***

How long does it really take to dress a noble? It shouldn’t take ten minutes, no matter how intricate the design. But Zetak had already taken well over ten minutes.

All the while, Jaibid remained silent. No matter how clumsy Zetak’s hands were, or how often he fumbled with the wrong part of the garment, Jaibid never once scolded him.

In the past, Jaibid would sometimes tell Zetak to change with another servant. But now even that didn’t happen. He just waited while Zetak struggled, seemingly unconcerned. Zetak smiled faintly.

‘As expected, he’s so kind.’

The thought of that kindness being reserved for him made Zetak’s heart race.

‘I must be special to His Highness, no? That must be it. I’m special to him.’

The sweet thought made his heart beat wildly. At the same time, the blood vessels in his lower body throbbed as the effects of the medicine began to kick in.

‘Damn medicine.’

Zetak gritted his teeth. He had forgotten it – the existence of the drug. His blood was already racing, and to make matters worse, Jaibid stood still, calm and serene, as his clothes were removed. Zetak was at his limit.

‘This is just to help you get dressed. It’s nothing strange.’

He repeated the words to himself, but couldn’t stop his mind from running wild with endless fantasies.

‘Ah, why is His Highness so calm under my touch?’

The moment Zetak’s eyes met Jaibid’s, it felt as if his heart had dropped with a heavy thud. At the same time, the pressure under his trousers seemed to throb as his blood vessels suddenly dilated. The blood was rushing madly.

‘Oh no, it’s too tight down here. Please, get me out.’

It was as if his lower body was crying out for relief.

“Why are you fidgeting with your legs?”

“No, it’s nothing. Damn, just…”

Zetak muttered, the last part of his answer barely audible.

Jaibid heard it, but decided to let it go. It wasn’t the first time Zetak had muttered a curse under his breath, as if talking to himself. Jaibid looked at him and watched as Zetak crossed his legs awkwardly, shaking as he tried to cover the front of his trousers.

From Jaibid’s perspective, it looked unmistakably like someone who desperately needed to relieve himself.

‘Could he not even find time to go to the toilet? His servant duties must have kept him busy.’

Jaibid thought, nodding to himself.

“It seems urgent. Go take care of it. I’ll wait here.”

‘No, it’s not that kind of liberation I want. It’s the other one. The white one.’

When Zetak didn’t answer, Jaibid grew confused.

‘The way he’s shaking, it must be urgent. Could it be so urgent that he can’t even make it back to his own quarters?’

“If it’s that bad, you can use this room.”

“Pardon…?”

“I’m saying you can relieve yourself in here. I’ll wait.”

Zetak’s face twisted in horror.

‘What the hell? What does he mean, do this here? In front of His Highness? What kind of game is this?’

He gritted his teeth in anger. Even if he had to go, he’d rather die than relieve himself in front of Jaibid.

He knew Jaibid’s personality well enough to predict what would happen. If Jaibid said he would wait, he wouldn’t turn away or leave the room. He would probably watch with those watchful eyes. He might even start measuring.

‘Did you hold it in for a long time? That’s quite a lot.’

The words sounded suggestive, but there was nothing remotely erotic about the situation.

‘I just want to kill him. What I want to release is white, damn it.’

Zetak felt as if his eyes were bloodshot. Ah, so this is what it feels like when your blood pressure explodes. At his young age, he found himself worrying about his blood pressure, clutching the back of his neck.

One day, no doubt. I will definitely take care of His Highness. Of course, he knew that was realistically impossible. But isn’t imagination free? In his mind, His Highness had already done this and that. He had done all sorts of things. It was all because of His Highness – he was the one who had drugged him.

Finally, after he had managed to remove all his clothes, Zetak breathed a sigh of relief. But it had been a mistake to let his guard down. As he bent down to fetch water, Zetak caught sight of a field of flowers. In the already cramped space, the tension of his tight trousers pressed hard against him. A field of flowers in full bloom unfolded before his eyes. Ah, is this how I ascend to heaven? Without realising it, Zetak fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands. He was so ashamed that he wanted to die. More than that, he wanted to kill Jaibid in more ways than one.

“What is it? Are you sick?”

“Don’t come any closer! And stop running around n*ked!” 

Ah. He saw it. It’s small. Cute. Well, His Highness is young. Yes, he is. It seems smaller than mine. Soft-looking. Pink. 

Zetak was already a lost cause. The pure boy, Zetak, at thirteen. That misplaced purity had gone completely off the rails and was now running wild. Without realising it, his hand reached out and gave her a light nudge – completely unintentional. Zetak sincerely wanted to insist that it was an uncontrollable force of nature.

Jaibid looked down at himself. His gaze fell on the hand that had just touched him, now frozen in place.

“Sometimes you do strange things. Is there any meaning behind what you just did?”

“No.” 

Zetak thought to himself. He was grateful that His Highness was an idiot. This was a situation where losing his head wouldn’t have been surprising. He was truly grateful that His Highness had let it pass with just those words.

Ah, thank you for being an idiot. Zetak could barely tear his eyes away. He wanted to keep looking, but if he did, he was sure he would ascend a second time. He scooped up a large amount of water and poured it over Jaibid’s body. Jaibid became wet and glistening with water. At the same time, the inside of Zetak’s trousers also became damp. Even his eyes became moist. Zetak felt miserable. 

He stepped out of the orphanage basement. But why, he wondered, was he still being tortured like this? He felt anger rising inside him. And something else was rising as well. With a wave of frustration, Zetak poured the rest of the water over Jaibid’s face.

“It’s hot.”

“I’m sorry. It was a mistake.”

“No, it felt like you deliberately poured it on my face in a very calm way.”

“That can’t be. You must be imagining things.”

He finished the water, applied scented oil, then poured water again. All the time Zetak felt like crying. The Empress’s medicine – its effects were extraordinary, which was why his trousers were still unbearably tight. Her Highness’ skin was so soft. And the pink… was so sweet.

“Damn.”

Zetak felt tears well up in his eyes. Forget everything – how about just hitting His Highness on the back of the head with this bucket? And then, when he’s unconscious, he could sort out this and that.

“Why are you crying?” 

As Jaibid wiped the tears from his eyes with his fingers, Zetak felt like bursting into full-blown sobs.

‘Your Highness! Please stop being so nice!’

The fact that he couldn’t say it out loud was his greatest regret. 

“You really are a child who cries a lot. You cried in the garden before.” 

‘These tears are different.’

Zetak wanted to shout.

‘These tears are the crushed feelings of a man’s pure heart. But the wall of status was insurmountable.’ 

“It’s only… because I like you, Your Highness.” 

It was both true and untrue. Right now he wanted to beat him to a pulp.

“Please, get into the water. It’ll cool you down.” 

The bath was engraved with a magic circle. The water couldn’t possibly be cold, but Zetak insisted that it was and pushed Jaibid into the tub. Jaibid, though confused, entered the tub without much protest. The child’s bottom wiggled slightly with each step. Zetak wanted to slap him. He wanted to slap the bottom with the palm of his hand.

‘I want to leave the mark of my hand on it!’

He couldn’t help but imagine Jaibid lying on his lap as he gave those cheeks a firm pat-pat. Then he saw the riverbank.

‘Zetak, come here.’

An old woman he’d never met waved at him from across the blooming flowers on the riverbank.

‘It’s hard there, isn’t it? It’s comfortable here. Come over here.’

If I die, it will probably be because I’ve run out of blood. Zetak felt tears well up again at the damp feel of his trousers.

“Come to think of it, I got a message from Mother.”

“A message?” 

Zetak feigned calm as he asked. Fortunately, his voice didn’t crack. Beyond the water, Jaibid’s slender figure was faintly visible. Zetak couldn’t bear to look and lowered his head.

“What did she say?”

“She’s worried that the medicine doesn’t seem to be working well.”

Of course it wasn’t. The medicine was going into Zetak’s stomach instead. Perhaps now that they’ve realised it’s useless, they’ll stop sending it altogether? Zetak clung to that hope as he waited for Jaibid’s next words.

“So she’s sending a healer to do acupuncture.”

“W-what? Administer what? Where will they administer it?”

Jaibid didn’t answer. He just looked at Zetak quietly. And in that moment, Zetak understood. He realised that he was the one who would have to endure the acupuncture. Zetak felt as if the sky had turned a sickly yellow.

‘Why do I like someone like him? Why can’t I let him go, even if I have to endure things like this?’

Zetak cried silently in his heart.