Chapter 406

“W-wait…!”

Despite Nathan’s weak protests, Azar showered kisses on his forehead, the tip of his nose, and both cheeks, as if he were the most precious thing in the world. He tried to kiss his eyelids too, but was blocked by Nathan’s glasses, so he gave up with a hint of regret and planted a loud smooch elsewhere instead.

From the moment his face was captured, Nathan kept his eyes tightly shut, so he couldn’t see Azar’s satisfied expression.

Belatedly, his trembling eyelids lifted, revealing the murky green eyes hidden beneath. Reflected in those eyes was Azar’s own face, flushed with impatience. It felt as if heat bloomed wherever his lips touched. Azar was quite pleased that Nathan’s usually cool body temperature was becoming hot because of him.

Though he did have the thought, It’s warm even for a dream…

Azar didn’t stop. While one hand still cupped Nathan’s face, the other firmly grasped his lower back. The moment their legs entangled and their lower bodies pressed together, Nathan let out a small, sharp intake of breath.

Eyes wide, Nathan startled and pushed hard against Azar’s chest. Of course, it wasn’t a body that would be pushed back by that. Instead, it was Nathan who was pushed back by the unmoving body that felt like a rock. Though, since his waist was held tight, only his upper body leaned back.

“L-let go… Let go of this…!”

Visibly flustered, Nathan rolled his eyes around and frantically scratched at the forearm holding his waist with his fingertips. He seemed to be trying to pry it off in his own way, but it was futile. To Azar, it just felt ticklish.

And around this point, Azar slowly realized the fact that this situation wasn’t his shameless dream. Coming to his senses belatedly, cold sweat momentarily ran down his back, but he couldn’t just let Nathan go now.

Hadn’t he already rubbed lips and entangled legs as he pleased? And in the first place, weren’t they already lovers who shared feelings? So, wasn’t this level of skinship acceptable? It wasn’t even the first time.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind: Is he refusing even this much after neglecting me for so long?

“…You hugged me and left as you pleased.”

So, at the words that popped out like a complaint, Nathan, who had been struggling, paused.

“T-that was! A light hug… It was just a hug! That much…”

He protested with a face so red it was visible even in the dark. Saying things like Wasn’t that something we could do anytime?, Why make a fuss now about something we used to do often?, Isn’t that different from this? When he finally blurted out the nonsense question, “Did you dislike it?”, Azar inadvertently shut Nathan’s mouth with his own.

Suddenly silenced, Nathan glared at Azar with a frown. Azar didn’t avoid his gaze either. In that state, tongues entangled through the slightly parted lips. With his tongue tickling the inside of his mouth and the gaze deepening, it was Nathan who eventually closed his eyes first.

A myriad of thoughts flashed through Nathan’s mind. Calypse is just a stone’s throw away if I trip, there are quite a few sleepless, curious servants in this castle, and besides us, there are three other people inside the same castle…

But his thoughts couldn’t continue and ended there. If Azar clung to him while whining, he couldn’t push him away.

A hand slipped stealthily inside the half-opened gown.

***

“Something about your face feels unpleasant.”

Seeing Azar’s shiny face from the morning, Ramiya mumbled.

“Why does it feel like sunlight is shining only over there?”

“Isn’t there a hole in the ceiling somewhere?”

Saying that, Ramiya and Ali looked around the dining room ceiling.

“So, what are you going to do today?”

Ignoring the two, Azar picked up the meat filling the table from the morning with a fork and asked Remberton.

“Is there anything different? I’ll go where the Naga are.”

“Didn’t you say it was almost finished?”

“That’s right. So I plan to stop by briefly and then look around the territory again.”

Ramiya cut in and said, ”We haven’t seen much because we were only there. Today, I’m thinking of going a bit further.”

“Should I go too…” Ali mumbled, stretching the end of his sentence as if contemplating.

“What about you?”

Azar shrugged at the question returned to him.

“I intend to stay inside the castle until noon for now. Nathan said let’s all have lunch together for the first time in a while?”

“Ah, I heard from Ash. Then we should return by lunch.”

“…Come a little later than usual. That would be better for Nathan too.”

Azar thought for a moment and said so. The other three were puzzled by the instruction to come later than 12 o’clock, but they soon let it slide, thinking there must be a reason, and focused on breakfast.

The three quickly finished breakfast and left the Lord’s castle, and Azar returned to the guest room where he was staying.

On the way, hearing from Ash, whom he ran into, to make sure to wake Nathan up around lunch, Azar awkwardly answered that he understood.

***

Back in the room.

On the bed, Nathan was sleeping curled up, hugging a pillow. It seemed he always slept like this when there was no one beside him.

Azar carefully took the pillow from his arms, threw it off the bed, and occupied that spot himself.

But perhaps because the difference in volume was too great, Nathan opened his eyes. His blurry, unfocused eyes blinked a couple of times, then soon confirmed Azar’s face. Just as their eyes seemed to meet, he hugged Azar in his sleep and closed his eyes again.

Azar had to struggle to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out at that sequence of events. Hugging him back, he rubbed his head against Nathan’s chest.

***

It was a little past noon when Nathan opened his eyes again.

“…Ah.”

A small dry cough came out of his slightly scratchy throat.

Blinking blankly, Nathan, who suddenly startled and sat up, noticed the heavy arm wrapped around his waist like a shackle and stopped moving abruptly. That alone was enough to recall the events of dawn. He wrapped his head in both hands and inadvertently groaned.

“…He’s driving me crazy.”

Unaware of his feelings, Nathan glared at Azar, who was sleeping peacefully. He occasionally twitched the corners of his mouth as if having a good dream.

“…”

Finding the peaceful sleeping face somehow hateful, Nathan inadvertently slapped Azar’s forehead lightly and slipped out of bed.

…Though he had a bit of trouble moving the arm aside.

His inner thighs were chafed and sore. Nathan checked his attire once. He was wearing clothes properly, but because a few buttons were missing, the collar kept trying to gape open.

He groaned again and put a hand to his forehead. What a mess. Just by slightly lifting the sleeping clothes he was wearing, he could tell. His whole body was in chaos.

With reddish thighs and blotches here and there all over his body, plus handprints remaining as they were, it seemed anyone who didn’t know could easily infer what had happened.

‘Tired in many ways…’

Since they didn’t do anything properly, there was no discomfort in moving, but perhaps due to lack of sleep, the fatigue wouldn’t go away.

‘…I should draw a soundproofing magic circle while I’m at it.’

Nathan walked unsteadily, found the gown he wore yesterday, put it on, glanced at Azar once, and carefully opened the door.

Creeak.

Why does it only make a loud noise at times like this? Nathan quickly looked around. Fortunately, no one was passing by.

Dash—.

Running towards his room, Nathan cried inwardly. What on earth was he doing? It was fortunate their rooms were close; even if most people knew about the relationship between the two, getting caught in a situation like this wouldn’t be good. Wouldn’t it just be embarrassing for both?

And what about the servants? They were people who liked to chatter, so if they knew he slept elsewhere, rumors might spread throughout the territory in less than a day.

‘Ah, I really should have snapped out of it and gone back yesterday…!’

Bang!

Nathan closed the door quickly as soon as he practically jumped into his room. His heart was pounding as if he had run a 100m dash. Just as he exhaled the breath he had been holding while pressing his back against the door.

“What were you doing to come in just now?”

Hearing a youthful voice mixed with a bit of drowsiness, Nathan really thought his heart would drop. He reflexively clutched his collar and turned his head.

He saw Calypse walking out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes and trudging.

“Y-you’re up? You woke up early?”

It was a voice that sounded awkward even to his own ears, but Nathan feigned ignorance. Calypse stared intently at such a Nathan with half-open eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Your reaction is very suspicious…”

“Me? What?”

Nathan said he was saying all sorts of things and lifted Calypse up in a flash before he could say anything more. Even in the midst of that, Calypse’s glare was sharp. He covered Calypse’s line of sight towards the door with his body and asked.

“More importantly, you seem fine today? Are you okay now?”

He tried to change the subject, but seeing the bright eyes unlike the recent lethargic appearance, he wondered if he had returned to normal.

“Roughly sorted out.”

“Will you tell me what you were thinking about all this time?”

“…I’ll think about it.”

“How much more are you going to think?”

At the blunt answer, Nathan chuckled and spoke playfully. Saying that if he thought any more here, he would grow old.

“Later… Not now.”

Calypse mumbled while hugging Nathan’s neck and rubbing his soft cheek against his shoulder.