A Certain Winter’s Tale Chapter 2.14 - Winterfall

“Ah, no. The Regent was fine since he’s a man. But showing my body to… to women is just shameful, not something to be so upset about…”

“What?”

“Huh?”

At Noah’s words, Elia’s eyebrows suddenly skewed crookedly. In Elia’s mind, the image of Michaelis threatening to snatch the gift for himself if he wasn’t going to show interest in it immediately surfaced.

“Again.”

“Showing my body to women…”

“Before that.”

“The Regent was fine since he’s a man…”

As the word ‘Regent’ flowed from Noah’s lips, Elia’s eyebrows knitted even tighter. Seeing those brows rise into a sharp peak like a mountain, Noah’s voice trailed off.

“The Regent, you mean Mika?”

“Yes. He said his name was Michaelis Eve.”

“Haaah. Don’t tell me he was serious.”

Elia stared down at Noah with a face that screamed of rising irritation. Did I make some kind of mistake? He might be about to scold Noah, just like Johnny, thinking that the Regent would be angry at Noah for having sexual contact in the castle without any caution. While Noah was tensing up like that…

Elia, who had been staring at him intently, as if he had made a decision, suddenly reached out and began to undo Noah’s clothes.

Noah was so startled that he frantically grabbed his hands.

“E-Elia! S-s-s-suddenly…!”

Elia shushed the terrified Noah to calm him down. And then, he said something else that would make Noah jump out of his skin, without changing his expression one bit.

“Take it off, Noah.”

“What? Why all of a sudden? El, Elia!”

Noah’s white shoulders began to be exposed, but Elia, as if he had made up his mind, didn’t stop his hands.

“I’m going to see too.”

Noah’s pale face flushed a peachy color. The sight was so luscious and appetizing that Elia secretly swallowed. Noah could only clutch at the hem of his clothes, held in Elia’s grasp, to keep them from sliding down.

“El… please don’t do this.”

“When you say that, it makes me want to do it more.”

“Ah…”

Noah squeezed his eyes shut. What on earth was with this castle, that so many people kept seeing Noah’s naked body? Even in the Red House, where he had been cared for by women, such a thing was rare, so Noah was just ashamed and bewildered. But if it was Elia…

“Is it not allowed?”

“Ngh.”

“Haaah, Noah…”

Elia carefully placed a kiss on his half-exposed white shoulder. Elia’s laugh touched the soft skin where goosebumps had risen from the cool air. Noah flinched and whispered.

“It’s not that it’s not allowed, but, Elia…, I have something to say.”

“Something to say?”

Smooch, smooch. The kisses that had moved to Noah’s nape grew slightly more urgent. Inhaling the scent that wafted from that soft skin, Elia slowly pulled down Noah’s clothes. Noah, gradually releasing his grip on the clothes that Elia was trying to take away, confessed.

“You might get in trouble for this, El.”

Elia didn’t answer. His gaze roamed over Noah’s white chest, over the shyly placed, flower-pink buds. And then, his eyes fixed on the small petal-shaped pattern on his white chest.

Elia, who had been observing the pattern with a slight tilt of his head, finally let out a faint smile. Then he immediately brought his lips to the petal and sucked on it deeply.

“Why is that?”

“Heut.”

It was the first time in his life he had experienced such a touch, one that sucked on his tender flesh strongly and sensually. The new stimulation was so vivid that Noah let out a small moan.

The sight of him moaning freely was heart-stoppingly lovely. Elia covered the pattern with saliva and rubbed it with his tongue as he asked in a low voice.

“Who made this pattern?”

“Made it?”

“Who left a mark on this beautiful body?”

“Ngh… I’ve had it since I was born… Aah, huuh…”

Noah’s white chest was wet with Elia’s saliva and was completely flushed with heat. The skin, flushed pink with blood, spurred on Elia’s lust.

“Noah. There’s something I want to do with you.”

“Something you want to do?”

“Yes.”

Elia’s large hand brushed against Noah’s bare lower back. And then, it slipped inside his pants and gently squeezed his buttocks.

“Ngh!”

At the unexpectedly fast pace, Noah flinched in surprise and pushed Elia away.

At that, Elia became crestfallen, like a child who had been scolded. The man, so large that Noah had to crane his neck just to see his face, touched Noah with a dejected look. Was it because of his delicate, glass-like features? His face looked incredibly pitiful and sad.

“No?”

“Ah, it’s not that it’s not allowed…”

Elia’s gaze was pleading, as if urging Noah on. It was a beauty so piercing it was bad for the heart. Noah finally bit his lip, hesitated, and then said with a sigh.

“Because you might get in trouble…”

“By whom?”

When Elia tilted his head again, showing his confusion, Noah smiled bitterly.

Michaelis had brought Noah to the castle for a different purpose. He had temporarily forgotten that fact since he started sharing his heart with Elia, but Johnny’s advice had reminded him.

In truth, he didn’t care what happened to his own situation, but Noah thought he couldn’t let Elia get in trouble with his superiors for fooling around with him.

“El, you know where this is.”

“Yes. This is the private palace.”

“Then you must know the reason I’m here, right?”

A sadness tinged Noah’s gaze. The watery purple eyes were staring up at Elia. From those eyes, which also looked desperate, Elia intuited that Noah’s feelings were no different from his own.

A picturesque smile appeared on Elia’s lips. For Noah, it was a confession he had finally managed to make after much worry, but Elia, as if he intended to finish what he had started, grabbed Noah’s pants and tried to pull them down further.

“E-Elia!”

“So what if it’s the private palace?”

It was absurd. Did one have to be that bold to take care of a fearsome creature like a snow wolf? Noah glanced at Snow, who was lying in a corner of the room, watching the two’s love affair with his blue eyes. That mischievous but clever wolf, too, seemed as carefree as Elia. He was so relaxed he was even letting out a big yawn, looking peaceful.

Just then, the belt reached the end of his hips. If Elia pulled it down just a little more, Noah would be completely naked. So he frantically grabbed Elia’s hands.

“El!”

A low, husky voice flowed from between Elia’s lips.

“Noah. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever wanted to spend the night with someone.”

Noah’s face, which had been flushed with heat and tinged with red, turned an even deeper shade of crimson. The strength in his hands, which had been trying to push Elia away, slowly drained.

And Elia did not miss that moment.

“I…, want to spend the night with you.”

“…”

“Do you not want to?”

While Noah hesitated, Elia waited patiently. He only urged him on subtly, gently stroking Noah’s bare waistline with his thumb as if he were anxious.

At the end of that dignified wait, the strength in Noah’s hands, which had been hesitating to push his away, gradually faded. It was a gesture of consent.

Elia smiled brightly and planted a series of soft kisses on Noah’s cheek.

“Heut, ugh… You might get in big trouble, El.”

“Who’s going to scold me?”

“The master of the private palace.”

Noah’s feelings seemed quite complicated. He began to gasp for breath, which was becoming increasingly ragged, and his eyes started to well up with tears. As soon as he saw that, the lust that lay in the deep abyss of his heart boiled over all at once. Now, Elia had no intention of stopping his desire for Noah, even if he were to be punished not by the master of the private palace, but by the heavens themselves.

“I don’t care.”

“You could get into real trouble.”

“He won’t be able to scold me.”

He had thought he should stop Elia from showing such groundless confidence. But every time Elia caressed Noah’s skin with his lips, that thought gradually melted away like snow, and a sensual feeling spread like spring.