Chapter 54

“Secret? Ah.”

Realizing what Khalid was talking about, Renato let out a small exclamation. He had been wondering for days whether to reveal his secret to Khalid.

In his heart, he wanted to reveal everything and ask for help. It was even more so because he believed that Khalid would seriously listen to his words without considering them vain lies.

For a couple of months after regression, Renato accepted the reality that came his way and struggled alone to protect his precious people. Because of that, he was under a lot of pressure without himself realizing it. And from some point on, he had the urge to share with someone else the time and pain that only he remembered.

So he kept thinking about it until he came here. However, his conclusion was that it was still too early to reveal everything. There were also several things that he didn’t know how to explain.

In addition, there was quite a lot of information in the future that would upset the current Khalid if he found out. Since the man had a strong sense of responsibility, if he knew that he couldn’t keep his promise to Renato or that his sister Maryam died in a suspicious accident, he would definitely feel very sorry and blame himself.

Renato didn’t want to see it happen. Right now, there was no need for Khalid to needlessly suffer from an event that had not yet occurred.

“The marriage contract has not been completed yet. I think that we have to hold a wedding ceremony and make a marriage vow to become a real couple……”

“Are you saying you won’t tell me until then?”

Khalid showed signs of dissatisfaction when Renato rejected him in a roundabout way. He didn’t expect that Renato would answer him easily, but when Renato refused, his mood still became bad.

“Then please tell me this. As a taster.”

Khalid suddenly had a wicked expression on his face, then lowered the hand that was holding Renato’s wrist and gently pressed it on Renato’s waist.

“What taster, ugh.”

When the man accurately touched his scar, Renato bounced back and subconsciously let out a groan. He had no idea how the man could always locate the scar like a ghost even though it was covered with clothes.

“The person who caused this scar, who was it?”

Khalid gently stroked his stiff waist, then asked in a quiet voice just like a whisper. Then, with his calloused thumb, he teased the area around the scar.

“Wait, don’t rub, ugh, uhm.”

Renato pushed the arm touching his scar, holding back his groans by biting his lower lip with his upper teeth. His body trembled and heated up with just a slight touch. Feeling the strange sensation, his lower abdomen stiffened and his toes curled up.

“You will hurt your lips.”

Khalid looked at Renato who groaned like a rabbit with his ears caught, then raised his other hand to press on the tightly closed lips. When Khalid’s fingertip dug between Renato’s lips, the upper teeth that had been pressing the soft flesh parted away, and a hot breath leaked out. Khalid’s large thumb swept across the bitten lower lip once and then moved away.

“Answer me and I’ll stop.”

“Huu, ah, seriously…… O, okay. Ugh, I will tell you, so please stop.”

Unable to endure the gentle stimulation on his sensitive skin, Renato declared surrender. But Khalid still tapped on his scar, not letting go until Renato really answered.

“……It’s, it’s Maximo Florence.”

As soon as Renato said the name, the finger stimulating his scar parted away. When he had succeeded in hearing about the culprit from Renato, Khalid’s eyes shone.

“As expected, it was that human.”

Hearing Khalid’s murmur, Renato realized the man had already guessed that Maximo was the culprit. Khalid, with a frown on his forehead, tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand at all.

“It would be a felony to leave a scar on an imperial family member’s body, but that jerk, no, that person named Maximo, why is he still unscathed? Did the Empress cover him?”

“No, well, it’s a bit complicated to explain, uhm……”

How could he explain so that Khalid would understand? Renato pursed his lips and carefully chose his words. After thinking for a while, he gathered his thoughts and cautiously began to speak.

“Actually, lord Maximo can’t remember inflicting this scar on me.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s not just lord Maximo. Neither His Majesty the Empress nor anyone else really knows. I am the only one who knows and remembers this.”

“Did they get some kind of group memory loss magic?”

When the enigmatic remarks continued, Khalid asked back with an absurd expression. Renato let out a small laugh because of his words.

“Haha, well…… You can think of it like that.”

Renato slowly nodded, saying Khalid was right. Only Renato went back to six years ago, so Khalid’s remark was not really wrong.

“Anyway, because of that, I can’t accuse Maximo of his crime right now. Of course there is no evidence that he did…… So I didn’t say it. I also tried to hide it from others because of that same reason.”

After finishing speaking, Renato bitterly smiled. He hoped Khalid would not ask further questions. He could not explain anymore.

“I can roughly understand why you are trying to hide it. When did you get the wound?”

“Uhm, contrary to what you may think, it’s actually not that long ago. No, should I say it has been a bit while? A few months ago?”

“A few months ago……”

Khalid pondered Renato’s answer and traced his memory. He only saw it briefly, but Renato’s scar looked like it had been there for at least several years.

Was it because of the unique healing power of the imperial family? Why can’t other people remember?

Khalid slightly frowned when his questions remained. He thought he would feel better when knowing who it was, but on the contrary, he felt frustrated. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like his mind was tangled in a mess.

“Is it possible that it was caused by a high-level curse or spell?”

“I don’t know much about those things, but I don’t think it was a curse or a spell. Actually, I have some guesses about its cause as well, but I’m not sure yet……”

Renato slurred the end of his words and looked at Khalid. He felt sorry because his answer seemed to give the man an even bigger headache.

“I’m really sorry that I couldn’t explain it properly, but it’s all the truth. I can only explain it this way right now.”

Renato’s head went down, and his voice became smaller and smaller. Khalid had a startled expression when he saw Renato drooping his head like a puppy soaked in the rain.

“Not at all. You didn’t want to talk about it, but I kept bothering you, Your Imperial Highness. Anyway, are you sure that that person, Maximo Florence, caused the wound?”

“Yes, I am sure. I also developed the post-traumatic stress disorder you told me about because of that, your highness.”

“I thought so as well. Anyway, it’s enough for me now that I know the culprit.”

Now that Khalid knew the culprit, he decided to back down first. It didn’t matter to him if Maximo remembered that or not. Khalid vowed that one day, he would inflict on Maximo a scar that was several times bigger than Renato’s scar. That was why he wanted to know who caused the scar in the first place.

“It must have been difficult for you to say, so thank you very much for letting me know. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask as well, Your Imperial Highness.”

“Really? Can I ask you anything?”

Hearing Khalid’s words, Renato pricked up his ears like a rabbit and raised his head. His pale purple eyes also sparkled. Khalid nodded, thinking Renato’s reaction was a little cute.

“If it is something I can answer, I will faithfully answer.”

“Then there is something I’m curious about……”

“Please tell me.”

“That, uhm.”

Even with Khalid’s permission, Renato was still hesitant to ask his question. Khalid gently raised the corners of his lips as a way to tell him not to feel burdened and to speak comfortably. Encouraged by that smile, Renato hesitatingly spoke up.

“Last time, you said that if we get married, I have to fulfill my duty as a companion, your highness. You also asked if I was prepared for that.”

“……Yes.”

Khalid paused when hearing Renato’s words, then replied a beat later. He wondered why Renato was suddenly bringing up this story, even though it was true that Khalid told him to ask anything.

“Are you okay with that, your highness?”

“What do you mean?”

Khalid tilted his head at Renato’s question and asked to elaborate a little more.

“That……”

Renato lowered his gaze and wiggled his hands, unable to look straight at Khalid. Then he mumbled.

“When you have your ruts, you have to spend the night with me, your highness. I have basic knowledge about Alphas and Omegas, but I didn’t know the details, so…… I looked up some books a few days ago……”

While Renato walked in and out of the library to find a way to treat his trauma, he also read a few books about Alphas and Omegas.

Up until now, because he was a Beta, he didn’t bother to look into this, and he also avoided it on purpose, but now that he would marry a dominant Alpha like Khalid, he felt the need to study. Above all, he was very concerned about the consummation duty that Khalid had said.