Chapter 16: An Unexpected Intimacy

Song Ze snapped himself out of that state, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest.

“What are you doing here?” Idis ignored the servant and looked directly at Song Ze, radiating an oppressive aura.

“Brother Idis… I was just taking a stroll around here.” Song Ze spoke softly, looking at him uneasily, his blue eyes pleading. “Is that not allowed?”

Idis frowned. He seemed about to say something, but after seeing Song Ze’s frightened expression, he only said coldly, “Don’t come here again.”

“Yes, I understand!” Song Ze quickly nodded. He hurriedly followed the servant out of the place, only then realizing that his back was drenched in cold sweat, and he still felt a lingering terror.

…How terrifying.

He really didn’t want to be alone with Idis!

—–

With a heavy heart, Song Ze had to face another round of etiquette lessons in the afternoon.

The only saving grace was that Idis was too busy to teach him the whole time, so a teacher—rumored to be from the royal family—was assigned to instruct Song Ze.

But the intensity of these etiquette lessons was absolutely brutal. Song Ze even suspected they were deliberately designed to drain his energy so he wouldn’t have the strength to investigate anything. An entire afternoon like this was more exhausting than hunting monsters in the mountains; he felt completely drained.

Soon, evening arrived.

When Song Ze came downstairs, he sensed something off about the atmosphere.

He quickly identified the source: this huge dining hall was completely empty. Yet it was brightly lit, as bright as daylight.

At the long table, Idis sat upright, his posture perfect and impeccable even when no one else was around.

“Brother Idis.”

Song Ze sat down uneasily and cast a few tentative glances at him.

“What’s going on? Why is no one else here…”

Idis looked at him. “Don’t ask so many questions.”

“Mm…” Song Ze had no choice but to agree.

Idis’s personality was exactly this domineering. It was no wonder the protagonist in the game felt a bit of fear toward this childhood friend. But alongside that fear, the protagonist also admired this personality and held good feelings toward him.

If Idis were a little gentler, this game might have long turned into a childhood-friend-raising romance simulator, and there would be no room for anyone else (.)

Song Ze stopped thinking about this nonsense. He picked up his fork, then suddenly felt a jolt. He realized that because he had expended so much energy in the afternoon, his hand was trembling so much he could hardly hold the fork.

“What’s wrong?” Idis keenly noticed the issue.

“I-I’m fine…” No sooner had Song Ze spoken than, due to sheer exhaustion, the fork slipped from his hand and clattered onto the plate.

Song Ze: “!!”

He immediately looked over fearfully, fully anticipating what would happen next!

Idis put down his own knife and fork, looked over, and said, “Have you forgotten everything I taught you this morning?”

Song Ze knew that the best course at this moment was to admit fault immediately. So he said, “I’m sorry. Brother Idis, I might be too tired from the afternoon… I won’t let it happen again—”

“After all, you’ve studied so many lessons today.” Unexpectedly, Idis didn’t continue scolding him. Instead, he looked at Song Ze with a hint of gentleness in his eyes. “You’ve always been like this since the beginning… Even if you don’t like it, you still push yourself for others. You’ve worked hard today, so it’s okay to rest a little.”

Song Ze never expected Idis to suddenly say such a thing. Startled, he blurted out, “Brother Idis?”

This sudden tenderness made him feel flattered and uneasy.

Seeing Song Ze like this, a hint of amusement flickered in Idis’s eyes, but his tone remained cool. “Come here.”

“Huh?” Song Ze stared at Idis blankly, only realizing what he meant after a long moment. Alarm bells rang loudly in his heart.

This posture was definitely the prelude to some gay plot!

“Sorry. I suddenly remembered I have something to do…” Song Ze began, but as he gazed at those violet eyes growing colder, his survival instinct kicked in violently. “But that doesn’t matter. Of course I’ll listen to Brother Idis first.”

Song Ze was weeping inside as he trudged over to Idis. Only then did the other’s expression soften.

If he didn’t do as Idis said, who knew what would happen? After all, Idis was level 99, while Song Ze, even after leveling up to over 30, was still as helpless as a newborn in front of him!

“Good child.” Idis said softly. “Sit here.”

Song Ze: “!!!” Was this really the romantic route with Idis in the game?!

So sudden!

Nothing inappropriate had even happened between them yet! How did the relationship just degenerate like this! This childhood friendship was way too fragile! No… thinking positively, this was definitely just the kind of development between good brothers. Even if they were a bit close, it didn’t mean anything, right?

“Th-this…” Song Ze’s face paled. He looked at Idis in distress.

How could he possibly sit on someone else’s lap! He could come up with a thousand reasons to refuse this kind of thing in an instant!

But the next moment, after seeing Idis’s eyes, Song Ze chickened out and couldn’t utter a single refusal. He moved over at a snail’s pace, stopping in front of the other, unable to bring himself to do anything else.

This was way too challenging for his straight-man mentality. Even though he had already done some pretty gay things with Aliel and Andreya before, that was because he thought they were girls!

“Are you going to be disobedient now?” Idis fixed his pale violet eyes on Song Ze, his voice flat. “Do you need me to teach you a lesson again?”

Although he didn’t know what “teach” meant in this context, a surge of fear from the depths of his soul made Song Ze sit down on Idis’s lap in fright.

Song Ze: “…” Mourning the loss of his dignity.

Anyway, no one was around! No one would know about this!

“Good.” Idis reached out and patted Song Ze’s head, his voice softening. “Isn’t this better? Be obedient, and nothing will happen.”

Song Ze: “…” That was a threat, definitely a threat!!

Then, with his other hand, Idis picked up a fork, stabbed a piece of cut food, and brought it to Song Ze’s mouth. “Ah.”

Song Ze felt terrible. An aloof, cold duke like this feeding him… There was no contrast cuteness at all! It was just terrifying, okay!

And all the table manners Idis had preached earlier were now completely thrown out the window. Song Ze couldn’t help but suspect that Idis’s earlier words were just a pretext to find fault.

“Brother Idis, I, I can do it myself…” Song Ze tried to resist, bearing immense psychological pressure.

“Oh?” Idis said lightly. “You’re tired. You can’t move anymore.”

Song Ze: “!” Was he really that exhausted?!

But no matter how fiercely he complained inwardly, he didn’t dare to defy Idis openly. Biting back tears, he obediently opened his mouth.

Although Idis seemed very harsh, his movements were extremely gentle. He fed Song Ze at just the right pace, causing no trouble at all, but instead feeling quite comfortable.

Song Ze was very nervous at first, but as time passed, he gradually relaxed and even began to enjoy being fed by Idis.

Yes, Song Ze had always been that easygoing.

After all, the dinner tasted really good! Especially delicious—rumored to be palace cuisine and pastries made by some royal chef. The ingredients were nothing like the dry rations and wild fruits he had eaten in the Dark Forest!

Moreover, the food in this other world was said to be made using special methods, incorporating magic into the process. The texture was far superior to modern food.

Soon, they were almost done with dinner. Song Ze breathed a sigh of relief and started on his dessert, thinking he could leave soon… There was no way Idis would ask him to sleep over tonight, right?

Even if this was originally an R18 harem game, the progress wasn’t that fast! Besides, they were still just childhood friends!

…Even if he had sat on his lap and been fed, their relationship hadn’t degenerated!

But at that moment, Idis suddenly reached out and pinched his chin. “You have cream stuck here.”

“Huh?” Before Song Ze could react, Idis leaned down and gently kissed his cheek.

Song Ze: “!!!”

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