Calverd stepped back into the bathing area. His eyes swept the surroundings, searching for the figure of the all-black-clad man he wanted to meet.
In one corner of the room not far from the main bathtub, Calverd found the figure, who was sitting casually on a small wooden chair. The man had taken off his entire assassin outfit along with his black mask, leaving his broad back bare as he rinsed it with splashes of water from a wooden dipper.
Looking at his savior's back, Calverd swallowed hard. An overwhelming sense of guilt gripped his chest once again. He had to apologize right now.
With hurried steps driven by determination, Calverd stepped forward to approach his savior.
However, his mind being too focused on the string of apologies caused Calverd to overlook his footing. The bathroom floor was extremely slippery due to puddles of water mixed with leftover soap suds.
Exactly on his third step, he lost his balance. His body swayed backward incredibly fast, defying gravity and preparing to slam into the hard bathroom floor.
"Waaaa....!!!"
A startled scream slipped unconsciously from Calverd's mouth as he shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself to receive the hard impact that would surely crack the back of his head.
But, one second passed... two seconds passed...
There was no thudding sound of someone's body falling and hitting the floor. There was no spreading pain, and no groans of agony heard inside the bathroom.
Calverd slowly opened one eye in hesitation. His breath caught in his throat.
He realized that right now, his position was floating in the air, just a few spans away from the slippery surface of the bathroom floor. An invisible energy, so gentle yet sturdy, was supporting his entire body weight like a protective air cushion.
"Can't you walk carefully, Calverd?"
That calm voice flowed, shattering his shock. Calverd turned his head slightly and saw the figure who had not turned his body at all.
Arvin spoke his sentence very casually, as if saving someone on the verge of an accident with telekinesis magic without even looking was the most ordinary thing in the world. He even continued splashing water onto his body, completely unbothered.
"What if you had slipped and your head slammed hard against the floor?" Arvin continued again, his tone carrying a light reprimand devoid of any anger.
Calverd remained frozen stiff in his floating position. His heart sank, receiving such gentle treatment from his hero.
Even though I spoke harshly to him and even explicitly stated that I hated him in front of all his spouses. he thought, feeling truly bewildered and struck by an ever-deepening sense of guilt. Why is he still treating me so well and protecting me like this?
Slowly, the telekinesis magic supporting Calverd's body moved downward.
Arvin began to lower the indigo-haired youth's body very carefully until both of his feet touched the ground again, standing safely and upright on a non-slippery area of the floor.
As soon as Calverd was standing safely and had steadied his breathing, a fragment of memory suddenly slipped into his mind.
The memory of when he cried in despair inside the underground prison cell, the gentle touch that wiped away his tears, and what Arvin once said about his cute face amidst the darkness of the prison corridor echoed back very clearly.
Instantly, the indigo-haired youth's face turned bright red. His emotional defense walls completely crumbled. All the words of apology and regret he had neatly arranged in his brain evaporated, replaced by a barrage of impulsive questions that had been weighing on his heart.
"Why did you say my face was cute while wiping away my tears back then?" Calverd asked unconsciously, his voice trembling slightly from the sudden rush of embarrassment.
"Because your face is indeed cute!" Arvin answered swiftly, straightforwardly, and with absolute honesty, without stopping his movements of rinsing the remaining soap off his arm.
Hearing that unexpected, blunt answer, Calverd's heartbeat grew even more erratic.
"Are you interested in me?" Calverd asked again.
"Yes, I'm interested in you!" Arvin replied without pause.
"Are you interested in me because you want me to be your spouse?" he pressed, demanding certainty over his status as a former prisoner.
"That depends entirely on your own answer and feelings!" Arvin replied calmly, giving the youth full control.
"If I reject you, will you force me?"
"I'm not a man that despicable!" Arvin's voice deepened slightly, affirming his absolute principle.
"Then... why did you free me?"
"I freed you because it was what you wanted!"
Calverd bowed his head deeply. The memory of the rape committed by those soldiers against him inside the prison cell, which had forcibly stripped away his dignity and purity, resurfaced like a nightmare choking his neck.
That dark fact made him feel so incredibly filthy.
"Are you aware that I'm already tainted, despicable, and no longer of any worth?" he asked with a hoarse voice that harbored deep sorrow and wounds.
The movement of the dipper in Arvin's hand instantly halted. The water around him seemed to stop flowing.
"I've stated very clearly that those soldiers are the despicable ones, not you!" Arvin answered firmly, his voice echoing and bouncing off the bathroom walls, sweeping away all the youth's doubts and feelings of inferiority. "And in my eyes, that fact will never change!"
After the barrage of questions and answers that occurred at a very rapid pace, a momentary silence enveloped the two of them. Calverd's breath caught in his throat, his chest feeling tight from an overwhelming sense of being moved.
Arvin, who had been sitting with his back to him on the small chair all this time, slowly put down the wooden dipper and directly turned his body to face backward.
For the first time since they met inside the underground hell of Victoriaz, Calverd was stunned. Time seemed to stop spinning as his eyes saw the true face of his savior, which had always been hidden behind the mysterious black mask.
In front of him sat an exceptionally handsome youth with blue hair and a pair of blue eyes that radiated a captivating calmness.
Is this what my savior's true face looks like? Calverd thought, his eyes unable to tear away from scanning every inch of those facial features. To be honest, he is very handsome. But...
Calverd's gaze slowly descended from the youth's face, and at that exact second, his common sense finally realized the situation.
"Why are you showing your naked body in front of me?!" Calverd exclaimed in shock, reflexively raising his hands to cover part of his face. "Do you have absolutely no shame?!"
Hearing the complaint and the panicked shriek he had just heard, Arvin could only let out a long sigh.
"Are you not aware that we are currently inside a bathroom? Of course I would be naked here to clean myself."
Ignoring the indigo-haired youth's panic, Arvin instead stood up from his small chair. That movement instantly displayed his entire bare front posture very clearly in front of Calverd.
Calverd's eyes widened perfectly, not expecting the bold action of the man currently in front of him.
Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
His heart beat incredibly fast as he watched the blue-haired youth begin to take slow steps, walking straight toward him.
"W-What do you want to do to me?" Calverd squeaked, stepping back one pace out of nervousness.
Arvin did not answer and continued walking toward Calverd with relaxed, dominant steps. Even though the distance between them was closing, he never once shifted his soothing gaze from the panic-stricken pair of emerald green eyes in front of him.
"Do you regret that I saved you from that place?" he asked with a voice that vibrated into the depths of the heart.
Looking straight into those blue eyes, Calverd could not lie about his feelings. He shook his head unconsciously, acknowledging that beneath all his sorrow and ego, he was incredibly grateful to have been saved when he no longer had any hope left.
"Do you want to live here with us?" Arvin asked again, offering a sanctuary.
Without needing to think twice, Calverd nodded quickly.
"Where else would I go after escaping from that hell if not to live and settle down here with you?" he answered softly, entrusting the rest of his life to the blue-haired youth in front of him.
"I understand." Arvin replied with a very gentle, faint smile. "At the very least, I'm allowing you to live here with us, to become a part of this place. However, there are two conditions!"
"Two conditions?" Calverd repeated curiously, looking up into that handsome face. "What are the conditions?"
"The first one!" He began explaining the two conditions with a serious tone. "You and Kaydan have definitely become fugitives and the main targets of the Victoriaz Kingdom after that entire string of events."
Arvin glared sharply at the indigo-haired youth. "As long as you live in this capital, you must continuously remain inside the protection area of the mansion! For whatever reason, never set foot outside this mansion! Do you understand?"
Calverd fully understood how dangerous the political situation outside was. His life could be lost at any moment if his identity was exposed. Without the slightest hesitation, he nodded in agreement to the first condition that so heavily prioritized his safety.
"I'm willing and will obey your condition! Then, what is your second condition?"
"The second one!" Arvin answered with a tone full of warmth, stating his condition again. "Starting from this second, forget all those horrifying tragedies you experienced, and continue your new life here with us!"