The One and Only Sami Chapter 27

At first, he couldn’t even process it; he just stood there dazed. But as he recalled exactly when he’d last seen the man—and precisely what had been done to him—his blank expression vanished, replaced by a deep crimson flush that started at his forehead and rushed down. He sucked in a sharp breath, his shoulders hiking up so high he looked like a sparrow with its chest feathers puffed out.

“Haha… What’s with that face now? You look like a baby partridge.”

“How can you… laugh right now…?”

“Why not? At least now, me being in the palace isn’t the problem anymore, right? There, see? Problem solved.”

He had simply thrown a different problem at Sami to distract him. Yet, Sami didn’t dare call him out on it.

“All I did was rub against your mouth and thighs a bit; how could you just go limp like that? This is why virgins are so much trouble.”

“Wh… what did you…”

What is he saying? Sami was completely stunned. What did this man just call me?

Without even trying to hide his beet-red face, Sami opened his mouth, desperate to fire back a retort.

“Don’t use words like that!”

“Which one? Virgin? Or should I call you something else?”

“Forget it! Please, just don’t say anything. And! …Th-that time! I wasn’t even myself. My head felt… strange!”

“No. Your body was yours. It was just under a spell to amplify desire.”

Razard dismissed Sami’s stuttering excuse with just a few words. Sami’s jaw dropped, but no sound came out.

It was inevitable that a twenty-year-old man—whose first experience with everything from a kiss to taking a member in his mouth had been that night—would be completely overwhelmed by someone as practiced in the arts of pleasure as Razard. He felt like he might die of embarrassment just discussing it further, but…

“I suppose you could say… you have a talent? You’re only going to get better.”

“I don’t have a talent for that!”

“Why? It’s quite rare for someone to earn my expectations. Especially when it comes to bedwork…”

“Razard!”

Finally, Sami reached out and clamped his hand firmly over the man’s mouth. This man had no shame, casually tossing out such scandalous things.

The roles were reversed now, but Razard didn’t seem flustered at all. If anything, it felt like he had intentionally allowed his mouth to be covered. His eyes crinkled into a sly smile as he blinked up at Sami, and he let out a muffled laugh that puffed against Sami’s palm like a soft breath.

Sami looked like he was on the verge of tears, warning him several times, “Don’t talk like that.” Only after Razard closed his eyes tight in an exaggerated nod of understanding did Sami let go.

Feeling as though that laughing breath was still lingering on his skin, Sami shook his hand out. His palm felt strangely itchy.

“I was complimenting you.”

“I’m not happy about a compliment like that…”

Sami felt like he’d be much better off if he could just smack Razard’s back or shoulders, but when it came to actually touching him…

‘Sami. Do you still hate it?’

Remembering how he’d cried while clinging to those shoulders and that back, it felt too awkward to touch him now.

Don’t think about it. Don’t recall it. And let’s get out of here quickly. He fumbled to gather the box he’d tucked under his arm while covering Razard’s mouth.

“So, how did you get in here anyway? Is it more of that ‘servant’ business?”

“Yeah, something like that…”

Sami checked the box carefully for any scuffs before casting a suspicious glance at Razard. Razard’s gaze happened to fall on the box at that moment, prompting Sami to hug it even tighter.

“Don’t even be curious about this. It’s really, really, really precious.”

“You really seem to think I’m some kind of petty thief.”

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Razard spread his hands so Sami could see the backs of them. Even in the shadows of the bush, the rings on his fingers caught the faint light and boasted a clear, expensive polish.

Razard’s fingers were usually busy enough to look at one by one, but it seemed he had added a new ring to the collection.

Just as Sami’s eyes drifted toward a clear, pomegranate-colored gem, Razard flicked his fingers and waved them off dismissively.

“I have plenty of really, really, really precious things of my own.”

“That’s why I’m saying it, because you collect them. This is—”

“It’s a tribute for the master of this palace, I assume.”

“…How did you know?”

“Every motif engraved on that box is meant to praise and glorify the Harut.”

Sami looked at the embossed box anew. …Looking at it didn’t magically grant him knowledge he didn’t have, but the patterns that had once seemed just pretty and complex, like rug designs, now looked a bit different.

As Sami peered intently and carefully at the sides, back, and even the bottom of the box, Razard added indifferently:

“Well, it’s all just empty vanity anyway.”

The sudden, blunt comment was enough to make Sami jump in fright.

“Razard…! If you say things like that elsewhere, you’ll be in serious trouble. Especially, never, ever say that in front of those red turbans. You could be beaten and thrown out.”

“I’d be flogged?”

Honestly, the image of Razard being beaten was hard to conjure. He was a man who toyed with Mages; it didn’t seem likely he’d suffer at the hands of mere guards.

“Just listen to me for once…”

Even so, no one in this country dared to be cynical toward the Harut. Was he not the ruler of the desert and master of dozens of oases? He was extravagant, fickle, and even cruel. For Razard’s own sake, Sami had to speak up.

“Don’t you ever say anything about it being ‘vanity’ or whatever.”

“…Are you worried about me? You’re a good boy.”

“Razard, seriously…”

“Fine, fine.”

Whether he truly appreciated Sami’s goodwill or not, Razard gave a casual answer and stretched his legs out, lying down right there under the bushes.

A thin night breeze blew. The sweet wind, carrying the scent of the banquet, flowed through the thicket of long purple flowers. The stalks between Sami and Razard swayed slightly, causing the floral shadows to ripple softly across their faces like waves.

“Razard…”

“Yeah?”

While the two were bickering, no one else approached the garden. The tall bushes blocked the light, keeping it dark, and the noise of the banquet was a faint echo in the distance. He could hear the festive music and laughter, but it sounded muffled, as if filtered through a screen.

Sami sat blankly next to Razard, clutching his box. He turned toward the noise for a moment before looking back down at the man lying beside him. As if he had absolutely nothing to do with the festivities, Razard lay in the shadows of the bush with his legs crossed, tapping his toe.

Dazzling lamps, fountains with floating petals, dancing girls, fragrant hookahs, various meats roasting over fires… He had abandoned all the pleasures of the palace just to lie under a hyssop bush.

He was truly an impossible man to understand.

“Did you not come to see the banquet?”

“They’ll be playing like that for the next three days. If I watch now, I’ll get bored.”

“Hmm…”

“It’s better to watch from a distance at first. For example… there are a lot of lamps out for this banquet, aren’t there?”

Razard’s eyes looked toward the night sky. His voice was clear, but his gaze was distant.

In the indigo shadows of the night, his soft golden eyes looked more like dark green than gold. Sami had always thought of him as a flashy man who commanded a second look, but with the gold faded from his eyes, he seemed somewhat more composed.

“When the lights are this bright and there are so many people, it’s most fun to climb up high and look down.”

And he didn’t seem like the arrogant, self-centered man Sami couldn’t understand.

Razard raised his hand and slowly swept it left and right through the air. His hand, adorned with jewels, moved like a hawk’s wing—fingers extended, swaying gently.

“From somewhere very high. A place where the whole palace is in view.”

“…”

“What?”

“…Actually.”

Sami followed Razard’s gaze. He wasn’t looking at anything in particular.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

He had simply raised his head. His eyes just happened to land on a palace spire with a rounded roof.

Even though he was looking up aimlessly, the tower was high and magnificent enough to catch the eye. A white crescent moon hung behind the rounded roof, which tapered like a needle at the very top. The banquet lights were so bright he hadn’t even realized the moon was out tonight.

“Earlier, while I was looking at the plaza and the fountain… I thought it would be really nice to see it from a high place.”

Razard didn’t give a specific answer to the small murmur. Instead, he shifted his position to lie on his side, facing Sami. Resting his chin loosely on one arm, he gazed at the sky for a long time.

Since they were looking in the same direction, it seemed he was also watching the moon. After a long, soft silence, Razard spoke.

“Is that so? Well then…”

The look in Razard’s eyes when Sami looked back… for some reason, it seemed strangely kind. It was odd, the way he gazed at that tower with the moon caught on it so affectionately. Perhaps he was just staring into the empty air, though.

“It seems we’re of one mind.”