Chapter 47

It was as if the curtain of night was being drawn back and a shining sun was rising. Like watching the sunrise from a mountaintop, the prince's heart swelled as people often do when seeing something excessively beautiful.

Seeing the prince silently staring at him without saying a word, Helio hurriedly sat up. Then he knelt before the prince.

The prince, who had been lost in sentimental feelings after realizing his first love, was startled by Helio's unexpected action.

"Why, why are you doing this?"

"Your Highness, I will gladly accept punishment for my disobedience."

Helio bowed his head deeply, pressing his forehead to the ground. The prince, whose gaze had been momentarily captivated by the dynamically rippling back muscles, belatedly realized the meaning of his words.

"Punishment..."

"Helio, how many times did you disobey my orders?"

The number of times Helio had disobeyed the prince's orders in those three days was more than in the past few years combined.

Hadn't he acted as he pleased no matter how many times he was told to stop, to not do it? Because of that, the prince learned that when pleasure becomes too intense, it can feel like pain. He also learned that even his nature of becoming calm in crisis situations was useless in the face of continuously surging pleasure.

The prince's gaze meticulously scanned Helio's mottled body. The bare skin not covered by scales was without a single wound, but there were blood marks here and there. He remembered biting Helio's body wildly after losing his mind following several consecutive climaxes. Though Helio's abnormally fast healing had already closed the wounds, they must have looked much worse before.

For someone who had fearlessly intervened in an alpha's rut, he could be considered relatively unscathed... but even that upset him.

But how could he punish him for disobeying orders? Helio's increased stubbornness was his own doing, so if anyone should be punished, it was himself.

However, he couldn't miss this rare opportunity to tease.

"Alright, what punishment should I give?"

"..."

"Come closer, I need to punish you."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Helio approached him with a tense expression as he sat at the edge of the bed. Hiding a mischievous smile by covering his mouth with one hand, the prince waited for Helio to come closer.

The moment the distance between them became close enough to reach out and touch, the prince tripped Helio's ankle.

"Ugh?"

Caught off guard, Helio lost his balance and fell forward without any resistance.

Fortunately, there was no risk of injury as the bed was in front. The only problem was that the prince was right in front of Helio.

Helio barely supported himself with both arms to avoid completely crushing the prince. But as a result, he inevitably ended up caging the prince between his arms.

"..."

"..."

Silence fell for a moment. Wavering golden eyes took in the disheveled appearance of his lord.

Kind black eyes, lips curved upwards as if smiling, sun-tanned brown skin, a body as perfect as the statues in the royal palace. All of these were the prince Helio knew.

What had changed was Helio. Now he knew things he hadn't known before.

For instance, how soft the prince's skin felt when licked with his tongue. That he would twist his waist when his chest was touched, and that he would hold his breath suddenly like someone plunged into water when thrust into hard.

Gulp, Helio's Adam's apple moved greatly. Seeing his lord pinned beneath him somehow made his lower abdomen feel hot again.

He had always felt only the desire to serve when looking at his lord, as if standing before a deity, but now that feeling seemed mixed with a dark and damp desire. Otherwise, how could he feel satisfied with his lord trapped in his arms?

"Y-Your Highness. I'm sorry."

Helio, who had barely managed to speak in a hoarse voice, hurriedly tried to get up. He would have succeeded if the prince hadn't grabbed his arm. More precisely, if he hadn't seen the bruise on the prince's wrist.

Helio forgot he had been trying to get up and wore a serious expression.

"Your Highness, your wound...?"

"Ah, this."

The prince, who turned his head to check the bruise on his wrist, was nonchalant. He was used to these marks that always appeared during ruts. This time it was a bit worse... but that was the natural result of doing more intense things than usual. It would have been stranger not to have bruises after causing such a commotion while handcuffed.

"I should have untied you earlier."

"If you had, I would have really scolded you."

He had told him not to remove the handcuffs no matter what when he still had his reason. Fortunately, even the stubborn knight had followed that order.

The prince chuckled at the knight's face, which looked more pained than the person who was actually injured.

"Why that expression? If you had removed the handcuffs midway, you wouldn't be able to stand like this now."

The fact that a beta who had faced an alpha in rut could be unharmed was all thanks to the Second Prince's precautions. His knight probably didn't know how miraculous it was that it ended with just some biting. In fact, that was upsetting too, but the knight, unaware of the prince's feelings, only said foolish things.

"That would have been better. I heal from sword wounds in three days, don't I?"

"So what? Just because you heal quickly doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

"A knight's duty is to protect his lord."

"Following the lord's orders is also a knight's duty."

"Your Highness..."

Helio was not originally good at speaking. His sulky expression when he realized he couldn't win was cute. It wasn't a thought one should have about a man whose muscles rippled like weapons with every breath, but the prince sincerely felt the man before him was like a large dog.

"...Does it not hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt at all, so don't worry."

The prince wasn't the type of royalty who made a fuss about getting a thorn in his fingertip, locked away in a safe palace being waited on. He could laugh off mere bruises on his wrist.

While the owner of the wound didn't mind at all, the one looking at it wore a more pained expression.

"I really hate that Your Highness is in pain. I wish I could be in pain instead."

The prince didn't answer and just looked into Helio's eyes. He understood Helio's feelings well. Because he felt the same way.

Instead of saying 'I feel the same,' the prince raised his head and kissed him.

Helio's eyes widened at the unexpected situation. There was no reason for the prince to kiss him now that the rut was over. However, the moment their lips met, reasons became unnecessary.

"Mmph!"

Helio skillfully delved into the prince's mouth, applying the experience from the past three days. He stole his breath and greedily explored the soft, hot interior. The kiss that had started as gentle as a feather quickly became deep and intense.

It felt too good. Helio thought he wanted time to stop like this and stay this way forever.

How long did they kiss like that? With a thud, Helio came to his senses.

"Ah."

"Can't, breathe!"

The prince urgently said as he lowered the hand that had struck Helio's chest.

"I'm sorry."

Contrary to his words, Helio was regretfully looking down at the prince's swollen lips. He seemed unaware that he was making an expression like a dog whose bone had been taken away.

"...Why are you smiling?"

"I'm relieved."

In truth, he had been a bit worried after realizing his feelings for Helio. They had mixed bodies before even sharing their hearts with the person they liked.

Though there were unavoidable circumstances, it was true that it wasn't a good start. The worries of a man in love for the first time grew like a snowball rolling down a hill, and he even thought that Helio might have volunteered for this out of sheer loyalty to him.

It was truly an absurd thought. What knight would get aroused looking at his lord out of loyalty alone?

"They say love makes you worry needlessly, I never thought I'd be like that."

"Pardon?"

The prince chuckled to himself as he watched Helio tilt his head in confusion. There was truly so much to teach this knight.

What should he teach first? Should he tell him why one feels pain as if it were their own when seeing another's wound? Should he tell him the name of that unreasonable feeling that makes one wish to be hurt in another's place?

"Come to think of it, I was going to punish you."

"Please tell me. I'll accept any punishment."

The prince reached out with both hands and wrapped them around the knight's neck.

"For now... let's do this some more."

As he kissed him, the prince thought.

Well, was there any need to teach hurriedly?

They had plenty of time anyway. They would be together from now on.