Vicious Darling

[58]

The next day, Yuri appeared fine.

“What? You drank so much yesterday and you don’t have a hangover?”

Peter exclaimed in surprise.

“He’s from the Winter Continent.”

Chris answered calmly as he handed Yuri hot water.

Despite having quite a headache, Yuri sat straight, pretending to be fine as he emptied the cup.

To Chris, he looked a bit haggard, but to outsiders like Peter, he appeared perfectly composed.

“Spring Continent wine doesn’t seem to agree with me.”

“Is that so?”

“I got drunk faster than I expected.”

Chris nodded, mentally crossing wine off the list of alcoholic beverages in his head.

He had been quite surprised to see him drunk, given that the man could handle whiskey without issue.

“The mayor of Ishtar City… I don’t know if we could communicate properly, but he’s a terrible drunk.”

Yuri grumbled unusually.

Though he was mimicking composure, his head seemed quite heavy from the hangover.

Chris poured another cup of warm water and pushed it toward Yuri.

“I didn’t know you were playing the role of a businessman all this time.”

“I borrowed both an airship and an identity from Northern Light. I even moved into a docked airship and walked out to appear as if I came from the Summer Continent.”

Yuri explained, nodding his head slightly before stopping.

The movement seemed to make him dizzy.

“The illusion device…”

“I had an altered appearance and turned it off when I went to the bathroom.”

The man, pressing his temple firmly, answered straightforwardly.

“It would be problematic if someone came to pick me up and turned away after seeing an unfamiliar drunk.”

Yuri’s gaze rested on Chris.

Like someone who already knew his dog would come to meet him.

Chris wanted to say that he would always recognize Yuri, but he kept quiet.

Still, he felt relieved at Yuri’s relatively honest answers.

It was somewhat similar to a confession made after being caught sneaking home by family after a wild party.

But more honest than that.

“You startled me when you asked to be transferred into the special airship sent by Northern Light.”

Peter whimpered.

“My ability is very delicate and can’t be used carelessly like that!”

“But you managed it in the end, didn’t you?”

Yuri replied in a rigid tone to the sharp outcry.

As Peter quieted down, his liver shriveling at the rebuke, a hint of relief passed through Yuri’s eyes.

In this setting, only Chris caught that emotion.

‘He absolutely hates showing weakness to others.’

It was less about pretense and more like a shield to protect himself.

There were more than a dozen people waiting to tear into Yuri if he showed weakness.

“For now. It would be better for you to rest more today.”

Chris interjected.

“Huh? He looks fine to me.”

To Peter’s remark, he stubbornly repeated his assertion.

“After drinking so much, your body needs rest even if you’re enduring with willpower.”

“…Chris.”

“I won’t yield on this point, Yuri.”

He didn’t mind looking like an overprotective Esper.

Peter’s gaze, suggesting he was making a fuss, didn’t bother him at all.

If Yuri had to struggle to endure, Chris would simply be his support.

“…Such a fuss.”

Yuri snapped with a slightly deflated voice as he handed his empty cup to Chris.

Peter, who had been carefully observing, asked:

“So today’s outing is canceled?”

“Yes.”

Yuri answered without even looking at him. Peter rejoiced while subtly backing away.

“Rest well. I’d like to help, but… I think I’d be bitten by your dog.”

Instead of reacting to this glib remark, Chris gave him a silent stare.

Whatever thoughts Peter had, he blushed and left the room.

As the surroundings quieted, Yuri rubbed his eyes.

“Doing that will hurt your eyes.”

Chris brought a towel soaked in warm water. Hesitant to place it directly on Yuri’s face, he carefully handed it over.

But instead of taking the wet towel, Yuri pulled Chris’s hand and placed it against his face.

Though initially hesitant, Chris covered Yuri’s eyes with the warm towel.

“I’m dying.”

“Why did you drink so much?”

“I told you. Spring Continent wine doesn’t agree with me.”

“But…”

Yuri would surely have noticed when he was getting drunk.

With his eyes covered, Yuri’s lips moved slightly.

“Hearing you say that, perhaps I was somewhat intoxicated by the atmosphere.”

Chris was puzzled.

Yuri wasn’t the type to be swayed by atmosphere.

“It felt quite strange to become someone other than myself, Chris.”

He whispered the secret softly.

Having experienced memory loss, Chris could relate to this.

“Everyone looked so happy.”

Yuri blurted out, then fell silent.

Unable to bear the silence, Chris asked:

“Do you want to live normally?”

As someone other than Yuri Sobolev, not as my Guide… did he want to live as an ordinary person?

To Chris, the answer seemed already determined.

“No, rather…”

Yuri smiled crookedly.

“I felt lonely.”

While everyone was merrily chatting, getting drunk on alcohol and atmosphere, only Yuri was moving forward with a completely different purpose.

‘Revenge.’

It felt like being a fish swimming against the current.

‘Revenge against Rosenhauser.’

Even though his godfather was already dead, Yuri couldn’t stop seeking revenge.

Because it didn’t feel like anything was over.

So he waited in the winter.

He firmly believed his enemy must have left something behind.

‘If Thorns Order hadn’t appeared, what would I have done?’

He couldn’t have put everything behind him and laughed and chatted like the people at the party.

The current Yuri had forgotten even the sense that revenge was actually an exhausting task.

Half willingly, half unwillingly.

Yuri was a man alienated from the most ordinary reality.

“Wasn’t it painful?”

“Why.”

Yuri asked indifferently to that careful question.

“If it was painful, would you comfort me?”

Chris shook his head.

“Of course not.”

He knew his place well.

However, if Yuri was lonely, he could at least stand by his side.

“When I look at you…”

Yuri, who was about to say something, lightly touched his forehead.

Though he had been drunk last night, words kept slipping out even now.

His nape felt hot at the thought of almost blurting something to Chris.

‘What good would it do to blurt out that you seem like the last gift from my godfather?’

It might be unavoidable to indulge in unpleasant sentiments, but was there any need to vocalize them?

Moreover, Rosenhauser hadn’t given Chris to Yuri.

He had thrown him at a beast to tear apart his disobedient godson.

So this…

This dog was entirely shaped, tamed, and nurtured by Yuri.

“Come here.”

Removing the now lukewarm towel, Yuri beckoned.

As if enchanted by the purple eyes revealed beneath the cloth, Chris approached and knelt beside the bed.

Yuri’s fingers moved slowly along the pale blonde hair.

The hand that touched his nose tip, cheek, and jawline lingered for a long time on his lips, unable to go further down.

When Chris was before him, only then did this place feel real.

Because throughout the time Yuri had somehow managed to survive, Chris had always been by his side.

Every time Yuri woke from nightmares of his parents being murdered or being dragged to a laboratory by Rosenhauser, he sought his dog.

Even when the reality that his revenge was over didn’t sink in, he sought Chris.

Each time he found him, he felt reassured.

Not because Chris was a powerful Esper ensuring his safety.

What comforted Yuri was the fact that he wasn’t alone in this twisted reality.

“If you ever leave me again.”

Chris, drawn in by Yuri’s touch, froze as their lips nearly touched.

“Don’t ever come back.”

Whether by chance or fate.

Yuri didn’t need reunions.

All he needed was the present.

Human life is a series of uncertainties.

No one can promise the future. Not even Chris.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Chris said, his body rigid.

He had left Yuri’s side only once.

Yet he couldn’t find it in himself to blame Yuri for repeatedly doubting him.

‘Was the sense of betrayal Yuri felt greater than I had imagined?’

Though he wanted to accuse him of being a liar, he was glad for that answer.

Yuri brought his lips to his peculiar dog.

Though it was too brief to be called a kiss, just a touch and retreat, Chris tensed as if holding a chick in his hands.

It was amusing how he reacted to the slightest touch.

Chris was generally honest. Honest enough to make Yuri want to deceive him again.

“…This is just nonsense from someone still drunk.”

The purple eyes of the man who slowly backed away trembled slightly.

“So don’t take it too seriously.”

Cupping Chris’s cheek, Yuri whispered softly in his ear:

“After my revenge ended, all I have left is you.”

Chris, his eyes wide, barely managed to catch Yuri as he collapsed against him.

He could feel his heart beating relentlessly.

The rising body temperature was also dizzying.

He even felt a thrill at the unexpected confession.

“Do you understand?”

Yuri raised his head, his arm draped over Chris’s shoulder.

Chris swallowed hard under the persistent purple gaze, as if Yuri needed to know all his thoughts.

But he didn’t avert his eyes.

As if pleased, long, straight fingers tapped his cheek.

“Good. That’s enough.”