TSPGD 10

Chapter 10

Yur’s words, still suspecting that I was a woman, echoed loudly in my head.

“I told you, I’m not a woman.”

“Then go inside and prove it.”

“I have an ugly scar on my body.”

“I have plenty of scars too.”

“You’ll catch a disease.”

“Then you’ll be banned from entering the Grand Duchy.”

“……A-Actually, I like men.”

“……!”

“When I see a man, I get all! Excited!”

Yur seemed shocked by my words.

I firmly took hold of Yur’s hand and smiled brightly.

“So, if we bathe together, I might jump you.”

His clear blue eyes shook rapidly.

I wasn’t particularly bothered by this sort of thing, so I used it to gain the upper hand against him.

‘Ahem. Right. In this world, BL might still be taboo.’

I nodded to myself and twisted my wrist free from his grip.

Just as I was about to flash him a victorious smile—

Snap.

Yur grabbed my wrist again.

‘Damn it. Why does he keep grabbing me?’

When I glared at him sharply, he untied the cord around his chest.

“But that doesn’t mean I can let you into the women’s bath.”

“Huh?”

As he spoke, he swiftly tied my wrists together.

“It’ll be easy to restrain you.”

“W-What are you doing?!”

“This way, you won’t be able to jump me.”

“……”

I was too dumbfounded to speak.

“……Do I smell?”

“A little…… More importantly, you were covered in blood, so you should wash.”

“Then you can wash first, and I’ll wash afterward.”

“Why bother?”

With that, Yur dragged me away.

I struggled with all my strength, but of course, it was useless.

‘Ah…… Is this how my secret is going to be exposed?’

But I didn’t know how this pervert would react the moment I told him the truth.

‘What do I do? What should I do?’

For a moment, my mind went completely blank.

“You’re only going to wear yourself out by struggling like that.”

“W-Wait! Aah!”

Just as I was about to shout—

“What’s going on over there?!”

Someone’s voice rang out.

At that moment, tears suddenly welled up in my eyes, and I cried out.

“Waaah! Help me!”

The person who came running after hearing my cries was a familiar face.

“Huh?”

A bald man with a scar around his eye.

It was the man who had saved me at the inn!

“W-What’s this? My Lo— Ahem.”

The man looked back and forth between Yur and me in surprise, then rubbed his smooth forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“Haa…… What’s going on here? Aren’t you the kid I saw at the inn?”

“Y-Yes! That’s right! P-Please, save me!”

“Whew…… Hey, mister. Seriously. Is your hobby men?”

“……”

Yur said nothing when he came face-to-face with the bald man.

The bald man looked at Yur with pity and crooked a finger.

“Hand the kid over.”

Though he’d been caught in the middle of what looked like depraved behavior, Yur seemed dissatisfied about something. His lips moved several times before he finally managed to speak.

“Get lost.”

“Hah? Get lost?! Right now you’re grabbing some boy and—hey! This is shameless! Hey!”

Veins began popping out on the bald man’s forehead as his voice grew louder.

Flinch.

Yur’s body jerked at the man’s raised voice, but the bald man didn’t back down.

“Mister! If you want to wash, go wash in the infirmary over there!”

He slammed his hand against the wall, and the sounds of people waking up from their sleep could be heard inside the lodging.

Yur watched them for a moment before clicking his tongue and setting me down.

Even then, he stared at me and spoke in a low voice.

“Shuga. I’ll see you in the room shortly.”

“……”

Yurgen thought the timing couldn’t have been worse.

If he bathed together with Shuga at the bathhouse, he would surely be able to determine Shuga’s gender.

More importantly, Shuga himself had said that he had come to seduce him.

He had said he was coming to meet him so he could become his lover, so Yurgen had naturally assumed he was a woman.

But damn that Bruno.

He had ruined everything.

“When that bastard gets back, I’ll make him camp out in the Typhus Mountains.”

He couldn’t reveal his identity here.

Using that as leverage, Bruno had been enjoying himself while treating him disrespectfully.

Judging by the veins bulging on the bald man’s forehead, he was enjoying himself quite a lot.

“Haa…… Useless bastard.”

Irritation boiled inside him, but judging from Shuga’s reaction, it was certain that he was a woman.

“Hmm. If that’s the case, perhaps there’s no need to stop her from becoming my lover?”

In any case, he intended to keep Shuga by his side and find out more about him.

“Then I don’t have to go to such lengths.”

Yurgen pressed his fingers against his brow and recalled the moment he had come into contact with Shuga.

His eyes, which normally would have begun turning red little by little, had remained blue all this time.

‘Strange.’

He had never been in such good condition before.

In fact, he felt so good that he wasn’t even hungry.

‘Shuga…… I must get her to the Grand Duchy without a single injury.’

Just as he was thinking that and heading toward the bathroom in his private room—

Tap.

A black shadow approached from behind and whispered into Yurgen’s ear.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is in the Grand Duchy.”

“……”

The corners of Yurgen’s eyes, which had been relaxed only moments before, sharpened.

His blue eyes seemed to flare like blue flames for an instant.

“He is being watched by shadows.”

“Though it isn’t the day yet…… Why would he come here?”

“I’ll investigate.”

At the shadow’s words, Yurgen slightly raised his hand.

“No. Don’t cause any unnecessary bloodshed. Just keep watch.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The black figure respectfully saluted.

Then—

Whoosh.

It disappeared.

“Whew.”

Yurgen let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his black hair.

With the cord that had held his shirt closed gone, his chest was clearly exposed.

He stared blankly at it before suddenly turning around.

He retraced his steps, muttering under his breath.

“Damn it.”

For some reason, his blood began circulating sluggishly again, and the light gradually faded from his blue eyes.

“Urgh.”

It felt as though his entire body were being tightly constricted.

At the same time, it felt as if something were slowly eating away at his brain.

Yurgen caught sight of his reflection in a passing window.

His eyes were tinged with red.

He quickly looked around.

‘A woman.’

He instinctively began craving the opposite sex.

That was the sign that his curse had been activated.

‘Why? Why all of a sudden?’

He had been perfectly fine only moments ago.

No—more than fine.

He had never felt so refreshed.

‘Ah……’

Then he suddenly remembered the Crown Prince.

‘There must be trouble within the Imperial Family.’

Whenever trouble arose within the Imperial Family, his curse always grew stronger.

He didn’t know what it was about him that they wanted so badly, but they always held his leash and shook it whenever they pleased.

“Haa…… Haha.”

His grip tightened around the hilt of the sword at his waist.

An unbearable killing intent slowly began to boil inside him.

If anyone tried to stop him, he intended to cut them down.

His footsteps were decisive as he moved forward.

Step after step.

He quickly made his way back to the entrance of the shower room where Shuga was.

Bruno, who had been guarding the door, tried to stop Yurgen.

But then he saw the color of the Grand Duke’s eyes and froze.

“Y-Your Grace.”

Bruno’s jaw tightened as if he were struggling to withstand the overwhelming pressure.

“Move.”

“B-But—”

“If you don’t want to die, move.”

“Urgh.”

Bruno could say no more.

Overwhelmed by Yurgen’s aura, he slowly sank to his knees.

Yurgen entered the communal shower room without another word.

‘Where is she?’

He instinctively searched for Shuga.

If he touched her, he felt as though he could suppress this madness.

He hurriedly searched through the changing room.

Then he found Shuga.

Her long silver hair cascaded down her back, and she was wearing only a thin shirt.

She looked unmistakably like a woman.

‘Hah. So she really was a woman.’

But there was no time to rejoice.

First, he had to touch her.

Yurgen hurried toward her.

When Shuga spotted him, she screamed in surprise.

“Eek! W-What are you doing?!”

Shuga cried out, but without giving any explanation, Yurgen grabbed her and pulled her tightly into his arms.

Her scream was muffled against his chest.

“Mmph! Wha—urgh!”

She struggled in his arms, but Yurgen refused to let her go.

Perhaps she had only just finished bathing, because the pleasant scent of soap tickled his nose.

“Haa……”

A languid sigh escaped him.

The moment he grabbed her wrist, his blood began circulating rapidly, sending a shiver through his body.

His eyes, which had been bright red, gradually turned blue as though the heat were melting away.

The murderous urge that had been gnawing at his mind scattered as though washed away by rain.

“What are you doing?!”

“Just stay like this for a moment.”

There was no way for Yurgen to explain his situation to Shuga.

But that didn’t mean he could let her go.

Without meaning to, he forcibly pulled her into his arms and held her there.

“Urgh. Y-You…… you perverted bastard!”