Chapter 1: The Gods’ Plan (1)
“So you’ve finally arrived, insolent Iskandel.” Karasvati, emerging from the crown prince’s chambers looking as if she’d had an unspeakably debauched time, stopped short and sharply rebuked the man before her. “You’re probably the only man in the world who would repeatedly stand up to the goddess of art and the goddess of chaos.”
“He’s late so often it’s not even surprising anymore,” Disorde added, her arm linked with Karasvati’s. She clicked her tongue in disapproval, scanning the newly arrived man from head to toe.
The man called Iskandel lowered his brows in a mask of disbelief. “You’re leaving already? I rushed here, thinking I couldn’t possibly make the goddesses wait for a wretch like me again.”
“For someone who ‘rushed,’ you’re far too late,” said Disorde.
“At a human’s pace, this was the best I could do.”
“You used that exact excuse last time. Which is why I went to the trouble of gifting you a hand-picked, magnificent horse.”
“And thanks to that magnificent horse, I managed to arrive just before you departed, wouldn’t you say? Seeing you off, even for a moment, eases my guilt for being late every time.” Smiling with his eyes as if truly sorry, Iskandel sighed so deeply his shoulders shook, and he tilted his head slightly. “It also makes me jealous, seeing you two always having such a pleasant time with my older brother without me.”
As Iskandel gave a regretful little smile with brows slightly furrowed, as if genuinely disappointed, the goddesses grimaced with a dry laugh.
“How can he lie so blatantly?”
Iskandel neither confirmed nor denied it, simply responding with an enigmatic smile. His jet-black hair, disheveled on his handsome forehead, shifted with his movements—a testament to whatever he had been doing. His broad chest was shamelessly exposed, his robes completely undone as if they had no ties or sash. It was quite a sight. Karasvati shot a glare at the man, who didn’t have a single tidy spot on him, and poked him in the solar plexus.
“I know you were hiding around that corner, just pretending to come running out of breath the moment we appeared,” she accused.
“How can you say something so disheartening when I’ve run so hard that my clothes are a mess? Isn’t that right?” Iskandel pulled his attendant into the conversation, seeking an ally.
The tall man standing at the corner, the goddess pointed to, folded his hands politely and bowed, siding with Iskandel as if he’d been waiting for the cue. “As you know, his highness is a smooth talker, but his movements are not agile in the slightest.”
As the two goddesses snorted, narrowing their eyes at the young men’s shameless denial, Iskandel finally let out a silent sigh of relief. Looks like I’ll get through today safely as well. Reading the amusement in the goddess’s eyes, he let out a great, exaggerated sigh of disappointment.
“I will strive to be with you both next time. It brings tears to my eyes, being a step too late every time.”
Karasvati’s sharp glare, which had been fixed resentfully on the sneaky man who always wriggled his way out with one excuse or another, couldn’t stay for long before it softened, and her lips moved into a gentle curve.
“Ugh. I know it’s clearly a lie, but I can’t stay mad looking at him.”
“Karasvati, you… You just promised you were going to teach this brat a lesson today!” Disorde snapped before striding up to Iskandel and seizing his chin. “I swear on my honor as the goddess of chaos, you will pay a hefty price for this before long. The price for making Karasvati and me make do with the next best thing.”
“My goodness, what are you saying? It is only right that a lowly man like myself is the chicken, while my noble older brother is the pheasant. I believe it’s correct to say that the esteemed goddesses have dined on pheasant every single time.”
“Precisely. You’ll pay the price for running that mouth of yours with such sweet-sounding lies.”
“Stop it, Disorde. Why are you being so cruel when you’re secretly enjoying this?” Karasvati wrapped her arm around Iskandel’s, giggling as she kissed his cheek.
Disorde clicked her tongue, still glaring at him as if vexed, and gave a chilling warning. “I could just kidnap you and lock you in my temple right now.”
“I’d look forward to it,” Iskandel purred, the lie slipping out without hesitation. He gently took hold of Disorde’s wrist as it delved between his lapels and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand—a rejection of the utmost politeness.
Slightly annoyed, Disorde slapped the unyielding man’s firm chest and began to sink her teeth into his collarbone. The goddesses, who usually just teased him lightly before leaving, were pressing against his skin with an unusual, cloying intensity. Iskandel had no choice but to swallow a sigh along with a faint pang of pain. As their wet, heated lips moved slowly, as if savoring a delicacy over his neck and earlobes, he crinkled the corners of his eyes even more extravagantly to suppress the rising nausea. For him, and for them, it was an act utterly devoid of sincerity. For some reason, the goddesses repeated this vulgar game dozens of times without tiring of it, and the powerless human could only be swept along.
Rather than keep getting tormented like this… it might be better to just give up and offer my body to them.
As if reading his resignation, the goddesses smiled mischievously and finally pulled his robe further apart. Low gasps of admiration escaped the attendants waiting before the crown prince’s bedchamber, and to that sound, the goddesses’ hands began to part Iskandel’s firm thighs. Just then, the cloying afterscent of pleasure drifted out from the open door on a cloud of thick smoke, enveloping him. It was the crown prince.
“Wasn’t it enough to commit the discourtesy of being late every time? How long are you going to stand there like that?” he snapped.
As the crown prince’s rebuke flew at him, his patience clearly at its end, Iskandel’s eyes momentarily contorted with disgust. But the narrowed glare returned to its usual handsome curve after a single, hard swallow.
“How could a mere mortal like me dare avoid a punishment bestowed by the goddesses? I can only feel apologetic toward my older brother, who sweats to fill my absence every time I am unintentionally late.”
Karasvati, keenly aware of the disgust Iskandel hid behind his sarcastic words, snorted loud enough for him to hear. “The most promiscuous-looking man on the continent is acting so prudish.”
Iskandel, who had quickly feigned composure, shrugged shamelessly as if he had no idea what she was talking about. Only then did Disorde pull her lips away from the man who stood as still as a statue, offering his body. She glared at him sharply.
“Be grateful for a god’s patience and mercy. I forgive your insolence only because Karasvati cherishes you, and your mother was a devout follower who served me with the utmost devotion.”
“I am grateful for every moment of the love the goddesses pour upon me, so much so that it’s overwhelming. However, it seems my older brother has very urgent business today, so I must be going.” With a flourish, Iskandel let out a theatrical sigh and gently pushed the two goddesses away. Though they were hardly weak enough to be pushed by a mere human, they feigned defeat and created some distance.
“Congratulations. You’ve managed to desperately protect your chastity again today with that pathetic excuse,” Disorde said dryly.
“Please don’t say such things. Anyone who didn’t know better might think I’m actually a virgin.”
“It’s because you’re so slick that clueless humans think you’re a seasoned rake,” Karasvati retorted, glaring coyly before turning her head with a flick, putting a complete stop to their game. It was the signal that today’s play was over.
“If innocent virgins are the goddesses’ preference, then I suppose I must do my best.” The thick, hazy smoke that filled the bedroom was scattered by Iskandel’s relieved laughter. Waving away the sickeningly sweet smoke with a half-hearted gesture, Iskandel tried to gauge the goddesses’ moods as naturally as possible. When their eyes met, both Karasvati and Disorde locked gazes with him and, as if they couldn’t help it, smiled back.
What a relief. It seems they were quite satisfied with today’s debauchery. Iskandel silently breathed a sigh of relief and shifted his gaze into the crown prince’s room. The prince, sprawled wantonly on the lavish bed, was twitching his eyebrows and gesturing with his chin to hurry. Spotting an excuse to get away even a second sooner, Iskandel pointed at the crown prince without hesitation and bid the goddesses a polite farewell.
“It was an honor to be a small source of pleasure for you. Though my heart wishes to remain, I cannot keep my older brother waiting any longer, so I shall take my leave.”
“Alright. Good luck,” Disorde replied. “And don’t be too upset. It was a decision Karasvati made after much deliberation.”
At her words, Iskandel’s fluid, natural movements came to an abrupt halt.
“…Pardon?”
“About that,” Karasvati began, “I really don’t want to send you to a rough place, but… I had no choice. When humans get used to peace, the artistic trends become so terribly bland.”
“Karasvati and I were getting utterly sick of the poems, songs, and plays that are in fashion these days. So it all worked out,” Disorde added.
The goddesses continued to spout incomprehensible things, patting Iskandel’s shoulder as if in encouragement. Then, without a second thought, they shoved him into the crown prince’s room and departed, ignoring his plea for a more detailed explanation.
The large door closed behind Iskandel with a heavy sound. The prince, sprawled on the bed looking no better than a male prostitute high on the smoke of burning herbs, grumbled with slurred words.
“Why do the goddesses adore you so much?”
“Because I’m beautiful,” Iskandel replied, as if stating an obvious truth. The crown prince’s lips drooped. The fact that this arrogant answer was neither a joke nor conceit, but a simple statement of fact, grated on his nerves. He scowled at his younger half-brother, for whom being loved was as natural as breathing.
The son of a whore…
Though he belittled him where no one could hear, the prince knew the hatred he felt for Iskandel was nothing more than venting his frustration on an easy target. The fault lay entirely with his own father, the emperor, who couldn’t forget the thrill of victory and went searching for that same sensation between women’s legs.
He should have abdicated the throne to me and died right after unifying the continent. What a clueless old man. The crown prince ground his teeth, recalling the events of some twenty-odd years ago.
