“Because I just came out of the lake.”
Being naked didn’t particularly bother Seiyad, apart from the fact that it left him more vulnerable to attack. He had never been fond of wearing clothes to begin with, and even preferred to sleep without anything on.
Besides, Ressas was also a man. Reacting like that to seeing another male body seemed a bit excessive. As he mulled it over, he belatedly recalled that Ressas had once confessed his desire for him. Except for the time he had been involuntarily drawn to Aster due to Purification, Seiyad had never felt lust toward another man, so it took him a moment to fully register the fact.
Hm.
Even so, this was a bit much. He hadn’t even acted like that the first time he slept with a woman. Half disbelieving, and wanting to test a theory, Seiyad stepped closer to Ressas instead of putting something on. As the sound of his bare feet brushing against the soft grass echoed, he saw Ressas flinch.
“Put your hand down. It’s just another man’s body. Or do my not-yet-healed scars disgust you?”
Aster’s healing abilities were exceptional—enough to treat most injuries—but a few wounds from his brutal encounters with the Nir’a had left scars. Most of them were from the years he had to teach himself how to fight. There were quite a few instances where he had been impaled through the back or abdomen while fighting multiple mid-tier Nir’a at once. The gray web-like scars that remained across his back and torso weren’t exactly pleasant to look at.
Perhaps the only relief was that there were no scars from a wound piercing his heart.
Seiyad gave his own body a quick, indifferent once-over. The scar that would’ve been left by Ressas’s sword, which had once split open his ribs and skewered his heart, was not yet present. That subtle sense of dissonance left him quiet. At that same moment, Ressas lowered his hand, then stepped toward him with a hardened expression. With an agitated gesture, he removed his cloak and draped it over Seiyad’s bare body. The movements were rushed, but the way the cloth wrapped around him was soft and gentle—like someone cradling something fragile. It felt wrong. The idea of someone treating him like that was absurd. He didn’t need any of this to begin with.
“I’m not some naïve boy, as you think me to be. I am a man who loves you.”
The voice was low and hoarse—almost metallic in tone. It was strange that his smooth baritone could sound so deep and heavy like this. That voice, brushing softly against his ears, was saturated with unmistakable desire. Just as Seiyad was about to shrug off the cloak half-covering his face, he froze.
“When someone I love looks like this, of course I….”
Ressas’s chest, rising and falling heavily, loomed in front of him as though shielding him from view. The broad expanse beneath his shoulders inflated and sank repeatedly. Each held breath he let out made Seiyad sharply aware of him. This young prince before him—he was…
“If I remember correctly, you said what you felt for me wasn’t desire.”
His mind tangled instantly, leaving a strange feeling in its wake. A chill crept up his spine, sending a prickling sensation across his back. The discomfort made him speak up on purpose. In response, Ressas let out a low sigh and spoke in a voice tinged with irritation.
“I only meant that it’s not the only reason I love you. But for any healthy man, wouldn’t it be even stranger not to react to the one he loves looking like this?”
No, actually—listening more closely, he was barely holding himself back. Seiyad unintentionally noticed the pronounced movement of Ressas’s throat as he swallowed. The two stood close enough to feel each other’s body heat radiating vividly.
“Unfortunately for you, Your Grace, I’m a man built far too well….”
With each word, Ressas’s voice sank deeper, like it was drowning into a lake.
“And I’m holding back with everything I have not to devour you whole right now.”
It felt like being plunged into a boiling lake—his entire body flushed with heat. The unease of being swept up by a man so much younger—barely twenty-one—made Seiyad finally lift the gaze he had been avoiding.
The sliding cloak carried with it that cozy scent unique to Ressas. Even that sensory detail made goosebumps rise across his skin. Deliberately, Seiyad removed the garment. The cloak, nearly fallen, clung precariously to his forearm. Staring directly into Ressas’s eyes so he wouldn’t get swept away, he said:
“This body has already been given to Your Highness. There’s no need for restraint. I exist to be used whenever you please.”
He had long resolved to share his body. Thinking of it as something that was bound to happen eventually during Purification made it neither unpleasant nor burdensome. If by doing so Ressas got what he wanted, then there was no reason not to go through with it. Seiyad had always been ready to fulfill his end of the bargain. After all, even the act of touching him would serve as Purification. There was no loss for him.
Whether it was a woman or a man, satisfying them was ultimately the same. Since his awakening, he had studied the methods of intercourse as a matter of duty—he knew them by heart. So, this shouldn’t be difficult at all…
“I can endure all your insolence, but I won’t stand for words that hurt like this.”
Ressas’s violet eyes flared sharply in that instant—and then everything happened in a flash. He pulled Seiyad close, gripping his body with the cloak barely hanging on, and cradled his cheek in both hands. His eyes, always like the night sky, now gleamed with the light of dawn. At the same time, scorching heat spread across Seiyad’s lips.
He couldn’t breathe.
Their mouths clashed with desperate urgency, as if Ressas had finally reached his limit. Their lips pressed hotly together, flesh melting and fusing as if they were one. The soft pressure of his lips was followed by an uncanny wave of pleasure that made Seiyad shudder—it felt as if something had crawled into his mouth, a tingle that spread like poison across his whole body. His heart thundered, thumping wildly in his chest.
Their second kiss was far more overwhelming than the first. Whether it was the overwhelming energy emanating from Ressas, or how startlingly proficient he had become, Seiyad couldn’t tell. All he knew was that this time, he was being completely overpowered.
Kissing was nothing new to him—he’d done it countless times. But unlike last time, when he had teased and toyed with Ressas to his heart’s content, Seiyad now found himself barely able to keep up. Just exchanging tongues and rubbing lips was enough to send chills racing down his spine. When he tried to pull away to reclaim control, Ressas wouldn’t let him.
Ressas’s hand, which had been gripping the line where the cloak met bare skin, began to move. The force with which he pulled Seiyad close was absurdly strong—so much so that Seiyad’s body jolted, and Ressas’s hand landed directly on his bare waist.
His palm pressed firmly into the smooth contours of Seiyad’s toned muscles. His fingers, sliding across the slick, wet skin, trailed down the dip along his spine. As they brushed that sensitive groove, Seiyad let out a sound unlike anything he’d ever made before.
“Ha, hngh… ah…!”
It resembled a moan but carried none of the low, deep tone that usually marked his voice during sex. Instead, a softer, mid-range sound pushed through, trembling faintly in the air. As it escaped, Ressas suddenly gripped his waist tighter, the curve of his palm locking them together—and in that moment, Seiyad felt something pressing unmistakably, undeniably against his front.
The undeniable sign of a man’s arousal hit him with a disorienting weight, as though the ground had dropped beneath his feet. A shiver rippled up from the base of his neck along his spine. This heat wasn’t something to dismiss as youthful indiscretion anymore. It was real, fervent, and overwhelming. Seiyad tried to push him away, unable to bear the intensity—just as Ressas abruptly pulled back, tearing their lips apart and stepping away.
It was at the very edge of what Seiyad could withstand—his head had felt on the verge of exploding.
The crack of silence that filled the gap between them was suffocating. He watched Ressas straighten, chest heaving. His black, half-curled hair, always falling loosely over his forehead, looked strangely sensual in the dim light—perhaps because of the night’s atmosphere. His flushed lips were redder than most women’s. Just seeing him like that felt like Seiyad had already done something he shouldn’t have.
He couldn’t believe he was actually out of breath from just a kiss. Holding his breath on purpose, he clamped his lips shut and lifted a hand to wipe away the transparent saliva glistening on them. But rather than fading, the sensation of Ressas still lingered—growing heavier, darker. It was maddening.
“…If you want to continue, go ahead. I don’t care where.”
Seiyad spoke deliberately, saying whatever came to mind. If he could just take control and lead, maybe this maddening disquiet would go away. But at his words, Ressas lowered his bloodshot gaze, bit down hard on his lip, and refused.
“Not until I’ve won your heart.”
“For someone saying that…”
The evidence of his arousal was too obvious, but Seiyad chose to stay quiet. Saying more would only complicate things.
“Do as you wish. This body was given to Your Highness.”
“Then please don’t call my beautiful Tither repulsive. It is my body, and to my eyes, it is more enchanting and lovely than anything in the world.”
His chest clenched, and his mouth shut tight. Just hearing that made him queasy. His insides churned, and heat once again crept up through his body.
“…You might catch a cold. Put something on. That’s a royal command.”
With that, Ressas ran a pale hand down his face. The veins beneath his skin seemed more vivid now than they had been even when overwhelmed by emotion. After a dry rub of his face, he turned away. Watching him, Seiyad suddenly felt an urge to leave the space as well. Luckily, the heat had dried the moisture off his skin, so dressing was easy.
“There’s no need to overreact. I’m dressed now. Please state your purpose.”
He had kissed countless times during Purification—so why did his head feel so clouded now? Wanting to put distance between them, he shifted into a businesslike tone.
“…I only came to see whether your body was well after the long journey. Since I’ve confirmed that, I’ll take my leave.”
Seiyad was annoyed that Ressas had gone through all this discomfort for such a trivial reason. He was a Tither—built stronger than anyone else in the world, nearly impossible to kill even with severe wounds. The idea that a mere guide was worrying about him was laughable.
“Then I’ll return first. I’ve been away long enough to draw suspicion.”
“Very well.”
Ressas still had his back turned. Seiyad stared at that broad back for a moment, then tightened his lips and stepped forward. Just as he passed him, ready to walk away without hesitation, Ressas murmured softly:
“If you say something cruel again like you did today, I’ll kiss you each time. If you don’t want that, then please, cherish yourself.”
It was a quiet but firm voice. Seiyad lifted a dark gray eyebrow and gave a cold reply.
“Then I’ll be sure to watch my tongue and conduct from now on.”
The disdain in his voice was clear, and Ressas’s lashes trembled ever so slightly. But only for a moment. Just like that, Ressas erased the heat from his face, lifted his brow as if nothing had happened, and smiled faintly—his usual expression.
“Sleep well, my moon.”
The tenderness of that farewell, returned in response to a barbed remark, made Seiyad’s heart churn in chaos. In the end, he didn’t respond. He simply walked away in silence.
Perhaps it wasn’t that he refused to answer—but that he couldn’t.
Because the small boy had truly become a grown man—and that alone was disorienting beyond belief.
