TEB Ch 79

Of course, even if Sigrid knew about Suhyuk’s past, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference, but his sense of caution was heightened. Liev looked away and answered hesitantly, as if avoiding his gaze.  

“I’m just worried. I don’t want Renard to make a regretful decision because of me or give up something because of me. I also don’t want things to change unintentionally because of me. Even if I continue to be with Renard, I will inevitably live a different life from him, and I worry about what actions Renard will take because of that.”  

As the story went on, it seemed like he was admitting his own helplessness. In fact, he had already admitted it a long time ago. That’s why he has refused to even try to be together until now. Now, realizing that he couldn’t push him away, he didn’t even know what to do. So, asking Sigrid for a conversation was like getting a hint. If he could get some clues about what Renard might do in the future, he could at least prepare himself mentally. But to his disappointment, Sigrid’s expression still showed suspicion.  

“Uh…”  

Sigrid, who had been facing Liev, narrowed his eyes for a moment and then spoke.  

“But no matter what Renard chooses, it’s his freedom. Dragons are not as foolish as you think. They’re not creatures that can be controlled, like the monsters you took care of at the Research Institute. And dragons share their knowledge with each other, so he would have inherited the knowledge of the Divine Dragon while he was under him. If he makes a choice, wouldn’t it be wiser than the conclusion made by a mere human who can only live for a century?”  

At the unexpected comment, Liev immediately protested.  

“Who said I treat Renard like a monster?”  

Because he’s not a monster, that’s why I’m worried. If he really was a monster, I wouldn’t. But now that I think about it, I can’t deny that I’ve been treating him like a child all this time.  

“…….”  

While Liev had been hit on the nail on the head and remained silent again, Sigrid spoke with a faint, subtle smile.  

“Mr. Liev, Renard is no longer a child who can’t do anything in your arms. You must know by now that your lies won’t work. If you continue to make all the decisions and force it on him, is that really a good relationship for both Liev and you?”  

Although he could understand it in his head, the sentence was still difficult for him to accept in his heart, piercing him like a dagger.  

“Come on, why don’t you start by going to the dragon who’s waiting just for you and explaining that I didn’t do anything? It’s a sad thing to be misunderstood by my precious friend.”  

When Liev couldn’t respond, Sigrid quickly pushed him out of the room. There was no time to even protest as the main character used his heroic strength. They quickly made their way to the room that had been assigned to him.  

“Okay, rest well, and if nothing happens, I’ll see you again in the morning!”  

With a cheerful farewell, Sigrid knocked on the door of the room. The door suddenly opened towards the inside.  

“What were you two talking about?”  

As soon as our eyes met through the open door, Renard looked like a husband having some kind of suspicion.

“We didn’t talk about much, In the first place.”  

Liev suddenly remembered what Sigrid had said earlier. He was still treating Renard as a child who needed to be sheltered and taken care of. He wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t.  

In the end, Liev crossed his arms and spoke. 

“But since you have been keeping secrets from me and haven’t told me anything, I have no choice but to worry.”  

At the moment when the constant bickering was about to begin again, like a back-and-forth rhythm, a warm touch landed on the lips of Liev’s open mouth. Liev blinked in surprise as Renard’s eyelashes fluttered down beautifully. And with another short kiss, Liev was startled and stepped back, his face blushing.  

“What are you doing while I’m talking?”  

Then Renard replied casually,  

“If you’re going to say you’re worried about me like that, I’ll kiss you every time. Since it’s better to kiss me than to say that right?”  

“No way!” As Liev prepared to protest, Renard pulled up the corners of his mouth and revealed his sharp fangs with a playful smile. The cocky expression was so irritating that Liev couldn’t believe it, and as he was about to retort, he remembered Sigrid’s words and sighed.  

“What is it? You’re keeping secrets from me too.”  

It wasn’t until a disgruntled sound burst out of Liev’s mouth that Renard finally sprawled out on the bed, looking up at Liev with an expression similar to a cat or dog showing off its belly and acting cute.

“If you’re feeling wronged, then you shouldn’t have lied to me, Liev.”

His level of pettiness was almost on par with a beast. Ugh. Liev turned his head, this time letting out a long sigh instead of swallowing it down. By now, the night had grown late, and it was clear that if he didn’t get to sleep soon, tomorrow would be a rough day.

“Goodnight.”  

As if to keep his promise, Renard was in a position to sleep quietly by Liev’s side tonight as well. It’s not like Renard wanted to break the promise he confidently declared. It bothered Liev that he hugged him very well, but he wasn’t doing anything.  

“……”  

It was strange. He began to become more aware of the strong arms and the feeling of a wide chest on his back, knowing what it felt like to touch it with bare skin. There was no way he could make a fuss about it, but he was in panic. In the end, he couldn’t sleep all night and finally fell asleep at late dawn.  

For some reason, when Liev woke up and turned around, he was a little irritated by the sound of breathing behind him. How could Renard sleep so well, even though he didn’t need it, while making others feel uneasy?

When Liev turned to face Renard, he saw his sensitive and sleepy face, looking so peaceful it was hard to believe. That’s why he’s not a scary dragon. He’s just a big kid with a big body. Liev looked at Renard for a moment and then pinched his cheek.

“What? What did I do?”  

Renard mumbled in his sleep, but Liev couldn’t hear him properly. He crawled out of Renard’s arms, curled up at the end of the bed, and went back to sleep.  

Of course, when he woke up again in the morning, he was still trapped in Renard’s arms.  

***  

Early in the morning, when Liev finally fell asleep, Renard, who had just woken up from a short sleep, pulled Liev, who was curled up far from him, into his arms. Even though he made a groaning sound, Liev nestled his entire body in his arms, and an indescribable sense of satisfaction that was hard to explain filled him. Even without doing anything pleasurable to Liev, just holding him like this was enough to make him feel full. In a place where there were only things that annoyed him, this was the only satisfying thing. Renard buried his face in the back of Liev’s head and smelled the familiar scent, but suddenly he felt a surge of pressure coming from down his body.  

Liev doesn’t like it, so I can’t do it. 

As he pursed his lips and tried to calm his pounding heart, he thought of a face that suddenly came to mind. A face that smiled very confidently but was not exactly likable.  

“So, you’re the brat Mahatra took in.”

The golden dragon, with transparent scales that glimmered like ice, was so powerful that you could tell just by looking at him that he had lived for a long time. The perfectly arranged scales on his body, as big as Mahatra, proved that it was not only an incredibly powerful being but also one that had only grown stronger with the passing of time.