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“Yes. We’ve met both sets of parents and made a marriage promise.”
At that, Castian laughed as if sighing.
“To snatch him away completely while I was distracted for just a moment.”
But he seemed to have no intention of interfering in our relationship anymore, as he shrugged his shoulders and cleanly declared his surrender.
“It can’t be helped. Then it’s regrettable, but I won’t trouble you anymore in the future.”
I’m grateful for his consideration, but somehow also feel awkward. Heh, while I was smiling, Castian got up from his seat first.
“Well, we’ve finished talking, so shall we head back? Even if I want to stay longer, the dog I left behind is probably anxiously waiting for its master.”
“Haha…”
When we returned to the banquet hall like that, Cedric, who had been compared to a dog with separation anxiety, stopped standing there gloomily and his eyes sparkled. It was a moment that added credibility to Castian’s statement.
That night, after spending time eating and playing with enjoyable music in the banquet hall, we participated in the Lumentia Festival procession held the very next day.
Not only people living in the capital but also those who had come up from provincial territories gathered to watch the procession, making it truly a sea of people.
In the complex crowd, even the direct knights composed only of trained dominant Alphas were mobilized to protect the Emperor leading the procession, boasting considerable scale.
‘…Half a year has already passed.’
I suddenly had that thought.
It feels like just yesterday that I had just passed my birthday and turned twenty. In that time, many things happened and much time had flowed.
‘My relationship with Cedy has also changed a lot.’
While gauging the passage of time like that, I also recalled that Cedric’s rut was approaching again.
I had heard this while talking after we started dating – it seemed Cedric’s rut also came in 3-month cycles.
‘…We’ll spend this rut together, right?’
They said spending a rut together also helps with changing traits.
“……”
I became lost in thought while watching the procession. To be having such embarrassing thoughts during a sacred festival. Without realizing it, heat rose and my cheeks became flushed, so I pointlessly cooled them with my palms.
The event celebrating the safe passage of half the year was also coming to an end.
A few days later, Cedric suddenly visited the mansion.
Since he had always been doing pheromone marking when we spent time alone together recently without going out, today too Cedric was clinging to me.
He was lying on the bed, wrapping his arm around my chest as I read a book, clinging to me quietly like a doll.
Cedric, who had been nuzzling his lips against my nape, suddenly quietly lowered his voice.
“Eddie.”
“Mmm?”
I answered without taking my eyes off the book.
I had become quite accustomed to skinship with him now, so this level of contact had become routine.
“My rut is coming soon.”
Then I also had to close the book and focus on the conversation. That issue was something I had been thinking about what to do with as well.
Cedric met my eyes. His upright blue-gold pupils reflected me entirely.
“Will you spend it with me?”
“…If you want, by all means.”
After answering like that, I unconsciously became shy and subtly averted my gaze. Cedric hugged me tightly and laughed softly.
“You’re so reliable it’s exciting.”
“I should naturally take care of my lover’s rut.”
“I love you.”
The voice murmuring gently under my chin made my heart pound. I, who had neatly placed the folded book on my stomach, gently stroked Cedric’s cheek. How does this guy even have such good skin?
Cedric, who was purring like a cat while holding my hand on his and rubbing his cheek against it, opened his eyes with a sparkle.
“Should we go to our villa?”
“Villa? Ah, that seaside villa we went to before?”
“Yeah. We said we’d go together again before.”
We did. I still remember the promise we made then. The first kiss from that day came to mind along with it, making me roll my eyes once before affirming without much hesitation.
“Alright, let’s do that.”
Cedric pressed his lips to my cheek and said.
“Let’s plan for a long period.”
“How long?”
“Since we don’t know exactly when the rut will start, if we plan from when the precursor symptoms come… generously about 2 weeks?”
Two weeks. Even thinking we’d go to see the ocean and leisurely play before coming back, I wondered if we needed to plan that long, but I easily pushed away the question.
“Alright, do as you want.”
“…Really? Do as I want?”
“Yeah.”
I generously permitted it. Without noticing Cedric’s subtle nuance. He grinned and continued.
“Ah. And I think we’ll need to do imprinting too. If we don’t imprint, um, it might be a bit dangerous for you.”
“I don’t mind imprinting, but what’s dangerous? It was fine last time.”
When I stared at him, Cedric averted his gaze. He was definitely hiding something.
“No hiding things.”
“…Actually, that time I got some help from herbs that had rut suppressant components, so it ended at that level. Originally, an Alpha experiencing a rut without an imprinting partner is no different from an untamed beast.”
“You were… even then… an untamed beast though?”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah, just that you have good stamina.”
Right. Thinking about when we first properly had relations, even though that wasn’t during a rut, we were frantically going at it with rolled-back eyes, so dealing with a beast more evolved than that would be scary for me too. So I decided to obediently follow his words.
“We can start imprinting around when the rut precursor reactions come. After imprinting, the pheromone flow changes stably, so it’ll be better for spending the rut in various ways.”
“Mmm.”
I know roughly how trait-havers do imprinting from studying, but honestly I don’t really understand other things even when I hear them. I just nodded for him to handle it. Anyway, Cedric would know better about this side of things.
About a week passed like that.
I departed for the villa with Cedric, who said the rut precursor symptoms were gradually coming.
I had already told my parents something like ‘I’ll be going to play at the villa with Cedric for a while,’ so we could arrive quickly by preparing without any schedule conflicts.
The scent of the ocean wafted deeply from the land I stepped on after a long time. But without time to savor such leisure, as soon as we entered the mansion entrance, Cedric pressed his lips to mine first. His hot tongue crushed my lips and split into my mouth.
The pheromones that had been shakily unstable since boarding the carriage to the villa were released, revealing their force in earnest.
“Mmm, Ce-Cedy… let’s organize our luggage first.”
“Mmm.”
When I fidgeted in Cedric’s embrace as he hugged my waist and pressed close, he answered while kissing my chin.
Though he answered obediently with words, his sly actions of fondling my buttocks with subtle touches and putting my earlobe in his mouth to roll it with his tongue were devilish.
Dealing with him frantically rubbing against me from the entrance made my breathing rough. My heart pounded at the thought of what if someone saw us, and strength gradually drained from my knees.
That’s when it happened.
“Ugh…!”
Suddenly my vision flipped.
Cedric, who had firmly shouldered me as I struggled in surprise, carried all the luggage himself and went up the stairs.
“Hey. Put me down.”
“No. You need to conserve your stamina, Eddie.”
“……”
Does this mean I should reduce even walking up stairs considering the stamina I’ll need to use in bed…? Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
Shortly after arriving at the room, Cedric carelessly put down the luggage, then laid me on the bed and climbed on top.
“Hah, mmm…”
The touching lips were soft and hot. The sensation tracing over my clothes was vivid enough to be pictured even without looking.
Feeling my clothes being peeled off layer by layer, I hurriedly regained my senses and pushed away Cedric, who was burying his face in my nape and breathing in softly.
“Wait. First, let’s wash up first.”
“I held back… wanting to touch you a lot on the way here.”
His languidly sunken voice tickled my ear. His completely released pheromones seemed to be restraining me.
When his gaze, heavily sunken in moist excitement, pierced through me, it felt like the inside of my lower abdomen was heating up hotly.
Heat rose heavily to my face.
No wonder. From before we left, he had been taking care of my meals and condition so much… I thought it was strange, but it was for this!
My upper garments that had been hiding my bare skin were stripped off completely. Cedric, who gathered my exposed chest, licked my nipples with his tongue then sucked them. When his moist breath enveloped my nipples, murky breath flowed through my teeth at that ticklish sensation.
“Cedy, Cedy… wait. Hah. Let me at least wash up.”
“You’re fluffy and smell nice, so what for?”
“No, still…”
“Eddie. I told you not to break the mood at times like this.”
I don’t know since when we’ve been earnestly caring about mood and such things.
I wanted to retort, but before my nagging could fall from my lips, Cedric pounced and blocked it with his lips.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
