A Certain Winter’s Tale Chapter 2.13 - Winterfall

Noah let out a cry that resembled a moan through his clenched teeth. But the snow wolf, excited, just kept running forward and forward.

And so, Noah, led frantically by Snow, arrived at the private palace where his room was located. As if it knew how, Snow reached his room in a single bound and, as if it had been the plan all along, came to a dead stop right in front of his door.

Only then did Noah’s limbs go weak, and he tumbled to the floor with a thud.

“Huu, Snow. Pant, pant. You wolf… you’re really something else, you know?”

Noah lay sprawled in front of his door, barely catching his breath. Snow, excited, rested his chin on Noah’s chest and flopped down. His blue eyes, which were too pretty for a troublemaker and made it impossible to get angry, sparkled. He was at a loss for words at its attitude, which seemed to be nudging him for praise.

But just then, a low, clear, and pleasant baritone voice echoed in front of Noah’s room.

“Noah. If you lie there panting like that, you’ll give people the wrong idea.”

When he finally managed to lift his head, a large man, whose aura seemed a perfect, picturesque match for the snow wolf, was approaching. He was dressed in the comfortable clothes commonly worn around the castle, but his neat and beautiful features gave him an elegant and handsome air. A man who kept drawing one’s gaze.

“El.”

“Yes. Noah.”

A sunny smile spread across Elia’s exquisitely sculpted face.

Elia extended a large, neat hand, and Noah took it to get up from his spot. He had intended to glare at Snow, but he was instantly pulled into Elia’s embrace.

While it felt good, he also felt embarrassed, and Noah tensed up. But Elia simply buried his nose in the nape of Noah’s neck, took a deep breath, and let out a languid sigh. The warm breath on his nape tickled, and Noah shifted. Elia playfully kissed the skin and kept breathing on it.

“El! Hahaha, El? That tickles!”

El, too, let out a pleasant laugh, and giggled along with Noah. Snow also wagged his tail and spun around in circles. Watching them, El, still holding Noah, reached down behind him and stroked Snow’s head.

“Good boy.”

“Snow’s the one who dragged me here, you know?”

“I ordered him to bring you to me around this time.”

“Ah?”

Noah thought he had an idea of who the pretty but incredibly mischievous snow wolf took after, and looked up at the very culprit from within his arms.

The purple eyes that stared up at him met Elia’s gray ones. Before Noah could admire them any further, with a soft smack, Elia suddenly stole Noah’s lips.

Noah, startled, buried his face in Elia’s chest.

“Haha, we’ve already mixed tongues. What are you so shy about?”

“If you know I’m shy, then stop laughing.”

Suddenly, El’s laughter stopped. When the laughter that had been rumbling in his chest disappeared, Noah tilted his head and looked up at Elia again.

“El?”

Noah thought that El’s gray eyes had become noticeably gaunt. But they were soon covered by a bright, smiling-eyed expression. El slowly lowered his lips again. As he reverently and gently kissed Noah’s cheek and near his lips, Elia whispered as if to himself.

“I see. I was smiling.”

For some reason, that self-muttering made his heart ache, and Noah quietly accepted those lips. A calm and quiet kiss continued, like a ritual. But happiness and joy were more than sufficiently conveyed through those lips.

Letting out a small laugh, Noah finally hugged Elia back. Elia’s breath hitched for a moment. And then, thud, came the sound of something falling to the floor from Elia’s hand, which was wrapped around Noah’s waist.

As Noah tried to look down at the floor, Elia gently held his face and declared.

“Push me away if you don’t want this.”

“Suddenly, what… Uumm…”

An impassioned kiss followed the declaration, overwhelming Noah. He had let his guard down because of the gentle touch. The tongue that suddenly invaded his mouth surprised Noah with movements that were anything but considerate.

“Uungh…”

When Elia’s tongue finally slid inside and began to rub against the frenulum of Noah’s tongue, a low moan escaped along with wet sounds from between their lips. Noah’s breathing gradually became ragged.

Only then, as if disappointed, did Elia’s tongue withdraw from Noah’s mouth, lingering carefully on his lips before pulling away.

“Ugh, Elia.”

“I told you to push me away.”

“…”

Teary purple eyes and bright red lips from which ragged breaths escaped. It seemed dangerous to hold him any longer. Elia was desperately trying to suppress the feeling of his blood boiling and his lower abdomen tightening. However, at the words of Noah, who had just managed to catch his breath, Elia was once again astonished at his own arousal.

“…I didn’t dislike it.”

It was a shy confession, made without being able to properly meet his eyes. The sensual stimulation brought tears to Noah’s eyes. When a bewitching charm appeared on his white, bright face, a wave of emotion that suddenly washed over his heart stimulated Elia’s tear ducts. If I were to say I want to have you right now, would you be startled and run away?

“Noah.”

He finally pulled his lips away. But just then, Noah’s gaze was stolen by a soft creature pressing against his waist.

“Huh? Snow, what are you holding?”

He lowered his head, following Noah’s gaze. Elia was flabbergasted to find Snow holding the object he had dropped in his mouth and offering it to Noah.

“Haha, Snow. Is this for me?”

Snow, as if excited, made a rumbling sound like a horse snorting and rubbed his head against Noah’s hand. He was even more flabbergasted. That gift was a frostflower, which only grew under the Sovereign’s snowflower tree.

Toward Snow, who kept trying to rub against Noah, Elia spoke in a stern voice he had never used before.

“No.”

Snow turned his head toward Elia with his transparent, shining eyes.

“Noah is mine.”

As if disappointed, Snow even licked his lips and sat down with a plop. Snow, who was quite huge, perked up his ears at Noah’s waist. Noah, whose mood had instantly lifted, felt embarrassed about having kissed Elia, and for no reason, he started stroking Snow’s head.

Elia took Noah’s hand, which was stroking Snow as if he had fallen in love with him, into his own and hastily changed the subject.

“But why aren’t you pushing me away today?”

“Push you away?”

“You didn’t let me hug you in the garden.”

“Ah… There are a lot of eyes there. Johnny’s there too.”

Elia tilted his head. If one were to be precise, there were more people inside the private palace. The palace staff who came and went ceaselessly, managing the castle, the attendants the concubines had brought from their family homes, and the concubines themselves, who were too numerous to bother counting.

But only then did Elia realize. Noah’s room was in a rather secluded spot, and it was so quiet it could hardly be called a private palace.

“It’s quiet.”

“Yes. That’s why I like it.”

“Where did the palace staff go?”

“The palace staff?”

Noah naturally pulled Elia into his room. Johnny’s warning came to mind, but the so-called Sovereign had never once visited, and it seemed like he would never see him, so he thought it might be okay.

He didn’t know what kind of person this Sovereign was, but the rumors were all bad, and he really didn’t like the fact that he would one day take his first experience as if it had been saved for him. Rather than spend his first night with such a blunt and cold man, he’d rather… with the gentle Elia right in front of him…

“Ah, Noah?”

“Oh, huh?! Yes?”

He thought his irreverent thoughts about Elia had been discovered. Noah, startled, lifted his head. Elia’s flawlessly sculpted face was right in front of his eyes, filling his vision and making his chest ache.

Noah forced a smile to hide his blasphemous thoughts. Whether he knew of the feelings he had harbored for a moment or not, Elia smiled back brightly and asked.

“I asked where the palace staff who manage this room are.”

“Ah. The palace staff?”

“Yes.”

Once again, Elia’s arm naturally wrapped around Noah’s waist. Ever since their first kiss in the garden, Elia would cling to Noah whenever he had the chance, flustering him. He had tried to press their lips together without a care for Johnny being right next to them, so he had pushed him away in a hurry, but when they were alone, he would kiss him as if he had been waiting for it, so he was used to it by now.

Noah tried his best to ignore the soft lips that were once again busily moving over his cheek and answered.

“The palace staff… do you mean the people who helped me bathe when I first came here?”

“Bathe?”

Elia’s lips stopped dead. Noah, unable to guess the meaning of that action, continued to answer.

“Yes. Other than the women who were here when I first arrived, I haven’t really run into anyone. Maybe the Regent asked them to, knowing I was uncomfortable?”

Elia was once again bewildered.

“Let’s talk about the bath a little later. Then, when you didn’t go anywhere, what about the cleaning?”

“I did the cleaning.”

“Meals?”

“The meals were in front of my door when it was time!”

Elia realized that Noah had been effectively neglected. He resolved to question Michaelis about this.

But on the other hand, it was strange. In his world, a person of noble birth was never left alone for a single moment, and it was hard to find a place in the castle without palace staff. It was pitiful to think that Noah had been alone for over a month, but his attitude of not minding it much was very free-spirited. He truly was a curious child.

Noah always made Elia Winter feel several emotions at once. To the point where he even felt fear. Fear of whether those emotions would overflow, and whether he would die if he couldn’t control his overwhelming heart.

But more than that, there was one last thing he needed to confirm right now.

“The bath.”

“Yes?”

“The maids assisted you with your bath?”

Noah smiled shyly and nodded.

“I’m upset.”

“About what?”

“Those other women must have seen every inch of your naked body.”

“Huh.”

Noah let out a hollow breath and then hastily added.