Himmel sought out Hans on a gloomy evening when everyone had already gone home. Or to be more precise, it wasn’t so much ‘seeking out’ as it was lingering after a full day of working alongside Hans in the office while everyone else had gradually left one by one. Only when even Hannah had departed, leaving just the two of them, did Himmel finally speak up with a heavy tone:  

“Um…… Hans, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”  

“Discuss? Sure, what is it? Come on, have a seat and talk.”  

Hans inwardly cheered: ‘Finally, it’s happening!’, and led Himmel to a table in the corner of the office.  

Hans had noticed something off about Himmel since last week. Maybe even earlier, but it wasn’t until last week that Hans realized Himmel seemed to want to say something. Over a month ago, Hans had been swamped with a major project, so much so that he hadn’t noticed anything until Hannah pointed it out with her sharp intuition.  

“Hans, Himmel’s been acting strange lately—haven’t you noticed?”  

“Himmel? Strange how?”  

Hans had absentmindedly replied while skimming through documents about a secret meeting between high-ranking leaders of two rival nations, prompting Hannah to click her tongue and jab him in the ribs.  

“For a while now, he’s been looking at you like a puppy that really needs to pee but doesn’t know what to do. You really didn’t notice?”  

Hans turned to look at Hannah, then inadvertently glanced toward Himmel’s desk. Just as she had said, Himmel was staring at him with a dark, anxious gaze. When their eyes met, Himmel startled, abruptly stood up, and hurried out of the room. Hans muttered under his breath: “That is weird”, and Hannah nodded in agreement. “Right?”

After agreeing with Hannah that: ‘They shouldn’t ask first, knowing Himmel’s tendency to clam up like a tightly shut oyster’, Hans had patiently endured Himmel’s restless gaze all this time.  

Finally, today, it seemed Himmel had mustered up the courage to speak.  

“Alright, what’s on your mind?”  

Hans asked gently as he personally brewed tea and brought it over to Himmel, who sat alone at the large table in the office.  

After a long silence, Himmel hesitated, rolling the teacup between his palms without saying a word. It wasn’t until the tea had cooled that he finally took a forced sip and spoke up.  

“It’s…… about Richard and Christoph.”  

“……!”  

So, that’s what it was.  

Hans let out a quiet sigh of relief, yet his chest felt heavy.  

Himmel was a young and outstanding talent of Tarten.  

Shortly after coming of age, he had officially begun working for the Tarten family, and just a few months after returning from Asia, he started his duties at the headquarters in Dresden.  

Despite having grown up roughing it everywhere, Himmel was still a principled and upright young man. He was not only capable and sharp-witted but also possessed an honest and considerate character. Hans had quietly regarded him as a talent worth nurturing.  

So, when Hans was hospitalized for a month due to an unexpected accident, he had entrusted part of his work to Himmel.

It seemed everything stemmed from this incident.  

Hans had been hit by a car running a red light while crossing an intersection and was hospitalized for a month. During that time, part of his work assisting Richard had been delegated to Himmel.  

However, it was only a minor portion, mostly taking place outside of official working hours. Hans believed such a workload—though small by the Tarten family’s standards but substantial for an ordinary person—was still within Himmel’s capabilities. And in fact, Richard had no complaints about Himmel either.  

So, after being discharged and returning to work, Hans had nothing to worry about.  

“About the relationship between Richard and Christoph…… you’re aware of it too, right?”  

Himmel cautiously studied Hans’s expression as he spoke. Hans took a sip of tea and gave a vague nod.  

The Relationship Between Richard and Christoph, Part 1: 

Cousins of the same generation in the Tarten family.

The Relationship Between Richard and Christoph, Part 2:

Mortal enemies who have clashed over big and small matters since childhood.

The Relationship Between Richard and Christoph, Part 3:

Yet at some point, a secret and intimate entanglement began between them.

Number 1 was common knowledge to anyone familiar with the Tartens.

Number 2 was equally well-known to those who knew the family more deeply.

But by Number 3 – while never openly acknowledged – those close enough to Richard had at least vaguely noticed. They simply chose to avoid acknowledging it, keeping their mouths tightly shut even after realizing the truth.

Hans, one of those people, glanced at Himmel sitting across from him with a darkened expression.

Once he started speaking, Himmel was like a dam that had burst, his confusion and uncertainty about what to do next were now completely exposed.  

Perhaps he had discovered that 3rd aspect of their relationship while working alongside Richard during Hans’ absence.  

After all, Himmel had lived abroad before, he probably only knew about the first two aspects of their relationship. So discovering the third one must have come as a massive shock to him.

But still…… was it really enough to leave him this flustered and conflicted?  

Hans found himself even more bewildered by Himmel’s reaction than by the situation itself.  

Of course, even Hans had been stunned when he first uncovered the truth about those two. Of all people—Richard and Christoph! The same two who snarled at each other like they couldn’t bear to live under the same sky, who sometimes seemed like they genuinely wanted to kill one another. On the surface, their relationship was still full of barbs and hostility, yet Hans had accidentally witnessed them…… in a state of complete undress, locked together in passion.  

Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he might not have believed it.  

So yes, Hans understood why Himmel was shocked. But that expression—dark and tormented—that was something else entirely.  

Could Himmel be homophobic? Or perhaps his religion forbade it? Or…… looking at it from another angle, was it possible that Himmel was secretly in love with one of them?  

Hans was still tangled in these complicated thoughts when Himmel’s whisper, so quiet it barely reached his ears, cut through his musings with a delayed impact.  

“Calling the police…… would be useless anyway, right?”

“What? ……The police?”

Hans blinked in utter confusion, repeating a word he had never even considered in this context. But Himmel remained dead serious, muttering as if talking to himself.

“Exactly. Before that, we’d probably need to convince Richard first. Tell him this can’t go on any longer…… But would he even agree……”

“Wait, hold on, Himmel. What do you mean by calling the police?”

“Of course we can’t just do that without trying anything first. I know even if we report it, the police wouldn’t be able to do anything. After all, they couldn’t lay a finger on Richard, could they? Besides, would Christoph even be willing to testify…… Oh god.”

“Wait, hey, Himmel?”

Hans called after him, but Himmel was staring blankly into space with a heavy sigh before suddenly turning to face Hans directly. The intense seriousness in his gaze left Hans speechless.

“Hans, I deeply respect Richard. No one else can discipline themselves so strictly and handle matters as thoroughly as he does. Who doesn’t know how hard he’s worked to get to where he is today? Just one short month assisting him was enough to exhaust me completely. He’s truly someone worthy of respect and admiration. I acknowledge that. And as for his personal life…… well, I don’t care much—everyone has their flaws. ……But!”

“Hey, Himmel……”

“I also understand how much Richard hates Christoph. I know what Christoph did to him. Honestly, I don’t like Christoph either. To put it bluntly, I despise him. His cruel, cold personality, completely lacking any care or kindness toward others…… Yes, I have zero sympathy for him. ……But!”

“Him……”

“No matter what! Rape is absolutely unacceptable!”

Himmel blurted out in one breath, growing increasingly agitated, until he finally shouted.

“……What……? Ra–……?”

Hans stammered, his mind blank. At his reaction, Himmel stared back with deadly seriousness.

“Hans, you didn’t know?”

“I…… No……”

“Right, who would’ve guessed?”

Himmel let out a long, heavy sigh and shook his head in dismay. He set his teacup down on the table, slumped back in his chair, and rubbed his face anxiously with his hands.

“I knew they had a physical relationship as soon as I returned to Tarten. I figured it out.”

At the very least, he wasn’t completely oblivious. Living in the Tarten family and not noticing something like that would’ve been absurd.

“At first, I couldn’t believe it. How could those two end up like that? It was bizarre and shocking. But then I thought—maybe Richard, with his good nature, managed to soften Christoph.”

“……”

Hans had pondered that before. Perhaps Himmel was a little slow on the uptake. But then again, before taking on the role of Richard’s assistant, Hans had also once believed Richard was a man of good character.

His mind drifted back to the distant past.

“At first, I thought if they had a good relationship, then the nature of it didn’t matter. Why should anyone care? If both parties were fine with it, then that’s something to be happy about…… That’s what I used to think……”

“Used to think?”

Hans nodded in agreement at this point. If both consented, then whatever their relationship was shouldn’t be an issue. That’s precisely why Hans had never voiced any complaints. Probably most people who knew about their discreet relationship thought the same.

But what could have troubled Himmel so deeply?

“Oh god, Hans…… but the truth isn’t like that.”

Suddenly, Himmel clutched his head.

“Not like that?”

Hans instinctively grew anxious and pressed for answers.

“It’s rape, Hans. It’s rape!”

“——.”

Hans had also accidentally witnessed Richard and Christoph’s intimate relations before. He hadn’t meant to spy, but one late night when he returned to the office to retrieve forgotten items, he unexpectedly came across that scene.

Hans knew Richard’s preferences were rumored to be…… excessive, to the point some called him a ‘pervert’. He’d even seen Christoph crying and begging. But he’d assumed it was just a private kink they both consented to.

“Couldn’t it just be…… their personal preference? Like some kind of light roleplay?”

“No! That wasn’t the look of someone willing! Christoph was genuinely suffering and crying, while Richard…… Richard was covering Christoph’s mouth, not letting him scream! He did it while muffling Christoph so he couldn’t make a single sound!”

“Oh Gosh, I should have helped him then…… I was so cowardly, too terrified and confused that I just turned away and left…… I should have helped……”

As Himmel tugged at his hair in anguish, Hans could only stare at him in stunned silence.

**************

The truth was, Hans knew Richard’s preferences all too well.

Before Richard became involved with Christoph, there had been plenty of rumors about how Richard treated the women he’d dated. That was why some called him a pervert.

Still, Hans had considered it a private matter—if both parties consented, what consenting adults did was nobody else’s business.

That’s what Hans had believed, until the day Christoph came to him.

“Hans.”

Hans looked at Christoph, whose face was as cold and expressionless as ever, making it impossible to discern what he was thinking.

“Hmm?”

He found it strange that Christoph – who barely had any dealings with him – would seek him out like this.

Yet Hans no longer felt the same aversion toward Christoph as before. Through frequent encounters arranged by Richard, Hans had come to realize Christoph wasn’t quite the ‘ruthless butcher’ he’d once imagined him to be.

“There are a few people who told me that you’re the most normal one among them.”

“……?”

Hans didn’t understand. Sometimes it was really hard to grasp what Christoph was saying.

“Thanks, I guess so too. But about what?”

“About sexual preferences.”

Hans nearly choked. If he had been drinking something, he definitely would’ve spat it out.

Hans looked at Christoph with a puzzled expression, while the latter maintained his completely emotionless face.

“……Uh, thanks for the compliment. So what?”

Who were these few people, how did they know about his preferences, and why did they know? Questions swirled in Hans’s mind. But upon reflection, he admitted to himself that he was indeed pretty normal.

“I need your help.”

“……Help with what?”

This unexpected conversation made Hans feel uneasy. A chill ran down his spine.

Christoph frowned, pondering for a few seconds before speaking, his voice laced with dissatisfaction.

“Actually, I’m not sure which behaviors are normal and which are abnormal. So I want you to show me.”

“……Show…… what, exactly?”

“You want me to teach you about sex?” – Hans asked, a flash of horror crossing his mind, though he quickly tried to shake it off.

At that moment, even though he knew full well that Richard was entertaining guests in the outer room, Hans still felt as if Richard were staring at him from behind, sending a shiver of dread through his body.

No, absolutely not. He had never had any dark thoughts about Christoph, and he never would! Even if the guy was as beautiful as a sculpted statue, Hans felt nothing—he was completely normal and decent!

Hans tried to dispel the icy sensation creeping down his spine, but Christoph, after a moment of hesitation, dropped yet another bombshell.

“Give me some visual materials.”

“……Huh?”

Hans, already so tense he was practically shrinking into himself, blinked in confusion.

“The things you think are normal and common. Give me a few so I can understand which behaviors fall within the normal range.”

“Visual materials……”

Materials about sexual behavior.

Was he seriously asking for children’s sex education videos? No, he meant adult films……

“……All of a sudden…… why?”

Hans struggled to stay composed as he asked, his mind spinning. Christoph fell silent for longer than before, muttering in a tone of dissatisfaction.

“……Richard…… he said those were normal things everyone does, then made me do all sorts of stuff…… it’s really weird.”

“What kind of weird stuff……”

“……Smearing yam on ourselves, then doing it…… That…… is that normal?”

Hans looked at Christoph, who was asking seriously, his face showing a hint of sadness and almost on the verge of tears. Or was that just Hans’s imagination?

“Yam……?” 

That word was so bizarre. Why would it come up in this context?

Yam, huh…… Right, last night they had an Eastern-style dinner, with a salad made from grated mountain yam. Emma in the kitchen had even complained that her hands were itching from grating it. But why smear it on yourself, and then do something with it……

“――.”

Hans stopped, not daring to think further.

As if picking up on Hans’s expression, Christoph added another crease to his furrowed brow.

“It’s not normal, right?! He said it’s something everyone does every now and then, that damn lying bastard!”

“Wait, wait a second,”

Christoph’s face flushed red as he shoved his hands into his pockets and made to bolt outside. Hans, alarmed, grabbed him to stop him. He didn’t want to know what Christoph was clutching so tightly in his pocket, yet couldn’t help imagining the worst.

“No, no, it’s not…… It’s not that unusual! Maybe…… sometimes people do that sort of thing.”

I’ve never done it myself, nor do I want to try, but I still have to say this.

“Really……?”

Christoph turned back to Hans with a skeptical look, and Hans caught sight of something peeking out of Christoph’s pocket. A knife. It was definitely a knife. If Christoph charged at Richard right now, the man would be completely defenseless.

Driven solely by the thought of preventing bloodshed, Hans forced a smile.

“Yeah, yeah. Sometimes doing that can…… heighten the experience, right? Though it might be a bit itchy……”

“——Itchy? What do you mean itchy? It itches so horribly it’s unbearable! To the point where I——.”

Christoph stopped mid-sentence, his angry face mixed with a look of frustration and choked resentment.

What had happened…… No, it’s better not to think about it.

“You nuts. Who would consider that normal?” – Christoph muttered under his breath, as if talking to himself, his expression seething with anger. But moments later, his face returned to its cold, emotionless state, and he looked at Hans before continuing.

“So……”

Christoph’s cold tone made Hans instinctively shrink back.

“Take me there. Those visual materials.”

“Visual materials, what……”

“So I can figure out what’s normal. Hurry up and give them to me. Now.”

“——Right now? Immediately? But…… there’s no way anyone’s installed that kind of stuff on my office computer!”

Hans protested, but Christoph only clicked his tongue and glanced at his watch. He was about to have to leave soon anyway. He’d been in Berlin over the weekend, and now it was time to head back to Dresden. Compared to his usual early departures, he’d stayed far too late today.

“Fine. I’ll send them to you by email. Three or four videos should be enough, right?”

In the end, Hans sighed, raising both hands in surrender. Christoph pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

“Not enough. The more I understand, the better. About…… ten videos.”

“Ten videos? Alright. I’ll send them in two or three days.”

At this point, Christoph finally seemed satisfied, nodding before turning and walking away.  

Not long after, from the window, Hans watched Christoph’s car pull away from the villa. He stood motionless, staring after it, then collapsed into a chair as if all his strength had drained away.

“Richard, what the hell did you do to a clueless guy like that……”

Hans muttered in an exhausted tone, opening his laptop.

Adult films…… finding adult films isn’t exactly hard.

Things that are ‘normal’ and ‘common’…… there’s plenty of that out there.

It was a weekend evening, the office was empty, and the work had already been tidied up. Hans sighed, starting to search for and select a few videos.

“I say that, but it’s not like this office doesn’t have that kind of stuff…… There’s storage on the web too. How does he not know about this……?”

Hans muttered to himself as he downloaded a few videos.

“What are you doing there, Hans?”

Richard had somehow appeared right behind him without making a sound.

Hans flinched, but he was too exhausted to feel surprised or panicked anymore. More than that, upon reflection, wasn’t the person most responsible for this whole situation none other than Richard?

“……Didn’t it itch?”

Hans turned around and asked in a flat tone. Richard raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. But with his terrifying intelligence and sharp perceptiveness, Richard quickly grasped the situation.

“Oh, so you’ve talked about this with Christoph?” Richard smirked, seeming amused.

“Of course I itched too. I smeared it all over him and then went at it. It probably didn’t itch as much for me as it did for him, but I itched too.”

“……How could you stand something that itchy?”

“Stand it? Why would I have to stand it?”

“……, ……, ……”

Exactly. Why should Christoph have to endure this?

Hans recalled Christoph’s haggard appearance after that night.

As Hans turned back to his computer screen, Richard leaned over from behind him, placing his hand on the mouse to check the files in his stead.

“So, you sitting here late at night searching for these things with that exhausted face must be for Christoph’s sake. What is it? Did he ask for reference materials?”

No one was more perceptive than Richard.

“He said he needed to understand what’s considered normal…… Please. Don’t you feel sorry for him?”

Hans clicked his tongue and turned to look at Richard. But he hadn’t expected Richard’s gaze to turn so icy it sent shivers down his spine.

“I don’t feel the slightest bit sorry, Hans. If you consider the entirety of my relationship with him, the pitiful one is me.”

“……What do you mean by that?”

“He knows nothing. He doesn’t know me——.”

Richard cut himself off mid-sentence, pressing his lips together bitterly before clicking his tongue. Hans remained silent too.

“He doesn’t know how hard I’ve tried.”

Hans understood. He’d witnessed how Richard had poured his entire being into Christoph, how Christoph – not knowing how to love – had sometimes caused Richard pain. This man had given his whole heart to Christoph without hesitation.

“Anyway, it’s fine. Christoph needs to learn more. This is a good opportunity too.”

Richard began casually browsing through folders on the web drive, rummaging freely.

Hans panicked, feeling as if his secrets were about to be exposed. “Hey, stop snooping around!” But before he could intervene, Richard had already opened a few videos, skimmed through them, then clicked his tongue.

“Hmm, definitely your taste. No wonder Christoph came to you.”

It was unclear whether that was praise or criticism, but Hans felt vaguely insulted.

“How many videos were you planning to send him?”

“Huh? Ten…… ten of them.”

Hans repeated numbly, his tone almost dazed, making Richard nod slightly.

“Let me pick them out and send them to you. Then you can forward them to Christoph.”

“What?”

“I’ll select the appropriate reference videos for Christoph, and you just need to pass them along.”

“…….”

Richard shot Hans a loaded glance, silently warning him not to say anything unnecessary. Hans, like a frog frozen before a snake, could only stammer out a reply.

“You want me…… to give them to Christoph as if I prepared them myself?”

Richard shrugged, answering calmly.

“He doesn’t know anything anyway. Teaching him step by step is tedious. This is a good opportunity for him to learn faster.”

“What exactly are you planning to send?”

“Things appropriate for his level.”

“No, wait a minute—then what does that make me?”

Hans was about to protest when Richard gently placed a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch.

“Hans.”

Richard’s voice was low and smooth, like the whisper of a serpent.

“Your job is to assist me, correct? I’m busy and have countless matters to attend to. If there’s anything that distracts me, you’ll need to handle it. Otherwise, work will be affected—both mine and yours.”

Hans could only swallow dryly, speechless. Richard gave his shoulder a light pat before straightening up and turning away.

“I’ll pick out some suitable ones. I’ll send them to you tonight.”

Richard’s voice carried an eager lilt as he walked away, his footsteps gradually fading.

As for Hans—Hans clutched his head in misery.