IYAMD 75

IYAMD 75

“Don’t forget that I am a man who gets hard for you.”

Only after the man who whispered in his ear left did Jaha understand his words and blush. Leaving Jaha rubbing his ear, which was ticklish from the breath, Marsilia filled the remaining barrel.

Marsilia narrowed his eyes when he saw Jaha’s reddened face.

“I’m glad that my feelings were conveyed. I feel like I don’t have to turn into a beast yet.”

Jaha approached him, lifted the barrel and asked.

“You, so… you want to have sex with me?”

Marsilia groaned and dropped the barrel at the direct question.

“I was so startled I bit my tongue. Jaha, you really should learn to be less blunt.”

Marsilia grumbled, his face twisted in a grimace as he crouched down, looking up at Jaha with a sulky expression. Jaha crouched beside him, shifting his gaze awkwardly to the ground.

“But you’re saying you want to, aren’t you?”

Marsilia let out a sigh and answered.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know what that feels like. I’ve never felt that way before.”

Marsilia muttered as if talking to himself.

“You’ve never had a lover?”

“…What?”

“Never mind. So, you’re curious?”

At that, Jaha finally lifted his gaze from the ground and looked at Marsilia. He had a strange feeling that answering this wrong could lead to trouble.

“It’s not like that.”

“Tsk.”

Clicking his tongue loudly, Marsilia reached out and cupped Jaha’s cheek.

“When will I become that person for you?”

His smile deepened, dimples forming in his cheeks.

“I look forward to that day, Jaha.”

“It might never happen.”

Jaha replied, feeling oddly apologetic. Seeing Marsilia smile so casually only made him feel worse. If he had openly complained instead, it would have been easier to deal with.

Marsilia, noticing Jaha’s expression, quietly narrowed his eyes and whispered,

“You don’t even realize how much you’ve changed, do you?”

Then, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Jaha’s cheek. His bright green eyes traced over Jaha’s face.

“Don’t worry, Jaha. No matter what it takes, I’ll make sure you feel that way.”

Jaha pondered the meaning of his words for a moment before muttering grumpily,

“Somehow, that doesn’t sound like a good thing for me.”

As Jaha stood up and walked toward the water barrels, Marsilia followed, clutching his stomach [stolen content]as he burst into laughter. That man laughed so easily. He had such a composed, dignified appearance, yet he laughed like an child. Seeing that, Jaha couldn’t help but chuckle as well.

“You’re a good person.”

Jaha told him sincerely. Marsilia, having finally calmed down, nodded with a smile still lingering on his lips.

“I know.”

That arrogant response didn’t sound irritating at all.

Is this what he meant by change?

Somehow, Jaha felt like he understood a little—and yet, not at all. It was a complicated feeling.

After dropping off the water barrels at the camp, Marsilia promptly dragged Jaha to the barracks. Jaha wondered what he was in such a hurry for, only to realize he wanted to try practicing what they had attempted by the stream earlier.

As Marsilia attempted to sit cross-legged, his voice came out flustered.

“I can’t fold my legs like you do.”

Was it because of his build? Or his bone structure? Watching him awkwardly struggle while holding his ankle, Jaha couldn’t help but laugh.

“Maybe your joints are just stiff.”

Jaha reached out to help, pushing Marsilia’s ankle under his other thigh.

But Marsilia quickly stopped him in a panic.

“Ah—no, stop—ugh!”

“Does it hurt?”

Jaha asked, not letting go.

Marsilia broke out in a nervous sweat, nodding his head frantically.

“It hurts! Stop! Jaha—ah!”

Startled by the emperor’s scream, Malek rushed in urgently. Unlike usual, he didn’t say a word as he swept aside the cloth hanging at the entrance of the tent.

“Your Majesty, what on earth are you doing? In this situation, of all times…”

Malek trailed off mid-sentence as he stepped inside, and then, just like the groaning emperor, he let out a faint sound of exasperation.

“What are you two doing?”

For some reason, his voice carried a tone of sheer disbelief. Since Marsilia wasn’t in a state to answer, Jaha turned to him and explained.

“He wanted to sit cross-legged, so I was helping him.”

“…Why?”

“He is training.”

Just as Jaha was responding, he heard a strange sound from Marsilia’s knee. Alarmed, he quickly let go.

Marsilia looked up at him with teary eyes, filled with something close to betrayal.

“You really are a heartless person.”

“That’s harsh.”

Jaha grumbled as he got up, while Malek sighed and bowed slightly.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave. Please call me if you need anything.”

“Alright.”

After Malek left, Marsilia wiped the sweat off his forehead. Seeing that, Jaha finally felt a bit guilty and offered a different approach.

“Just sit comfortably and try. The posture isn’t all that important.”

“I think my knee is dislocated.”

His grumbling voice sounded oddly cute.

Jaha sighed and knelt on one knee in front of him. Placing one hand on the inside of Marsilia’s thigh and the other under his shin, he gently lifted it.

“Was it that bad?”

“I couldn’t even speak.”

“You’re such a crybaby.”

As Jaha bent and straightened his knee while watching his expression, he suddenly heard Marsilia swallow hard. He looked up.

“What?”

“…What?”

“You have a weird look on your face.”

Marsilia, still staring down at his aching knee, muttered,

“How long are you going to keep calling me ‘you’?”

Jaha froze at the unexpected question. Marsilia finally met his gaze and asked again.

“Do you hate calling me by my name that much?”

“It’s not that… I’m just not used to it. Besides, you’re the emperor. Calling you by name feels a bit…”

“You can call me by my name.”

Jaha lowered his head and mumbled as he met the expectant gaze of the man before him.

“Your name is too long.”

Compared to the usual one- or two-syllable names of the Eastern Continent, it was strikingly different.

“It’s four syllables long.”

At Jaha’s excuse, Marsilia let out a soft chuckle, air slipping through his lips.

“Then shorten it.”

“How?”

“Call me whatever you want. You could even make a nickname.”

“A nickname?”

Marsilia nodded, smiling somewhat shyly.

“How do people in the Eastern Continent use nicknames?”

“Usually… they add -ah to the end of a name or repeat a syllable. Sometimes, they put Xiao- in front of a name to mean ‘Little.’”

“Hmm… none of those seem to suit my name. Ma-ah, Mama, Xiao-Ma?”

Jaha burst into laughter at his playful tone. As the atmosphere softened, Marsilia lifted a hand and gently stroked Jaha’s cheek.

“What do you want to call me?”

There wasn’t really a particular name Jaha wanted to use. Did he even need to call him anything? But calling him ‘you’ forever would be strange as well.

After a moment of thought, Jaha sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

“Then think about it.”

“Do I really… have to?”

“Yes.”

Marsilia smiled warmly as he leaned in.

“If I were ever in danger, what would you call me then? Would you still just say ‘you’ in that situation?”

Well, soon they would have to fight that monstrous being. It was hard to guarantee that things wouldn’t turn dangerous—the dragon looked far too powerful.

Jaha pouted slightly, lost in thought. For some reason, his face felt warm. A ticklish sensation curled somewhere deep in his chest.

“Can I call you Mar?”

Marsilia let out a quiet laugh.

“Say it again, Jaha.”

“…Mar.”

“Mm.”

A faint shiver ran down Jaha’s spine. As Marsilia’s hand slid from his cheek to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear, Jaha instinctively shrank his neck.

“That tickles.”

Why does my voice sound like that?

Jaha whispered hoarsely, almost as if he were muttering to himself. When he lifted his gaze, he met the glimmering green eyes watching him with quiet amusement.

“Say it again, Jaha.”

“…No.”

Marsilia leaned in closer, mirroring Jaha’s earlier tone, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Why not?”

“Just because.”

Even with Jaha’s curt reply, Marsilia simply chuckled, clearly enjoying himself.

“Just once more. Hm?”

He pressed a soft kiss to Jaha’s cheek and murmured playfully,

“You need to get used to it.”

Jaha stared at him for a moment before looking away. Somehow, he didn’t want to do what Marsilia asked. It made him feel… restless.

His hand, resting on Marsilia’s thigh, curled slightly as if trying to scratch an itch he couldn’t place.

“Call my name, Jaha.”

Hearing his own name in Marsilia’s voice felt strangely unfamiliar. There was something fleeting about the way he said it—like it might disappear if he wasn’t careful. Jaha shook his head lightly.

Marsilia’s hand, which had drifted behind his ear, now traced the line of [stolen content]his neck and collarbone.

A strange sensation tingled down Jaha’s spine. Flustered, he lowered his head, but Marsilia followed, bending forward as if to chase him.

“Just once. Just one time.”

“…Marsilia.”

Marsilia lifted Jaha’s chin, and Jaha swallowed dryly at the sight of the radiant smile spread across his face.

His whole body felt unusually sensitive, every nerve on edge.

What’s happening to me?

Marsilia’s lips brushed lightly against Jaha’s.

Startled, Jaha squeezed his eyes shut before slowly opening them again, meeting Marsilia’s gaze head-on.

Their eyes locked in a quiet, lingering exchange.

“I wish I could show you just how happy I am right now.”

Jaha could already see it.

The way Marsilia’s smile melted even softer than usual, how his entire face seemed to glow, how his eyes shimmered even brighter than before.

“I see it.”

Jaha’s voice caught slightly as he answered, and Marsilia’s smile deepened.

“Good.”

He released Jaha’s chin, his fingertips grazing his cheek before pulling away.

As his fingers traced up near Jaha’s temple, Jaha suddenly held his breath without realizing it.

What is this feeling?

Jaha exhaled slowly as Marsilia straightened his back.

Carefully, so that Marsilia wouldn’t notice.

For some reason, he felt like he couldn’t let him find out.

Maybe this was an instinctive warning—some sort of danger signal.