Satin soaked spinach seeds in water and placed them in a spot where the sunlight could reach. He had heard from the store that it was better to sow them after they had sprouted.
Cain watched without intervening, perhaps because it wasn’t a difficult task.
‘Is he protesting?’ Satin wondered.
Cain didn’t say a word or make any particular moves. He just watched, but Satin felt the pressure. Today, Cain hadn’t gone out to work and had stayed by his side all day.
‘Oh, this is suffocating.’
Satin didn’t think that sprouting spinach seeds was more important than his relationship with Cain. Obviously, how could green onions or spinach replace Cain?
However, Satin didn’t want to leave any room for avoidance. If there was an excuse, people naturally avoided complex thoughts.
‘Once I finish all the tasks at hand, I’ll have no choice but to focus.’
Under Cain’s intense gaze, Satin completed all his tasks.
He tutored Cole, prepared the ingredients for dinner, and even cleaned the sofa, which he had been meaning to do for a while. The dust that came out from the crevices almost made him faint.
He even did a task that didn’t need to be done right away—washing the summer blanket.
“It’s still summer,” Cain muttered loud enough for Satin to hear. They had borrowed a large washbasin from a neighbor, and although it was a bit cramped for two people, Cain was stomping on the laundry alone.
“Summer will be over in two days. Once it gets cold, we won’t be able to do laundry outside,” Satin replied.
Cain didn’t say anything more, but his face was full of discontent. Still, he didn’t stop stomping on the laundry. Splash, splash! Satin found that part cute.
‘Lately, I’ve been thinking he’s cute quite often.’
While Cole always ran away at the sight of Cain, Satin was the opposite. He tried to find the softer side of Cain.
Whenever Cain made a childish expression, acted clumsily, or spoke gently, Satin couldn’t help but think he was cute.
After a long silence, Cain suddenly asked, “What if the new blanket gets dirty tonight?”
Satin found the question confusing.
“Why would the new blanket get dirty?” he asked. Unless they did something on the bed, there was no reason for it to get dirty. In this world, people didn’t even wear shoes on the bed.
Seeing Satin’s puzzled expression, Cain smiled slyly.
“Who knows why it would get dirty,” he said.
“How would you not know? You must have a reason for saying that,” Satin replied, then realized what Cain was implying. Cain shrugged and continued stomping on the laundry. He muttered loud enough for Satin to hear, “Fortunately, there are two beds, so we’ll have a place to sleep.”
***
These days, after dinner, Satin and Cain would sit in the living room and read. Satin enjoyed this time. In a world without television or radio, reading was quite an enjoyable hobby. He wasn’t sure how Cain felt about it, though.
Today, Satin was reading a book called <Urban Gardening>. Meanwhile, Cain was reading a collection of anecdotes about a foreign king titled <A Thousand Nights, A Thousand Princes>. He had been reading it for several days.
‘What a strange title.’
The title didn’t give any clue about the content. But seeing Cain so engrossed in it, it must be interesting.
“What’s that book about?” Satin asked.
Cain glanced at him and asked, “Curious?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Satin replied, though he briefly regretted not saying no when he saw Cain’s peculiar expression. But the explanation had already begun.
“There was a king in a foreign land who had a thousand wives,” Cain said.
“What?” Satin exclaimed.
Satin was left speechless, his mouth agape.
‘Was he just reading an erotic novel in front of me?’
Seeing Satin’s expression, Cain smirked and continued enthusiastically, “The funny thing is, the king can have a thousand wives, but he can’t have them all in the same room at once. So, to satisfy all his wives, the king has to have sex every day for a thousand days without missing a single day.”
Satin was at a loss for words.
‘He was reading an erotic novel right in front of me!’
Cain, noticing Satin’s shock, grinned and continued, “And all thousand wives get pregnant, resulting in a thousand princes. Right now, he’s with his seventy-fifth wife. She’s hanging from a rope, and the king—”
“N-no, you don’t have to tell me,” Satin stammered. Seventy-fifth wife? Why is she hanging from a rope? What is the king doing in that state? Satin didn’t want to know, yet he couldn’t help but be curious. But he really didn’t want to know. This cat had grown into a snake.
Ignoring Satin’s discomfort, Cain kept talking. In fact, he seemed to enjoy Satin’s embarrassment even more.
“But the translation is terrible. I wondered how they all ended up being princes, but it seems this country doesn’t have words for ‘prince’ and ‘princess.’ Wouldn’t it be better to say ‘children’ instead of ‘princes’?”
“I said you don’t have to tell me!”
“And they don’t seem to distinguish gender very well. One of the wives is a man. But since a man can’t get pregnant, the thousand princes part must be an exaggeration.”
“I said stop talking!”
Satin quickly closed the book and stood up. He hurried up the stairs, hearing Cain following him shortly after.
Cain’s footsteps were slow and leisurely. He was wearing soft indoor slippers, yet his steps echoed clearly.
Satin rushed into the bedroom and closed the door but didn’t lock it. Locking it seemed too cold. After all, they were close enough to talk about such things.
But the footsteps stopped. Cain, who Satin expected to barge in, had stopped at the door. He didn’t even knock.
Satin hesitated for a moment before asking through the door, “Why aren’t you coming in?”
“Can I come in?” Cain asked.
“…Of course you can.”
He always barged in when the door was open, so why was he asking now? Satin wondered about Cain’s sense of etiquette.
Finally, Cain opened the door and entered. Unlike when he was teasing Satin downstairs, his expression was serious. Maybe he had bumped into something on the stairs.
“Why do you look like that?” Satin asked.
Cain touched his face, seemingly unaware of his own expression. He looked a bit dazed, which amused Satin and helped him relax a little.
“Come here. And put away that… inappropriate book.”
“Okay.”
Cain obediently placed the book on the nightstand and sat on the bed, looking at Satin. Satin, who had been standing, also sat down next to him.
It was already night. After finishing all his tasks and procrastinating, it was time for the conversation Satin had been avoiding. He tried to speak as calmly as possible.
“Cain, I wasn’t ignoring your feelings today. I was just…”
Was “feelings” the right word? Maybe “desires” would be more accurate. But if it were just desire, Satin would have already given in. Of course, he didn’t mean he was inexperienced, but they hadn’t gone all the way yet.
Lost in thought, Satin paused. Cain had regained his composure.
“So, can we?” he asked bluntly, scooting closer to Satin until their thighs touched. This much contact wasn’t uncomfortable; they often sat this close in the carriage.
“Why are you so tense?” Cain asked.
Only then did Satin realize he was sitting bolt upright. He tried to relax, but it was easier said than done.
Embarrassed, Satin covered his face with his hands and replied, “It’s just… too embarrassing.”
“But you said you liked it.”
“People often struggle to express their feelings, don’t they? Don’t you?”
“I don’t.”
“Well, good for you.”
“So, how can I make it less embarrassing?”
“I don’t think it can be. We just have to do it, embarrassment and all.”
“So, we can do it?”
“…I said I struggle to express my feelings, not that I don’t have them.”
Before Satin could process his thoughts, Cain suddenly stood up and lifted him. Upside down, Satin found himself staring at Cain’s backside.
“W-where are we going?” Satin asked.
“My room.”
“Why?”
Satin wondered why they needed to move to a different room when they would be using the same bed and the same blanket.
Cain casually replied, “Everything we need is in my room.”
“What do we need…” Satin started to ask but decided not to finish the question. He wasn’t sure, but he figured there must be various things. After all, Cain had read descriptions of 75 different sexual acts, so he must have a solid theoretical understanding.
‘I just hope he doesn’t plan on tying me up.’
As if reading his mind, the demon spoke up:
―If your friend ties you up and does something lewd like ××× ××× ××× ×× ××× ×× ××!
The demon, who had been speaking in a ridiculously holy tone in the morning, was now casually using vulgar language.
Cain stopped walking. Although he didn’t say a word, Satin knew what he had to do. Despite being uncomfortably slung over Cain’s shoulder, he easily retrieved the sacred relic from his pocket and threw it.
―××× ××× ×× ××× ×× ××!
The relic hit the wardrobe and fell to the floor.
―Ah!
As soon as they left the room, Cain slammed the door shut. Satin sighed, and Cain said, “Now there are no interruptions. No excuses.”
Satin thought, his head pounding, ‘This part will definitely be omitted.’
After all, Dark Age was an all-ages novel.
Sir, this is your sister’s fanfiction. It must definitely be R-18.