As autumn deepened, the air grew colder by the day. For Mihail, a single thin shirt was more than enough, but Chaika was different. No matter how thickly he was dressed, one gust of cold wind was enough to make his body shudder. Even when they fooled around together for hours under the excuse of taking a walk, there were clear limits.
Instead of strolling through the gardens with Chaika, Mihail wrapped the creature tightly in a thick fur coat, carried him off to a small detached building on one side of the inner keep, and began spending time with him there. Unlike the lavish main residence, the annex was a relatively small structure made of gray limestone, built hundreds of years before the current Castiya Castle was completed.
Having been constructed in an era when war broke out every few years, the modest building possessed none of the elegance or splendor of later architecture. Instead, it had the solid, fortress-like sturdiness of a defensive structure. Once silk was hung over the dreary gray walls, carpets were laid across the floors, ornate tapestries were displayed, and expensive furniture was brought in, it became a surprisingly presentable space. The windows were small, as befitted a military building, so little sunlight entered and the interior was dim—but that, too, was resolved by lighting the fireplace and setting out plenty of candles.
In truth, being able to stay together in a shadowy space even in broad daylight was a good thing for Mihail. When it was too bright, Chaika would dodge even kisses, citing the light as his excuse. In contrast, in dim places like the hearthside, he responded to kisses fairly obediently and even permitted light touching. In the end, the annex became a regular hideout where Mihail and Chaika spent time together under the pretense of walks or horseback riding.
Despite bullying the herbalist and assigning several capable people to the task, there had been no progress in identifying the herb. Mihail alternated between inhaling the scent from the crown of Chaika’s head and the side of his ear as Chaika leaned back against his chest. Just sitting still and breathing in the creature’s natural scent was enough to make time fly by. It was a strange thing.
Comfortably nestled in Mihail’s arms, Chaika was nibbling away at honeyed dates. A whole bowl of dates was perched directly on Chaika’s thigh. Once he had tasted their sweetness, his appetite had been completely awakened; after taking his medicine, a single date was no longer enough to satisfy him.
For a while, Mihail had deliberately given him only three dates, three times a day, enjoying the way Chaika’s eyes would droop pitifully with regret each time. But one day, when Chaika clutched at Mihail’s clothes and begged, “…Just one more… please,” Mihail willingly gave up that small pleasure.
In the annex, a full bowl of honeyed dates was always kept ready. Whenever Chaika came here, he would sit cradled in Mihail’s arms by the fireplace, hugging the bowl of dates to himself. Using both hands, he would pick up a single date and nibble away from the tip, bite by bite.
The sight was like a squirrel eating an acorn.
Though he was picky with most foods and claimed he was full after eating only a little, dates were the exception. He steadily nibbled through a fairly large amount of them. Mihail found himself happily anticipating that, in a few months, Chaika’s thighs might finally gain enough flesh to be pleasantly squeezable.
When Chaika was eating dates, even if Mihail subtly caressed his body, Chaika would at most shrug his shoulders and make a halfhearted attempt to push him away, never resisting too fiercely. Using the dates as bait, Mihail freely stroked Chaika’s body until the bowl was completely empty. Even so, it was only his lean thighs, narrow waist, flat chest, nape, and hips.
With his nose buried against Chaika’s nape, Mihail drew in a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. Over the past few days, the herbal scent clinging to the creature’s body—almost like his natural smell—had been growing stronger. It had been intensifying little by little each day, making it hard to be certain, but today, perhaps because the dosage had been increased, the scent was unmistakably stronger.
If the scent was potent enough to leave Mihail’s mouth tasting bitter just from breathing it in, how poisonous must it be? Rather than forcing Chaika to answer, Mihail had tried to uncover the truth through the herbalist, but with progress moving more slowly than expected, his patience was wearing thin.
At last, the moment he had been waiting for arrived.
He had deliberately ordered fewer dates than usual today and quietly waited as Chaika ate them all for this very moment. When Chaika finished the dates in his hand and reached for the final one left in the bowl, Mihail swiftly snatched it away.
“…Huh?”
The reaction came a beat too late. After the last date vanished into Mihail’s hand, Chaika stared blankly at the empty bowl before letting out a stupid little sound several seconds later. Slowly, he turned his head and saw Mihail smiling mischievously at him. Confusion and disbelief bloomed across Chaika’s face.
When Mihail maintained eye contact and brought the final date to his own mouth, the disbelief on Chaika’s face shifted into anxious anticipation—and then, at last, into a sense of betrayal. The changing expressions were so vivid and entertaining that Mihail eventually burst into giggles.
Realizing that Mihail had deliberately set out to tease him, resentment welled up in Chaika’s eyes. His cheeks puffed slightly, and his lips jutted out in a pout.
“You ate everything by yourself, so it’s only fair that I get to eat at least one, right?”
Mihail waved the date teasingly in front of him. Even as he sulked, Chaika’s eyes rolled left and right, tracking the movement of the date. Mihail swayed it back and forth before Chaika’s eyes, then slowly brought it to his own mouth. As if to show off, he bit into the tip of the date with his teeth.
“…That’s just cruel.”
Chaika mumbled through his protruding lips. It wasn’t the date that was the problem—those puffed-out lips made Mihail want to devour them instead.
Mihail cupped Chaika’s face with one hand. Pressing his thumbs and forefingers into both cheeks made Chaika’s lips pucker like a carp’s. Bringing his face close as if to kiss him, Mihail slipped the date straight into Chaika’s fish-like mouth. Chaika’s eyes went wide.
When Mihail released his grip, Chaika held the date in his mouth with both hands, hesitated for a moment, then took a bite and began chewing. The resentment in his eyes vanished as if washed away, and without the slightest trace of anger at being teased, he seemed simply delighted to be eating the date again. He even let out a strange little laugh—“Heh”—as he chewed.
“Such an idiot.”
Mihail ruffled Chaika’s hair roughly. Chaika chewed away at the date, smiling with his eyes.
After messing up his hair, tugging at his moving cheeks as he chewed, and fiddling with his earlobes, Mihail suddenly stopped. Chaika, intent on savoring the last date, was busily biting off pieces no bigger than half his pinky nail.
Mihail’s gaze swept over Chaika’s face inch by inch. Lately, the amount of meat in his soup had increased, and he hadn’t missed his medicine even once. He had also been eating a considerable number of honeyed dates. By all rights, he should have gained weight and color—but instead, Chaika looked worse.
For the past few days, “pale” was the only word that fit Chaika’s complexion. Shadows had formed beneath his eyes, growing darker by the day, giving him the face of someone gravely ill. Though he never complained, even a brief walk for exercise seemed taxing; after only a short distance, his legs would tremble faintly.
Mihail had ordered the butler to check whether anything had happened overnight at Lord Nile’s residence, but he was told nothing unusual had occurred. Chaika was said to be sleeping in the fur bed Mihail had made for him, set in front of a warm fireplace.
Having finished the last date he had been carefully rationing, Chaika regretfully sucked the honey from his fingers. Without hesitation, Mihail sucked on the same fingers again. Chaika recoiled in horror, calling it filthy—but all he tasted was sweetness.
After wiping his hands with a handkerchief, Chaika leaned comfortably back into Mihail’s arms. The firelight reflected in his eyes, making them shimmer with a deep hue. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking—or if he was simply staring at the fire.
At times, Chaika felt incredibly distant. Even when he was right beside him, even when Mihail held him like this, there were moments when a strangely vast gap seemed to open between them. Whether that distance stemmed from fear of Chaika’s death or something else entirely, Mihail didn’t yet know.
“Chaika—”
He was just about to call his name.
Chaika placed his hand over Mihail’s, which was wrapped around his waist. Despite basking in the warmth of the fireplace, Chaika’s hand was icy cold. Mihail enclosed it in his own.
“Lord Mihail.”
The small voice called out to him. Unlike the lively expressions from moments before, his voice was low and subdued. Instinctively, Mihail knew he wasn’t going to like what Chaika was about to say.
“No.”
Mihail rejected him outright.
Chaika tilted his head slightly to look at him, then narrowed his eyes.
“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say.”
“There’s no need to hear it. The answer’s no.”
“Aren’t you even a little curious what I was going to ask?”
“Not curious.”
“Eh….”
“I’m not curious at all, so there’s no reason to listen.”
“E….”
Awkwardness spread across Chaika’s face. His fingers fidgeted restlessly, and he took shallow, uneven breaths, as though his mind were working frantically. After hesitating like that for a moment, Chaika finally spoke with care.
“Lord Mihail… are you not going to have a child with Lord Nile?”
Nile. A child.
Just hearing those two words sent irritation shooting to the top of Mihail’s head. Afraid that something ugly would spill out if he opened his mouth, he merely clicked his tongue. Even that small sound was laced with annoyance, and Chaika shrank his shoulders slightly in response. As punishment, Mihail bit down hard on Chaika’s nape. Chaika stiffened with a sharp “Hik.”
Even though Mihail had clearly indicated that he didn’t want to talk about it any further, Chaika seemed determined to say his piece. His fingers refused to stop fidgeting.
“Why are you curious about that? Are you jealous, worried that I might climb into Nile’s bed?”
Mihail forced the irritation down as much as he could and tossed the words out like a joke.
“…….”
It had been meant as teasing. But Chaika’s reaction was strange. He bowed his head deeply, and the fidgeting of his fingers came to an abrupt halt.
