A low, pleasant bass voice tickled Raha’s ears as he stared blankly for a second.
“I apologize. I was having breakfast…”
“The breakfast you insisted you would die if you didn’t eat with me?”
Raha gave a sheepish smile and sat across from him.
When breakfast was being prepared, Pago had asked if he would be eating with the Crown Prince, and Raha had flatly refused.
He didn’t want to eat delicious food in a tense atmosphere, so he had ignored Pago’s reminder about the “promise.”
“Yes, well… I thought Your Highness might dislike sitting across from me, so I ate alone.”
“Since when did you care about what I dislike?”
Blizan leaned back against the sofa, looking incredulous.
Raha tried to give his most harmless smile.
“I’m planning to start caring now. In that spirit, I think it would be best if the rampage suppression treatment is limited to just Monday.”
Blizan’s eyebrows twitched.
His eyes grew sharp with suspicion, wondering what kind of scheme this was.
Raha reached out a hand as if asking for trust.
“I also promise that from now on, the treatment will involve nothing more than hand contact.”
“…What’s gotten into you?”
“Let’s just say I’ve grown up.”
“I see the arrival of another High Priest has finally brought you to your senses.”
Blizan assumed Raha’s 180-degree change was due to Edrion.
Since it wasn’t technically wrong, Raha didn’t bother correcting him; he just shook his hand slightly, urging Blizan to take it.
Blizan stared at the hand before finally grasping it.
Raha began to flow his light attribute into Blizan.
A significant amount of turbid energy had accumulated from a week of using elemental powers.
Even without formal training, his body instinctively knew how to purify it.
Blizan watched Raha intently, his expression one of continued confusion.
Normally, the moment treatment started, Raha would have lunged at him.
Blizan used to have his nerves on edge throughout the sessions because Raha would try to touch as much of his body as possible.
Seeing Raha do absolutely nothing was… eerie.
Technically, this change was something Blizan should have welcomed.
No more attempts to grab his crotch or force a kiss.
‘But why do I feel like this?’
It should have been a relief, but a strange dissatisfaction bubbled within him.
“We’re almost done, so you won’t need to stay long at the temple from today on. And since I’ll finish everything today, you don’t need to come tomorrow.”
Blizan felt a prick of irritation at Raha’s attempt to reduce their time together.
He wondered if Raha was planning something even more bizarre.
“Why?” he asked.
Raha tilted his head as if the answer was obvious.
“Well, because having more days off is better, isn’t it?”
Blizan’s eyes slowly widened.
“It’s finished.”
Raha released Blizan’s hand after completely purifying the turbid energy.
However, before he could pull away, Blizan snatched his hand back.
“Finished?”
“Yes. Can’t you feel it?”
Raha tried to pull back, but Blizan gripped tighter.
“You’re telling me the treatment that used to take two days can be finished this quickly?”
“…”
“Do you have any idea how much time I’ve wasted in my busy schedule just to receive your treatment?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you think an apology covers this?”
Blizan growled lowly, appearing genuinely angry. Raha sighed.
“I deeply apologize for the damage caused by my selfish behavior. I promise I will never harass Your Highness in that way again.”
“Sounds like you’re admitting you did it on purpose just to torment me.”
“Of course not. You know I held you in my heart.”
Raha explained that he had made many mistakes blinded by a foolish unrequited love, but that it would never happen again.
“And you expect me to believe that?”
“You can believe it. I no longer like Your Imperial Highness, so you’re safe…”
“What?”
Blizan’s face distorted with annoyance.
Fearing he had said something wrong, Raha quickly bowed his head.
“You really can believe me.”
“And after that?”
“Since I no longer like Your Highness—”
“Why?” Blizan interrupted, a brow arching.
Raha was confused.
He expected Blizan to celebrate his freedom, but the reaction was lukewarm at best.
“Well, I realized it’s wrong to force my feelings on someone who has no intention of looking my way. Until now, I was foolish and used the treatment as an excuse to make things difficult for you, but from now—”
“Have you set your sights on someone else?”
“—on, I’ll never… Excuse me?”
Raha’s eyes went wide at the sudden question.
“Is it the Grand Duke? Or the Duke? Or the Marquis? Probably not the Margrave since you rarely see him.”
For some reason, Blizan seemed curious about the next “target.”
Raha thought about denying it but decided against it.
It didn’t matter; the point was that Blizan was free from his obsession.
“In any case, I won’t be bothering you anymore.”
“That is not an answer to my question, High Priest.”
Blizan seemed insistent, so Raha finally blurted out the first man who came to mind.
“Fine. It’s the Grand Duke.”
“Ha!”
A short, mocking laugh escaped Blizan.
“You’ve fallen for the Grand Duke who nearly strangled you to death? Do you get sexual arousal from such coercive behavior?”
“What? No, I—”
“I noticed you became more obsessed the harsher I treated you. I see.”
“No, you’ve misunderstood.”
“Good for you then, that your interest in me has vanished.”
Raha wasn’t a masochist, but since his interest in Blizan was practically zero compared to the original owner, he couldn’t exactly argue.
Blizan stared at him, then finally let go of his hand and stood up.
“To think you could have healed me in such a short time all along…”
“I am sorry.”
“Is it the Grand Duke’s turn next?”
“That won’t happen. I’ll keep my public and private life separate.”
“Despite never doing so with me?”
Feeling that anything he said would be twisted, Raha remained silent.
“I apologize.”
“You seem like a completely different person, High Priest. Is it because you nearly died at the Grand Duke’s hands?”
Blizan looked down at him for a moment before heading toward the door.
“Regardless, I’m glad those excessive feelings for me are gone. See you next Monday.”
“Goodbye, Your Highness.”
Raha bowed as Blizan left.
The moment the door clicked shut, Raha collapsed onto the sofa.
‘Just how much did I pester him that he won’t even believe me when I say I’m stopping?’
He realized that no matter what he said now, he couldn’t erase Blizan’s distrust.
‘Well, if I spend time maintaining a proper distance, the distrust will fade on its own, right?’
To survive, he just had to avoid being jealous of Edrion and avoid getting deeply involved with the male leads.
Once he had the money, he was out.
With Blizan “handled,” Raha began to worry about how to distance himself from the next target: Duke Grey of the South, whom he was scheduled to see on Wednesday.
He was completely unaware of what Blizan was currently thinking.
“You, stay behind. Stay and record how many times the Grand Duke meets with the High Priest.”
Before boarding his carriage back to the Imperial Palace, Blizan pointed out a knight and ordered him to stay at the temple.
He had initially felt relieved when Raha said he no longer loved him.
But Raha’s cold behavior and the way he seemed like a different person altogether piqued his curiosity.
He had suspected it was a new tactic to get his attention, but even when he had grabbed Raha’s hand, there was no reaction other than slight surprise.
That realization shifted his emotions in an unexpected direction.
‘How dare he fall for the Grand Duke over me?’
Blizan felt an unpleasant sensation in his gut and clicked his tongue while staring out the window.
It was strange to feel this way after being so sick of the obsession, but the Raha he met today felt like a stranger.
He tapped his long, pale fingers slowly on the armrest, thinking about the “new” Raha all the way back to the palace.
