Chapter 103

As his recollection reached that point, Eugène’s already heavy heart sank even deeper, as though weighted by a leaden plumb. Lying still with his arm draped over his forehead, he eventually sat up, unable to calm his restless mind no matter how long he waited.

Though even the moonlight had long since faded, his eyes, well adjusted to the dark, could still discern the outlines of objects with ease. Eugène planted one arm on the bed and gazed blankly down at the Emperor, who lay sound asleep. His profile shone pale in the dark, like a sculpture set atop a cameo, unparalleled in its beauty.

When awake, his impression was so striking, and yet, asleep like this, he seemed an entirely different person. The elegant contours of his face, nearly delicate, were overlaid with a dazzling brilliance. The Emperor possessed a kind of instinctive, arresting splendor that outshone all the beautiful men and women Eugène had seen in his entire life.

However, what truly made Ebroin V extraordinary was not his splendid beauty. It was the reason that was always awake behind his eyes, his consistent objectivity, which placed the role of a monarch above any personal desire in every decision he made…

Perhaps it was a strange thing to say, given that they’ve already consummated their relationship, but there was once a time when Eugène had fallen for him. Not in a sexual or romantic sense, but as subject would with a sovereign he wished to serve. He might not be a saintly ruler, but to Eugène, Ebroin V was the most ideal monarch one could realistically hope for.

“Why did you do that? This is not like you at all.”

He whispered the words like a complaint, things he hadn’t been able to say while the man was awake. Eugène wasn’t some starry-eyed seventeen-year-old in love for the first time. He was neither so naive as to miss the meaning behind the other’s words, no matter how carefully phrased, nor so foolish as to rejoice blindly just because his lover did something for him.

He took no pleasure in the fact that he could wield such a pernicious influence over him. If anything, it unsettled him, and, to some degree, even offended him. He was not some precious treasure to be unilaterally protected in the Emperor’s hand.

If there was someone who had a duty to protect the other, was it not Eugène’s place to do so? Before being the Emperor’s lover, Eugène was a soldier and a vassal. If he were to act as a shield, that was one thing, but to use the Emperor as a shield? His pride could never allow such a thing. Once was humiliating enough. He would not let it happen a second time.

“Please do not make me your weakness, Your Majesty.”

Eugène never wanted to see the man who once dazzled him like the sun to be tarnished in any way. Bowing his head with solemn reverence, as though confessing his sincere feelings, he kissed the sleeping Emperor’s fingertips and quietly closed his eyes. It was in that moment that a firm resolve etched itself into his turbulent mind.

***

While he lay face down, a hand gently pressed against the back of his calf. The touch was careful, as if afraid to wake him, but the sensation itself could hardly be hidden. It was a large, strong man’s hand, capable of encircling his entire ankle with a single grasp. Starting just above the ankle, the hand slowly traced upward in a motion more caress than touch, peeling back the veil of sleep layer by layer as it roused Eugène’s awareness.

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“I had not expected you to be such a heavy sleeper.”

A pair of lips approached with a gentle whisper and pressed lightly against his temple before drawing away. All the while, that impish hand continued its ascent along his back, roving with insistent curiosity. The hand, skimming over the rumpled fabric of his shirt, was light as breath yet deeply intimate and undeniably sensual.

Though the hand did not meet bare skin, the sensation it stirred was more intoxicating than any direct caress. Eugène braced his heavy head with one hand and tried to grasp the situation. He had not managed to fall asleep until dawn, after a sleepless night, and now struggled to shake the lingering sleepiness as he asked hoarsely.

“…Who…?”

“Ha! Look at you.”

At his question, the other person gave a low laugh that rumbled from deep within. Only half-awake, Eugène couldn’t tell whether it was the pleased purr of a cat or the low growl of a hunting hound.

“Do you think it is proper to be so defenseless without even knowing who your companion is?”

The hand ran all the way down his spine and finally reached the nape of his neck. The warmth pressed directly against his skin, with no fabric between, was hotter than he had imagined. He was muttering words Eugène could not understand, as if to himself, and lightly traced his hand along Eugène’s jawline before grabbing and lifting his chin.

Before Eugène could even realize the person’s intentions, his head was tilted, and their lips met. Though the sensation of the entwined tongue was not forceful, it was still somehow persistent. As if seeking to monopolize even the breath that scattered into the air, he sucked onto Eugène’s tongue deeply and firmly with his own.

Only then, through his clouded consciousness, did Eugène finally identify the other person. There was only one person in the entire world who would kiss him in such a manner.

“Your Majesty…?”

After enduring the passionate, persistent kiss for quite some time, Eugène was finally released. Still dazed, he turned to glance over his shoulder. Dawn had quietly come, and his clear vision revealed the face of Ebroin V distinctly before him.

“What time is it now?”

“There remain thirty minutes until the morning ceremony.”

Eugène asked in a hoarse, rough voice, and the reply came promptly. Hearing those words, he looked out beyond the bed. Through the open window, a clear sky was visible. It appeared the day would be hot once again. Though it was early morning, the sunlight already felt piercing, and not a single cloud marred the proud expanse of the sky.

“Hah-.”

As Eugène’s attention briefly shifted elsewhere, the Emperor’s lips could scarcely wait and pressed again onto the nape of his neck. What began as a brief, teasing kiss gradually grew more fervent with each repetition. Feeling the weight of the Emperor’s body settle heavily against his back, the last remnants of drowsiness vanished entirely.

“Did you not say there remain only thirty minutes until the morning ceremony?”

“Indeed. There remain a full thirty minutes yet.”

The Emperor murmured with casual ease as his tongue licked Eugène’s earlobe. His hands had already slid downwards, slipping between the disheveled folds of the nightshirt. One hand caressed the sleek lower abdomen while the other began pulling down the loose linen trousers worn in place of pajamas. Long fingers boldly explored the dry hole.

Though startled by the sudden situation upon waking up, Eugène’s languid body was far more pliant to the moment than his mind. Despite the confusion swirling in his head, his body remained truthful. No matter how ascetic his mind might be, his body was still that of a perfectly healthy man in his mid-thirties.

Direct stimulation to his lower regions, which were already stirred due to morning erection, quickly kindled a fierce heat. The Emperor, who had an extraordinary ability to learn, made good use of his recently acquired knowledge.

“Hff.”The finger, inserted without being told, rubbed the thickened inner walls, causing Eugène to swallow an unseemly gasp. Struck at so primal a weakness, he reflexively clenched his buttocks so tightly the butterfly-shaped muscles stood out, utterly unaware of how much of a spectacle that alone might have appeared in the Emperor’s eyes.

He could feel his half-erect penis harden further, poking uncomfortably against his own thigh, a sensation hardly pleasant at any time.

Instinctively, Eugène braced his rising hips. No matter the intensity of the stimulation, he refused to appear a disheveled mess in the bright morning light. However, He was left powerless to resist the ruthless assault of the fingers that had already invaded him.

“Ngh. What manner of mischief is this at such an hour?”

Eugène barely managed to protest, nearly biting his tongue as his hips jolted upward once again. But the Emperor showed no sign of relenting in stimulating him.

“It is not solely my fault. Your sleeping visage incited me.”

“What do—wait, w-wait, ah!”

It would have been satisfying to rebuke it as the excuse of a scoundrel… but just as Eugène was about to retort, a dull ache surged from his lower body, and he bit down on his lip, unable to finish. A crude moan, one so shameless he would have been mortified to hear it himself, had nearly escaped his lips.

The Emperor hastily attempted penetration as if he had done his job with just three or four prostate stimulations. The true injustice lay in how, despite such brazen audacity, Eugène’s body opened up just enough.

The hot, pulsing penis boldly entered him. Though only a few encounters in experience, his body’s reaction was not the same as before. The overstretched hole cried out in discomfort, yet the heated penis pressing onward was met with full acceptance.

The Emperor gripped Eugène’s side with one hand, braced his shoulder with the other, and thrust upward with considerable force. The supple inner walls clung tightly to the violent penis. The initial impact was such that Eugène’s body jolted upward involuntarily. In an instant, he found himself receiving the man while still lying face down.

Like a privateer struck directly in the hull amid an evasive maneuver, Eugène could not move an inch. It was not merely the hull that had taken a hit, as his current state resembled a vessel with its sails torn and mast completely blown away. From the outset, with his rear secured, there had never been a chance to escape.

Though Eugène’s own defenses were far from weak, the problem was that his opponent’s weapon was a 50-pound heavy-caliber cannon. No, that was merely a metaphor. It was not as though the Emperor’s penis was literally that massive…Ah-ugh.Damn it! It looked perfectly sized at a glance, so why did it feel so overwhelming the moment he had to take it?

Eugène clenched his teeth so tightly that a ridge formed along his jaw, barely managing to swallow the moan that threatened to escape his lips. Whether he possessed any semblance of conscience or not, the Emperor, bent over him from behind, and began to place soothing kisses along his shoulder, as though in consolation. Though such gestures did little to ease the sheer incredulity roiling within him.

“Eugène.”

The Emperor called his name softly, pressing his lips to the crown of Eugène’s head. Perhaps he had not entirely forgotten what he had once learned, since he dutifully stimulated the area near the prostate, but in truth, the movement of his hips soon revealed that it was the pleasure of penetration that guided him at the core. It was, by any measure, a rough act of sex far too one-sided to be called anything else.