By Zephyria The two eyes that did not understand the meaning widened. No, in fact, it was not that he did not understand, but rather that he could not accept it internally.
Leonardo mulled over several times whether he had heard correctly.
Only a meal? Only a meal?
Hugo, watching him stiffen as he sat blankly, stroked his captured hand and calmly explained.
“It was only a few hours ago that the medical officer advised you to get plenty of rest. No matter how much it is you, your condition won’t have recovered in that short amount of time. And it hasn’t been long since you ate.”
Beyond the words of appeasement, the signals that Leonardo thought he had exchanged with His Majesty flashed quickly through his mind. There were more than one or two, so it took quite a while to recall them all.
“Also, you said you were tired, so you should get some sleep soon―.”
“Ah, no. Wait a minute.”
Leonardo raised his other hand, which was not being held, and hurriedly interrupted Hugo’s words.
“I’m not tired, I just said that. We haven’t slept for days on the peninsula before.”
“…This isn’t the peninsula. You must have suffered a lot from the games, so you should rest and recover your strength.”
“No―.”
Leonardo, who was about to retort, closed his mouth. There were many things he wanted to say, but it was clear that whatever he said here would seem pathetic.
‘Then what was that?’
The confused Gold Eyes recalled the strange atmosphere in the lounge in the main stadium. They exchanged a few words, then silence fell, and the image of the other person kissing his forehead was still vivid. Recalling the hot breath and subtle tension that had touched his skin at that time, the determination to remain silent for the sake of his pride became meaningless.
“…You said you were looking forward to it.”
He questioned as if he was arguing, but what came out of his mouth was a plaintive voice. This was the first time this had happened, and he couldn’t figure out where he had gone ahead on his own.
Surely, when they agreed to share the villa key, and when their feet touched in the carriage. He was sure that they felt the same way… Was that all just his imagination?
Facing Leonardo, who looked as empty as if he had been rejected on his wedding night, Hugo moved his lips and barely regained his composure. He felt like the worst villain in the world, but he judged that giving in to the encouragement would make him an even worse villain.
The golden eyes, which seemed both pitiful and resentful, were tinged with pink like the clouds spreading across the sky. The curve on his red lips seemed about to flow downwards at any moment, and Hugo sighed.
“Oh, Leo.”
He raised his clasped hands and slowly kissed the back of Leonardo’s hand. As if to soothe the heart that might have been hurt, he gradually pressed his breath along the curves of the back of his hand. Then, he lifted his loose gaze and stared straight at the other person. In the blue eyes looking up, there was the desire and agony of a man enduring today.
“What I meant was, I was talking about a little later. You shed so much blood earlier, how could I immediately expect something like that from you.”
“…It’s stopped now.”
“I heard that once a membrane ruptures, it tears easily. Besides….”
Hugo recalled the image of Leonardo screaming in agony as he struggled to deal with the left arm in Fidele’s cabin. The bloody smell that had invaded the tip of his nose, which he had smelled while sucking out the dead blood and poison with his own mouth, was still vivid. At the time, the fear and pressure that Leonardo in his arms might die gnawed at his mind more than the horror of the situation.
It wasn’t quite a trauma, but it was also true that he had become overprotective of this guy since then.
Hugo, who bit his lip, raised his left hand and stroked Leonardo’s cheek.
“I was going to formally invite you when your condition improved. Today, I was so happy to see you again that I brought you here in a hurry.”
“…….”
“Would you also consider how surprised I was when I took you to the lounge earlier? I was so worried that you had suddenly lost consciousness.”
Leonardo was very weak to the words that he was worried about him. Knowing this, Hugo slowly coaxed him so that his words would never be heard as a refusal. Because he was worried about your body. In the process, there was not only the intention to do it for Leonardo, but also to persuade himself.
If he were to be swept away by the atmosphere as the other person wanted now… that would be enjoyable in its own way. Frankly, Hugo had no confidence in restraining himself if Leonardo, naked, begged for affection on the bedding filled with his scent.
Even if his clear face was flushed red and he was panting so much that it was covered in blood from his nose, he might not let go, saying, ‘Didn’t you want it first?’ Knowing that, he had deliberately averted his gaze from Leonardo standing in front of the bathroom.
As a dizzying imagination flashed through his mind, Hugo closed and opened his eyes and smoothed things over appropriately. However, unlike him, who had cut it off early, Leonardo’s mind was running wild with all sorts of regrets.
‘That wasn’t flirting?’
He did this and that without hesitation in the dark. Whenever they were alone, he would send strange glances as if this was the time. Was that really not flirting?
He was going to research three more ways to use a tie, thanks to that. He had planned to grab and torment His Majesty’s phallus, which had been hidden in his trousers all along and had never been seen, and he was going to slowly get to know each other by gently asking what style he liked.
“But―.”
Leonardo opened his mouth to retort. At that moment, hot heat burst from his nose, where the blood vessels had been expanding. At the same time, red liquid dripped down his prominent nose.
“Leo!”
Hugo, who immediately jumped up from his seat, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and held it in front of Leonardo’s nose.
“Look at this. I told you to be careful.”
“No, this is….”
“Don’t lift your head.”
Leonardo, whose neck was fixed by a large hand, tried to protest in a stuffy voice, but was forced to lower his head. As he looked at the blood spreading on the white tablecloth, he felt annoyed.
‘No, why again―.’
Ha… What a terrible timing.
His golden eyebrows were furrowed. No matter how much he said he was okay, he had burst his nose twice on the same day, so even if he took off all his clothes and did a striptease, this stubborn gentleman would wrap his body in bedding and put him to sleep.
Leonardo sighed deeply at the failure of his grand plan.
The meal, which ended with a feast of blood, ended there. The square, which had been decorated to the fullest, was also returned to its original state by the busy hands of the servants, who cleared away the tables and decorations.
Of course, even that was dreamy and beautiful. Leonardo sat in a rocking chair prepared in front of the window, covered with a thick mattress up to his stomach, and stared at the turtle on the pillar with a sullen face.
As he leaned against the armrest of the chair and held his nose at an angle, His Majesty, who had seen off the visiting doctor and returned after telling him to keep his mouth shut, sat down on the bed next to him with a thud.
“Cold compresses are said to be effective. Keep it on your nose after the bleeding stops.”
What he put on the side table was an ice pack that was emitting cold air. Leonardo looked at it without much interest and turned his eyes back to the window. Frankly, he had always been the one to reject, and he had never been rejected, so he thought it was the right treatment for the man who was breaking records in his life in many ways.
“If you keep it on for too long, your head will hurt, so do it moderately.”
“Yeah.”
Even with the continued consideration, Leonardo only answered sullenly. Frankly, he knew that he looked ridiculous for protesting that he wouldn’t give in, but then he shouldn’t have made him misunderstand.
Seeing Leonardo looking upset, Hugo let out a sigh mixed with a chuckle.
What should he do to make him feel better? He was constantly worried about whether he should put him to sleep first.
Knock knock―
“Master, I have something urgent to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I think it would be better to tell you separately.”
At the servant’s voice, which indirectly conveyed that it was not something to be heard with the group, Hugo got up from his seat again, not long after he had sat down. He habitually swept back Leonardo’s hair, then rubbed his cheeks a few times with the back of his hand as if telling him to stay here for a while. After that, he moved his steps without any special instructions and answered the servant.
“I’ll go out now.”
As soon as the door closed with a click, Leonardo, who was once again buried in silence, still kept his eyes on the window. Then, he glanced at the door and reached for the ice pack that Hugo had brought.
He brought it onto the blanket and meaninglessly fiddled with the surface where moisture had formed. Soon, he leaned back in his chair and placed the bag on his head.
As soon as the bag, which was full of angular ice and bumpy, touched Leonardo’s heated crown, it melted in a short time. He pulled down the bag, which had become limp and lost its function, and glared at the bag he was holding in his hand with a displeased expression.
Then, he put it back on the side table and sighed.
‘Sigh, what am I doing?’
He was aware that he always became a child in front of His Majesty. But today, he felt pathetic for grumbling at the saint who was worried about him and promised to wait for the next time. Especially to the kind person who didn’t want him to be hurt by others and was always trying to protect him.
Frankly, if it hadn’t been for what happened in the basement of the main stadium, he would have seriously wondered if he wasn’t his type. Recalling the sensation of his thighs being pressed down at the time, it didn’t seem to be the case. In other words, His Majesty was really worried about his condition and was holding back.
Once he came to that conclusion, there was no one else to blame. It was his fault that his nose bled on an important day.
Moreover, today is His Majesty’s birthday… Shouldn’t he be the one to ask if he has any wishes?
Leonardo rubbed his forehead, vowing to greet Hugo with a relaxed face, even if it was awkward, when he returned. Actually, there was nothing to be upset about. How many more opportunities would there be in the future?
He slightly curled up the corners of his lips and floated his Artifact, which was placed next to the ice pack, in the air. Then, he opened the entrance and began to rummage through the inside. He had been treated to a luxurious meal, so he was going to see if he had anything to give in return.
But before he could find a decent gift, the communication Magic Tool he had thrown away earlier caught his eye. This was because the light was on on the sensor.
“…?”
Leonardo immediately took out the Magic Tool. The caller was Terzio, without a doubt.
However, what was a little creepy was that there were already more than 10 missed connection attempts. It seemed that he had tried several times even after he had ignored his call earlier.
In an instant, Leonardo’s spine turned cold, and he looked back at the tightly closed door. After confirming that there was no one around, he immediately pressed the connect button.
It wasn’t even two signal tones yet. As if he had been waiting, Terzio’s voice was heard.
―Why are you answering now?
His voice was quite cold, and Leonardo was speechless for a moment. He could hear the heavy rain around him, as if he was out somewhere. He could also hear the murmuring of people gathered together. Leonardo tried to remain calm and asked back.
“What? What’s wrong?”
―Ha… Are you with the Legion Commander right now?
“What are you talking about? Stop talking nonsense, what’s wrong?”
Leonardo was hit hard by the question that was asked out of the blue, but he urged him to get to the point again. At the same time, he took off the blanket covering his lower body and got up from the chair to close the wide-open window.
He was about to move to the bathroom in case His Majesty, who would be back soon, might hear him outside.
Terzio, who had let out a sigh as if he was boiling on the other side, lowered his voice and said.
―The owner of the magic shop you told me to watch. He was found dead last night.