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“His Imperial Highness? I’m not sure.”
“They wanted to use the lounge, but there was no space left, so I showed them the terrace on the first floor and the balcony on the second floor. Perhaps they have gone there

”
“Ah, his highness the grand prince was looking for warm tea a while ago, so I brought it to him in a hurry. Since he went out through the door leading to the corridor, he must be in the back garden.”
It was about 10 minutes after Maximo arrived at the banquet hall that he found where Renato and Khalid were. He grabbed every attendant walking around the banquet hall and asked where the two were.
After several attempts in vain, Maximo was able to meet the attendant who had just gone to the kitchen to get warm tea at Khalid’s request. He said that Khalid had just headed to the back garden. As soon as Maximo heard those words, he immediately moved there.
Unlike the banquet hall, the corridor connecting the main building and the annex was quiet and dark. Maximo crossed the silent passageway leading to the garden without hesitation. On his way to the back garden, he paused his steps when hearing a small voice carried by the wind. The voice was very faint, but he immediately knew who it was. It was Renato.
I found him.
Maximo immediately turned his head toward the source of the sound. Then, through the well-manicured trees, an antique fountain caught his eye. Two people were hugging each other affectionately.
“

”
Maximo stood still when that shocking sight unfolded in front of his eyes. Although it was quite a far distance, he recognized Renato at a glance. The silver hair that sparkled like the stars in the night sky, and the slender, slim silhouette definitely belonged to Renato. The problem was that he was in Khalid’s embrace.
What is that?
Astonished, Maximo blankly stared and opened his mouth. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
He couldn’t understand at all why Renato was embracing that fucking grand prince bastard so affectionately, why he was hanging on that bastard with his arms around his neck, or why the human called grand prince was hugging Renato’s waist so naturally like that.
Maximo’s body stiffened when he witnessed the simply unacceptable scene. Unable to do anything, he blankly stood there and looked at the two of them. At that moment, a strong night wind struck Maximo’s face.
Ugh, hnngh


The moment the soft groans carried by the wind reached his ears, Maximo’s body violently shook like someone on fire. Because of that, his heels slammed against the marble floor, making a dull sound echo through the passageway. Letting out a noise without him knowing, Maximo was having a shocked expression on his face.
Ha, someone, came, ugh, uhmm.
Hearing the noise that Maximo let out, Renato’s shoulders flinched, and he tried to turn his head away. However, he was held back because of the lips that immediately followed. Khalid raised his hand and gently wrapped it around the white nape so that Renato couldn’t see behind him. Then, the man’s teeth lightly bit Renato’s lower lip.
It’s nothing, huu

, it’s just the sound of the wind.
I don’t, think so, mmph.
Khalid whispered without parting his lips away, then swallowed Renato’s lips again, not giving him a chance to respond. The man’s long, thick fingers ruffled through Renato’s fluttering hair and firmly held the round back of his head.
When Maximo saw that, his face crumpled. In an instant, heat rose to the top of his head as if a flame had shot up. A fit of indescribable anger swirled in his chest.
“

!”
Engulfed in uncontrollable rage, Maximo was about to scream at the two when Khalid turned his head and glanced at him with one eye. The moment their gazes met, Maximo felt suffocated.
In an instant, the air shook violently enough to shake the tree branches, and fierce, ferocious energy like a winter storm seized Maximo’s body and strongly pressed him. It was Khalid’s pheromone.
“Ugh

”
Crushed by the overwhelming pheromone, Maximo groaned like a prey bitten in its nape. He scratched his neck with an anguished expression. He raised his own pheromone and tried to fight back, but it was to no avail. The more Maximo rebelled, the stronger the pressure on him became.
Squelch, smooch.
Khalid, who suppressed Maximo with his pheromone, did not stop the kiss even when he glared at him. Rather, he coveted Renato more as if to show off. From their interlocked lips, hot breaths came and went, saliva became tangled, and wet friction sounds continuously rang out.
That crazy bastard

!
Maximo’s eyes became bloodshot as he looked at Renato, unable to resist Khalid’s stimulation, shuddered and let out groaning sounds. He opened his eyes wide and moved his lips. He couldn’t turn his head or make a sound because of the pheromone that suppressed his entire body. It was as if he had become a lousy insect tied up in a spider’s web and unable to move.
Maximo, feeling severely insulted, swore at Khalid inwardly. He wanted to separate the two right away, but his body wouldn’t listen. It was the first time he had ever felt helpless and powerless like this. He was seized with a terrible sense of defeat.
Haa


Ignoring the humiliated Maximo, Khalid continued to leisurely kiss Renato. Then, when Renato groaned in pain, the man moved his hand that was supporting Renato’s pelvis to gently rub the trembling waist. Then, he slowly gathered back the pheromone that was raging like a wild storm.
“Huff.”
Only then was Maximo freed from the pheromone pressure, and he staggered with a gasp. He panted and stared at Khalid while keeping himself from disgracefully collapsing on the ground.
However, he recoiled once again when the man’s red eyes stared straight at him as if they would soon penetrate him. In the darkness of the night, those eyes resembling flames were fiercely blazing, as though they would burn Maximo without leaving a trace.
As soon as he faced the eyes full of clear killing intent, Maximo felt a fear enveloping his whole body. It was a different sense of intimidation than the pressure of Khalid’s pheromone.
That was not a simple warning.
Maximo intuitively realized that. He seemed to understand why Khalid was called a slaughterer on the battlefield. That was a gaze that only those who massacred countless people could have.
When he realized that fact, his back tensed up, and goosebumps rose all over his body. The fear of death that he experienced for the first time in his life rushed over him, warning him that he could really die if he did something wrong.
Get lost.
Khalid glared at the frightened Maximo and quietly moved his lips. Realizing what the man just said, Maximo grandly flinched, then backed away. Then, he turned around and ran towards the banquet hall.
Damn it, damn it, goddamn it!
Maximo’s face turned red because of the unbearable humiliation. Terrible shame and a miserable sense of defeat overwhelmed him. Maximo vented his anger by spitting out swear words. His back drenched in cold sweats, his legs terribly trembling, and his heart pounding with fear all made him feel pathetic.
* * *
“Huu, just what

 Ha, just now, who was it?”
Renato asked, breathing out heavily when their lips barely separated. Khalid’s mood suddenly changing in the middle concerned him.
Recalling the moment when the calm night air swayed like a raging wave, and the cold air that was so chilly that made his entire body’s hair stand up, Renato involuntarily trembled.
“You don’t have to care about that, Your Imperial Highness.”
Khalid supported Renato whose legs had become numb and sat him down at the fountain, then wiped Renato’s lower lip which was redder than usual with his thumb. Then he spoke as if nothing had happened.
“A fly suddenly showed up, so I chased it away.”
“F, fly

”
Renato looked up at Khalid to ask what he meant. But instead of answering, the man just smiled. Renato squinted his eyes at the face that seemed unwilling to elaborate in detail, then sighed.
“So someone saw us?”
“Well, that’s right.”
“Was that someone you know?”
“Uhm, yes.”
“

You won’t tell me who it was?”
In response to Renato’s question, Khalid was uncharacteristically hesitant. He was worried about whether it would be better to say it here or not. In his mind, he didn’t want to tell Renato the truth. Because if he told him it was Maximo, Renato would definitely be concerned.
During the bizarre confrontation previously, Khalid realized Maximo’s feelings towards Renato. The emotions on the man’s distorted face when seeing Khalid and Renato kissing were vivid jealousy, a bitter sense of betrayal, and a twisted desire for exclusivity.
His impression of Maximo, which was already not good, only worsened when he knew the man’s feelings. Khalid recalled the scar on Renato’s body and the trauma he had.
Just cherishing him isn’t even enough, yet he hurt him enough to leave a scar on his body?
When he thought so, he became unbearably angry for a moment. To use violence against the person he liked was something that Khalid couldn’t comprehend. There was no violence in the love he knew.
So he momentarily couldn’t hold back his anger and threatened to kill that man. Annoyed when seeing a human scumbag that didn’t deserve to like or hurt anyone, he wanted to drive that man out of sight.
“It was really nothing

”
Khalid murmured in a low voice, recalling Maximo who ran away like a dog with its tail between its legs in fear when he released a bit of murderous intent.
To Khalid, Maximo was a typical young master of a noble household. Perhaps he grew up gracefully and was supported by the people around him from an early age. It must be the case especially since he was considered a candidate for the next Emperor position.
But in the end, he was just a frog in a well and an ornamental plant in a greenhouse. A feeble piece of trash who thought he was the best in the world, and then collapsed when someone stronger than him appeared.
Thinking that that kind of bastard had been using violence against Renato for a long time, Khalid was so annoyed that he couldn’t control himself.