Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 98: Return to Youth
The instant he heard the scream, Myss shot out.
The two servants subconsciously stepped forward to stop him, but Myss leapt straight up and flew over their heads, charging directly toward the room where the scream had come from.
Only halfway through the jump did Myss belatedly notice something strange. That was Salaar. What could possibly happen to him?
It had to be because of their contract. The contract required him to ensure Salaar’s safety at all times. He was only afraid of violating the contract rules. Mm, that had to be it.
Myss landed as lightly as a feather, gliding across the mirror-bright marble floor and came to a halt at the doorway. The male servant at the door reached out to stop him, but unfortunately, he couldn’t stop Myss’s voice.
“Salaar!” Myss shouted.
The name Kendrick was truly awkward to say. In any case, Salaar had already explained the matter of a “false name” to his nominal cousin, so Myss would call him this.
A whole nest of humans with lapis-lazuli eyes, all pretending to be Salaar’s descendants, already made him unhappy. If he couldn’t even call the name “Salaar,” the Karns family would be promoted to his most hated human group.
“I’m fine.”
Salaar’s voice came from inside the door. Myss pricked up his ears and heard Salaar explaining things like “that is Myss” and “my lover.”
A moment later, with a creak, the heavy and beautiful oak door slowly opened, revealing Salaar’s face. To be precise, Salaar’s blood-stained face.
Myss swept his gaze over him. Salaar instinctively raised a hand and rubbed the blood on his face with the back of it.
“What happened?” Myss frowned.
“It’s a long story. Come in first.” The corner of Salaar’s mouth curved up, and he moved aside to let him enter.
The room was neither large nor small, and the decor was somewhat like a reception room. Only, the things placed on its coffee table weren’t tea sets and desserts, but several buzzing, oddly shaped magic devices, along with neatly arranged parchment and alchemical ink.
Useless Owen stood beside the table, his left palm pierced through by a sharp quill pen. He didn’t dare pull it out and could only hiss in place, his eyes full of tears from the pain.
The servants all lowered their heads. Only an old butler with a rectangular face and graying hair still kept his face raised, his wrinkled features full of helplessness.
Salaar explained considerately, “In fact, there are three parts to the examination: appearance, handwriting, and blood, to prevent impersonation or control.”
“I passed the first two. As for the third… it just so happens that I need your proof.”
His tone was very relaxed, as if his Cousin Owen were only a human-shaped ornament beside the table.
“There are traces of a magic contract on you, and it’s ancient alchemy!”
Owen shouted in grief and indignation. “You’re a controlled puppet, sneaking into the family in the name of repentance. You and that filthy whore slave of yours—”
Salaar turned toward the old butler. “Do you have any more quill pens? I see Mr. Owen’s right hand is a little empty.”
Owen snapped his mouth shut.
“But you must give a reasonable explanation, Young Master Kendrick,” the butler said carefully. “Ancient alchemy is difficult to measure. Before you attend the dinner, we must confirm that the contract on you is harmless…”
“The magic contract on me is the contract between Myss and myself.”
Salaar folded his arms and looked deeply at Myss.
“It stipulates that we must be honest with each other, protect each other, and accompany each other. Isn’t that right, Myss?”
Myss: “?”
Their contract did indeed require them to share information, ensure each other’s safety, and not leave without permission… But once Salaar’s mouth opened and closed, he said it almost like a marriage contract.
Yet, Myss couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong with the statement. So Myss could only nod in frustration and accept this ambiguous description.
The old butler quickly removed a small test tube from the intricately shaped magic device and signaled for Myss to hold it.
Myss mechanically took it. He saw the blood water in the test tube rapidly turn brilliant gold and emit a pleasant low hum. Golden specks of light circled his finger, like a ring forged from shattered light.
Another band of light extended toward Salaar and likewise loosely circled his finger.
“Perfect resonance. They are indeed the two parties to the contract.” The old butler breathed a sigh of relief, while Owen showed a very unconvinced expression.
Salaar pressed his advantage. “See? I told you long ago.”
“Myss was still a slave not long ago. Could he possibly use a contract to control me and make me act against the Karns family?” He stared at Owen as he said the latter half.
“Even if it’s a harmless contract, where did you get ancient alchemy?” Owen groaned in pain while clutching his bloody palm.
“Our relationship isn’t good enough for me to share such privacy with you.” Salaar shrugged.
Owen’s face flushed even redder. He was just about to say something when another knock came from the door.
“Everyone, move faster.”
Queenie’s voice came through the door. It was hard to say how long she had been standing there. “There’s piping hot multi-layered meat pie today. It won’t taste good if the filling gets cold.”
The old butler took the opportunity to stand between Owen and Salaar. “Young Master Owen, I’ll take you to have your wound bandaged.”
Owen couldn’t make trouble anymore. With a long face, he left the room first. Myss glanced contemptuously at his back and watched him and his Magibase groundhog disappear together.
“That kid came over to stir up trouble earlier. He wanted to provoke me so I would lose composure at the family dinner,” Salaar said.
“And then?”
“And then I lost composure in advance.”
Salaar pointed at the palm of his own left hand, the same place where Owen had just been pierced by the quill pen, his tone quite cheerful. “What a pity. I clearly fulfilled his wish, but he didn’t look happy at all.”
Myss looked speechlessly at the statue of Saint Salaar in the room. “I thought you were going to play the role of ‘repentant Kendrick.’”
“People can change, but not too much.”
Salaar said, “Kendrick Karns is a genuine bastard. I have no intention of turning him into some saint.”
Really?
Myss looked at Salaar’s sly and vivid expression, then thought of the lifeless portrait in the entrance hall.
Then how did you become a “saint,” Salaar?
……
The moment Myss entered the dining room, that trace of emotion instantly vanished into thin air.
For no other reason than that the multi-layered meat pie in the center of the table was truly spectacular.
The pie crust had been baked golden and crispy, and its aroma rushed into the nose. The meat pie was half a human head tall, square and neatly shaped, with layer stacked upon layer. The topmost layer even had Karns Manor carved into it.
Myss had only heard of this kind of thing in the hymns of bards.
It was said that the finest pure meat pies had at least three layers. The lowest layer used large pieces of venison, lamb, and veal. Chicken, duck, and goose occupied a layer of their own, and the top layer used tender river fish as filling.
The whole pie used large amounts of spices, and some nobles would even add whole small birds with the bones removed. This dish demanded extremely high family wealth, chef skill, and kitchen scale. It was undoubtedly a showpiece for great nobles to flaunt.
This giant pie even had magic cast on it. Snow-white magical little birds circled the tall meat pie, flying and chirping, scattering star-like white points of light.
The people seated by the long table, except Salaar, automatically became radishes and cabbages in Myss’s eyes.
He and Salaar sat somewhat far from the main seat at the long table, almost seated together with guests like Father Kalen. Myss didn’t care about humans’ boring status arrangements. He only stared curiously at the pie.
“Want some? Later I’ll cut you half of each flavor. That thing is very filling.”
Salaar spoke close to his ear. “If you don’t like the taste, just put it straight onto my plate.”
“Mm.” Myss said with satisfaction.
Although even if Salaar hadn’t said it, he had planned to do that anyway.
Salaar smiled. His palm covered the back of Myss’s hand and gently patted it.
“Contemptible guy.” A cold snort, neither light nor heavy, passed through the music and drifted to Myss’s ear.
Only then did Myss turn his head and look toward the person mocking them.
That person looked quite young and was sitting together with Salaar’s nominal older brother, Peyton. His appearance was more ordinary than Peyton’s, his brows were thick, his nose bridge somewhat high, and his build was one size sturdier than Peyton’s.
“That one is Nicholas, an elite knight of the Church of Candance.”
With the tablecloth as cover, the Dragon Fae poked his head out again. “He and Peyton are the same age, and they’re both clergy of the Church of Cadence. Their relationship is especially good. Publicly and privately, he especially hates Kendrick Karns.”
The “Mud Knight” who wanted to kill Salaar. Myss immediately matched him to the memory.
That kid’s Magibase was a black bear. It looked fairly fierce, but its size wasn’t very large. Compared to Peyton’s giant python, it was far inferior.
The dinner was about to begin. From the main seat at the far end of the long table came a low prayer. Everyone devoutly lowered their heads. Only Myss and Salaar still sat there openly, without any praying motion.
Naturally, no one managed them. Myss suspected that unless Salaar jumped onto the table right now and danced his self-composed dance, the others would be too lazy to care. Only Queenie’s gaze briefly swept over before quickly darting away.
After the short prayer, tasters holding silver knives and forks carefully tasted every dish and wine, then bowed to the main seat.
Sitting in the main seat was a tall, strong old man built like a bear. He solemnly looked forward and didn’t seem to intend to speak for the moment.
Myss casually glanced at him, then started looking at the meat pie again. Salaar should have gone to get the meat pie for him, but Salaar only studied the wine glass before him and didn’t move.
“Hey.” Myss tugged at the hem of his shirt.
“This is interesting.” Salaar stared fixedly at the knife and fork in front of him. “That Owen is rather desperate. He’s dead set on making ‘me’ embarrass myself.”
“What’s going on?”
“An alchemical potion, ‘Return to Youth.’ Someone smeared it on my cutlery.”
Salaar said, “This thing can make the user’s mind and memories return to sixteen or seventeen. Rich people like to use it for amusement. Looks like someone really wants ‘me’ to lose composure again.”
When Kendrick Karns was sixteen or seventeen, he had just been exiled, right at his most rebellious period. If the real Kendrick were sitting here and ate “Return to Youth,” who knew what kind of scene he would cause?
Even better, strictly speaking, this thing didn’t count as poison. It didn’t damage the body, and after the effect passed, memories from the period of change wouldn’t disappear.
To go against the grandfather’s will to “pause the kill order,” and to use such underhanded methods, at one glance it could only be that Useless Owen.
“In a bit, cooperate with me. I’ll deliberately knock down this cutlery…” Salaar leaned close and whispered in Myss’s ear.
“Do you want to try it?”
Myss asked, pretending to be absentminded. His gaze jumped wildly between Salaar’s face and the cutlery, his pupils practically swaying into afterimages.
The corner of Salaar’s mouth twitched. “?”
“I’m a little curious about your past. In the entrance hall, they hung such a huge portrait of you. I’ve never seen you with that kind of expression.”
Myss mumbled and lightly poked the back of Salaar’s hand with his fingertip, as if testing a tightly closed door. “In any case, we have the contract. I won’t do anything to you.”
Salaar lowered his gaze. The silver cutlery reflected his distorted face, and for a moment, Myss couldn’t understand his expression.
“But if sixteen- or seventeen-year-old you aren’t very useful, then forget it.”
Myss immediately added, “I wouldn’t create trouble for us at a time like this… Huh?”
Salaar suddenly smiled.
Myss had likewise never seen this kind of smile on Salaar. At this moment, this human with an aged soul seemed like a child who wanted to play a prank.
“You always come up with the most unexpected evil ideas at the most troublesome times.”
Salaar placed his own fork into Myss’s hand, then grabbed Myss’s wrist and guided him to spear the honey-cooked apple closest to them.
“Although I originally had a plan, your idea is more interesting. Let us try it.”
The sharp fork tines pierced into the soft fruit, and the juice shone. Myss’s eyes widened slightly, and his garnet-like eyes were likewise astonishingly bright.
“Really?” Salaar was actually willing to play along with his mischief?
“If something goes wrong, make me ‘heal my heart.’ Even without an antidote, I can dissolve the drug’s effect.”
Salaar quietly added this, his lips already touching the soft cooked fruit.
“Watch me carefully, Myss. Don’t play too far.”
Was this a reminder, or an entrustment? Or trust?
Although they were bound by the contract, Myss’s heart still jumped, and a numb, tingling illusion ran over his back, as if some fluffy and fragile creature had voluntarily placed its neck into his hand.
“I know.” Myss lowered his voice, his eyes shining even brighter.
While he was at it, he swept his peripheral vision around the room. The Mud Knight and the nominal older brother were quite peaceful. They ate silently, quietly waiting for the time to converse after the dinner.
Not far away, Owen was madly sneaking glances in their direction, afraid they would be unable to confirm the identity of the one who had drugged Salaar. Only, from Owen’s perspective, the two of them were now shamelessly feeding each other, their cheeks flushed from “love.”
Almost at the same time, Salaar withdrew his own spying gaze. He slowly opened his mouth and swallowed that small piece of honey-cooked apple.
Gulp.
Salaar’s throat bobbed slightly. Myss and Owen swallowed almost at the same time, their expectant gazes sticking firmly to Salaar.
The hand Salaar had wrapped around Myss’s wrist abruptly relaxed. His fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly. His expression went dazed for an instant, and even his body swayed slightly.
The next second, he blinked, and his gaze completely changed.
The author has something to say:
Myss: Curiosity is so super satisfied that I actually forgot about the meat pie. [cat paw]
Young Saint Salaar is about to appear! [OK]
<<< || Table of Contents || >>>
Kinky Translations 