Chapter 518

The person who stepped through the open door was not alone. Nathan Zuckerman, who had skipped today's party, quietly followed behind Kishiar.

"As soon as I received the news, I came. Has anything out of the ordinary happened in the meantime?"

"No."

Kanna responded with a tense face.

"You've done a lot. I'll leave you in charge of leading the remaining members back to headquarters."

"Understood. Then I'll take my leave. Also, I'll give this back to you."

Bowing her head slightly, Kanna glanced at Yuder. Her gaze was filled with complex, indescribable emotions.

"... Yuder. See you later."

Yuder was deeply curious about what information Kanna had gleaned from him, but now didn't seem like the time to inquire.

'I guess she's not avoiding me like before... I should talk to her properly when I get back.'

After Kanna left, Nathan Zuckerman closed the door behind him to ward off any potential visitors who might come to the lounge.

Finally alone, Kishiar dropped the smile he had been wearing. Approaching him was a man exuding a mix of various smells, from alcohol to food, suggesting he had been constantly on the move.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I apologize for causing you concern."

"Looks like you really have woken up."

Kishiar let out a soft sigh. Sitting across from him, he asked Yuder what he remembered up to this point. Yuder detailed the events that occurred when he met Kiolle, and what happened immediately afterwards.

"So you remember my coming and going, but not the specifics of our conversations?"

"Yes."

"Any idea why you got suddenly intoxicated?"

"I felt intoxicated after receiving treatment for the wound on my hand. I suspect something related happened in that interval. Did you find out anything related to this?"

"Yes. The object that wounded your hand belonged to a knight from the Diarca Family who had served the Emperor five generations ago when he was a Crown Prince. It was made from the fang of a monster called the Red-winged Drakandia."

Kishiar spoke smoothly, without hesitation. While listening to him, Yuder felt astonished.

'I didn't know such a minor detail...'

He had known that the material symbolizing the red color of the Crown Prince's escort knights was made from monster byproducts, but he had never anticipated that this detail could lead to his current situation.

Normally, even if he had a 'weakness,' such a minor wound wouldn't have affected him much. In fact, thinking back on his past life, wounds inflicted by monsters healed more slowly and resisted magic and medicinal treatment, but they ultimately healed, and he never found them particularly inconvenient.

'Could the problem have been that I was injured while I had consumed Quelochet?'

In retrospect, the small scratch seemed to bleed continuously, refusing to clot.

"I don't think Kiolle Da Diarca did this intentionally. But don't take this matter lightly either."

"What do you mean?"

At Kishiar's words, heavy with implications, Yuder looked up. Kishiar's face tightened, his expression a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"Apparently, my assistant has a tendency to underestimate the power of what he himself has publicly acknowledged as his 'sole weakness.'"

"..."

"A mundane drink can become poison depending on the person. You can see that from the not-so-rare stories of people dying from alcohol. So what would a drink designed to exploit a 'weakness' do to you?"

Yuder broke the silence, finally speaking.

"Do you think what I experienced was more than mere intoxication?"

"The sensations felt by those who are drunk and those experiencing mild withdrawal symptoms can be quite similar. If my assistant had ever been drunk on some other drink, he could have differentiated between the two. But if he has never been intoxicated by something unrelated to his 'weakness,' how can he be sure it was just simple drunkenness?"

That was indeed the case. Aside from the drink made with monster blood that contained poison, and what he had consumed today, Yuder could not say with certainty that he had ever been intoxicated.

A heavy voice, laden with implications too significant for phrases like "I was fine," echoed in his ears.

"This time, the effects were not severe and you recovered quickly, which is fortunate. But we cannot say for certain that it will be the same next time. You understand what I mean better than anyone else."

"...Yes."

"I know why you drank the Quilochet, and if I were in the same situation, and thought I could handle it without any slip-ups, I would have done the same. So, I won't say anything more about that. But now that both of us have come to know facts that we were previously unaware of, should a similar situation arise in the future... your judgment must be different."

Kishiar made it clear that this was all he expected.

Even though his tone remained calm, the weight of his words was immense. Yuder knew that every word was correct, which made them all the more impactful.

"Is there anything else you'd like to discuss about this matter?"

"Nothing, Commander. My judgment was inadequate. It won't happen again."

Shaking his head, Kishiar exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. As his penetrating red gaze disappeared behind his eyelids, a restless tension bubbled up within Yuder.

That tension seemed to stem from an inexplicable urge that could only be alleviated by seeing those eyes again.

Finally, Kishiar opened his eyes. Gone was the emotionless face of the Cavalry Commander, replaced by the warm expression of a deeply passionate man.

"...Yuder."

"Yes."

"Come here."

Without a word, Yuder moved closer. The man took his hand and gently guided it onto his lap before speaking again.

"Place your hand here."

As Yuder extended both hands, the man took out a pair of white gloves from his lap and began to silently put them on Yuder's hands, one at a time. They were the very gloves Yuder had worn earlier but had taken off after being wounded.

The scent that enveloped him as their bodies drew near was deeply intoxicating. It made Yuder want to close his eyes and lose himself in it.

"Would it be alright to ask how you knew in advance that Quilochet would be given to you?"

After completing the right glove, Kishiar started on the left as he asked the question. Yuder had been contemplating discussing this point in more detail since the party, so he readily responded.

"I didn't exactly anticipate that it would happen. I merely thought various methods might be employed, and one of them happened to match. I also considered the possibility that it could be a gift to someone else, not me."

"Various methods, you say."

Kishiar paused while fitting the glove onto Yuder's left hand, seemingly contemplating the torn part that had scratched against a pin. Silence filled the space for a moment. Yuder could almost sense the multitude of thoughts crossing Kishiar's mind with just that phrase.

"Do you remember earlier, when I visited, you talked as if you'd been drunk like this multiple times before?"

"...Did I say that?"

That was something Yuder hadn't considered. His confused blinking was met with a faint smile from Kishiar.

"I'm telling you because it's unfair for me to remember something you said while you don't. But judging by your expression, I don't need to ask further."

"Did I say anything else?"

"Most of what you said was endearing."

Even though he had little memory of it, Yuder felt that must be a joke.

Kishiar didn't let go of Yuder's hand, even after putting on both gloves. He leaned forward and tenderly kissed Yuder's nape. The overwhelming sensation instantly scattered Yuder's lingering questions like fog. Yuder tightened his grip on their entwined hands and pulled Kishiar toward him.

The moment their eyes met, nothing else was needed. Kishiar's lips met Yuder's in a kiss that conveyed more emotion than a hundred words could. They both felt a renewed understanding of how bodily warmth could express far more than spoken language.

"...Did you get a message that Her Majesty the Empress wishes to see me?"

Yuder broke the long kiss and spoke softly.

"No."

"I told her I would come."

"Then it seems I will set foot in the Dawn Palace after a long time."

Kishiar declared his intent to accompany Yuder as if it were the most natural thing in the world.