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00
The world praises pure love and goes mad for it. The so-called “Hanahaki Disease” is an affliction that grew out of that idea. The first time the Earl encountered the concept, he had been absolutely certain that such a pretentious illness would never fall upon him.
01
Lately the Earl had been run ragged over a new doll that Funtom Company was about to launch. Market research, product evaluations, meetings with various partners—everything piled up until he barely had a moment to breathe. Even the afternoon tea time he normally valued so highly had been pushed aside by the crush of work.
“Ah,” the Earl sighed, collapsing onto the desk, then lifted his head to look at his butler. “At least the Queen hasn’t assigned any tasks recently.”
The butler stood smiling at his side, pouring him a cup of Italian black tea and sliding it forward. “Your new product will surely bring excellent results.”
“I hope so.”
The Earl’s gaze lingered on the butler’s handsome face for a moment before he straightened, lifted the cup, and took a small sip. “Starting tomorrow, afternoon tea will resume as usual. I want chocolate-flavored desserts.”
“Yes, my lord.”
02
Perhaps because he had gone too long without sweets, the Earl found himself unusually unable to sleep that night. Tomorrow the new samples would arrive, yet he did not believe mere anticipation could keep him awake. He lay in bed staring idly at the faintly outlined ceiling when a sudden dry itch rose in his throat.
?
He frowned. He had come to London for market research, and before departure he had ordered Sebastian to investigate the local situation thoroughly. Clearly this was no contagious plague.
Could tipping his head back too far cause a throat itch? Hardly. He rolled onto his side, but the itch clung stubbornly to the back of his throat. He sat up abruptly. In that instant something seemed to surge from his lungs straight into the nerves of his brain—a sharp, tingling numbness like a weak electric current that pierced his defenses at once. He could not stop a dry retch.
“Ugh… cough, cough…”
Then came violent coughing. It felt as though vines had wrapped around his windpipe. Forced to lower his head, he covered his mouth and fought with all his strength against the stinging numbness rising from his throat. Something seemed to be pushed up along the airway… The Earl thought dizzily: a hallucination? He had no chronic illness or infection, so how could he be coughing something up…
The sensation of being completely ruled by physical reaction was unbearable. The fierce coughing lasted more than a minute before it finally eased. Tears had nearly been forced from his eyes. At the same time he felt something wet and foreign in his palm. Sitting on the bed waiting for the residual discomfort in his throat to fade, he could not help worrying: had he coughed up blood?
The bedroom was pitch-dark with the lamp extinguished. Even with the Earl’s excellent vision he could not make out what it was. He climbed out of bed, drew back the curtains, and examined his hand by moonlight.
“…Petals?”
he murmured.
Lying in his palm were white flower petals stained with blood. He touched a dry spot; the texture was extremely soft. Real petals.
Was this a prank? Yet they had truly come from inside his body. What was this? The Earl stared blankly at the blood-clumped petals in his hand, at a loss. Had he truly fallen ill? What disease made a person cough up flowers? That belonged only in novels, didn’t it?
…Hanahaki Disease?
It was, in fact, considered an illness. He had stumbled across the concept long ago while reading an old tome, though at the time he had never treated it as something that could occur in reality. How could flowers grow inside a human body? Blood was not soil, organs were not fertilizer, and a person was not a garden. If someone could catch this so-called “Hanahaki Disease,” would they also need to hire a gardener for their body? Preferably someone like Finny, whose unnatural strength could yank flowers, branches, even trees up by the roots.
Yet every symptom he now exhibited matched the description in that ancient text.
Except for the heart of “loving someone who cannot return the love.”
At that thought the Earl almost laughed inappropriately. A person who had escaped from hell—whom was he supposed to love without return?
The only cure for Hanahaki patients was a kiss from the one they loved but could not have. The text called it “the purest form of love.” Toward whom could he feel a love so extreme that it transformed his body this drastically? Whose kiss did he need?
Lizzy?
Impossible. He had never intended to marry her, nor felt any “love” for her. Once revenge was complete he would die, and the girl’s fiancé would simply be replaced.
Then who else could it be?
Sebastian…?
No, no. He did not believe he had fallen for the demon to that extent. …Although they shared more than enough understanding, and the bond accumulated over the years far exceeded the contract, “love” was out of the question.
Those afflicted with Hanahaki would die within a month, suffocated by petals blocking the throat.
If he truly had Hanahaki…
The Earl clenched his teeth.
He refused to die from such a stupid disease!
The fireplace in the room had already gone out. He began considering how to dispose of the petals in his hand. Tossing them into the fireplace would mean Sebastian would discover them while cleaning the next day, and residual warmth might even start a fire—the carpet lay right in front of it. If he went outside to deal with them, a creature that never needed sleep would certainly notice. He could already picture the smile on Sebastian’s face when the demon caught him!
Damn it. What a nuisance.
He went to the bedside cabinet, rummaged through it, and finally found a handkerchief. Glancing around, he stuffed the petals into the handkerchief with lightning speed and folded it back into its original shape.
Sebastian was not supposed to clean here. The Earl thought: if Sebastian found it, he would simply claim it was a keepsake or something of the sort. Clumsy, but no better excuse presented itself.
Another wave of numbness itched at the back of his throat. He covered his mouth reflexively; fortunately the prickling sensation faded quickly and did not trigger another violent coughing fit.
He looked toward the bedroom door and thought: surviving the night without Sebastian noticing was a stroke of pure luck. He had no idea what the demon would become upon learning of this illness—his long-awaited soul about to fly away. Wouldn’t he turn into a frenzied beast and swallow him whole on the spot?
He would never allow the demon to take his life so easily before revenge was finished.
03
Because he had slept poorly the previous night, dark circles stood out starkly beneath the Earl’s eyes against his pale face the next morning.
“Did you not sleep on schedule last night?” the butler asked in a low voice while fastening the buttons of his young master’s coat.
The Earl felt an inexplicable sense of guilt. He forced a casual air. “You needn’t concern yourself with that.”
“Caring for one’s master’s health is a butler’s duty.” Sebastian’s voice had grown noticeably heavier.
…Honestly. A demon who constantly longed to devour him, yet always put on this pure and virtuous act—was this what he called “aesthetics”?
After muttering to himself, the Earl gave no direct answer. The attitude clearly displeased the demon, but at present he had no intention of catering to Sebastian’s mood.
“Enough, Sebastian,” he said. “What is today’s schedule?”
“A new sample will arrive this morning; you should receive it around ten o’clock and be able to evaluate it. In the afternoon there are fencing, genealogy and heraldry, and classical studies lessons.” The butler supported the Earl’s arm. “You may proceed to the dining room now.”
“Understood.”
Without so much as a glance at the butler, the Earl walked out of the room.
Sebastian watched his master’s retreating figure and narrowed his eyes.
04
Damn it—what had that been just now? Why had his heart felt so uncomfortable in front of Sebastian?
The Earl sat at the main desk in the study, pondering. Was it a side effect of the disease, or the demon’s power affecting his body? Logic said no; Sebastian did not use those powers under ordinary circumstances. And if he had, the reaction would not be like this.
He had earlier ordered Sebastian to bring out that old tome. Sebastian had even teased him for being unusually diligent today. Diligent? It was purely for the sake of saving his own life.
He carefully read the passages describing “Hanahaki Disease.” One line stated: the illness intensifies the longing for the beloved, manifesting as accelerated heartbeat or even palpitations. In severe cases, the sufferer may be unable to restrain themselves from vomiting on the spot when facing the one they love.
Truly terrifying.
It couldn’t really be that reason, could it? Him, in love with Sebastian? That was no different from a chicken about to be slaughtered falling in love with the butcher. How could he possibly love a demon who would take his life?! At most he relied on that all-powerful demonic strength!
Lizzy would be a better answer!
Conveniently, Lizzy was coming to the manor that afternoon, claiming it was to maintain their engagement. …Though such a situation was unlikely with her. The Earl was firmly convinced his feelings for the girl were limited to friendship and a touch of pity, yet for the moment he could only pin his hopes there. Asking Lizzy for a kiss might be easy enough; but if it truly was Sebastian… he refused even to imagine it.
“Young master.”
A knock sounded at the door.
The Earl’s heart tightened.
“Come in.”
“Young master, the sample has arrived.” Sebastian entered slowly, carrying an elegant box. “It is a new candy developed by the manufacturing company.”
“Ah… put it down.”
The disease had truly shaken him; even his words lacked their usual composure. He kept his head lowered over the book, not daring to look directly at Sebastian, as though repenting for the earlier wild imaginings of love between them.
“Yes.”
The butler placed the box on the desk and withdrew. Only when the Earl heard the lock click did he finally relax enough to think freely.
It was real.
Truly real.
Whenever he faced Sebastian, his heartbeat truly sped up… How could this be…
He slowly raised his face.
“Ah…?!”
“You look as though you are in a state that worries me,” the butler’s face was right in front of his eyes. “If you need something to refresh yourself, I can brew a stronger cup of tea.”
The Earl had no words for the feeling in that moment. His heart pounded so hard it seemed ready to burst from his chest. He stared blankly at the butler before him; the desperate numbness erupted without warning in the back of his throat.
!!!!
“…No,” he forced down the itch clogging his throat, speaking with great difficulty, “there’s no need. Leave. I’m fine.”
“But you—”
“I said leave!”
My naive master, the demon thought coldly while studying the Earl’s expression, though his face remained perfectly respectful. From the Earl’s perspective the demon merely gave him a complicated look and then excused himself.
…And am I any less naive?
Standing outside the door, the demon lowered his gaze to the blood-stained flower resting in his own palm.
05
In the end the sample evaluation was postponed until the next day. The Earl’s explanation was that his poor condition that day might lead to an inaccurate assessment. Because of the afternoon lessons and Elizabeth’s impending visit, tea time was moved to after dinner. Though this displeased him somewhat, he truly did not want to lose composure in front of Sebastian again.
“Ciel—!”
The girl’s sweet voice shattered his thoughts. He looked up to see Elizabeth rushing toward him.
“Wait, Lizzy…”
“Ciel, it’s been so long since I saw you—!”
Elizabeth threw her arms around him. The impact forced him back half a step and brought a dull ache. Out of politeness he wrapped his arms around the girl’s waist.
“Lizzy… please don’t throw yourself at me like that anymore,” the Earl said, sounding rather helpless. Elizabeth lifted her bright green eyes. “Does Ciel dislike it?”
What a question…!
“I don’t dislike it,” he finally said.
“Eh…?”
He racked his brains. “Because you’re wearing a skirt. If you fell, it wouldn’t be very ‘ladylike.’”
“Is that so?” Elizabeth considered thoughtfully, then tightly grasped the Earl’s hand. “But you needn’t worry, Ciel. I won’t fall because of that!”
……
The Earl nodded resignedly.
“Oh, right! I heard Funtom Company is releasing a new candy!” Elizabeth smiled and tugged his arm. “What flavor is it?”
He clenched his fingertips. He had been trying hard to sense his own body, yet to his despair, neither when Lizzy had thrown herself at him nor when he had returned the embrace had he felt the slightest reaction. The person was not Lizzy.
He had already expected this… yet still.
“Ciel?”
Elizabeth waved a hand in front of his face. He snapped back to himself, recalled her question, and answered flatly, “Milk flavor.”
“Milk! I love that flavor,” Elizabeth looked even more delighted, her sparkling emerald eyes all the more charming. “May I try some?”
“I’ll send some to Aunt’s house,” the Earl said.
Elizabeth’s smile grew even brighter. “That’s wonderful! Since I’ve finally come to Ciel’s house, how about we play some fun games?”
Instantly the image of Sebastian teaching him to dance rose in his mind. It took several seconds for his gaze to refocus on Elizabeth’s expression before he managed to reply, “What would you like to play?”
She tugged at his sleeve, looking at him expectantly. “Hide-and-seek?”
?
“All right.”
06
If only he hadn’t agreed to such a childish game with Lizzy… The Earl gazed with deep regret at the manor in chaos, while Mey-Rin and Finny stood before him looking thoroughly embarrassed.
“Sebastian, clean this up.”
He gave the order and returned to the study. The three servants exchanged glances. Sebastian finally clapped his hands. “Everyone, return to your rooms. I will handle the cleaning here.”
“Ah, Mr. Sebastian…” Mey-Rin began, “this…”
“I will take care of it.” Sebastian had already begun gathering the scattered items. “Go rest.”
“…All right.”
The three servants finally withdrew, gazes full of admiration.
Sebastian’s cleaning ability had been thoroughly honed during his time as butler, and with the demon’s advantages it took only a few minutes for the manor to look brand-new. Of course, there was still the young master’s tea time; he therefore headed straight for the kitchen.
Meanwhile the Earl was nearly tearing his hair out in the study.
He could not understand where things had gone wrong, or why he had fallen in love with Sebastian. Facing Mey-Rin, Bard, or Finny left him completely calm, yet the moment Sebastian appeared his heart slipped entirely out of his control and began pounding wildly.
…What on earth was going on.
He believed he felt not the slightest affection for the demon—perhaps dependence, but that was an unavoidable human instinct.
He began to suspect a prank again. Could this all be the demon’s twisted sense of humor? Sebastian was perfectly capable of such a thing… wasn’t he?
While playing with Lizzy earlier he had felt his throat growing increasingly nauseating and had even coughed hard several times. Yet there had been no accelerated heartbeat. The moment Sebastian entered, however, his heart felt as though it were about to give out.
Did he truly need a kiss from the demon?
And how was he supposed to obtain that kiss? More importantly, how was he supposed to accept the cruel fact that he “loved” him? The Earl had always believed the complex feelings he held toward Sebastian should be dark and ugly, yet they supposedly represented “the purest love”?
What would Sebastian think upon learning of it? Give him a kiss so the contract could continue, then let him carry this inexplicable emotion for the rest of his life until his soul was consumed and his life taken? Mock him for such weak feelings, grow disappointed in his soul, and simply abandon him? Or, holding that contempt, do nothing and say nothing—simply bind him and devour him like a beast?
“Young master.”
!
“Come in.”
Sebastian entered carrying a perfectly presented chocolate soufflé.
“…”
The Earl watched the dessert placed before him. Mechanically he picked up the silver spoon beside the plate and tapped the thin, crisp shell. It cracked, releasing the soft, fluffy interior, and a rich chocolate aroma filled the room.
“Once you have finished eating, you may bathe.”
“Mm.”
“You do not look well.”
The Earl put a spoonful of the dessert into his mouth and only after a few seconds replied, “I simply didn’t sleep well.”
“I will prepare some milk for you tonight.”
“Understood,” he answered absently.
Sebastian continued to stand at his side. The longer the butler remained, the more pronounced the discomfort in his chest became. The Earl could no longer endure him standing there and spoke rather dismissively: “Sebastian, go organize the letters received this morning. There is no need for you to wait on me during this meal.”
He knew the request was abrupt; he rarely dismissed Sebastian while eating. Yet he felt he could almost hear his own heart pounding, and more alarming still, the vibration seemed to transmit into his lungs. He already sensed a fine, dense itch accumulating in his chest; it might erupt within minutes. He simply could not keep Sebastian here until he finished eating while remaining rational.
He did not dare look at the butler as he spoke. Fortunately the butler did not make any further trouble the way he had that morning; he merely answered “Yes” and obediently left.
Feeling his heartbeat gradually settle, the Earl rubbed his chest a few times and only then began to ponder: this fellow’s temper had been rather strange these past few days as well. That morning he had looked ready to strip him bare and examine him thoroughly; now he was as calm as ever… or rather, a bit too calm. The Earl had not expected Sebastian to leave without any reaction at all.
But who could understand a demon’s thoughts? At least the man was gone. Moments earlier he had nearly felt he was about to cough something up; coughing a clump of blood-stained flowers in front of Sebastian would have been more than merely disgusting.
07
Lying in bed, the Earl recalled the torturous bath after the meal. When Sebastian’s hands had brushed over his body he had nearly trembled; thankfully he had restrained the physical impulse. The usually routine bathing process had felt especially long today. The thought that tomorrow he would again have to accept Sebastian’s service made his skin crawl.
He even briefly considered ordering Sebastian to handle miscellaneous chores and appear only when commanded. The idea lasted less than three seconds before he rejected it himself: the household had no suitable servant for personal attendance, and such an arrangement would only arouse Sebastian’s suspicion. The demon’s role was not limited to butler.
…Sigh.
He rolled over and restlessly kicked the covers.
The familiar itch rose in his throat. He had only just gone to bed; a violent coughing fit now would certainly disturb Sebastian! Gritting his teeth, he cleared his throat in an attempt to swallow the itch back down. It did no good.
What a troublesome, damned disease! He cursed inwardly, then buried his face in the pillow, using the large, soft cushion to muffle the coughs he could no longer hold back. While enduring the needle-like pain in his throat he worried that Sebastian would discover him.
Something seemed to be rising in his windpipe… was he about to cough up petals again?
“Cough… ugh…”
He covered his mouth.
There was indeed something in his palm. His throat felt as though it had been scraped raw with sandpaper; the rough pain forced several more coughs from him.
Once the discomfort gradually subsided, he opened his hand. Even without going to the bedside he could see that more petals—and more blood on them—had come up this time. He reached an immediate conclusion: the condition was worsening.
Those who contracted Hanahaki and failed to receive a kiss from the one they loved would eventually suffocate when the petals blocked the trachea. At the thought a heavy feeling settled in his chest.
…He had to find a way to obtain that kiss from Sebastian first.
He absolutely could not die here from something like this. He had already paid far too much for revenge; he would not fail at the last hurdle.
08
“Sebastian…”
The Earl lifted his face helplessly, despair of suffocation enveloping him. His hand rose weakly, strength drained by the lack of air. The butler stood a short distance away, expression cold, gaze sharp as ice.
“Come here…!”
The hoarse voice revealed how wretched his condition had become. The demon did not move, continuing to regard him with those unreadable eyes. He crawled forward a few clumsy steps before collapsing again. The demon watched his miserable state as though observing a play, amusement in his gaze.
“This… is an order… cough…” The Earl’s voice grew fainter; blood began to trickle from the corner of his lips. Only then did the demon show a reaction, approaching the weakened Earl with deliberate steps. The Earl clutched at the arriving pant leg as if it were a lifeline.
The demon crouched and tilted the Earl’s chin up. The boy’s pupils contracted sharply—then the demon opened his mouth.
“Stop…!!!”
But the sharp fangs did not come as he had expected. Everything around him quickly darkened; the demon’s presence grew thicker, that familiar scent of hell. The look of helplessness on the other’s face only deepened his despair. He struggled frantically, only to hear: “You are even weaker than I imagined.”
“No… no…!”
The Earl jerked upright, eyes flying open.
“…Young master?”
Before him was… Sebastian…?
Panting heavily, he tried to make out the butler’s face through still-blurred vision. He could not clearly read Sebastian’s expression, yet it was an ordinary human face. He exhaled in relief.
“Are you all right?” Sebastian asked with what seemed like concern.
The Earl waved a hand. “…Fine.”
More pressing was the heavy, itchy discomfort in his chest. The symptoms of Hanahaki seemed even more pronounced today; it felt as though branches and leaves covered the inside of his chest, every breath and heartbeat brushing against roots and sending dense waves of itch.
“Leave.”
“Do you not require my assistance to change?”
The Earl lay back down. “No need. I have a headache today. Postpone the entire schedule by one hour.”
The butler fell silent. The Earl rolled over, buried his face in the pillow, and closed his eyes.
After a moment he heard the door close.
…Had he really gotten away with it that easily?
09
When Sebastian entered, the Earl was already deeply asleep. A demon’s vision was excellent; even in such poor light he could clearly see the expression on the young master’s face.
He stood silently at the bedside, gazing at his little master. The Earl who was usually so decisive and even somewhat cold while working looked so obedient in sleep; the hard lines of his brows and eyes had softened.
Moonlight filtered through the curtains, scattering star-like spots across the carpet, one beam falling across the Earl’s face. The demon could not help leaning closer.
“…My lord.”
His lips moved.
Truthfully, this was the first time Sebastian had done such a thing since becoming the Earl’s contracted demon and butler. Stealing into the master’s bedroom while he slept was thoroughly dishonorable.
Yet at present he no longer cared about propriety.
He shifted his gaze from the Earl’s face to the bedside cabinet. It had two drawers. The demon crouched carefully and opened the upper one.
A neatly folded white handkerchief lay inside. Almost holding his breath, the demon reached out and gently unfolded it.
White petals with curling edges, stained with blood that had dried to brown, rested quietly in the center of the handkerchief.
The demon could not describe what he felt in that moment. The heart within his human vessel pounded so hard it seemed ready to shatter his very soul. He turned to look at the Earl’s quiet, soft sleeping face and for a time found himself speechless. Then he looked back, stared at the petals for a long while, and finally carefully refolded the handkerchief and returned it to the drawer.
“My lover.”
the demon said.
10
The sample evaluation was forcibly postponed by the Earl until three days later. He had wanted to delay it further, but the manufacturing company would no longer tolerate such indulgence.
The Earl’s condition had clearly deteriorated over the past few days; even sitting at the desk he looked rather sickly.
“Sebastian… bring the sample.” His voice carried an obvious hoarseness. The butler obeyed, placing the package that had arrived days earlier on the Earl’s desk.
The Earl regarded it with little interest. He opened the box, unwrapped a milk-flavored candy, and put it in his mouth. He chewed; a taste of blood spread across his tongue.
……!
Petals surged up from his lungs.
Sebastian stood at his side. In panic the Earl instinctively glanced at his butler, then quickly averted his eyes. Forcing himself to remain composed, he mechanically chewed what was in his mouth. The petals continued rising from his throat into his mouth, yet to keep Sebastian from noticing he forced himself to chew them to pieces.
Blood mixed with the strange taste of the petals coated his tongue, blending with the cloying sweetness of the milk candy; nausea rose. Watching Sebastian from the corner of his eye, he forced the chewed petals down.
It proved a poor choice.
“Cough, cough… ugh, cough cough cough…”
Without warning the Earl began coughing violently. The butler’s brow furrowed sharply.
The palpitations and the numbness in his throat made the urge to vomit even stronger. In that moment the Earl nearly despaired. He desperately wanted to order Sebastian out, yet the cursed physical reaction suppressed that need, forcing his body to serve the damned disease with single-minded focus.
“Ugh… cough cough… ugh…”
He covered his mouth in terror.
The familiar foreign sensation was in his palm, along with the familiar wetness.
He had coughed up flowers in front of Sebastian. The demon could not possibly be ignorant of Hanahaki Disease; the Earl was certain Sebastian knew the contents of every book in the manor. In near despair he lowered his head, only to have the demon tilt his face back up.
“You have contracted ‘Hanahaki Disease.’”
The demon’s tone was utterly certain, utterly calm. That calmness shattered the last of the Earl’s already fragile psychological defenses. He suddenly slapped the demon’s face away, then stood up with a crash in a stress reaction, head bowed tightly.
“Get out.”
“Do you still refuse to admit it?” the demon stared fixedly at him.
The Earl raised his head, eyes brimming with tears.
“What do you want me to admit?!”
“…” The butler stepped closer and lifted a hand as though to wipe away the tears. “You look truly pitiful like this.”
Unable to hold back any longer, the Earl let out soft sobs, molars clenched tight. The expression on the face before him held a trace of pity and something unreadable. Perhaps his mind had gone foggy; in that moment he felt no shock at the demon’s almost gentle behavior.
“…Just eat me already.”
“Ha, young master,” the demon shook his head as if helpless, “no wonder you humans understand so little about demons… Hold out your hand.”
The Earl’s hands remained pressed against his sides. Sebastian forcibly pulled one arm up; the boy struggled, to no avail.
“Demons likewise pursue pure things… To me, your existence is pure enough—whether soul or anything else. Therefore it is only natural that I should develop what is called ‘pure love’ for you.”
The demon held the Earl’s hand and brought it to his own lips. The boy watched as the demon opened his mouth; beneath the sharp fangs was…
…a moist petal.
The Earl’s eyes widened as he looked at the blood remaining at the corner of the demon’s mouth and the petal in his palm that had not come from his own body.
“…What.”
His voice trembled.
The demon smiled with pleasure. “Can you not believe it?”
No… that wasn’t right. The Earl’s mind had turned to cake batter; he had never anticipated such a scene. This… was wrong. This was too frightening. A demon developing feelings—developing pure love—for a human, and especially for him…
Was this a joke?!
“You… you…?”
“Yes, just as you thought.” The demon looked at him. “As for the motive, I have already explained it to you.”
“But I…”
“That is for you to consider yourself.” The demon’s face drew even closer, almost within touching distance; those eyes began to redden slightly.The Earl instinctively stepped back, only to be firmly held. “What do you think?”
“…Why do you find me pure?”
The demon paused, then gently brushed a hand across the boy’s cheek. The motion was terrifyingly tender.
“I would like to ask the same,” the demon smiled. “Why does a pure being like you exist in this world? Sometimes I even feel you are not human.”
“……”
Silence fell. The Earl looked completely stunned, his gaze unable to focus, unfocused pupils fixed on the demon’s red eyes. After more than half a minute the boy finally recovered from his daze, clarity returning to his eyes.
“…” He seemed almost relieved. When he next met the demon’s gaze there was a new firmness in his eyes. “This isn’t a prank, is it.”
The demon’s pupils contracted slightly; in their place appeared the familiar, almost obsessive hunger. Whether for his soul or for him as a person, the Earl could not tell.
“It is not.”
He did not know what to say—was this a deep confession? A demon speaking such words to a powerless human was truly nauseating… Unconsciously the Earl brushed the hand still clenched around the petals across his chest; the throbbing there sent blood rushing through him. The death destined at the end of the contract still hung over his heart like a fog, yet in that moment he wanted only to cast it aside. This was probably the most irrational moment he had experienced since escaping that hell; he actually found himself wanting to love this demon, and even to accept the other’s love in return.
He clenched his hand and asked, “When did you discover it?”
“I contracted it as well.” The demon spread his hands.
A demon’s powers of observation were truly astonishing.
The Earl stared into Sebastian’s eyes and thought. In the span of a single day, a relationship of immense importance to him had been dramatically reshaped. From learning of his own illness, to identifying the true object of his love, to breaking through that final barrier—everything felt like a dream.
If Sebastian had fallen ill earlier than he, why had he shown not the slightest crack? Did demons not die from this disease? Or… had he been certain the Earl would suffer the same, deliberately waiting until the boy could no longer endure it?
“Sebastian…” the Earl called softly.
The butler obediently drew closer.
The Earl’s gaze focused on the blood at the corner of the demon’s mouth. He suddenly turned, threw open the wide study window behind him, and scattered the petals clenched in both hands into the air.
London winters were cold. The Earl felt the chill rush against his face. Turning back, he saw the demon’s tightened pupils. He said, “Fortunately resolving this matter did not cost me half my life.”
“…Even if I had not contracted the same disease as you, once I learned you were troubled by it I would still have given you a kiss,” the demon’s pupils slowly returned to normal size. “After all, within you resides the soul I have long desired. It does not change because of this pure love of yours. And I am confident that the object of your love would not fall outside my expectations.”
That statement directly answered the earlier question, and it was surprising enough. Had his usual demeanor truly shown such dependence that the demon had grown this confident? …He had expected the demon to scorn him for developing such fragile, soft emotions and then simply devour him, contract be damned.
…A demon’s way of thinking truly differed vastly from a human’s.
The Earl mentally clicked his tongue, looked at the person before him, and raised a hand to remove the black eye-patch that covered the contract eye.
“…Then, Sebastian.”
“Please give your order.”
The Earl drew a deep breath. The contract eye glowed faintly.
“Kiss me. That is an order.”
“Yes, my lover.”
Fin.
—
Night.
Facing the butler lying beside him, the Earl turned over with complicated feelings.
The demon’s arm came around from behind, pulling him into a warm embrace.
“…Hey!” The Earl still had not fully adjusted to the change in their relationship. He struggled shyly and restlessly for a few moments, only to be pressed even more tightly against the demon’s chest.
“You should sleep. Tomorrow’s schedule is packed.”
The demon buried his face against the Earl’s neck and closed his eyes as he spoke.
“……”
Even without looking, one could tell the Earl’s ears and face had turned completely crimson. At the thought the demon could not help curving his lips.
“…Fine.” The breath against his neck was far too much. The Earl reluctantly turned back, allowing them to embrace face-to-face in such an intimate posture, even resting one hand on the butler’s waist, and muttered softly.
—