CHAPTER 07
I don’t remember much of what happened next. It felt like I was struggling underwater. I think I just felt like I was falling into an abyss.
Philiatus.
I think I vaguely hear the voice of the man who called me that.
At his voice, which was affectionate yet somehow mournful, my body felt lighter as if I was rising from the water, my breathing became easier, and soon I was able to slowly lift my eyelids.
And the soft and warm feeling you get.
It was Filiatus who realized that the hot thing licking his mouth was someone else’s tongue.
“Am I being eaten right now…….”
I muttered unconsciously, and as if someone had heard me, a low, languid laugh came out.
At the same time, his throat moved and he swallowed something. As I stuck out my tongue to spit it out, the man curled his tongue back deeply, as if to warn me not to.
Only then did Philiatus realize that the man was not eating him, but feeding him something.
After swallowing something unidentified, my throat, which had been burning, felt much better.
‘What on earth did you feed it?’
The bitter and astringent taste reminded me of chewing a lot of perilla leaves.
I barely managed to lift my heavy eyelids, but the focus wasn’t right, so I blinked a few times, and gradually the vision began to become clearer.
Filiatus, who had been staring at the figure in front of him for a long time, finally opened his mouth.
“…….”
“……Are you Areias?”
In my hazy mind, I wondered if I had asked dimly.
“Okay. Go to sleep. The sun hasn’t risen yet.”
“…….”
“I’m taking medication to suppress my heat cycle, so I’ll feel much better.”
As he spoke, Filiatus slowly stroked his hair, and for some reason, he felt relieved and closed his eyes again.
“…….”
Areias, who had been quietly watching Filiatus sleep peacefully, carefully stroked his cheek with his fingertips.
His breath became infinitely soft and fragile. His body temperature, which had been burning like fire just moments ago, was now quietly cooling.
As I was quietly watching, a familiar voice came from somewhere, carried by a gentle breeze.
―You couldn’t stand it anymore and ended up holding it in your arms, Areias?
Benedet’s voice had a distinctive raspy tone. Areias closed his eyes and spoke softly.
“……It started as a bet for your amusement. I’m just playing along, Benedet.”
“It’s quite heartbreaking, considering you were just playing along. Anyway, I’m betting on you to win, so I hope you win that person’s heart. Don’t fail like last time.”
Areias didn’t respond to the voice that eventually faded away with the breeze. He simply looked down at the still-sleeping Philiatus, gently burying his fingertips in his hair.
Don’t fail like last time.
How did you get this opportunity?
How did you get that?
I will never lose you again.
It was Areias who repeated this to himself as if making a promise.
I think I closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them, the morning sun was already bright.
‘… … When did time pass so quickly… … ?’
Filiatus sat up abruptly and began to look around his body, which seemed so normal that he wondered if the events of the previous night had really been a dream.
… … What is it? Yesterday, it was so hot and burning that my whole body turned red—
‘Right now, I feel incredibly refreshed, not to mention sick and tired.’
Best of all, the hole doesn’t hurt.
‘Something so big was coming and going, why didn’t anything happen?’
More than anything―
This was not the hallway where she had been rolling around with that man, but her own room.
‘When on earth did I get here?’
There was a moment when I wondered if that man had brought me here.
“Are you awake?”
With a creak, the old door opened, and Mars poked his head out, asking. Filiatus, still dazed, simply blinked, his eyes closing and opening.
“I was lying in the hallway.”
“……You said you collapsed?”
“huh.”
“In the hallway?”
“huh.”
A hazy sensation. A strange man encountered in the foggy heat. The sensations of that night, when my body reacted before my mind—
Are you saying it was all a dream?
Filiatus, who was confused, quickly moved his body as if embarrassed.
“No, I definitely had a heat cycle yesterday—”
Before he could finish speaking, Mars came over and sat down next to Philiatus’ bed, snuggling into his arms as if he were very familiar with him.
If it were before, Filiatos would have grabbed her by the back of the neck and pushed her away, saying, “What the heck?!,” but today, perhaps because he was flustered, he was unusually docile.
“I carried you outside, where you were unconscious. You had a high fever. So I gave you some herbs.”
Mars added as if it was nothing, but Philiatus touched his lips as if something was wrong.
It felt as if I could still feel the touch of those soft lips. It felt as if his warmth, his body heat, still lingered on my skin.
Filiatus rubbed his lips as if to erase it, and then his eyes met Mars’s.
“I stayed up all night nursing you. I’m a good person.”
As he said this, Mars gently took Philiatus’ hand and made him stroke his head.
“……You nursed me all night? And even fed me herbs?”
“huh.”
“……But, the man I saw yesterday…….”
At those words, Mars’s hand stopped.
“……man?”
At those words, the air in the room shook delicately. Mars’s pupils trembled slightly. A very brief silence.
Filiatus tried to say something, but then closed his mouth.
The man I saw last night, Areias, came to mind. He was menacing, beautiful, and his red eyes stared back at me with a feverish intensity.
Was it just a dream? Really?
“……No. Nothing.”
Finally, Philiatus shook his head and gave up on the thought.
Mars smiled brightly again at the answer. Then, this time, he slowly placed his hand on Philiatus’ head.
“Then that’s good.”
Did Mars’ hand pass over my head?
Filiatus stared blankly up at the child. He thought how brazen such a brat, yet the warmth of his fingertips strangely disturbed him.
As if conscious of his gaze, Mars slowly pulled Philiatus’ hand.
“Piliatus. Now that you’re feeling better, let’s go.”
“Where are you going?”
“There’s a place I want to show you.”
“Where would you like to show me?”
Yeah, he answered with a smile, and Filiatus thought to himself, “When he grows up, he’ll be quite charming.”
“Piliatus will love it.”
“……?”
After that, it was Mars who took Philiatus’ hand and started leading him somewhere.
He walked to the back of the temple and then went deep into the bushes.
Filiatus, who had been following along without knowing English, took a deep breath as if surprised by the sight unfolding before his eyes.
Yellow daffodils are in full bloom across the vast field, swaying their heads in the breeze.
“How is it, do you like it?”
Mars looked at Philiatus, his face anticipating a response. As Philiatus slowly nodded, Mars smiled.
“Yellow daffodils, I thought you’d like them. I’m glad you like them.”
“……It’s pretty.”
I never told anyone else that I liked yellow daffodils.
Since he always wore flashy clothes and flashy jewelry to match his flashy appearance, those who wanted to impress him usually sent him flashy roses.
“You like flowers? You? You have a surprisingly innocent side to you.”
People often said that Philiatus would be more suited to jewels than flowers. Philiatus, too, thought that jewels were far more valuable than flowers.
Mars gave him a wreath made of flowers.
“It suits you well.”
As she spoke with a bright smile, Philiatus gently touched the crown on her head.
“What is it, Philiatus?”
“……No, it’s nothing.”
“Do you not like it?”
“No… it’s so pretty. Thank you.”
Mars also smiled brightly at the sight of Philiatus, who seemed to enjoy the feeling of the thin, moist daffodil petals on his fingertips.
