Damn! Damn! Chapter 31

Just before drinking the water, Achim had concluded that whatever Martina had dissolved in it probably wasn’t poison.

He reasoned that if Martina had mixed in a lethal poison to kill Michael, she would have fled immediately after doing the deed instead of staying in the room.

It was something that could harm Michael, but wasn’t deadly—that was the deduction Achim reached in a split second.

Since Michael couldn’t be harmed if the mission was to be completed, Achim had taken a somewhat reckless gamble.

Though he didn’t know the exact motive, it was highly likely Martina had been waiting for Michael to drink the water she had dissolved something into.

Seeing how I collapsed, it’s clearly no ordinary substance. What on earth could inflict just enough shock to avoid killing someone…

“An aphrodisiac.”

Achim slowly raised his head at the unexpected revelation.

“Hmm…”

“…”

“Normally, it only works on Alphas or Omegas.”

Michael paused for a moment. Then, his sharply honed pupils gleamed chillingly. Watching him, Achim subtly knitted his brows in disbelief.

“I’m a Beta, sir.”

To this, Michael replied, “I know.”

If he knew, why was he staring with such suspicion? Just as Achim was protesting inwardly, Michael continued.

“They said whatever was mixed in seems to have caused a side effect in you.”

“…”

“It’s unfortunate.”

For once, Michael’s face lacked its usual smile as he spoke.

Unfortunate. Was that really a word that suited the guy? If he had been smiling like usual, it would clearly be sarcasm and Achim would have cursed him out, but he would have just shrugged it off. Doing something so out of character felt incredibly unsettling.

“If there’s something you want, name it.”

“Pardon?”

Achim asked back, his eyes widening.

“Since you saved my life.”

“…”

“If there’s something you want, you may ask for it.”

Saved his life? Sure, from his perspective, he had received help, but wasn’t that a bit grandiose? As if he were someone who would absolutely die from taking an aphrodisiac…

“I happen to despise aphrodisiacs.”

Only then did Michael, whose face had been completely expressionless, softly curl the corners of his eyes. As his beautiful features melted into a gentle curve, he added:

“To the point that I’d rather blow my own brains out with a gun than ingest that stuff.”

In contrast to the grim content, the words were delivered so brightly that Achim’s eyebrow twitched. It was an extreme expression typical of the guy. For a split second, the handgun hidden beneath Michael’s pillow crossed his mind, causing Achim to briefly cast his eyes down before looking back up.

“So, it’s fair to say you saved my life.”

“…”

Achim was feeling a very slight twinge of guilt.

He hadn’t even had room to think about it since he had broken into the mansion to steal in the first place. Yet here the guy was, talking about his life being saved and offering to grant a wish, causing what little human conscience Achim had left to rear its head unprompted.

Michael couldn’t possibly know that the only reason Achim had gone to such reckless lengths to help was entirely because of the 500,000 euros.

“Ah, right.”

Just as Achim was about to temporarily forget his own situation, Michael suddenly reached out, just like before, and cupped Achim’s left cheek.

“There’s one thing I want to ask.”

The hand covering his cheek was large enough to mask Achim’s entire face. Despite its intimidating size, the touch was unexpectedly gentle, prompting Achim to raise his downcast eyes.

Stroking the area near Achim’s cheekbone with his thumb as if tracing a line, Michael asked in a low voice:

“Why did you drink that water instead of me?”

“…”

Achim’s lips parted involuntarily. He truly felt caught off guard.

He really hadn’t expected to be asked the reason, and because he couldn’t think of a plausible excuse on the spot, Achim felt frustrated.

Because if you die, finding your semen becomes impossible.

Because if you die, my 500,000 euros might just vanish into thin air.

Because if you die, everything becomes a waste of effort.

Because if you die…

Recalling the reasons he could never utter aloud, Achim despaired. Damn it. What do I say? What kind of excuse can I spin…

As Michael stroked his cheek as if urging for an answer, Achim finally opened his mouth, feeling pushed to the brink.

“Because… you can’t.”

“…”

“…If you die.”

He blurted out the words to handle the immediate crisis, but he had an unpleasant certainty that the questioning wouldn’t stop here.

Dammit. Then what am I supposed to say? It was just around the time Achim was silently racking his brain.

“Why?”

Fuck! The man never let anything slide even once. Achim was utterly sickened anew by Michael’s persistence.

However, he also knew very well that the man wouldn’t let it go unless given a proper answer.

A savior who rescued his life, or a semen thief. It was somewhat extreme, but in Achim’s eyes, there was only a paper-thin difference between the two.

A reason why the other person shouldn’t die. A reason why he would despair if the man passed away. Something plausible that the guy would buy…

Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind, but Achim shook his head internally. How could I even lie about something like…

“…”

…Even if it felt wrong, wasn’t it still the most plausible excuse? It wasn’t as if the guy would welcome it with open arms anyway.

In fact, he probably needed to worry that the man might find it disgusting, pull out the gun from under his pillow, and blow Achim’s head off instead. Because he was an entirely unpredictable bastard.

“I asked why.”

Damn it.

Achim just wanted to beg the pressuring man to give him a moment. Though he had made up his mind to speak, putting it into action was no easy feat.

Meanwhile, Michael’s hand was still resting on his cheek, so Achim glanced at him and slowly parted his lips.

“…I l…”

“…”

“…li…”

It felt as if his teeth were glued together, making it hard to speak. Damn it. Damn it. Only curses filled his mind without a single blank space.

“Li… haaa…”

In the end, Achim couldn’t finish the sentence and let out a sigh.

“You should know well that my patience isn’t very long.”

“…”

Michael issued a warning, as if he had waited long enough. Instead of being frightened by it, Achim found courage. His thoughts had finally leaned entirely toward the certainty that speaking up would yield the exact reaction he anticipated.

As if making a firm resolve, Achim squeezed his eyes shut, opened them, and spoke clearly and loudly.

“I like you.”

“…”

“Because I like you. That’s why… that’s why you can’t die.”

Achim clamped his mouth shut again. He felt as though he had completed a monumental mission. It was a reason that made sense in its own way, and since there was no way the guy would take his words seriously, it was the optimal method no matter how much he thought about it.

Just as Achim was nodding internally, feeling proud of himself—

“Is that so?”

Michael asked back shortly.

Achim locked eyes with him clearly and answered without hesitation.

“Yes.”

Suddenly, Michael’s eyes narrowed into a curve. Seeing that, an ominous premonition struck for some reason.

It was intuition and sheer instinct. At the same time, Achim realized one thing he had overlooked. The fact was that Michael had never once met his expectations.

…Fuck.

Achim cursed inwardly at the rushing wave of anxiety.

Sliding his hand down from Achim’s cheek, Michael lifted the tip of his chin so that their gazes locked vertically. As Achim panicked from his head being abruptly tilted back, the corners of Michael’s mouth curved up wide.

“Coincidentally, I was just about to grow interested in you myself.”

“…”

“This works out well.”

…What…

Achim’s mouth gaped open. In the end, he couldn’t hide it and completely lost his wits.

…Interested?

…Works out well?

To put it plainly, Achim couldn’t snap back to reality after hearing words he had never even imagined.

As if finding even that sight amusing, Michael’s eyes crinkled softly.

“There’s no need to be that happy.”

“…”

“I’m on the rough side. It’ll take you some time to adjust to me.”

His eyes scanned Achim up and down as if licking him.

“Just keep one thing in mind.”

Into his blurred field of vision, a flawlessly handsome face abruptly drew near. Because there wasn’t even time to dodge, Achim could only widen his eyes.

“If you quit on a whim, your two legs won’t be safe. Maybe your arms, too.”

“…”

“Simple, right?”

Michael asked with a bright smile.

Perhaps because his cognitive functions had ground to a halt, Achim couldn’t understand at all what he was supposed to keep in mind or what exactly was simple.

However, there was one thing he felt he knew with absolute certainty.