* * *
After a moment of hesitation, Ashard finally opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Tonight… I’ll have to have dinner with Julius Renan.”
Even before he finished speaking, Eren’s face froze.
Seeing that, Ashard no longer wanted the two of them to meet—artifact or whatever be damned.
It was an artifact shaped like a jewel, given to him by Melody.
If Ashard handed it over himself, Julius definitely wouldn’t carry it around out of gratitude.
It’d be lucky if it didn’t end up in the trash.
If he wanted Julius to actually keep it on him, it’d be best if Eren gave it as if it were a gift.
Even though he knew that…
“Damn it.”
Ashard pulled the artifact from his coat and bit down on his lip.
He bit so hard the taste of blood spread in his mouth.
Not that he cared—his focus was entirely on Eren, so much so that he didn’t even realize his lip was bleeding.
His face was full of guilt as he held the artifact out to Eren.
“It’s a magical artifact. You can use this mirror to watch the person who has it. I can give it to Julius if you hate the idea, but… I figured it’d be better if you handed it to him.”
“Ah.”
Eren immediately understood what Ashard meant, and a small smile tugged at his lips.
Indeed… it would be better for him to hand it over rather than Ashard.
“You don’t have to force yourself to meet him.”
Truthfully, Ashard had hoped Eren would say he didn’t want to see Julius and refuse.
Saying “you don’t have to if you don’t want to” was really just a plea for him to say no—but when it came to Ashard, Eren was always too considerate.
There was no hesitation in the way Eren reached out to take the artifact.
Humans really were fickle creatures.
Even though Ashard was doing this at Eren’s request, the younger man’s gentle demeanor somehow felt cruel.
“I know what you’re saying. But I’ll be fine—”
“No. I’m not fine with it.”
Ashard took the jewel right back from Eren’s hand as he said it.
“…What?”
“I thought I’d be okay with it, but it turns out I really don’t like it. Just the thought of you giving something to someone who isn’t me.”
Even Ashard didn’t know why he was acting like this.
Like a lost child dropped into an unfamiliar place, unsure of where to go.
He had always been confident he at least understood his own heart—but maybe not even that was true.
‘What kind of jealousy is that… and how is it so cute…?’
Eren blinked, stunned by Ashard’s sudden change of heart.
They say it’s over once you find someone cute—and before he realized it, he was reaching up to ruffle Ashard’s hair.
But the way Ashard looked at him made him flinch.
“Ah—! I didn’t mean to…”
Ashard caught his retreating hand and pressed it to his lips.
Letting it linger before slowly pulling away, his eyes glinted.
‘I guess this really is my type, after all.’
Eren stiffened like a tree branch, eyes darting away.
Ashard looked at him with satisfaction.
While it wasn’t bad that Eren found him “cute,” seeing him blush and fumble was even better.
Some might call that a cruel preference—but after last night, Ashard hadn’t been able to get Eren out of his head.
“Anyway, with this, we won’t have to stay close to him unnecessarily, right?”
“…”
“I don’t really want to meet Marquis Renan, but still! I think it’s better if I give it to him.”
He quickly snatched the artifact back before Ashard could reclaim it again and stuffed it into his pocket.
Eren knew Ashard wasn’t happy about him meeting Julius, but the constant teasing was annoying, so he emphasized it once more.
“He’ll only carry it around if I give it to him.”
“…Didn’t know you had such a rational side.”
“Glad you realized it, even if it’s late. I’ll handle this myself! So don’t worry.”
“Are you trying to provoke me right now?”
“…”
Eren said nothing and stood up abruptly.
His legs trembled from the aftereffects of last night, but he mustered all his strength to distance himself.
Just as he finally reached the door, Ashard approached in long strides like it was pointless to try to get away.
“I think I warned you before. If you say things like that, be prepared—I might not take them as a joke.”
Looking up at Ashard’s hardened expression, Eren saw his lips smiling—but his eyes were tracing him like a predator.
…Maybe he should’ve just kept quiet.
When Ashard’s eyes darkened with intent, Eren instantly regretted his words.
Without giving him a chance to respond, Ashard scooped him up and laid him on the bed again, climbing over him.
“We’ve still got a lot of time before dinner.”
“W-Wait a second!”
“You’re going to give that to him? Then before that, you need to give yourself to me first.”
With a rough motion, he unraveled the tangled blankets and lowered himself over Eren, close enough for their breaths to mix.
He caged Eren beneath his body so he couldn’t escape.
“Only then will the math add up, don’t you think?”
Yeah, like hell it would!
Eren felt the blood drain from his body.
After being tormented all night, doing it again now would surely break him.
The potion Ashard gave him had helped a bit, but that didn’t mean he was ready to go again.
“If you hate it, then push me away.”
Of course, it wasn’t that he disliked it.
It was the first time he truly understood what it meant to feel ecstasy—it had been that pleasurable.
But after spending the night with him yesterday, there was one thing he realized.
“I know it’s no use telling you!”
As if those words were spot on, Ashard’s eyes curved into a graceful smile.
“You know it well. Then why bother with provocations that won’t work?”
Eren had chased after Ashard, avoiding the main and side leads, solely to protect his chastity.
In true “depravity trope” fashion, he was expected to roll around here and there, accepting advances from all the semes.
He thought he had managed to stray from the original plot since he knew the story inside and out.
But clearly… something had gone wrong.
He’d escaped to Trovien to protect his chastity, yet ended up doing it day and night instead.
All his past efforts now felt laughable.
‘Only the protagonist changed, that’s all…’
Eren dragged his aching waist and managed to walk.
Ashard was far more gentle than any of the original leads—Eren couldn’t deny that.
But in terms of monstrous physicality and stamina?
He was second to none—if not worse.
“Eren, if it’s too much, just say so.”
Say something?
Eren gave him a cold glare.
How could he be so calm?
He must’ve said he was exhausted hundreds of times just today.
What was the point of telling him, when he wouldn’t listen anyway?
Ignoring Ashard’s words, Eren turned his head sharply.
In the distance, a lavish doorway came into view.
The dining hall of the Fridit family.
They were halfway down the corridor when Eren suddenly stopped at the distinct, familiar scent wafting toward him.
It was the cologne Julius used.
Every time he appeared in the novel, there’d be a line: “The dizzying scent of roses made Eren lose his mind even more.”
It was impossible to forget.
* * *
