#66
Chapter 8
The line hanging in the water suddenly became taut.
“Oh, I’ve got one.”
Enrique immediately stood up and lifted his fishing rod. After wrestling briefly with the line that wouldn’t easily yield, he pulled it up with a jerk, revealing a fairly large fish thrashing about.
“Look at this. I caught another one.”
Enrique proudly showed off the flapping fish. It wasn’t just his imagination that Anture’s expression seemed to darken a bit.
After putting the caught fish in his container, Enrique blatantly alternated glances between his container and Anture’s. While Enrique’s container already held three or four fish, Anture’s was completely empty. It was strange. The two were sitting side by side fishing, and despite having their lines cast for hours, Anture hadn’t gotten a single bite.
The boat gently rocked on the calm lake as they sat side by side with their fishing rods extended. Anture was staring at his fishing rod with an intensely focused gaze.
“You know… I think you might have a problem with survival skills. If we were to get stranded somewhere, I’d have to feed you to keep you alive. I don’t think you’d be able to feed me.”
Enrique said, resting his chin on his hand. Anture’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“…I’m confident in hunting. You won’t go hungry.”
Anture said quietly. Enrique barely managed to suppress the laughter that threatened to burst out.
“What if I specifically want to eat fish?”
He tried to speak casually, but a hint of laughter seeped into his words. Seeing Enrique tease him, Anture narrowed his eyes. Then he stood up, abruptly broke the fishing rod he was holding, and thrust the broken half into the water.
Enrique’s expression turned bewildered at this sight, but his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Anture pull up a large fish, impaled and flapping on the broken end of the fishing rod. Anture flashed a smile at Enrique.
“See? I told you I wouldn’t let you starve.”
Anture said, tossing the fish he had caught by spearing it into his container.
“Hey, I said we were fishing. Why are you suddenly harpooning?”
Enrique said those words, but inwardly he couldn’t help but be impressed, thinking “Ooh!”
“Stop doing primitive things and fish properly.”
Enrique chided, handing Anture a new, intact fishing rod. Anture’s brow furrowed slightly. He seemed to find this fishing game quite boring and uninteresting. The fact that he had gone along with it for several hours was probably just to humor Enrique.
Regardless of whether Anture was bored or not, Enrique quietly enjoyed the scenery of the lake with his fishing rod in the water.
It was already their third day at the summer villa.
They would wake up late, roll around in bed, eat breakfast-cum-lunch, and then take another nap. When they could no longer sleep, they would ride horses around the villa or take walks around the lake. As the sun set, they would sit face to face, play card games, and sip wine.
It felt as if they were the only two left in the world. But Enrique didn’t dislike this quiet and serene peace. He wasn’t bored or restless. He thought that perhaps in the distant future, when he was older and his child was capable of handling the throne, it wouldn’t be bad to pass on the crown and spend a quiet retirement like this in a villa. Of course… unlike now, Anture wouldn’t be by his side then.
When his thoughts reached that point, he felt somewhat gloomy.
Enrique desperately tried to imagine his future, continuing a leisurely life alone without Anture.
A bed in the morning without Anture, meals without Anture, walks without Anture, fishing without Anture, nights without Anture…
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t picture a peaceful and leisurely life like now without Anture. Enrique stared blankly at the water’s surface, quietly despairing. What was even more despairing was the fact that all of this would stem from his own choice. It was terrible to realize that his future, choosing Shamier over Anture, no longer seemed as brilliant. But even so, Enrique would still choose to abandon Anture and choose Shamier.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
Anture asked. Enrique gathered his unfocused gaze and turned to Anture with a slight smile. Then he leaned over and rested his head on Anture’s broad shoulder. As if he had been waiting for this, Anture extended his arm and embraced Enrique’s shoulder. It was comfortable and peaceful. This peace with a set expiration date felt even more precious.
Yes. Peace with an expiration date. A marriage with an expiration date.
Anture would leave Enrique someday. No, even if he tried to stay, Enrique would somehow send him away. But it was okay. Enrique would have a child with Anture’s blood to keep him company. With that child, he would probably be able to endure.
“Hey, Anture.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s have a child during this heat.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, as if by magic, the image of a child not yet conceived appeared in his mind.
“I hope the child takes after you. Black hair, black eyes, fair skin, and a pretty face would be nice. What do you think?”
Enrique looked up at Anture after expressing his wishes. But contrary to his expectation of a happy smile, Anture just silently stared at the lake’s surface.
“Anture?”
Enrique called out, straightening up from leaning on Anture’s shoulder. Anture blinked slowly while staring at the water’s surface, then raised his head to look at Enrique. Anture’s face was expressionless. For a moment, Enrique felt an urge to cover Anture’s mouth, sensing some kind of premonition.
“We can’t have a child yet, Enrique.”
Anture finally uttered those words.
“Why?”
To Enrique’s question, Anture remained silent for a moment, then answered quietly as if putting down a heavy stone.
“Because I don’t want to.”
The spring breeze, still carrying a bit of coolness, swept between the two.
Enrique tried to read the emotion in Anture’s black eyes. But it wasn’t easy.
“…We need to have a child, Anture. That’s the agreement between Ruben and Shamier, and it’s the reason we got married. It’s the purpose of our marriage.”
Enrique spoke in the calmest voice possible. Then he added,
“Imagine our child, Anture. It would be beautiful and lovely. And smart and talented. It’s a child with your blood and mine mixed. Isn’t that good?”
But Anture’s eyes remained unchanged.
“Anture.”
Enrique called out to Anture, gripping his wrist tightly. A feeling of anxiety that things wouldn’t go as planned crept up on him.
“Why on earth…”
Just as Enrique was about to speak, a gentle smile appeared on Anture’s expressionless face as if it were a lie. Enrique blinked in confusion. Anture took Enrique’s hand that was gripping his wrist and lifted it to kiss the back of it.
“I don’t want to lose you to a child yet, Enrique.”
Anture said with a smile in his eyes.
“If we have a child, I won’t be able to embrace you. I haven’t even embraced you many times yet, if that happens, I might go crazy with frustration.”
Anture spoke nonchalantly. But Enrique could tell. That Anture was acting. He was lying right now.
‘Liar.’
Enrique wanted to shout at Anture. But he couldn’t. He had a feeling. A feeling that the moment Anture revealed the real reason he didn’t want to have a child, their relationship would irreversibly fall apart.
*
After the talk about children came up once during fishing, the two seemed to have made an unspoken agreement to never bring it up again. A gentle peace still flowed between them, but something had subtly changed.
Although it was fully spring, it was still cold when the sun set.
After dinner and a bath, the two sat in comfortable chairs in front of the warm fireplace, sipping wine.
The mood was languid and somewhat hazy. All the senses in the body were keenly alert, and there was a strange tingling deep inside. It felt like a slight fever. Having experienced it many times, Enrique could recognize it immediately. It was just before the heat.
Enrique looked at Anture sitting next to him, his head resting on the back of the chair. The firelight gently caressed Anture. Enrique surveyed Anture’s relaxed posture with half-closed eyes.
Comfortably seated in the armchair, he looked like a predator resting lazily. Through the loosely worn shirt collar, a glimpse of his strong nape and collarbone was visible. The muscular forearms exposed by rolled-up sleeves, strong-looking wrists, and large, firm hands with long fingers… There wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t impressive.
Lowering his gaze further, he saw the comfortably spread legs. The thigh muscles were visible under the thin fabric of the pants. And the slightly bulging part between the legs…
Somehow, his mouth felt parched. His breathing felt labored. Enrique moistened his dry lips with his tongue. An intense desire began to creep up.
