Salvation Through Delusion C121

Chapter 121

Click. Clatter.

A faint rustling sound reached my ears. Even if a bomb had gone off right beside me, I don’t think I could’ve opened my eyes.

I was exhausted. My body didn’t hurt, but the mental fatigue weighed on me like several dozen kilos pressing straight down. It felt like I could just keep sleeping forever.

Unfortunately, Mo—uselessly considerate as ever—reported on the situation around me.

[Two servants are presumed to be cleaning the room. You are currently naked, with only your butt barely covered by the blanket. Would you like to maintain this state?]

My eyes flew open. I fumbled around and yanked the blanket up.

I’m an Earthling with a sense of shame, okay? I’d rather hug a bomb and die than let strangers see me naked—especially with a body still covered in vivid evidence of debauchery.

I pulled the blanket up to my shoulders and sat up abruptly. Sure enough, one servant was cleaning, while the other was placing a fresh teapot and teacups on the table.

The moment they noticed I was awake, both froze and bowed so deeply it was excessive.

“Have you awakened, Lord Rue.”

Why do they look so stiff?

Puzzled, I rubbed my swollen, barely opening eyes and looked around. Damn it—Tyroc was nowhere to be seen.

Only then did I notice the two servants were still bowing.

“You can raise your heads.”

At my command, they hesitated, then slowly lifted their heads. Even so, they wouldn’t meet my eyes.

Why are they so scared of me?

Since arriving here, all I’d done was spend half a day sightseeing, get trapped in cursed black fog, and then do that with Tyroc—

Damn it. Just thinking about him made curses bubble up automatically.

How much did he torment me?

“What day is it today?”

One servant answered immediately. I couldn’t calculate it properly at first. The number didn’t match my expectations.

Which meant… how long had I been rolling around with Tyroc—

[Five days.]

……What?

For a split second my brain shut down. Then every sense in my half-asleep body snapped awake in pure rage.

That bastard! Even dogs wouldn’t do this kind of thing!

Wrapped tightly in the blanket, I leapt off the bed, blazing with fighting spirit. Where the hell is Tyroc?!

“The Grand Duke departed the estate on urgent business. He asked that we inform you he won’t be able to visit this evening.”

The butler informed me politely the moment I stepped out of the room. She looked thinner and more haggard than the first time I’d seen her—so much so that I wondered if I was mistaken.

Normally, I might’ve worried something bad had happened in the household. Right now, I didn’t have the bandwidth.

I’d come out ready to throw hands, and the bastard wasn’t even here.

My blazing anger fizzled out instantly. Maybe my face looked disappointed, because she added gently,

“He usually returns in the morning, so you won’t have to wait long.”

“Why would I wait—”

I nearly denied it outright, but then remembered my situation. Publicly speaking, hadn’t I been the one utterly smitten, proposing to him first?

“Not being able to see him for even one night is such a shame.”

I recited the lie like reading from a textbook—then froze.

Usually? That made it sound like he often stayed out all night and came back in the morning.

And once upon a time, I’d done the same. Fighting monsters that only appeared at night, knowing humans were slower to react in the dark.

“Did he go monster hunting?”

The butler nodded without hesitation.

“Yes.”

I’d heard Tyroc rebuilt his house almost entirely through monster hunting. Considering he’d once been royalty, that couldn’t have been easy.

Impressive… and kind of brutal.

“He’ll come back tomorrow?”

“Yes. Please endure just a little longer.”

“Endure—what?”

“Your desires.”

……What?

Desires?

I tilted my head, genuinely wondering if I’d misheard. The butler, once again, misunderstood my reaction.

“Since your partner is the Grand Duke, Lord Rue, your feelings are perfectly understandable.”

No. They absolutely are not.

I was about to urgently deny it when she continued,

“The Grand Duke left a message as well.”

“What message? About my Des—?”

“In regard to your desires. He said that although you may be excited, anticipating bed with him, you should still go to bed early.”

“……”

My face drained of all color. I looked like a corpse.

No matter how shocked I was, the butler—true to Tuvine nature—kept talking at bullet-train speed.

“And he asked that you refrain from relieving yourself beforehand.”

I couldn’t even meet her eyes anymore. If I opened my mouth, I felt like a scream would come out instead. I asked Mo instead.

‘Mo, is the butler messing with me on purpose?’

[No. This is considered normal conversation in Tuvine culture. Overreacting may cause misunderstandings.]

Still, there was no way I could calmly nod and say yes, I won’t masturbate—to someone I’d met only twice!

But she waited silently, as if she’d been ordered to get a clear answer.

“I won’t. Absolutely not.”

“Thank you.”

“No, that’s not something you should be thanking me for—ha…”

A sigh slipped out. I never wanted to be thanked for not masturbating.

“For someone who serves the Grand Ducal house, it is only natural.”

“Natural?”

“Yes. You intend to conserve your energy so you can focus fully on bed with the Grand Duke, do you not? To replenish his depleted vitality.”

No. When I see him, I plan to yell at him. Or curse him. Or at least flip him off.

But faced with her deadly serious expression, my reasons suddenly felt petty. I found myself looking down at my own body.

‘Mo… do I really seem more energized after all that sex? Doesn’t it feel like the opposite?’

I felt like my vitality had been sucked dry. I’d thought I was going to die.

[If you had engaged in that level of sexual activity on Earth, hospitalization would be recommended.]

But I was fine now. And—

[Your vital signs are excellent. Your ankle injury has fully healed.]

Ah. My ankle.

Right—after sleeping with him, it hadn’t hurt even once.

Still, it was hard to believe. Sex alone curing injuries? No wonder Tuvine people were so promiscuous. I could almost understand it.

Then another thought crept in.

When Tyroc returned from monster hunts all this time… who had he slept with?

He was Tuvine, after all. He must’ve had countless partners. And maybe I was just one of them—just one more, with a fancy “fiancée” label attached.

The thought dampened my mood in a different way. And I hated myself a little for even caring.

Get it together.

Don’t assign meaning to sleeping with him.

I roughly raked a hand through my hair and turned away. Focus on the goal.

Finding the chili pepper comes first—no, saving my world comes first. Then the chili pepper.

To close the Eye of Hell, I need him. To enter the Acorn Forest, I need his permission. In every way, I need to stay in Tyroc’s good graces.

Fine. I won’t masturbate today—

Damn it, why am I even thinking about this? Why did that bastard have to say weird shit like that? Just wait till he gets back.

But Tyroc didn’t return the next day.

Nor the day after that.

Looks like he won’t be coming home today either.

Far away, Haas stared at the endless stream of monsters pouring out from the cracks of the Crystal Lake, despair weighing on him.

Hours had already passed that night. Even with a rift, monsters didn’t pour out nonstop—more like waves, surging and retreating. But this time was unusually severe.

He could barely tell whether his arms were even moving anymore. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was casting magic almost unconsciously.

Just when he thought he might truly die, dawn finally arrived, and he could barely catch his breath.

Thud.

Haas collapsed where he stood.

“Ugh… I’m exhausted…”

A bitter taste filled his mouth, yet none of the Koon knights—including Tyroc—lowered their swords. Instead, they were excitedly gathering black magic stones.

Those monsters.