The One and Only Sami Chapter 34

…I used to think that whenever I met him, something mysterious and magical would unfold.

That he made me feel like the protagonist of a fairy tale, rather than just Sami, a humble servant. Even if he did cruel things at times, every single thing that happened was beyond my wildest imagination.

“…”

The secret thoughts I’d spent so much time fluttering over had been completely exposed. The tips of Sami’s ears turned a deep crimson.

Delusions, embarrassment, a revealed heart, shame.

Razard watched him with a smile, his eyebrows slightly lowered. What that expression meant was perfectly clear.

Pity, indulgence, predictability, sympathy.

“Don’t worry, Sami.”

But there was also a sense of possessiveness that Sami couldn’t even begin to fathom.

“I’ll keep showing you things that feel like fantasies, and I’ll keep cherishing you just the same.”

Sami, red all the way to the edges of his ears, didn’t dare lift his head. Razard reached out and slid his fingers under Sami’s chin. He tilted it up gently to look into those amber eyes.

Eyes that looked like they might burst into tears at any moment.

He must have grown quite fond of me. It was adorable. Did he think he was just being played with? That was a bit of a problem.

Razard rubbed the underside of Sami’s chin with a touch full of affection. Those small shoulders flinched and slumped. But Razard’s hand didn’t pull away. This was a touch Sami had to get used to, so he needed to learn it now.

“You can keep calling me by my name. You’re someone who’s allowed to show me that kind of charm. That’s how it is with pets.”

Sami couldn’t bear to look at Razard and averted his gaze. It was a passive resistance. Razard turned the hand holding his chin and forced a direct look. The small chin and thin neck swung helplessly toward Razard.

“Ugh…!”

“You need to listen properly. I’m telling you your role now. Use that old experience of serving your young master and memorize this in one go.”

The “new master’s” face drew closer. Sami swallowed hard with frightened eyes.

“Sami. You are to refrain from speaking to others unless I give you permission. You aren’t my lover or my servant. You aren’t even a slave.”

Sami needed to clearly recognize that contract he’d been swept into without a moment’s thought. Since the boy was reasonably quick on the uptake, he’d surely understand.

“Not a servant, nor a slave…”

“That’s right. You aren’t. Your entire role is simply ‘to be loved by your master.'”

Even without his chin being held by force, Sami’s gaze was now fixed clearly on him. He understands. Razard smiled faintly.

“And your master is very jealous, fickle, and wants the things he raises to follow only him.”

“Razard, surely you don’t mean…”

Razard’s hand quietly covered Sami’s mouth. In the palace, only useless things are given a voice.

Important stories are never told with words.

“Sami, if anyone asks for ‘your name,’ tell me immediately. As I said, I’m a jealous master, and I can’t contain my rage when someone takes an interest in what’s mine.”

“…”

He spoke of himself as if he were talking about a third party. Sami’s eyes blinked rapidly. What was reflected in them now wasn’t betrayal or shame, but…

Simply Razard’s face. A face looking down at him softly and lovingly with a strange smile. A smile that was a notch colder than usual and a cunning look in his eyes that suggested many schemes were reflected in Sami’s eyes like a mirror.

“I’ve already ordered everyone in the palace to treat you as my human pet, so no one will dare attempt such an interaction… but there’s always a ‘just in case,’ right?”

The hand covering his mouth slid away smoothly. Sami stared at that hand.

The Maruts in the rings on Razard’s fingers were glowing.

“Then, I…”

Gulp. Sami swallowed and looked up.

“What do I have to do now?”

“I told you. Just act charming while calling my name.”

Razard adjusted his seat, rubbing the band of a ring on his finger.

Sami bit his lip and stared intently at Razard, but he just smiled and played dumb.

“Just receive my pets, wander anywhere in the palace…”

Watching the dead-serious Sami was just funny and cute to him. It was obvious the boy didn’t realize what he looked like right now. What was with that serious expression while dressed in such fluttery clothes and draped in all those necklaces?

“And do a few things your master wants.”

He lightly tapped Sami’s cheek with just a finger.

“Shall we start with this for now?”

With that, he spread his arms wide. His frame was revealed, with clean lines and no excess fat, looking as if it had been meticulously carved from a single block of stone.

Wiping away that dry, cold expression from before, Razard wore the same supple, brazen smile he had when he was holding jewels against Sami’s skin.

“Sami, come here.”

It was inevitable.

‘Th—that kind of thing is…’

‘You don’t like it?’

Razard had smiled radiantly with his arms wide open, and Sami, faced with that, had turned pale and looked down instead. It wasn’t as if there was a literal whip. The thin curve of those eyes and the smile lingering on his wide mouth lashed Sami’s entire body with a stinging sensation.

‘Say it with your own mouth, Sami. You don’t like it?’

Since he couldn’t be stubborn any longer anyway, Sami finally stepped into those offered arms. His young body was lifted effortlessly. That was how he ended up leaving the room held in Razard’s arms just a moment ago.

“You have to get used to it.”

Razard, holding Sami, spoke with a smile. His gaze was directed forward, not at Sami, but his lips were curved in a gentle arc.

Sami hesitated and looked around from his position in the man’s arms. Intricate patterns, so precise they made his head swim, filled the hallway walls. Every layer of the engraved geometric designs was touched with various colors, making it feel as if he were walking through a flower garden.

A garden where only the two of them existed.

Sami thought of the rustling thickets of hyssop flowers.

“Sami.”

“Ye—yes, sir.”

“Why are you so dazed? You were thinking of something else, weren’t you?”

He still wasn’t even looking at Sami, yet he caught him with uncanny accuracy. Even if those “other thoughts” were about Razard, Sami didn’t want to offer that explanation.

“If you’d let me walk… I could snap out of it and follow you properly.”

When they were alone, he could manage to speak up, but realizing once again that this was Harut’s palace made his voice shrivel up like a dried fig.

“I told you. You have to get used to it.”

Only then did Razard’s eyes stare intently at Sami in his arms. With the ornate hallway behind them, his eyes seemed to glisten exceptionally like gold. He reached out a finger and poked Sami’s cheek.

“Sami. Listen closely. People are going to see you soon.”

I have a lot to cram into that small head of yours before that. Razard rubbed the bangle encircling Sami’s thin arm with his thumb. It was a thoroughly idle, rogue-like touch. As Sami shrank back, it naturally created a position perfect for whispering in his ear. It was exactly what Razard intended.

“You’re going to be carried around by me often now. There’s no big reason. I do it because I want to.”

The voice drifting into his ear was so low it almost felt sticky. Sami swallowed and huddled even further. His profile, which had been leaning against Razard’s shoulder, slumped lower and lower.

“Keep that in mind. The reason for everything I do to you is that I want to. Don’t ask me ‘why’ in front of others. As long as you keep that in heart, you don’t really need to bow and scrape to me.”

Razard’s eyes narrowed. The back of the boy’s neck, flushed red from not knowing what to do, was so cute that Razard decided to forgive his fidgeting. Just as he’d said, it was fine if Sami was a little bit spoiled.

“You’re a pet, so it’s okay to be a little bratty. No one here is going to lecture you on etiquette.”

With every step he took, his voluminous trousers brushed together, making the soft sound of fine fabric. Sami kept his eyes wide, hanging on Razard’s every word. He nodded every time the man finished speaking.

“So…”

Razard drew out his whisper for a slow moment. Just as Sami, who had been hanging his head, looked up to see what was wrong, Razard smiled and kissed him on his exposed forehead.

The “mwah” sound as he pulled away was definitely intentional.