Who Told You We Were Lovers?

Kazen’s feeling was clearly jealousy. The cause was probably that he wanted Harold all to himself. Eren felt envious and resentful of Harold, who received so much of Kazen’s affection. There was no need to be jealous of someone like him.

But at the same time, he could understand Kazen’s feelings. Loving someone so kind was bound to be difficult. Because they were gentle to everyone, and loved by everyone.

“I’m sorry. I’ll manage my expressions better.”

For now, it seemed best to defuse Kazen’s anger, so he apologized. And since Eren would be gone in a week, Kazen wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.

“I won’t be meeting His Highness Harold anymore, either. So you don’t need to be concerned.”

Only then did Kazen slowly lift his head. He still had his arm around Eren’s waist, so their faces were close enough for their noses to nearly touch.

Kazen’s translucent blue eyes seemed to hold a different hue than usual. Eren tried to guess the emotion within them, but it wasn’t easy.

“I….”

Just as Eren finally opened his mouth to ask if Kazen had something to say, footsteps were suddenly heard outside. He thought whoever it was would just pass by, but soon a knock sounded, and Eren looked at the door in surprise.

“Come in.”

In contrast, Kazen answered calmly, as if he had been expecting this visit, loosening his arm from Eren’s waist. The door opened and Brennen entered.

Without so much as a glance at the two standing together, he pulled a trolley and began placing dishes on the table in the center of the room.

“What is this….”

“We need to eat dinner. I can’t starve because of you.”

At Eren’s bewildered question, Kazen answered casually, grabbed Eren’s hand, and dragged him to the table.

While Kazen forced Eren into a chair, Brennen quietly filled their glasses with aperitif and then left the room, pulling the trolley.

“You know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”

Kazen asked gruffly, placing a fork in Eren’s hand.

“You’re going to tell me not to leave anything?”

“Yes. So eat quickly. I don’t want to break my bedtime.”

Fortunately, there wasn’t much food, but still, having no appetite, it was quite difficult to force it down. While Eren chewed reluctantly, like someone eating the most distasteful food in the world, Kazen merely sipped a little wine.

“The leftovers….”

“Leave them. Brennen will come and clear them shortly.”

Feeling sorry for giving Brennen work, Eren tried to clear the plates quickly. But Kazen, as if to warn Eren, lightly tapped the table and raised his hand to point at the bathroom.

“Leave it. Go prepare the bath water.”

“You’re going to wash here?”

Eren asked cautiously, looking at Kazen’s pajamas. The only improvement since Kazen had given him this new room was the large, spacious bathtub, and he felt a bit aggrieved that even that was being taken from him.

But Kazen raised an eyebrow as if to ask why he was stating the obvious.

“Why go through the trouble of preparing two separate baths? We can wash at the same time.”

Ah, of course. There was that option. Eren’s eyes widened as he thought to himself. So that meant washing together, in the same tub.

“With me? Wh-why? You’ll be uncomfortable. I can just use the servants’ bath….”

Eren’s mind began to tangle like a messy ball of thread. He felt even more flustered than when Harold had offered to see him off in the afternoon.

“Since when did you start talking back to me?”

Kazen’s irritated tone made Eren flinch. Whenever Kazen spoke like that, like an angry wasp stinging with venom, Eren was genuinely terrified.

“…I’ll do as you command.”

Before Kazen could unleash his anger, Eren quickly turned and headed toward the bathroom. Setting aside questions and simply following orders was what Eren did best.

He filled the tub with warm water and prepared a bathrobe and bathing supplies. Still, he was bewildered. Surely Kazen didn’t really intend to bathe together.

Once, long ago, not long after he’d first come to the mansion, Eren had learned how to bathe under Kazen’s supervision. That was the first time Eren had shown Kazen his naked body.

‘What a pathetic body. You’re the first person I’ve seen with ribs that prominent since the corpses I saw in the army.’

He remembered being deflated by Kazen’s harsh critique.

Anyway, after that day, Eren had never shown Kazen his naked body again. So while he was worried, he also thought it might be Kazen’s idea of a bad joke.

Maybe he just found it amusing to see Eren squirm. No matter how large the tub, it was cramped for two people, and it wasn’t particularly clean either.

“Is it ready?”

Eren, watching the water pour out with a rush, started at the sudden voice behind him and turned his head. Kazen, wearing a bathrobe, stood at the bathroom entrance.

“Yes, the bath is ready. Would you like to check the temperature?”

Kazen strode over, dipped his hand in the tub to check the temperature. Watching his broad back, Eren, unsure what to do, just sat there dumbly.

If he stayed still, maybe Kazen would tell him to leave rather than be a nuisance. Or perhaps he’d tell him to wash his hair. As he thought this to himself, Kazen turned around with a blank expression.

“But why are you still wearing clothes? You weren’t planning to bathe in them, were you?”

Kazen really did intend for them to bathe together. Eren still had no idea why.

“I was just about to take them off….”

After checking the tub was full, Eren turned off the faucet and quietly stepped back. He glanced at Kazen taking off his bathrobe and getting into the tub first, then cautiously began to undress.

He put his vest aside, then hesitated as he removed his shirt. But when it came to taking off his pants, he hesitated again. As he stood there fidgeting, clutching his waistband, Kazen shot him a glare.

“Do you plan to get in only after the bathwater gets cold?”

“Ah, no.”

Urged by Kazen, he had no choice but to remove his pants and underwear as well, then quickly put on his bathrobe. He approached the tub hesitantly and saw Kazen lounging comfortably, leaning back.

Out of habit, he picked up Kazen’s bathrobe, which he had carelessly discarded on the floor, and their eyes met.

“If you’re shy about showing your body, just get in like that.”

Kazen’s gaze fell on the white cloth covering Eren’s body. Unconsciously smoothing down the front of his robe, Eren nodded slightly.

“Yes, I’ll get in.”

Doing as he was told, he slowly placed his feet in the tub. Fortunately, the tub was fairly large, so if he tucked himself in carefully, he could avoid touching Kazen.

Feeling his bathrobe grow heavy as it absorbed the water, Eren curled up. Kazen, resting his arm on the edge of the tub, watched him for a moment, then asked leisurely.

“Are you afraid of touching me?”

“It’s not that. It’s just that the tub seems a bit narrow. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, Your Grace.”

Eren spoke as politely as possible, keeping his body curled. Watching him like a frightened little animal, Kazen lifted his arm from the tub’s edge and propped his chin on his hand, commanding him.

“Come closer.”

Eren, who had been hugging his knees, stared at Kazen awkwardly. He hoped he had misheard, but Kazen even gestured for him to come.

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

Whenever Kazen said that, Eren was terrified enough to make his knees weak. So he couldn’t even put up a proper protest and moved closer.

“I’m close now. Do you need something?”

Perhaps he wanted Eren to wash his hair. If so, he should do it from outside the tub. Thinking this, Eren settled himself between Kazen’s parted legs.

“Closer.”

From the curl of Kazen’s lips, he seemed to find the situation quite amusing.

“…Yes.”

The closer Eren cautiously moved, the more inevitable it was that their skin would touch. The area of contact grew wider, and with it, Eren’s body grew stiffer with tension.

“Your Grace, why have you….”

He wanted to ask why he had called him, but Kazen lowered the hand that had been propping his chin and grabbed Eren’s robe.

“To continue what I was teaching you yesterday.”

Instantly, the act they had been doing on the bed the previous day came to mind, and Eren’s face flushed hot.

“I… I believe I said yesterday that I couldn’t continue….”

“Yesterday, you said it was because of Harold? But you just said you won’t be seeing Harold anymore. So there’s no reason to refuse now, is there?”

That’s not what he had meant.

What Eren had meant by being troubled by Harold was that he felt it was wrong for Kazen, who had already shared body and heart with Harold, to be doing such things with him.

“I said that because Your Grace and His Highness Harold are lovers.”

Hearing Eren’s careful reply, Kazen’s expression hardened in an instant. Then, raising one eyebrow sharply, he asked.

“That you and Harold are lovers? Who told you such nonsense?”