Ash opened his eyes.
Bright sunlight peeked through the thick curtains.
The room was dim, and he could hear someone breathing beside him.
‘Where am I?’
Lost in thought for a moment, Ash realized this was his familiar room.
The reason he hadn’t immediately recalled the obvious was the throbbing pain in his body.
The problem was Owen.
Owen Mills had a similar issue to Tyllian Meyner, in that he didn’t interfere much with his father’s private affairs but would hound Ash like a rat.
Of course, in this regard, Owen was better than Tyllian.
Tyllian would follow Ash around and nag him constantly, making Ash miserable, whereas Owen would simply receive reports and then look at Ash with contempt.
‘Is that really better?’
Ash had retorted, “If you don’t want to know about such disgusting things, why don’t you just not receive the reports?” but Owen had replied, “You’re too stupid to even understand the meaning of risk management.”
‘Huh? Is Tyllian better?’
Ash didn’t know how to win against Owen with words.
Of course, he couldn’t win physically either…
It was as if his father had hired a debate instructor for the guy; his tongue was like a viper.
In any case, because that bastard Owen was stubbornly stationed in the castle and blocked Ash’s lovers from entering, he had to stay outside the castle if he wanted to spend quality time with them.
All that talk about Ash being a dangerous person was nonsense; he was convinced Owen was just preventing his lovers from entering due to his germaphobia.
Thanks to that, he had never engaged in such activities in this room, and he never expected Tyllian to be his first partner here.
Ash moved his tired body and yawned.
He stretched, rubbed his face, and got out of bed.
Tyllian was asleep, his bare upper body exposed.
His peaceful expression seemed like a lie.
The heat of last night, and the perpetually furrowed brow, were nowhere to be seen now.
Only the neat and proper knight remained.
Ash waved his hand over Tyllian’s face.
Tyllian’s eyelids didn’t move.
He seemed to be completely knocked out.
‘He’s definitely a virgin.’
He had enjoyed seeing Tyllian’s new side yesterday.
The act itself was a bit rough, but it was also thrilling enough that he thought he might miss it again in about a week.
Why had that guy with such talent lived like a monk?
It was all for the better, though.
With the virgin bodyguard, who was undoubtedly a virgin, finally asleep, Ash had finally gained some free time.
His heart pounded.
He put on his clothes.
He glanced back at Tyllian.
He was still asleep.
He slightly opened the door.
The door opened.
No one was around.
Ash covered his mouth with his hand, afraid his joyful gasp would escape.
The castle people’s trust in Tyllian was unwavering.
Whether he had volunteered to watch Ash or his shift hadn’t ended yet, no other knight was guarding Ash’s door right now.
Ash filled his lungs with the outside air, air he hadn’t breathed in what felt like ages.
He had gone to the ossuary with Tyllian the day before, but could that really be considered ‘outside air’? In his opinion, no.
What Ash wanted was the taste of freedom.
This happiness.
This complete freedom to go wherever he pleased…
‘Hahaha! Try and stop me, Owen Mills!’
Just as Ash was about to dash down the hallway with a laugh,
“Where are you going?”
A voice he shouldn’t have heard spoke.
Ash froze in his spot and only turned his head back.
Tyllian, leaning against the doorframe, was looking at Ash.
He was only wearing his pants, his upper body bare, and his body felt more menacing than it had the day before.
His broad shoulders and muscular chest were partially hidden by his folded arms.
However, each of his forearms was as thick as Ash’s thigh, making his build just as threatening.
“Oh, you’re awake?”
Ash asked as casually as possible, like someone who hadn’t done anything wrong.
Thankfully, Tyllian seemed to accept it.
“Yes. Did you sleep well?”
“I slept well. I’m glad you seem to have slept well too.”
“I did sleep well. I even felt good when I woke up. That is, until I realized you weren’t beside me.”
Tyllian’s voice grew rough.
Ash instinctively started making excuses.
“No, that is, I opened the door and no one was there. I’m hungry. You and I have to eat breakfast, right? I was just going to the dining hall to see why the servant was late. I didn’t wake you because I thought you might be tired.”
“Is that so?”
“Uh! Yeah.”
“Ash. Please come over here first.”
“Can’t we just talk here?”
Ash didn’t want to go back into that room.
The hallway was filled with bright sunlight.
It was almost blinding.
How gloomy his room seemed in comparison?
It even smelled of the previous night’s activities.
Of course, if Ash’s room curtains were drawn, it would be much brighter than the hallway, but Ash had no intention of enjoying the sunlight in that room.
His father would sometimes punish Ash by locking him in his room, but that would never last more than half a day.
He had never been confined to his room for this long.
Unlike his father, Owen wasn’t someone Ash’s tears could sway, so he hadn’t even considered begging him.
Now was his only chance…
“Ash. Please don’t make me force you. If you return to this room, I will continue to listen to your excuses.”
Ash ran out of further excuses.
But he was also too scared of Tyllian’s quietness to remain in the hallway.
Tyllian was truly frightening when he was angry…
As much as he usually gave in to Ash, once he was angry, he wouldn’t even acknowledge Ash.
After a big fight with Tyllian some time ago, Ash had once again made a mental note: ‘Don’t make Tyllian angry.’
What would happen if he angered Tyllian, who was already upset with him, even more here?
Ash quietly returned to the room.
He then glanced up to gauge Tyllian’s mood.
Tyllian had one hand on his hip and the other covering his face.
He rubbed his face as if he were tired.
“Please explain. Why were you in the hallway? I already had breakfast brought to the room. I sent the servant who brought it back. What was your reason for going outside without even checking?”
Ash looked around the room and saw the tray placed on the side table.
It was indeed breakfast.
‘Bad luck.’
He wanted to close his eyes.
Of all the excuses, why breakfast?
Why hadn’t he seen it earlier?
Well, it was because he was only thinking about escaping as quickly as possible…
Ash quickly racked his brain and came up with another excuse.
“Actually, I wanted to take a bath in the great bathhouse. My room doesn’t have a large bathtub. I like bathing in the great bathhouse, but I haven’t been able to for so long. And after what happened with you yesterday, I felt sticky…”
Glancing at Tyllian as he spoke, Tyllian replied curtly.
“I bathed you, Ash. I am not accustomed to such service, so there might have been shortcomings, but I don’t believe you would feel so dirty. And you take your jewelry pouch to the great bathhouse, Ash?” “No, this is…!”
Ash quickly hid the pouch he had grabbed behind his back.
But it was only a temporary measure.
“You are…”
Tyllian took his hand away from his face.
Ash was surprised to see a hurt expression on his face.
“It seems my role as your guarding knight was indeed inappropriate for me. I will have another knight replace me soon, so please don’t worry about security.”
“No, no! Wait a minute, what are you talking about?”
“I know very well that my feelings were nothing more than a joke to you. Even if I didn’t know… you leave me with no hope whatsoever. Well, you have always been that kind of person. I don’t wish to see you for the time being. Do not call for me.”
Bang!
The door slammed shut, and the knight left.
Ash stared wide-eyed at the closed door.
Click, click, creak…!
He heard the sound of multiple locks engaging, and then Tyllian’s footsteps faded away.
The sound echoed forlornly in the hallway.
Ash was confused about whether he should tell Tyllian to take his shirt or not.
In this atmosphere, it felt like he would really get angry if he spoke.
“No, what did I do wrong…?”
Tyllian had snapped something at him that wasn’t quite nagging or anger, and then left.
Ash would have preferred it if he had just nagged him like before.
How was he supposed to know what he did wrong if he didn’t properly explain it?
As it turned out, Tyllian had been feeling desire for him, and that’s why they had slept together…
Hadn’t they had a good time?
Of course, Tyllian must have been angry that Ash had tried to run away while he was asleep.
He had always been strict.
But did he have to act like Ash had done something terrible to him?
“Is it my fault?”
Ash asked a question directed at no one in particular.
As he did, he slowly started to feel angry.
Wasn’t the problem’s origin Tyllian siding with Owen instead of Ash in the first place?
Even if Ash had angered Tyllian, he shouldn’t have acted this way.
He was someone his father had assigned as his knight.
Even if that wasn’t the case, Tyllian was Ash’s friend!
Ash had believed so.
He was the one who had been betrayed.
And yet, Ash felt uneasy, as if he was the one who had troubled Tyllian…