Valery did not stop taunting the Grand Duke. Asil, realizing for the first time how talkative Valery could be, glanced at him incredulously as he prattled on before the Grand Duke. He worried that dishes might soon fly across the table again, shattering into pieces.

“You bastard! Do my words sound like a joke? If you were born my son, you should obey my orders!”

Veins bulging on his forehead and temples, the Grand Duke seized a knife and hurled it at Valery. The utensil, a weapon in all but name, sliced through the air in a straight line toward Valery’s chest. Had Valery not caught the blade, it would have surely inflicted a deep wound, given its speed and force.

Valery, with a red gash across his palm, quietly placed the knife on the table. Ignoring the blood beading on his wound, he grinned broadly, provoking the Grand Duke further.

“Be honest for once.”

“What?”

“It is not because Bride is unfit or because you genuinely favor Dius. Do I not know you? I know you are desperate to sabotage my affairs. Why? Because your old comrades no longer obey you? Of course not. Why would they listen to an old man holed up in this backwater, barely alive or dead? Those fat-bottomed geezers know exactly where to plant their seats for profit… They know sticking with you only means reminiscing about decades-old glories and wallowing in the past.”

Throughout his speech, Valery remained calm. His voice stayed even, his expression a smile meant solely to enrage the Grand Duke. His tone grew increasingly irreverent, but it was not a sign of lost composure. His insolence was clearly calculated. Instead of a knife, he was tearing the Grand Duke apart with words. He continued his leisurely insults until the Grand Duke wheeled his chair right in front of him.

The Grand Duke positioned his wheelchair before Valery’s chair. His hand shot up, striking Valery’s left cheek with a resounding “Thwack!” Asil, watching anxiously, jumped to his feet in shock. It was not merely a slap but a brutal blow that crushed flesh. The one-sided assault did not stop there. The Grand Duke struck Valery’s cheek repeatedly, targeting the same spot obsessively, until Valery’s left face swelled red and his lip split grotesquely.

“You! How dare you! How dare you, to me, to me!”

His shrill, cracking voice echoed through the room. Asil could not pinpoint which of Valery’s words had so thoroughly provoked the Grand Duke. But as the enraged Grand Duke, unable to restrain himself, grabbed the knife before Valery and raised it high, Asil stepped forward, wedging himself between Valery and the Grand Duke. Meeting the Grand Duke’s glare from his low-seated position for the first time, Asil spoke cautiously.

“Your Highness, please calm down. There are many watching.”

The servants at the entrance, hearing Asil’s words, quickly averted their eyes. The gazes that had been covertly watching the Grand Duke discipline his grown heir like a lowly subordinate scattered. Instead of dismissing the servants, the Grand Duke shouted at Asil.

“What is wrong with me disciplining my son in my own castle? I, the commander-in-chief, punishing an insolent subordinate—what is the issue?”

“Where does a mere aide dare block my path? Move aside!”

Though Asil had instinctively stepped in front of Valery, he was somewhat flustered. The Grand Duke had completely lost his reason. Asil had thought his intervention might prompt the Grand Duke to regain control, perhaps take a deep breath, but instead, the Grand Duke fueled his blazing anger like pouring oil on a wildfire. The knife, now aimed at Asil instead of Valery, gleamed as if it would stab him.

“Lieutenant, step back. You will get hurt.”

From behind, Valery pushed Asil’s waist aside. His speech was slurred, his mouth full of blood. As Valery spat blood and saliva onto an empty plate, the Grand Duke’s knife soared toward him fiercely. Asil, staring blankly from the side, saw Valery sitting still, lips curling without any intent to dodge or defend. Asil swiftly reached out, his hand clamping tightly around the Grand Duke’s wrist. The knife fell limply under the forceful restraint.

“You madman, how dare you… Let go this instant!”

“My apologies.”

Asil glanced at Valery, offering a perfunctory apology to the Grand Duke. Valery looked up at Asil with uncharacteristic shock, as if he had never imagined Asil would intervene. His brow furrowed slightly, his gaze urging Asil to stop meddling. Feeling irritation rise, Asil’s annoyance grew.

“Let go! I said let go! Are you defying my orders?”

“My apologies, but… I am not Your Highness’s aide, am I?”

The Grand Duke was the empire’s most powerful military figure. His orders should undoubtedly take precedence. This was insubordination of the highest order, but Asil, feeling his irritation swell, clicked his tongue softly.

Yes, he was irritated. At the Grand Duke, who seemed satisfied only by publicly humiliating Valery, and at Valery, who meekly let his face be battered. Had he not called their relationship wretched? Seeing it in person, it was worse. The father and son loathed each other. Then they should exchange minimal courtesies and part ways. Why was Valery passively accepting such brutal violence? Asil could not understand him.

“He is so good at beating others, yet he takes it so well from his father.”

Valery, typically brazen even before the princess, was unsurprisingly irreverent toward the Grand Duke. Asil had inwardly fretted that a single slap might provoke Valery to commit outright rebellion, but seeing him sit passively, blood dripping from his split lip without a hint of resistance, Valery felt like a stranger. For someone with his temperament to endure this just because it was his father was absurd…

“You and your aide… all so insolent.”

Lost in thought, Asil failed to shake off the Grand Duke, who grabbed his collar and yanked him down. When a coarse palm sharply struck his face, Asil stared at the Grand Duke with bewildered eyes. The stinging pain spread, but Asil did not look away from the Grand Duke’s blue eyes. Gazing into them, Asil briefly pondered what Valery and he had in common. For one, their appearances were vastly different. Aside from blonde hair, the ailing Grand Duke and the robust, almost suspiciously healthy Valery seemed like complete strangers.

“Their bad tempers… yes, that is similar, but this one is somehow more…”

“You bastard, how dare you glare at me!”

As the Grand Duke swung his hand again toward Asil’s cheek, a voice cut through.

“Damn it, are you insane?”

Asil, bent awkwardly with his collar gripped by the Grand Duke, staggered upright. Valery, grabbing Asil’s shoulder and pulling him back, stepped forward, closing the distance to the Grand Duke in a single stride.

“Colonel…!”

Valery raised a hand so large it could instill fear with a mere spread of fingers, swinging it toward the Grand Duke’s cheek. Asil, horrified, grabbed Valery’s wrist and held on. Thanks to this, the Grand Duke narrowly avoided a blow that could have broken his neck and caused a nosebleed, freezing like a statue with wide eyes and an open mouth. Words like “How dare you, you, how could you, truly…” spilled from his lips like a mantra. Unable to believe Valery’s actions, his pale blue eyes darted wildly.

Valery turned to Asil, who clung to his wrist. Asil, his cheek red with handprints, shook his head rapidly, urging him to stop. Valery’s yellow eyes lingered on Asil’s swelling face before shifting to the Grand Duke, glinting coldly without any attempt to hide their icy chill.

“You still do not know your place. Have you lost your mind, living alone in this forsaken corner?”

“What did you say?”

“Surely you do not actually think of me as your son just because I call you Father…”

Valery twisted his wrist free from Asil’s grip. He raised his hand high, exuding a menacing aura like a well-honed weapon.

“With no joy in life, you need this kind of amusement, right? Damn it, I let you have your way, thinking you need this to cling to life, but…”

“Ugh… Argh!”

Instead of striking the Grand Duke’s cheek, Valery, unable to contain his anger, grabbed the Grand Duke’s trembling, bony wrist tightly.

“Live long, yes? Hold onto that commander-in-chief title for ages, revel in being the Grand Duke to your heart’s content…”

“Ack! Argh!”

“So I do not have to deal with more annoyances. As it is, your useless reputation and endless recuperation leave me cleaning up the mess you have strewn everywhere…”

Like a shackle used to restrain a hardened criminal, Valery’s fingers clamped the Grand Duke’s wrist, shaking it mercilessly. The force, as if to crush the wrist bones, made any movement agonizing, as though the entire arm would shatter. Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, sweat pouring down, the Grand Duke could not hide his agitation before Valery.

To the Grand Duke, Valery was more a subordinate than a son. A being he could punish or wield at will. Even for trivial faults, Valery accepted harsh reprimands as deserved punishment. Raised with fists from a young age, the Grand Duke believed Valery’s ingrained obedience persisted into adulthood to some degree. Though his words grew increasingly insolent, a shout and a slap silenced any defiance, and ordering him to kneel for a beating was met with compliance. After losing his legs, no matter how irreverent those around him became, the Grand Duke was unfazed. He was the only one who could treat the empire’s young war god, the next commander-in-chief, so recklessly.

“That bastard Valery is too scared of me to even flinch.”

The Grand Duke had never once regretted raising him not as a father but training him as a superior. Each time the hulking man stood frozen before his disabled self, the Grand Duke felt a base lust for power being sated.

“Yes, no matter how high you soar or crawl, you are my son, beneath me.”

That is what he thought. That is what he had believed. But it was not so? Valery was not afraid of him? He was not scared? The Grand Duke locked eyes with Valery, who loomed arrogantly above, his expression only visible by craning his neck sharply upward.

“But here is the thing. If it is going to be a hassle anyway, rather than cleaning up after you, would it not be better for me to just become you?”

“Commander-in-chief, Grand Duke, whatever. Would it not be easier all around if I just took over? Then I would not care whether you gallivanted around with Dius or not. Right?”

“Answer me. Do not just stand there dazed, you bastard.”

The pain in his wrist no longer bothered him. The Grand Duke could not process the insubordination unfolding before him with a sound mind. His heir was not afraid of him. It was merely a matter of inconvenience. Valery had endured beatings because even that was too troublesome. He had been placating the old man with a few slaps, fearing that if the Grand Duke abandoned all his duties and faded into the past, Valery’s workload would double. But now, feeling no need to continue even that, he had finally declared it!

“Zenyard!”

“Yes, Lord Valery! Yes!”

The Grand Duke, unable to roam the battlefield, had long been obsolete. Now, Valery would take his place.

“Take Father to the villa in Markna. Right now.”

“Right… right now, sir?”

“Yes. It seems Father has finally gone senile. He should at least get treatment in the capital’s hospital so I, as his son, can rest easy. My aide drove the car, so ride with him. He will be parked near the estate.”

“Who… who says you can send me to Markna! I am not going! I will not go!”

The Grand Duke, staring up at Valery in a daze, began shouting at Zenyard, who started pushing his wheelchair. Zenyard, who feared the Grand Duke’s roars most, lacked the courage to prioritize his master’s orders now. He led the struggling Grand Duke toward the dining hall’s entrance. By then, the entrance was empty.

Glancing back at the deserted dining hall, devoid of onlookers, Zenyard noticed Valery, no longer the ferocious figure berating the Grand Duke, now gently touching his aide’s swollen face. Staring blankly at the hand delicately brushing the reddened cheek, Zenyard snapped to attention at the Grand Duke’s shrieks. Quickly turning his head to avoid Valery’s gaze, he muttered hollow apologies—Sorry, Your Highness, sorry—and hurriedly left the estate’s corridor.

Though there were no gunshots, Asil, drained as if he had fought a fierce battle, collapsed onto the bed. The sheets beneath his hips felt unusually soft. After suffering motion sickness all day in the car and witnessing the Grand Duke and Valery act as if they would kill each other at the castle, Asil was so exhausted that his mind felt hazy. His body and spirit both cried out for rest. Propping his elbows on his heavy thighs, Asil stared at the floor. Closing his eyes with his head bowed, his eyelids grew heavy, as if sleep would overtake him any moment.

“Are we sleeping here tonight… Tired?”

“No, sir. Did the Lieutenant really take His Highness to the capital?”

“Yes. The Lieutenant will return by tomorrow morning. Looks like we will stay here for the night.”

“Is that alright? To treat the Grand Duke so recklessly…”

“It is easier to keep an eye on him when he is close.”

Cutting off Asil’s hesitant words firmly, Valery approached with a salve handed to him by a servant. Asil, slightly lifting his head from its downward tilt, looked at Valery, who held his chin and gently rubbed the salve on the cheek struck by the Grand Duke. Despite his own cheek being a mess, Valery focused intently on treating Asil’s wound, his lips, crusted with blood, pressed tightly.

Anyone could see that Valery was the one needing immediate care. Asil’s skin was only slightly swollen. This level of swelling would subside by morning. A faint bruise might linger, but only for a day or two.

“Give it here.”

Snatching the salve from Valery’s hand, Asil stood, leveling their gazes. Scooping a generous amount of the grayish salve, Asil reached out and slathered it over Valery’s wounds. Valery, standing still with a puzzled look after having the salve taken, finally grinned and leaned forward slightly.

“It hurts.”

“It looks like it does.”

“I meant, apply it gently.”

Asil, rubbing the area near Valery’s cheekbone where a deep scratch from a fingernail marred the skin, sighed heavily and glared at him. Lately, whenever Asil let his guard down even slightly, Valery seized the moment to act slyly. His determination to worm his way in was blatant. Valery’s unapologetic demeanor made Asil, inexplicably, avert his eyes in embarrassment. He wanted to tell Valery to handle it himself, but seeing the vivid wounds up close, his fingers trembled. Loosening the pressure in his fingertips, Asil gently rubbed over the blood-crusted lips.

“Does this happen often?”

“What?”

“His Highness treating you so… unjustly…”

What father despises his only child like an enemy, striking their cheek so brutally? Asil had been hit by his own father plenty, but the Grand Duke’s treatment of Valery was of a different kind. Unlike Asil, abused as a son meant to restore the family name, the Grand Duke and Valery’s relationship was not that of a typical father and son. Could the estate’s servants, who saw it firsthand, fail to notice what even Asil, a stranger, immediately discerned? Watching the Grand Duke publicly trample Valery, Asil vividly confirmed the vague image he had of their relationship.

“Unjust?”

“Yes. Is it not unjust? Even if you are his son, to do that in front of the servants…”

“Oh. Hmm… I see.”

Valery, his cheek glistening with salve, stared directly into Asil’s eyes.

“What, do you pity me?”

“It is not about that… Never mind.”

It was not that Asil suddenly felt deep sympathy for Valery, but he was undeniably unsettled. He scanned Valery’s wounds with a gaze mixed with irritation and discomfort.

“Why am I…”

Feeling Valery’s piercing stare, as if it could bore through him, his unease quickly turned to embarrassment. The sensation that Valery had seen through his innermost thoughts made Asil hurriedly lower his head. His gaze naturally fell to his feet. He stared at his mud-stained boots from the forest trek as if they were rare treasures, biting his lip hard.

Generally, when someone faces unjust violence, a faint sense of justice might compel one to step in. Asil did not consider himself particularly moral, but he also believed he was not one to condone injustice. Seeing an innocent person beaten until their cheek split would naturally stir anger. But he never expected such feeble righteousness to apply to Valery.

“He is not a normal person to me. Did I not once wish he would die?”

He recalled the times he wished Valery would die, perish horribly. Having lost count of how many times Valery had struck him, Asil could not believe he was now, absurdly, pitying him. Stunned, Asil was at a loss for words.

“Asil… I think my lip is torn.”

Following Valery’s voice, Asil naturally raised his chin. When had his lip torn? A bead of blood trickled from the edge where the scab had fallen off.

“Why on earth?”

“Asil?”

Wiping the blood trailing an ugly mark near his chin, Asil questioned himself. It was strange. At some point, his feelings toward Valery had become stained with entirely abnormal hues. The intense hatred he could once clearly define had gradually faded. He no longer reveled in low pleasures by weighing Valery’s emotions, and now he felt unease tending to his wounds.

He tried to forcibly recall the past, but the anger would not resurface. Memories from just a few years ago were vivid in their own way, yet they felt as distant as a past life. The more time passed, the less Asil cared when recalling the old Valery. He could clearly remember what Valery had done, list every way he had treated him, yet it was strangely inconsequential.

Those memories no longer made him anxious. Was it because he knew Valery could no longer treat him recklessly?

“What is wrong?”

Being by Valery’s side was no longer unbearably hateful or suffocatingly unbearable. Valery was becoming familiar. It was not Valery himself but that very fact that frightened him. The present, where being by his side felt natural, was terrifying. If this continued, would everything flow as Valery desired? Would he, in the near future, willingly fall into Valery’s arms and accept it as right?

Asil recalled a recent moment. He had been flustered, realizing he could not coldly reject Valery’s desperate pleas. He could not believe he was blankly watching Valery’s dejected back. That was why he had accepted Valery’s entreaty. He hated seeing that, could not believe he hated seeing it, and wanted to end this damned relationship quickly.

“Only three weeks left now.”

If he endured a little longer, these unidentified feelings toward Valery would not be swept away by an uncontrollable tide of change and would remain steadfast. Even if Valery broke his promise… that would be better. If that happened, the faded hatred would surge explosively, eliminating any need to feel uneasy or question himself. He would rather it be so. He wanted a reason to keep cursing Valery.

“It is nothing. Just tired for a moment…”

Asil forced himself to blink, wiping the dried blood from his thumb onto his uniform pants. Was it because he was overthinking? His mind felt even more fatigued. He began to head toward the bathroom to wash up and sleep.

“Only three weeks left now.”

“What?”

“I wasted three days carelessly. Not today.”

Finishing his words, Valery pulled Asil’s waist, pressing his forehead diagonally against his shoulder. His high nose rubbed Asil’s neck, grazing up to his earlobe. Burying his nose in the soft, small flesh and inhaling, Valery smiled softly at Asil, who turned to look at him.

“You said you would give me a chance.”

Getting slapped when visiting the Grand Duke was routine. Considering it so trivial, Valery found Asil’s act of applying salve while worriedly inspecting his cheek more bewildering than touching. But only briefly. Valery seized the opportunity. When he asked if Asil pitied him, he grabbed and pulled at the swirling emotions in those pitch-black eyes.

“So weak for small, fragile things…”

Valery thought of that insignificant Coleman Saranda. That guy was shorter and slighter than Asil. Asil could never stand by watching him whimper, so perhaps this was his type. Taking advantage of Asil’s lowered head, Valery opened his mouth wide. Forcing open a barely scabbed wound to draw blood, Asil, though dazed, dutifully wiped the droplets.

“It annoyed me a bit.”

But now, Valery liked that about Asil. His tendency to soften for small, weak things, creating openings for Valery to slip through.

“Mmm, ah…!”

Satisfied, Valery licked the soft, fragrant organ deeply. As Asil, perched on the bathtub’s edge, leaned back, Valery reached out to wrap his arms around his waist. The water in the tub sloshed violently.

“Hnng, ugh…”

A soft whimper echoed through the bathroom. Trying desperately to stifle his moans by biting his lips, Asil finally curled his toes tightly and tilted his chin up. With a short “Hah!” he released into Valery’s mouth, his jaw trembling. His protruding jawbone and flushed neckline glowed red.

Valery reached up, tracing the veined, slender neck. Feeling Asil reach the peak of arousal through his mouth, Valery’s heavy organ quickly stiffened upward. It tapped his navel, swaying in a curved arc. Spitting the mouthful of semen onto his palm, Valery rubbed it roughly onto his organ and began masturbating with loud, crude slaps.

Rubbing his organ as if to wear out his palm, he buried his face in Asil’s groin again. Asil’s organ, softening after release, regained strength as Valery’s nose nudged beneath his testicles and slid downward.

“Such a lewd scent…”

“Ugh… stop it…”

Swollen from bathing and oral stimulation, the organ was hypersensitive from prolonged friction. As Valery sucked the testicles and licked up the shaft, Asil instinctively flipped over.

“Ah, enough! I really cannot take it.”

The glans burned as if the skin would peel. Excessive pleasure morphed into pain. As Asil gripped his lower body to evade Valery’s tongue, the lost tongue suddenly licked the nearby mound. Startled, Asil, who had turned to hide his organ while clutching the tub’s edge, slipped his hand. Nearly plunging headfirst into the water-filled tub, he had not yet steadied himself.

“Eut!”

Feeling the contours of Valery’s face buried between his buttocks, Asil let out a moaning cry. Realizing exactly where he felt Valery’s face, Asil hunched forward in panic. His bangs dipped into the tub, swaying limply.

“Stay still… Let me finish too, hm?”

“Not there, I don’t… ugh…”

Sucking the plump perineum like a kiss, Valery intensified his strokes. The outer skin wrinkled and tautened, transparent mucus gushing from the glans like a spring. Savoring the soft flesh in his mouth, Valery slowly moved his tongue. To keep Asil from noticing and fleeing, he traced the skin slowly, reaching his target.

“Ah! Wait…!”

Realizing Valery’s intent too late, Asil reached back to flail, but a strong grip seized his wrist. With one hand bound and the other splashing the water, Asil’s trembling thighs shook as he muttered curses.

“Damn, ah…”

Valery, wetly sucking the small crevice, gradually widened the anal entrance with his tongue’s tip, teasing as if to enter. The moment the relaxed entrance slightly opened, Valery slipped his tongue inside, sucking the surrounding mucosa forcefully.

Puckering his lips to suck, then lapping like a dog when the hole widened, Valery teased the entrance for a while. Pressing the root of his tongue, he forced the flesh inside. Unable to bear the ticklish sensation, Asil’s knees buckled. His kneecaps hit the marble floor painfully, but he was too busy pushing Valery’s forehead away, panting.

“You don’t like it?”

“Hnng… I don’t, I don’t like it.”

“Then how should I loosen you? If I just penetrate, you will cry that it hurts.”

Pressing close behind Asil, Valery whispered low against his ear. Rubbing the reddened knee lightly, he moved his hand to the tightening hole. Sliding his hand between the buttocks, he felt the hole twitch over his upright index finger. Valery’s movements quickened. The friction heated the anus, and Asil, unable to bear the ticklish sensation, squirmed, closing his reddened eyes tightly.

“Just, hng! With your fingers…”

“Fingers… Alright, hm…”

Valery stroked his organ, lubricated with Asil’s semen and his own precum, several times. Bringing the sticky fluid to Asil’s hole, he tapped and rubbed vigorously before sliding his index finger inside. The hole, accustomed to Valery’s organ, opened easily despite the long absence. Mocking the ease, the anus clamped tightly around the finger, lewdly demanding more.

Betraying its master’s will, the hole had become undeniably debauched. Valery felt both satisfaction and relief knowing he was the one who had made Asil’s once-innocent rear so lascivious.

He carefully loosened the hole. Once the interior softened, he added another finger, playing inside for a while. Eventually inserting four fingers, Valery stared at the anus, stretched wide enough to swallow his hand. It was truly well-stretched now. With unusually thick, long fingers, Valery spread the hole, watching it chew on his hand. Spreading his index and middle fingers, the hole expanded greatly. The red, gaping entrance revealed fingers tangled inside, rubbing the mucosa vividly before his eyes.

“It hurts…! Ah, it hurts!”

“Does it hurt?”

“Hng, yes!”

“If it hurts, why does it grip so well… So admirable.”

Despite Asil’s protests, his organ trembled, dripping sticky fluid. Valery applied more pressure. Rubbing the stretched hole with his thumb, he eventually clicked his tongue. Ceasing to spread the hole, he shaped his fingers into a cone and thrust forcefully inside. Pulling out roughly and plunging back in, Asil’s hands, gripping the tub, turned white.

Valery watched the trembling back, swaying hips, and widely spread thighs, moving his fingers rapidly. Each strong thrust pressed his knuckles tightly against the buttocks. He never took his eyes off the hole, ceaselessly devouring his hand.

“Ah… hng! Really, no, ahh!”

Pressing the protruding inner wall and rubbing it repeatedly, Asil shook his calves violently. His swollen organ began releasing again. Following the milky semen dripping onto the bathroom floor, Valery swiftly withdrew his fingers. The protruding intestines glistened reddish. The glans rubbed harshly near the anus, unable to close in time. The organ’s tip teased entry into the dark, open interior.

“Argh!”

Asil sobbed, his brow collapsing. He felt insane. His insides burned as if set ablaze, his organ consumed by the pleasure of release. He had no sanity left to stop Valery. Lost in ecstasy, Asil’s breath halted as the thick organ thrust inside with a thud. Swallowing the massive organ in an instant, Asil faintly gagged.

“Breathe, hng… Breathe.”

“Ha…!”

The organ, always unfamiliar each time, lodged firmly inside, unmoving for a while. To give Asil time to adjust, Valery endured the pleasant pressure and the eerily delicate inner movements. He pressed his lips to the white nape before him. Slowly caressing the moist skin, Valery wrapped his arms around Asil’s chest.

“Are you breathing?”

“Hmm… ah…”

The heart pounded wildly beneath his palm. Valery soothed the chest, embracing the gently rising torso and kissing the pulsing spot behind the ear. The tensed lower body and panting breaths gradually relaxed. In that state, Valery pulled out slowly and thrust back in, repeating steadily. The rhythm and force were measured, neither fast nor slow. Asil, entrusted to Valery like a child in a rocking cradle, let out soft, whimpering moans.

“Ah, ahh, ugh… ahng… ng…”

“Hm? Why? Feels good, huh?”

“Ung… hah!”

“I feel good…”

As Asil’s moans grew nasal, Valery’s thrusts intensified. Each collision made the tub Asil gripped ripple with vibrations. In the bathroom filled with wet sounds, high-pitched moans and low groans clashed loudly.

“Ah, hng!”

“Your hole… why is it, hff… so open.”

“Ng, mm… ugh!”

“It’s usually so tight, hng… right? Hm?”

“Argh, ah, ahh…!”

“Only opens for me… that’s right, isn’t it?”

Serving as Valery’s aide, Asil’s recent activities had visibly increased his muscle mass, embodying a lean, fit soldier. The twitching back muscles and tensed forearms gripping the tub were pleasing to see.

Unlike the firm upper body, the buttocks were notably soft and plump. Valery grabbed the tender flesh, kneading it forcefully. The fat spilling between his fingers was as white as cream on a dessert. Molding the pliable buttocks like dough, Valery thrust deeply. The large testicles slapped the soft perineum like fruit seeds. As the smacking sound grew louder, Asil’s moans rose endlessly higher.

“Ugh, ng… no, stop, stop, it’s too much… hng!”

Trapped between the tub and Valery, Asil, unable to move, glanced back. The hard bathroom floor crushed his knees painfully. His spread thighs trembled, bearing the thrusting weight. Meeting Asil’s eyes, soaked in pleasure and pain, Valery rose, organ still inside.

“Hah… ugh, ung!”

As Asil stood, the withdrawing organ plunged back to the deepest point. Sliding naturally into the hole as if returning home, the organ moved rapidly without pause.

Asil stood alone in the bathroom’s center, arm held by Valery, receiving the organ. Unable to spread his legs wide, the narrowed hole struggled with the thrusting organ, which, unable to keep pace, popped out with a thud.

“Hng, ugh…!”

“Ah, ahh, ang!”

Asil, shoulders twitching from the glans dragging the anal folds, lowered his head and stomped. His lower body tensed, the hole clamping tightly. Feeling the squeezing sensation up to his abdomen, Asil strained, his toes reddening.

“Hmm, ugh, hff, ha…”

Drip…

Asil stared blankly at the liquid arcing through the air and streaming to the floor. Again. He had let it spill again. Desperate not to be mocked by Valery, he tried to control his organ, but it kept leaking messily. Their feet were soon soaked. He wanted to believe it was water overflowing from the tub, but the surface was calm, and the warm liquid soaking his toes was relentless.

“Haha… damn it.”

Valery, letting out a sharp laugh, reached for Asil’s abdomen. His spread palm pressed down, applying pressure. As he squeezed the bloated abdomen, Asil shuddered, collapsing onto Valery’s arm. The dwindling stream surged again. Valery pressed relentlessly until Asil stopped entirely.

“Hff, ugh, ah…”

As the fierce stream subsided and droplets from the glans tapped the floor, Valery lifted the limp Asil and left the bathroom. Even while moving, he vigorously rubbed the organ’s tip under Asil’s thighs. Asil’s face paled as he dazedly wondered when Valery’s erection would subside. Come to think of it, Valery had not climaxed even once…

“Wait, just a moment…”

“Hm, we’re here. Don’t fuss.”

Laying Asil face-down on the bed, Valery gripped his narrow hips, disproportionate to his frame. As Asil squirmed as if to protest, Valery layered his thick body over him, raising his hips high.

“Hmm, ahh!”

He penetrated the hole at a right angle.

“Mmm, hff…”

The intestines, softened by rough intercourse, were endlessly cozy. Valery swayed his hips flexibly, savoring the mucosa. Each time the plush inner walls squeezed the glans, his spine tingled. He wanted to ruin the loose, swaying hole. A violent urge to mash it into uselessness reddened his vision. Valery lowered his head toward Asil, limbs limp, hole open, mumbling moans as if they were his only expression.

Listening closely to moans that sounded like sobbing from afar, Valery chuckled. He had wondered what Asil was muttering, but they were all clearly aimed curses.

“Damn… hff, hah, ugh… bastard, damn… ha!”

“Angry?”

“Ah, ahh!”

“I’m doing what you like, hmm… Why get mad?”

Even if you hate me, you quite like my fucking. Valery muttered, intensifying his thrusts. He wanted to drown Asil’s body in pleasure, preventing other thoughts. He had begged for a chance, but Valery did not know how to change Asil’s heart or what methods to use. So he did everything he could. He hounded the estate’s servants to ensure a luxurious life, maintained the garden for Asil, secured his commission, apologized, and refrained from mistreating him. No matter what he tried, Asil’s feelings remained unchanged. He no longer resisted fiercely, but resignation and surrender overlaid that, unmistakable.

Valery could not say no to Asil, who set a deadline. It was his last chance. To keep Asil, who was desperate to leave, he had to do whatever it took well. Valery resolved to use everything Asil liked to create reasons to stay. But even tallying all he had, nothing was worthy enough to keep Asil.

Mere wealth and honor could not hold Asil. Apologies, pleas, and appeals could not either. The only thing that could make Asil lose reason and be honest was…

“Hm, hng, hm!”

The heavy organ thrust deep into the abdomen and withdrew. Slurping, the unclosed hole frothed with mixed fluids. Valery scraped the foam around the glans and let it flow inside. The shadowed red intestines, like roses kissed by rain, twitched, sucking in the sticky liquid. Valery inserted fingers to keep the anus open, stroking the organ. After holding back several times, the organ spurted semen with a few shakes. Before it shot into the air, Valery placed the glans atop the open hole.

Simultaneously, semen poured into the rounded hole. Instead of releasing deep inside as usual, Valery coated the entrance, chuckling softly as he withdrew his fingers.

“Asil. One more time… Asil?”

Finding it odd that Asil did not protest despite the bizarre act, Valery turned the limp shoulder and frowned. His cheeks, flushed with satisfaction and savagery, twitched awkwardly.

“Damn… I went too far.”

Asil’s face, soaked with tears and snot, looked far from good, even as a lie. Valery’s clumsy plan to score points through intercourse unraveled.