Chapter 93

He wanted to see her react a little more sensitively.

As Rodion dug deep inside his nose and made wrinkles between Irene’s eyebrows, he could feel her breath quivering. The more he held her tightly to her body and held his breath, the more suppressed desire lifted his head, and it wasn’t just about the physical senses.

‘A little more…’

He wanted to be a little more violent.

He wanted to see sharp sobs and tears flow from those lips, rather than just pushing them until they ran out of breath like now. With just a few kisses, he wanted to bite her lips, which already looked red and swollen, and turn them bright red.

If there wasn’t a place on her skin that he hadn’t touched, if those purple eyes gazing down at him were all covered with tears…

“Ha…”

Feeling his mouth dry just by imagining it, Rodion had to take a few slow breaths to cool off. Even in that short time, he also didn’t forget to bite and let go of the other person’s lips, whose chest was rushing up and down.

“Rea.”

The feeling of thirst being engraved at once.

A kiss always made him forget his thirst for a moment, but at the same time, it was an act that aroused more desire.

His string of reason was slowly fading.

If Irene had known this fact, she would’ve tried to get away from Rodion right away though she wasn’t wary of him because of her affection and trust in him, whom she had seen since he was young. It could’ve been good if she had known that the boy she had been seeing and the man in front of her were completely different people, but no one was there to tell her that.

As Rodion had a hard time being patient any longer…

“Rea, we—”

At that moment.

Knock, knock.

A knock was heard at the door.

“Are you done?”

It was Ahibalt.

Thankfully, he was faithfully following Irene’s request not to open the door until Rodion fell asleep. It was fortunate. If he had just opened the door, it would’ve been difficult to explain.

Irene hurriedly pulled her body away, and after arranging her appearance briefly, she answered.

“Wait a minute, he just needs to take the medicine. Here, Young Master.”

Taking the medicine bottle she had left on the tray, she hurriedly held it out to Rodion. Meanwhile, he stared at the door for a long time, looking very uneasy for some reason, before finally sighing and taking the bottle. He ate the terrible-tasting medicine quite well, but still, he couldn’t stop the frown.

Rodion was able to straighten his wrinkled face only after he drank the drink that Irene offered him.

“This one doesn’t really taste good.”

““Thank you for your hard work.”

“How long do I have to eat it? Does it work? I just fall asleep every time.”

Rodion knew that what he was taking was not a sleeping pill but a medicine to treat some illnesses. Even that was something that Irene had managed to calm down and convince him.

“If you take your medicine and rest, you’ll get better soon.”

“Is it really so?”

“Of course.”

“Then, will Rea be by my side until then?”

Irene consciously raised the corners of her mouth instead of answering him.

Rodion made an expression that he wanted to ask more questions, but the effect of the sleeping pills was close to immediate effect. Nevertheless, he tried to get an answer somehow while still holding her hand.

In the end, he eventually let go of his hand after less than a minute.

With his eyes closed, Rodion fell into a deep sleep with a gentleness befitting his puppy-like face as if he had never been so ferocious. Seeing that, Irene put the blanket over him, who had returned to a young man’s face, and opened the door.

There, she found Ahibalt, who was standing in front of the door, raising his head. And on that face, the usual affection and joy stood out.

“Irene.”

“I’m sorry I’m late, Young Master.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It was me who came to see you unexpectedly. More than that… your clothes look a little wrinkled.”

The smile slowly faded from Ahibalt’s face.

As his hand moved closer to Irene’s nape, the collar of the crumpled blouse was straightened at his gesture. Then, his gaze came up slowly from the button on Irene’s neck to her eyes resembling amethyst.

“You seem a little flustered.”

Asking so, his head tilted at an angle.

Due to the close distance, instead of lowering his head, he was staring at Irene by lowering his eyes, and lightly pigmented eyelashes slanted down cast shadows over his cheeks. The gaze that followed the shadow stopped for a moment on Irene’s lips, which still had swelling.

However, it wasn’t for very long because Irene opened her mouth as she looked away from him.

“I guess my fever rose a little after I was arguing to appease the Youngest Master.”

“…It could be. Has his condition improved?”

“It’s the same. I thought it’d get better with time…”

‘Perhaps, he’d stay like that until he takes the antidote.’

Recalling Rodion when he was awake, Irene’s eyes turned to the closed door.

It was the first time in many times to have a conversation and spend a lot of time with Rodion, who had lost his reason. And, she was learning things she hadn’t known before, one by one.

‘I thought being encroached upon by Elios was simply a change of personality…’

…Rather than that, it felt like his memories had changed a little. He now had no memories of Rodion, whom she had known. Of course, now Rodion had no idea that Charlotte had put something into his tea and that it had made him collapse.

‘That doesn’t mean that he completely lost his memory.’

It wasn’t that Rodion didn’t recognize people. On the contrary, he recognized them, but he was also extremely wary and hated them.

“All I need is Rea. I don’t need anyone else.”

“Other Young Masters would be upset if they heard that.”

“Why is Rea so naive? Do you really think that?”

Rodion, who asked that question, had sorrowful eyes. It’d be a lie if she said that the Rodion she knew wasn’t superimposed on that figure.

‘And, Rodion at the time of his death…’

Irene, who inadvertently recalled his death, closed her eyes while frowning her face involuntarily. Recalling it always left a sharp pain like gripping a dagger.

‘…There’s no need to think deeply.’

Irene tried to escape from her thoughts by repeating to herself.

‘Because Edith holds the answers to all the questions.’

It’d be all right. It’s okay…

“Irene.”

When she opened her eyes at her name being called, she could see that the person she had forgotten for a while was showing concern. Originally, he was a person whose expression didn’t change much, but Irene could see the concern that filled his entire face.

Still, the reason he didn’t dare to ask if she was okay was probably because he knew that the question itself could be a kind of restraint.

Irene hurriedly straightened her expression.

“I’m fine, Young Master. I’m sorry.”

“Every time you say that, I feel bad.”

Saying that he should ban apologies, Ahibalt then slightly narrowed his brows. Perhaps, it was an excuse for her not to make any more apologies.

In the end, Irene nodded her head, holding herself back from her recent slackness.

“I’ll correct it.”

“Let’s see how long you can do it. More than that, Irene, why do you think I came to you?”

“…You want to check on the condition of the Youngest Master?”

“If so, I would’ve said that I came to find Rodion, not you.”

Ahibalt replied as he smiled loosely before giving the answer.

“I just got the news. His mother hastily left for Lowens this afternoon.”

“…And Miss Veronica left yesterday?”

“To be precise, this early morning.”

It meant that Lichpen would be empty tonight.

The moment Irene heard those words, she suddenly turned her head and looked out of his window. It was thickly covered with dusk. A time when light, shadow and twilight were intertwined…

A bluish twilight fell over the two of them.

Among them, only Irene’s merciful epitheted strangely before she opened her mouth, seized by the quiet bliss.

“It’s today.”

At last.

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