Chapter 79
Whenever she gave him attention, he felt like pulling her close and kissing her. He wanted to pry her mouth open and shove his tongue inside her and taste every bit of her. Kaichen’s heart and stomach was boiling with l*st. He felt disgusted with himself. He was acting like a dog in heat. If she gave him a little bit of attention, he wanted to hug her and kiss her, parting her mouth, he wanted to put his tongue inside and confirm what kind of taste she had. Kaichen’s stomach was boiling with lust. When he saw Dalia smiling brightly, he felt like a disgusting black magician. It’s dirty, one can’t do this unless you’re actually a dog in heat.
Julius pestered him saying his case was of importance and he should resolve it. But Kaichen couldn’t think. His eyes strayed to her chest. The upper part of her shirt was unbuttoned. D*mn it! The sight of her collarbone and skin made it difficult to focus on the shred of rationality that he had finally grasped. He recalled the softness of her skin on her chest when he had been treating her for her symptoms. He felt dizzy.
He clenched his hand. His fingernails dug into his palm. He clamped his mouth so that he couldn’t talk nonsense. He looked straight ahead to try to calm his ar*usal. However, even when he averted his eyes, Dalia was always in the field of his vision, giving him a tour of Acrab.
“Oh?! Teacher! This is the store I used to frequent. I’m pretty close with the owner. I think it would be good to ask him about people who got sick around here. Would it be okay to stop by for a moment?”
Kaichen nodded silently, and Dalia hummed as she walked. He wasn’t surprised. She always seemed to build a rapport with shopkeepers. She did the same in Sharatan. However, when she opened the door of the tavern and entered, his mood turned foul the moment he saw a big man rushing out with surprised eyes.
“Huh? Las?”
“Miss! Where have you been all this time? You disappeared without a word. I was so worried!”
“Did you shave your beard?” Dalia asked him in surprise. Las sighed.
“It’s been a long time since I shaved my beard because I thought cleanliness would prevent the disease.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? It was your trademark,” said Dalia, sounding disappointed.
With burly muscles and a huge body, Las looked intimidating. He looked like someone who could be relied upon. A sword around his waist would suit him well. He could easily work as a soldier. However, Kaichen got annoyed as he observed him. Thankfully, that helped to calm his ar*usal.
“I found out about the situation a little late. We have also brought in a strong support group to solve the problem.”
“What?”
“Las, can you tell us about the people who fell ill?” Dahlia sat down in the corner.
Although it looked like a pub, it functioned as a diner too. Kaichen saw several people eating. They glanced at Dalia warily.
“You seem to have… changed,” said Las.
Considering that Dalia had entrusted the mansion to a small boy and left, it seemed that she didn’t have many people she could rely on. In the past, so many people had reached out to her family. Even when he knew that the Alshine family had fallen into ruin, he hadn’t really grasped the extent to which Dalia had felt lonely and isolated. She practically had nobody.
He had heard stories about her being very concerned about her land and her people. She was considered a wise person. He felt stupid to have hated her for something she said as a child. People grow and change. But why did the people of Acrab abandon her so quickly?
“Anyways, I’m glad that you are back, Miss. You asked me about the people who fell ill. I saw some of them the other day… It was horrible! It was like they were infected with something like rabies.”
“What were the symptoms?”
“At first, they have fever and were delirious. They act like they have no hope left. Then they have seizures. They suddenly turn violent after that. They attack other people for no reason at all. They act really crazy. Some of them fall into despair and weep endlessly.”
“Hmm.”
“No matter what they eat, they vomit. They can’t sleep well. It’s very tormenting to watch them.”
