“It is not a particularly pleasant memory.”
The Emperor answered vaguely. When Khalid looked straight at him as if asking what that meant, he let out a light laugh to ease the mood.
“Well, he did not look well then. And yet he stood with his back straight and his hands clasped behind him. He looked more noble than anyone there. Of course, considering the sort of things his father used to do, I doubt he was all that clean himself.”
“……”
Khalid’s face twisted like that of a demon. No one knew better than Khalid Via what kind of things that father had done. Fortunately, as his body had grown strong, he had managed to shake off those memories from childhood, but whenever he thought of that time, his teeth still ground together. And it was worse because one memory always came with it.
It’s all right. I’m not going anywhere.
The arms that had gently held him, the kind voice. Khalid clenched his teeth, then rose from his seat. He bowed to the Emperor.
“So you leave whenever it pleases you.”
“I cannot keep taking up Your Majesty’s time any longer.”
“You certainly have become more talkative.”
“I will take my leave.”
“Yes, yes. You are like a brother to me, so there is only so much I can say. Go on, then.”
Only then did Khalid rise fully and leave the Emperor’s office. As he stepped out, his knights followed behind him.
“We are going straight back to the estate.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Have Nox waiting.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Khalid headed straight for the estate. When the carriage came to a stop on arrival, he opened the door himself and jumped down. Then he strode inside. His gaze swept over the servants who came to receive him, and his brow furrowed.
“Where has my slave gone?”
“Ah, we did pass the word along, but he has not yet—”
“Hah.”
So this was how he meant to resist. Dumbfounded, Khalid headed straight for Nox’s room himself. Behind him, the servants lowered their heads. There was a trace of dissatisfaction in the looks they exchanged with one another. Their master was already difficult enough to please, and now someone had dared to sour his temper. Head Maid Marlene, watching those meaningful glances pass among them, clapped her hands, her brow creasing strangely.
“Back to your posts, all of you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“At once.”
The servants scattered, and Khalid arrived at Nox’s room with his knights. Without a moment’s hesitation, he yanked the door open.
“…Ah.”
“……”
Then, for a moment, he lost the ability to speak.
Nox had apparently just finished washing and was in the middle of taking off his robe. Khalid’s brow knotted violently, and he ground out an order to the knights as if chewing it to pieces.
“Eyes.”
Without a word, the knights lowered their gaze to the floor. Leaving them behind, Khalid stepped into the room and shut the door. In an instant, Nox was left alone with him.
Still facing away from him, Nox stood frozen, unable either to drop the robe in his hand or put it back on. But there was no hiding the bite marks scattered all over his body. Khalid let his gaze travel slowly over him, from shoulder to foot, savoring every inch.
“There is no such thing as a slave who is late when his master calls.”
At those words, Nox slowly set the robe down and picked up the shirt he had placed on the side table. He slipped it on as he answered.
“I’m sorry. …I was getting ready.”
“Getting ready.”
At that, Khalid arched a brow. Then he walked up behind Nox, who had only just begun fastening the buttons, caught him by the chin, and tilted his head back. He heard a sharp intake of breath.
“Getting ready for what, exactly?”
“That is…”
When Nox could not answer, Khalid smiled faintly. Then he pulled that body—still wearing nothing but the shirt—flush against his own and let one hand slide downward. His grip at Nox’s waist was firm enough that he could not run. Nox drew in a deep breath.
Khalid’s hand was already touching the opening between his cheeks.
Without hesitation, he pushed in a finger.
Nox’s body twitched, and the tremor traveled straight into Khalid through the tight contact of their bodies.
“…Certainly. If this is the sort of preparation you meant, no wonder you were late.”
He pushed the finger in deeper, rubbing roughly against the inner wall. Nox’s body jolted again and again, squirming helplessly within the circle of his arm. Khalid liked this side of him. This situation where Nox could do nothing but tremble uselessly inside his grasp.
“The finger…”
“If you want something, say it properly.”
Within his arms, Nox drew his knees together as if he could barely remain standing, but the finger burrowing inside him only scraped harder along the inner wall. His shoulders jerked. His face was one of complete helplessness. Imagining that face without even seeing it clearly, Khalid bit the tip of his ear.
“Ah—”
“Is that so difficult?”
Nox’s lips parted and moved before he finally forced the words out.
“Master… please take your finger out— ngh!”
The moment Nox asked him to remove it, Khalid pushed in another finger.
His body was still tight, even after how thoroughly it had been forced open the day before. But it was different from yesterday, when it had clamped down like it meant to tear him off. After being loosened somewhat by his fingers, the opening was still tight, but now it closed around them with unmistakable softness.
“Did you loosen yourself up alone?”
“Y-yes…”
Nox answered haltingly. He hated this. Hated being held by Khalid like this, his body searched and spread apart like some animal being inspected. He twisted his shoulders, trying to break free, only to freeze at the low growl that sounded from behind him. The moment he went still, the growl subsided.
“Ah— hng…!”
When the fingers pushed deeper and pressed against a certain place, his whole body went rigid. Khalid gave a satisfied rumble in his throat and pressed there again, stubbornly, over and over. Nox bit his lip for Khalid’s sake, knowing he disliked hearing his voice, but he could not swallow every sound that escaped from his throat.
Khalid wanted to throw Nox face-down onto the bed at once.
He wanted to force his way back inside that body the way he had yesterday and make him cry until his voice went hoarse. He wanted to wrap a hand around his throat, slap his face, and jab into the places that made him react before pain could even fully register, then curse him as a whore while he moaned helplessly beneath him. Khalid knew his own sadism well, and when it came to Nox, he made no effort to hide it.
He withdrew the fingers that had been working noisily inside him and let Nox go. Nox barely managed not to collapse to the floor. Instead, he caught himself against the table and remained standing.
“Change your clothes and come up at once.”
“…Yes.”
Khalid walked straight out of the room, leaving Nox alone. Nox let out a long breath.
He had been Khalid’s slave for only two days. It was still too soon, too overwhelming, for him to accept all of this. But slowly, he began fastening the buttons of his shirt again. He pulled on smooth trousers over the shirt garters. After buttoning the vest over the shirt and putting on his shoes, all that remained was the bolo tie.
Once it was in place, he looked, in every possible way, like someone’s pretty slave.
“……”
Nox stared at himself in the mirror as though he were a stranger.
The straight back, the neatly squared shoulders, the flawless posture—everything about it was the most perfect bearing a noble house could praise. And yet, in spite of that posture, he was nothing more than a slave. The dissonance of it made his brow crease for a moment.
Then he turned away from his reflection and slowly walked to the door. He opened it and started for the top floor, where Khalid would be.
Every servant he passed whispered when they saw him. He could not even begin to guess what they were saying. Nor did he want to. Whether it was mockery directed at a man who, until very recently, had been one of the great nobles, or pity—neither was welcome. But this was his reality now.
His pace was neither fast nor slow, yet he reached Khalid’s room quickly enough.
Knock, knock.
Nox knocked on Khalid’s door. No answer came back.
So he simply stood there and waited until one did.
Ten minutes. Then twenty. A long time passed, and still there was no reply. It was not as though Khalid had left the room in the meantime. Nox did not want to think about anything. He did not want to examine it too deeply. So he simply stood there, idle and silent.
Click.
At last the door opened from within.
Khalid, who seemed to have just bathed, stood there looking at Nox with a slight furrow in his brow.
“How long have you been standing here?”
“For twenty minutes.”
“…I see. Come in.”
As ordered, Nox stepped into the room.
The curtains were all drawn, leaving the room dark. The only thing lighting it was a magic crystal sphere. In that faint blue glow, Nox stared blankly at Khalid as he sat down on the edge of the bed. Then Khalid tapped the floor in front of him lightly with the tip of his foot.
“Come here.”
Nox walked over slowly and stopped in front of him. Looking up at him, Khalid tilted his head.
Understanding the gesture, Nox hesitated for a moment, then slowly sank to his knees before him.
Kneeling between Khalid’s legs, Nox lifted his head to look up at him—and the instant he did, Khalid’s large hand caught the back of his head.
“Ugh…”
“Open your mouth.”