A nibble.

Sure.

Whatever helped him sleep at night.

To his credit, the Imperial Crown Prince—who had just been declared the "best at seduction," much to his personal horror—had been busy internally chastising himself for succumbing to the temptation that easily.

He hadn’t even tried to resist properly.

No struggle, no dignity, no last stand.

Just a pair of fluttering lashes, clasped hands, and suddenly, he was compromised.

"..."

"..."

It was embarrassing.

Worse, the one who brought him to this state hadn’t even needed to say anything. No persuasion. No clever words. And yet the so-called unshakable pillar of the Empire had bent without so much as a protest.

Of course, that might’ve been because it involved his wife.

In most situations, Xavier wouldn’t even hesitate. He would’ve accepted every opportunity offered to him without question. Tonight wouldn’t have been any different...

If they weren’t where they were.

Because unfortunately—

They were still in the Kyros Capital Manor.

And while Xavier had already come to terms with being shameless in certain aspects of his life, he was still upright enough to avoid putting his wife in uncomfortable situations.

Like, say, hearing the rumbling of a father who’d want an explanation for the state of his precious son.

Haaah.

See, this particular manor was a bit tricky.

The manor itself wasn’t small. In fact, it was larger than most estates. But Solara, being the capital, was densely occupied.

Not overcrowded, but populated enough that those with extremely heightened senses would notice things they weren’t meant to notice given the much closer proximity.

Which meant...

Certain activities that would draw attention were best avoided when possible.

At least while they were here.

To others, the solution might’ve seemed simple. Use a spiritual barrier. Easy. Just block everything out.

But that was the thing, it would still be problematic.

Using and not using barriers was practically the same as announcing something.

A person who had nothing to hide wouldn’t be using one, making the reasonable sounds that a living person would make.

But using one and having everyone notice the existence of the sudden void was simply asking for it.

Ugh.

But then why not just go to the dungeon space?

Wouldn’t that be the easiest fix?

Of course.

That would’ve solved everything. Privacy, distance, sound—

Except it didn’t.

Because while sound could be managed, there was still one issue left.

Scent.

Yes.

That.

And that was exactly what Xavier had been trying to explain to his beloved, despite his current trials and tribulations.

If only he could get a word in.

"Lower, just a little bit lower..."

"Like this?"

"Mn... just like that. Harder."

Xavier let out a low, gravelly groan that vibrated through the room. To anyone listening by the door, the sounds wouldn’t be too hard to misunderstand.

Then again, even inside, the Imperial Prince was going through his own inexplicable struggles as he tried guiding his beloved towards the right path.

So it was important to note that he didn’t account for those sounds either.

And yet there they were...

"Wait, right there... yes," Xavier rasped, his voice noticeably thicker now. "Don’t stop now. Use more... more pressure."

"I-I think I’m getting the hang of it!" Luca whispered back, his voice sounding breathless and eager.

"Nngh—!"

Xavier’s head tipped back, a sharp, ragged breath escaping his lips before he could stop it.

"Yeah. You’re... you’re doing better than I expected. You can keep going."

"I’ll try to handle it."

The proximity of their bodies and the rhythmic, heavy kneading made the air in the room feel suffocatingly hot.

Luca, feeling a surge of pride and excitement at his husband’s vocal approval, decided to make an even greater effort. He wanted to show he was a fast learner.

Of course, he’d been told not to be too worried about performance, but this wasn’t because he was being an anxious wife, but more because he genuinely wanted to please his beloved.

So just as he remembered what had been said earlier, he gathered his strength, put his weight into it, and used much greater force than before.

"UGHHH—!"

Luca was momentarily surprised at that reaction. But apparently, it wasn’t just him as the sudden, sharp cry of surprise from the Prince was the final straw for a few others.

Because just as Xavier had feared, the door—which had been holding back a slew of uninvited guests—finally gave way.

CRACK!

The already suspicious door didn’t survive.

It splintered inward with a loud, undeniable break, collapsing under the weight of several very not subtle eavesdroppers who had been leaning far too heavily against it.

A tangled pile of bodies tumbled into the room in complete disarray, their attempts at hiding utterly ruined as they landed in a heap on the floor.

"...!"

"...?"

The silence that followed was deafening as the Imperial Crown Prince and his wife stared down at the pile of eavesdropping residents currently decorating their floor.

__

See, just moments ago, in what had been a relatively peaceful Kyros Manor, several individuals who absolutely should’ve been asleep—but, for one reason or another, weren’t—had all ended up converging on the same door.

It hadn’t started that way.

At first, most of them had tried to ignore it.

Truly.

Some even went as far as convincing themselves that the things they were hearing were hallucinations. Or ghosts.

Yes, ghosts made far more sense.

It didn’t matter if it was logical or not. For the sake of their young lord’s dignity, it simply had to be ghosts.

Unfortunately, the "ghosts" didn’t quiet down.

If anything, they became louder. More distinct. And far more difficult to dismiss.

Now, it wasn’t like any of them were particularly inexperienced.

Most had long passed the age of being startled by such things. But ever since the recent changes in their bodies, their senses had sharpened to an inconvenient degree. Things that could once be tuned out now stood out far too clearly.

They tried to ignore it.

They really did.

But instead of fading into the background, the sounds only became clearer—and increasingly questionable.

Princess Kira, for one, simply had to know.

Ada had every intention of intercepting her. She even made the effort to get there first and perhaps redirect her away from whatever disaster was waiting beyond that door. But that plan fell apart the moment a particularly alarming sound echoed through the halls.

Doors opened.

One after another.

And just like that, several residents stepped out at the same time.

They paused.

Made eye contact. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

And then, without a word, headed in the same direction.

What followed was something that might have passed for a covert operation, if not for how utterly undignified it actually was.

Using spiritual barriers hadn’t been enough. So they also moved with care, trying to remain quiet, pressing themselves against the walls and inching closer with far more determination than was appropriate for the situation.

And inevitably, it led to one unfortunate outcome.

The door.

The poor, overburdened door that had been holding back far more than it was designed to.

It held for as long as it could.

But faced with the combined weight of several overly curious individuals leaning just a little too much—

It gave way.

With a loud crack, the door splintered, and the entire group tumbled forward into the room in an unceremonious heap.

Silence followed.

Because sprawled across the floor in various states of disarray were some of the most prominent figures in the manor.

Duke Leander looked like he had been prepared to charge in and deal with a threat, only to now appear thoroughly caught off guard. Duchess Amelia sat nearby, posture still composed despite everything, though the look on her face made her exasperation clear. Butler Gary’s eyes were wide with disbelief, while Steward Han had already covered his face, as if trying to will himself out of existence.

Headmaid Gloria was part of the pile as well.

Jax, somehow, remained standing behind them, watching it all unfold with a calm that suggested he had fully accepted the situation but felt compelled to watch.

Near the doorway, Princess Kira leaned forward with open curiosity, only to be firmly restrained by Ada, who had a solid grip on her leg to prevent her from diving further into the scene.

But all of that became secondary the moment they actually looked up.

Because what they saw...

Was not what they had expected.

Instead of anything remotely scandalous, they were met with the sight of their young lord—now fully dressed in silk sleepwear—standing beside the bed with his hand raised mid-motion.

As if he were about to strike.

On the bed, the Imperial Crown Prince lay face down, looking less like a participant in anything improper and more like the unfortunate recipient of an overly enthusiastic attempt at... something.

It looked less like a private moment and more like a crime scene.

Luca blinked once, then again, his golden eyes filled with confusion as he took in the sight of everyone gathered on the floor.

"Oh..." he said slowly, voice uncertain.

"...good evening, everyone?"

His hand, unfortunately, remained raised.

Still very much poised to come down for another strike.