CH 92

Esmond looked at the paladin quietly. After a long while, he sighed lightly. He lifted his hand to the other person’s shoulder, and lightly pressed his forehead against it.

The opponent was able to easily dispel his disguise technique and also able to deal such a serious injury to the paladin. It was obvious whom Ivan had run up against.

But this time, he was the one who acted first without consulting anyone. He really did not have a leg to stand on in this case. He couldn’t reprimand Ivan about an agreement that obviously did not have much binding force.

Ultimately, neither one of them were able to turn a blind eye on the situation at hand.

Su Shi slept comfortably. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the warm and soft hay.

The protagonist’s cardinal robes covered his body like a blanket. The fiery bright red color was like a sea of blood reflected in his eyes.

After a while, he gradually snapped out of his stupor and remembered what had happened before he’d fallen unconscious.

Recalling his previous behavior, Su Shi’s face became hot at once. He pulled up the cardinal robes in despair and buried his head in the fabric.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Off to one side, the cardinal was roasting meat for him. When the cardinal heard a sound, he turned his head over and saw Su Shi’s reaction. The hint of a smile entered his gaze and he said softly, “You’re awake?”

Su Shi remained motionless. He was determined not to utter a word.

Esmond was worried that he would suffocate under the robes and also worried about his injury. Calmly and effortlessly, he untangled the paladin from his robes. With a smile on his face, he rubbed the paladin’s hair.

“I have to say—you skipped over all of the dining halls and kitchens in the imperial palace, and felt your way through the dark to come directly to the prison to find me, I am very moved…”

“All right already, stop talking.”

Su Shi interrupted him in a depressed voice. He sighed resentfully, raised his uninjured arm to rub at his forehead, and tried to sit up.

Esmond offered a hand and told Su Shi to lean on him. Without making Su Shi lift a hand, Esmond blew on the roasted meat and carefully brought it to Su Shi’s mouth.

“I know you must be hungry. I can’t go out for too long. First, eat a little something to pad the stomach.”

The meat was grilled to a glossy gold color. Su Shi’s gaze unconsciously tracked the meat, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. The great responsibility of picking up the pot was flung to the back of his head for the time being.

Paladins did not get paid and they usually lived in the en masse dormitories. He did not have any money on his person and he did not dare to be too ostentatious. So he used his ice powers to make a lifelike facsimile of a bunny and was only able to exchange it for a piece of bread from a young lady.

No place to live, no money to buy food, even if he really wanted to break up (with the papacy) in a fit of anger, when the time came, he would still have to take the initiative to come back and act chummy.

Su Shi sullenly ate the offered piece of meat. The solar powered Su Shi felt as if the God of Light was using him.

Esmond didn’t know what was going on in Su Shi’s mind. He continued to patiently feed him the meat one piece at a time.

The door was closed up. When the wind blew it produced a sharp ear-piercing creaking sound.

When Su Shi busted into the prison, he did not bother to conceal his movements. Thinking back, he felt somewhat guilty about his actions. He glanced at the closed prison door that was no longer serving its purpose of locking up the prisoner, and also took a quick peek at the door guard.

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The small golden flame was still devotedly roasting the giant lump of ice. The guard was still in the exact same position he was in when Su Shi had broken in. The melting progress was very gratifying. The ice was soon melted up to the guard’s knees.

Su Shi caught the teasing smile in the protagonist’s eyes and he became slightly flustered. He raised a hand to rub at the tip of his nose.

“Did I disrupt your plan?”

“There will always be changes in the plan. Seeing you is an unexpected delight.”

Esmond originally wanted to reiterate with him that no risk was allowed. After a long silence, his heart still softened, and his eyes were filled with tender affection for the person in front of him. He gathered up the other person and pressed his forehead against him.

The cardinal’s embrace was strong and warm. Su Shi leaned against him, comfortable and pleased. As reciprocation, he honestly and sincerely told him to hug him for a spell. After being reinvigorated, he leaped up off the ground, full of energy.

“Okay, I should go now.”

The task of whitewashing the protagonist was only half completed. He had to find the archbishop and several older senior bishops as soon as possible, and publicize the evidence.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

He kissed him, slept with him, and now he was leaving just like that. Even the treatment of a male escort would demand more than this.

[T/N: Esmond is making a double entendre comparison in his head. In this case Esmond is the male escort and Su Shi is the callous customer, who is leaving as soon as he got what he needed. XD]

Esmond raised his head, stunned. He met Su Shi’s gaze and felt that it would be too frivolous and lacking in manners to say this straightforwardly. Only after a long while did he say, “If you get hungry again, what will you do?”

“Then I’ll just go find a kitchen and rob the cook!”