#019

What is this…

With a burning sensation in his stomach, Cullen pushed aside the covers and sat up.

Had the room temperature been raised?

Stumbling, he got out of bed. His back was drenched. A tickling sensation, as if small insects were crawling through his veins, spread throughout his body.

Gritting his teeth, Cullen went to the window and flung it open. Spring had not fully arrived yet, so a chilly breeze rushed in. For a moment, he felt better.

But soon, the heat rose again.

“Haa…”

He clenched and unclenched his fists, then leaned back. His eyes felt hot. His stomach hardened, and a certain desire bubbled up.

Cullen easily understood his condition. Looking down with a flushed face, the clear sign was evident in his lower body. The organ inside his pants was hardening.

Why all of a sudden?

It was natural for an adult male to feel desire. Cullen was not free from it either.

However, he had no interest in paying for partners or making lovers. When desire arose, he would exhaust himself physically instead. To him, sexual desire was an unnecessary urge. It had accumulated over time, but this was the first time he had been so aroused in his life.

His reason began to blur. He gritted his teeth, pushing back his sweat-soaked hair. He lowered his hand for masturbation. His hand, hotter than usual, plunged into his pants.

His penis, filling his grasp, swelled as if it would burst. Biting his lip, Cullen lowered his head.

“Haa, ha…”

With a pant, he moved his hand. As his rough palm, contrary to its appearance, rubbed against his penis, his arousal surged as if it would explode.

“Ngh…”

He curled his toes and tilted his head back. His abdomen tensed. He moved his penis up and down, but his desire only burned hotter instead of cooling. His body cried out that this was not enough.

“Damn it, hng…”

Spitting out curses, Cullen sat up. Washing with cold water would clear his head. His vision blurred. He managed to move his legs and head towards the bathroom.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Your Highness.”

Stumbling, he turned his head. It was a familiar voice. It was Jules Grove.

“Are you alright?”

Was that it? Was that why he came in the evening and gave him a gift?

A sharp intuition struck him.

The Duke had always tried to pair him with Viscount Grove. For the Duke, he would have wanted to place Viscount Grove, his perfect ally, on the Empress’s seat.

It was foolish. He should have refused everything outright.

His body burned even more intensely. He felt like he could grab someone and roll around with them right now.

Jules Grove’s face came to mind. The blond hair and slender jaw that resembled someone. What would his expression be if he bit into his white skin?

No, not the Viscount, but someone else…

“Your Highness, shall I call someone? I heard you were unwell.”

The Viscount was a good actor. His voice sounded genuinely concerned, and the doorknob rattled cautiously. He couldn’t let things unfold according to the Duke’s plan. A curse escaped his lips.

“Don’t come in!”

He shouted roughly, and the rattling doorknob stopped.

“Your Highness?”

In the meantime, Cullen, exercising patience, hurried to the window.

The desire to let him in surged. He knew how to have intercourse with a man. He hadn’t done it, but he had heard and seen plenty from his time on the battlefield. He recalled someone’s words about how good the feeling of tightness was.

He had to do something.

He couldn’t think rationally. However, a sliver of caution, not wanting to fall for the Duke’s scheme, moved Cullen.

He shouldn’t be here. He approached the window and looked down at the candlestick with only white ash remaining. He gritted his teeth. He didn’t know what trick the Duke had played on him, who was immune to poison, but he had to avoid taking the Viscount like this.

Cullen made an extreme choice. Panting, he looked down from the window. The palace, three stories high, was certainly tall, but not so high that he couldn’t jump down with his own abilities. It wouldn’t be a problem if his body obeyed.

He bit his lip to regain some semblance of reason. His soft skin tore, and blood flowed. With the metallic taste, he tried to soothe himself and sat on the windowsill.

“Your Highness, please let me in!”

The moment the sound of the door opening was heard, Cullen jumped down. The benefit of biting his lip paid off. The immediate impact made his ankle throb, but he landed properly.

“Damn it!”

Spitting out another curse, Cullen started moving aimlessly. He was looking for a space he could consider safe.

As time passed, his steps slowed. He felt like he was going mad. His veins felt like they were being gnawed away, itching. The desire flowed through his body like poison. If he happened to see someone, he might just grab them and throw them down.

To somehow keep moving forward, Cullen continued to bite his lip. The blood that had clotted flowed down his chin again. He had thought carelessly. He had foolishly judged easily based on the words that poison didn’t work on him.

Finally, his limit arrived. With ragged breaths, Cullen stopped walking. It was a place that looked familiar for some reason.

However, he didn’t have the energy to recall where it was. He stumbled and sank down. Leaning his back against a tree trunk, he clenched his fist with blurry eyes.

He had to do something.

But what, and what on earth…

“You’ve come at a busy time.”

With unfocused eyes, he lifted his head. A gentle fragrance wafted. It was sweet. So sweet he wanted to just swallow it.

Not cloyingly sweet, but a perfectly balanced fragrance. He felt thirsty. Like an animal, Cullen reached out and grabbed his opponent. He gripped the white hem of the shadow looking down at him.

Like a speechless beast, Cullen pulled him hard. As if yielding to the rough force, the opponent bent at the waist. White skin was visible. He wanted to lick it. He lifted his chin. To taste it somehow.

“You broke off contact without a word, and came here after being subjected to something of poor quality.”

A light clicking sound of a tongue was heard. The opponent pressed down and subdued Cullen as he tried to approach. The strength in the delicate hand was immense, and Cullen twisted his body while grabbing the wrist. Another hand reached out and grabbed Cullen’s jaw.

“But you’ve come to the wrong place. Lust is a kind I cannot satisfy. Go elsewhere.”

As something flowed in from his trapped jaw, Cullen’s mind cleared for a moment. It was a refreshing energy. The intangible force that cooled his head brought back a sliver of reason.

Cullen finally recognized his opponent. It was Kiyen. Unlike the last time he saw him, Kiyen was expressionless. Strictly speaking, that was his usual expression.

“What… what have I been subjected to?”

“Rodiak.”

Rodiak was a general term for aphrodisiacs. The effects varied slightly depending on what it was mixed with, but it had never driven someone to this extent of madness.

The Dragon took a step back from him. Cullen looked up at him, panting. For some reason, he felt uneasy. He didn’t want him to leave. He didn’t have the luxury to analyze the cause.

Hadn’t they gotten a little, just a tiny bit, closer?

The relaxed face that had taught him to dance overlapped in his mind. Although he claimed to have come to repay a debt, Kiyen had certainly treated him with a softened demeanor compared to before.

“You said… the poison… Hhic, doesn’t affect… Larkan…”

“What incites lust isn’t poison. Though someone did weave a wicked trick into it.”

Kiyen’s pale, beautiful face held only the expression of someone examining a scene. There was no regret or concern on his face.

“As I said, I cannot handle human lust. Find another human. You won’t die from something like this. It has nothing to do with your revenge.”

Without a second thought, the Dragon turned his heel. Cullen squeezed his eyes shut, his vision burning with heat. His lips parted. Unexplained emotions surged within him.

He thought the distance had closed. Even though he himself had feared that and wanted a definite distance, Cullen crumbled in that moment.

Cullen could only trust the man before him. He knew his mother, couldn’t lie, and sometimes showed an indescribably beautiful expression.

A being who valued a mere bird more than humans, utterly incomprehensible.

Kiyen said humans were unpredictable, but to Cullen, Kiyen was the one who was.

It felt unfair.

“You were so willing to help… with things that were unnecessary…”

Cullen grit his teeth and spoke. The wall he had firmly built in the face of this unprecedented situation crumbled. In the end, he grabbed Kiyen.

“Are you… just going to… Haa, leave… this wicked thing… be?”

Kiyen stopped. His long shadow fell over Cullen’s body.

“Are you blaming me?”

At Kiyen’s low remark, Cullen clung to him. He couldn’t think of anyone else. There was no one beside Cullen. No one to trust. Humans were untrustworthy.

“Yes.”

But Kiyen before him was different.

“Please… resolve this.”

He was not human. They were bound by a trustworthy contract. He could ask for help.

Cullen believed in his very existence. The Dragon’s time, who had confined himself in this cramped palace to keep his own promise.

He couldn’t rely on anyone but him.

Despite having spent such a long time alone, Cullen foolishly needed someone to lean on, even a little. He didn’t want to give his heart.

But the situation he faced was too vast and unfamiliar; he saw no way forward without an ally.

“You are not only ill-mannered, but also brazen.”

The scent he craved drew near again. Long, golden hair brushed against his cheek. Just squeezing out words had already depleted his mental strength, and Cullen found it difficult to maintain his sanity. That thought itself was his last vestige of reason.

“You are Ella’s child. No, you are worse than that child.”

He couldn’t return an answer. Kiyen’s soft hand cupped Cullen’s burning cheek. Cullen lifted his heavy eyelids. Blue eyes were incredibly close. Golden swirls, proof of his non-human nature, mesmerized him.

“This time only.”

With those words, the Dragon moved. The hem of his robe rustled. Something soft touched his lips. The sweet scent of fruit wafted to his nose. Something ticklish bit his lips slightly, and with a soft moan, it delved into Cullen’s mouth as he exhaled.

A shiver ran down his spine. Overwhelmed by the pleasure surging up his back, Cullen fumbled with his palms and clutched Kiyen’s robe.

The tongue moved skillfully inside. A long tongue licked the roof of his mouth. The hard, slightly textured part was incredibly sensitive, despite its strength, and as the long, hot tongue tickled, he felt pleasure. Ah, haak, Cullen moaned without restraint, accepting the kiss.

It was his first kiss.

His body reacted excessively sensitively to the unfamiliar experience he had never had before. Was the drug’s effect intensifying? His body felt like it would explode.

Unable to bear the heat, he repeatedly opened and closed his legs. While kissing, he thrust his hips back and forth as if performing intercourse.

Kiyen wrapped his arms tightly around Cullen’s waist. In an instant, he was lifted. The tongue that had been sweetly exploring inside withdrew.

“That’s not how you move.”

Kiyen whispered, withdrawing his tongue. His wet lips brushed against Cullen’s earlobe. A panting breath, wanting to taste more of the sweet saliva, escaped him naturally.

“You asked for it, so don’t regret it.”

A low voice, unlike any he had heard before, sent a shiver down his earlobe.