“Haah, ahng. Haah-uht. What should I do…?”
“Should I help you?”
He finally collapsed.
“It’s all right. This will be over quickly.”
He made Rosenthal get on all fours and stroked his lower back.
Rosenthal wasn’t in a state to speak. To find out the name and eliminate him, he needed to remove the toy inside. It was only for that reason.
Hereis rationalized to himself as he inserted his finger into Rosenthal. At that moment, the slick interior surrounded by viscous fluid sucked Hereis’s finger in with a squelch. It was hot even deep inside.
Hereis moved his finger, surprised by the tingling sensation. Then the warm inner wall slid smoothly.
“Ahheuk!”
Rosenthal’s body, flustered by the sudden friction, squeezed his finger tightly. Hereis pushed his finger inside again.
“Ahng!”
Responding sensitively to Hereis’s movements, that delicate voice let out a sensual moan. Hereis pulled his finger out and pushed it back in. This time it was an intentional movement. Then Rosenthal’s waist bent as if he’d been thrust into. The arc of his bowing back was beautiful. As Hereis stroked the curve connecting Rosenthal’s lower back to his buttocks with his other hand, he suddenly came to his senses.
“What am I doing right now?”
Even if Hereis was ascetic, that was only by incubus standards. He had more experience than dissolute humans. But satisfying his urges came first—he’d never paid attention to his partner’s reactions. He’d never admired their body either.
Yet without realizing it, he’d admired Rosenthal’s inner walls, moved his finger unnecessarily, and gotten absorbed in the inner walls tightening in response to him and the moans.
Had the brainwashing that makes one fall in love already begun? Even though they hadn’t performed the marriage ceremony?
Hereis hurriedly pulled out the toy that was inside.
He had to kill him. He had to eliminate him immediately.
“Will you tell me now? How did you know my name?”
“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter if you don’t tell me. I can find out myself.”
Right, it didn’t matter if he wouldn’t say. He could find out himself. He’d kill him before performing the marriage ceremony.
“In any case, since my true name has been called, I will perform the ceremony.”
But completely different words came from his mouth. I can’t kill this person. I can’t kill this person who blushes not knowing what to do, yet still says thank you properly.
There must be something about incubus rules I don’t know. Perhaps the brainwashing begins from the moment the true name is called, even without performing the marriage ceremony. That must be it. Surely that’s it. So because the brainwashing has begun, I can’t kill this person.
“I, Hereis, take Rosenthal Chendewden as my companion, and vow to protect him with my life until the day one of us dies.”
“C-companion?!”
“Excuse me.”
Hereis kissed Rosenthal. His breath was incredibly sweet and hot. It was Hereis’s first kiss, and a kiss with his companion.
Rosenthal knew nothing. Not that Hereis was an incubus, not the meaning of a true name, and not sex either.
“You have no eye for people. I’m just living an ascetic life for a while. B-because I have a wedding coming up.”
When he asked if perhaps Rosenthal had no experience because something seemed off, Rosenthal jumped. Hereis felt bitter. Absurdly, he felt betrayed that Rosenthal confidently spoke of marriage to someone else while with him.
He was originally betrothed. If not for that unfortunate incident, they would have already married. He knew it was an irrational and foolish emotion. But he couldn’t stop the branches of his feelings from growing wildly.
The “Chain of the Vow” was more powerful than expected, and was already encroaching on his heart.
He’d placed protective magic on Rosenthal. Moreover, Fortis, who was in charge of guarding him, was highly skilled. Many people targeted him, but there was no need to guard him by his side all day.
Hereis left. And when he returned around evening, Rosenthal hastily hid the book he’d been reading. Besides that, he could see books secretly hidden under the bed.
<Night at the Imperial Academy Dormitory – Greedy Rose>
<The Young Grand Duke and the Tower of Training – Greedy Rose>
<Spirit Confinement – Greedy Rose>
And so on.
They were novels whose content could be inferred just from the titles.
Right until lying down in bed, Rosenthal rolled his eyes constantly going over something. Surely those erotic novels.
Did he read novels all day without drawing? Was it that burdensome? No, was he inexperienced enough to rely on books?
The “Rosenthal virginity theory” that he’d thought absurd gained credibility. Because there were so many requests about Rosenthal, Hereis roughly understood his romantic history. He couldn’t be a virgin. But seeing him desperately recall the novel’s content, he couldn’t help but think in that direction.
“Should we rest today?”
He didn’t want to burden someone with no experience that much. Hereis spoke, finding the human emotions still remaining inside himself.
While actually suppressing the desire to immediately devour those red lips pursed round as he recalled the contents of lewd books.
“N-no! Please do it! I’ll definitely succeed today! Don’t worry!”
But Rosenthal declined. Childishly, he felt relieved. Though called the Ruler of Darkness, he’d always prided himself on being upright, yet a small shame arose.
By the way, what kind of dream would he have? Hereis entered his dream with strange curiosity and anticipation.
“Rozentella! Rozentella!”
……
The novel title and cover had a mature and sensual atmosphere… Could what he’d concentrated on pursing his lips for, rolling his eyes and memorizing with even his ears turning red, really have been that content?
But it was different from ordinary fairy tales, and the absurd feeling quickly disappeared.
Rosenthal was almost violated by the Third Prince, then the Crown Prince, and was even harassed by Fortis. Though love fluid and semen flowed from Rosenthal, he didn’t want to consume it. His mood sank.
When Hereis, the Crown Prince of the demon world, appeared, he felt an odd sensation but clenched his fist.
Though he’d never even glanced at fairy tales in his life, there he was hoping the two people in the fairy tale would end up together. But unlike Cinderella’s story, the dream ended with the Crown Prince, Third Prince, and even Fortis bursting in.
It really was an unpleasant dream.
“Aah!”
Only when Rosenthal woke from the dream and screamed did he realize. He should have laughed. It was a dream he should have ridiculed absurdly, not one to make him boil with anger.
Rosenthal, embarrassed, wouldn’t come out from under the blanket. He curled up his slender body and buried himself in the thick silk blanket. Then, perhaps suffocating himself, he lifted the blanket slightly and let out shallow breaths. Hereis approached and bent at the waist. Their eyes met through the small gap.
“Are you all right…?”
“Uwaaah!”
Before Hereis could finish speaking, Rosenthal screamed briefly and covered himself with the blanket again.
At this rate, he wouldn’t come out from under the blanket all day. Hereis let out a low sigh.
“I’ll go to the guild.”
The moment Hereis was about to use teleport, Rosenthal urgently grabbed his finger.
“Um, for making you appear in my dream… I’m sorry. I, I was careful, but because it’s a dream… I’ll be careful from now on! It might not work well, but I’ll try hard not to let you appear in my dreams! I’m sorry.”
The moment he saw Rosenthal wrapped in the blanket, apologizing with his head deeply bowed, he felt like a fool for being jealous of a dream.
Rosenthal was apologizing. He felt responsible. He thought I would be displeased.
Don’t make the effort. Dream only of me. Be mine even in dreams.
Deep desire stirred in Hereis’s heart. He wanted to say it. But he held back. I’m different from my mother. I have no intention of using incubus rules to forcibly steal someone who’s already with another.
He erased what he’d seen in the dream. And he only recalled Rosenthal diligently memorizing the erotic novel, embarrassed by the dream and slipping under the blanket.
“Puhup.”
When he recalled Rosenthal wriggling, lifting the blanket slightly, and letting out shallow breaths, laughter burst out again. But he deliberately calmed his emotions and returned to his usual expressionless face.
This is just the effect of the “chain.” It’s brainwashing. It’s just a natural emotion to find something cute when seeing something cute. Anyone on the continent would laugh finding that Rosenthal cute.
“Master, at least tell me the name. I’ve served by your side my whole life—won’t you tell me not just your companion’s face but not even their name?”
Though Hereis drew the line again and again, Jackin complained.
He was both a subordinate and like a parent. And a demon. Jackin raised Hereis and his younger sibling in place of their mother. Though he tried to awaken Hereis as an incubus as soon as possible and take him to the demon world, he ultimately respected Hereis’s will to live as a human.
But when Hereis actually awakened, he was overjoyed. He wasn’t just happy that he’d awakened and gained power.
He thought Hereis had obtained true love, enough to awaken as an incubus—something he’d so resisted. Of course, that was because Hereis had said so.
If Jackin learned that Rosenthal knew his true name and that he’d performed the marriage ceremony because he couldn’t kill him, Jackin would kill Rosenthal immediately.
“I won’t ask for anything else, so just tell me the name. I raised you without even getting married myself, even changing your diapers, yet you hide even your companion’s name. You don’t trust this Jackin. Huk.”
Jackin deployed his ultimate finishing move. If he didn’t speak here, the story about breaking up with his 217th lover while caring for Hereis would come out. Hereis opened his mouth heavily.
“…Rozentella.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s Rozentella.”
“Rozentella? That’s an unusual name. Are they pretty?”
He said to just tell him the name, yet here he is asking more.
“Yes.”
Hereis nodded.
If only I were the prince searching for Rosenthal’s glass slipper…
The desire to draw a line and the emotion of wanting to monopolize him—those contradictory feelings tangled together simultaneously.
