YDPTB Chapter 71

Karhan gently pressed his lips against Seol’s flushed cheeks, reddened by fever, as he slept peacefully. He felt the soft texture he had only touched with his hands before on his lips.

“Mmm.”

For Karhan, who had never held or stroked another person’s genitals before, this experience was quite novel. Holding someone else’s member in his hand and bringing them to pleasure was more enjoyable and exciting than he had imagined. Every time he moved quickly or teased the tip, Seol’s sweet moans of pleasure and his face on the verge of tears made his heart race.

Karhan let out a dry chuckle and lay down, overlapping his body on top of Seol’s. Though he let out a groan as if his weight was heavy, he didn’t want to leave the soft, pliant flesh.

“Hah…”

A deep sigh welled up from within him. It had been truly difficult.

“Hic! Qui-quickly…”

When he delayed and didn’t bring him to climax, Seol pleaded with a face that looked like he might cry and a pitiful voice. He fixed his gaze on that face and swallowed hard.

As requested, he moved his hand quickly, creating friction, and melting sounds spilled from his small mouth. The sight of him taking shaky breaths and bursting into tears was incredibly erotic and stimulating. His eyes, usually wide open, were now hazy with pleasure.

His slender waist trembling, his cheeks flushed bright red, his small, parted lips fluttering enticingly – all of it captivated Karhan’s heart like a work of art.

He stroked up and down, applying subtle pressure. When he extended his thumb to flick the small opening at the tip, Seol’s pale thighs trembled and spread wide.

Already slick with pre-cum, he could easily glide over the thick glans. Every time he rapidly stroked the ridged areas, he soft buttocks clenched tightly as if bracing for pleasure, and soon after, fluid gushed from he member.

As he orgasm ended, Seol’s gracefully arched back and tightly tensed legs went limp. His eyes, which had been hazy with lingering pleasure, slowly closed.

This small, warm body had just been open to him moments ago. Karhan took a deep breath, inhaling the soft scent.

After holding him for quite some time, he carefully got up before their bodies cooled completely. His bird was extremely delicate. He had barely managed to calm his mana, and if he didn’t take proper care of him, he might fall ill for a different reason this time.

He gently washed the deeply sleeping Seol with warm water and covered him with a fresh, fluffy blanket that had been changed in the meantime. Then he sat down beside him and stroked his soft hair. The three days of Atlena had just begun, so he still had a fever.

Karhan gazed at his cheeks, flushed red as if he had just done intense exercise, when suddenly Seol’s form began to blur. He shook his head and opened his eyes wide to look down again, but he wasn’t mistaken. Urgently, he reached out with both hands to touch his face. Though he could still feel him, the image he saw was unstable.

“What is this…?”

Just in case, he lowered his head and brought his ear close to the chest. Thump. Thump. His heart was beating strongly, as if announcing its presence. Somewhat reassured by the regular sound, he took in the semi-transparent appearance of Seol. As he kept watch, not knowing how much time had passed, his blurred form gradually regained its original color.

Sharp gray eyes shone through narrowly opened lids. After silently swallowing the silence for a moment, Karhan stroked Seol’s silvery-white hair and rose from his seat.

As he quickly exited the room, the servants waiting outside bowed their heads. One of them was holding Seol’s sweat-soaked blanket. Karhan confirmed the servant’s face and asked Seol’s designated attendant, whom he had personally assigned:

“Who changed the bedding?”

“I did, Your Highness.”

The designated attendant raised his head slightly as he answered. Only the assigned personal attendants were allowed to enter Seol’s room. This was to keep his identity as a special shapeshifter race hidden. Karhan looked at the servant holding the blanket and then turned away. He had other matters to deal with now.

He walked quickly towards his office. The brief moment of pleasure was over, and now he felt his heart sinking.

It wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t short either. All his senses told him Seol was there in front of him, yet he appeared blurry. As if he might disappear from this world.

As Karhan entered his office hurriedly, uncharacteristic of him, Claude followed him in and asked with a worried expression:

“Is something the matter?”

“Contact the Trifolium Guild and gather information about the elves’ dwellings.”

“How soon should I set the deadline?”

“Tell them I’ll pay double for speed.”

“Yes, understood.”

Though curious about the sudden order, Claude didn’t ask. The less a butler serving his master spoke, the better. As Claude left, Karhan was left alone in the office. A chilly silence filled the room.

He stood still, as if rooted to the spot, and pondered. He felt like he should go see Lailas right away. But he hesitated to seek out Lailas, who had been strangely unstable lately.

Fidgeting his fingers, Karhan paced around the room. It was as if a black fog had spread in his mind, making it impossible to find an answer.

🐤

Peep!

I opened my eyes with a start at the sound of a bird, not even having time to fall into a deep sleep. A fist-sized bird wrapped in a white blanket was glaring at me with an angry face right in front of my nose.

“Um… are you angry?”

I asked cautiously, meeting its gaze. The bird then stomped the ground hard with its short legs and let out a loud cry, like a dog barking. Although I’m still a high school student and can’t say I’ve lived for very long, this was the first time I’d heard such an angry bird cry.

Pee-yak! Peek!

The bird glared at me fiercely, its eyes narrowed into triangles, clearly displeased about something. I really felt like crying. All I had done was bring the fainted bird home after leaving school early and take care of it diligently. But after regaining consciousness, the bird was sharply on guard, as if I might do something harmful.

“Ah, right.”

I jumped up from my seat and quickly went to the kitchen. It was to bring the boiled egg I had prepared while the bird was sleeping. Even people with reason become sensitive when hungry, so it must be worse for a bird. When I searched the internet, I found information that birds can eat egg yolks, so I had prepared it in advance.

“Do you want to eat this?”

Afraid of getting bitten, I slowly offered the mashed egg yolk on a spoon. Lowering my body as much as possible so as not to frighten the bird, I watched as it cautiously approached, still glaring at me. Then it carefully pecked at the yolk on the spoon with its beak. After chewing with its tiny beak for a moment, it seemed to like the taste and started eating urgently. The sight was so cute that a smile automatically spread across my face.

“Is it delicious?”

Pyak! Pyak!

As if on cue, the bird cried out loudly in what seemed like affirmation.

“Shh! You have to be quiet. My aunt doesn’t like animals, so we’ll be in trouble if he finds out you’re here.”

As if it really understood, the bird devoured the yolk frantically. Its plump chest feathers puffed up even more. Unlike ordinary birds, it had fluffy down feathers, and I was curious about how they felt. I carefully extended my index finger and slowly approached. The bird, frozen in the position of pecking at the yolk, stared at my finger, blinked, and then spread its wings wide, crying out:

Pee-yak!

“Ah!”

Although it had a small body, when it spread its wings, they were about a hand span in size. Startled by the sudden action, I let out a cry and immediately covered my mouth. My heart was pounding.

“S-sorry.”

Despite being fed, it was still full of wariness. Well, that’s understandable. I was hundreds of times larger than its tiny body, so it was natural for it to be cautious. I withdrew my outstretched hand and sat far away, watching the bird. It was staring at the now empty spoon.

“Do you want to eat more?”

Feeling sorry for it as it gazed intently at the spoon, I mashed more egg yolk and offered it. The bird devoured it in the blink of an eye. I laughed out loud, feeling pleased to see it enjoying the food I had given.

Now that it seemed full, the bird stood quietly in place.

“Can I touch you, maybe?”

I asked gently in a small voice. Its eyes, resembling black sesame seeds, stared at me intently, then it slowly hopped towards me. It raised its head to meet my gaze and puffed out its chest.

I guess that means it’s allowing me? I extended my finger just like before and touched its chest feathers. My finger sank softly into them. They were much softer than I had expected.

As I carefully moved my finger, tickling it gently, the bird lay down. Its eyes narrowed in a way that looked just like a person smiling. You like being touched, don’t you? Due to circumstances that prevented me from keeping pets, this was the first time I had touched a small living creature for so long.

It was while I was observing the bird as it was about to fall asleep. I sat up with a start at the sound of the front door opening outside.

“Hide here for a moment. Don’t come out.”

I lightly covered the bird with the blanket and got up from my seat, taking a deep breath. As I quietly opened the door, I saw my uncle who had just entered the house.

“Ah, uncle, you’re home.”

“Why are you already home?”

His voice trembled slightly at the end, as if he was surprised. Calming my pounding heart, I opened my mouth slowly, pretending to be at ease.

“Oh, I had a bit of a headache, so I left school early and came home. What about you, uncle?”

“I, I have a guest to meet briefly. …Are you very sick?”

He asked hesitantly, unlike his usual abrupt manner of speaking. Thinking he might be worried about me, I slightly raised the corners of my mouth and shook my head.

“No, I feel better after resting a bit.”

“Oh, is that so? Then go out for a while.”

“Right now…?”

“I have some business, so just go play for a little bit.”

Saying that, he strode towards my room. Startled by his demeanor as if he might drag me out right away, I opened my mouth:

“J-just a moment, uncle. Wait! I’ll just grab my wallet and go…”

“Hurry up and get ready to leave.”

Fortunately, my uncle stopped in his tracks. I closed the door, picked up the bird that had been quietly hiding under the blanket, and put it in my bag. Then I looked around the room once, stuffed the 5,000 won I had saved into my pocket, and hurried out.