IYAMD: Episode 56

Jaha gazed at the broad back of the man. Leading the knights and charging toward the enemy, a deep green light spread from him. It scattered dazzlingly, like a summer willow, as the green mass fluttered.

It was a beautiful sight. However, the situation was far from beautiful.

A minautor swung an axe, and the man shouted in a beastly roar, urging the knights on.

“Do not retreat! Hold your shields higher! Swing your swords!” He swung his sword infused with aura nonstop. His golden hair, shining in the sunlight, quickly became stained with the monster’s fluids and the knights’ spilled blood.

The golden hair, now darkened with blood, stuck to his forehead, and various unknown liquids splattered on his face. Blood dried on his face, but his green eyes shone sharply.

Jaha watched the blood flowing along the man’s sharp nose. The blood on his eyelashes wasn’t his own but belonged to someone else fighting by his side.

The man appeared too busy to blink, scanning the battlefield and assessing the situation. For some reason, Jaha felt an urge to reach out and wipe the blood away.

Marsilia’s situation was better than that of the other knights. Many knights had limbs torn off or were crushed beyond recognition.

There was one knight whose lower body was shattered when a Minotaur stepped on him, unable to dodge in time. When other knights worked together to pull him out, Marsilia immediately rushed over.

The knight, who seemed unaware of the pain, gasped for breath with dull eyes, but quickly recovered with the Emperor’s divine power and stood up. He then ran back to join his comrades, raising his shield and thrusting his sword.

It was an unsettling sight.

Jaha calmly watched these scenes before suddenly looking down at himself. In the middle of the battlefield, he had no sword in hand, and he was not covered in blood.

The moment he realized this, the surrounding noise seemed to fade away. The movements of people appeared to slow down as well.

“Jaha.”

Marsilia, who had just healed a knight whose arm was severed and helped him stand, was now looking back at Jaha. He frowned, his blood-soaked face tinted with a hint of sorrow.

“Wake up.”

At that moment, Jaha took a deep breath.

“Gasp.”

The breath that he urgently inhaled escaped as Jaha opened his eyes. Marsilia, looking down at Jaha with his brilliant green eyes, furrowed his brow and smiled as before.

“Such a sleepyhead.”

Jaha blinked. Behind the man, the familiar sight of the tent came into view.

“Did I…?”

A hoarse voice spilled out. The man, with a smile that seemed about to melt, nodded eagerly.

“Yes.”

Jaha tried to sit up and then remembered what had just happened.

“My…?”

It felt like his throat was being cut. He also felt the sharp pain as if thousands of needles were stabbing his throat. When Jaha coughed, Marsilia gently rubbed his back and gave an order.

“Malek, water.”

Soon, a cup of lukewarm water touched his lips. Jaha drank the water slowly as the man tilted the cup, swallowing it down, though this time it felt as if his throat was tearing apart.

Tears welled up from the pain, dripping onto the blanket. Marsilia reached out and wiped the droplets from Jaha’s eyelashes while muttering.

“I was going to scold you when you woke up, but now you’re making it impossible.”

Jaha, gripping his neck and enduring the pain, raised his head.

“Why… scold me?”

The sharp pain made his face contort. Struggling to speak, he finally managed to mumble, and the man gently cupped his cheek with his hand and quietly responded.

“Because you slept for so long.”

“Did you… worry?”

The man lightly shook his head.

“No, I was lonely.”

Jaha was struck speechless by the man’s teasing. Realizing this, the man quietly closed his eyes and withdrew his hand. The place where his warm palm had rested on Jaha now felt strangely cold.

“How much do you know of the Western Continent’s common language? I know you can understand most of it, but you seem to speak better than I expected.”

“I understand… most of it.”

“And speaking?”

“I think… it’s fine, probably.” His accent was slightly different. From Helga, perhaps?”

Jaha hadn’t come to the Western Continent from the start, so that might explain it. He was impressed that the man had figured out the place Jaha first arrived in on the Western Continent.

“How did you…?”

“If you listen, you can more or less figure it out.”

The man laughed and tilted his head, his laughter ringing out clearly. The refreshing sound of his laughter gently tickled Jaha’s ears.

“It feels strange talking to you.”

The man smiled brightly, his eyes gleaming like jewels set in the shape of half-moons. He looked at Jaha with those shining eyes.

“I’m happier than I expected.”

Jaha couldn’t bring himself to respond to his words. Marsilia, seemingly unfazed by Jaha’s lack of reaction, offered the water again.

“Drink slowly now.”

Jaha slowly took a sip of water, drinking it in small gulps. The man, who had been tilting the cup for him, spoke slowly, his expression serious.

“I have so much I want to talk to you about. How about… having a meal together?” When had he started asking such questions? Jaha furrowed his brows at the unfamiliarity of his words, unsure of how to respond.

“Are you hungry?”

He nodded. A habit from when he couldn’t speak. Without saying anything, he simply nodded first. After telling Malek to prepare the meal, Marsilia leaned forward.

While Jaha was looking at the man’s face as he drew closer, Marsilia seemed to study Jaha’s face with his gaze.

“Answer me, Jaha. Have you come to like me, even just a little? I’ve always wanted to ask this.”

Jaha furrowed his brow in a puzzled expression. Was there some reason for such a question? He couldn’t understand. Hadn’t they known each other for less than a month?

Furthermore, Jaha also knew that, at first, Marsilia hadn’t thought much of him either. So why was this man asking such a question with those longing eyes?

As Jaha remained silent, unable to answer, Marsilia whispered softly.

“Is this a hard question to answer? Then let me ask something else. May I kiss you?”

What was this about all of a sudden? Jaha quickly leaned back, shaking his head firmly.

“No.”

Upon hearing Jaha’s response, Marsilia straightened up and laughed out loud.

“You’re too straightforward with that answer.”

Jaha furrowed his brows and finally spoke the words he had been holding back.

“I’m a man.”

“I know.”

The confirmation came so casually and without hesitation, it felt almost anticlimactic. Marsilia crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly.

“I know you’re a man, Jaha. I saw it the day I brought you here.”

“What?”

“Your naked body.”

Jaha opened his mouth in shock, and Marsilia chuckled lightly. In his narrow eyes, Jaha could see emotions he didn’t quite understand.

“I only saw you washing up. Afterward, I noticed the wounds you had. You had a big wound on your thigh. Was it this bad?”

Marsilia uncrossed his arms, measuring the length of the wound with his hands, and continued.

“Looks like it was from a blade. Is that right?”

Jaha took a slow, deep breath before nodding.

“Yes.”

“You never properly treated that wound.”

That was true. Back when he had killed the magistrate and was being hunted for the bounty, there had been no time to treat his injuries. He had been constantly on the run, with more and more skilled pursuers joining the chase as more people died by his hand.

He had gotten that wound after a brief mistake while being pursued for several days and nights. It was deep enough that he had to be thankful his leg hadn’t been severed. At the time, he had been prepared to die, but then his master had arrived just in time and saved him.

Marsilia quietly waited for Jaha’s response, watching as his pale yellow eyes moved restlessly.

What was Jaha remembering? Jaha’s hands clenched the blanket tightly, his breathing growing heavier, his eyes trembling, and his lips pressed tightly together.

Marsilia wanted to know what he had gone through. He wondered how Jaha had lived while he had been waiting for him.

But maybe it wasn’t time to talk about it yet. As he observed Jaha’s tense state, Marsilia slowly exhaled.

“Ha.”

The sound startled Jaha, who looked up. Marsilia slowly smiled.

“It’s okay, Jaha. You can take your time. Speak when you want to.” Marsilia lightly brushed Jaha’s cheek and continued.

“If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to.”

Jaha wasn’t sure how it had sounded to Marsilia, but to him, it felt like he was being asked to speak, as if Marsilia was desperately waiting to hear it, even if it took time.

Had Marsilia noticed? Jaha lowered his head again, his eyes trembling.

Marsilia quietly leaned forward and kissed Jaha on the forehead.

“The Emperor of the Arhen Empire is the apostle of the goddess and the closest to her. May the goddess’s blessing be with you. May peace fill your heart.”

Jaha lifted his head. The yellow eyes in front of him looked puzzled as they met Marsilia’s gaze.

“But you don’t believe in the goddess.”

Marsilia, smiling widely, kissed the area around Jaha’s eyes and responded lightheartedly.

“Humans only seek the gods when they need them.”

He met Jaha’s skeptical gaze and grinned.

“It’s just how it is.”

Taking the opportunity, Marsilia kissed Jaha’s cheek. At that moment, Jaha felt like if Marsilia moved a little more, he might kiss his lips. But Jaha immediately pushed him away.

“Don’t do it… you…”

“Lecher?”

The words Jaha had been about to speak were swallowed by Marsilia’s lips. The moment his brow furrowed, it seemed to stretch out, lingering in Jaha’s sight. Marsilia closed his eyes, as if savoring that moment.

For the past two days, he had longed to kiss him, and now, he gently parted his lips. Marsilia wasted no time diving in, seeking his name deep within, swimming through the dark tunnel that was his mouth.