🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 06
Cassian was a character who hadn’t appeared in the game I played, *The Flower of Crelas*.
Not even a single passing mention of his name.
There was no need to even consider what kind of role he played—he was a zero-presence figure who didn’t even qualify as an extra.
But his appearance was far from ordinary for someone never mentioned.
Cassian’s looks were on par with the male protagonist Mikhail—so much so that it was impossible to tell who was superior.
In fact, the two of them looked so picture-perfect together in a two-shot that it almost made me think *The Flower of Crelas*, a trashy romance fantasy game, could have easily been a BL.
Perhaps Cassian’s taste leaned toward Mikhail.
My speculation was entirely reasonable. From everything I’d observed, Cassian had shown zero interest in women.
At first, I thought he was simply awkward around women, unsure how to treat them. After all, he’d grown up in the temple and never had the chance to interact with women.
But as time passed, I realized that wasn’t it. He deliberately avoided women and made efforts not to get entangled with them.
On the other hand, he got along well with men. More precisely, he didn’t actively try to befriend them, but he seemed to interact with them without any issues.
I thought the reason I could remain his acquaintance was because we’d known each other since childhood, when he’d had little awareness of gender differences.
But what if that wasn’t it? What if Cassian simply liked men and just hadn’t met someone who suited his taste?
Come to think of it, that made sense. Just looking in the mirror, he’d see his own annoyingly handsome face—it was only natural that no one caught his eye.
Why hadn’t I thought of this until now?
It was a little late, but I decided to count my blessings that I’d finally realized Cassian preferred men.
I said this to show my wholehearted support for Cassian’s romantic pursuits.
“That’s because the contract isn’t over yet. From the employer’s perspective, of course they’d show this much concern if their employee collapsed. It’s a kind of welfare, you know? Employee welfare. You know what welfare is, don’t you? I explained it to you before.”
Crelas had no concept of welfare whatsoever, but so what? It wasn’t like Cassian was going to interrogate me about Crelas’s welfare policies.
I stared back at him brazenly, lying through my teeth without a trace of guilt.
Cassian said nothing. He didn’t pull his face back from mine, nor did he bring it closer—he just kept looking at me.
What’s this, why are you staring so intently? Did he catch me lying?
As his unwavering gaze continued, I felt a strange sensation. The guilt of a liar, perhaps.
I spread my palm and pushed his face away, turning my head to the side.
“What’s with you, staring at me like I’m some exotic animal? Didn’t I tell you not to look at me like that?”
Cassian lightly grasped my wrist—the one pushing his face—lowered it, and leaned his head back.
“You know I have bad eyesight. I have to get close to see how you’re doing.”
He said this nonchalantly, then widened his eyes in feigned surprise.
“Don’t tell me you forgot?”
His slightly whining tone made me feel a little guilty.
“Ah, of course I remember!”
To be honest, I had momentarily forgotten. But if I admitted that, he’d probably throw a fit for a while. I knew all too well that in situations like this, it was best to play dumb.
“Even if I know your eyesight isn’t great, come on—how do you think it feels when you shove your face in mine and stare like that? It’s not exactly pleasant for me either, you know?”
I shoved my own face right up to his and stared back.
I could see his sky-blue eyes beneath delicate lashes that fluttered gracefully like butterfly wings.
Those mysterious eyes—transparent as glass yet dazzling as sunlight—sparkled brighter than any jewel.
Then I noticed his porcelain-smooth skin without a single visible pore, his perfectly straight nose balanced between both sides, his defined philtrum, and lips gleaming with a luster like ripe fruit.
I was reminded again—this was a face I could never get used to. Definitely too handsome.
No matter how I looked at it, Cassian didn’t seem like someone who wouldn’t even qualify as an extra.
In *The Flower of Crelas*, regardless of whether a character was a villain, hero, or protagonist, the more significant their role, the more beautiful their appearance. Extras had ordinary looks.
Though not on par with Mikhail or Eunsu, Evelyn Vivace was also a main character, so her appearance was quite striking and beautiful.
Of course, since most characters hid their looks to resemble Eunsu and rarely appeared in their true form in the game, their beauty rarely shone through—but still.
Cassian tilted his head. Then he brought his face closer.
Suddenly, I felt his warm breath and reflexively jerked my head back, covering my face with my hand.
“What the—, suddenly!”
I yelped in surprise, and Cassian leaned back with a playful grin.
“Seems like you have enough energy to get startled.”
Startled wasn’t even the word. I thought our lips were about to touch. I knew Cassian’s bad eyesight wasn’t a new thing, but this was too much!
“Are you messing with me right now?”
When I glared at him, Cassian’s face returned to its usual languid, decadent expression as he spoke slowly.
“It’s not that. I was just checking on you because your condition is worse than I thought.”
“Huh? Is my condition really that bad?”
“Yeah.”
His voice was firm and decisive.
“Don’t tell me… you told Mikhail my condition is bad?”
I wanted to leave the imperial palace as soon as possible—even an hour sooner would be a blessing.
I’d even imagined sneaking away in the dead of night. The only thing stopping me was the Emperor’s Shadow Knights attached to me.
The Shadow Knights were an elite force comprised of only the best knights in Crelas. Living up to the name “Emperor’s Shadow,” they were an assembly of elites from prestigious families, with scholarly cultivation, manners, and even appearance to boot.
I hadn’t confirmed exactly how many, but Mikhail had told me at least two were assigned to me.
So sneaking away was obviously out of the question.
I was already in a difficult spot because Mikhail was trying to keep me here—if he’d been told my condition was bad…!
My head spun at the situation that would naturally unfold. How could I get out of here?
As I was fretting, Cassian’s face drew close again.
“There you go, calling the Emperor by name again.”
His voice, openly displeased, made me smack my forehead.
Oh no!
Cassian was surprisingly possessive. If I spoke as if I were close to Mikhail—the object of Cassian’s interest—he might take offense. I’d have to be more careful from now on.
“Ah, I guess it’s become a habit. Whenever I was frustrated with the Emperor, I’d mutter his name and curse him alone, so it just slips out.”
I glanced at Cassian sideways. Fortunately, his expression hadn’t changed. Just in case he tried to pick another fight, I quickly added:
“It’s not like I can’t say anything in front of you. You’re my closest friend, after all.”
They say you can’t spit on a smiling face, so I flashed him the brightest smile I could muster. Cassian’s face crinkled slightly.
“…Closest… friend.”
Cassian stared at me with a furrowed brow, repeating my words over and over.
“What? Is that not right? Am I the only one who thinks that? I thought we were the closest.”
When I drooped my eyes and asked, Cassian grinned and shook his head from side to side.
“Closest is right. Yeah. That’s right.”
It was a somewhat ambiguous response, but ambiguity was Cassian’s specialty, so I let it slide.
“Well, of course. I’m closest with you. So there’s nothing I can’t say in front of you.”
Cassian kept nodding.
“Just cut me some slack on calling the Emperor by name. I’m not a noble who swore loyalty to Crelas—what’s the harm in muttering his name and cursing him when he’s not around?”
I planted my hands on my hips and puffed out my chest proudly. Cassian smiled with satisfaction.
“Well, I do the same. I curse our Emperor plenty when he’s not around too.”
“R-right?”
I didn’t know who Cassian’s Emperor was, but for now, I focused on avoiding any trouble.
“Yeah, you’re right. Your words are correct.”
Haah. Finally, the misunderstanding seemed cleared up.
The relief of escaping the misconception that I was interested in Mikhail was immense.
“Your body’s a mess, but you seem to be in good spirits?”
Cassian, who had risen to his feet at some point, placed his hand on my forehead.
The cool sensation from his palm felt wonderful. As if the cold touch was gradually calming the persistent throbbing in my head.
Like a languid cat, I closed my eyes and surrendered to the feeling.
“You really do look happy.”
His gentle voice by my ear was also wonderful.
“Yeah. Your hands—I always think this, but they’re so cool. Just touching them makes the pain disappear.”
“Then I should touch you more often.”
Somehow, the end of his sentence seemed to lift slightly.
I figured I’d throw in some flattery as a small apology to Cassian, who’d had to hear orders from the Crelas Emperor that he shouldn’t have had to. Might as well keep him in a good mood.
“You seem born to be a healer. I’ve gone through so many royal physicians, but I’ve never seen anyone as skilled as you.”
“You’re the only one who says that, you know?”
Cassian smirked, lowering the hand that had been on my forehead and raising the other in its place.
What’s this, Cassian? Are you feeling shy right now?
I opened my eyes slightly and looked at him. The corners of his lips were gently curling upward. He definitely seemed pleased.
“Does it matter what others think? What matters is that you’re the best to me.”
At my words, his lips curved even higher.
Success. Cassian’s mood had completely lifted. I smiled softly and closed my eyes again.
After a moment of letting him bask in the good mood, I returned to my earlier question.
“So what did you tell the Emperor? You didn’t say my condition was bad, did you?”
“……”
Why no answer? Anxiety washed over me.
Cassian hated nothing more than people who tried to deceive him or hide things from him. Given his personality, he’d likely answered the Emperor’s questions truthfully.
If so, execution was all that awaited me. Ugh. That can’t happen!
A chill ran down my spine, and I instinctively hugged my arms and shuddered.
“Cold?”
Cassian placed both hands on my shoulders. A warm energy flowed from his hands—a heating spell he frequently used. As the warmth spread, the tension in my hunched shoulders melted away.
“Haah. That’s warm.”
When I let my shoulders and arms go slack, Cassian smiled gently.
“Good?”
“Yeah. Good.”
“Now that you seem a bit more settled, I’ll tell you. The Emperor asked quite a lot.”
“What?”
“How sick you are. How long you have left.”
I snapped to attention.
“So? What did you say?”
I couldn’t understand why I was so tense about this.
“I told him the truth. Your mana is backflowing, so you’ll vomit blood frequently and could collapse like this again. At this rate, you have about six months at most.”
Huh?
I frowned and looked up at Cassian.
“What? Is there a problem? I just told him the truth.”
Cassian looked down at me as if to ask what the issue was.
