OPDPS 157

“You want me to use this room?”

After they entered the inner quarters, greeted the servants, and had a simple meal, Aeryl was finally given some free time. He had headed toward the second-floor room he used to stay in, but the Grand Duke promptly caught him and led him to a new room on the third floor.

Aeryl’s belongings were already neatly arranged inside. He was taken aback.

“But… isn’t this the Grand Duchess’s room?”

“Exactly. So it’s the one you should use.”

“But I’m not the Grand Duchess yet.”

“You’re not going to marry me?”

The Grand Duke frowned slightly as he asked.

“I mean, I am going to marry you… But you’re sensitive about the third floor—you don’t even let attendants up here. Will that really be okay?”

“It’s fine with you.”

“Well, in that case…”

It wasn’t that Aeryl didn’t like it—he’d just been flustered. So he quickly accepted it.

“There wasn’t time to renovate or replace the furniture. If there’s anything you don’t like, you can change it however you want.”

“Then I will. I’m tired, so I’ll think about it later.”

He took off his shoes and lay down on the bed, then patted the spot beside him. The Grand Duke wasted no time lying down next to him.

The two of them lay on their sides, looking at each other. The Grand Duke’s blue eyes were full of nothing but happiness; the shadows they once held were nowhere to be seen.

Now’s the time, while he’s off guard.

Aeryl grasped the Grand Duke’s chin and asked:

“Everyone’s been acting like it’s a given that I’m the Grand Duchess. It doesn’t seem like something that just started yesterday or today, either.”

“…”

“Explain yourself.”

Aeryl’s look said it all—you’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?

“Sigh… well, the truth is…”

And so the Grand Duke confessed everything Aeryl hadn’t known.

How the people who joined the Great Purge misunderstood them as lovers… How Rynello fanned the flames and rumors spread that they were engaged… How when Aeryl was kidnapped, the Grand Duke lost control and the news traveled far and wide…

“By now, there’s probably not a single person in the domain who doesn’t know.”

“Wow… I had no idea.”

Aeryl had noticed that people in the outer quarters were oddly cautious but kind toward him. Since most people were polite to him anyway, he hadn’t thought much of it—but now it turned out that they already considered him the Grand Duke’s fiancé behind his back.

What puzzled him was that the Grand Duke had let those rumors spread.

“You could have stopped the rumors if you wanted, right?”

“Well, yes, but… I liked the idea of people thinking we were something special.”

He hadn’t been aware of it at the time, but looking back now, he realized that even in that way, he’d wanted to be close to Aeryl. Embarrassed, the Grand Duke shut his eyes tightly.

“To think I was so pathetic…”

He muttered, bowing his head. Aeryl looked down at him in silence. Yes, it was pathetic—but the fact that it was this man, the famously cold and flawless Grand Duke Asirion, made it somehow… endearing.

‘So you liked me that much? And you never even let it show?’

He felt giddy. Someone so capable in everything else was this clumsy only with him—it was too cute.

Aeryl played with the Grand Duke’s hair and kissed the top of his head.

“It’s fine. Hiello is cute.”

“…What?”

The Grand Duke looked up, dumbfounded. Not even his own mother had ever called him cute in his life.

“Mhm. You’re cute.”

Aeryl showered his forehead and cheeks with little kisses—smooch, smooch. The Grand Duke, who had been sitting still and taking it, suddenly pinned Aeryl down and climbed over him. Then he grasped Aeryl’s jaw and kissed him.

His tongue invaded Aeryl’s mouth, licking across the roof of it, and Aeryl moaned helplessly. At the same time, the Grand Duke’s pheromones surrounded him, coaxing his arousal.

Aeryl had just been about to kiss him back when a question popped into his head.

“When is this first night you keep talking about, Hiello?”

They hadn’t had a wedding, but after sharing all their secrets, they were already practically like newlyweds.

In other words, just seeing each other made them burn.

They’d had plenty of secret moments together while traveling by carriage, but those moments had only gone as far as stimulating each other’s genitals—fingers brushing around his hole, stroking each other’s tips. Clearly, they were holding back, saving the “first night” for when it really counted.

It wasn’t as if they’d lacked the opportunity—but since an omega bore the heavier burden in these matters, Aeryl appreciated the Grand Duke’s caution. Still, while those private moments had been lovely, just touching alone no longer satisfied him.

Every time the Grand Duke touched him—and every time he touched the Grand Duke—he felt an aching emptiness, a maddening sense of need.

“Usually, the first night is on the wedding day.”

“…I don’t know if I can wait that long. But if that’s what you want.”

Hiello spoke hesitantly, and Aeryl quickly shook his head. If they waited until spring, he might end up turning into a beast in the middle of the night and pouncing on Hiello.

“Then when?”

“First, you have to want it.”

“Yeah.”

Anytime’s fine! Aeryl wanted to insist, but held back.

“There can’t be any interruptions. No time constraints, no people. Your body might get hurt, so the bed is a must. We’ll be undressed, so it needs to be warm. And… it’d be nice if it was on a meaningful day.”

“Then today’s the day.”

The Grand Duke’s hand, which had been playing with Aeryl’s hair, froze.

“…Today?”

“We’ve got no more secrets, we’ve returned to the north, your family’s acknowledged me. And…”

“And?”

“Isn’t this my first official visit to the Grand Duchess’s room?”

Their gazes met. A soft wave of pheromones, laced with something sensual, brushed between them.

Before either of them could say a word, their lips met. Their tongues tangled, stickier than usual. Aeryl ran his hand down the Grand Duke’s arm, thrilled by the firm muscle and the warmth of his skin.

The Grand Duke slipped his hand beneath Aeryl’s clothes, tracing his lower belly and brushing a fingertip around his nipples.

“Mmngh…”

Maybe it was the way he’d been touched before, but now it just felt good—so much so that he was starting to ache.

“Take my clothes off.”

When Aeryl asked, the Grand Duke obeyed while continuing to kiss him, removing each piece of clothing one by one. As his upper body was revealed, his nipples stood taut, just as expected. The Grand Duke licked and sucked on them before pulling off Aeryl’s pants and undergarments. Aeryl’s member was already half-hard.

“Hiello.”

When Aeryl called him, the Grand Duke looked up and kissed him again. They held each other close, touching, tangling their legs, stimulating each other’s arousal with their thighs.

Just as Aeryl began to sink into the familiar pleasure rising from his lower half, the Grand Duke’s kisses trailed downward. While Aeryl squirmed from the ticklishness, Hiello gently spread his legs wide.

“Uuh…”

Aeryl moaned, flustered. He hadn’t even been touched much, but his cock was now fully erect, with clear fluid already beading at the tip.

Below that, his slick entrance was plainly exposed. Though still tightly shut, the moment it felt Hiello’s gaze, it twitched involuntarily. The Grand Duke didn’t hesitate—he licked over Aeryl’s hole.

“Ah—!”

Aeryl let out a shrill cry, but Hiel didn’t stop.

It was Aeryl who was dying inside. No one had ever seen him like this—exposed and being licked in such a shameful place. It was wet, hot, tingly, and too overwhelming to bear.

“T-That’s… embarrassing…”

But the Grand Duke didn’t stop. Instead, he pushed a finger into Aeryl’s entrance. His fingers were calloused, the joints pronounced, so the sensation of them forcing their way in made Aeryl shudder uncontrollably.

“Ugh…”

He knew this was part of sex, but he still wasn’t used to it. While Aeryl writhed in discomfort, the Grand Duke began pressing around inside before pushing in a second finger.

Though he looked calm on the outside, Hiello was anything but—he was biting his lip without realizing it, flushed with urgency. Aeryl’s insides were hot, and the inner walls clung to his fingers, squeezing as though they didn’t want to let go.

He could already imagine what it would feel like to thrust himself into that heat. Worse still, even though Aeryl looked uncomfortable, his pheromones were inviting—saying it’s okay, do it, anything is okay.

The scent was so rich and sweet, it was intoxicating. The Grand Duke slipped in a third finger and began stretching him properly.

“Nnngh…”

Aeryl covered his mouth with the back of his hand. Though it felt strange and uncomfortable, now and then something electric shot through him, making his legs tremble and his cock jerk visibly.

It was humiliating—and the fact that Hiello could see it made it worse. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from swaying his hips, craving touch at the front.

“You want me to touch you?”