Chapter 60

Caught off guard by the sudden flint in Elwin’s voice, Leon hesitated for a fleeting second before navigating to the far perimeter of the bed. They reclined on their respective edges, maintaining as vast a distance as the wooden frame permitted.

As promised, the mattress spanned a width sufficient to keep their bodies from brushing, yet the void between them hummed with palpable static. Nevertheless, the sheer intimacy of their shared sanctuary kept Elwin’s nerves frayed. Seeking salvation in the swift oblivion of sleep, he reached out to extinguish the bedside oil lamp.

“Good night,” he whispered into the velvet dark.

“…Good night, Sir Elwin,” Leon murmured in return.

Elwin hauled the heavy coverlet over his shoulders and squeezed his eyes shut, terrified that the frantic drumming of his heart would betray his agitation in the silence. His toes tingled, his senses snagged on a faint, inexplicably intoxicating scent, and despite the winter chill seeping through the window, an unbearable warmth coiled deep within his gut.

This is no time for such thoughts. We must catch the early train tomorrow. I must sleep. There is so much to do. If we reach the capital by tomorrow afternoon, then…

Yet, the vision of the capital, invoked to soothe his mind, ignited the opposite reaction. Night possessed a cruel faculty for magnification; a worry as weightless as a dandelion seed could swell into a crushing boulder under the cloak of darkness. And Elwin’s anxieties were already monumental.

He attempted to regulate his breathing, promising himself that the storm would pass, yet even the air in this room felt alien, redolent of unfamiliar pine and the damp musk of a river. The scratchy texture of the coarse blanket and the sharp, rhythmic creak of the old wooden frame whenever he shifted served as a harsh indictment of how far he had strayed from the safety of home.

Today, he had taken his first clumsy strides into a vast, foreign world. How could someone as sheltered as he navigate the ruthless, sprawling capital? What if they failed to unearth Dwight? What if, while they hunted, Dwight succeeded in bringing utter ruin to the Count’s household?

An icy wave of dread inundated him, and a stinging heat pricked the back of his eyes. Overcome by an overwhelming urge to weep, Elwin drew a ragged, sniffling breath.

In the darkness, Leon, who had remained perfectly still on his side of the bed, spoke softly. “Are you unable to sleep?”

Feeling a sharp prick of guilt for disturbing the Alpha, yet too emotionally raw to feign composure, Elwin whispered, “I am sorry… I am just so frightened.”

A soft sigh escaped Leon, his voice grave and solemn. “You have no reason to fear, Sir Elwin. I would never—”

“It is not that,” Elwin interrupted, his voice trembling as his pent-up anxieties finally breached their dam. “When we reach the capital… will I truly be able to fix this? I have heard it is a monstrous, chaotic place. I have never set foot there, and I know no one. I have no inkling of where Mr. Dwight might hide, and if something catastrophic happens to my family because of my inadequacy…”

Leon observed him quietly through the gloom, his expression unreadable. There was no trace of mockery in his eyes, only a faint, bittersweet curve to his lips.

Misinterpreting the silence as impatience, Elwin shrank back, drawing his shoulders inward. “…Forgive me. You are exhausted, and I am only burdening you with my childish fears.”

“No, that is not it at all,” Leon murmured.

Shifting across the mattress, Leon bridged the distance between them. The moment his arm brushed Elwin’s, a radiant, grounding warmth surged through the fabric of their clothes. Then, with agonizing deliberation, Leon reached out and began to rhythmically pat Elwin’s chest. The steady, soothing motion sent a tranquilizing vibration deep into Elwin’s racing heart.

“My lord, you have been thrust into a tempest,” Leon said, his voice a low, resonant rumble. “It is only natural to feel terrified, and it is only natural to blame yourself. But look at what you have accomplished. You are fighting. You are searching for solutions, planning, and moving forward. Do not worry about your unfamiliarity with the capital. You have brought along a guide who knows its every alleyway and possesses countless connections there. Have you forgotten?”

Leon gestured to himself with a self-deprecating touch, his tone deliberately light to dissipate the tension. Elwin absorbed the words, a tentative ember of comfort blooming in his chest, and nodded. He still possessed no guarantee of success, but he had to believe, to press on with everything he held in reserve. Peerless in the dark, Elwin gazed into Leon’s bright, luminous eyes.

“I have said this before, but I am so deeply grateful you are here, Mr. Leon. You…”

Why do you do so much for me? Why does my chest ache with this strange, sweet pressure whenever I look at you? Do you feel it too?

These questions hovered on the tip of his tongue, but as the tempest in his heart subsided, a heavy drowsiness claimed him, and a sudden wave of self-consciousness sealed his lips. He remained silent. Leon let out a quiet, breathy chuckle.

“To be honest, when you first said you were frightened, my heart stopped. I thought you were weeping because you were terrified of me.”

“Of you? Why ever would I be?” Elwin asked innocently.

Leon hesitated, weighing his words with profound caution before asking in a hushed, gravelly tone, “Do you truly not comprehend the nature of our predicament, Sir Elwin?”

The gravity of his inquiry struck Elwin with the weight of a physical blow. For a vulnerable Omega, the most perilous entity in the room was not the encroaching capital, but the alpha sharing his bed. Leon remained a model of tenderness, yet Elwin understood that this gentleness was merely a shroud for his ironclad self-restraint. Deep within those luminous eyes, a ravenous heat flickered, poised to ignite at the slightest provocation. The silence stretched between them, thick and intoxicating. Finally, shattering the heavy tension, Leon forced a quiet, self-deprecating laugh.

“Do not worry. It is an arduous struggle for me as well, but I will never impose anything upon you that you do not desire.”

As Leon began to withdraw his hand, a sharp pang of disappointment pierced Elwin’s chest, despite the exhaustion dragging his eyelids toward sleep. If tomorrow dawned, they would be thrust back into the relentless, breathless scramble toward the capital, and this fragile, ethereal interlude would dissolve. He yearned to arrest the rotation of time. Perhaps it was the reckless courage born of fatigue, but Elwin made a sudden, impulsive decision. Utterly unaware of the wild notion taking root in the Omega’s mind, Leon offered a polite, gentlemanly farewell.

“Now, please try to get some sle—mmph.”

Elwin lunged forward, tilting his head to plant his lips squarely against Leon’s. It was less an elegant embrace and more of a desperate, clumsy collision, yet the contact was undeniable. A thrilling sensation of liberation erupted in Elwin’s chest. Although far briefer than the kisses Leon had initiated in the past, this sudden strike made his pulse hammer twice as fast.

“Ah… well, then. Good ni—mmph!”

Elwin attempted to recoil and feign sleep as if he had not just committed an act of shocking aggression, but Leon proved swifter. The massive alpha surged forward, his shadow eclipsing Elwin instantly as he pinned him beneath his frame and reclaimed his lips with fierce, unhesitating hunger.

Even as Elwin reeled from the sudden, scorching wave of Leon’s body heat, a sensational new sensation parted his lips. Something impossibly soft, wet, and warm brushed against his mouth. Elwin’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated shock. Leon’s gaze was dark, the rims flushed with a crimson fervor as he murmured against his skin, “Open your mouth, Elwin.”

My mouth? Why?

Though utterly bewildered, Elwin instinctively parted his lips. The instant he surrendered, Leon’s hot tongue breached the barrier, gliding deep inside.

Oh. Oh…!

The sheer scandal of the sensation left Elwin entirely paralyzed. As Leon’s tongue swept through his mouth, tasting and caressing every sensitive corner with a slow, masterful rhythm, Elwin could only tremble, helpless shivers racking his frame.

It was not unpleasant. Far from it—it was rapturous. Every point of contact left behind a sweet, electric ache, radiating waves of dizzying pleasure straight to the crown of his head. Leon cupped Elwin’s burning cheek, his scent blooming into the room, thick and intoxicating. Drowned in this sensory deluge, Elwin surrendered entirely.

So this is what a true kiss is.

He recalled the flowery, dramatic descriptions from romance novels—of lovers taste-testing heaven, of celestial bells ringing. He had always dismissed them as absurd hyperbole. Now, he recognized their absolute accuracy. How could something so magnificent exist? Lost in the exquisite haze, Elwin forgot to draw air into his lungs. Sensing the Omega growing limp and breathless beneath him, Leon reluctantly pulled back, though his lips lingered mere millimeters away.

“Sir Elwin,” he breathed.

The alpha was just as undone. His eyes burned with a dark, stubborn fire as his gaze swept over Elwin’s slick, swollen lips. The intense, possessive scrutiny made Elwin’s remaining senses dissolve like a sugar cube dropped into steaming tea. He drifted, entirely untethered.

“Mr. Leon…” Elwin whispered, his voice a soft, thready sigh. That was wonderful… Can we do it again?

Had he possessed a shred of strength, he might have voiced that mortifying plea. But Elwin had crossed too many thresholds today. His energy spent, his consciousness simply surrendered to the void. His eyes fluttered shut, and a soft, rhythmic breath parted his damp, flushed lips.

“…Sir Elwin?”

“Sir Elwin? Elwin? Haah… I swear, you are the death of me.”

Leon tapped his soft cheek, whispering his name once more, but Elwin was gone, submerged in a dreamless sleep, his mouth twitching in a tiny, restless movement. Letting out a long, defeated sigh, Leon spent a long time gently stroking Elwin’s cheek, his expression a complicated tapestry of affection and sweet agony. Finally, unable to contain himself, he released a low, helpless laugh. The quiet night deepened around one who slept in perfect peace, and another who lay in exquisite, beautiful torment.

***