"May the lord's blessing soothe your soul," Holding her over Haruki's chest, Asuka closed her eyes to give out a prayer. "In the name of our land and our lord, healing touch!"
A gentle beam of light sprouted through her palms. Pressing it against Haruki's heart, Asuka braced herself, trying to complete the spell. As the light seeped through his body, Haruki's limbs relaxed on their own, and yet for some reason, a hint of stabbing pain continued to linger. The nature of the spell was such that while it healed Haruki's human body, it also attacked his demonic soul.
'At least the healing is more potent than the damage it inflicts.' Still suffering from the pain, Haruki propped himself upright and sat down on his bed.
"Master, you shouldn't get up," Asuka advised as concern showered down her cheeks. "What if you faint again?"
"I'm fine," Holding her hand, Haruki gave her a genuine smile.
In his eyes, Asuka was the only innocent person around him, and although it pained him to pretend to be her master, he took solace in knowing that she would no longer be hurt by that monster.
"Excuse me," A voice echoed outside the room.
"Michael, I can't allow you near your young master at the moment," A feminine voice followed.
There seemed to be some kind of conflict taking place right outside the bedroom. Looking for some sort of clue, Haruki turned to Asuka, but she shook her head in confusion as well.
"Ro-Ahem…Miss Rose, as the emperor's envoy, your noncompliance with me is a direct insult to the emperor's authority!" A loud thumping sound resonates throughout the place, it wasn't hard to judge that things were getting a little too heated.
"Sir Michael, it seems you've failed to consider Master Snow's condition, especially since he got sick in your proximity. Perhaps you managed to spread something foul to him?" Rose retorted, her tongue as sharp as a razor. "In any case, as the only remaining holder of the Frost name, it is my duty to protect him from all and every threat."
"Master…" Asuka mumbled, looking at Haruki.
The nervous look alone told him what she wanted to say, 'we should stop them', is what he picked up.
"Very well then, on the emperor's authority, I Michael Arc shall be your ju-"
"Wait…let him in," Haruki hollered to the maid standing guard outside.
'Besides, does a maid really think she can defeat a guy like him? He's known to chew dragons for breakfast.'
"But master Snow, what if he gives you some sort of disease?" She replied.
"Asuka, please talk to this maid," Tired of the stupidity, Haruki rested his head over his hands. "Reason with her while I talk to Michael, alright?"
Seemingly confused, Asuka gave Haruki a mystified glare. It made him wonder if he had done something out of character. Having just recovered from the sharp pain, his mind still didn't feel like it was in the right place.
'Dammit, I need to keep the act up.'
"Sure, Master Snow," She replied before heading towards the door.
Her hesitant steps outside clearly indicated that something was off. But since there was no way for him to figure it out all by himself, he decided to worry about it at a later time. Seeing Michael walking inside, Snow got off the bed and stood up to greet him properly. Besides, being bedridden around him couldn't have been a good idea.
"I apologize for the ruckus outside young Frost, your maids are quite persistent," Bowing his head, he let out a chuckle.
"She's not wrong though, I did faint in your presence, Michael," Moving his hands back, Haruki moved away from him and stood by the window. "I do not wish to be rude, but it seems the bandit attack opened a pandora's box of disease and discomfort for this place."
With a perplexed look on his face, Michael raised his head and glanced at Haruki.
"What are you insinuating, young Frost?" He questioned, composing himself straight.
"Once the ceremony is over…" Turning around, Haruki moved closer to him. "I'd advise you to be gone."
A visible frown appeared on Michael's face. However, it was quickly washed off by a gentle smile. Knowing his standing in the matter, he couldn't object to Frost's request. After all, Michael was visiting Snow's territory and he had every right to shoo him off once the ceremony was over.
"Very well, once my duties here conclude, I'll be on my back to the capital," Despite the cheery smile on his face, Haruki knew that he wasn't too pleased by the order. "Oh and before that, I came here to check on something."
"What is it?" Haruki replied.
"Are you done, Sir Michael? I'd prefer to keep your time with the young master to a minimum," Rose's voice from behind the door butted in.
"Almost, Miss Rose," He replied, continuing to glare at Haruki.
A moment of silence lingered between the men. The tension in the air was bleeding mistrust and at this point, Haruki could feel Michael's presence affecting his body once again. The sharp pain in his chest shot back up, and yet trying to keep up appearance he bit his cheeks to keep up a straight face.
"I can smell a curse on you, perhaps that's the cause of your distress," Squinting his eyes, Michael's eyes began to glow a golden glow. "Whatever it is, I can't say for sure. It's best you consult an expert or perhaps that slave trader that you let in town."
"We'll see, you can leave now," Holding his hand in the direction of the door, Haruki gestured for Michael to leave him alone.
Visibly annoyed, Michael made his way to the door only to be met with a furious Rose holding a massive cleaver with both of her hands. Fidgeting beside her was Asuka, clearly terrified of being stuck between the two.
"Leave," Rose commanded, flipping the cleaver to rest over her shoulder.
"Nice toy, Roselia Ironfrost," With that said in an indifferent tone, Michael passed by the two before heading down the passage.
With him finally gone, Haruki drew in a tired sigh of relief. Throwing himself back on the bed, he wondered how things escalated so easily so far.
'I assume he mistook the carnal curse for something else. Either way, I need to find a mate before the curse hits level three by the end of the week. If that happens…'
While Asmodia had blessed Haruki with many unique skills, one of which happened to be the Absolute corruption system, however, that also meant he had to carry the curse that affects all demons of lust.
"If you don't mate with someone before carnal curse reaches level three, your very soul will turn to dust," Ramming his mind with Moriyana's warning, he buried his head into the pillow for comfort.
"Asuka, take care of the young master now," Announcing that Rose left the two alone in the bedroom.
'I suppose it's time for me to show her the truth about her master.' Although it pained his heart to corrupt someone as innocent as her, he couldn't keep the memories of her suffering at the hands of her master to himself any longer.
"Asuka, can you prepare a bath for us?" Haruki asked, flipping around in bed to face her.
"Sure master! Wait…U-us?!" With her hand pressed against her cheeks, her face was flushed red like a cherry from shock.