“Everything’s finished. What do you think?”
Mihail’s personal barber asked with a proud smile. Mihail nodded, satisfied.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Once the barber withdrew, the maids carefully cleaned up the cut hair scattered across the floor. Meanwhile, Chaika kept repeatedly covering and uncovering his face with his hands, clearly uncomfortable with how cleanly it had been revealed.
“Even if it’s cleaned up, hair that’s already ruined still looks like mangy fur.”
Mihail said as he touched the hair that had been trimmed as neatly as possible to expose Chaika’s face. The hair had already been damaged beyond repair, and until new hair grew out, this was the best that could be done.
Whether Mihail called his hair mangy or not, Chaika was desperate to hide his face. Having lived almost his entire life with his face hidden behind his hair, it was only natural for him to feel awkward now that everything was suddenly exposed. Truthfully, Mihail himself wanted to keep Chaika’s hair as it was and monopolize his face alone. But he couldn’t let him continue living like a beggar forever.
“…It’s strange.”
Chaika spoke while covering his face with both hands, peeking out only with his eyes through his fingers. When Mihail let out a quiet chuckle, Chaika closed his fingers and hid his face completely.
“You’re right. It’s a big problem, having to walk around showing such a strange-looking face.”
When Mihail deliberately said it in a serious tone, Chaika’s expression also grew solemn.
“Lord Nile said I had to hide my face… He said I should never cut my hair….”
Chaika started repeating what he had been saying nonstop until just before being seated in front of the barber. Mihail had no idea how many dozens of times Nile’s name had come up today alone. The only reason he tolerated it was because it was true that Nile had protected Chaika. Otherwise, he would have long since handed that creature over somewhere—or killed him outright.
“Lord Nile is going to be really shocked when he sees this.”
Chaika pleaded with a face full of worry. But the hair was already cut. Mihail hoped that upon seeing it, Nile would explode in anger at Chaika and tell him never to come back again. Chaika, who trusted his blood brother without question, would surely be deeply shaken—but that was something Mihail could soothe easily enough. Or, if Chaika decided on his own that he couldn’t bear to show his cut hair and stopped visiting Nile’s quarters altogether, that would also be a satisfactory outcome.
“Let’s go eat.”
The moment hunger struck, Mihail—who needed to consume an enormous amount of food daily—scooped Chaika up with ease.
“Your Grace!”
Chaika, slung over Mihail’s shoulder with his stomach pressed against it, flailed his legs. Mihail lightly smacked his backside to quiet him.
“…Your Grace… Lord Mihail… please put me down… please….”
When they stepped into the hallway, the servants who had been working quickly moved aside. As Mihail walked through them, the servants stole glances at Chaika draped over his shoulder. Chaika tapped Mihail’s back with his tiny fists, whispering and begging to be put down. Of course, Chaika had no idea that Mihail thoroughly enjoyed such pleas.
Upon arriving at the dining hall, Mihail seated Chaika directly beside him. Since they had been dining together regularly of late, Chaika’s place was always prepared right next to Mihail.
The table was filled with lavish dishes—whole roasted pheasants and geese drenched in spices, pies made from minced venison haunch and pork. Yet despite the feast, only a single silver tray holding a bowl of well-simmered soup was placed in front of Chaika.
Seeing the soup, Mihail couldn’t hide his displeasure. Still, the physician had prepared it according to what Chaika’s stomach could handle while maximizing nutrition, so there was nothing to be done. Chaika himself looked far more comfortable eating this than when he had been forced to eat meat, so in the end, it was Mihail who had to endure it.
While Mihail devoured all kinds of meat with an Alpha’s appetite, Chaika scooped up spoonful after spoonful of soup, putting it into his mouth and chewing before swallowing. It was so thin that it was hard to imagine what there was to chew at all, but Chaika did it that way, and the physician said it was better for him.
“You’re not gaining weight at all—if anything, you look like you’ll waste away even more.”
Unable to suppress his dissatisfaction, Mihail muttered the remark. Even though it wasn’t his fault, Chaika immediately drooped the corners of his eyes, his expression turning guilty.
“I wasn’t talking about you.”
Mihail said, lightly flicking Chaika’s forehead with his fingertip.
“…You totally were….”
Chaika mumbled in a barely audible voice. Seeing him talk back like this, it seemed he’d grown more comfortable around Mihail.
While Mihail consumed a massive amount of food, Chaika finished his single bowl of soup completely. Despite the stark difference in quantity, the time they spent eating was almost the same. After emptying the bowl and setting the spoon down, Chaika’s face stiffened slightly. He knew what awaited him after the meal.
The physician entered, carrying a tray. A familiar presence who often made house calls to treat the castle’s servants, he had now taken up residence inside the castle entirely to care for Chaika. He oversaw not only Chaika’s meals and medicine, but his daily life as a whole.
“Please take it slowly.”
The physician said as he set the bowl in front of Chaika. Whatever ingredients had been mixed together, the contents were a thick liquid darker than deep green—nearly black. The smell was intensely bitter, making it look nearly impossible to consume.
“…….”
Once again, Chaika drooped the corners of his eyes and looked at Mihail with a pleading gaze. Already small and frail, with his pale face and sorrowful eyes, he looked pitiful enough to make Mihail want to hurl the medicine bowl away immediately. But Mihail raised one eyebrow and fixed him with an unyielding look. With a resigned expression, Chaika brought the bowl to his lips.
Each time he swallowed a mouthful, deep lines formed between his delicate brows. Gulp—after every swallow came a pained whimper, “Ugh….”
By the time Chaika finally emptied the bowl, his eyes were flushed red. If he’d been alone, he looked ready to burst into sobs. Mihail wiped the medicine from the corner of his mouth with his thumb, then patted his head as if praising him.
“Can’t you make this easier to drink?”
Mihail asked the physician as he collected the empty bowl. Chaika’s complexion brightened instantly—but the physician shook his head without a moment’s hesitation.
“To make it easier to consume, we’d have to add other substances. That wouldn’t change the taste much, but it would increase the amount he has to drink, making it even more unpleasant.”
At that answer, Chaika’s face darkened again as if the brief hope had never existed.
Because the estate was so vast, there was quite a distance from the dining hall to Mihail’s bedroom. Instead of carrying Chaika on his shoulder like before, Mihail walked ahead at a slow pace. A little behind him, he could hear Chaika’s quiet footsteps following obediently. They would let him digest a bit by walking, then put him to bed for a deep sleep.
When they arrived at the bedroom, the fireplace was already lit despite it still being afternoon. In front of it sat a soft bed fashioned from a long sofa.
“Huh?”
Seeing something unfamiliar occupying the space in front of the fireplace, Chaika let out a surprised sound. It was where he had recently been sleeping with makeshift bedding laid out.
“This is….”
Chaika peered curiously at the long sofa, which now clearly resembled a bed. Mihail lifted him up effortlessly and laid him down on it. Because Chaika was so small, the long, plush sofa was more than sufficient as a bed for him. Lying before the fireplace atop soft fur pelts, with fluffy pillows and a blanket draped over him, Chaika rolled around, clearly pleased.
“Well?”
When Mihail asked, Chaika stopped wriggling, sat up slightly, and smiled shyly.
“It’s soft and warm… it’s really nice.”
The smile that spread across Chaika’s pale face filled Mihail with a quiet sense of satisfaction.
Suddenly, Chaika braced his hand against the back of the sofa and pushed himself upright. Standing on the sofa made him taller than usual—his head, which normally barely reached Mihail’s neck, now rose to meet him at eye level.
Standing on the sofa to match his height, Chaika reached out, cupped Mihail’s cheek, and lightly pressed his lips against his.
“…Thank you. Lord Mihail.”
As if embarrassed that he had initiated the kiss, Chaika whispered in a voice that nearly faded away. Then he wrapped his arms tightly around Mihail’s neck.
Touching bodies, holding Chaika, even lifting him up—those were things Mihail did every day. But this was the first time that small, compact body had reached out to embrace him first. After a brief hesitation, Mihail wrapped his arms around Chaika in return. The small, fragile creature in his arms—one he couldn’t even squeeze with full strength—was so adorable it drove him nearly mad.
Suppressing the urge to crush him in his arms, to bite down on his nape and tear into him, Mihail instead buried his nose against Chaika’s slender white neck and inhaled deeply. He wanted to fill his lungs with nothing but Chaika’s scent.
“…You’re far too good to me, Lord Mihail.”
“Just this?”
Mihail replied with a scoff. Chaika had no idea how far Mihail could go to be good to him—no idea how much he intended to give. He planned to give him everything he couldn’t even imagine. Mihail had much, and he was capable of much.
“Lord Mihail….”
Clinging to Mihail’s neck, Chaika’s face couldn’t be seen at all. Yet somehow, his voice carried a faint dampness.
“I don’t deserve to receive things like this from you.”
“You don’t get to decide who deserves what.”
“……It’s true. You really shouldn’t be this good to me. I don’t deserve something this nice from you.”
Chaika’s voice was deadly serious. Mihail pulled him back just enough to look at his face. As expected, Chaika’s eyes were reddened, tiny droplets of moisture clinging to their corners.
