Chapter 30
“That’s really fortunate.”
“Right. I hope we can meet up with Ret soon.”
“Yeah! Oh, come to think of it, is there anything I can help with?”
“Not really. I just need to sharpen the front part here.”
Cedric showed me the front part of the wood he had cut to a good gripping size.
It was being sharpened into a point.
“Should I go fetch some water then?”
“It’s dangerous to go alone. Are you bored from waiting?”
…Actually, that’s right. I’m bored because there’s nothing to do. When I rolled my eyes around, Cedric chuckled as if he understood without me saying anything.
“If you’re bored, sing for me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Why? You sing well.”
“Just, it’s kind of…”
It’s embarrassing.
Right now there’s no instrument to use as accompaniment either.
And since Cedric is the only one listening, I’ve never properly sung in front of him before, so I was strangely nervous about it too.
Scrape, scrape.
The sound of wood being carved filled the brief silence that had become quiet. Soon Cedric muttered as if complaining.
“You only ever sing in front of Ret.”
“……”
“I want to hear your songs up close too.”
Then awkward silence settled again.
‘Ugh.’
Somehow hot heat rushed up above my neck. I brushed my face that had gotten warm for no reason…
Then cleared my throat with a *ahem*.
There’s nothing I can’t do if I put my mind to it.
‘Should I try singing a little?’
I then moved my lips slightly.
At first I worried my voice might tremble, but from the moment I let out the resonance of one word, the tension evaporated and disappeared.
“Come again, sweet love,
Now bestow your grace,
That touch that will fill me with joy.”
The melody that started lightly like a whisper flowed naturally on the wind. Cedric stopped what he was doing and turned his head.
Our gazes met, but I looked away first.
“Looking at you, listening to you,
Caressing you, kissing you,
Finally with you
I shall breathe my last in the sweetest harmony…”
The final note stretched out long like falling asleep and slowly faded. Cedric, who had been staring at me intently until the song ended, curved his eyes like crescents.
“‘Come again, sweet love,’ huh.”
“Yeah.”
This song was one of the love songs frequently performed as court music. It’s also a piece I often choose when I have occasion to sing.
“Your voice is pretty. I might fall for you.”
“…Don’t say weird things and just hurry up with your carving.”
“Can’t you sing more?”
“Hmm… then…”
I thought about what song to sing and opened my mouth. A faster, more cheerful melody lightly rode the wind compared to before.
Cedric focused on me for a moment, then began continuing his work.
At first it was burdensome and nerve-wracking, but once I tried it, it wasn’t difficult again, so I spent time singing my usual favorite songs to my heart’s content.
After a while, when I was resting because I got tired of singing, Cedric handed me a well-carved wooden staff.
“This is yours.”
“You made two?”
“Yeah. You should carry one too, just in case.”
I took the wooden staff like a sword and glanced at Cedric getting up, then examined the staff he had given me from various angles.
“I really feel like we’ve become primitive people.”
“It doesn’t seem that different.”
When I burst out laughing, Cedric also grinned.
Thanks to having weapons that day, we were able to catch monsters without getting blood on ourselves.
By the time we picked some tree fruits and refilled the water bottle with fresh water and returned to the cabin, the day was already setting.
“The sun is setting…”
“Right.”
“Time really flies.”
Muttering like that, I suddenly remembered a worry and closed my mouth while looking down at the ground.
The issue about our companions’ whereabouts had been resolved, but the matter of Cedric’s rut was still pending.
‘I hope he can hold out just a little longer.’
Though it’s not something that can be endured just by enduring it…
That’s when I glanced back at Cedric.
‘Huh?’
I was surprised to see his face was flushed. He looked like someone with a fever, exactly like a person with a cold. Since when had he been like this?
I unconsciously placed the back of my hand on his cheek, but Cedric, who had been startled, pulled his head back. At his sensitive reaction, I was also flustered and quickly withdrew my hand.
“Ah, sorry. But don’t you have a fever?”
“I’m fine.”
Cedric, who answered curtly, suddenly frowned and quickened his steps heading toward the cabin.
Is he really okay?
After arriving at the cabin and preparing dinner, I observed Cedric, and he was chewing on some grass from who knows where.
“What are you chewing on like that?”
“Medicinal herbs that are good for the body.”
“……?”
I couldn’t tell if he was serious or joking, but since his complexion looked better than before, it didn’t seem like a lie. Cedric knows about herbs well too, so maybe he had obtained such medicinal plants from somewhere?
So I thought it wasn’t a big deal and let it slide. But it seems it wasn’t something to brush off so easily.
After finishing dinner and washing at the spring, I came back first and was resting in the cabin eating tree fruits, but the condition of Cedric who quietly entered afterward was really strange.
“…Cedy?”
Until just now he seemed okay with the heat having subsided a bit, but his face was flushed again. Moreover, his breathing was much rougher than before, and he seemed to have trouble standing while leaning against the wall.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I had been lying sprawled on the sofa but jumped up in surprise. As Cedric, who had been leaning against the wall and trying to take another step, collapsed forward, I quickly ran over to support him.
“Cedy! You…”
His breathing was hot like a sick person’s. I placed my palm on his forehead but quickly pulled it away at the furnace-like temperature.
“You have a terrible fever, are you really okay? Huh?”
Could it really be a cold? Or some disease?
Since this was a forest where human footsteps rarely reached, I couldn’t rule out the possibility of contracting some unknown illness.
“Cedy! Say something…”
That’s when Cedric, who had been panting shallowly, leaned his weight on me and slowly embraced me.
I stiffened in surprise, and I could feel Cedric’s pheromones suddenly releasing. As he rubbed his nose tip against my neckline while breathing hotly, goosebumps rose down my spine.
“Eddie… I’m having a hard time.”
His voice, murmuring sweetly, was buried in my embrace. Unlike usual, seeing him whimpering while releasing unguarded pheromones freely, I came to a strong realization.
‘Ah. He’s in rut.’
The time bomb I’d been anxious about had finally exploded. So right now, Cedric’s condition was no different from a beast in heat…
My face grew hot without realizing it.
Since this was the first time I’d directly witnessed someone’s rut. The way he kept embracing me and trying to touch me felt exactly like he was trying to caress me, making my face even hotter.
At least since I’m a beta, I wouldn’t lose my reason together due to the influence of his pheromones, which was fortunate.
“Ce… Cedy! Cedy! Snap out of it, okay?”
When I came to my senses and patted his back *slap slap*, Cedric, who had been squirming in my arms, separated like a scolded puppy with downcast eyes.
Blue eyes wet and rippling with heat looked directly at me. Cedric’s usual pheromones that he occasionally released always felt static and restrained, but now they were swaying and fluctuating irregularly.
It felt really different from the usual Cedric, giving me a strange feeling.
“I’m… thirsty.”
Cedric bumped his forehead against me and acted spoiled by rubbing his nose tip against my cheek. His completely disheveled appearance as he muttered languidly was unfamiliar, making my heart skip a beat involuntarily.
“Ah, water. I’ll bring it.”
Where did I put the water bottle?
“Wait here for a moment, okay?”
“Mmhm.”
After barely separating from him and getting up to look around, the water bottle wasn’t inside the cabin.
Leaving Cedric alone for a moment, I quickly left the cabin and found the water bottle placed on top of a tree stump.
‘…Sigh. Calm down. Calm down.’
I took a deep breath while holding the water bottle.
Since Cedric is like this, I need to keep my wits about me. Even while comforting myself like that, when I tried to go back, my feet wouldn’t move readily.
What should I do, what should I do?
After pacing anxiously for a moment, I soon headed back to the cabin. In the meantime, Cedric had climbed onto the sofa and was lying curled up on his side. He looked quite distressed, gasping and breathing hotly, which made me worry.
For some reason, he’s had a high fever since earlier too…
Since I don’t know the symptoms of rut or heat in detail, I don’t know what to do.
“Cedy, drink some water here. Are you having a really hard time?”
I approached and crouched down in front of him. Cedric, who opened his eyes drowsily, only raised his upper body to receive the water bottle and muttered.
“It’s hard… my cock hurts.”
For a moment, I unconsciously sent my gaze between his legs, then pulled it back up.
I don’t know what he had stuffed in his pants, but a vivid sense of volume that I didn’t want to imagine remained in my mind like an afterimage.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
LMAO