Chapter 29: The Emperor’s Fear

Caught completely off guard by the sight before him, Fria stammered as he waved both hands in panic.

“Y-Your Majesty? W-Why are you crying?”

‘Surely… surely he wasn’t crying because it hurt?’

Considering everything Fria had suffered so far, two slaps were nowhere near enough to satisfy his anger.

Yet the old saying echoed in his mind: the one who gets hit sleeps with their legs stretched out, while the one who strikes cannot rest easy. His conscience prickled unbearably.

“Does it hurt? Were you hurt badly?”

The sound had been loud, but he didn’t think he had struck that hard. Still, both of Owen’s cheeks were flushed red.

‘And the blood… where had that come from?’

‘The crown of his head? His forehead? The back of his head?’

As Fria parted through his hair to inspect him, Owen slowly lifted his head to look up at him.

Large black eyes, dark and innocent like a child’s, overflowed endlessly with tears.

‘Please don’t cry. Please. You’re not someone who should look like this.’

“What am I supposed to do with this…”

Fria was long accustomed to comforting children, his nephew Matia, the little princesses, all of them, but this was the first time he had ever seen a grown man cry, let alone tried to soothe one.

“I was wrong. Please calm yourself, Your Majesty.”

‘At least get angry instead!’

He was the one who had barged in uninvited, the one who had forced himself on Fria, the one who had even tried to kill him.

So why was Fria the one stuck comforting him now?

He wasn’t some market child who could be placated with a handful of sweets, nor a puppy satisfied by a few affectionate pats. What in the world was Fria supposed to do to stop these tears?

“Your Majesty…”

With a sigh, Fria reached up and brushed his thumb beneath Owen’s eye.

The moment he touched him, Owen blinked, and tears gathered on his lashes spilled onto the back of Fria’s hand.

Warm tears slid down his wrist.

Strangely enough, the warmth steadied his heart.

Courage rose within him.

Fria lowered his hand onto Owen’s shoulder and applied the faintest pressure.

Like a docile child, Owen leaned into him.

Fria awkwardly wrapped an arm around his back, and Owen surrendered his weight completely.

Patting him gently, Fria spoke in a quiet voice.

“It’s alright. Everything is alright, Your Majesty. Please rest easy.”

He could hear the sound of Owen’s heartbeat.

Slowly, Owen’s eyes closed.

****

He had removed Owen’s soaked clothes, wiped him dry with towels, even dressed him in spare nightclothes that barely fit.

Yet once the emperor woke again, he showed no sign of falling asleep.

Nor did he lie still.

Had a puppy crawled into the emperor’s body in place of his soul?

Every time Fria tried to keep a reasonable distance, Owen would inch closer again, whining softly as he clung to him.

‘Good boy.’

If only he could put him to sleep with a few pats on the head like a dog.

Unfortunately, the part yearning to be stroked was not his head.

The thing pressed against Fria’s thigh was steadily growing larger.

Owen’s pitiful little whimpers might have stirred sympathy, but the size of the problem made it impossible to indulge lightly.

And Fria was a man too.

He knew perfectly well the misery of being unable to release while trapped in relentless arousal. He could hardly sit there and ignore it.

Besides, technically speaking, wasn’t he the emperor’s consort?

“It’s not even our first time…”

But…

“We’ve never done it while he was drugged.”

And besides…

“Is this bastard even in his right mind enough to do anything properly?”

Still…

“If I don’t help him, he’ll keep this up all night.”

‘Fine. Get it over with quickly and put him to sleep.’

After agonizing over it, Fria finally spoke with grim determination.

“Your Majesty. Would you prefer my hand? Or…”

Owen stared at Fria’s lips with the innocent expression of a child.

His face and his erection were utterly mismatched.

Reluctant though he was, Fria decided to attempt the first option manually. If that failed…

Then he would have to resort to the forbidden secret art.

Oral.

Judith had once shoved a foreign erotic manual into his hands, insisting it would “be helpful.” According to that ridiculous book, proper use of pressure and tongue could send someone straight to paradise in an instant.

As Fria slipped a hand beneath the robes, Owen immediately recoiled with a grimace.

He had expected it, but the sheer size, hardness, and heat of it were terrifying.

As Fria awkwardly tried to continue, Owen caught his wrist and firmly pushed his hand away.

“No.”

Owen shook his head stubbornly, his tone childish yet absolute.

“You don’t want that?”

“No.”

Apparently handjobs were not to His Majesty’s taste.

The fact that he still had the nerve to insist on preferences in a state like this felt absurdly emperor-like, and it irritated Fria to no end.

‘Who exactly is suffering more here, you or me?’

Fria turned away onto his side, but Owen immediately pressed close against his back again.

Hot breath spilled over the nape of his neck.

Like an idiot incapable of understanding how to relieve himself, Owen whimpered and rubbed against him helplessly.

At this rate they would still be here at dawn.

“So it’s really time for the forbidden technique…”

Finally reaching the end of his patience, Fria sat up with grim resolve and pushed Owen onto his back.

Owen blinked up at him in confusion.

Then suddenly his gaze dropped downward as Fria tugged up his robes.

The moment Owen saw Fria’s head disappear between his legs, he jerked backward in alarm.

“Oh no you don’t.”

Stubbornness flaring, Fria tightened his grip on Owen’s thighs.

He had mastered the theory perfectly.

He could do this.

“What else are we supposed to do?! Stay like this all night?”

After catching a kick to the chin from Owen’s frantic struggling, Fria finally snapped.

“I said no!”

Like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, Owen shouted and sulked with puffed cheeks.

‘Good grief. What a nightmare of a noble brat.’

For the first time in his life, Fria truly understood the feelings of the nursemaids who had raised him.

No, his situation was far more unfair.

At worst, young Fria had merely whined about bathing or eating vegetables.

He had never once tormented someone through the night while helplessly burning with lust.

“I don’t want to either. I said I don’t want to.”

Owen’s face crumpled as he looked at Fria’s refusal, as though he might cry again.

That was cheating.

Why did he keep making Fria’s resolve weaken like this?

If tears could solve the problem, then Fria was the one who deserved to cry.

Normally Owen finished quickly and left without a backward glance.

So why was he acting like this now?

“Half-hearted stimulation will only make things worse. Let’s just finish this quickly.”

Exhausted, Fria tried coaxing him again.

“It’ll be over soon. I won’t hurt you.”

“I said no.”

Owen answered weakly, his face twisted with distress.

“Then at least tell me why.”

“…I’m scared.”

“You’re scared?”

‘Excuse me?’

‘You are saying that to me?’

‘I’m the one who got beaten, forced, and nearly strangled to death by the emperor!’

“No…”

Owen lowered his head stubbornly once more.

But what was the point of arguing logically with someone drugged senseless?

“Fine then. I won’t touch you. Your Majesty can figure it out yourself.”

At this point, what did he even have left to hesitate over?

Fria stripped off his clothes first, then yanked Owen’s robes away with rough hands.

After that, he sprawled boldly across the bed as though challenging him to try.

Even though it was the same partner, the same bed, the same position as always.

Perhaps because Owen looked different.

Perhaps because he hesitated.

It felt like being with a completely different person.

Blushing furiously, Owen carefully moved against him as though seeking permission.

His overheated body merely seemed to long for contact, clumsy in its attempts.

Fria could feel the taut tension in Owen’s leg muscles and instinctively braced himself for pain.

But strangely…

Though Owen possessed none of the finesse to make this easy, he did not force his way in as usual.

Sweat dripping from his body, Owen moved with painstaking care.

“Ah-!”

At Fria’s involuntary cry of pain, Owen froze immediately.

The pain faded, but at this rate they would never finish even by morning.

Feeling hopeless, Fria bit his lip and finally muttered grimly,

“Just do it, Your Majesty. Like you normally do.”

Owen opened his mouth as though to object.

“If I do…”

And then, unexpectedly…

“You’ll get hurt.”

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