“Leonard! Stop now. If you keep this up, you’ll really kill him!”
Yellian urgently tried to stop Leonard.
It wasn’t that he had forgotten Leonard was the mad duke. It was just that Leonard had been so kind and gentle that Yellian had momentarily forgotten his true nature.
But a mad duke was still a mad duke. Leonard showed no intention of forgiving the man as he tightened his grip on the knife.
“Halt! City guards!”
When Yellian looked toward the source of the shouting, the crowd at the night market parted. Guards in armor came running through the cleared path.
“Drop your weapon and surrender immediately, or else……”
“Leonard!”
The two guards who arrived first pointed their spears at Leonard. As the sharp spear tips aimed at him, Yellian shuddered unconsciously and called his name.
Then, Leonard adjusted his grip on the knife pressing against the man’s wrist and showed the hilt to the guards.
“Wh-wha- Y-Your Grace!”
The hilt bore an unfamiliar crest, but it seemed to symbolize the Duke Abrams’ household.
Given how the guards immediately recognized it and addressed him as “Your Grace.”
“This man deliberately bumped into passersby, threatened them, and extorted money. My companion and I were also threatened, so I acted in self-defense.”
“Y-yes! Understood!”
At Leonard’s explanation, the guards bowed their heads. The man, stunned by the mention of “Duke,” could only stammer wordlessly.
“Take him away and investigate thoroughly before punishing him.”
“Understood!”
“Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to report to His Majesty the Emperor that the capital’s security is a mess.”
“H-His Majesty the Emperor… Y-yes! We’ll investigate thoroughly and punish him accordingly!”
At the mention of the Emperor, the guards turned pale. Half-frozen, they began restraining the man.
The man bled from his wrist and wailed for mercy, but the guards soon dragged him away.
“They say he’s the Duke.”
“Wow… I’ve never seen a Duke before.”
“Me neither. Who’s the person next to him?”
“Yeah, a friend?”
Murmurs rose from the crowd. Sensing he couldn’t stay any longer, Yellian tugged at Leonard’s sleeve.
Leonard, wiping the blade with a handkerchief, silently followed Yellian out of the night market.
The night market was so crowded that it took them a while to find a carriage.
Inside the carriage heading back to the duke’s estate, Yellian was half-asleep, nodding off as the carriage rocked. Leonard pulled Yellian’s head to rest against his shoulder.
When Yellian hazily woke up, he realized he’d been sleeping on Leonard’s shoulder. Though unintentional, it was surprisingly comfortable and satisfying.
Yellian snuggled closer, and Leonard affectionately stroked his beige hair.
* * *
Finally, they arrived at Duke Abrams’ estate. Still groggy, Yellian was scooped up into Leonard’s arms.
Even though only the duke’s household was inside, the thought of being carried like a grown man was unbearably embarrassing.
“Put me down! I can walk on my own!”
“You were dead asleep earlier.”
“That was earlier!”
Despite Yellian’s desperate pleas, Leonard pretended not to hear and kept carrying him. The household staff watched in bewilderment.
Truthfully, they had known for a while that the duke had changed.
Though the exact moment was unclear, they all agreed it started when he began keeping a stray cat and rarely left his room.
Occasionally, he spent time with a man-either in his room or going out-but no one in the household knew who he was.
They wondered who this man was to act so casually around the duke and why he appeared and disappeared so unpredictably.
Today, seeing Leonard carry him in his arms only deepened their curiosity.
Oblivious, Yellian squirmed, trying to escape Leonard’s hold.
“Are you really not going to put me down?”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“Then don’t blame me if you regret it.”
Leonard was slightly startled by Yellian’s threat but didn’t show it. Suddenly, Yellian went limp and closed his eyes-an abrupt change.
“Yellian, wake up, Yellian!”
Panicked, Leonard called his name urgently, ready to summon a doctor-until he saw Yellian peek through half-lidded eyes and froze.
Then he understood: Yellian was pretending to faint.
“Really, you’re something else.”
“…….”
Though scolding, Leonard didn’t loosen his hold. Eventually, they returned to Leonard’s room together.
“Ugh, I was so embarrassed I thought I’d die!”
The moment they entered, Yellian leaped out of Leonard’s arms. Leonard stifled a laugh.
“Don’t ever carry me like that again, okay? It was so humiliating…”
“Wasn’t it a date?”
“Wh-what? Well, yeah, but…”
As Yellian stammered, Leonard suddenly closed the distance between them.
Yellian stepped back, but Leonard only moved closer until their breaths mingled.
“We had a date today.”
“Y-yeah, we did…”
“I’d like to finish it properly. What do you think?”
“Uh, w-well…”
Yellian’s eyes darted around nervously-until Leonard lightly kissed his lips.
A soft sound echoed as their lips met, stirring Yellian’s heart.
“Okay…”
Before the word fully left his lips, Leonard kissed him deeply.
The kiss was slow and lingering, leaving Yellian breathless.
“Hngh, mm, ah…”
Gasping, Yellian panted heavily while Leonard gazed at him adoringly.
Then Leonard began undressing Yellian, his touches so tender that Yellian nearly teared up.
He kissed every newly exposed patch of skin-teasing, tickling kisses that left Yellian burning.
“W-wait, Leonard, what are you doing…?!”
Blushing furiously, Yellian tried to push Leonard away as he buried his face between Yellian’s thighs-but Leonard wouldn’t budge.
“I’m going to eat you up.”
Y-you don’t mean…
Realizing what “eat up” implied, Yellian squirmed desperately to escape.
But as always, Leonard was faster-he took Yellian’s length into his mouth without hesitation.
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