“We have arrived at the villa.”
Mason, who had climbed down from the coachman’s seat, paused for a moment, then opened the carriage door. At the horrific sight visible through the gap, he briefly turned his head away and lowered his eyes.
“The things I told you to arrange?”
“I have contacted them as you instructed.”
“Keep everyone but a few servants from visiting this place. Unless it is urgent business, have it passed on to Kian.”
“Yes, understood.”
At Matthew’s words, it almost felt as though Kian’s wail could be heard from somewhere, but Mason bent at the waist and showed flawless courtesy.
“Come to think of it, it seems he likes tomatoes. Don’t forget to tell the head chef to pay special attention to that.”
Matthew’s eyes as he looked down at Riu were full of warmth. But all that covered Riu’s body was Matthew’s outer coat.
Maybe he had cried and cried again, because the corners of his eyes were red. Tears that still had not dried clung to the tips of his long eyelashes, and his flushed cheeks and reddened nose looked pitiful enough to make one ache.
As Mason stared blankly, unable to pull his gaze away, a cold voice came down from above.
“Mason.”
“Yes.”
“You would do well not to look at him with such disrespectful eyes again. No matter how much I favor you, I never know when I might gouge both your eyes out.”
Mason’s fingertips trembled at the thick murderous intent emanating from him, making it impossible to breathe. The overwhelming aura, truly befitting the strongest of the Berschut Empire, left him speechless.
“…My apologies.”
“For the next two weeks, double Count Carter’s workload. To the point he can’t even go home.”
He had been this kind of man from the start. A merciless man who would cut off someone’s head on the spot if things displeased him. The only times such a man ever wore a smiling face were when the man in his arms was there.
“I will obey your command.”
If there was something Matthew wanted, he would have it no matter what.
Mason felt sorry for the one who would have to remain by such a man’s side.
‘He was a boy who used to gaze at the fish by the pond in wonder…’
But there was nothing he could do for him, so he quietly followed after his lord.
After laying the person in his arms down on the bed, Matthew headed into the dressing room attached to the bathroom.
Saying that a few shirts would be enough for what he would wear from now on, Matthew told Mason to burn every piece of clothing in the wardrobe.
In case Riu might try to run away, he strengthened the villa’s security, and even had every pair of shoes he could wear disposed of.
“Cancel the letter that was going to be sent to Count Carter. There’s no need to burden him by saying he has to take responsibility.”
“Yes.”
Watching Mason answer quickly and disappear, Matthew let out a low hum.
It was true that Matthew had been planning to send a marriage proposal to Count Carter. If Riu had not looked at him with that disappointed expression, he might have pushed forward with the plan after all.
But knowing the time was not yet right, he decided to put it off until later. Matthew walked over to Riu’s side as he slept.
Looking at Riu sleeping so deeply that even the sound of breathing could hardly be heard, Matthew muttered in a low voice.
“If you hate it, I won’t force you. Still, there’s one thing I should make clear too.”
Matthew, murmuring as though making a confession, briefly furrowed his brow. Then he recalled the day they first met and drew a gentle smile at the corners of his mouth.
Matthew first came to know Riu at the academy. The sight of Riu sitting in a general education class resembled cherry blossom petals blooming in spring. He had that sort of skin tone that looked as though a pressed mark would rise vividly upon it.
As though he was used to being alone, he never met anyone’s eyes, and every day he quietly attended class and vanished.
Then one day, Matthew spotted Riu at a masquerade ball. Looking at him standing in a corner wearing nothing by way of disguise except a single mask, Matthew felt a curiosity he could not explain.
What would it feel like if red marks were engraved on that skin? The provocative thought filled his mind.
When Matthew approached him, unable to hold back any longer, Riu was already drunk, having consumed so much.
As he watched Riu stagger, seemingly unable to even stand upright, Matthew quickly wrapped his arms around his waist. At that moment, alcohol splashed from the glass he was holding and seeped into his collar.
“…I-I’m sorry.”
The tone of Riu’s voice that he heard for the first time then…
It was so captivating that he wondered if this was the tone an angel descended from heaven would sing. Overwhelmed by desire, Matthew took Riu to a nearby room.
Riu, thoroughly drunk, was in no state to know anything. Long eyelashes visible even beyond the mask, and clear violet eyes.
Drawn again and again into that gaze, Matthew slowly removed Riu’s mask.
“…Ah, you can’t.”
For someone objecting, Riu’s movements were slow. Seeing that he seemed barely able to control even his own body, Matthew climbed on top of the limp Riu.
That was how they spent a night together, and when Matthew confirmed the next day that Riu had run away, all he could do was let out a hollow laugh.
It had been a night so satisfying that he wondered whether he had ever been this happy in his life, and yet he had to think about how to catch him.
Matthew thought about it for a while that day, then decided to give him time. To push him in his own usual style would not do, because Riu was a very small and delicate person.
“But to think you’d stab me in the back like this.” Matthew said to the sleeping Riu, roughly running his hand through his hair.
“If you want to run, then run. Now, later, until the day you die, I’ll find you without fail and keep you by my side.”
As though gazing into a future already foretold, Matthew laughed aloud and curved his eyes in a sinister way.
Only after it had grown dark outside once more did Riu slowly lift his eyelids. His gaunt face, which had not recovered even after just a day, made it clear how difficult the relationship in the carriage had been for him.
“You’re awake?”
Matthew, who had been reading with only a single lamp lit, asked Riu the question. It was an exceedingly warm voice, but Riu, his eyes still heavy with sleep, only stared slowly at the things around him.
“You must have been very tired. Considering you slept without waking even once.”
Matthew brushed Riu’s hair back with his large hand and lightly kissed his forehead. Anyone watching would think they were lovers.
“…Where is this?”
“It’s a villa. It’s also the place where you and I will be staying temporarily from now on.”
At the word temporarily, Riu rubbed at his eyes, which still refused to open properly, and looked up at him. Then, feeling the blatantly direct gaze on him, he belatedly realized that he was naked.
Startled, he hurriedly crossed his arms in an X over his body to cover himself, but Matthew lifted the blanket he had been covering himself with and said with a mischievous expression,
“Why? It’s pretty, and I like it.”
“Wh-where are my clothes?”
“I threw them away.”
“…What?”
“You never know. You might harbor other thoughts and run away.”
“So I threw them away myself,” he whispered, smiling brightly.
“If you threw them away, then I…”
Looking at Riu, who was practically squeezing the words out, Matthew set the book he had been holding down on the shelf. Filling a prepared glass halfway with water, he held it out to Riu.
“Your voice is very hoarse. It must have been hard on you.”
“You’re not really planning to lock me up here, are you?”
Looking at Riu, who asked carefully in a trembling voice, Matthew let out a short laugh. He seemed very displeased by how frightened Riu was.
“If someone heard you, they’d think we were strangers. I’m only saying we should live together.”
Riu wanted to ask if that wasn’t exactly what that meant, but under the gaze urging him to drink the water, he lightly wet his throat. Ever since the moment he had been trapped in the villa, it seemed his opinions no longer mattered at all.
“Aren’t you hungry? Shall I have something brought in for you to eat?”
Since it was obvious that he would order food brought in even if he refused, Riu nodded and set down the glass.
“You’re going to tell me to eat even if I don’t want to, right?”
“Yes.”
The situation felt like being given the disease and then the medicine, and Riu felt displeased. But without showing it, he only clutched the edge of the blanket tighter.
“Even if you don’t like it, there’s nothing to be done. If you keep suddenly collapsing like this, it puts me in a bit of a bind.”
Matthew rang the bell and called for the attendant outside. At the same time, startled, Riu hurriedly burrowed beneath the blanket.
“You called for me?”
“Bring something light on the stomach, and low in salt.”
“Yes, understood.”
Looking at the attendant as he disappeared after those words, Matthew called Riu’s name. He had called him because the attendant was gone and meant for him to come out, but Riu did not move an inch and stubbornly maintained that same position.
“Are you embarrassed?”
“…Yes.”
“Why? I even marked pretty flowers all over your body more beautifully than anyone in the world.”
At Matthew’s absurd words, the tips of Riu’s ears turned red. Of course, because he was under the blanket, Matthew could not see it. Poking at Riu’s curled-up body, Matthew asked,
“You’re going to stay naked like this from now on. What will you do if you’re this embarrassed already?”
At Matthew’s words, startled, Riu slowly peeked his head out. At the same time, as though he had been waiting for it, Matthew grabbed his face and kissed him just like that.
Riu’s eyes widened at Matthew’s kiss, suddenly pressing in without warning. Then, feeling the tip of his tongue wrap around his softly, he lowered his eyes a little and kissed him back for a brief moment.
“Sweet. Terribly so.”
At those seductive words, Riu’s eyelids trembled. Feeling that if this continued he would be swept along, Riu opened the eyes he had closed.
“I’m hungry…”
At Riu’s words, Matthew laughed aloud. Then, as if he found him cute, he wiped away the tears gathered at the corners of Riu’s eyes and held out a shirt in front of him.
“For now, put this on first.”
“……What about pants?”
“I don’t think you need those. You’ll only end up having them taken off by my hands soon enough.”
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