CHAPTER 25: CHAPTER 25: HE’S ANGRY

The carriage rattled to a halt before the tall gates of Meical’s estate.

Min-jae stepped down first, his expression unreadable, but his fingers were clenched so tightly around the diary that his knuckles had turned white. He did not wait for Saar to follow him, nor did he spare a glance at the trunks filled with clothing.

"Take Saar to a room.." he told one of the maids, his voice steady though his throat burned. "Send the trunks to my husband’s chambers.."

As for him? He needed a bath.

The staff hurried to obey, but Min-jae was already gone, striding toward the stairs.

He needed water, heat, steam...anything to scour away the stench of that house.

The bath was always ready, fed by the underground springs, but the relief he craved refused to come.

No matter how hard he scrubbed, the filth remained. The memory of Dorian’s weight, Veynar’s leering eyes, their poisonous words,it clung to his skin like grease, sinking deeper with every frantic stroke of the cloth.

The harder he scrubbed, the more the truth pressed against him. During the carriage ride he had seen them, the memories Kaizar had some desperately tried to froget.

They were unbidden and cruel. His uncle, his cousin, their laughter, their hands, the way they had treated his body as if it belonged to them. The visions were fragments, but they were enough to traumatize him.

His breath caught, his stomach lurching, and he wished for a moment he could rip off his skin and start again in another vessel altogether.

Tears pricked his eyes before he realized they were falling. His shoulders trembled as the water rippled around him, a broken sound escaping his throat.

That was when he heard it, the hurried steps in the corridor. He turned sharply just as the door opened. Meical stood there, his breath uneven, his face flushed with urgency. For the first time, Min-jae saw an expression on him that was neither calm nor composed.

His eyes burned as though he had run all the way here, caught between fury and fear.

Meical came closer, crouching beside the bath. "Who made you cry?" His voice was low, but the anger beneath it was unmistakable.

He been so worried when he got to the Amagi house and he couldn’t find Kaizar, only to come home and see him crying.

What had they done to him?!

The question broke the thin barrier Min-jae had built. His lips trembled, his voice cracked. "They hurt me.." he whispered.

"They touched me and said all kinds of filthy things. I was his nephew. His cousin. They didn’t care. They forced me to cross lines I never wanted. I’m not that perverted."

His tears fell harder. The words tasted like poison, but speaking them loosened something in his chest, and at the same time it tore him apart.

Meical’s eyes widened, his jaw tightening until the muscle twitched. Without hesitation, he slipped his arms beneath Min-jae and lifted him out of the water as though he weighed nothing.

The anger in his expression was sharpened into something deadly, but his hold was steady. He carried Min-jae to the bed and laid him down carefully, his hands lingering just long enough to push damp strands of hair from his face.

"I’ll erase them. I’ll erase them all.." Meical murmured, pressing soft kisses against Min-jae’s cheeks, his brow, the corners of his lips. "Every touch, every trace of them. I’ll make them vanish from you."

But Min-jae shook his head violently, panic flashing in his eyes. "No. Not where they touched. Please... don’t." His voice broke again. "Just hold me. Hold me and I’ll be fine."

The plea silenced Meical. He gathered Min-jae against his chest and wrapped him in his arms. "Then I’ll hold you.." he said, his voice steadier now. "I’ll hold you until it fades."

Min-jae clutched the fabric of his shirt and buried his face against him. Gradually the trembling eased, his breathing slowed, and exhaustion overtook him. Within minutes he had fallen into a deep sleep, his damp lashes resting against pale cheeks.

Meical stayed where he was for a long moment, staring down at the man in his arms. His heart ached at the sight, but beneath it, fury gathered like a storm.

They dared?!

Veynar and Dorian Amagi?!

Father and son?! They had dared to touch what was his.

When Min-jae’s sleep seemed deep enough, Meical lowered him gently onto the pillows and tucked the blankets securely around him. His gaze shifted toward the wardrobe, now filled with Kaizar’s clothing. The sight caught him by surprise, but only for an instant. This was Kaizar’s home now. His sanctuary. No one would defile it again.

He leaned close, pressing a final kiss to Min-jae’s damp hair before standing. Downstairs, his voice rang with iron when he addressed the butler.

"Bring me my sword. And by sword. I mean I’m going to cut off heads today.."

The butler bowed and hurried away. Meical waited only a heartbeat before turning toward the doors.

Saar appeared at the entrance, blocking his path. He stood tall, his expression unreadable, but his eyes glinted with something resolute. "Governor.." he said evenly, "I wish to come with you."

Meical looked at him, hand tightening around the hilt of the sword just handed to him as the butler bowed and left. "And why is that? And who are you?"

Saar bowed "My name is Saar my Lord. I’m Lord Kaizar’s subordinate. I take care of the dirty work and I wish to avenge my master.."

Meical eyed him for a moment, he often heard that there was a man behind Kaizar that took care of his dirty work. He guessed he had brought him back.

Still, he shook his head. "If I let you help me I won’t get the satisfaction I’m looking for. Stay here and look after your master in my absence. I will take care of the rest. If he asks for my location. Tell him I went to take care of a few loose ends."