Living as a Butler to the Northern Duke SIDE 3

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No, Ed was his duchess, his mate—and yet, it still felt like a loss.

A lingering sense of something missed.

The one chosen by divine oracle, a fated lover even the heavens approved.

If not for Fez, he might have seen Ed from his infancy.

The previous emperor, upon hearing the oracle, immediately sought him out.

If Fez hadn’t caused chaos… then perhaps they could have met in a warm, peaceful setting—not with Ed lying pale in bed, recovering from poison.

From that moment on, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Ed.

That tiny body wrapped in swaddling clothes, the soft gaze shared with his parents, the way his little lips moved, the effort to stand while holding onto something, the toddler steps…

He would’ve seen it all, cherished every moment.

He would’ve been the one who held Ed’s hand the most as he grew.

Watching him every second, afraid he might fall and cry.

Just like Ed now followed after Leo.

He was certain he would’ve fallen in love from the very start.

Naturally, inevitably.

That’s why losing that time—never even knowing what he missed—felt so deeply regretful.

Watching Leo grow brought joy, but it also reminded him of the moments he never got to witness with Ed.

Every time the child with blue eyes made a face so reminiscent of Ed, he found himself imagining what Ed must have looked like at that age.

“Haa… mm…”

And so, the Grand Duke observed Ed obsessively.

Because they met late, he didn’t want to miss even a single expression from now on.

The tongue slipped between his lips and curled around the soft flesh inside.

Ed’s moans spilled freely from between their deep kisses.

The Grand Duke, not wanting to lose a single sound, tilted his head further and devoured Ed’s lips again—already sealed tight.

“Mmm… hngh…”

When he scraped the roof of Ed’s mouth with his tongue, a low moan vibrated up from Ed’s throat and into him.

That breath was so sweet, he suckled at Ed’s mouth with greedy, open kisses—not because he needed air, but simply because he wanted more.

‘Wet slurps’, the sound of their tongues tangling didn’t stop.

The pliant flesh inside Ed’s narrow mouth twisted and pressed against his teeth.

The Grand Duke traced Ed’s flushed cheek with his fingertips and, whenever Ed tried to muffle his moans, pressed deeper into the sensitive inner flesh with his tongue.

The pressure mimicked a deep throat—Ed’s throat tightened in response, startling him with a sharp gasp.

It was overwhelming every time.

The Grand Duke gave him a moment to breathe.

Pulling back, he gently suckled Ed’s swollen lower lip.

Ed exhaled a trembling breath between fevered gasps, his throat humming.

As the light returned to Ed’s softened gaze, the Grand Duke kissed him again.

They were already touching—but he wanted more.

Needed more.

And Ed felt the same.

Without waiting for the heat on his plump lips to cool, Ed pressed in again.

He kissed, rubbed, and traced the Grand Duke’s lips with his tongue, like sketching their shape.

A smile tugged at the Grand Duke’s lips.

Not wanting to let go either, Ed captured his lips again.

He sucked hard, bit down, rubbed wildly—the kiss was messy, intense.

The Grand Duke let him lead for a while, but when Ed’s lips parted slightly, he slipped back inside.

Their tongues wrapped, pressed, tangled.

Ed’s eyes shimmered with tears.

Their kiss was so intense, his tongue throbbed.

The base of it ached as if being pulled, sucked mercilessly.

Just from kissing, sweat dampened their bodies.

A jolt of pleasure rose up as Ed’s tongue was pressed and teased.

The slow, deliberate licking deep in his throat made his face burn.

Even though they were face-to-face, it felt like the Grand Duke was dominating him from above.

His sheer strength made it feel that way.

“Nngh… mmh…”

At some point, Ed had gone limp, panting.

As his eyes tightened and he turned slightly for air, the Grand Duke withdrew and lazily licked Ed’s swollen lips.

Then he rained kisses across Ed’s face—his forehead, nose, cheeks, chin… every inch of exposed skin, as if branding him with heat.

A shiver raced down Ed’s spine at the sensual affection.

When the kisses moved down his neck and chewed lightly on his collarbone, his eyes fluttered shut and his mind went hazy.

The Grand Duke’s hand slipped under Ed’s top.

He lightly brushed a stiff right nipple, then abruptly pulled the sleepwear off.

It happened so fast, Ed didn’t even have time to react.

As the weight of the Grand Duke’s body settled over his stomach, Ed’s eyes widened.

He had straddled Ed’s body.

With one hand, he pinned both of Ed’s wrists down against the mattress.

“Let’s focus on the right nipple today.”

“Ah… I told you, not that one…”

Of course not.

You’re doing so well like this.

“Ah…… Hnggg.”

As the Grand Duke used his tongue to suck long on his nipple, a deep excitement clung to the corners of Ed’s eyes.

Last winter, Leo’s fussiness at bedtime had increased.

So Ed had to put him to sleep in the bedroom, and every time, the child would fall asleep with his hand placed on Ed’s left chest.

[Seems like he’s just being spoiled.]

The Grand Duke would say that, watching Leo sleep with his mouth slightly open, and Ed would raise a finger to his own lips and go, ‘Shh!’

Because of this, the Grand Duke, who had lost Ed to his son, would thrust his hand inside Ed’s clothes and grumble.

[Then this side is mine.]

Of course, he would often get a sharp tap on the back of his hand from Ed and be forced to retreat.

From this spring, Leo no longer slept with Ed.

It was on the advice of the chief physician, who said it was better for him to have his own room now.

The reason given was to foster self-reliance and independence, but Ed couldn’t help but suspect the Grand Duke’s coercion might have played a part.

After that, the Grand Duke grabbed his own right nipple and expressed doubt.

[The right nipple feels weak?]

What kind of nonsense was this now?

In the midst of being caressed, hearing this strange remark, Ed let out a moan and looked up at him.

The Grand Duke flicked the nipple with his finger.

[Look at this. The side Leo kept pulling on has grown plump, while the right side, neglected, remains this small and cute.]

He was claiming the nipple sizes had become different.

But that wasn’t true.

However strong Leo might be, a young child’s grip strength wasn’t that significant.

And it wasn’t about pulling; most of the time, he was just pressing his ear against Ed’s chest to listen to the thumping sound of his heartbeat.

Ed immediately refuted this.

He pulled his top up to his neck and insisted there was no significant size difference.

But to the Grand Duke, who still remembered being displaced by Leo and getting his hand tapped by Ed, this protest fell on deaf ears.

[So I’ll take responsibility and nurture this one myself.]

When he said that, pressing down firmly on the right areola with his hand, Ed thought it was just a passing comment at first……

But since then, whenever he got the chance, the Grand Duke became fixated on the right breast.

“Ah…… Ah, Hngk!”

The Grand Duke pressed his pointed tongue firmly against the nipple.

The sensation, which started slow and heavy, quickly escalated into a sharp, intense pleasure.

As the Grand Duke pursed his lips into a circle and sucked strongly on the nipple, Ed’s vision blurred into whiteness.

“……Yo-Your Grace…… Ngh…… Ngt!”

He never knew his chest could be such an erogenous zone until he met the Grand Duke.

Because the Duke focused so intensely on attacking the right side, Ed felt a rising sense of crisis.

If he kept sucking and nibbling like this, not only would his vision go dark, but he felt like his nipple size would actually become different.

Ed’s parted legs, which had gone limp, tensed up again and twitched.

As the Grand Duke began scraping the perked-up nipple with his teeth, Ed felt like he was going insane.

Ed twisted his body, but pinned down by the Grand Duke sitting on his stomach, he couldn’t escape.

As the Grand Duke parted his lips, trapping the nipple between them and licking it with his tongue, Ed shook his head.

“……Your Grace, th-this! That’s enough now.”

In his squirming, Ed’s erect penis brushed past the Grand Duke’s lower body.

The Grand Duke let out a light laugh, raised his head, and met Ed’s gaze.

He stared, mesmerized, into Ed’s softened blue eyes, then kissed and released Ed’s left eyelid.

“Is this side asking for attention too?”

“No, that’s not it…… Hngt!”

A playful voice reached him, followed by a sharp pleasure surging in his left breast.

As the Grand Duke’s hand twisted the left nipple, Ed’s upper body shook violently.

Ed tried to twist his upper body sideways to escape the touch, but was thwarted by the Grand Duke’s weight.

“Ah! Ngh…… Hngg, Ngh……!”

The drawn-out moans showed no sign of subsiding.

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