He seemed to be truly sorry.
Leorino relaxed, but his heart was still pounding in his chest. Julian had hung his head and would not move. His pitiful state filled Leorino’s chest with guilt.
He knew that feeling was uncalled for—Julian had kidnapped him—but unlike Ionia, Leorino was not a warrior.
Seeing Julian so remorseful, the boundary between enemy and victim quickly blurred.
Julian weakly fell onto the settee, holding his hand. Was the wound deeper than it appeared? The blood still hadn’t stopped.
Leorino felt an ache in his chest. “…I’m sorry.”
“You hurt me, then apologize?”
“No… I don’t apologize for using my dagger. I apologize for making you worry about me.”
They watched each other in silence for a moment.
“…Help me patch myself up, will you? Bring me that jug over there. I need to clean my hands.”
Leorino nodded, took the jug, and slowly approached Julian on the settee. Leaving some distance between them, he held out the jug and Julian inserted each hand into the water to wash off the blood.
“Thank you.”
“…Don’t.”
Pulling the ascot from around his neck, Julian made a valiant attempt to wrap it around his wounded hand with the other. He did not get very far.
With a pathetic expression, he held out his hand to Leorino.
“I can’t tie it with one hand. Would you mind tying it for me?”
“A-all right… Does it hurt?”
Leorino took the ascot and carefully tried to wrap it around his hand. As he did, he observed the wound.
It was too deep to be a mere scratch, but Leorino was relieved to see that it was a shallow gash that did not seem to damage the function of his hand.
Julian silently watched Leorino.
Leorino dared not make eye contact.
When he had finished wrapping the cloth around Julian’s hand and tightly tied the ends together, he looked up at Julian to see how he was doing. Julian was smiling calmly.
That was when Julian extended his injured hand and stroked Leorino’s cheek. Leorino instinctively avoided his touch.
“Truly, you’re such a sweet boy.”
“…I am not.”
It was heartrending to hear that from the person he had hurt.
But the next moment, the man’s expression changed completely as he grabbed Leorino by the shoulders and pushed him down onto the settee.
“…L-Lord Julian…!”
“So sweet, so foolish.”
Julian looked down at Leorino with a smile, took something out of his breast pocket, and placed its contents into his mouth.
Julian leaned onto him and placed his mouth on Leorino’s fearfully trembling lips. A liquid with a strange smell flowed from the gap between his lips.
“…Mnf!”
Leorino frantically tried to push Julian off. But his strength was no match, and his lips remained covered.
As he gasped for air, unable to breathe, the liquid that had been poured into his mouth slipped down the back of his throat.
Feeling that Leorino had swallowed, Julian wiped his lips, smiled, and sat back up.
Leorino suddenly clawed at Julian’s injured hand.
“…Ow!”
Julian groaned in pain. Leorino took advantage of the opportunity and rolled off the settee.
He knew it wasn’t very dignified, but he desperately tried to crawl away across the floor. Julian watched with a smile, even as his face twisted in pain.
“You look like an angel, but you’re quite tough, aren’t you? A son of the Cassieux family through and through.”
“Wh-what did you…put in my…?”
“Nothing you won’t like. Though there’s only so much time I can dedicate to this.”
Julian offered him that refined smile of his. Leorino trembled in fear and tried desperately to back away.
“…?”
But for some reason, his legs refused to obey.
Leorino wondered if he had hurt his legs when he fell off the settee, but he felt no pain. They just felt weak. At the same time, he felt as if insects were crawling all over his body. He shuddered before he could help it.
Leorino couldn’t fight it any longer, and fell onto the carpet in a heap.
Julian slowly straddled Leorino and gazed down at him.
“What did you do… What did you do to me?”
“It’s all right. Leorino, your reputation may suffer, but I will not give up on you. I’ll save you.”
With these words, Julian slowly leaned over Leorino, and…
The door slammed open.
“Leorino!”
“Julian!”
Recognizing Leorino on the floor and Julian straddling him, the Duke of Leben quickly closed the door behind him.
“You filthy…!”
His hair bristling in anger, Lucas did not hold back when he realized what Julian was attempting.
Julian went flying across the room, stopping only when his body hit the furniture.
Lucas lifted Leorino and held him in his arms. He quickly inspected Leorino’s body and noticed his clothes were undisturbed. The worst-case scenario had been averted.
“We made it… Thank God.”
“…Lu…ca…”
Lucas peered into Leorino’s face. His pale face was filled with fear and confusion, but no pain.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Leben was stunned speechless by the disaster his son had wrought.
“Julian…what have you done?”
Julian staggered to his feet.
“Father…why do you stop me?”
“Julian!”
Julian scratched his head with his uninjured hand. The young nobleman was not usually like this.
“…I only meant to save Leorino,” he muttered in a disappointed voice. He showed no remorse for what he had done.
Lucas and the Duke of Leben exchanged glances, sensing something strange about Julian’s behavior.
But Lucas was more concerned about Leorino.
“…Are you all right? Can you stand?”
Leorino shook his head weakly. His violet eyes were wide open and dazed.
“Luca… He poured something in my mouth… I can’t…”
His quiet voice startled the Duke of Leben and Lucas.
“Julian! What have you given Leorino?!”
“…I had to save Leorino. I had no choice, Father.” Julian looked at his father apathetically. “Leorino doesn’t want to be with His Highness. Only I, the heir to your title, can save him.”
“…Julian, you…”
Everything about Julian was strange. Duke Leben looked puzzled. To think he would confess so openly in front of one of the king’s brother’s close confidants.
Hearing this, the lieutenant general glared at Julian with unsparing eyes.
“I ask you again, Julian. What did you make Lord Leorino drink?”
“…Nothing that would endanger his life.”
Lucas removed his cloak and wrapped Leorino in it. The large cloth covered his body from head to toe.
He had to bring Leorino to a doctor as quickly as he could, but he could hardly let him receive treatment at the duke’s house.
“Your Grace, His Highness will inform you of his verdict in regards to your son.”
“…I cannot apologize enough for what he has done.”
Julian’s admission of guilt left him with no excuse. The Duke of Leben had resigned himself to his fate.
“I will take Leorino home. Tell the Duke of Wiesen and Princess Eleonora that Leorino has drunk too much and fallen ill… Above all, tell them that Lucas Brandt will be responsible for Leorino’s safekeeping.”
“…I shall. Lord Lucas, I am truly sorry for everything.”
“In the unlikely event that the truth should ever leave these walls…”
“I know. I am a duke, after all. I fully understand the implications of having my flesh and blood lay hands on the person who is to marry the king’s brother.”
Lucas nodded.
As he headed for the door, he glanced back into the dark room. Julian had lost all semblance of his usual nobility and sat in a daze, his legs spread carelessly. He covered his eyes with his hands.
“…I love Leorino. I only wanted to help him.”
Lucas’s face twisted involuntarily at the young man’s words.
He had no sympathy for Julian at all, but Lucas had also acted on his impulses due to his maddening love for someone. That was why there was nothing he could say.
Lucas had forcibly touched Ionia that day, and Julian had tried to force himself onto Leorino—they were on opposite sides of the same line.
The only difference was whether they were accepted by the other party or not. Nothing more.
Fortunately, the only person to witness Lucas carrying a human fully wrapped in his cape out of the residence was the Duke of Leben’s butler.
Lucas quickly left the soiree in the carriage of the Cassieux family, which had been instructed to move to the end of the right wing of the building. Inside the carriage waited Leorino’s guard. Josef panicked at the sight of Lucas suddenly climbing into the carriage with his master in his arms.
The carriage sped toward the center of the royal capital. The destination was not the Brungwurt estate, but the far end of the royal palace—the detached palace belonging to Gravis, the king’s younger brother.