Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 186: A Bond Beyond Vassals

"Tch... damn it! It’s always my brother!" Caius spat, his frustration boiling over.

He stood and grabbed a sword that had been lying nearby. With fiery determination, he began swinging it wildly, as if venting his anger at an invisible opponent.

When Caius grabbed the sword, Ithnan and the other Dragonewts moved closer, but Damien raised a hand to signal them to stay back. They dispersed again without a word.

Caius who is absorbed in his swings, didn’t notice any of this. He kept cutting through the air, over and over, as if trying to slice his frustration into shreds.

Eventually, he stopped. Breathing heavily, he tossed the sword aside and stood in front of Damien, his chest heaving.

"How much?" Caius demanded. "How much are he paying you? If you come under me, I’ll double it!"

"No," Damien said firmly.

"Triple, then!" Caius shot back at him, "No, I’ll pay you five times your current salary!"

Caius declared, his voice filled with desperation.

Five times!? Damien thought, startled by the sudden jump. While he had no idea what the standard pay for a vassal was, that seemed like a hefty offer.

Despite Caius’s earnestness, Damien knew this wasn’t a matter of money. With an apologetic expression, he silently shook his head.

Caius clenched his fists tightly, his head bowed. Against the backlight, Damien couldn’t clearly see his face, but the boy’s shoulders were trembling slightly.

Wait... is he crying? 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"...So, even you think my brother is better?" Caius’s voice wavered, barely audible.

Damien froze.

Oh no, I made him cry!

Seriously? Was it that big a deal? Didn’t he know about Damien’s connection to Theo? It seemed like he had some idea that Damien was favored by Theo.

Damien hesitated. Should he tell the truth? While his relationship with Theo wasn’t public knowledge, it wasn’t exactly a secret to their inner circle. After deliberating for a moment, he decided it was fine.

He couldn’t just leave Caius like this.

"Well, it’s not about Theo being better," Damien said, fumbling a bit. "It’s more like... you know, I’m... uh, kind of... his, you know?"

Damien felt awkward admitting, "I’m his lover," to someone’s face, especially to Caius, but he hoped the implication was clear.

"What!?" Caius’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock.

He strode over, staring at Damien’s face as if trying to read him.

At least the tears had stopped, Damien noted, relieved. Caius’s eyes were still red and puffy from crying, but his intense focus now was almost comforting.

"Are you saying you’re actually my brother’s lover, like the rumors say!?"

"Uh... yes," Damien admitted sheepishly.

Having it said so bluntly made his face heat up.

Caius leaned in closer, studying Damien’s face with an almost exaggerated scrutiny.

"Even with that cute face, you’re still just a kid! What the hell is my brother thinking!?" Caius burst out.

Kid!? Damien flinched. Was that how the centaurs saw him? Well, Caius and Theo were both taller than him, so maybe it was inevitable.

"Actually," Damien began, trying to keep his voice calm, "I’m older than Theo."

"What!?" Caius gawked. "You’re not just older than me, but older than him too!?"

The boy looked utterly floored.

"Wait a second..." Caius muttered, his brow furrowing as he sank deep into thought. He crossed his arms, tilting his head in contemplation.

"Even if you’re older, you still look like a cute little kid. So doesn’t that mean my brother’s into..." Caius paused dramatically. "...kids!?"

Damien froze. What!?

...What!?

Time itself seemed to stop as Caius’s words hung in the air.

When Damien thought about it, though, maybe the boy had a point. After all, hadn’t there been those rumors about Theo sniffing the skirts of young maidens?

...It’s fine. Damien reassured himself.

He still adored Theo with all his heart. In fact, moments like this only deepened his affection.

Still, it was probably best to stop thinking about that peculiar rumor any further.

"That’s how it is," Damien said, gently steering the conversation. "I just can’t switch from being one of Theo’s vassals, you know?"

"Well, I suppose that’s true. ...But is there really no way?"

Caius’s persistence was almost endearing, and Damien couldn’t help but smile at how determined the boy was.

"It’s not that I don’t want to serve you, Caius, but I really can’t," Damien admitted. "If it weren’t for my bond with Theo, I’d probably accept without hesitation."

Caius’s expression grew even more earnest, and his voice dropped to a near plea. "Is there truly no way?"

Damien tilted his head, curious. "Why are you so insistent on making me your vassal? There are plenty of others far more qualified. You’ve got a lot of great people around you already."

As he spoke, it hit him—Caius wasn’t asking for him. He was after Ithnan and the others.

Understanding dawned on Damien, and he felt a twinge of sympathy.

"...They aren’t my vassals," Caius admitted, his voice soft. "They serve my mother... or rather, my grandfather. Not me."

Damien blinked in surprise. "Wait... so none of the people from earlier are your vassals?"

Caius gave a small nod.

Damien remembered hearing that Caius’s mother was controlled by her family. It seemed that influence extended even to Caius himself. That must’ve been rough.

Did Theo know about this? And where was Caius’s father in all this?

"Well, what about friends at the academy?" Damien offered cautiously. "Even if you don’t have vassals now, after you graduate, couldn’t you ask them to join you?"

He almost said entourage, but stopped himself just in time.

Caius’s expression darkened, his voice sharp and cold. "Those people aren’t friends. They’re just sycophants trying to get into my father’s or grandfather’s good graces."

Yikes. That hit a nerve.

Caius looked dangerously close to crying again. Damien scrambled for something to lighten the mood.

"Then... why don’t I be your friend?" Damien suggested.

It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was something. He genuinely wanted to be there for Caius—someone to hang out with when he was free, or to listen when things got tough.