Tamed A Blackened Slave Man

Cassadin confessed to me once more, now free from his title as my younger brother.

Without responding, I took a moment to take in Cassadin’s face for the first time in a while.

Silvery hair and neat eyebrows drawn right below them, deep purple eyes that held my reflection within them, finished off with thinly pursed light pink lips.

I brushed my hand against my lips that had touched his. Maybe that had been because it didn’t feel like we had actually kissed. Or maybe it was because it felt like a dream that he had come back to me.

Perhaps it was both.

When I didn’t respond, Cassadin hugged me even tighter, likely anxious by the silence. Completely locking me in his embrace, Cassadin buried his face into my shoulder.

The breath that touched my neck felt hot. I heard a racing heartbeat in my ears. For some reason, I felt relieved hearing his heart that sounded as if it could burst at any moment.

Then, Cassadin asked me in a sinking voice with his head still on my shoulder,

“…Do you hate me?”

You know that couldn’t possibly be true, Cassadin.

“No.”

Listening to Cassadin’s heartbeat, I brought up my hand to his back. Even with a robe on, I could feel his toned muscles with my fingertips.

“I don’t hate you.”

My hatred and resentment towards you had already been long gone. The fact that you still liked me and that you came back to me.

That was all that mattered to me.

Hearing that I didn’t hate him, he slowly raised his head up from my shoulder.

“May I kiss you one more time?”

Cassadin asked me with his eyes staring straight at me. His deep purple eyes were filled only with me.

There was nothing else that you could see in them other than me.

Would it be strange for me to find comfort in that?

Instead of responding to Cassadin’s question, I raised my heels and gave a short peck on his lips.

Cassadin’s eyes widened. And those widened eyes then fluttered down as if relieved. Unable to determine who was first, our lips collided together.

Inside the moonlit room, our breaths intertwined. Cassadin stole away my breath, and I stole his.

Like a persistent, thirsted passion, we craved for one another. Haah. When our lips parted because I could no longer breathe, Cassadin reeled my waist in with his arm as if he couldn’t wait for even that short moment.

“Not yet.”

Without even a second to collect my breath, Cassadin once again swallowed up what was left of me. My body and mind threatened to melt down from the kiss that stole away every last breath I had within.

It was only when my mind was starting to fade out that he pulled away with a regretful expression.

Taking in short breaths, I stared up at Cassadin’s face through dazed eyes.

But then, he licked away the remaining moist that had been left on my lips. Seeing that had been so sensual that it made my face redden just watching him.

Seeing my flushed face, he kissed my forehead once more before lifting my body up with his arms and sitting me down on the bed.

After placing me down, Cassadin leaned forward towards me. I remembered seeing the same eyes he had now multiple times in the past.

With that same expression I had once avoided out of fear, Cassadin was staring at me.

His gaze tangled around me. What I saw were eyes blinded by unconditional madness, but those eyes no longer scared me.

I had tried to deny it. Because after once dying to a person I trusted, I thought it would be foolish for me to trust a man whom I didn’t know well.

But when you whispered your truth to me, you shone so brightly that I couldn’t look at you. You had claimed that you were dirty, but it was you who shone brighter than the sun.

Because it was you who had been so clean and so beautiful that I’d become blinded.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.

So I continued to deny my feelings. I tried to shove you and me into the frame of siblings and suppress my emotions.

But then, one day, you, who I thought would always be beside me, turned away from the family and left me.

It was only after you left that I realized.

How big your absence was and how precious you were to me.

I longed for your kind, compassionate touch. I missed the beautiful smile that you had only shown me.

If it had been my past self, then it would have been natural for me to be angry that you kissed me without permission.

But, now. I was overjoyed just by the fact that you came back to me.

I liked that you still liked me.

I even liked your unconditional affection.

‘Since when have I fallen so deeply into you?’

The reason I had pushed you away all this time was because I didn’t want you in my heart. Because I didn’t want you to cause turmoil in me, as I had caused turmoil in you.

To think that I, who only planned on using you, had fallen for you this deeply.

Everything about you brought me joy. It didn’t matter if others called me mad. Because at some point that I didn’t realize, I’d completely sunk into you.

Perhaps this was retribution for daring to tame you. If that was a sin, and if being with you was a sin, then I was more than willing to accept the consequences.

“Is it alright for me to assume that you’ve accepted me?”

I answered by wrapping my arms around his neck.

For a while, I quietly hugged Cassadin, who had obediently been pulled into my embrace. Now, burying my face in his shoulders, I slowly closed my eyes.

Cassadin also remained silent.

But there wasn’t a single bit of discomfort in the air in the midst of the silence.

There was only peace and comfort.

It was long after that when I broke the silence.

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

I’d been bothered by the smell of blood that had been coming from Cassadin.

“It’s not my blood.”

If it wasn’t his, then who’s was it? When I glanced up at him with a concerned expression, he gently pressed his lips against the back of my hand and whispered to me,

“Are you worried that it may be mine?”

With a low, calm voice, Cassadin smiled as if telling me not to worry. I would be lying if I said that smile didn’t reassure me.

“This is the blood of the man named Kindel.”

“!”

When an unexpected name came out of Cassadin’s mouth, my eyes shot open as if someone had sprayed cold water on me.

Slowly loosening my grasp around Cassadin, I asked him,

“Kindel? How do you know that name?”

Cassadin’s large hands intertwined with mine, rendering my attempt to withdraw useless.

“I’ve privately done research on Grand Duke Damian.”

“…You did research on Damian?”

Since when did he have the time to do that?

‘Why?’

When I tilted my head, Cassadin answered, his eyes narrowing slightly,

“It had actually been because Sister said that you’d fallen in love with him at…”

His voice trailing away, Cassadin seemed to check for my reaction. Unable to figure out just how many points I needed to clarify, I just shut my mouth altogether.

“And I’ve figured out something shocking.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a bit violent, if that’s okay.”

“It’s alright, you can tell me.”

After getting my consent, Cassadin tightened his grip on my hands and pulled me a little closer to him.

“It turns out that he had been extracting blood from the commoners and drinking it in order to alleviate the pain from his heart condition. He would send out notices that he was hiring servants for the mansion and then purposefully pick out those who had no family or close relatives in order to kill them.”

A calm, low voice came out of Cassadin’s mouth. What he had just said was incredibly valuable information that could lead Damian to his downfall.

“Cassadin. Just how did you learn about that?”

“…I used physical evidence to track down the truth. I did have some trouble at first because there was no solid evidence.”

It seemed like he had done a lot of research on Damian without my knowledge.

“I had actually planned to come a little later instead of today.”

“……”

“But it was no longer possible. I couldn’t just continue watching that bastard send you those gifts.”

Then, had Cassadin been watching Damian send all those gifts?

“You were going to come later than this.”

Hearing the hurt in my voice, Cassadin shrank back a little. With his eyes gazing down, he answered me,

“I have no excuses.”

“……”

“I no longer wanted to be Sister’s younger brother…”

“Then don’t call me Sister from now on.”

Cassadin’s expression seemed like what I had just said caused his world to collapse down on him.

“Because you have left the family, I am no longer your sister, and you are no longer my younger brother.”

“Then what do I call you?”

“That’s your choice to make.”

“Aren.”

Hearing Cassadin call out my name without hesitation, my lips parted in shock. Only after seeing his eyes curve into a smile did I realize that he had been acting just now.

“You’ve tricked me.”

“Haven’t you also tricked me?”

“……”

‘Alright. Since you’ve shown me all of you, it should be alright to show you all of me. Just like how you’ve been honest to me, I will now tell you everything.’

I told Cassadin the reason why I had brought him here and why I had approached Damian. Cassadin quietly listened to my explanation.

“It was a lie when I told Damian I had fallen for him at first sight.”

“…If you hadn’t fallen for him, then why did you bother to go all the way to his prison cell to tell him that?”

‘To protect you. If he figured out that you were the one who tried to poison the Crown Prince, then I thought he would steal you away from me.’

Swallowing back those words, I decided to tell Cassadin the truth. The truth that I knew and the truth that I heard from Prophet Notius.

“The father of that man was the one who destroyed your kingdom. I’ve learned that he used a prophecy as an excuse to annihilate the kingdom you were a part of.”

“……”

“It was the prophecy that a potential tyrant was born that caused the destruction of your peaceful kingdom.”

Even if that prophecy had been true, that didn’t make them the ones chosen for that prophecy.

Why couldn’t those people be satisfied with what they already had? Or was it that if they couldn’t obtain it with their own power, no one else could have it either?

Bottomless desire was truly fruitless.

Cassadin had been quietly listening to my words. Then, a dark shadow had drawn over his eyelashes, which were now angled downward.

“….I see.”

I caressed his cheek while he seemed to have fallen into deep thought. The tips of my fingers came into contact with soft skin.

“I have healing abilities. Cassadin.”

“…I knew of them.”

Cassadin answered unhesitantly.

“Wait. Since when…?”

“I tried applying the balm you’ve applied to me by myself, but it didn’t do anything, much less cover the scar. The decisive moment was when you healed all of the scars that had been on my body.”

He honestly told me everything he knew. So, I also put my trust in him and answered him truthfully. Though our relationship started with lies, they no longer exist between us now.

“Don’t you hate me? For bringing you here in order to use you.”

“Why? Is there any reason to hate you? You’ve been my salvation from start to finish.”

Even knowing everything, you were able to smile and call me your salvation. How could I not like you when you were this lovely?

“There is still something I have to do.”

“What is it?”

“…I cannot tell you right now. But I will once everything is over.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Cassadin attempted to take his leave.

“When everything is resolved, I will most definitely come back.”

Adding to that, Cassadin gave me a short peck on my forehead and turned around. I didn’t try to hold Cassadin back.

Because I now knew that even if he left, he would return.

“Come home safely. Please.”

Hearing that, Cassadin turned his head to me and smiled brightly. I drank in his crescent eyes and gently curved lips.

“Yes. I’ll make sure to do so.”

With those final words, Cassadin left my room.

After gazing at where Cassadin had last stood for a long while, I fell asleep.

---

Just after leaving Aren’s room, Cassadin stopped and stared down at his hands.

She had been the only person who had accepted his dirtied self. Her lips had been much softer than he imagined and sweeter than any fruit. To the point that any amount would never be enough.

He and Aren were no longer family. Although he had never thought of her as family since the beginning.

Cassadin tightly clenched his fists. It felt like Aren’s fragrant scent was still lingering at the tip of his nose.

Those blue eyes that resembled a clear lake and brilliant platinum hair always blinded him because of their beauty. At first, Cassadin had only planned to satisfy himself by watching her from afar.

However, his heart had grown so much that he could no longer control it, and he ultimately started to long for something he couldn’t dare to.

But Aren had accepted him. She accepted his crooked heart. She had told him it was fine, even if they were not family.

She told him everything about herself. And that it was because of him that she approached that Damian.

He felt warmth spreading throughout his entire body.

It was warm, so warm that Cassadin never wanted to let go of this warmth again. But in order to do so, he needed to finish his own duties.

In order to stand proud next to Aren. So that no one would mock him, who loved her.

Under the bright moonlight, Cassadin gracefully moved forward.

Then, he arrived at the Founding Day festival.