“Where did you hide Miina?!” the man roared. “Is she here?”
The door suddenly opened, and a large, red-faced man entered the room. He spotted Lucianus sitting on the bed and gave a gasp of astonishment.
“What a beautiful male prostitute!” the man shouted. “I had no idea that such a splendid man was here.”
“Sir! He is not a prostitute!” Mrs. Skradia cried. “Please leave this room at once!”
But the man ignored the mistress’s stern warning.
“Shut up!” he roared. He pushed her out onto the hall and closed the door, locking it from the inside.
Lucianus was left stunned in shock. He had already put on his waistcloth, but he hadn’t tied the belt around his tunic yet.
“You,” the man said. He reeked of liquor as he headed toward the bed. “I’ll buy you, so hurry up and strip.”
“Don’t come near me,” Lucianus glared. “I’m not a prostitute. I’m here as a customer.”
“Don’t make me laugh. A child like you, here as a customer? I’ll pamper you, so stop your silly lies and bend over for me.”
Even if the man was a drunk, there was a line of insolence that Lucianus wouldn’t let him cross without consequence. Lucianus stood up and slapped the approaching man hard. “You impudent buffoon. I’m a noble. My name is Lucianus Carusso Emilius. Tell me your name.”
“You… I suppose you haven’t been trained yet, you whore,” the man growled.
In his fury, he pushed Lucianus onto the bed and forcefully tried to remove the noble’s clothes. Lucianus struggled as much as he could to prevent this process, and in this scuffle, his tunic ripped.
“Stop this at once! Don’t touch me!” Lucianus shouted. He started hitting his assailant’s head over and over again, trying only to get the man off his body.
“You brat!” the man growled. He slapped Lucianus across the face. The impact was so intense that Lucianus felt his mind grow dull, and he almost lost consciousness for a split second. “A noble? Yeah right. A whore who’s gone crazy is in need of a good punishment.”
While Lucianus was stunned, his waistcloth was undone, his entire body completely naked now. The drunken man revealed his own erect cock, and rage bubbled up within Lucianus’s mind. Like hell I’ll be defiled by this man! He kicked the approaching man’s crotch as hard as he could.
“Gah!” the man screamed.
As he inched back in pain, the doors to the room were broken wide open, and someone barged in. Lucianus was shocked to see the man who entered—Dominatus. When Dominatus saw a naked Lucianus sprawled on the bed, his face contorted with wrath.
“Ouch… Hey, you over there!” the drunkard roared angrily at Dominatus. The former had mistaken the latter for a store employee. “This prostitute is crazy! He kicked a customer’s groin! What kind of training does this place—”
Before the man could finish, Dominatus’s fist sent him flying to the corner of the room.
“You’re the one who’s gone crazy,” Dominatus said. “You may be drunk, but trying to force yourself on a customer of this brothel is unbelievably barbaric.”
The drunken man must’ve hit his head hard against the wall—he was knocked out and unable to get back up. Lucianus clutched his ripped clothes and hid his lower half. He was at a loss for words, astonished that Dominatus was here, and humiliated that such an embarrassing moment was seen.
“Lord Lucianus!” Kaira cried. Pale-faced, he rushed to his master’s side to hug him tight. “Are you hurt? How awful… You’re bleeding from your nose. That man hit you, didn’t he?”
“It’s nothing much,” Lucianus replied.
He wiped his nose with his clothes as he put up a tough front. In truth, the half of his face that had been struck was still throbbing with pain, and he was starting to grow dizzy.
“Toss this man out at once! And remember the face of this drunken oaf very well,” Mrs. Skradia ordered. She was so enraged that Lucianus could see a vein bulging on her forehead. “The next time he shows his face around here, be sure to fling horse manure at him!”
Dominatus brought the toga that was on the sofa and placed it around Lucianus’s bare shoulders. Lucianus stood up to wrap the clothing around his body.
“Why are you here?” Lucianus asked.
“I happened past your room, and Mrs. Skradia came to me for help, telling me that a man was assaulting another customer,” Dominatus replied.
In other words, you were here to buy a woman to sleep with. Even in this situation, Lucianus couldn’t suppress his curiosity to learn about Dominatus’s type.
“I didn’t know you were the one being attacked,” Dominatus continued. “What rotten luck. You came to sleep with a woman, but you got attacked instead. It must be an unfortunate ordeal for you.” While Dominatus’s tone was sympathetic, his eyes were twinkling with amusement.
No doubt he finds me to be a dull-witted man. To Lucianus’s frustration, he couldn’t be infuriated at a man who came to his rescue.
“You have my deepest apologies, Master Lucianus,” Raifa said. He kneeled in front of his customer and looked up at Lucianus, apologizing from the bottom of his heart. “It’s my fault for leaving you all alone.”
Lucianus shook his head. “It’s not your fault. Don’t let this bother you.”
“I’m eternally grateful for your kind words. I would be most overjoyed if you didn’t let this horrible experience affect you. If you ever decide to visit us again, please be sure to ask for me.”
Raifa took Lucianus’s hand and planted a kiss on it. Lucianus knew that there likely wouldn’t be a next time, but he found it rude to voice his thoughts here. He gave a silent nod in response. Just then, he grew dizzy and reached out to grab Dominatus’s arm.
“Do you feel ill?” Dominatus inquired.
“No, I just lost my balance for a moment,” Lucianus replied.
“It might be from the blow you sustained. When you feel dizzy, you shouldn’t walk by yourself. If you faint and hit your head, you’ll have an even more serious injury. Mrs. Skradia, I shall deliver Lucianus to his home. Will you prepare a carriage?”
“Most certainly,” the mistress replied. “I shall prepare one immediately. You may leave from the back exit.”
Dominatus didn’t wait for Lucianus’s consent and scooped up the noble in his arms. Once again, Lucianus found himself carried like a woman, but before he could protest, Dominatus opened his mouth.
“Bear with me for today,” Dominatus said. “You’re all wrapped up in your toga, so I really have no other option.”
Lucianus was still reluctant, but he no longer had the energy to fight back and closed his mouth. Still in Dominatus’s arms, the noble was carried into the carriage in the back with Kaira in tow. Once they were all inside, the carriage started to creak forward.
“Stay lying down,” Dominatus said. He placed Lucianus’s head on his lap.
Lucianus was annoyed to be ordered around, but as he felt Dominatus’s warmth, the noble found his heart pounding.
Once they returned to House Carusso, Lucianus was dressed in a new set of clothes. He returned to the guest room, where Dominatus sat on the sofa while sipping on some wine. He was drinking all alone; perhaps the slaves had all been chased out.
“Are you still dizzy?” Dominatus asked.
“I’m fine,” Lucianus replied. “This is the second time you’ve come to my aid. Thank you.”
“No need for your gratitude. Could you sit next to me and pour me another glass? Surely you can do that for your savior.”
Dominatus raised his glass in the air as relaxed as though he was in his own home. This man had been constantly showered with praise, but Lucianus was more annoyed with each and every word that Dominatus uttered. I suppose this is what “incompatibility” means.
But as Lucianus obediently sat beside Dominatus to pour him a glass of wine, he felt a sense of yearning well up beside his frustration. For the first time in his life, Lucianus was overcome with complex emotions and had no idea how to deal with them.
“You came to cheer me on at my last gladiator match,” Dominatus said.
“I was indeed there, but I wasn’t cheering for you,” Lucianus retorted, almost out of habit. Lucianus was disappointed in himself for being so prickly with his remarks, and he wanted to sew his mouth shut with a needle and thread. Dominatus, however, didn’t seem upset.
“That’s good enough for me,” he smiled. “I was able to win only because I received the blessing of the Goddess of Victory.”
“That nonsense again?” Lucianus replied. “Something must be wrong with you if you can superimpose the image of a man over a goddess.”
“Don’t say that. You truly do resemble the statue of Shanora very well.” Dominatus poured himself another glass of wine as he switched subjects. “In any case, that incident earlier truly gave me quite a shock. And I didn’t think you’d gone to a brothel to buy a man instead of a woman. You’ve got an adorable face, but you’re quite assertive. Who would’ve imagined that you prefer men?”