Al passed out. It was around two weeks after the incident. He was swamped with the post-incident cleaning up on top of his regular duties; he barely had any time to sleep. Everyone had predicted this would happen sooner or later so they had tried to stop him, but he didn’t care to listen. No matter how young he was, there was still a limit to it.
After he took a short nap, he couldn’t lift himself up from the bed, and he collapsed just like that. Well, there are some things that humans cannot do with only high spirits.
As things went, I was contacted regarding this, so I was panicked and rushed to Al’s room. However, Jade who came to tell me of the news only smiled in relief as he reassured me, “He’s only sleep-deprived. Just let him sleep and it’ll be fine. What a relief that he could take a proper rest before it developed into a heavy ailment.”
Inside Al’s room, the curtains were drawn, making the room dim. I approached the bed and peeked at Al who was deep in sleep.
“Beautiful…”
His tired sleeping face looked a bit haggard, there was a slight wrinkle between his brows. Even so, his beauty remained unaffected.
I softly caressed Al’s cheek. Feeling his body warmth, I was relieved. Although I already knew it, his perfectly chiseled facial figure that was akin to something artificial made me a little anxious whether he was living or not.
My hand that was touching his cheek softly rubbed Al’s lips. He didn’t look like he was waking up; my hand gradually turned more daring. After rubbing his lips, I gently slid my fingers down to the scruff of his neck. Later to his collarbones…
“No, no. Al is sleeping because he’s too tired. I can’t touch him anymore.” I giggled in a low voice.
If I went further, it would be a harrassment. Al was very busy. I was being a baby by insisting that I couldn’t sleep alone, so he held my hands every night until I fell asleep. With that, he became even busier. Because he was overworked, he collapsed. I couldn’t be so self-willed to even ask for us to touch each other.
“But…”
I removed my overcoat and placed it on a chair nearby, then I carefully lifted up the blanket and slipped inside. Al was sleeping on his side, I leaned closer so I could snuggle by his chest.
“Al, I love you.”
I took in Al’s scent, Al’s warmth, and I stuck close to Al to indulge in Al’s everything as much as I could. I nuzzled my face, heartily rubbing against his chest until I was satisfied; the euphoria effect I got from doing that made me drowsy. Just like that I was lulled and dozed off.
“A dream…?” I faintly heard Al’s voice, but I was already half-asleep.
“Al, you’re awake. Good night.” I nuzzled my forehead even more on Al’s chest; it felt so good that I fell deeper into slumber.
“What a delightful situation. A dream? Am I in a dream?” Al was murmuring something by himself, but I was too sleepy to notice. My consciousness was about to drift away.
Mn? Hmn?
“No, Hmnh. Ah, what are you do-” Suddenly I felt a mild jolt on my chest, my closed eyes split open.
In front of my eyes were the beautiful blonde hair. Al’s head was enlarged in my sight as he was slithering his tongue on my chest.
“Hyah!” I shrieked in a high pitch when a peak on my chest was strongly sucked.
“No~, Al, Al~”
“Ah, it’s Fania. The real Fania.”
Before I realized it, my top was stripped off, the top half of my body was nearly naked. I wanted to hug Al, but both my hands were pinned on top of my head.
One of Al’s hands was clasping my hands, while the other was free to move. His tongue was slithering all over me, and his other hand was fondling around in a rustle.
“Anh, Al, it’s ticklish.”
He lowered my pants a bit and my navel was licked; I was startled, my foot kicked the bed sheet. The recoil from the kick jolted my waist upwards, Al took the advantage to strip off my pants along with my underwear.
“Ah, this is like a dream. No-no, a dream will not do. I have to relish this properly… Yes! Gotta relish this. Do I lick the whole body, should I do that…? Well, that’s a given. Ah, firstly I should have a taste of Fania, himself,” Al murmured something as he traced his lips on me.
Al let go of his arm that was grabbing both my hands. My hands were free and I finally was able to hug Al. My limp hands reached out to him and suddenly,
*chomps*
With a snap, Al bit me strong enough to leave a bruise.
“Wargh! Al, whatcha doing?! Aanngh!!”
There was nothing I could do. I was left at Al’s mercy.
∀А ∀А ∀А ∀А ∀А ∀А ∀А ∀А ∀А ∀А ∀А ∀А1
“Eh, where’s Fania?” Zernite just noticed that Fania who was there until just then had disappeared.
“Oh, just like a moth flying into the flame, he went to where Alfred-sama is.” Jade answered as he smiled and drank the tea at the table.
They were in the drawing room inside Al’s exclusive office in the Royal Palace. Whenever Alfred’s close aides came to the Royal Palace, they would use this area whenever they needed to take a breather.
“Is that okay?” Jade sent a deliberate gaze at Bailard who were sitting next to Jade, elegantly drinking his tea.
“Well, tomorrow is Saturday. It’s okay for him to take a half day off2.” Bailard had a visage like a loving mother.
“Alfred-sama hasn’t told Fania about their engagement annulment, has he?”
“I think so. Surely this thing would make Fania suffer but I’m more afraid of how Alfred-sama would likely go out of control.”
Zernite and Jade were discussing their worries.
Alfred had given out his orders to his close aides. From this point on, they would be swamped with things to do. In order to not let go of Fania, Alfred would not spare any effort from his close aides.
“However… I never expected that Bailard would allow Fania and Alfred to share the room together.” Zernite curiously looked at Bailard who was slightly smiling beautifully.
“I’m supporting Alfred-sama and Fania to foster a good relationship, you know. It’s just that, I feel like a parent sending out their beloved child for marriage.”
“Pfft. What the-” Jade almost spat out his tea when he heard Bailard’s answer.
“Lately, I’ve had this thinking. I feel like Fania is actually a child of my own bearing.” Bailard heaved a subtle sigh as he said it.
“Uwaah. Don’t say that! You absolutely cannot say that to anyone else!” Zernite urged Bailard in a haste.
“Yes, that is definitely a thing you should never say.” Jade also coerced in a loud voice.
“What’s wrong with you two? How can a male give birth to a child? I was just casually joking.” Bailard chuckled playfully, yet his fair beauty was akin to a goddess, his golden hair was illuminated by the light from the window; it looked like Bailard, himself, was glowing.
Yes, like a holy mother.
“Don’t ever say it. They’ll believe it. If your believers hear that, they’ll surely take that as the truth.”
“No matter if you’re a male or even a non-human, no doubt your believers would still believe it. They definitely would say things like ‘virgin birth’ or ‘The Holy Mother has come’, so you absolutely cannot say that out loud. Never, ever.”
There were no knights on standby in the room. Not even a maid servant, so there were only the three of them. It could be considered as safe inside there, but just a step outside the room, Bailard’s believers were everywhere.
There was no lack of them among the knights, maid servants, civil officers or even the ministers. Moreover, Bailard’s believers were fanatics. If this kind of talk ever entered the ears of the main church, let alone Bailard, even Fania would be exalted as the son of the Holy Mother.
The other two long-windedly explained to bring around the perplexed and clueless Bailard.