"I have come to attend to Your Highness for the night."
Thud.
Click.
The door locked beneath his hand.
"..."
In the silence, red pupils flickered.
Cailus, who had frozen as though doubting the words he had just heard, belatedly rose from the sofa.
"Young Master Friedrich. What is the meaning of—"
He could not finish his sentence.
"Your Highness."
Richard, who had dared to interrupt the Crown Prince, quickly crossed the room.
!..
"As I said."
Having crossed the bedroom, Richard looked at him with gently curved eyes.
"To attend..."
He stretched out an arm, seized Cailus's wrist, and pulled as though tugging on a rope.
"...to you for the night."
Whoosh.
Their bodies toppled together toward the bed.
!..
Cailus's red pupils trembled faintly as he was thrown onto the mattress.
Above him, Richard, who had triumphantly climbed on top, curved his lips into a broad smile.
"What shall we do, Your Highness?"
Eyes that seemed to hold a clear lake gazed down at the man beneath him. His platinum hair shone pure white beneath the moonlight pouring through the window.
A truly angelic appearance.
With that angelic face, Richard smiled sweetly and parted his lips.
"Shall I undress? Or..."
But the words that came from his mouth were those of a devil.
"Will you undress me?"
Richard slyly grasped the front of his own shirt and loosened it.
"..."
Cailus's expression twisted, as though Richard looked like an evil devil.
A devil who had come to steal his virtue.
"Young Master Friedrich."
He parted his tightly pressed lips.
"Do you not fear the consequences?"
Unrequested attendance at night. An unauthorized intrusion into the Crown Prince's bedroom.
That was what he meant.
This was clearly an offense that could result in severe punishment for insulting the Imperial Family.
?..
But Richard merely blinked, as though he had no idea what the problem was.
"I only came to please Your Highness."
"..."
Cailus gritted his teeth. His red pupils trembled slightly as though he were looking at a madman.
In contrast, a victorious smile rested on Richard's lips.
It was obvious what the other man was thinking.
This insane young master.
How on earth did he get in here?
The Imperial Guards who accompanied me from the Imperial Palace are guarding the front of my bedroom...
He must have been thinking something along those lines. And—
It was time for the guards to change shifts. He must have concluded that Richard had taken advantage of the opening and gotten lucky.
"I warn you."
Cailus spoke in a voice as cold as a northern blizzard.
As though telling him to leave the bedroom immediately.
"Leave my chamber at once..."
A clear order to leave flowed from his lips.
But Richard was not one to comply meekly.
"Your Highness."
Richard interrupted Cailus and thought,
There are things in this world that begin as rumors and become truth.
Sometimes, a scandal secretly circulating among the nobles hardened into reality over time. A scandal between a noble lady and a knight might be churned through the rumor mill until it ended in an actual marriage.
That was precisely what Richard was aiming for.
"Scandal."
"I will make you happy."
Richard, who had shyly flushed across both cheeks, took the cravat adorning Cailus's neck between his teeth.
Holding the silk cloth in his mouth, he began to loosen it.
"Now—"
Just before Cailus could say something in a trembling voice—
Thud, thud.
Perhaps the guards were coming to change shifts. Heavy footsteps began approaching from the far end of the corridor.
!..
Cailus reflexively turned toward the door.
"Your Highness? Is something wrong?"
From beyond the firmly locked door came a guard's questioning voice.
"..."
Cailus bit down hard on his lower lip.
Richard was still smiling slyly with the cravat between his teeth.
"Your Highness?"
If the guard forced the door open and entered now, it would undoubtedly look exactly as though something were happening.
Cailus must have been agonizing over that very thought.
Heh.
Richard, who had already loosened the cravat completely, raised the corner of his mouth.
Now was his chance.
He let out a breath loudly enough to be heard.
"Ahh, Crown Prince, Your High—"
!..
Cailus hurriedly covered his mouth.
Afraid Richard might do something else, he forcefully pinned him down and climbed on top of him.
"Mmph."
"Quiet."
Holding Richard down, Cailus whispered in a low voice and hastily turned toward the door.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince. Should I enter? Is there a situation?"
As though sensing something strange, the guard's voice beyond the door grew urgent.
"No."
Cailus answered, feigning composure.
"Nothing is wrong. Do not worry."
His tone was composed, but cold sweat ran down his jaw. If anyone saw them in this state, there would undoubtedly be a misunderstanding.
"Ah. Understood, Your Highness."
Perhaps relieved by the response, the guard's voice quickly softened.
"Hah."
Cailus let out a sigh of relief.
Then he slowly lowered his gaze and looked down at Richard, whose mouth he had been covering all this time.
"..."
Cailus's face immediately hardened.
Richard, pinned beneath him, was looking up with hopeful eyes, his ears flushed red...
...
Unintentionally, Cailus had ended up in a position no different from pinning Richard down.
"Young Master Friedrich."
Placing his index finger against the center of his lips as a warning to remain quiet, he slowly lowered the hand covering Richard's mouth.
"This... was not my intention..."
"No, please continue, Your Highness."
Richard Friedrich spoke shyly.
"Since it is my first time, please be gentle... Mmph."
Thump!
Cailus covered Richard Friedrich's mouth again.
"Since it is my first time, please be gentle... Mmph."
Thump!
Cailus's hand covered his mouth.
Richard swallowed his laughter.
Ah, look at that utterly foolish face.
The rare sight of Cailus unable to conceal his panic was far too amusing not to laugh at.
Not that I have any intention of doing it anyway.
Richard secretly twisted his lips into a sneer.
After deciding to seduce him, he had looked into the methods used between men. One had to be on top, and the other had to be pinned down.
Richard had not the slightest intention of being the one "pinned down" by Cailus.
"..."
Cailus looked down at Richard with an expression that seemed to suppress a sigh, then spoke heavily.
"You... Why are you truly doing this to me?"
As the palm covering his mouth was removed, Richard lied without batting an eye.
"Because I love you, Your Highness."
"You!.."
Cailus's voice rose slightly. He seemed to remember the guard outside the door and soon lowered it again.
"Is power your goal?"
"No."
"Then is this a scheme to bring me down politically?"
"No."
Richard smiled sweetly with his eyes as he looked up at the man above him.
Cailus spoke without the slightest hint of a smile.
"I clearly warned you."
"..."
"Not to stand in my way again."
Richard's eyes darted about. Then his lips curved into a sharp arc.
"Why should I do that?"
?..
"I asked why I should do that when I love Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Eyes the color of water, steeped in madness, stared intently at Cailus.
"I do not want to."
He answered arrogantly.
"I will endlessly interfere with Your Highness drawing closer to Lady Daphne."
No matter how many times you try to remove me, I will become an obstacle that cannot be removed.
If you try to hold her hand, I will break every one of your fingers. If you try to kiss her lips, I will tear your tongue out by the roots.
Just as you have obstructed me until now.
"Young Master Friedrich."
Cailus's face hardened coldly.
"Are you angry with me?"
Richard looked directly up at him as he asked.
"I apologize, but there is no other choice, Your Highness. To simply stand by and watch..."
A white hand lightly tugged at Cailus's collar. Drawn down by that touch, his head lowered.
Whoosh.
Richard closed the distance between their faces in an instant and whispered with laughter in his voice.
"I am far too jealous."
Cailus's pupils froze for a moment. Looking up at him, Richard leaned forward.
Cailus's lips were reflected vividly in his lake-colored pupils.
Cailus tried to turn away, but it was too late.
Peck.
With a soft sound, Richard's lips briefly touched Cailus's before pulling away.
!..
Cailus's eyes widened.
"Young Master Friedrich!"
Crash!
His hand seized Richard's pale neck and pressed him down.
Taut veins stood out sharply along his trembling hand.
"Haha!.."
Richard chuckled even as Cailus choked him.
To become this indignant over a mere peck on the lips.
"Ha, hahahaha!"
Richard laughed as though he might shake the mansion apart.
The next morning.
Bang!
As soon as dawn broke, Cailus emerged from the bedroom, impeccably dressed.
"The carriage?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Fortunately, the snow has melted today, so the carriage should be able to travel..."
"We depart at once."
A maid of the Friedrich Marquisate watched his hurriedly retreating back with her head tilted.
Was there some problem?
If anything had gone wrong with the Crown Prince's bedroom, severe punishment would undoubtedly fall upon her and the other servants.
With an uneasy heart, she peered into the bedroom the Crown Prince had just left.
?..
The maid blinked.
A tall, beautiful man with platinum hair staggered out of the Crown Prince's bedroom.
The second young master?
It was Richard Friedrich, the second young master of the marquisate who was treated so poorly.
"Ugh..."
Richard, who appeared to be in pain, furrowed his brow and clutched his waist.
The only thing he wore was his shirt, and it hung open haphazardly, exposing his pale collarbone and chest.
Even...
"Good heavens..."
The maid gasped in shock before she could stop herself.
His neck was covered in red marks, as though painted with dye. One, two... five in all. Even had she wanted to pretend she had not seen them, it would have been impossible.
The other maids nearby seemed to think the same, for they began exchanging glances and whispering.
"Could it be..."
"Did the two of them?.."
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