Chapter 54: CH 54

Chapter 54 (Who will win)

‘I picked the wrong day.’

Gerard thought as he looked at Asrazan’s face coming out of the conference room.

He, along with Melissa, the vice-captain of Lanoche, was in charge of the training of Asrahan and the escort of Lariette, which he used to take turns day by day.

Today was the day Gerard took over Asrazan’s training. When escorting Lariette, it used to be more cumbersome because he had to move around and hide himself in stealth, but it seemed like it would be a hundred times more comfortable to follow her today.

It must be so, because Asrazan’s expression as he moved was unusual.

I knew why without even asking. The escort was waiting outside the conference room because he couldn’t follow inside, but he was able to listen to the conversation beyond the door with better hearing than ordinary people.

“You will regret it if you continue to be so arrogant!”

An angry voice leaked out through the cracks in the door. It was the voice of the Duke of Illington, who did not speak loudly.

It wasn’t because he was a good person. In the usual case, it was more profitable to watch Kandel’s eyes, so he just lowered his voice.

However, it was a different story when his own interests were at stake. He was also one of the three great Dukes of the Kharshan Empire, and as he had maintained that position for a long time, he was exceptionally shrewd.

“Your Majesty, we’re right! Look how rudely he left the meeting!”

Even as they moved away from the conference room, a voice was heard from the Duke of Blanche to agree with the Duke of Illington. Asrazan’s face became even colder.

Gerrard looked at Asrahan as if he were not on his way to the Candel mansion. As the leader of the Shadow Knights, it was an almost invisible act.

Arriving at the mansion, Asrazan roughly handed over his coat to the servant and immediately headed to the gymnasium. Gerard, realizing his destination, closed his eyes tightly and thought again.

‘I really picked the wrong day…’

I was supposed to with Miss Lariette today! Gerard deeply regretted it, but it was already too late.

And finally, it was a battle with the Duke of Kandel.

Clang! Chaeeng!

A sharp sound of iron continued to resound through the hall. There was a constant sound of heavy breathing.

But, in fact, the breath belonged to only one person. It was because the other person, Asrazan, maintained a calm appearance despite the fierce battle.

“Gerard. Have you neglected your training?”

“Ugh! No…”

Gerard answered, barely avoiding Asrazan’s sword. He almost had his arm cut off at once.

It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that my master’s skills are crazy! Gerard bit his lip and swallowed the resentment.

He was also the direct escort of Asrazan and the leader of the Knights of Shadows, so he had great skills. At one time, he was widely regarded as a genius who only came out once in a hundred years.

But the moment he stood in front of Asrazan, he was no different than a deer in front of a tiger. Not because Gerard wasn’t a genius, but because Asrazan was a monster.

He is also a natural talent, and he has been living on the battlefield since childhood, so it was self-evident that no one could follow him.

“That’s it.”

“Huh, yes.. hah.. Thank you for your hard work.”

Gerard greeted him, trying to clear his rough breathing. And as if waiting, he quickly put the sword in.

On the other hand, Asrazan was still in good shape. At most, he was only sweating a few drops. Had it not been for a sweat, Gerard would have doubted that his master was really a human.

“Doha Archiel. As the son of a merchant, he has been a priest since childhood.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

Gerard nodded quickly, not drinking the water.

It was a sudden topic, but I was used to it because he was an asshole who always spoke like this. This time it was his most recent investigation and report.

Last night, Asrazan learned that Lariette had killed an assassin to save Doha, and ordered an investigation into Doha with a cold expression on his face. It was because it was suspicious of hiring an assassin just to kill a lower priest.

However, contrary to expectations, the report that Gerard brought to him was only neat. His identity and actions were unquestionably certain.

“Perfect.”

“Yes?”

“The information is so perfect.”

Asrazan untied the top button of his shirt as if frustrated and continued his words.

“Isn’t it like it was prepared beforehand?”

“…! Seeing that, I see. We will investigate further.”

Gerard responded quickly, but thought that the investigation would not be easy this time. Because if this information was really created, the truth would have been hidden as well as the information was perfect.

In fact, as Lariette did, if you go to the temple and ask about ‘the pretty priest with silver hair and gold eyes’, it was information that he would get right away, but it was Gerard who didn’t even think that it would be so simple.

“Master, I mean the meeting we had earlier..”

Gerard glanced at him and opened his mouth. I didn’t want to offend Asrazan, but it was a question I had to ask as Ranoche’s general manager.

“… What are you going to do?”

Gerard cut his voice and asked carefully.

“Are you ready to go?”

It was asking if he would participate as a general in the upcoming war.

Currently, relations between the Kharshan Empire and the Danube Kingdom have now collapsed. There was no room for further recovery.

If this was the case, the start of the war was almost possible. The Empire was only looking for a definite cause, and it seemed certain that it would break out in a matter of weeks, perhaps at the earliest.

And in today’s meeting, other nobles demanded that Asrazan directly participate in the war.

There were many reasons. Because he is the best power in the empire, the Duchy of Kandel is close to the Danube Kingdom, etc…

However, the real reason was simply to pass the trouble to Asrazan. That in itself was also a problem for the capital aristocrats.

If it was the original Asrazan, he would have agreed. It was because he knew his karma as a war demon overlaid on him.

But this time it was different.

“No, I don’t need to.”

Asrazan spoke firmly.

“I have no intention of leaving Lariette behind.”

If I went to war, I had to be away from her for at least a week. On the basis of that fact alone, Asrazan refused to participate in the war despite the emperor’s consolation.

In my current mood, I felt like I was going to die even if I didn’t see her for just one day. No, what a day. I went crazy because I missed seeing her for half a day.

But war, more than a week apart! It was nonsense.

“There will be a lot of commotion.”

“There is no reason to force it. Rather, what about the new arrivals in Ranoche?”

“Oh, don’t worry. Melissa is educating them.”

Asrazan nodded as a sign of understanding.

Contrary to his blunt expression, he trusted quite a few of his subordinates. He spared no support for his subordinates, who reciprocated with the results.

Because they were selected based on their abilities, regardless of their status, the members were diverse, but their loyalty to Asrazan was the same. It was also the most emphasized part when educating newcomers.

“Ah, but two of them are a little…”

Gerard didn’t speak, but kept his mouth shut. It was because he could feel a sign approaching from afar. In recent years, he has been the most frequently checked sign.

Asrazan gave him a brief glance. Gerard, who understood the meaning, quickly hid  himself.

And soon a lovely voice rang in their ears.

“Asrazan!”

A faint smile appeared on Asrazan’s face. Gerard, who had been with him all day, had a smile he had never seen before.

“Lariette. What brings you here….”

Unlike the voice he gave to Gerard, his voice was softer than that. It’s a shame because he’s used to it now, but it was Gerard who forgot he was hiding and almost made a whip sound.

However, the conversation continued, and as Lariette uttered lewd lines with a pure face, Gerard really wanted to run away.

“Or shall we take a bath together?”

Asrazan’s ears instantly turned red. It was only when he saw it with his own two eyes that Gerard thought with a terrible heart.

‘Please do it without me!’

He didn’t know how many times he had already seen their love affairs. It was like torture for him, who had been single for several years.

But, of course, Asrazan, who did not care much about others, responded without paying any attention to it.

“Shall we go straight to the bathroom?”

* * *

A warm stream of water flowed down Asrazan’s strong muscles. Water glistened over his lower body, wrapped in a towel.

Asrazan sat in a large bath filled with water. A fresh breeze blew in through the open window, and the half-soaked water was just pleasantly warm.

It was such a perfect situation, but strangely, Asrazan’s expression was not very good.

He stared at Lariette with dissatisfied eyes with his lips closed. It was an open look, as if he had no intention of hiding it.

Lariette noticed that gaze and asked in a calm voice.

“Huh? Are you uncomfortable?”

“… Didn’t you say we would take a bath  together?”

But I’m the only one washing. Asrazan added in a blunt voice.

Lariette suggested that we take a bath together, but when we got to the bathroom, she behaved differently. Asrazan followed her instructions and took off his shirt, she didn’t unbutton a single button.

Unsatisfied with this, Asrazan narrowed his eyes and watched Lariette move. She attended Asrazan’s bath with some sincerity, but this was not what he wanted.

“That was a joke. Instead, I’ll wash you like this.”

Lariette shrugged her shoulders shamelessly. In fact, she said too much because she wanted to see Asrahan being embarrassed.

However, unexpectedly, Asrazan quickly accepted the offer without any hesitation. It was a moment when I missed that cute figure of the past, when I didn’t know what to do just by holding his hand.

“… If you are going to wash it, please wash it properly.”

“Yes? It’s better….”

I washed my hair hard, but what more can I do? Lariette’s eyes widened in wonder.

At that moment, Asrazan’s hand gently wrapped around her wrist.

Swoosh!

In an instant, the distance between the two narrowed. They had been close from the beginning, but now that Asrazan pulled her, it was as if their bodies would overlap at any moment.

“It means being washed.”

Asrazan said with a languid smile on his lips. With the other hand, he grabbed the soap and placed it in her hand.

“Isn’t it just to wash everything off with soap?”

Asrazan clasped her hands with both hands, making sure that the palms were sufficiently soaked with soap. After the soap bubbled up quite a bit, he put her hand to his chest.

Illustration

“The sponge is itchy. You can wash it by hand.”

“Wh, what…!”

When she felt the firm muscles under the palm of her hand, Lariette was startled and tried to remove her hand. But she couldn’t move because his hand was holding her.

As I raised my gaze in bewilderment, I saw him staring at me as if he was about to eat me. Contrary to his relaxed smile, his eyes were full of passion.

“Didn’t you say that you would wash me?”

Asrazan gave Lariette’s hand and gently squeezed it. Soft palms ran down the sharp curves of his upper body as he intended.

Lariette stared at the perfect man’s body in front of her with her shaky pupils. The way he seduced herself while wet in the water with his half-naked figure was really, really sexy.

Drops of water dripped from his wet hair and ran down his muscles. Lariette, who looked down along with it, swallowed saliva without realizing it. It felt like my mouth was dry from the extreme tension.

Surely Asrazan was wearing a towel underneath. The huge thing was again revealing its hideous presence. It was the  thing that tormented her all night.

When he realized where she was looking, Asrazan’s skin stiffened for a moment. He drew a blue vein over his forearm, whispering softly in Lariette’s ear.

“Or, would it be better to wash together?”

Lariette trembled at the breath that touched her ear. At the same time it was intense.

It was clearly a plan he had devised to make fun of the shy Asrazan, but she was the one who was suffering.

I couldn’t stay still like this. I can’t lose like this! Let’s see who wins?!

It wasn’t even a fight, but Lariette thought bitterly and opened her mouth.

“No, because it’s my day to wash you.”

Lariette smiled softly and moved her hand. And without hesitation, she began to touch his body.

“As you told me to, I’ll soap it clean first.”

Starting from the nape of the neck, to broad shoulders and a strong chest, to the big abs. As a soft touch wrapped around his muscles, Asrazan bit his lip to endure the urge.

But as her hand tickled his belly, Asrazan could not bear it and let out a low moan.

“Ugh…!”

“Even if it tickles, you have to endure it, Asrazan.”

Lariette’s eyes were curved like a fox. It was very satisfying to see Asrazan looking at her with anxious eyes.

And her hand went down even further.