68
‘…No.’
Maybe he just needed some personal time. Especially recently, the two of them had really stuck together from the moment they woke up until they went to sleep, never being apart for even a moment.
Right. How could they be together all day long?
He might have gotten a little tired.
Of course, Cedric would have been fine with staying with Edgar all day—what do you mean all day, he’d be happy to stick together for an entire month—but he didn’t want to force too much on Edgar, who was just starting to accept him.
Since Cedric was somewhat confident that Edgar was developing the same feelings as him, he tried not to view his sudden change in attitude too negatively.
I should understand this much. I need to give him enough time. But even though he thought that way in his head, possible futures kept flickering before him, deepening his worries. It was also true that Cedric himself had rushed in without proper restraint because of his tremblingly wonderful first experience.
Was I lacking in consideration after all? Maybe it was really difficult for him? With such troubled thoughts, he stayed up all night.
And the next morning, after exchanging final greetings with Gareth, they were on their way back by carriage.
As they were gathering their luggage and boarding the carriage, Edgar approached Cedric first. Edgar, who had strangely avoided Cedric even during breakfast, suddenly approached him—what change of heart was this?
“……”
“…What?”
When their eyes met, Edgar stiffened completely, so Cedric asked. He unconsciously reached out wanting to touch him, but Edgar flinched like a wild animal with strong wariness due to not being used to human contact and stepped back.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I just came to look at your face for a moment.”
Then Edgar, as if joking, poked Cedric’s forearm once and turned his back. Right after, he muttered “Ha, I’m still not ready…” and left, but Cedric couldn’t understand what those words meant.
Edgar even dragged Lionel over and suggested they ride the carriage together. It was clearly behavior showing he felt uncomfortable riding in the carriage alone with just Cedric.
“Haha… I’ll ride along today!”
Lionel laughed awkwardly while receiving Cedric’s sharp gaze.
Somehow it was decided that Riette would also ride in the same carriage, and they were finishing preparations to leave.
“Hey. Did you fight with Eddie again?”
Before boarding the carriage, Riette poked Cedric’s elbow and glared at him with force in her eyes. Her round, large pink eyes looked quite cute even when showing anger.
Edgar would act like a shy boy even now that he’d given up his feelings whenever he saw her like that.
But Cedric was different.
To him, Riette was nothing special or new… really just a friend, nothing more or less.
To put it extremely, even if they were both naked together, he thought he’d react more to seeing a stone rolling on the roadside. Even the fact that she was an omega didn’t have any particular effect on him.
Her impression of Cedric was no exception either. To her, Cedric was no different from a child who was just big.
“Why are you rolling your eyes around like that? It’s burdensome.”
“Answer me properly! Did you fight again?”
“…We didn’t fight.”
Edgar was just unilaterally avoiding him.
“But why is the atmosphere suddenly like this?”
“I don’t know either.”
It was an unfair part for Cedric. He wanted to know why Edgar was avoiding him like this too.
It wasn’t like Edgar was rejecting him completely to prevent any approach, but because he was ambiguously running away, the reason was even more incomprehensible.
“…Should I subtly probe Eddie for you?”
“…No. I’ll try to resolve it myself.”
Cedric didn’t want to solve problems with Edgar by borrowing someone else’s help. If he was going to ask, he’d rather ask himself and hear Edgar’s words directly.
Riette silently patted Cedric’s shoulder lightly as if to cheer him up, then turned toward the carriage first.
Just then, he could see Edgar boarding the carriage following Lionel.
“……”
Dejected, Cedric quietly swallowed a sigh.
Afterward, as expected, Edgar didn’t properly make eye contact with Cedric from the moment he boarded the carriage.
Cedric deliberately sat next to Edgar to observe his reaction… Edgar didn’t try to change seats, but he mostly just looked at Lionel sitting across from them or stuck to the window with his back turned.
How long are you planning to avoid me?
If I’d known this would happen, I should have sat across from him.
At least I could see his face from the front.
Cedric looked at Edgar’s cold behavior for a long time. He looked only at Edgar to an extent that seemed blatant. But Edgar seemed to detect that gaze and try even harder to pretend not to notice.
Soon he could feel Lionel and Riette talking to Edgar, trying to dilute this strange atmosphere.
“Young Master Edgar. Are you looking outside?”
“Huh? Ah, no, I was just… spacing out.”
“You’re not feeling unwell or anything, are you?”
“Huh? It’s not like that. Don’t worry, Ret.”
Even when he turned away from the window to answer the questions, Edgar stubbornly refused to turn around behind him.
In the end, Cedric was the first to withdraw his gaze from Edgar. He only looked out the window until they arrived at their destination, hiding his frustrated heart.
The sun was setting. The carriage stopped at a nearby territory. There was no separate villa there, and since they had no particular friendship with the noble who ruled that territory, we decided to stay at an inn for the night.
“Then we’ll go ahead first. Please call us if anything happens.”
After making eye contact with Edgar, Lionel also greeted Cedric and Riette before heading to a regular room.
The remaining three people were guided by staff to deluxe rooms. Each person got their own room, and while two of the rooms faced each other, one room was positioned a bit apart.
Riette deliberately took the initiative, saying she’d use that room.
It was probably consideration so that Cedric and Edgar could talk comfortably without worrying about her.
“Then have a good night and sleep well.”
“Yeah, you sleep well too, Ret.”
Edgar sweetly said goodbye while seeing her off as she turned away.
Cedric quietly stole glances at Edgar beside him. Just when he couldn’t take his eyes off the pale peach color on Edgar’s clear, smooth cheeks and the dense eyelashes that cast delicate shadows every time he blinked—
The olive-colored eyes that turned to look at Cedric upon sensing his gaze widened.
When his slightly drooping eye corners were defenseless, he looked innocent like a squirrel or rabbit—like a small animal.
Though he didn’t want to agree with and echo what Castian had said, he did agree with calling Edgar rabbit-like.
“Ah, Cedy. You sleep well too.”
“…I won’t be able to sleep well.”
“Huh?”
“I said I won’t be able to sleep well because you won’t be next to me.”
Edgar’s eyes grew even larger and began to shake back and forth. His face turned red in an instant—even a ripe apple would probably be less red.
Though his face showed emotions so well, he couldn’t find the reason why Edgar suddenly started avoiding him.
Cedric felt frustrated.
“Uh, ah, sorry.”
“Sorry? What for, how, why are you sorry?”
“Um, well…”
Edgar was hemming and hawing, unable to answer properly. Finally, the seed of anxiety that Cedric had been harboring sprouted.
Unable to hold back, Cedric asked.
“Eddie.”
“Yeah.”
“Did I do something wrong to you?”
At that, Edgar was startled.
“Huh? No?”
“Then why are you avoiding me?”
When he reached out to stroke Edgar’s hair, Edgar turned his head as if looking somewhere else. He seemed to think he was being natural, but it wasn’t at all.
“I haven’t avoided you. It’s not like that.”
“…Liar. You just avoided me.”
The pitiful hand that couldn’t reach Edgar and only swept through empty air curled up.
“Ah, no…”
“You’re right. You’re avoiding me right now.”
Cedric’s voice, which had welled up without him knowing, became rougher and higher than before.
As the atmosphere turned bad, even Edgar, who had not an ounce of tact, seemed to think something would go wrong at this rate and glanced at Cedric.
“Look me straight in the eyes. Look properly and talk.”
“……”
“Eddie.”
When he called again, Edgar, who had been holding something back like a dog that needed to poop, finally faced Cedric head-on.
He glared sharply as if something was unpleasant, but soon became gentle. He drooped his eyebrows, dropped his gaze to the floor, pouted his lips, and just fidgeted with his fingers.
“What did I do to you that you hate?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it? Why do you keep avoiding me?”
“Ah, no, I’m!”
At Cedric’s urging, Edgar’s mouth finally opened. With his completely reddened face, he shouted.
“Because every time I see you, I feel like my cock is going to get hard, ah damn, I just want to remain at least an intellectual being!”
Perhaps worried someone might hear, his voice became tiny as an ant’s dropping during the part about his “cock getting hard,” but Cedric could understand perfectly.
Dumbfounded, he let out a laugh.
“What’s that? A new seduction method?”
If you want to do it with me, then just do it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
