One of the believers showed him the glass bottle in his hand.
Ranshel pulled up his trembling lips and requested.
“Could I possibly perform the ritual in your place?”
“Ah, the holy oil ceremony?”
“Yes. The Knight performing the ritual today is the Young Master of the family I have served for a long time. I wish to bless his future with my own hands.”
The believers exchanged glances as if discussing what to do.
Ranshel was extremely nervous, but thankfully, they granted his request.
It seemed they felt sorry for him since he had to resign reluctantly after being framed by the head believer before.
“But will you be alright alone? You have to stay in the resting place to assist him with the ritual until sunrise.”
“I’ll be fine. By the way, the Knight performing the ritual shouldn’t leave in the middle, should he?”
“No. I heard that if he leaves the resting place before morning, his qualification for initiation will be revoked.”
Damn it…. Ranshel accepted the bottle of holy oil, doing his best to manage his expression.
“There might be a place inside where you can rest. Since you are not well, it will be hard to stay up all night with him, so please take a break in the middle.”
“Yes, I will do that. Thank you very much.”
Ranshel bowed his head as naturally as possible to bid them farewell, then urgently turned around and ran toward the pond.
“Young Master, are you alright?”
“…….”
Zavad was leaning his arms on the edge of the pond again, his head bowed low.
Ranshel hung the glass bottle of holy oil on his leather belt and shook Zavad’s shoulders.
“Young Master, you need to pull yourself together. Wake up!”
“……I am awake.”
Ranshel’s fingertips flinched.
It was because the chilling, low-crawling voice, which gave him goosebumps, flowed out once again.
“…First, please come out of the water.”
Ranshel could not leave Zavad like this.
This resting place was not a closed space.
He could not leave Zavad exposed in an environment where anyone could enter, as happened just moments ago.
Ranshel pulled on Zavad’s limp arm, but it was like trying to carry a tiger that had been shot with an arrow alone.
It meant that Zavad was too heavy to budge with Ranshel’s strength.
But the thick forearm Ranshel was struggling to pull suddenly moved and settled on Ranshel’s wrist.
“Don’t do that, you come in.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m already too hot, how can you tell me to go outside?”
“No…”
“Come here, Ranshel.”
Zavad’s eyes curved as he smiled sweetly.
Ranshel swallowed the scream that threatened to burst out.
The light of reason remaining in his red eyes was too faint.
The person seducing Ranshel now was Zavad, who had broken every principle and was purely driven by instinct.
“I told you to come.”
“Ugh…!”
When Ranshel froze, unable to move, Zavad grabbed his wrist again.
The skin, already red and sore from being grabbed tightly before, was excruciatingly painful.
Ranshel was just about to be dragged into the water, letting out a painful moan with a contorted face due to the physiological pain.
“…….”
Zavad’s powerful movement abruptly stopped.
The hand that had gripped Ranshel released its hold, and this time, Zavad submerged his head completely underwater before emerging.
‘Splash,’ as he cut through the water, his eyes momentarily regained focus.
Zavad wiped his cold-water-drenched face with his palm and said urgently.
“Ranshel, get out of here.”
“Young Master.”
“I’m acting strange right now. Hurry… leave.”
“Someone lit a Seduction Fragrance.”
Seduction Fragrance.
A fierce light immediately flashed in Zavad’s eyes.
“I think they tried to make you commit an irreverent act in the resting place.”
If Ranshel hadn’t turned the believers back, it was possible that Zavad, not in his right mind, might have reached out to one of them.
“…It seems they don’t want me to join the Imperial Family.”
A deep sense of anger and humiliation briefly crossed Zavad’s face.
Ranshel chewed on his lip and patted his shoulder.
“Let’s go inside first. They said there’s a resting area, so we should be able to lock the door.”
Zavad, having regained his senses, pulled himself out of the pond this time.
Ranshel led him and urgently entered the private room prepared in the back.
As soon as Zavad was inside, Ranshel quickly latched the bolt lock on the door and pulled it hard.
The door, installed in a cave, didn’t look very sturdy, but the important thing was that it created a space temporarily isolated from the outside.
‘Is there anything to block the door?’
As Ranshel anxiously looked around, a body heat, like a hot fireball, touched him from behind.
Immediately, a strong arm wrapped around his waist, and a murky whisper clung to his eardrum.
“Ranshel….”
The voice tickling his ear turned every muscle in Ranshel’s body, from his fingertips to his toes, into hard stone.
Ranshel stood stiffly, letting out a trembling breath at the soft sensation touching his earlobe.
The soft flesh traced his round earlobe from top to bottom.
The room was filled with the sound of his own heart.
The frantic throbbing echoed in his head.
He was dizzy.
Unable to bear the spinning vision, he tightly squeezed his eyes shut.
Bang!
Ranshel opened his tightly closed eyes in surprise at the loud noise.
Zavad had clenched his fist and fiercely struck the wall.
Debris fell from the stone wall due to the immense force, and the wall vibrated subtly.
“…Why did you come in with me? Get out now.”
The strong arm wrapped around Ranshel’s waist slowly released its hold.
“If you go out, I will lock the door….”
Ranshel’s frantic heart gradually quieted down.
He straightened his mind, which had been dazed as if drunk on the fragrance, clenched his two hands tightly, and turned around.
“You, who enjoys books so much, don’t know about the Seduction Fragrance?”
Unlike someone who was born a warrior and held a toy sword from a young age, Zavad learned everything from books instead of human teachers.
There was no way he wouldn’t know.
“It won’t pass just by enduring it. It’s a symptom that only ends when you take a person.”
“…I know. That’s why I’m telling you.”
“What do you intend to do alone?”
Zavad gasped for air and shook his head.
“I… I’ll manage. If I can just endure tonight, I’ll manage…”
“What will you do by enduring the night? Do you want to assault a monk praying at dawn?”
“It’s enough, I told you to get out…”
Zavad’s voice was completely drained of strength.
Veins were visibly blue on the back of his hands, which were strained as if enduring something, and rough, ragged breaths occasionally leaked between his lips.
His two eyes, always filled with certainty, were shaking with confusion.
“…Young Master.”
Ranshel took a step forward.
Zavad retreated just as much.
Zavad, stepping back from him.
Ranshel ignored the stinging pain in his chest and reached out his hand.
When Ranshel’s fingertips brushed his chest, Zavad’s strong body flinched like a frightened animal.
“It’s alright, Young Master….”
