The night grew deeper. Frida, declaring that she had to stop, returned to her room. Ivet, still struggling with drowsiness, sat at the dining table with a half-empty glass, tilting it slowly. Gezell, who usually went to bed not too early, and Rensley, who didn’t take short evening naps, both sat consistently with clear eyes at the table.
“Rensley.”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to postpone meeting the emperor?”
Gezell, who had been sipping wine for a while, suddenly brought up the previous conversation. Rensley hesitated before honestly answering.
“To be honest, yes. I’ve never been to Pheraira, and meeting the emperor, who is the highest authority on the continent, is quite nerve-wracking. I… prefer not to meet the emperor.”
Rensley trailed off. The emperor and the attention of others were undoubtedly factors, but the reason Rensley was increasingly hesitant about this ritual lay in an unexpected place.
Gezell seemed oblivious to the discomfort Rensley felt since hearing about Felix becoming king. The fact that a man at the far end of the continent inherited the throne had nothing to do with Rensley becoming the Grand Duchess.
There was no clear reason for the unease, but Rensley had occasionally felt such a sensation since childhood, as if the wind brushing against his ears was giving a warning.
“But if it’s not because of the emperor, do you feel more prepared to change your life as I mentioned earlier?”
“Oh, yes. It seems like that.”
Agreeing with Gezell, who happened to bring up another reason, Rensley nodded.
“After hearing Princess’s words, I realize I may have been too hasty in my desires. The important thing is your heart, not gaining recognition of your status from others… If necessary, we may need to consider finding a proxy for the Alhein ceremony. You could modify the plan slightly, perhaps revealing that the current Grand Duchess is stepping down and appointing me as the new one, instead of exposing that I’ve been the Grand Duchess all along. People are often lenient with remarriages.”
Gezell expressed a bitter expression, wanting to avoid turning his marriage to Rensley into a remarriage. However, his tone indicated a compromise.
“Let me handle that?”
Both Rensley and Gezell looked at Ivet simultaneously. Ivet tilted her head forward slightly.
“If it’s under the king’s order, I should have come, right? The name I provided to the emperor in Cornia is also mine, right? So, if I take Rensley’s place this time for the Alhein, no one needs to lie. After returning from Pheraira, following your words, we can take some time and go through the process of abdicating in my name and then have Rensley assume the position of the new Grand Duchess. How about that? It will give both of you ample time to prepare for the future.”
Rensley widened his eyes. He turned his head quickly and looked at Gezell with sparkling eyes.
“Your Grace! Then there should be no problem with Ivet either. After all, it’s true that Ivet resisted the emperor and king’s orders and ran away. That was one of the things we were initially concerned about.”
“Hmm…”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Gezell’s expression was still doubtful, as if he couldn’t have full confidence, but he nodded.
“True. If we’re going to find a proxy anyway… let’s consider it.”
In Rensley’s view, it seemed like the best proposal at the moment.
‘Ivet, you’re truly a wonderful sister.’ When Rensley gestured a low thumbs up, Ivet also raised her thumb in response.
“I’m glad I can help you both. I’d like to stay longer, but I just arrived today, and I’m a bit tired. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Sure, Princess. We’ll think more about the proposal you suggested.”
“Then, have a good night.”
As Ivet left, Rensley and Gezell were left alone in the room, as usual.
The food plates were empty, but there were still a few colorful candies that Ivet had brought as a gift and dessert. Rensley tossed one into his mouth, thinking of cleaning up the table roughly for tomorrow morning, and glanced at Gezell.
“Your Grace, shouldn’t you rest now? I’m not particularly sleepy since I dozed off earlier.”
“I’m not very sleepy either. We can leave the cleaning for later, and since there’s still some wine left, we can stay up a bit longer.”
Being the king’s companion had its advantages, one of which was being able to completely avoid bothersome tasks. Leaving the messy table as it was, Rensley moved closer to Gezell, pulling a chair and sitting next to him. Leaning his head on Gezell’s shoulder, he whispered.
“Your Grace, thank you. I truly enjoyed today. It felt like a family gathering.”
“It’s thanks to Sir Maelrosen providing a nice setting. I haven’t had a meal like this in a long time.”
“No, it’s thanks to Your Grace inviting Ivet. Even though there were times when several royals gathered for meals in Cornia, we couldn’t call it a family gathering. I rarely attended those events.”
“Come to think of it, you didn’t live in the Cornia palace from the beginning, and I’ve never heard the story of when you lived outside.”
Gezell’s hand brushed down from Rensley’s head to his cheek. Rensley opened his eyes narrowly and gave a wry smile.
“It seemed like my mother raised me alone and fell seriously ill. She couldn’t leave me alone, so she performed the ritual of confirming kinship and entrusted me to the palace. I couldn’t mention my mother and there was no way to know what had happened to her. Probably not of this world anymore.”
“You speak as if you heard it from someone else.”
“That’s right. I don’t remember much. I was too young. If I had vivid memories, I might want to see her, but fortunately, that’s not the case. Still, she seemed like a good mother. Although nothing particularly stands out, sometimes I think of the feelings from my very early childhood. It seemed pleasant.”
Rensley caressed Gezell’s hand. His hand felt good. From a young age, Rensley didn’t shy away from chores like kitchen work or stable duties, and unlike Rensley’s hands that were rough from running after him and boasting about learning swordsmanship in the marketplace, Gezell’s hands were flawlessly long and elegant, fitting for royalty. However, instead of feeling the bones protruding and the size being large and impressive, it gave a sense of neatness.
Today, while the sun was at its zenith, he turned Gezell’s fingers backward. Duke Gezell persistently pressed Rensley until he stuttered. From not knowing even the basics and struggling with awkward methods during their early encounters, Rensley had become so skillful that he was impossible to defeat. The clumsiness of the past seemed somewhat cute now.
‘…Why am I having such inappropriate thoughts out of the blue?’
Rensley, whose refined sensibilities were clouded by such thoughts, pecked Gezell’s long fingers lightly from the elegant fingertips. In response, Gezell lowered his head, and the next moment, his lips covered Rensley’s as if to devour him.
Did he get caught thinking something lewd by looking at his hand? The sudden kiss deepened rapidly, and Rensley, sitting down, felt like his waist was melting, so he grabbed Gezell’s arms.
His tongue delved deeply into Rensley’s mouth and then gently retreated. Without realizing it, Rensley opened his mouth wide, and instead of feeling thickly slipping in, Gezell’s tongue slid deep, twisting inside. Their saliva mingled in their mouths. The taste of the not yet completely melted candy spread more densely on the tongue, making the entire mouth sweet.
“Mmm….”
His head grew hot with the tongue’s movements, which overtly suggested sexual union. In contrast to the elegant and refined king’s kiss, it seemed too vulgar.
As their faces finally separated, Gezell extended his tongue as if to show off. The candy that had become smaller was now on his tongue. Rensley tightly gripped the king’s cheeks, enclosing his lips.
“Ah… I haven’t taught you this kind of kiss before.”
“What kind of kiss is this?”
Gezell answered with a whisper, gently licking Rensley’s ear this time. Despite letting out a moan, Rensley continued to complain.
“It feels like the kisses from the alley thugs… it’s, uh, like those messy kisses…”
“Is that a compliment?”
“No.”
“According to the books, it seems that night relations, which are somewhat vulgar, are ironically more highly evaluated. Have you studied on your own?”
“Call it applied knowledge. After learning the basics, every academic discipline depends on an individual’s applied abilities.”
Rensley licked his moistened lips. Due to the candy lump, his lips were sticky from the kiss. Wiping it with a napkin, Rensley glanced at Gezell.
“You stole it when I was savoring it, didn’t you?”
“It’s sweet when kissing. Let’s do it like this next time too.”
“No, we can’t. I want to savor it longer.”
“Do you need to savor it so much? There’s still plenty here.”
“I prefer to savor candy for a long time, not bite into it. Now that I can buy my own, it’s enough, but I developed a habit of savoring. When I was young, didn’t everyone like sweet things? But those foolish humans, while indulging themselves in whatever they liked in front of my eyes, wouldn’t let me have even a single candy. The snack candies for children were managed by palace teachers, not chefs.”
“If you become my Duchess, I’ll build a mountain of candy for you.”
“Where did you learn to say such things while reading difficult books every day?”
Gezell embraced the complaining Rensley. In the Duke’s chamber, there was probably already a bathtub filled with fragrant and clear water for the night bath. Rensley lazily wrapped his legs around Gezell’s waist. Even though he complained like this, every day was a luxurious night.
Lying on the bed without putting on clothes after thoroughly washing their bodies, they stared at the ceiling. Spring is spring. As long as the brazier is lit, even if they wander around the room naked, their bodies won’t cool down anytime soon.
“Come to think of it, I have something to give you.”
Gezell opened the drawer next to the bed. Rensley, with the blanket wrapped around him, stared at the small light brown pouch he pulled out.
“What’s this? Besides what you showed me earlier in the room, was there anything else?”
“Carry this with you when you go to Pheraira. It’s an amulet that blocks curses. It’s something the Grand Magus personally blessed.”
Rensley accepted the pouch he handed over. Opening the entrance, a small blue gem-encrusted bracelet fell onto his palm. Although Rensley had seen gems before, the sapphire-like pendant on the bracelet was different from any gem he had seen so far.
“It looks like a magic stone.”
“Now you recognize magic stones.”
“Did you prepare this on purpose for me? Thank you, Your Grace! I’ll definitely carry it with me.”
Rensley smiled happily as he put on the bracelet. The blue ornament stood out distinctly against his fair skin. Gezell’s expression softened.
“It suits you very well.”
“That’s right. Whether it’s clothes or accessories, whatever I wear suits me well.”
“That’s true, but you look beautiful even when you’re not wearing anything.”
“Oh, yes…”
After a vague response, there was a mischievous laughter again. The arms of the two were entwined closely. The laughter that easily sprung out even from trivial jokes soon quieted down after another kiss.
Thank you!