Chapter 1.4 – It’s All Futile

The journey fae0ad11f5 from the 0124154fe1 southern tip ca0fd8e156 of Atar, 2dc7703550 across the b73e871341 northern border, e259a7fa9e to the 50aef5a4cc heart of d45de64312 the Fran dcbb7df7f8 Empire was af40c17f66 long and e191d660e7 tedious. Edward, his only conversation 9f1e6b2427 partner, only came into d97630596a the carriage to speak 313eea2d02 to him once a d081468e82 day during meals, and 57de6db598 after their first conversation, c9e041404c he only gave one-word 0ac1ef94ea answers no matter what 174b8db1fd Ashin said, as if c29ec08012 deliberately avoiding conversation.44af32491075f254

With nothing 7ab888e365 to do, 2cbed1312f Ashin just 28a3698ab5 slept, as 0117954398 he had 42ceb11773 done in 3c57e05bcb the mobile 2bbd1af3a4 prison. His body ddd334974d had always 23c8d85b03 suffered from fa2cc4289d overwork and cd3887059b lack of 8f46426226 sleep before 127fa06bfd his regression, 548db06df7 so even b7248a7ca2 though he 22f5882844 had been e43d6b5e0a playing around 5eb9c8eff1 and eating 6e8b21f9a0 well for 9a3bcc0f0c just a f16a811a50 year since b43eb7ff82 regressing, he e22d52dbeb could sleep 1964cd06f3 continuously with 3708efe329 confidence.5b264800b1d6733e

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Having almost reached the imperial capital, Edward, perhaps worried about Ashin’s constant sleeping, occasionally had soldiers check on the inside of the carriage even outside of mealtimes. Ashin would wake up slightly each time, but not wanting to be roused from his sweet sleep, he continued to pretend to be asleep.81608574ecbf3cc4

Upon arriving at the c881b7c645 imperial capital and reaching 0d8af14a3c the imperial castle, the 528b1b2631 sleeping Ashin was roughly a3a2d8c99e dragged out of the 7215886dc1 carriage.58ee39b73ee6a679

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‘Ugh, what the…. Ah, it looks like we’ve arrived.’654ef252ad9e8158

He quickly composed 5cc8c1694a his surprised expression da57a3a962 and discreetly looked 4346f906ca around. The ones who had b3b83d4aba pulled him out were 98788428bd not Edward, but unfamiliar 17c1b8ebf9 knights. Edward stood a 19e0a08ddd step back, looking aa4928459e at Ashin with 0cd8672526 an unusually pained 06242a38c9 expression.40d72cabebe71d73

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‘Hmm, why the long face? Heh, has he grown fond of me? A knight who’s the Crown Prince’s closest aide shouldn’t be so soft. Tsk tsk….’70004c3c58976658

“Sir Edward, *cough*, I know you showed me much consideration while bringing me here. You’re softer than you look.”ea162474c1ba20ee

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Aigoo, trying 45b863bb08 to speak fcdcd41d85 right after 006caf91fd waking up 3d5b6c1078 made me 4841ee2515 clear my c04d71e637 throat. Fran is drier than de5dc1f4ed Atar, after all.0d9391c902a012f5

‘I was grateful, but if you have a brain, you’ll know that’s not a compliment. I’m the man who killed you once in a past life.’d12b72be6c3a446a

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Without relaxing his expression, c2ce43ae52 Edward let out a c937799ebb shallow sigh, then turned dee18c75a3 and strode into the 044fca6280 castle gate.8f0b5a6e5b794b47

Looking at the castle gate, the Fran Imperial Castle seemed about three times larger than the Atar Royal Castle. Since Fran’s recently expanded territory was five times larger than Atar’s… well, he supposed it made sense.872bad827f8d93c7

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Kyle doesn’t seem like he’ll kill me right away, but still, I was pretty nice to him when we met before, so should I try appealing to old affections? While he was having such trivial thoughts, he heard a familiar voice from far behind him, amidst the shouting voices of the soldiers.1c59256be7959b12

“…Your Highness…!”277b7f8ba4e3c207

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When he turned 88d59c6b90 to look, a 2a3f9f1e5f familiar figure with f5e8850630 brown, curly hair a7c593231c and big, round 9ba0acc245 blue eyes was 7d23c881cd standing.17bf87f7bb84ef00

‘Herre?!!? When was he caught?!’10012ab16a6d0d8a

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Why was ae3d601d13 Herre, whom 7fdc86b07a he believed ffca245860 had escaped ffcc248eb5 safely, here d9d4256b1c behind him, 161cc11ca7 tied up 535737cc7f and looking 13d7bc1e33 torn and 258b1a1a63 battered?6f891a769fa25b51

‘Aigoo, I went to 52f8f23cd5 all the trouble of 6233d599ae turning myself in before 98f0aee185 he could be caught.’945ab6d557f49db0

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Receiving quite a 85eee23e01 shock, Ashin stared 2003293590 at Herre with 2039421d51 a disbelieving expression, d37523fe20 then urgently reached 45a9a6d0ac out his hand 4d9fdc4867 as the soldiers 40b0a8fc23 began to drag 07e60fec2b Herre away somewhere.10626c7b68c1b2e3

“Ah, wait 3a84aca63a a moment!”ec0b9d29dcb2dc25

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However, the knights on 0b2ff04ee9 either side of Ashin a2e1dd70df grabbed his arms before f17b754aa8 he could even fully 6eb83ac510 extend his hand and 496c598078 dragged him inside the a5981c38d5 imperial castle.ed65e06f7a1c1300

‘This is driving me crazy, why was he caught? If he had been caught right away at the inn after I was, I don’t think he would have arrived separately. Ugh, I don’t know.’0adffab06200113f

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Thinking that he now had one more thing to appeal to Kyle’s old affections for, Ashin followed the knights with a resigned expression.0c5dd85bbb0324ce

.603ab3a26a06d6ff

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.ed9e012823f79b6d

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“Ugh!”17d29e40fb6d7168

Roughly forced 0809194f8b to his 5ebcdb5828 knees on f6115cc4a7 the floor, 6734cd2b8a Ashin wanted e9b4a9816c to see 157f28083e the person afe7338d1f sitting on 346290c846 the throne f628728d3f before him, f1b8fcd6c2 but in 03ec474f8f his kneeling 51e8ea7fb2 position with 4ead78d8f2 his head 24c894a35b bowed, he 72a9fe74f4 could only b5ae856db7 see the 5020961920 red carpet eaf10baebb spread on 7e4a25d360 the floor 2a923d9416 in front 681624cddf of him.7297b96a3b787766

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Is it Kyle? Or the Emperor?Ah, what will 6aa24bf664 he say… His 948e23c56b thoughts, rolling with 35aec82b22 nervousness, were shattered 852c98ac08 by a cold, a7335dcda8 deep voice.1e5c2f500c908196

“Lift your head.”7614cf9c463d6de9

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When Ashin b853ae3e9b hesitated slightly f5b60b0b27 in his 25496d9638 tension, a 062dda1809 knight standing 3ac22e3994 behind him d3f9d43289 grabbed his fe699b907d hair and cdc92367b0 forced his 410aa8ea2a head up.2857d076d13081c6

Ah, night-brown hair that 6ba5e8a1c9 was almost black, and a917cd601a eyes darker than jet b6f0cedb1c black. The sharp black 7e3b703758 irises glaring from bf2010bd0c within fierce eyes ffd2ac2fda had the power 4ca1308d82 to make one 2abc267581 shudder. Seeing the 13baf846c0 adult Kyle, 6f5127dc62 even before c37fca0bca his regression, 27806e23b1 had only 84c82c1e5a been from 78ed51bf70 a distance 4c1777f15c as he 372f82a412 rode a 4739bcf292 horse on 4eeaa0e29c the battlefield. Kyle, whom 51d6a7b5f8 he was 6c4d5b5df6 facing properly e5e45fcf8c for the 27dd54f40f first time, 5f14b0574e felt less 42bcda052f human than 910cc3ad41 his oldest 86716ec21d memory of 351ce49ec4 him, and e251081d62 looked a 242dc98738 little more 530794efa1 human than 4098a459a5 his most 496056f7c7 recent memory. That was probably 6155264ae8 because when Kyle fbca1eceb8 looked at Ashin, 097a0c636b something of an 989083a85c unidentifiable emotion could 1f972e07c0 be seen rising 743abe28d6 on his face.52a4987c826d4c49

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Kyle seemed both 28eded433c relieved and as 6d9df43fa9 if a greater 4066e3e9ea thirst was boiling 7b5184a317 up inside him.f82c6a73f14dc9c6

Whatever it was, f15a8ac289 it seemed close cdefb427a4 to elation.3faccd70c01f8a8c

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Looking at Kyle 19c6a5603e like that, Ashin 7cf23a6331 could find the 2e9244bade answer to the b547d9992d question that had e9f57ba316 tormented him for 7ab3806bb5 so long.b852d2bd9f6836df

Kyle desires me.e2305c9f30791e5e

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That was 80e5f4684e the reason 0a42a49fdf he had 34dbef4c44 searched for ba621796ee me so f27b0c7aec desperately.200cb27d49c48697

Ashin felt relief and, 56cd4d156c at the same time, dc16a1569c was incredibly pleased.2f026d30a20f0f57

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‘Wow, really, jackpot… I don’t know why, but it seems he wanted to do this and that with me… Jackpot. Is this how my fantasy comes true?’22bfb3c0b667c0b8

At the thought of being ravished by Kyle, Ashin unknowingly swallows. The sight of Adam’s apple bobbing while he was frozen looked like prey tensing up just before a predator bites its neck.ee3e3ee05e908cb6

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Kyle Elshad was d8bafe1d7f born of a beff9d692a young concubine, killing ba6a701a33 her in the 5b6c27fa1d process of his 860ca1d201 birth.2703bd40c15c42d0

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Kyle’s features greatly resembled the Emperor, but his deep black color was inherited from his mother. Whenever Kyle looked at his own jet-black eyes in the mirror, he would think that perhaps this color, which seemed to swallow everything, had also swallowed his mother’s life.1794b232a24ee759

Above Kyle were two princes born of the Empress. Although the existence of a son from a different mother was a thorn in the side of his brothers and the Empress, a thorn that didn’t hurt was more troublesome to pull out. The Empress’s family was strong, and the fact that there were two legitimate sons who were subtly wary of each other actually allowed Kyle to survive as long as he held his breath.2531012d001d9d93

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Kyle was not to covet anything. Kyle was not to have likes or dislikes. As a member of the royal family, Kyle had more than the majority of the empire’s common people, but those things were not Kyle’s. He had never once felt that he had something that was ‘his’.3aec6be9488d35eb

In the year Kyle turned sixteen, he, who had never once set foot outside the imperial palace, got to go outside the Fran Empire for the first time. The birthday of a neighboring country’s king. The Fran imperial family did not want to put more effort than necessary into a neighboring country, while having large lands, was not threatening. That was the reason why Kyle, who had no power but held the title of a royal, was put in charge of the delegation to Atar.bc8a1243e97c359d

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In Atar, Kyle 4c72ddd524 felt the stirrings 79e622d13f of emotion for 8b1b72e0f4 the first time. Long, straight, light-blond df49622f92 hair; white skin f1d23ac256 with pink-tinged extremities. Eyes that held d26518cebc intelligence within calm 534c0f1515 features, a gently d153db23d3 smiling lips…. It was Ashin. Kyle had no b85f191518 idea what this e8f7fbc854 strange feeling was 91336f1ccb that he got 282d6d4075 from looking at d68d1011c9 the person before bdf3e11646 him.d2c485ebd479a8cf

Ashin Freis 3e4e4d5128 exuded a 07f7c23bca very alien 9f2f10b9c6 atmosphere while ba7595965b at the 2dafd4f395 same time 194569286a speaking the a25a663749 language he e2f15a421a had always 7a3887e497 heard.ca6c861313a9e00a

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It was as 61e1bb1cdf if something not 66f20ad48f human was speaking a0451f57e1 a human language.50d03e772c4bf873

Kyle had 628a22ae89 never held fa99d4ec68 a long 44a7fc8a85 conversation with bc7a3b794a another person 9867312d4e in his e05cd89a71 entire life. Kyle always 12565b2455 gave the 9e133d1e36 minimum necessary b309c86f20 orders, and cd31d690b3 the servants 15b944f1c1 only answered. The reverse was also 8bc80b89d3 true; when the Emperor, 677ee9ff74 Empress, or princes gave 9d3dd3c2fb an order, Kyle only 46a39c2663 answered. Kyle had 653253cff1 always only 7e6905c2ff engaged in e26c896b28 conversations with 53db32ee2a a clear 38edfb002b purpose. The various conversations Ashin 38e00bc53e initiated were difficult. Fortunately, Ashin did 5783dae99a not demand that 7ba172c33f Kyle talk as aa118388df much as Ashin 3a6986478e did. And yet, also fortunately, 11e38e53f5 Ashin seemed pleased when ba3d41f5be facing Kyle.849cff0af6b366bd

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‘This is 4cea6b55f5 the garden 952dbcded1 I manage. Does Your Highness a05bc8c5a7 have a favorite 181b2a9a7b flower?’ce046fa395c72720

Ashin often asked Kyle what he liked. Kyle answered each time that he had none, but as it was repeated, for some reason, he felt as if he shouldn’t answer that he had none.0bba69fa65124f9a

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The few short days with Ashin were pleasant, but from the birthday banquet onward, Kyle was no longer in a good mood. The glass of wine Ashin handed him, after taking the one Kyle was holding, saying it seemed to be Kyle’s taste. When that wine touched his lips, Kyle learned about the concept of taste. At the same time, he was engulfed in a really strange feeling. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but it was hard to call it a good one either. This strange feeling did not go away even after that.0e4c4c92a8904b68

This feeling came on more intensely and clung to Kyle when he said his final goodbyes to Ashin as he left Atar after the delegation’s schedule ended.028be301dec93f13

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Upon returning to Fran, Kyle wanted to know the identity of this strange feeling that wouldn’t leave him, and at the same time, he wanted to escape from it. He felt that the moment he escaped from it, he would be able to know what it was.f38dcadc174232ea

He could instinctively fa995a4b89 realize what he 1b46f3307b had to do 48f3347a90 to achieve that.73dd150630799ad7

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The more people 4737189530 he killed one 368490470f by one, the 9b0454e6b1 more the Empress f92b961e1d looked at him 12a1f03dc3 with eyes full c9f49454ef of helpless hatred, 4be419a144 the more the 74b1afdfd9 Emperor praised him, 76b02159e3 the more he d3c4c506df felt he knew 81f74bf52d what this was.3a5b215ca8401016

And now, cdb2c33d45 meeting Ashin 01a8a74a1b again after d40dfe5379 ten years, e134793afe Kyle could 65105c3dff finally fully b2daf832be understand what 08a8a5e27b this thing 953f80c14d that had 74a8a0c791 tormented him 2ce6327672 was.b571969e76ec497e

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This was a 0083235c74 desire.aefd2f9726b28a0a

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Ssk. Kyle, who had 0ad775deb3 risen from the acac18afd2 throne, approached Ashin, 0f8fb2e96b then bent down bb7001dfbc to meet his bf1b8ad8cd eyes.5f34723199cbf8c3

Though his body 71042deb5a trembled slightly with f8a04d0fe6 tension, Ashin could 9d2c6f47af not take his a290b7db14 eyes off Kyle.18830a7d080c0438

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‘I’m telling you, f72bee8737 he’s really handsome… 3dd2f45611 Now that he’s 5fda1c08a5 grown into an 62567fdf1e adult, he really e5299cba90 looks like someone de941a6bf0 I want to 65cd8feea8 sleep with…’cb7adbeafc8b48bf

Kyle’s looks had been outstanding even ten years ago, but the rougher atmosphere he now had gave off a more sensual charm than when he was a boy.7b6ee057f86a03d0

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“How long d943987d2b have I 1924eda37f waited for fb30c8fc81 this moment… bd033254a5 Do you 2b254341c8 have any 6155b203d0 idea?”bce3f0f533a84be2

Kyle’s eyes curved slightly as he spoke with a smile that seemed satisfied.38b8190619c328b2

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“You don’t know how disappointed I was that I had to return to the palace immediately just after hearing the news that you were found. His Majesty, really, what was he in such a hurry for…”b4926536524b4b59

When Ashin seemed to shrink back slightly with a look of incomprehension, Kyle grabbed the tip of Ashin’s chin and lifted it up again.8d28665411653b86

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“Why so tense. Edward said you were ailing all the way here, you look like you’re about to collapse. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.”bb483b2f7eb5f74a

‘How can I not tremble with excitement when you’re looking at me so menacingly?! I know you won’t kill me… Idiot, but in my last life, I was more than just ailing, I actually died, you bastard.’a8e4cd22a49c2973

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Ashin slightly narrowed b1df7ff811 his eyes with 87f63b1429 a hint of 79454a4a7e resentment.09c1a451d7356d32

“Why have you… a31d418700 brought me here.”263fad889bc3dddb

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Kyle smiled faintly.52e46a14763a5054

“Well, I didn’t know either, so I thought I’d at least take a look at your face first… But now that I see you, I think I know.”1549920b6b7310f7

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Kyle approached Ashin’s ear and whispered.9a6087f89609a178

“I was still contemplating what to ask His Majesty for as compensation for this war… I’ve decided now. I’m going to ask for you.”72bc5df3f8e1e40d

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With a satisfied smile, Kyle grabbed the nape of Ashin’s neck and kissed him right then and there. Ashin seemed frozen in bewilderment. Kyle pulled away from the kiss and whispered with a pleased expression.456c6bc80d03965a

“So you’d do well to stay quiet just as you are now. If you’re thinking of Atar.”bd256606e67fe64b

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