Translator and Editor: Lea and Aki
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Chapter 28
“I don’t know what to do…..”
April knew she could cope calmly no matter when and where he collapsed. She had already saved him once at the detached house of the Duke at the banquet, so she vaguely thought she could do that the next time. Her past self, which she thought was so easy, actually came out to be ridiculous.
“His condition is deteriorating way too much than it usually does. I’ll have to take him to his room.”
Supporting Ian’s struggling figure, Klaus pushed open the door from his office to his room. April finally learnt that the door that was tightly shut behind his desk led to his room.
“Breathe, Master.”
Klaus deftly laid his weak body on the bed before unbuttoning his shirt. Just as soon as Klaus was finished, Ian’s chest heaved in relief as if he was waiting to be released from a bondage.
“Do you have any medicine?”“We hardly had seen any effects from the old medicine, so I ended up making a new one. This is still a prototype.”“Even if it is…..”“B-But I haven’t decided if I can let him have it yet! I’m not sure about this.”“What do you mean?”
Klaus asked with a strained look. It felt like he was going to snatch away the bottle out of her hand. Surely, he didn’t understand the meaning of what she said.
“Miss April, I know a lot has happened between you two. But, please consider the true purpose of your contract.”
He stressed on ‘curing his master’ was the only reason April had come here. No matter what they had felt towards each other in these few months.
“The purpose……uhm.”
Repeating his words, she looked at Ian, who was struggling to breathe. Groaning, he was staring at April, his eyes filled with pain.
His eyes, through his disorganized hair, were not of a beast. Rather, they were so intense with all the desperate feelings he felt for her that her heart was shaking.
“I’ll go out. As usual.”
Klaus walked past her, leaving the room. She heard the door leading to the office close again.
The door of the room was closed, and the curtains were draped over the windows. Only April and Ian remained alone in the room. She had to make a decision.
“Marquis.”
She looked down at him. He struggled to look up at her with his weak half-opened eyes, not even caring to push up his hair that was drenched in sweat.
“Does it hurt?”“Ha…… Listen…. You can’t stay here with me.”
He threw off his shirt, as if trying every bit to cool off. But, April couldn’t bring herself to turn on her heel.
“Go…….”“How can I do that?!”
He must’ve been out of his mind before, and his instinct must’ve suppressed his reasons, bringing him to a state like an animal. Since Klaus said that this time it was worse than usual, his limit would definitely come sooner. If someone touched him, he’d be in a state to explode.
“It’s because of me, so tell me… how can I do that?”“It’s not your fault. It’s me who…….haah.”
It was pathetic to see him trying hard not to lose his mind. With a confession already made, he stabbed her right in the heart as he tried hard not to harm her under the pretext of his circumstances.
“Marquis.”
When he got up to drink water, April grabbed him by the wrist. The medicine was clutched in her other hand.
Instead of being pleased, Ian turned away from her, his face red in embarrassment. His fluctuating chest was covered in sweat.
“Leave. You know what’s going to happen if you don’t.”“I won’t.”“Listen to me, please!”
Swerving, he grasped her wrist, pulling her. Both of them fell on the bed together. As her head fell on the pillow, she briefly shut her eyes tight.
Her wrist was throbbing, but she kept holding the bottle of medicine. It was difficult to endure the heavy man’s temperature and the dizzying smell.
“This smell. This is what’s making it worse…..”
Ian spread his lips with his tongue while looking down at her index finger that was wrapped in cloth. There was a red dot – her blood – on the surface of the white cloth. She clenched her hand as hard as she could.
“M-Marquis.”
Only the two of them were in a tightly closed room. A man, who had already confessed, was on the verge of losing his mind with April underneath him. Her heart drummed on her chest, threatening to pop out, but she was feeling less anxious than before.
“Haa.”
His hot breath skimmed over her face, tickling her sensitive ears while he laid still over her.
She gulped.
Marquis Ian Reykis, who was known in the Empire for his indifference. The way he threw it off and flashed his eyes like a hungry animal made her feel hot for some reason.
“I’m trying to hold it in. I told you to leave!”
She wriggled beneath him when she felt something foreign over her lower abdomen. She knew what it meant.
“Since when have you felt this way, Marquis?”“Do you….need to know?”
He gave her a piercing look. Always Marquis and Marquis. He was annoyed because of her overly polite attitude. He snapped at her, his voice hoarse.
Her sweet scent bothered him terribly. He wanted to bury his face in her neck and savor it to the fullest.
After she made up her heart to say those words, there was no other way to do anything about this much bigger conception.
“I… I need to know. No, I want to know.”“Why? Because you’re the doctor?”“I …!”“Your smell is enough to drive me crazy. Do you know why I’m doing this, why I’m trying to hold on?”
He asked between his raspy breaths that kept tickling her ears. She also seemed to be getting warmer because of his heated body.
“It’s because you’re the cure to this disease, April.”
He said, sweetly gazing at her before collapsing over her. She could feel the beat of his heart. His heart was racing. Because of his illness and April.
“Marquis, you should have been one of the many patients who visit me on a temporary basis…… it doesn’t work out the way you feel.”“Why do I….. have to be the one to pass on you?”“You live in a different world from me, Marquis, and you have to. The only reason we were together was because of the contract.”
Unlike her calm and faint voice, April’s eyes were sharp. Ian bit his lips. Looking straight at her and breaking down his alertness, he quietly whispered.
“Not to me. You’ve already entered my world.”
His voice softened only for a moment, and his words touched April’s heart, eventually opening the door she pushed shut.
“April….. I’m near my limit. Leave this room before I bother you again.”
He growled, gritting his teeth. The reason why he was able to hold his remaining spirit straight and most of his mentality intact was only because he cared about April.
The feelings that had built up in the midst of the moment were overwhelming. But she kept declining him.
“I’m not going out.”“Again, I’m telling—”“You said I was the only cure. Then, let me be your cure.”
Snaking her palm to his cheek, she placed a light kiss on his forehead. A golden wave broke out in Ian’s surprised eyes at her gesture. At the same time, he exhaled in agony.
He felt like he was brought into an open furnace.
“You sure you’ve thought it over?”“On the contrary, it was you, Marquis, who saw me for what I was and did not consider me as any means. You gave me your heart.”
Her eyes visibly said she was sincere. Calling her name, Ian leaned down to embrace her.
She couldn’t figure out how careful he would be now. She felt great, but she also felt sorry for him, who was suppressing this pathological desire for her.
“Marquis.”“Ian….. just once…..”“Ian.”
She hesitated a little before whispering his name near his ear. His name, in her voice, thrilled him.
That very moment, his lips made their way on her lips with no hesitation, and his arm snaked around her waist. It was nothing like in the detached house of the Duke.
“Ah…..”
She opened her lips, and he found a chance to shove in his tongue. The movement was soft but never relaxed, with signs of patience.
Their tongues, deeply intertwining and loosening, resulted in the spreading of the intoxicating scent. Both of them had a fear of regret… of letting go. His other hand found its way to her cheek, while April’s arms were wrapped around his neck, both of them savoring it to the fullest.
“Oh, April.”“Hmm?”“You’re so……”
He was embarrassed. She placed her fingers on his left chest. Him tensing up was evident under her touch.
Her palms slid past his chest, to his broad shoulders, and then to his stone-hard sides. Each time, Ian flinched as if she was gently stroking the fur of the animal he was.
“I know. Ian.”
For tonight, Ian seemed to be able to sleep in peace under the intoxicating scent of April, in which he was painted. The two naturally accepted the intense temptation toward the other.
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