He pressed hard enough to hollow his cheeks as he came into Riu’s mouth. Knowing that doing so made the space inside even narrower, he didn’t forget to push in deep.
“How about we change locations? It’s not far from here.”
Matthew scooped up the still-dazed Riu in his arms. Only then did Riu start to squirm, but Matthew paid it no mind and carried him off somewhere.
“Where… is this?”
It was so quiet Riu wondered where such a sealed room could even exist. Then, realizing it was inside the palace, he hastily spoke to Matthew.
“If you use a room inside the palace like this without permission…”
“There’s no one who’ll say anything, so don’t worry about that.”
Matthew set Riu, whom he’d been carrying, down on the bed. Then, as if he wouldn’t wait another second, he climbed over him and murmured at Riu’s ear.
“For now, how about you focus too? Judging by your reactions, I’d say you’re thinking the same thing as I am.”
Matthew’s lips, full of intent, brushed Riu’s ear. Whispering low like someone trading secret words, he closed a hand around Riu’s wrist.
“Did you drink?”
“…A little?”
“Then you’ll be even more sensitive today. Like that first night.”
“What do you mean, like that first night?”
Rubbing the tender spot of Riu’s wrist with his thumb, Matthew pressed a kiss to the inner side. Warmer than a hand, his body heat made the spot tingle as if burned.
“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this day.”
In a voice soaked with yearning, Matthew gently bit the inside of Riu’s wrist. Like a young beast whose new teeth itch, he chewed and chewed, then ran the tip of his tongue in a long lick over the marked spot.
“From now on, I won’t let you go. Once I bite down, I never let go.”
Possessiveness in his green eyes, Matthew traced Riu’s throat with his gaze—like someone gauging which spot to bite to leave a mark. His eyes curled smoothly.
“Hurry up and call my name. With that fine, narrow mouth of yours.”
At Matthew’s voice, which sounded indecently skilled, Riu’s eyelids trembled. Finally coming to his senses, he nudged Matthew back and said,
“…The attendant will be waiting downstairs.”
It wasn’t the sort of thing to bring up after coming this far, but with the thought that he had to put an end to this, Riu drew a line.
“The attendant will have gone back. I already sent him away.”
“What do you mean…?”
“What do you think it means?”
No sooner had he finished than Matthew’s question came, and Riu’s eyes wavered uneasily.
He was acting like someone who’d known that the partner he’d spent the masked ball night with was Riu. Feeling a betrayal he couldn’t name, Riu asked in a shaking voice,
“…You knew all along?”
At Riu’s faintly trembling tone, a thin laugh escaped Matthew’s lips.
“Riu, why that face? Did you really think I didn’t know?”
“How… no, since when did you know?”
Carefully asked, Riu’s question made Matthew smile prettily with his eyes.
“From the beginning.”
At the word “beginning,” an unhidden emotion flickered over Riu’s face. Forcing his voice steady, he looked straight at Matthew.
“…Was it fun?”
“That’s what I want to ask you.”
At Matthew’s words, Riu pressed his lips together again. Of course, having deceived Matthew, he wasn’t in a position to say anything—but with emotions that wouldn’t settle, he rose from the bed.
“Like I said, I didn’t intend to deceive you. I really am sorry about that…”
“I didn’t want to deceive you either. If only you hadn’t acted like you knew nothing.”
Matthew was, in the end, saying all of this had happened because of Riu’s lie. With nothing to refute, Riu let his gaze drop, strengthless.
“…Yeah. I’m sorry.”
“Riu. Do you remember what I said? I told you to stop with the apologies.”
“…”
“Now that we’re being honest with each other, what’s the point of tallying up faults? We can just start over from here.”
Matthew rose and wrapped an arm around Riu’s back. He was small enough to be enclosed with one arm. Matthew pressed his nose to the hollow of Riu’s neck.
“Then everything you’ve said to me until now… was it all a lie?”
Riu’s eyes, heavy with emptiness, flushed red. Thinking that all the kindness Matthew had shown was nothing more than consideration for a one-night partner made his heart go cold.
“No. Everything I showed you was sincere… except the part about not remembering.”
Riu’s feelings, blotched with confusion, bucked uneasily. Wanting to go home for today, he spoke, but Matthew flatly refused.
“…I want to go back.”
“That won’t do.”
“Matthew…”
At his name, exhaled like a sigh, Matthew turned Riu around. Seeing he had no intention of letting go, Riu’s hand fell from his grip on Matthew’s clothes. His opinion meant nothing to him anyway. Resigning himself, Riu said,
“Okay…”
He couldn’t remember how the night passed. When he opened his eyes, Matthew was already gone.
With a small groan, Riu gave his lower back a light tap-tap. Having slept with Matthew a few times, his body wasn’t all that sore. Or rather, to be precise, it was thanks to Matthew easing his tension all through the night.
“What time is it…?”
Almost muttering to himself, Riu glanced around. But everything around him was pitch black thanks to the blackout curtains.
He figured he should get out, so he rose from the bed. Thankfully, there was no mishap of fluids running down his thighs—apparently Matthew had taken care of things to the end.
The clothes that should have been on the floor were folded on the side table by the bed.
“These aren’t mine…”
The fabric was far more luxurious, a soft woven silk; that surprised him, but there was nothing else around besides those clothes.
He couldn’t very well go naked, so he had no choice but to put them on. The fit was so perfect that Riu’s eyes went round. It was as if the clothes were made for him; he looked down at himself.
“They suit you.”
Startled by a sudden voice, Riu flinched. Then, realizing the voice’s owner was Matthew, he let out a dry sigh.
“…How long have you been there?”
“Now.”
At “now,” Riu glanced around the room. He hadn’t heard anyone come in; he blinked big eyes at Matthew, who’d simply appeared.
“You must be tired—why did you get up instead of sleeping more?”
If he knew this was inside the palace… Riu hurriedly straightened the room and tugged on Matthew.
“Let’s get out of here first. What if someone comes…”
“No one came while we were here. No one will come after, either.”
In an easy tone, Matthew drew Riu in.
“Is your body okay? I tormented you for two days; you must be exhausted.”
“T—two days?”
Riu had thought at most a day had passed. At “two days,” he couldn’t hide his shock.
“Shall we go get something to eat first?”
“No, I mean… home first.”
“If it’s because of the Count, you don’t have to worry. From what I know, the Count will be busy for several days with work.”
How do you know that? Riu looked at him, face full of suspicion.
“I heard. From my father.”
With a casual shrug, Matthew clasped Riu’s hand, interlacing their fingers so he couldn’t bolt.
“Then that means your father is here in the palace…”
Seeing Riu act like he’d be in trouble if they ran into him, Matthew fetched a cloak from somewhere.
“This will do.”
With a face touched by kindness, Matthew draped the cloak over Riu’s body. He tied the ribbon carefully and set the hood over Riu’s head.
“Shall we go fill our bellies, then?”
“But how do we get out of here…?”
“Mason will be waiting outside. And I know a secret passage out of the palace.”
To reassure him, Matthew smoothed Riu’s hair.
“Riu.”
“Yeah.”
“I rented a carriage too, so you wouldn’t be uncomfortable. So all you have to do is follow me.”
With eyes brimming with affection, Matthew pressed a kiss to Riu’s forehead. It was a light peck loud enough to make a small sound. Riu nodded and followed the path Matthew led.
Once outside the palace, Riu climbed into the carriage that had been prepared in advance. He wanted to ask how Matthew knew about the secret passage in the palace, but he couldn’t ask anything because Matthew’s kisses kept coming hard and fast.
His kisses were a bit rougher than usual. Struggling, Riu thumped Matthew’s chest and called his name.
“S-stop…!”
But Matthew didn’t let him go until long after the carriage had set off.
“Riu.”
“How can you suddenly press like that…”
“I’m terribly jealous, you know. Even of my subordinates.”
Riu looked up at him as if to say, what does that even mean? Still not understanding, he blinked, and Matthew ran a thumb over Riu’s saliva-wet lips.
“I mean don’t act familiar with anyone but me. Not unless you want to see me lose my mind.”
T/N: Dear author, can you give me a detailed account of what transpired on the night of the ball? The one Riu couldn’t remember… Oh, no, you can’t remember either? Oh… Too bad… (My wishful thinking)
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