DMHS 120

“……”

“It’s a bit far from here. I won’t know the situation until I get there, but I’ll try to handle it as quickly as possible. Once this is settled, I’ll come back.”

“…Liar. You’re not coming back.”

The words slipped out before Lucien could stop them. His voice was too soft, and Kian only looked puzzled.

“What did you say? I couldn’t hear over the waves.”

Lucien rested his face against the arm draped over his knee.

‘I knew it.’

His mate was planning to leave him. That gentle embrace from last night had only been preparation for this moment.

‘So you thought if you said you were leaving after I let my guard down, I’d just let you go.’

And then what?

Kian wasn’t an ordinary person. If he really meant to disappear, finding him would be nearly impossible. Even if Lucien did find him, how could he make someone stay who had already decided to leave? He only acted clingy own because Kian had allowed it.

It felt like a knife was slowly carving out pieces of his heart. Lucien buried his face between his knees and clutched at his chest.

“Lucien, can you hear me?”

“……”

“Are you unwell? Please lift your head and look at me.”

“…I’m fine.”

Lucien clenched his jaw and raised his gaze.

‘I can’t immediately refuse him.’

If he resisted too strongly, his mate might leave without another word.

‘And I can’t let him realize I’ve caught on.’

He didn’t want to provoke another layer of lies.

‘I’ll hear him out first, then counter carefully. Logical, calm, one step at a time.’

After swallowing dryly, Lucien spoke.

“It just startled me, that’s all. Tell me slowly. Where exactly do you need to go?”

“To start with the conclusion again, I’m heading to the Dragon Realm.”

“So it isn’t that you want to hurry the coming-of-age ritual?”

“I’m afraid that’s exactly it. I plan to cross into the Dragon Realm and meet the Dragon Lord. They say only a god knows how to replenish the energy of a soul that’s been separated from its body for too long.”

“And the goddess of this world?”

“According to the Spirit King, she can’t be found right now.”

Lucien pressed his lips into a line, waiting. The most important part still hadn’t come.

“And your reason for leaving me behind?”

“That’s…”

The flow of answers stopped. Kian rubbed the bone above his brow, looking troubled.

“It’s not something you need to be involved in. Restoring a soul that’s turned into a bead is just my own selfish wish.”

“Was sneaking into the Academy your selfish wish, then? By that logic, I didn’t need to come to the mansion with you either.”

“That was within the kingdom. It wasn’t far. But the Dragon Realm…”

“With a dimensional gate, you’ll arrive in the blink of an eye.”

Only then did Kian seem to realize how flimsy his excuse sounded. His eyes lowered slowly.

Lucien knew this moment, when his mate hesitated, was both danger and an opportunity.

“Let me go with you. I won’t get in the way. I promise I won’t bother you.”

“……”

“It’s just that… I can’t stand it when you’re not here. Please.”

He reached out carefully and caught Kian’s sleeve, softening his expression.

“Kian… take Luci with you. Mm?”

He drew out his words and brushed his cheek against the back of Kian’s hand, expecting to be pushed away coldly for acting spoiled.

But Kian’s reaction wasn’t what he expected. His face, which Lucien glimpsed from beneath lowered lashes, had turned red.

When Kian finally spoke, his voice came out gentler, almost hesitant.

“But you don’t even know what kind of place the Dragon Realm is…”

“Even so, I’m a dragon. Wouldn’t it be safer if I went with you?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

His wavering eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.

Lucien closed the distance between them in one smooth motion. He pressed his forehead against Kian’s and whispered softly.

“Leaving the morning after our first night together, what am I supposed to do without you?”

Kian’s face turned crimson, his blush spreading from his forehead down to his neck. He bit his lower lip.

“…Alright. I’ll take you with me.”

Lucien tilted his head and murmured by his ear.

“You promise?”

Kian nodded obediently, almost dazed. Lucien rose to his feet.

“When are we leaving for the Dragon Realm?”

“I thought we’d rest for today and travel tomorrow morning.”

“Good idea. Then you don’t have any other plans for now, right?”

“No. If there’s something you need me to do, I’ll help.”

“Perfect. There’s something I could really use your help with.”

Lucien smiled, his eyes curving as he held out his hand.

The moment their hands touched, Lucien shifted their location. They arrived in Kian’s room, where he had opened his eyes that morning.

Lucien immediately wrapped his arms around his mate’s waist and kissed him.

Kian, belatedly grasping the situation, stamped his foot.

“Wait, hold on. This is the Spirit King’s residence. If the Spirit King is awake, he’ll see everything happening inside the mansion as clearly as the lines on his palm.”

“It’s unnecessary worry.”

“Did you cast a vision-blocking spell?”

“Don’t act surprised. We’ve done the same in every inn room we’ve stayed in so far.”

He had no intention of letting anyone else, even by chance, see his mate’s flushed, heated state.

Kian reacted with a strangely deflated look at the reassuring words.

“Is that so? I… didn’t know.”

“It’s nothing you need to know.”

Lucien kissed his pouty, protruding lips. Then, he naturally began undoing his mate’s buttons one by one. In the daylight, his skin appeared even whiter and smoother, now fully exposed.

Whether he was aware of the clothes being removed or not, Kian was lost in thought.

“But as a knight, I must always accurately assess my surroundings.”

“You still don’t get it? You beside me aren’t a knight. You’re my mate.”

A soft chuckle escaped Kian’s lips.

“I simply cannot win against you in words. You did it earlier too, you’re so good at insisting things sound right at first glance.”

“Insisting? That’s unfair. I was just stating the truth.”

“Indeed. Lucien is honest.”

This time, Lucien’s lips twisted into a crooked smile. Calling him honest felt like an overstatement, given how desperately he tried to hide his shortcomings in front of his mate.

But Lucien habitually concealed his own feelings.

“What about you, my mate? Any intention of being completely unguarded in front of me?”

“I think I’m already being far too open.”

Kian looked down at the clothes that had been stripped off in the meantime. Lucien smiled contentedly and picked Kian up.

Kian struggled in panic for a moment, but once laid on the bed, his pupils changed color. Yesterday’s memories surfaced, and his body stirred as well.

Lucien lowered his lips onto his mate’s face. His lips traced his eyelids, the bridge of his nose, his cheeks, until they met his own beautiful lips. Lucien licked them with his tongue, as if savoring soft ice cream, making soft slurping sounds.

The animalistic motion seemed to tickle him, and Kian’s shoulders trembled, bursting into laughter. Seizing the moment, Lucien slipped his tongue into his mouth.

Licking the bumpy roof of his mouth thoroughly, a moan burst from beyond his throat. He tapped the tongue pressed tightly against his lower teeth to stir it, then sucked it in. His heartbeat quickened as excitement surged.

‘He’s not even a dragon, so why is every drop of his fluid sweet?’

If possible, he wanted to bite into every part and taste it thoroughly.

Suppressing the urge to rush ahead, Lucien caressed Kian’s earlobe. The line from the outer ear to the lobe was nothing short of beautiful.

As their lips continued to meet, his hands gradually moved downward.

Passing over his long neck and straight collarbone, they found the small protrusions on his flat chest. Like a child playing with a new toy, Lucien teased the pinkish nipples.

What had been soft and yielding at first gradually hardened. The cores stood erect, and the surrounding skin tightened.

Lucien lowered his face and took the nipple into his mouth.

“Suddenly, uh…”

Lucien swirled his tongue inside his mouth, caressing the breast while observing his mate.

Just like yesterday, his nipples hardened quickly, and Kian fidgeted nervously.

His previously bright eyes clouded over. Hot breath escaped from his slightly parted lips.

“Ah…”

Seeing this, a hot surge instinctively gathered in his lower abdomen.

Lucien bent his upper body, sucking his nipples until they made slurping sounds, then pulled down Kian’s pants and underwear in one swift motion. He took out his half-erect penis, flicked the shaft with his fingers, and slid his tongue from Kian’s chest down to his flat stomach.

His mate reacted to the smooth sensation against his belly.

“Huh…”

Lucien lowered his head further. He gently enveloped the tip of the erect penis, standing tall amidst the jet-black pubic hair like strands of hair, and took it into his mouth.

“Ugh, that… Please don’t. It’s dirty.”

“Did you think that when you did it to me?”

Lucien deliberately nibbled just the tip a little.

“Ugh, no way. You’re different from me.”

“What’s so different?”

“I work hard and sweat a lot, but you never sweat… When I’m near you, it always smells like sweet flowers.”