“Where are you from?” Lucianus asked.
“From a faraway land in the east,” Raifa replied. “I doubt you’d know of the name even if I mentioned it. It’s a nation of poverty, comprised mostly of desert, but I was brought to Dyna when I was a young child. My memories of my birthplace are quite fuzzy. May I ask for your name?”
“Lucianus.”
“Master Lucianus. A splendid name. May I ask why you’re here at a brothel? A handsome man such as yourself can surely seduce any man or woman that you wish. Do you perhaps have a special interest that you’d like to keep secret?” He poured more wine into Lucianus’s empty glass.
“I don’t know the touch of a man or a woman. I came here to confirm my true desires.”
“What a waste. I can hardly believe that a man as beautiful as you has never experienced any sort of intimacy.”
“I was simply never interested in it. In fact, I’d seen romance as troublesome. And yet…” Lucianus trailed off. He thought that he’d said too much, and gulped his wine down.
Raifa saw through him, regardless. “You found someone you’re interested in. I’m certain that the man on the receiving end of your affection is very lucky. May I ask what kind of person he is?”
Lucianus didn’t like to be peppered with questions. He stood up and started to remove his toga.
“Sorry, but I didn’t come here to talk,” he said. “I don’t mean to rush you, but could you please begin?”
Raifa looked up at Lucianus in astonishment. “You’re a lot more masculine than you look.”
He stopped Lucianus’s hands and skillfully removed the toga. Raifa then took Lucianus’s hand and led him to bed.
“If you’ve any wishes, please tell me,” Raifa said. “I’ll do whatever you desire.”
“I’ll leave it to you,” Lucianus replied. “I don’t know what I want to do or what I want done to me.”
“You’re adorable.” Raifa flashed another one of his bewitching smiles as he crouched down while letting Lucianus sit on the bed. “Your words will make me want to forget about work and enjoy myself.”
“It may be work, but surely, it’s no easy feat. Flattering your customers must be exhausting.”
Raifa giggled and placed a hand on Lucianus’s knee. “I’m not providing empty flattery. I don’t deny that doing so is part of my work, but I truly think that you’re an adorable person.”
Raifa’s hand snuck under Lucianus’s clothes and stroked Lucianus’s thighs. His fingers crawled up even farther and rubbed against the cloth below Lucianus’s waist. While Lucianus was preoccupied with the fingers that teased his genitalia, he noticed Raifa’s other hand was reaching back to stroke his behind, the fingers gentle with a feminine touch. Lucianus didn’t expect this turn of events as he felt a finger trace down the cleft of his buttocks. Even from above the cloth, he could clearly tell where Raifa was heading.
He immediately grabbed Raifa’s arm to give a word of warning. “You mustn’t do anything unforgivable.”
“Do you not like your being touched there?” Raifa asked.
“You may touch, but you’re trying to put your fingers inside, aren’t you?”
“I am. Is that a problem?”
Lucianus was shocked by Raifa’s confused reply.
“The men of Dyna are not slept with like women,” Lucianus explained. “Doing so is one of the most shameful things to a man. Do you not know of this?”
This nation allowed homosexuality, but there were still ground rules that had to be kept. If a Dyna man were to have sexual relations with another man, the former could only be intimate with men of lower rank. In addition, the former could not take the role of a woman—that is, to be penetrated by another man. If word ever got out that a Dyna man was on the receiving end, he would be disparaged by society.
“Oh, I’m well aware of that. But those rules are to maintain appearances,” Raifa said. He sat beside Lucianus and whispered, “Here, such a thing is not unusual for a man wanting to be held by another man. I had another nobleman—one of our regulars—ask for me yesterday. His body was masculine and splendid, but he wept tears of joy as I penetrated him. It’s not uncommon at all. Some love to be lashed by whips of slave women while other men receive excitement from being penetrated with a dildo by a boy. A person’s desire cannot be bound by laws or rules.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Lucianus replied. He’d thought that these rules were absolute, and was shocked to hear how debauched the bottomless desires of humans could be.
Raifa smiled and clutched Lucianus’s hand. “You’re still rather innocent, Master Lucianus.”
“The word you’re looking for is ‘ignorant,’” Lucianus replied. “I don’t deny my inexperience. The only thing I’ve got is my studies, so I know that I must be a dreadfully boring man.”
“I don’t see you that way. Your heart and body are still very pure, and that is extremely appealing to me. What I said earlier wasn’t a lie. I’d love to forget my work and spoil you with everything I’ve got.”
Raifa placed a hand on Lucianus’s cheek, drew his beautiful face close, and planted a kiss on his lips. Raifa’s skillful tongue made Lucianus’s mind grow numb. The noble had once been insulted by Juliana for his lack of skill, and when he compared himself to Raifa’s technique, he couldn’t deny it. Lucianus felt like his clumsy kisses resembled a toddler trying to suck his mother’s breast.
“I shall hold you first,” Raifa said. “You may then penetrate me next.”
He’ll show me how it’s done, Lucianus thought. He still was reluctant to be penetrated, but he started to believe that he could leave it all to Raifa. He makes me feel that way.
“Please be at ease,” Raifa reassured. “Anything that goes on within this bedroom won’t be publicized. It’ll just be a secret between you and me, Master Lucianus. Now then, will you entrust your body to me?”
Raifa gently laid Lucianus down onto the bed. As they kissed, Lucianus felt his entire body being touched. When Raifa removed the cloth around Lucianus’s waist and directly touched his penis, he found himself more embarrassed than excited.
“Are you nervous?” Raifa asked.
He gently gripped Lucianus’s member, but it remained soft in his palm. Am I nervous? Lucianus asked himself the question, but no answer came to mind. It just seemed like he was more reluctant about this entire affair than he’d expected. His thought process was rather simple. He didn’t care what man he slept with—he simply thought that doing so would deepen his understanding of himself. However, it seemed such intimacy with another person wasn’t so clear-cut. He was suddenly overcome with a sense of self-loathing. Despite his adult age, he hadn’t understood a matter so simple, and immediately thought that he was shallow-minded. Even if I can study well, I know nothing about the real world. I don’t even understand myself. Lucianus began to feel that it wasn’t right to try to understand these inexplicable feelings he held for Dominatus in this fashion.
“I’m sorry, Raifa,” Lucianus said. He sat up and pushed the prostitute’s shoulder back. “You’ve done enough.”
Raifa cocked his head to one side in befuddlement as though to ask if anything was wrong.
“It was wrong for me to use this method to try to understand myself,” Lucianus explained. “I shall go home. Of course, I shall pay in full for this session.”
“Am I not to your liking?” Raifa asked.
“No, you’re a beautiful and bewitching man. There’s no fault on your end.”
“Then did you perhaps get scared?”
Lucianus knew that Raifa was provoking him. Raifa had his pride as a prostitute, and it was only natural for him to be angered for being refused.
“I came here because I wanted to understand myself better,” Lucianus said. “But I realize now that it was the wrong decision. What I should confirm isn’t whether I’m a homosexual or not, but how I truly feel toward the man that I’m interested in, and what I want to do from there. These aren’t answers that I can attain by sleeping with another man.”
Upon seeing Lucianus’s unwavering expression, Raifa sighed. “I suppose that’s that.” He stepped off the bed. “A male prostitute shouldn’t force himself on a customer. It’s a shame, but I shall end our session here. I cannot bear the responsibility of neatly tucking in your toga just as it was when you arrived. I shall call for your attendant, so I ask that you please wait here.” With that, Raifa took his leave.
As Lucianus was tidying himself in his toga, he heard a loud voice from the corridor. A drunken man was bellowing with rage.
“Please, I ask that you calm yourself!” a woman cried. “You’ll disturb the other customers!”
“Silence!” the man yelled. “Where’s Miina? Call her for me!”
“Miina is not here today. I’ve told you so several times already.”
Mrs. Skradia was handling a rowdy customer. Though the customers of this brothel were all wealthy, it appeared that didn’t equate to having manners. In fact, wealthy people were more prone to becoming overbearing and arrogant.