Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 136

“Priscilla,” Dwight suddenly said.

“Huh?”

He was still holding the already tied cravat and looked up. “We were talking about Priscilla just now.”

Charlie thought, ‘Did I accidentally say what I was thinking out loud?’

It didn’t seem like it.

But if not, why did Dwight suddenly bring it up?

Dwight’s hand showed no intention of letting go of the cravat. This close distance, held for so long, made the atmosphere increasingly uncomfortable. Charlie raised his hand and gently pulled the Duke’s wrist to signal that he could let go. “Thank you.”

But Dwight didn’t loosen his grip.

His height had shot up quite a bit in the past few months, now almost level with Charlie’s. If the old steward of Brandenburg saw him, he would be astonished—the Duke, though just recently of age, was still growing. The long journey seemed to have done wonders for his body and stamina, though growing so quickly in such a short time made him look fragile and thin.

This contrast with his usual assertive personality was almost ironic.

With his back to the floor candelabrum, the light spread a near-dreamlike halo around Dwight’s outline. He stared at Charlie’s face and said, “I was thinking earlier. If you decided to be a rabbit for the rest of your life, that wouldn’t be a problem.”

Charlie was taken aback.

Dwight wasn’t the type to express his thoughts and feelings in detail, but Charlie always seemed to understand the meaning behind his seemingly incoherent or vague words.

“Oh, that’s news,” he said. “If I recall correctly, you’ve mocked my appearance and ears when I’m in rabbit form multiple times, even going so far as to use it to insult my character.”

“Did I? I don’t remember,” Dwight said indifferently.

Well, one couldn’t expect a noble to have a conscience or shame. Charlie raised his hand in a gesture of surrender. “So why the change of heart? Did you suddenly find the rabbit head pleasing?”

Dwight corrected him seriously. “I said, ‘If you decided to be a rabbit, it wouldn’t matter.’ As for my opinion, it hasn’t changed. If you’re always covered in fur, things become problematic.”

Charlie asked, “What things become problematic?”

“For instance, I can’t kiss a rabbit,” Dwight said softly.

Another long silence followed.

Charlie quietly looked at Dwight for a while before saying, “Do you want to kiss me?”

“The first kiss should seek the other party’s consent. Do you agree?” Dwight asked calmly. “It’s proper etiquette. Think it over before answering. You only get one chance.”

Just listening to his words, one might not notice, but the young Duke clearly wasn’t used to saying such things daily. Even with a blank expression, Charlie could sense his awkwardness from his somewhat stiff gaze.

Charlie chuckled softly, leaned in, and something lightly brushed Dwight’s cheek. He immediately noticed and, as if expecting it, held his breath. Standing in the dim little room, they silently shared a secret, lingering kiss.

It was a strange thing. Although their noses were a bit cold, their lips were unusually warm when they parted.

“I need to think about it before I can answer you,” Charlie said, his hand on the back of Dwight’s neck, not immediately letting go. He twirled his fingers in his hair, then declared with mock seriousness.

Dwight also laughed, dodging the hand that was trying to braid his hair. “You missed your chance. You only get one.”

“But you just said—”

“The first time requires consent, but those reserved lady-like manners clearly don’t apply to you,” Dwight stated matter-of-factly. He ruthlessly pushed Charlie, causing him to lose balance and fall onto the sofa. “And you can’t expect to go through this tedious process every time,” he added.

“Oh, I thought you meant the kissing opportunity itself only came once,” Charlie said, getting up from the sofa and ruffling his hair.

Dwight pointed out, “We just kissed more than once.”

“I misunderstood,” Charlie muttered, then mischievously squeezed next to Dwight. “Are you blushing?”

What a stupid question.

Although Dwight didn’t resist his childlike insistence on being close, he said with a blank face, “After opening my eyes, I suddenly thought this might be like seeing Louis’s face with Priscilla, so I wasn’t in the mood to blush.”

Charlie stared at him, dumbfounded.

Seeing this rare, foolish expression, Dwight felt even more pleased. He pinched Charlie’s ear and said, “I was joking. You took it seriously?”

Charlie said, “Since Louis and I look identical, that remark hit hard. You truly are a natural-born villain.”

“Nonsense. The Dwights have always been among the most desirable marriage prospects in the Empire.”

They bantered back and forth until they heard a few horse neighs from the distant street, signaling a return to the main topic.

“Louis said Priscilla’s condition isn’t good,” Charlie said, pulling out a vest and coat from the inner room. “He originally planned for her to meet with Kurt, but she’s been unwell these days and has been seeing doctors frequently…”

“Erica sent news that Lestrop lost, and the whole Mokwen family is shaken by this sibling conflict. If Tifa wants to eliminate the roots, now is the time.” Dwight pondered. “But his forces can’t penetrate White Bridge, and Priscilla knows that well.”

“A mother always worries about her children,” Charlie said understandingly. “Regarding Khalif, if possible, I don’t want Louis to be exposed. Although he always feels alone, he actually cares about many people.” For example, Priscilla, who is pregnant, Alexander, who grew up with him, and the rugged bakery owner Brooks from Fortuna City.

Louis always appeared cold, but he preferred to harm himself rather than others. Charlie understood this better than anyone.

“So what’s your plan?” Dwight finally asked.

“Kill Khalif,” Charlie said.

He and Louis had an exotic mystique, especially with their slightly elongated, upturned eyes, which often gave the impression of affection. But when they restrained their expressions, they appeared particularly serious, especially Charlie—when he said this, there was no trace of the previous gentleness on his face.

Interesting. For some reason, the Duke found this rather exciting, but he couldn’t voice his thoughts to give Rabbit Head undue pride. He nonchalantly said, “Will killing one Khalif solve all problems?”

“It will solve most of them. The Wolf Family’s leadership has been declining for a while. Their increasingly muddled actions in recent years have caused their reputation to plummet. Discussions about changing the family head have begun, but Khalif is unwilling to accept it. This is the root cause of the Holy Grail chaos—before this, few truly dug deep into the family’s secrets to make them a target.”

“The Wolf Family has many flaws, but superstition isn’t one of them. From this perspective, Khalif has lost the qualification to sit in that position.”

“Superstition?” Dwight raised an eyebrow, “If you’re referring to the reincarnation scam you’re doing with that old fraud—”

“No,” Charlie said solemnly. “Khalif won’t pay attention to what’s trending on Paradise Island. Quite the opposite. His increasing impatience shows he can’t wait for the next life. The goal of the Holy Grail ruling the world is too grand and distant. He has more urgent desires he wants to fulfill now.”

Indeed.

No matter how enticing the power of the World Dragon might be, theoretically, Charlie and Louis, the twins who truly summoned the Lamp Bearers, have long been dead. Even if a new generation of the Holy Grail (which doesn’t exist) were successfully conceived, it wouldn’t immediately be able to summon a demon. To develop the Holy Grail into a form of flesh and blood capable of sustaining the World Dragon for a long time would take at least ten more years of nurturing. Khalif was nearly fifty years old. He didn’t have that much time left.

“So what does he want to do?” Dwight asked. “Aside from long-lived races like the elves, even the most well-nourished humans can only live up to about a hundred years. Factoring in physical decline, that lifespan is halved. It’s a natural law.”

“Louis discussed this with me. He believes Khalif is determined to defy natural law,” Charlie said. “Ten years ago, Khalif discreetly experimented with various drugs. Ultimately, like the Holy Grail, he turned to the unnatural to achieve his goals.”

“But white magic can hardly extend life. Otherwise, the continent’s history wouldn’t have lost so many sages and geniuses… Black magic can achieve this in a sense, but the costs outweigh the benefits. Are you telling me Khalif is a fool addicted to this?” Dwight asked.

“He’s a deluded madman obsessed with rejuvenation,” Charlie said irritably. “Anyone who tries to extend their life through illegal means inevitably becomes disfigured. The woman fused with the wall in the castle is a living example. And if one loses their human rationality, what’s the point of a longer life?”

“Is he trying to curse himself?”

“I don’t know. Louis’s relationship with him is mediocre, and Khalif trusts no one. People vaguely guess that the Monkey Family is helping him, but no one knows the specifics. His private residence hasn’t hosted a banquet in ten years,” Charlie said. “I need clues to figure out what he’s trying to do. If there’s a chance in the next few days, it would be best to look inside his house.”

Using Louis’s identity.

“As for Kurt… I originally planned to steal him away when someone escorted him out of White Bridge, but Aquinas gave me an idea. External forces can’t break through White Bridge’s barriers easily, but we’re inside White Bridge now. If we can bolster our strength, we might solve both the Kurt and Khalif problems from within,” he said candidly.

Dwight didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he looked serious. “Do you think those on Paradise Island, used to being enslaved, have the power to overthrow the ruling regime?”

“Their numbers are much larger than I anticipated—I asked Eugene to roughly calculate Paradise Island’s population. The truly weak, old, and young can’t survive there, so most of them are strong young adults. Although there aren’t many with self-awareness and rebellious thoughts like Jason, the Brotherhood leader, they just lack direction and a spark. Aquinas’s missionary work benefits us greatly. They’re like a mountain of dry tinder, ready to ignite with a small spark.” Charlie laid out the work he’d done over the past few days in detail.

Dwight finally saw the clear strategy Charlie had devised and executed in just a few days. Most importantly, he saw that it was feasible.

The people of Paradise Island had forgotten their own strength due to long-term toil and submission, and the Wolves and Monkeys had similarly neglected this point after being entrenched in White Bridge for so long—such a large number of leaderless people would make any ruler vigilant in any territory or kingdom. After all, the line between apathetic peasants and soldiers wielding hoes as weapons was often blurred.

……

Shivers hadn’t felt this physically heavy in many years. It was as if someone had placed a heavy kettle on his head, pressing him down so he couldn’t lift his head. He only opened his eyes due to years of self-discipline and a strict biological clock. Uncharacteristically disregarding his demeanor, he turned over and sat up, waiting for the buzzing in his head to subside.

He had drunk himself into oblivion last night—this was really bad. Shivers absentmindedly tried to get out of bed, only to be startled when he realized he was naked. He turned his head to look beside him.

The spot was empty, but the shape of the pillow and bed sheets told him someone had been there. As memories returned, the stiff knight remembered more fragments.

He and Yitzfa.

Like lovers losing their minds before the end of the world, they had rolled on the bed, almost biting each other to pieces—up until today, the usually gentlemanly Shivers had no idea he could be so rough. Those intermittent memories were so intense that, before feeling shocked, he worried about whether Yitzfa had been hurt.

However, now, he was alone in this unfamiliar room.

Shivers groaned, burying his face in his hands.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Fuck, yes! Shivers and Yitzfa! Is it bad that I care more about this side CP than the main CP?

Speaking of the main CP, the author did note she’s not good at writing romance… Which I think shows. Where did this kiss come from? Like there was hardly any buildup between Dwight and Charlie. Sure, they had rapport before, but compared to Shivers and Yitzfa, it was hardly developed to the point where we could see any feelings developing in Charlie or Dwight.

To me, this felt a bit shoehorned, as if the author realized she was writing a danmei and had to insert some development with the main CP. Is it me, or is there a serious lack of chemistry between Dwight and Charlie? They needed more time to develop IMO, though I guess the author has to speed things up a bit considering we’re about 60% into the novel.

To be honest, I could have done without a main CP as the story is quite good and Shivers and Yitzfa hit all the buttons for me. While the main CP just got a kiss (out of nowhere), they’re already rolling around in the sheets.

Which begs the question: why couldn’t she just write the main CP in a similar fashion? I don’t think her romance writing abilities are low, considering this side CP, but I’ve been told authors tend to be more experimental with their side CP and more formulated and perfectionist with the main CP (to avoid the wraths of the readers).

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