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Chapter 13

Khan was in his room, He was doing one-handed push ups on the floor with his shirt off, but as soon as Alan and I walked in, he cleared his throat and jumped up from his spot. He was coughing awkwardly. He seemed... quite fit. Feeling a mix of envy and a strange feeling of embarrassment, I intentionally looked away. Khan quickly picked up his clothes and dressed.

"Why are you here?" Khan asked bluntly. It wasn't clear if he was unhappy about both of us coming or embarrassed about being caught exercising.

"Duke, this is for you," Alan said. He took Khan's belongings from his bag and placed them on the table. A purse of coins, a Bible, a pocket watch, and a fountain pen. Khan looked at them, picked up the fountain pen, and asked, "How did you find this? What about the rest?"

He seemed unaware that the other items were missing. Khan, stroking the worn-out and faded blue fountain pen, glanced between Alan and me, his eyes filled with suspicion.

"Why did both of you bring this, and where's the rest?" he demanded.

Alan looked at me. Okay, I'll confess.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Actually, I..."

But Alan interrupted me abruptly. "Narcissus found it. Buried in the back of the garden."

"Del Narcissus?" Khan questioned, his eyes full of doubt.

"While taking a walk with me, he noticed something strange and asked me to retrieve it. When he saw it, he said it looked like the Duke's belongings, so we brought it here," Alan said with sincerity in his eyes. His words seemed genuine. After all, who would suspect a priest, especially one known as God's favorite lie like a snake?

As I glanced at Alan, Khan chuckled with a bitter smile. "Taking a walk together? Seems like you've become quite friendly."

Is that even the point?

My bewildered eyes met Khan's eyes. He shot me with a pleased look and put the fountain pen into his breast pocket of his shirt.

"Is your foot already healed?"

Khan pointed at my foot with his chin and asked, "Recovery seems faster than expected, but you should still get another day of healing."

Alan responded on my behalf. Khan glared at my foot as if it were his arch-enemy and nodded approvingly.

"Go out."

Alan and I greeted Khan and turned away.

"You stay for a moment"

We heard a threatening sound coming from behind. Alan, looking puzzled, exchanged glances with me and then smiled as he left the room. I wanted to grab him and tell him not to leave, but I turned around stiffly and faced Khan again.

"Sit here. It's not completely healed yet,"

Khan said, taking a seat on the sofa. I deliberately dragged my foot slowly, making my way to the sofa. Khan smirked as if saying, "You're just playing around," but I continued to act as if my foot was still in pain. Once I finally sat down on the sofa, Khan pushed the purse of coins toward me.

"If you go there without any money, you'll become a slave immediately."

Khan said with a sneer. Was he telling me to take this money now? I widened my eyes and looked at Khan. He raised an eyebrow.

"Why? Are you going to refuse even if I give you money?"

"No, it's not that... Why are you giving me this?" I asked.

"Even if I give you money, you're not satisfied?"

"It's not that I'm not satisfied."

I replied quickly and added, "If I'm a heinous prisoner being driven away to the trash village, why are you giving me money?"