Lucas decided to knock Leorino unconscious in the carriage as they headed for Gravis’s palace. At the entrance to the inner gardens, a guard told him off for not announcing his arrival in advance, but Lucas forced his way through.
“Fine! You can reprimand all you want me later, just let me through now!”
Shouted down by the famous fearsome lieutenant general, the guard of the detached palaces opened the gates to the inner gardens. The carriage sped toward the farthest palace.
“Is His Highness Prince Gravis here?!”
As Lucas ran into the entryway with Leorino in his arms and Josef at his side, several palace guards rushed to meet him.
“Lieutenant General, what is the matter?!”
“I’m afraid His Royal Highness is currently out!”
Lucas clicked his tongue. He did not have the mind to look at the royal banner on the roof announcing when the owner was home. It was then that Theodor came running down the stairs.
“Lieutenant General Brandt! What brings you here so urgently? How did they allow you into the inner gardens?!”
“Theodor! I’m so glad you’re here. I need to see His Highness posthaste.”
Theodor glanced at what appeared to be a human body wrapped in a cloak in Lucas’s arms.
“And that is…?”
Lucas brought his face close to Theodor’s and whispered so that the nearby guards couldn’t hear him.
“It’s Leorino. Julian Munster drugged him at the Lebens’ soiree.”
Theodor’s expression instantly turned grim.
“Is that why he’s unconscious? Was it poison?”
“No, Julian said it wouldn’t kill him. I knocked him out in the carriage on the way here for his own comfort.”
“…I see. This way.”
With Theodor leading the way, Lucas adjusted his grip on the cloak-clad body and turned to head for Gravis’s bedroom.
But another issue appeared. Josef was stopped at the door by the guards, telling him they could not allow a stranger into the palace. He told them he was Leorino’s guard, but to no avail.
“Lieutenant General…!” Josef shouted, his face pale. But they didn’t have the time to wait for the palace guards to confirm Josef’s identity.
“Josef! Wait there…! I’ll come back and explain everything later!”
Josef looked heartbroken as Lucas hurried on with Theodor.
“Where is His Highness?”
“His Highness is still at the palace. At the deliberations.”
“I see, so that’s why Leorino mentioned he didn’t want to disturb him.”
Lucas clicked his tongue in distaste, questioning the odds of the marriage deliberations taking place at the very same time.
“The timing is unfortunate. Is it possible for His Highness to return right now?”
“It is possible. If I inform him what happened to Lord Leorino, he will return immediately.”
“And how exactly do you summon His Highness?”
Theodor shot him a look. “Do you truly expect me to answer that?”
“No… I was a fool to ask.”
The distance between the detached palace and the Palace of Administration was not insignificant. Lucas had simply been curious, but the royal family must have possessed some method of communication known only to them.
Theodor was the only person who could enter Gravis’s private chambers without permission. He seized a candlestick from a shelf and headed for the bedroom.
The bedroom was dimly lit.
“Bring him to the bed. Remove the covers and lay Lord Leorino down,” Theodor instructed as he lit the candles through the bedroom with the one he had brought from the parlor. Laid on the large bed, Leorino’s breathing was shallow and his face flushed. He had not yet regained consciousness.
“Do you know what Lord Leorino was drugged with?” Theodor asked.
Lucas knew little about drugs, but remembering the agitation Leorino had displayed in the carriage, he was rather convinced of the nature of the drug.
“Likely some kind of aphrodisiac. I didn’t want him to suffer, so I knocked him out on the way here.”
As an attendant, Theodor possessed a sufficient knowledge of the healing arts.
Perhaps beginning to regain consciousness, Leorino’s face twisted in anguish.
Theodor opened Leorino’s eyelids, inspected his pupils, listened to his heart, and measured his pulse. Next, he brought his nose to Leorino’s lips, sniffed, and frowned. He poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside table and washed his finger in it. He then inserted the finger into Leorino’s open mouth and stirred.
“Hey, what are you doing?!”
Standing next to him, Lucas was startled by his sudden, strange behavior. Theodor pulled out his finger—now covered with Leorino’s saliva—placed it in his mouth, and closed his eyes.
“…Theodor!”
“…It’s not poison. This drug will not endanger his life. Indeed, it must be an aphrodisiac.” Theodor rinsed his mouth. “Do you know when he was drugged?”
“Likely right before I found him.”
“Then some time has passed. The drug must have been absorbed by now. When he wakes up, I suspect he will feel wretched.”
Leorino seemed to be on the verge of consciousness. His calm breathing became labored.
“How much has he had?”
“I don’t know. When I found him, he had already been drugged. But he was still conscious at the time. He began to act strangely in the carriage.”
Theodor snarled uncharacteristically. “You should have given him all the water you could get your hands on when you found him.”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t think that far ahead. I only knew I had to get him out of the duke’s estate and bring him here.”
“No, considering Lord Leorino’s honor, bringing him here was a wise decision. I did not intend to blame you… Who else knows of this?”
“Julian Munster, who drugged him, and the Duke of Leben. And me, of course.”
Theodor nodded. “I shall leave you for a moment to summon His Highness,” he instructed. “In the meantime, I would like you to loosen Lord Leorino’s clothes and make him more comfortable.”
With that, Theodor left the room.
Following Theodor’s instructions, Lucas deftly rolled Leorino over and began to undress him as carefully as he could. Knowing this would help him, Lucas didn’t hesitate to undress Leorino, despite their complicated past.
When Leorino was left in nothing but his shirt and underclothes, Lucas could see that Leorino’s body was aroused.
Ever since that night, Lucas saw Leorino and Ionia as two entirely separate people. Although he felt a deep desire to shield Leorino from harm, Lucas no longer felt any lust for him knowing he was in love with the man Lucas served.
He sincerely wanted to protect this young man who had brought Ionia’s memories to the royal capital.
He wanted Leorino to lead a happy life with Gravis, the life Ionia never got to have. That was all he could ask for now.
“Mm… Ngh…”
“His Highness will be here soon… Hold on just a little longer.”
The sight of his fair, writing body inspired in Lucas not carnal desire, but intense pity.
Leorino’s body was so smooth, so gorgeous, it was hard to believe they were of the same sex. Leorino seemed too perfect to be a mere mortal. And yet, from his left knee down stretched a large, pale scar.
Lucas hadn’t known this was what had become of his wounds of six years prior.
He traced the scar with his fingers. Leorino’s body trembled.
“……Ngh.”
“Leorino, you’re awake.”
His lashes quivered and revealed his violet eyes, but his gaze was vacant, trapped in something Lucas could not perceive.
“Ah… Hng.”
A moan spilled from his throat. His physical arousal must have returned as soon as he awoke.
“Ah… I feel so hot… N-no… Why…?”
“Julian drugged you with an aphrodisiac. Do you understand?”
“Aphrodisiac… Luca… Help… I hate this.”
Tears came trickling down Leorino’s cheeks. Lucas stroked his shoulder with a grief-stricken expression.
“Ow… Don’t…”
But even the slightest touch made Leorino visibly flinch. Tears flowed from his wide-open eyes. His body must have been far more sensitive than usual.