Chapter 89. Disappointed

The Duke asked with a sneer.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Of course, it wouldn’t! I made your body that strong!”

With a furious face, the Duke hit Marco several more times. It seemed he blamed Marco for the failure.

“Are you still the leader of the Black Shadow? I didn’t appoint you as the next leader to handle things so poorly!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yes! If you hadn’t handed Linux to Paris, this wouldn’t have happened, so take it.”

The illegal drug Paris took seemed to be called Linux. The Duke continued to assault him multiple times.

Given his rapidly healing body, the violence was even more savage. But even if he healed, the pain he felt each time would be the same.

‘He’s insane…’

I was appalled by the Duke’s relentless assault. Even in this situation, Marco kept repeating that he was wrong. What puzzled me was that he felt rebellious inside.

“I’m sorry.”

Meanwhile, his voice showed no anger. It seemed he was quite used to hiding his true feelings from the Duke. It was completely different from the loyalty I thought the Black Shadow had. He seemed like someone with a weakness.

‘A weakness?’

Thinking that something related to these events, I carefully recalled the clues. Come to think of it, Aster said Marco didn’t have the Maved Stone embedded in his Black Shadow mark.

A body without the self-destructive device that gnawed at life, despite being the leader of the Black Shadow.

A body that regenerated quickly.

Ten years ago, he should have died, but he’s still alive.

I had some guesses, but it was hard to be sure. There was no collective point to gather all the clues.

To make an accurate judgment, I felt I needed to meet Marco separately.

Contrary to my expectations, it seemed he wasn’t completely loyal to the Duke. There might be something to dig into.

‘Oh!’

It was then. My vision suddenly cut off as if something snapped. Feeling the weight return to my body, it seemed I was going back to my original body.

Though I hadn’t overheard any important conversations yet, I had no choice.

A moment later, I opened my eyes to see a familiar ceiling.

‘Is this Francis Castle?’

Since I had collapsed in front of Father, it made sense to wake up in Francis Castle. Feeling embarrassed about worrying him, who was already concerned about my regained memories, I turned at the sound of someone approaching.

It was Aster.

“Ah.”

Aster let out a shallow groan as our eyes met. His disheveled hair suggested he had rushed over upon hearing the news from Father.

Seeing his worried face made my heart shrink. It seemed I worried not just Father.

“Ash.”

As I reached out my hand, Aster took it and brought it to his cheek. Confirming the warmth in my hand, he murmured softly.

“Are you okay?”

Seeing his still heavy breathing, it seemed he had indeed rushed over. I gently stroked his cheek and answered.

“Yes. Did you run here? You’re breathing heavily.”

“I heard you collapsed. How could I walk?”

Aster murmured softly, his face relaxing as the tension eased. He must have been anxious since I had been collapsing frequently these past few days.

“Sorry for worrying you.”

“It seems the seal weakened because you overexerted yourself after regaining your memories. Collapsing repeatedly might indicate something is wrong.”

“Is that so…”

The seal didn’t seem to have any particular issues. My mana core was still inactive, and the Maved Stone wasn’t consuming me.

Rather, it felt strange. It was as if the Maved Stone was trying to separate from me. It was frustrating not to understand the exact feeling.

Even the out-of-body experience earlier was unusual. It was hard to explain seeing everything through Marco’s perspective while being tied to him.

But reassuring Aster seemed more important for now. I sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed.

“Come here.”

At my call, Aster sat close beside me. I touched my forehead to his and spoke.

“I’m strong. You don’t need to worry too much.”

“That’s not something someone who keeps collapsing should say.”

Well, that left me speechless.

Feeling embarrassed that my attempt to comfort him had failed, I twisted my head slightly and lightly protested.

“It was unavoidable. I’ll explain.”

He then gently fixed my head back towards him.

“I’m not blaming you. I just hate that I can only watch.”

“Okay.”

“If I could, I’d rather be the one in pain.”

“Just stay by my side. That’s enough for me.”

Aster chuckled at my deliberately cheerful words.

“Is just staying by your side really enough?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’m disappointed.”

“Why?”

I blinked, not understanding what he meant. Aster lightly kissed me as if he had been waiting for this.

“Because just being by your side isn’t enough for me.”

It was a light kiss, like a butterfly landing and flying away. Startled, I reacted foolishly, moving my lips without sound.

“Huh?”

What just happened?

It happened so quickly that it didn’t feel real. Aster tilted his head and met my eyes.

“Is it just me?”

His gaze seemed to say that if it was just him, he would make sure I never said such a thing again.

The subtle curve of his lips and the slight squint of his eyes captivated me. Aster Blanche was undoubtedly a fox, a very sly one at that.

Realizing this belatedly, I narrowed my eyes and scolded him.

“You always do this whenever you get the chance. Who taught you this?”

I tried to push his lips away with my fingers. But Aster wasn’t one to back off easily.

“You did.”

“When?”

“You said people need warmth.”

Aster interlaced his fingers with mine and kissed the back of my hand.

“You used to hug me often when I was young. You also said kisses were a cure when in pain. Don’t you remember?”

“That was…”

I jumped up, unable to continue. The memory of comforting him with such words when he was young came to mind.

It must have been when Aster fell and hurt himself on a rainy day. I had blown on his scraped knee, pretending to be an adult.

‘When I’m hurt, my mom hugs me, blows on it, and kisses it. Then it doesn’t hurt the next day, like a miracle.’

The truth was, my mom gave me medicine, but as a child, I firmly believed in the efficacy of her touch.

So I must have said it confidently. The embarrassing memory made my face flush.

Young Aster had shyly asked with wide eyes.

‘Then, will you kiss it too?’
‘Why? Should I?’
‘Yes.’
‘Okay! For my subordinate, a kiss is nothing.’

Thinking back, young Aster must have been just as sly as he is now. He didn’t miss the opportunity and got his kiss, often clinging to me, claiming he was in pain.

Realizing belatedly that young Aster had played me, I narrowed my eyes.

“You’ve been a habitual offender.”

“You started it, Lala.”

“But you knew!”

“No, I really didn’t hurt after getting a kiss.”

“Liar.”

Feeling completely deceived, I pushed Aster away. But Aster didn’t budge.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, closing the distance. I felt the heat from his hand on my chin. He kissed my nose, sending a tickling temptation.

“Even in fairy tales, the prince wakes the princess with a kiss. It’s not entirely far-fetched.”

Aster, who had shed all his previous awkwardness, was now a master of sweet talk. Why bring up fairy tales now? I spoke warily.

“Ash.”

“My kiss might help you too.”

But I had no defense against Aster’s charm. His soft laughter exuded an alluring atmosphere.

Seeing that I was always weak in front of him, it was clear that preferences were a formidable weapon.

Disarmed, I lifted my chin and brushed my lips against his. When Aster lowered his head, our lips slowly met. He handled me carefully, even more so than usual.

As if kissing me would transfer my pain to him.

Laughter flowed between our lightly touching lips. Our breaths, short like prayer recitations, grew heavier.

Pretending to be a devout priest, he seemed intent on devouring me bit by bit.

After Aster pulled away, he asked softly.

“How is it?”

His breath tickled my nose, making my throat dry. I wrapped my arms around his neck and answered.

“I think I need more to know.”

“As much as you need.”

His upper body naturally slid onto the bed. He climbed on top of me and kissed me deeply. The intense kiss made it hard to breathe.

“Huh.”

I barely inhaled but couldn’t hold it for long. He chased my lips as they tried to pull away.

“It’s still not enough.”

It’s you who’s insatiable.

Finding his cheekiness endearing, I decided to join in his fake treatment.