Cailus’s expression hardened.
“......Lady Beatus.”
Richard spoke, his lips trembling violently.
“What... did you just say?”
“Exactly what you heard, Richard.”
Daphne spoke calmly.
“Just for tonight, I want you to take the time to confront each other... emotionally, physically, or however else it may happen.”
The Emperor gave a quiet laugh against the rim of his glass.
His expression was relaxed and almost wickedly intrigued.
“Lady Beatus.”
He spoke.
“That is quite an interesting wish.”
“Would Your Majesty... permit it?”
Daphne asked carefully.
The Emperor set down his glass and answered slowly.
“If the wish rights have already been transferred to you, the Imperial family must honor them. That is our principle.”
Cailus stared at the Emperor without expression.
“...Are you serious?”
“I am.”
The Emperor spoke with a smile.
“Now then, Cailus, Young Lord Friedrich. Why not spend one fateful night together in the name of an Imperial ‘wish’?”
Richard stared at the Emperor as though he were about to faint.
“.......”
Without a word, he rose from his seat.
The legs of his chair scraped against the floor as it slid backward.
......Forget it. I’ll just go to my room. No matter how I look at this, it’s out of the question.
Richard muttered quietly to himself as he walked down the corridor. Even if it was Lady Beatus’s wish, this was too much.
Sharing a bedchamber with Cailus!
And spending a passionate night together on top of that!
I think she was trying to help me....
But it had not helped much at all.
She had completely misunderstood!
She believed Richard was genuinely in love with Cailus.
But....
In love, my ass!
The person Richard hated most in the world was none other than Cailus le Regnantia.
I need to clear up this misunderstanding.
Richard squeezed his eyes shut. He had no idea where to begin unraveling a misunderstanding that already seemed so deeply rooted.
“Haah....”
With a deep sigh, he followed the corridor toward his bedroom.
Familiar furnishings, a familiar doorplate, a familiar door handle.
Click.
“......Huh?”
The door was locked.
Richard stared blankly at it for a moment, then tried the handle again.
Click, click.
It would not move.
“...I never locked it....”
At that moment, a low, blunt voice sounded behind him.
“Lord Richard!”
“......Dame Fenrir?”
He turned to find Dame Fenrir, the knight assigned as his personal guard, standing behind him.
She had approached so silently that he had no idea how long she had been there.
“That room has been placed off-limits for the time being!”
“...What?”
Richard doubted his own ears.
“By order of His Majesty, Lord Richard’s residence has been moved to His Highness the Crown Prince’s bedroom as of today.”
“What do you mean...... Dame Fenrir, you’re joking, aren’t you?”
“The Imperial family does not jest.”
“.......”
Richard froze where he stood.
“You mean... I have to go to His Highness Cailus’s room now?”
“Yes! Everything has already been prepared. The palace maids who will attend you are standing by, and the bed has been made.”
“.......”
“Ah. If anything causes you discomfort, please tell me. The direction of the pillows, perhaps, or the height of the candles—”
“Nothing is making me uncomfortable!”
Richard cried out almost desperately.
“...I’ll just go quietly now.”
His shoulders slumped as he slowly bowed his head.
There was no chance he could win by resisting.
“......Damn it. This is insane.”
Muttering to himself, Richard walked past the heavily armed Dame Fenrir.
Cailus’s bedroom stood at the end of the corridor, in the innermost reaches of the Crown Prince’s Palace.
A heavy, gold-trimmed door loomed before Richard.
He looked up at it and prayed inwardly.
Please, let no one be inside. Please, just let me lie down quietly.......
However,
the moment he opened the door—
“Young Lord Friedrich, we have been waiting for you!”
“Aaagh?!”
Richard instinctively stumbled backward.
But it was already too late.
His Highness the Crown Prince’s palace maids were lined up inside the room as though arrayed for battle.
“Welcome. Your bathwater has been heated.”
“We have prepared fresh silk underwear.”
“For tonight, we selected stronger scented candles than usual.”
“The bath salts contain amethyst powder and dried kumquat petals.”
“...What? Tonight? What kind of night requires this much preparation?!”
Richard shouted, but the maids merely smiled as they began removing his coat.
“Aaagh! I can do it myself!”
“We do not have much time, young lord.”
“Then I’ll take my time and—”
“The Imperial schedule allows no such leisure.”
With that single remark, Richard was practically dragged toward the bathroom.
Calling the bathroom in the Crown Prince’s Palace a hot spring would have been an understatement. It was practically a palace in its own right.
The walls were covered in tiles that glittered like crystal, and flower petals floated over the enormous bath as warm steam billowed from its surface.
Roses covered the floor, while the scents of thyme and osmanthus mingled dizzyingly around its edges.
“Please... why is all of this really happening tonight...?”
Richard groaned even as they washed his hair.
“Your hair is damaged. We will need to apply more oil.”
“That’s because of today’s hunt.”
“Do you have any other injuries? We have also prepared ointment, just in case.”
“A massage has been arranged for after your bath.”
“I don’t want a massage!”
“It was ordered by His Majesty the Emperor.”
“.......”
His mind went blank.
At this point, he was not permitted to refuse anything.
Once his bath was finished, they took him to the dressing room.
Before he had even dried off, soft fabric swept over his skin,
a silver silk robe was draped around him,
and scented oil was misted over his hair to help it dry.
“Here is your underwear. We prepared something thinner and more transparent.”
“Why?! Why?!!”
“It will allow you to breathe more comfortably and reduce irritation to your skin.”
“Because you expect there to be a lot of irritation tonight?”
“Yes.”
“How can you say that so firmly...?!”
Richard nearly collapsed to his knees.
Finally, an hour later,
Richard stood before the bedroom door in a silver robe, his lustrous hair flowing around him.
“It is time... for you to go in, young lord.”
“......Is Cai... No, is His Highness the Crown Prince inside?”
“Yes. He is already sitting on the bed.”
“.......”
Richard slowly looked at the door.
His sigh deepened.
Then he thought,
Please... let’s just turn our backs to each other and sleep.
Let’s not speak.
Please—
Click.
The door opened.
There, against the headboard,
sat His Highness the Crown Prince,
Cailus le Regnantia, with his arms folded.
Without any change in expression, he spoke in a low voice.
“You’re late.”
“...It was not by choice.”
Richard answered coldly.
Cailus remained seated against the headboard.
One leg was crossed over the other, and his arms remained folded.
His gaze held no emotion as he looked at Richard.
“...Even so,”
he slowly began,
“since it was commanded through a wish right, must we not fulfill it?”
Richard squeezed his eyes shut.
“...Do we really... have to?”
“If we did not, why would His Majesty have mobilized an entire contingent of palace maids?”
Cailus’s voice was dry.
“Did you think those lavish preparations were made purely out of kindness?”
“...I... find this method terribly disrespectful.”
Richard slowly raised his head.
“To trample a person’s will in the name of a wish—”
“Who was it that trampled the other’s will?”
Cailus cut him off.
“Were you not the one who forced this engagement upon me?”
“.......”
“Seeing you act aggrieved now is nothing short of absurd.”
Richard pressed his lips tightly together.
The accusation was not wrong, so he could think of no rebuttal.
Cailus rose from the bed. Slowly, he walked toward Richard.
Heavy footsteps.
And an emotionless gaze.
“......!”
Richard stepped backward.
Cailus reached out.
Tug—
He caught the edge of Richard’s robe.
Richard froze.
His breath stopped.
Cailus’s gaze slowly traveled downward.
His hand gripped the robe.
Then, slowly, he loosened it.
“Y-Your Highness...?”
“It is an Imperial command.”
His voice was low and dry.
“We have no grounds to defy it.”
The hand that removed the robe rose to Richard’s nape.
“Stay still.”
Richard tried to shove him away, but—
“Ugh...!”
Cailus moved first.
His arm wrapped firmly around Richard’s waist.
“Your Highness... are you serious...?”
Richard asked in a trembling voice.
“Does it look as though I am joking?”
Cailus replied.
Then, without warning,
he pushed Richard down onto the bed.
“—Cailus!!”
“Be quiet.”
He spoke.
“You brought this upon yourself.”
His gaze wavered.
Those were not words spoken merely to force himself through this.
For tonight, the emotions he had suppressed were rising to the surface.
Richard pressed a hand against his chest in an attempt to push him away,
but the hand covering his own bore down with greater force.
“If you intended to refuse... you should never have started this in the first place.”
He continued,
“It is too late to turn back now.”
With those words,
Cailus’s lips touched Richard’s collarbone.
The cool kiss spread into a burning sensation.
Richard squeezed his eyes shut.
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