Yopsies! Here I am again, with another installation of fetching tale of stupid decisions that is Affection:Call of the King~
Also, thanks to everyone, who checked out my original Gay novel – Demon Lord's Little Bride – I'm happy to hear you don't think it's bad at all. I've put out the the 1st and 2nd chapter of it as well, you can check it out
Sorry about all that gus.h.i.+ng, let's get to the meat finally~
~^.^~
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During the next two days, Takahito did nothing but continue to sleep, dead to the world.
He was only awake when Eugene brought meals to his room. He ate the three daily meals that were brought to him without leaving anything behind, working towards restoring his strength.
Well, it would be pointless if he could not move his body when the chance for escape came.
So that he could promptly take action when that time came, he currently had to regain the strength he had lost.
Having settled on his objective, he was somehow able to suppress the impatience and anxiety that had been gradually creeping up on him as it was p.r.o.ne to.
Him fretting about this and that because he had not been able to do anything earlier, and thus resulting in him being saddled with a lot of stress would be counterproductive.
At any rate, right now his top priority was to rest his body. He persuaded himself as such.
His body and spirit that had been greatly damaged and was in need of sleep, was able to rest as much as needed.
Except for going to the toilet, Takahito spend the two days mostly in bed, during which Arthur had not made an appearance.
He was probably at the princ.i.p.al residence Eugene had spoken of, the 'Gosford House'.
Because he could not get rid of the fear that Arthur would appear and again a.s.sault him without a warning, when the second day ended without anything happening he sighed in relief from the bottom of his heart.
But, at the same time a gloomy feeling sprouted in his heart.
(In the end, I've been left aside?)
Leaving everything up to Eugene, the man has not come to see his state even once.
That is to say, it shows that the man has absolutely no interest in Takahito as a person…
For Arthur he was only one of even if he estimated conservatively several…perhaps even dozens of partners, furthermore one of the same gender which he was not into, and there was no involvement of feelings. [1] As long as he has carried out his duty as the Alpha, he probably feels no need to especially follow up his actions.
[1] アーサーにとって自分は、少なく見積もっても數人...下手をしたら數十人目の相手であり、しかも対象外の同性で感情が伴わない関係だ。Screw this sentence. Worst one I've seen in a long while. I've no idea if I even understood it correctly.
However, for Takahito even if it had not been the result he had desired Arthur was his 'first partner'.
Even though his virginity had been stolen away in the worst way by that hateful man, when he was treated in such an indifferent manner, it obviously did not make him feel good.
(No…it is better that he hasn't come. A good decision.)
His irritability was the fault of his stupid pride.
Because up to this point in his life he had never been treated in such a cold-hearted manner.
(That sort of guy, it's not worth worrying about. It's better if he's excused himself from this place.)
Having somehow patched up his shoddy self-respect, he nevertheless still carried some dissatisfaction in a corner of his heart as he fell asleep - and met the next morning.
"Good morning."
"…good morning."
Eugene brought morning milk tea to his bed. On the silver tray there was a teapot and a teacup, and he poured it at his bedside.
He had heard that English people like black tea, but it did really seem that they drank it several times a day. Every time he made black tea, because Eugene brought some of it to Takahito's room as well, since the timing matched it had come to be that they drank it like that every time.
[t.n.: The one thing I love about the British – they know how to appreciate tea. I'm a big tea lover, on average I drink at least 3 cups of tea a day (and my tea mug is about 0.5l).]
The milk tea was mellow and rich with plenty of sugar and milk added, it was tastier than any black tea he had ever drunk. From the start the quality was probably different because of the tea leaves used, and there were probably differences in preparation as well.
[t.n. f.u.c.k, now I want tea with milk…brb.]
(The tea is delicious this morning too)
As he tasted the richly fragrant black tea from an antique teacup while lying on a canopy bed, he somewhat felt like he'd become the protagonist of a foreign movie.
Waiting for Takahito to finish drinking the milk tea, Eugene asked "How do you feel?"
"…considerably better."
From the moment he'd awakened he'd felt that his strength had returned. The physical weariness and sharp muscle pain his whole body had been wracked with when he'd gone to sleep yesterday evening had completely disappeared.
"Can you try to get up?"
Takahito nodded at the inquiry. Presently he wanted to ascertain to what degree he had recovered, and he also wanted to explore the situation outside his room.
Rejecting Eugene's a.s.sistance with an 'I'll be fine,' he put his feet inside the leather slippers that had been left on the rug.
Until yesterday despite him going just to the toilet his gait had been unsteady, but this morning he did not stagger.
Putting on a gown on top of his pyjama, he went outside the door. Because it was his first time leaving the room, his did not know his way around, and trusted the nearby Eugene to guide him.
There were no windows in the corridor made of wood boards, the only illumination was offered by the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and the wall lamps installed on the wall at equal intervals. In between those lamps, as expected there were 4 doors at equal intervals.
Pa.s.sing in front of those 4 doors, as they turned around a corner they came upon a stairway. The stairs were made from wood and had a deep red carpet spread over the steps. The handrails were a black l.u.s.tre giving note of their age.
"That room…it was on the second floor?"
"Yes, the guest rooms and the personal rooms of the residents are on the second floor."
Because slatted shutters were lowered over the windows in the room Takahito was using, he had not known even that.
"The common-use rooms are on the first floor. Will you be able to descend the stairs?"
"…probably."
Using the handrails he slowly descended the stairs one step at a time. Arriving on the first floor, they again began walking side-by-side.
"Here is the dining room, that's the kitchen, this door is first floor's restroom and here is the laundry room."
Eugene explained one by one. Having roughly guided him around the common-use rooms, finally Eugene led him to a large, wooden double door, and he opened it.
"…"
At once Takahito turned his face away from the light s.h.i.+ning into his eyes. Because for a long time of a dim light that had been turned down, this radiance was one he hadn't experienced in a while.
Gradually his eyes adjusted, and the state of the room became clear.
There was an elaborate painting of a forest and animals drawn on the whole surface of the ceiling that was so high he had to look up. The drop chandelier that hanged from the ceiling glittered like a gem as light hit it.
On the right side there was a brightly burning fireplace. As if surrounding the fireplace made from brick, there stood a low table and a sofa. A rug of gobelins tapestry covered the floor, like an antique gallery the room was dotted with console tables, couches, gla.s.s cabinets and a round table with a carved 'ball and claw' foot.
The left side wall was covered by a bookshelf packed full with leather-bound books. The other wall was decorated by an oil painting in a decorative frame, a mirror and tapestries in a way that it completely covered the s.p.a.ce.
"This is the lounge. It's both a parlour and a living room."
Eugene explained.
From Takahito's point of view the room he had slept in had been gorgeous enough, but this lounge was on a completely different level. The facilities in the room itself as well as the furnis.h.i.+ngs put in it; at a glance you could tell that they had history…
(…amazing)
Feeling halfway overwhelmed, Takahito surveyed the s.p.a.cious room, stopping his eyes at the window with sketched drape like curtains. Without knowing what he was doing he walked up to it, and pressed his face against the gla.s.s of the window.
"…Snow!"
Unconsciously, he raised his voice. Wiping the gla.s.s clouded over by his own breath with his sleeve, he glued his face to it even more.
What was reflected in his field of vision was frozen trees and shrubs that were standing close together, and ground covered by a thick layer of fallen snow.
It was now a silver world.
In Tokyo snow also fell once in a while. But not like this, it did not acc.u.mulate in a way that it completely covered the ground.
(Really…this is United Kingdom)
This was not Tokyo where he'd been used to living and…where everyone else was.
During this emotions welled up inside of him, and his spine chilled.
"There's a lot of fallen snow this year. The forest has been completely covered in snow."
From nearby behind him Eugene began to speak. Without making any sound in response, Takahito gazed at the winter scenery in silence as Eugene continued.
This house is one of the properties the Gosford family owns in various parts of the United Kingdom, as you can see it is located deep within a forest. Its nickname is the 'Forest House'. On the premises of the neighbouring National Park there are a lot of fantastic picturesque sceneries like untouched fields and wetlands, as well as the highest peak in Wales and the largest natural lake."
"…"
As Takahito's eyes concentrated on the view outside the window, abruptly Eugene whispered in his ear.
"No matter how much you search, there are no private houses nearby."
"…"
As he turned around with shaking shoulders, he collided with light blue eyes.
In his eyes there was not the usual warmth, they were somewhat distant.
After a while of gazing at Takahito whose expression had stiffened in silence, Eugene opened his mouth.
"That's why…I want you to not raise thought of things like running away from here."
Even if he ran away, he had not the slightest idea where this place was.
The information he'd been given about this location was just that it was in Wales, United Kingdom, and that it was near a National Park.
"The forest between here and the National Park is deep and extensive. A person not familiar with the land will certainly get lost right away. If one gets lost in the forest burrowed in snow, there is a risk of hypothermia. You probably know this, but if hypothermia goes on for a long time one will freeze to death."
With the dispa.s.sionately murmuring doll like face in his field of vision, Takahito softly bit his lip.
Like Eugene said, wandering about the snowy forest in his human form would be a suicidal act.
Probably that's why Arthur had put him under lenient confinement in this 'Forest House'.
And put an Omega loyal to the Alpha's orders in place as a guardian.
(No matter how kind Eugene is, he is…Arthur's family)
After all, he is the enemy. He won't become his ally.
He won't act in a manner that would disadvantage the Gosford Family.
He had a feeling he'd been made to realize that once again.
(As I thought I can only escape using my own strength)
If he ran away, it had to be the on the full moon night when his potential had reached the maximum, and he could keep his werewolf form for the longest time.
There were still 9 days till full moon.
However, during those 9 days he will probably be a.s.saulted by Arthur.
You are not yet 'Eve'.
Arthur had said so at that time.
Even if he was not currently 'Eve', what if he did 'change' like the man had declared?
What if the 'Eve' inside of him awoke in these 9 days and he became pregnant with that man's child?
As the thought of the unspeakably cruel future came to his mind, Takahito's body s.h.i.+vered.
If such a thing happened, he won't be able to return to j.a.pan…to his family.
(No. I definitely won't let that happen.)
It happened just as he furiously thought of that. Eugene who was staring straight at him with his light blue eyes informed him in a whisper.
"Tonight, Arthur is coming here."
…
Ok, I remember I said I was going to translate the rest of chapter 5, but it turned out really annoying to translate, so there's still a few more pages left in chapter 5, hope I can get them done in the next 2 days.
Till then~
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