Second Life, I’m Dying Soon Chapter 61

TW/CW: SEXUAL ASSAULT, DRUG ABUSE AHEAD

 

Chapter 61

 

On a night when rain poured relentlessly, thirty members of the Imperial Knight Order—fully armed and led by Captain Claude—assembled outside the castle gates.

On the surface, it appeared to be nothing more than a nighttime training exercise. In truth, they had gathered to search for the runaway Cecil Adrian.

Fortunately, the Imperial Court was still unaware of this fact. They were tasked with the grave responsibility of bringing him back safely before a major incident occurred.

Alexis began by considering where Cecil might have gone.

A boy who had spent most of his life raised in the pampered confines of the imperial palace was unlikely to have hidden away in rugged mountain foothills or rural areas. The capital remained the most likely destination; they needed to focus their search on the bustling city streets and residential districts.

Standing at the head of the formation, Alexis called out to the knights ahead of him.

“Our objective is to determine Cecil’s whereabouts before sunrise. The moment he is found, report directly to me.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

With a resounding reply, the sound of hooves began to shake the earth. With the elite knights moving, finding Cecil was clearly only a matter of time.

Not long after, Claude—who had ridden ahead as part of the advance group—returned with grim news.

“Your Highness, there is something you must see.”

He presented a healthy horse and a bundle of jewels.

“This is a horse managed by the imperial palace.”

“Yes. The mark on its ear confirms it. And these jewels as well…”

The gemstones had been dismantled so thoroughly it was impossible to tell whether they had once been a necklace or bracelet, but every piece was of the highest quality, gleaming with a clear, unclouded brilliance.

Alexis’s eyes narrowed coldly at the sight.

“Where were these found?”

“They were in the possession of bandits hiding in the mountains. We’ve captured them. You may interrogate them yourself.”

“Bring them here.”

At Claude’s command, the knights dragged the captured bandits before Alexis.

The bandits, who had been acting as if they feared nothing in the world, were utterly cowed before the knights and the Crown Prince, their limbs trembling.

The one presumed to be their leader dropped to his knees in the mud.

“P-please spare me! I beg you—just let me live!”

“I’ll decide that after I hear your answers. Who did you steal these from?”

“A young man! He was—he was young, and very pretty!”

“Did he have dark brown hair and green eyes?”

“Yes! Yes, absolutely!”

Alexis let out a quiet breath. That confirmed it—the bandits’ target had been Cecil.

“…What did you do to him?”

“We took his belongings and let him go! Truly! He looked like the son of a rich household—we didn’t lay a hand on him!”

At least they hadn’t harmed him. Yet imagining Cecil stripped of everything, wandering on foot, only made Alexis’s unease deepen.

“Which direction did he go?”

“I—I don’t know exactly. Just that he headed west…”

“Toward the Central District.”

Alexis exchanged a glance with Claude. Claude immediately relayed new orders, summoning all dispersed search parties toward the heart of the capital.

“What shall we do with them, Your Highness?”

“Bind them securely so they cannot escape. Their punishment will be decided after we find Cecil.”

There was no time to concern himself with the bandits’ punishment. Alexis left only those words behind, gripping his reins tightly. Then, with a powerful command, the horse carrying the Crown Prince sped swiftly along the winding forest path.

The heavy rain still poured down from the sky. With even Cecil’s safety unguaranteed, compounded by the treacherous weather, Alexis found himself increasingly consumed by unease.

 

***

 

Cecil gasped for breath.

That filthy, disgusting pig—being forced to endure the marquis’s touch without being able to resist made him feel as though he might black out from rage.

“Untie me—now!”

Unable to contain his fury, he struggled once more, but the strange rope wrapped tightly around his body only tightened its grip the more he moved.

“Red truly does complement fair skin best, doesn’t it? Just as I expected. I knew you’d take it well.”

Marquis Valeri said with satisfaction. He licked his lips, eyes glinting with something grotesque.

Binding someone with ropes was one of the marquis’s favored pastimes. Watching them resist, only to gradually break once stripped of freedom, brought him immense pleasure.

The Cecil bound before him looked, at first glance, like a work of art.

The excitement flooding Valeri’s mind was incomparable to anything he felt with common bed-slaves or casual playthings.

Perhaps it was because of Cecil’s high status.

The mere thought of having Cecil Adrian tied to his bed, completely under his control, made Valeri’s lower body ache with swelling desire.

Marquis Valeri reached out, slowly stroking from Cecil’s cheek down his neck.

Cecil recoiled in horror at the touch, heavy with sexual implication, shaking his head violently. But no matter how much he struggled, his tightly bound limbs couldn’t free him from his grasp.

“I’ll kill you. I swear—I’ll kill you!”

“I assure you, Lord Cecil, you won’t.”

“Do you dare think you can touch royalty and walk away unscathed?”

“Yes. Because I intend to tame you thoroughly—down to the bone. I promise, I’ll make you someone who can’t live without me.”

The Marquis Valeri laughed confidently, bending his waist to the side.

He brought over a beautifully crafted incense burner and waved his hand. White smoke drifted slowly toward Cecil. It was the very incense that had been making his head spin since earlier.

“Take a deep breath. This is a medicine I acquired with great difficulty. You can drink it directly or simply inhale it like this. It has an extraordinary effect at relaxing the body. Moreover, its addictive properties are so potent that after just one day, you’ll crave it again.”

“Is this… a drug?”

“Please refrain from such crude terminology.”

Marquis Valeri laughed softly.

As the smoke thickened, the eyes of the bed-slaves lying on the bed alongside him glazed over. They were clearly already addicted to this scent.

“Mmn… Master, love me too… Kiss me…”

“My hole—it aches… ahh, please, touch me…”

The bed slaves all gaped their mouths wide, their genitals standing erect as they stretched their arms toward Marquis Valeri. They were clamoring to be touched first.

“You adorable things. Be patient—don’t rush in without knowing your place.”

When Valeri grasped one slave’s arousal roughly, the young man cried out shamelessly.

The disgusting sight made Cecil want to vomit. Unable to bear it, he shut his eyes tight.

The problem was, even with his eyes closed, he couldn’t block the smoke flowing into his nose. Feeling his strength drain away against his will, Cecil bit down hard on his tongue.

 

Meanwhile, the search parties entering the Central District began questioning every corner. It was late, and few people remained on the streets.

But that didn’t mean they could just sit idle. The knights entered every shop still open late, describing Cecil’s appearance and questioning people about his whereabouts.

Fortunately, Cecil had such a distinctive appearance that quite a few people remembered him.

After some time, the knights brought back fresh reports and reported to the Crown Prince.

“Several people recall seeing Lord Cecil.”

“They saw him sheltering from the rain in front of a fruit stall.”

“An innkeeper said he asked to stay the night without any money. He was soaked through—pitiful, really…”

As the reports continued, none of the knights dared meet Alexis’s eyes. His expression grew darker with every word.

“So he wandered the streets for over six hours?”

“Yes. We’re searching all nearby inns and taverns. We’ll report immediately if new information arises.”

Alexis wiped his rain-soaked face with his palm.

Perhaps it was the weather—but he couldn’t quell his growing dread. Cecil wasn’t a child. He was a grown man. And yet—

“Your Highness! An important lead!”

Several knights rushed over.

“Someone saw Lord Cecil get into a carriage—a very luxurious four-horse carriage!”

“Who? Which house?”

“…Unfortunately, the witness was a vagrant and couldn’t identify the crest.”

Still, it was sufficiently meaningful information. A four-horse carriage would surely belong to a noble house, and the fact that Cecil was seen being driven away clearly meant the witness knew he was of Royal blood.

“Captain Vandell, assemble the knights immediately. Search every noble estate in the vicinity.”

“Yes!”

Alexis mounted his horse and joined the search himself. While it was a relief that Cecil had found shelter, it brought no true reassurance.

He needed to see Cecil safe—with his own eyes.