Ch22.1 - ***

Warning Precautions: There are scenes of coercion and dubious consent in this chapter. If this can trigger you in any way please do skip this chapter. Otherwise, please proceed with extra caution!

“What the hell are you doing?”

Yuichiro was unfazed. He just couldn’t understand. He couldn’t understand why Noah had kissed him. After seeing Yuichiro’s blank expression, Noah lowered his eyebrows like a dog that had been scolded.

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re not mad?”

“I’m telling you, I’m not.”

“Really?”

Before Yuichiro could reply with a sigh, his lips were overlapped with Noah’s again. Yuichiro’s lips were pressed over by Noah’s in return while making smacking sounds, similar to a bird pecking at flowers in search of nectar. At first, Yuichiro had considered pulling away from him, however when he noticed Noah’s tensed fingertips were gripping his chest with tension, he felt a strange sense of resignation that Noah’s actions didn’t matter. As a result, he let Noah do as he pleased since he thought this as a dog play with the young man.

Yuichiro expected Noah to grow tired of kissing him, but Noah refused to stop even when the number of kisses on his hands and feet had already exceeded the number of digits on his hands and feet. Something wet and slippery slipped between Yuichiro’s lips just as he was about to tell Noah to stop. The warm saliva touching the tip of his tongue sent shivers down his spine. Yuichiro immediately grabbed Noah’s back and pushed him away.

“Don’t stick your tongue in.

In response, Noah scoffed at Yuichiro, saying, “Didn’t you let Temeraire do it?” Noah was referring to the night the three of them had sex. He was cheekily complaining to Yuichiro.

Then Yuichiro clucked his tongue and scowled at Noah, saying, “You’re different than him.”

“What’s the difference? Why are you okay with Temeraire but not me?”

[I guess I didn’t like this kid after all. He’s so egocentric and full of nonsense that makes me want to beat him up.]

“You’re just a kid.”

“I’m an adult.”

“No, I’m saying you’re a brat on the inside.”

In fact, Yuichiro viewed Noah as a child both inside and out. There was no way he could kiss such a child with his rational mind.

“…You only allow Temeraire do this to you.”

When Yuichiro was about to say, ‘Huh?’ to Noah’s mumbled words, his shoulder was already pressed down from above. Noah had already pinned him by grabbing both of his shoulders.

“But, you’re going to have my child, not Temeraire’s”, Noah sneered, as if taunting Yuichiro. His face was distorted with inexplainable expression, be it anger or jealousy.

For a moment, Yuichiro was unable to understand what Noah was rambling about. ‘What kind of nonsense is this kid saying? Aren’t you the one who disliked me in the first place? Yuichiro had wanted to say these things back at him.

Soon after, he felt pain as Noah’s small fingertips sank into his shoulders with unexpected strength, rendering him unable to retort the words he was holding back in his throat. “What are you on about?” Yuichiro was finally able to utter a sentence through his strained throat. Noah continued to growl as he looked down at Yuichiro.

“That’s why you belong to me.”

This just made more sense to Yuichiro. The child in front of him should have disliked him, but instead he was demonstrating his desire to monopolize him.

“…Don’t tell me, you’re cursed as well?” Yuichiro muttered doubtfully. He wondered if Noah had received the same curse as Temeraire, which caused the child to be drawn to the goddess.

On the contrary, Noah simply frowned skeptically, “What curse?” he asked impatiently. Noah yanked Yuichiro’s jacket up with an unnaturally violent gesture. As the cold air touched Noah’s stomach, Yuichiro grabbed his wrist.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Why are you stopping me?”

They both threw questions at each other. After staring into each other for a while, Yuichiro the silence first. He sighed deeply, and slyly asked, “Are you going to f*ck me?” He hadn’t expected to say such things to anyone other than Temeraire. Noah was enraged even more by Yuichiro’s vexing tone.

“Yes,” he replied.

“If you’re that frustrated, find another woman. Since you’re a king, you should be able to pick and choose from a wide variety of women.”

When Yuichiro responded with these words, Noah’s eyes raised even higher, distorted with rage.

“I only want to hold you!”

Yuichiro was stunned by Noah’s sudden explosion, and blood was draining from his fingertips.

“I will definitely impregnate you with my child,” Noah said, his eyes filled with uncontrollable lust that contrasted with his young face. In fact, his eyes were identical to those of a male looking at his female.

Yuichiro got goosebumps all over his body the moment he realized this. A small hand crept up to his chest from the hem of his jacket. He could feel Noah’s fingertips trembling against his skin, raising the hair on his neck. However, the cold palm soon lost its way and began to move right back and forth on Yuichiro’s chest. Yuichiro let out an irritated voice when Noah touched his chest and belly like touching a tree trunk.

“What exactly are you doing?” Yuichiro felt like an idiot for putting up his guard against the child. He determined that Noah didn’t even know how to have sex.

Noah’s cheeks flushed as if he sensed Yuichiro’s disappointment. Although he was flustered, his face also displayed his stubbornness and obsession.

“Shut up, you’re too noisy!” Noah rebuked sternly, his awkward hands remaining motionless. He then pressed his lips against Yuichiro’s chest.

Nonetheless, when Yuichiro’s chest was licked like a puppy, it tickled him rather than pleasing him. “Ask Temeraire to teach you how to do it and come back,” he said softly, tired of the itchiness sensation like slugs crawling on his chest.

When Noah heard Yuichiro’s words, he became enraged, despite the fact that Yuichiro had responded to him in a much kinder manner by not yelling at him. His eyes raged with slight anger, “Don’t ever compare Temeraire with me!” he shouted, with a suppressed voice while raising his fist. Soon after, he slammed his fist into a pillow next to Yuichiro’s left cheek.

Through his ear, Yuichiro could hear the impact sound on the soft pillow. Yuichiro widened his eyes and looked up at Noah, who was fuming and breathing heavily. Although he wasn’t the one who was comparing both of them, wasn’t it Noah himself who did so by comparing himself with Temeraire the most? Yuichiro had the impression that their relationship was no longer between a ruler and his subjects. It was more like, a close, twisted, tangled relationship. As Yuichiro raised his head, looking at Noah’s contorted face, he asked, “You and Temeraire are…”

“—Half-brothers,” a voice from the back of the room interrupted their conversation.

When Yuichiro shifted his gaze, he noticed Temeraire standing while leaning against the wall. Disregarding Noah’s motionless state, Temeraire approached the bed with leisure steps.

“I assume eavesdropping makes a very good hobby,” Yuichiro remarked sarcastically. Temeraire made a chin gesture after hearing this and pointed to the wall.

“The room next to Goddess-sama’s room is a waiting room for the servants. The walls here are made especially thin so that we can always receive calls from the goddess.”

[That’s why Temeraire’s responded out of the blue.]

Yuichiro felt dizzy from the structure of the building, which had no shreds of privacy. He sighed deeply as he massaged his eyes with his palm. He then looked through the gaps between his fingers at Noah and Temeraire. If anyone had asked him about the two, he would have said that Noah and Temeraire have similar facial features.

“Do you have the same mother?” As soon Yuichiro asked for affirmation, Noah’s eyes, which had previously been frozen in place, were filled with a glint of hatred. Yuichiro remembered what Temeraire had said before he looked into the young man’s eyes.

“It’s two sides of the same coin”

[Did he mean that the feeling of love and hatred for his brother was the same as the two sides of the same coin? If so, Temeraire’s attitude that doesn’t seem like a proper vassal until now makes sense.]

Temeraire, who was standing by the bed opened his mouth, “Yes. My mother, Aria, was originally married to my father, Tess, who was a secretary. Later, when I was seventeen, Hoshu told her something like a ‘God’s oracle’. It was a prophecy for her to become a priestess of God and give birth to the king’s child. After that, my mother was raised to be a priestess and married to the former king, Noah-sama’s father” and exhaled quietly.

Noah, on the other hand, continued to stare at his half-brother. Temeraire then added, “Later on, I had never known what kind of life my mother had while she lived in the castle. And, ten years later, Noah-sama was born. Although my mother wished to return to her original home, her request was denied. In the end, my mother…”

“—Mother always talked about you,” Noah interjected impassively, interrupting Temeraire’s speech. His voice was filled with years of resentment and envy, clung closely to Yuichiro’s eardrums.

Noah then looked at Temeraire and added, “When mother looked at me, she cried ‘I never want to have you!’ She would say that she wants to go home, but couldn’t because of me. She also said that she wanted to see her loving husband and son, while exclaiming, ‘if only you weren’t here.’ To me…” His throat shuddered, and the corners of his mouth quivered slightly.

In an instant, Yuichiro had an epiphany. He had understood who was the one beating Noah all along. Following that, Noah looked Temeraire in the eyes and gloated, “Are you going to take what’s mine again?” In that moment, Noah’s hand suddenly grabbed Yuichiro’s arms. Noah had tightened his grip so strongly that Yuichiro could feel Noah’s fingernails slightly digging into his skin.

“After taking mother from me, do you also want to take Yuichiro?” Noah glared at Temeraire without blinking.

Temeraire’s faced winced, “I have no intention of stealing anything from you.”

“That’s a lie. Because Yuichiro only talks about you. He takes you everywhere with him, while he leaves me behind and won’t even allow me to kiss him,” his voice faded pitifully. Yuichiro, looked up and saw teardrops fell onto his own cheek. He noticed Noah’s face distorted in frustration with tears falling from both of his eyes.

Yuichiro glanced at those tears in amazement. He just couldn’t understand. Was the reason the man crying because Yuichiro wouldn’t let him kiss an old man like him? He failed to understand Noah’s heart, and spouted, “Why are you crying?”

His dumb question unexpectedly spilled out. Noah stared intently at Yuichiro directly below him, with tears streaming down his face. Yuichiro, however, returned Noah’s gaze with a stern expression, further questioning, “Are you against Temeraire?”

Yuichiro wondered if Noah planned to compete with Temeraire in order to prevent him from being taken away like Noah’s mother. As Yuichiro asked this, Noah’s wet eyes flared with anger. “You don’t understand anything,” thrusting immature-like words back at Yuichiro which made him frustrated.

Afterwards, while still looking up at Noah, Yuichiro turned the corners of his mouth upward, “Oh~? What do you mean that I don’t understand?” asking angrily at Noah who seemed to be enduring his anguish for a moment. When Yuichiro saw Noah’s expression, he remembered that it was similar to Temeraire’s whenever the man spoke to him.

Later, Noah gently pressed his forehead against Yuichiro’s chest who secretly thought that they were indeed brothers who shared the same blood.

“I, want Yuichiro. I only want you…” Hearing the earnest appeal, Yuichiro once again pushed his anger aside and became perplexed. After staring at the back of Noah’s head, Yuichiro looked up at Temeraire, “Hey, is this guy also under the goddess’s curse?” he asked in a somewhat comical way.

Temeraire gazed at Yuichiro with a slightly pitiful look. “No, it’s probably not. Until now, there is no legend left that the rightful king was cursed by the goddess.”

“So, what’s with this?” He replied in dismay, staring at Noah who clung to his chest.

Temeraire did not answer, instead he just stared back at Noah and him with a dejected expression. Suddenly, Noah raised his head. His eyes that were wet with tears, and slightly tinged with heat, were staring straight at him. The intense gaze made Yuichiro’s skin heating up. Yet, on the contrary, his mind quietly cooled down.

[I don’t deserve to be looked at like this. How can a murderer be thought as such by anyone?]

Coldness soon enveloped his entire body. It was frightening. The idea of being truly loved by someone is terrifying.

Noah opened his mouth, “I, you to me is—”

Yuichiro didn’t want to hear the rest of the words, so he wrapped his arms around Noah’s neck and drew him in closer. He then pressed his lips against Noah’s, as if engulfing Noah’s next words. As a result, Noah’s eyes widened.

When Yuichiro dug his tongue into Noah’s small mouth, Noah inevitably jolted. As they rubbed their tongues together, as if catching each other’s breath, they mixed each other’s saliva vulgarly. In the darkness, the sound of wet fluid echoed.

Continued in the next part! (～o￣3￣)～