BID Chapter 123

“…Hah.”

This is driving me crazy.

I ran my fingers through my hair with a troubled expression. Unable to hide my anxiety, I looked at the calendar. Only two days remained. My face was gaunt from not sleeping properly all this time. I stared blankly at the date before turning my gaze to a piece of paper. The paper had Korean words written in initial consonants.

I had written it in Korean in case Zachary might notice, but…

‘It all failed.’

How is this possible? I looked at the paper covered in X marks with an incredulous expression.

After that commotion with Zachary, I was certain. I had to send him away, even if it meant using forceful means.

Even if the sky fell, Zachary would never willingly return to the Empire. Of course, he wouldn’t voluntarily put on the restraints either.

So I tried to catch even a few seconds when he might let his guard down. But Zachary showed no openings. I tried every trick to make him lower his guard, but to no avail.

‘A sleeping talisman?’

From the start, engraving a spell circle would have been the surest method. But I didn’t want to see Zachary in pain. So I used a talisman as an alternative, but…

‘Failed.’

I tried to secretly stick the talisman on his back, but for some reason, nothing happened. Moreover, the sharp-eyed Zachary immediately snatched the talisman and asked what it was. I had to break quite a sweat trying to explain that away.

‘I even tried sleeping pills, but.’

The last thing I tried was medication. Serpentine isn’t just good with spells, but also knowledgeable about all kinds of medicines. However…

“Please drink while you work.”

A teacup was placed in front of me. I clenched my teeth as I looked at the perfectly normal Zachary. Even though I managed to obtain sleeping pills somehow, the process of administering them was quite challenging.

The snacks I gave him contained a small but potent dose of sleeping pills. Since I couldn’t go to the kitchen directly, I sprinkled them on the snacks that were brought out, but avoiding Zachary’s gaze during the process was incredibly difficult.

But even after he ate the snacks I had painstakingly prepared…

‘I wonder if I’m the one who ended up taking the sleeping pills instead.’

The one dozing off like a sick chicken at the desk was actually me. Zachary made tea for me and stood tall beside me as usual.

“Thank you.”

Swallowing a sigh inwardly, I carefully grasped the warm teacup.

As the remaining time dwindled from ten days to two, we acted as if we had forgotten everything that happened that day. Zachary no longer brought up my marriage, and I didn’t mention it either.

However, that doesn’t mean what had already occurred could be completely undone.

‘Even this morning…’

I recalled this morning’s breakfast time.

“Then soon, Oscar, you’ll need to visit the Raven family with gifts.”

Mother suddenly suggested during the meal after confirming that my health had improved. Almost simultaneously, I felt a chilling gaze pierce my back.

Who else in the dining room could emit such an aura? I was now certain that Zachary was the owner of this sharp presence. It made me wonder how I had never noticed before.

‘Yet Zachary is pretending not to know anything.’

But that was only for that moment. Once that moment passed, he returned to his usual docile expression as if nothing had happened. However, that didn’t mean everything was fine.

‘When did he get so…’

As I raised my head while writing on the paper, I saw Zachary right next to me. The distance was particularly close, making me stiffen, and he reached out to me.

“Your face is red. Do you have a fever?”

“No. I’m just naturally… Wait, could you… let go… Hnngh.”

These days, he often found excuses to touch me.

That’s not all. He acted as if he would die if separated from me for even a moment. It was on a completely different level from his nightly fondling and kissing. He was persistent and tenacious. Even now, he was fondling my chest as I sat at the desk writing a memo. A faint sense of excitement arose, and I felt my nipples perk up sharply. As I hunched my shoulders at the strange sensation, he suddenly kissed my cheek.

“Young master. Your chest has grown…”

How can a chest grow?

I felt wronged. If it really had, wouldn’t it be because you spent all night sucking and biting it yesterday, Zachary?

“I think this is the most deeply colored part of your body, young master.”

That was how it started. He bit my nipple at once and wouldn’t let go. Even I, with my reason clouded by the night, got swept up in the mood and couldn’t stop him completely, but…

‘It’s broad daylight now.’

The hand that was touching my chest over my clothes slowly crept inside. My face, flushed with embarrassment, drooped on its own. My shirt was half-removed, exposing my upper body. The white skin was covered in red marks. My nipples, tormented all day yesterday, were swollen and sore even from just the touch of fabric.

“S-stop.”

I grabbed his hand, trembling, and shook my head.

“I’m a bit tired right now…”

Zachary has been particularly fixated on fondling my chest lately. Not just that. He keeps touching my buttocks too, and every time he does, it gives me an oddly chilling feeling.

When I said I wasn’t feeling well, my hands even turning pale, Zachary, who had been staring at me intently, fortunately backed off. He torments me persistently, but he doesn’t cross the line. Zachary neatly adjusted my clothes. His touch was as proper as if he had never bitten and sucked my body, without a trace of lust.

“The tea has gone cold. I’ll bring a fresh cup.”

Who made the tea go cold in the first place?

My mouth opened involuntarily at his brazen behavior, but I didn’t question him. On the surface, he acts like an obedient servant, but I don’t know what turmoil is going on inside him. Besides, I at least know. I know his form as a disaster.

“How is your studying going?”

“Oh, of course, it’s going well.”

I slowly lowered my gaze to the paper filled with nothing but failures. I needed to find a way to restrain Zachary with the binding device and send him away.

But I kept lying to him, fearing what might happen if I told him I was contemplating how to send him away. This is partly why I can’t push Zachary away, feeling increasingly guilty. To be honest, I’m treating him more gently because we have so little time left together. There’s not much time left to feel his warmth…

‘Only two days left.’

The binding device hidden under my bed makes my breath catch every moment.

Will I really be able to put the restraints on Zachary? There were four restraints in total. Once the restraints are placed on each wrist and ankle, a round necklace that seals holy power appears around the neck.

Confused, I asked the servant who brought the items how I was supposed to put all these on. A few days later, Genevieve sent a letter relaying what the servant had told her. She said that if I just put on one, I’d figure out the rest naturally.

‘What does that even mean?’

She says I need to put on four parts, but then tells me to just try one first. I’d never encountered such an unhelpful explanation before. I asked Genevieve again, but she must be busy lately as there was no reply. She seemed occupied with wedding preparations and trying to gather additional information about Zachary.

Anyway, would I dare to take advantage of Zachary’s moment of carelessness to put the restraints on him?

The same worry kept plaguing my mind.

I remember Zachary’s appearance that felt like an unstoppable natural disaster. It was similar to how Zachary was described as a calamity in the original work. If I make a wrong move, that form might emerge at any time.

‘It’s quiet.’

The sound of writing on paper is clearly audible.

Though nothing seemed peaceful, for some reason I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was like the calm before a storm.

Maybe it’s because my heart is so troubled.

I’ve finished most of the preparations. I’ve arranged a way for Zachary to leave, and I’m ready to sneak him out. But I’m anxious because I don’t have a way to actually restrain Zachary with the binding device.

‘Maybe I should just…’

As I was pondering, a sweet thought occurred to me. The easiest option of giving up. But I immediately bit my lip hard, as if wary of myself.

Zachary’s behavior – begging for forgiveness one moment and suddenly changing the next – couldn’t be considered normal even as a joke.

‘Besides, I don’t know when the Duke might engrave the spell circle on Zachary again.’

The Duke had been quiet recently, but I couldn’t let my guard down. The sooner I send him back, the sooner Zachary can escape this absurd spell. Moreover, Zachary is currently in a state where the spell is ambiguously broken. Zachary himself must be the most distressed and confused.

After thinking about solutions all day, time had passed and it was already midnight.

“Young master. It’s time for bed.”

“Alright.”

Should I just give up today too? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see an opportunity to put the restraints on Zachary.

‘I thought it would be easier since we’ve been spending more time together than before.’

What could be the reason? Every time I pretended to fall asleep to look for an opportunity, he never fell asleep before me. Once, I even tried waiting for him to fall asleep until dawn. But Zachary still didn’t sleep. Zachary seemed to know uncannily well the difference between when I was really asleep and when I was pretending.

As I lay down on the neatly made bed, Zachary bowed his head to me.

“Then, I’ll take my leave now.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes.”

I opened my eyes wide. It was almost the first time he had said he was leaving first.

Recently, at night, he would crawl under the covers even before I finished preparing for bed. At first, I was flustered by his nonchalant attitude, but I soon got used to it since we had spent more nights sleeping together than apart.

“Re-really?”

But now he was suddenly saying he was just leaving. It couldn’t be because the Duke had called him. Usually, on days when he had to go to have the spell circle engraved by the Duke, he would cling to me like a puppy, whimpering, before reluctantly leaving. Each time, I felt a surge of upset and pity.

“Yes. Have a peaceful night.”

His face was covered with cloth, so I couldn’t see his expression. His polite tone showed no trace of lingering attachment. Zachary turned towards the door without even looking at me.

“Wai-!”

It happened before my thoughts could fully form.

Of course, there was a reason to hold Zachary back. I needed to look for an opportunity to put the restraints on him. Perhaps I could succeed tonight. But before I could sort through all the reasons in my head, my hand reached out first. It was an action driven purely by emotion. Zachary, whose clothes I had grabbed, turned to look at me.

“Do you need something?”

My hand lost strength at his questioning voice. Since when did I only call for him when I needed something, and originally…

“…Why aren’t you sleeping with me tonight?”

You always slept with me.