#47
Chapter 6
The Shamier royal palace was buzzing with excitement as the first part of the wedding procession from the Ruben Empire arrived.
The usually calm atmosphere of the palace was noticeably heightened, palpable even to the skin. It wasn’t just Enrique’s servants or knights. Even the King of Shamier seemed slightly elated, which was apparent. If the king was like that, it goes without saying how others felt.
Since it was an advance party that had hurriedly followed, most of the Ruben personnel were envoys and knights. The envoys were too busy getting involved in the ongoing wedding preparations to be seen. But the Ruben knights were different. They moved around in groups, proudly displaying their nation’s might.
Clang! Clang!
The sharp metallic sound of swords clashing rang out continuously in the training grounds of the royal knights.
Not only the Ruben knights but also the Shamier knights had gathered at the training grounds, watching the duel with interested eyes. Enrique, too, was observing the match while sitting in a prepared chair, sipping warm tea.
The duel was between a Ruben knight and Anture. Both were dressed only in pants and a thin shirt as they crossed swords. What had started as light warm-up sparring gradually became more intense. Enrique watched with quite some interest as the two Ruben alphas clashed.
The aura emitted by the two alphas was impressive. The impact could be felt on the skin every time their swords clashed or when they swung them widely. The fierce fighting spirit and aura emanating from the two heightened the atmosphere among the observing knights. They looked as if they wanted to jump in with swords and have a go themselves right away.
As Enrique watched the duel between the two, his attention gradually focused solely on Anture. Enrique observed Anture’s movements with narrowed eyes. As if feeling that gaze, Anture’s swordplay became even more powerful and rough.
His tall, muscular body showed surprisingly flexible and graceful movements. Anture’s sword, aggressively pressing his opponent, his black hair flying, and hot sweat drops falling from his jaw, all registered one by one in Enrique’s eyes. The thin white shirt, soaked with sweat, clung to his skin, blatantly revealing his muscular body. Every time Anture swung his sword, the movement of his flexible muscles was clearly visible.
“He’s quite captivating. Damn sexy, isn’t he?” Julian, standing behind, bent down and whispered in Enrique’s ear.
“Nonsense,” Enrique cut him off in a small voice. Julian straightened up with a small knowing smile. When Enrique glanced back with lowered eyes, Julian was subtly toying with his husband’s fingers as they stood side by side.
The second opponent fell.
Clap, clap, clap-
The Shamier nobles lined up behind Enrique applauded.
Anture, victorious, sent a glance towards Enrique. His black eyes seemed to be checking if Enrique was indeed watching him.
A third volunteer stepped forward. He was also a Ruben knight and an alpha. They greeted each other by touching the tips of their swords and took their stances. Anture casually twirled his sword with one hand, waiting for his opponent to charge first.
As the duel began, swords clashed repeatedly once more. Anture wasn’t using his full strength. He was using the duel as an excuse to show off his skills and physical strength. It was like a male peacock spreading its tail feathers to court a female. In fact, Anture was occasionally checking if Enrique was watching him, even while continuously clashing swords.
‘How cute,’ Enrique muttered inwardly as he watched Anture fluttering his tail feathers.
“Your Highness. The King is looking for you,” a servant approached and whispered quietly.
“Father? Why?”
“He says he wants to have tea together.”
“Hmm.” Enrique nodded and rose from his seat.
Just as he was about to turn around-
Clang!
An unusually heavy and sharp sound rang out. Anture had crudely deflected his opponent’s sword using sheer strength alone. Having instantly concluded the match, Anture approached with large strides, wiping the sweat from his face with the hem of his shirt. Enrique inwardly snorted as he saw the muscular abdomen and waist revealed under the lifted shirt. He should wag his tail moderately, especially with so many eyes watching.
“Where are you going, Enrique?” Anture approached and asked. Perhaps due to swinging the sword for so long, just his approach brought a wave of hot energy.
The scent of male-laden sweat invaded Enrique’s nostrils. Reflexively, he was reminded of the intense sex with Anture. The muscular, strong body glistening with sweat as he desperately devoured Enrique… One of his fingers twitched as if it had a will of its own.
“The King is looking for me. I must return now,” Enrique said politely, conscious of the Shamier nobles and Ruben knights surrounding him. Obvious disappointment appeared in Anture’s eyes. Enrique noticed Anture’s slight gesture to raise his hand towards him and subtly shook his head. He had no intention of going to see his father with Anture’s sweat smell on his cheek or hand.
As he turned, some of the nobles who had been watching together also left the training grounds. Enrique headed towards his father, accompanied by servants and guard knights.
The King of Shamier was sitting on the terrace of his office. Behind him was only one chief servant who always accompanied him. Enrique dismissed his own people with a gesture and sat opposite his father. A servant approached, filled the teacups with warm tea, and retreated.
They sat facing each other, silently savoring the tea for a moment. Enrique quietly waited for his father to speak first. Since they had seen each other at the morning meeting, this summons was probably for a private conversation.
“So… You’re getting along well with the Prince of Ruben?” The King finally spoke. As expected, it was about Anture.
“More or less,” Enrique answered briefly. Complex emotions flashed across the King of Shamier’s eyes.
He probably knew that Anture had been frequenting Enrique’s bedroom. It was understandable that he felt conflicted.
Of course, Anture wasn’t Enrique’s first man. He had been in a relationship with Damiel for several years. However, spending nights with a beta out of necessity to safely pass through heat was entirely different from spending nights with Anture.
It was too awkward a subject for a father and son to discuss. Enrique could tell that his father had something more he wanted to say.
“If you have something to say, feel free to speak, Father,” Enrique said with a slight sigh. At that, the King finally spoke with difficulty.
“The wedding day is approaching, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Have you truly made up your mind to marry the Prince of Ruben? No, is this marriage really what you want?”
It seemed that even now, years later and on the verge of the first marriage, the King of Shamier still wished for Enrique to find his true mate.
“Of course. If it’s a marriage that brings such great benefits, I would welcome it any number of times.”
“…Enrique.” The King sighed heavily. Enrique knew his father’s heart very well. Unlike what one would expect from a king of a country, he only wished for his child’s happiness.
A moment of silence passed. Enrique waited with lowered eyes for his father to speak again. After waiting silently for a while, the King of Shamier finally spoke again.
“I hear you’ve let the Prince into your bedroom?”
“…It just happened.”
“You’re not in heat, and you’re not married yet, but you’ve let him into your bedroom. It seems you’re drawn to him.”
“It just happened that way,” Enrique repeated in a somewhat stiff tone.
“Enrique. If you like the Prince, why don’t you just continue with this marriage?”
“Father.” Enrique frowned, raising his lowered eyes.
“Yes, yes. I know you have a plan. I know it’s all for the sake of this country. But Enrique, our Shamier has already gained great benefits just from the marriage with Ruben. Moreover, it seems you like the Prince. Isn’t that enough? If you just say the word, I’ll handle the agreements with Monta and Baron myself.”
Enrique sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers.
To think that spending a night with Anture, unable to resist desire for a moment, would be exaggerated like this… His father was already worried enough about Enrique. In the midst of that, having caught wind of Enrique developing feelings for Anture, it was understandable that his thoughts would roll in that direction.
“Father, this is an agreement between nations. It’s not child’s play that can be made or broken based on whether we want it or not.”
“Couldn’t we somehow resolve that with the help of the Ruben Empire’s power? Ruben would probably want to monopolize you too.”
“I don’t want that,” Enrique said firmly. And before his father could say anything, he continued.
“Let’s say we break the marriage agreements with Monta and Baron. Then I’d have to maintain the marriage with the Prince until death. The Prince is the heir to Ruben. Eventually, I’d have to go live in Ruben following him.”
“That’s…”
“I will succeed you and become the king of this Shamier. I mean to make this country prosperous and powerful, leaving my name in history. I don’t even want to think about such a dreadful idea as going to the Ruben Empire and living only as the Prince’s companion until death.”
The King of Shamier’s expression darkened at Enrique’s cold words. Enrique stared directly at his father as he rubbed his forehead with a complicated expression. He needed to make this point clear now to ensure such words would never come up again.
