Second Life, I’m Dying Soon Chapter 80

Chapter 80

 

Cecil’s expression noticeably stiffened. Alexis didn’t miss the opportunity and pressed him again.

 

“I’m certain you know the future.”

 

“That’s a ridiculous assumption.”

 

“Then how do you explain this?”

 

“There’s nothing to explain. It’s all coincidence.”

 

Cecil covered his face and muttered under his breath.

 

He knew what his expression must look like right now. He didn’t want Alexis to see it—not even a little. If he did, everything would be obvious at once.

 

Alexis looked down at him for a moment, then slowly pulled Cecil’s wrists down.

 

Even with bare skin touching bare skin, there was no trace of the Goddess Gaia’s energy. Alexis didn’t understand it any more than Cecil did.

 

“It can’t be a coincidence.”

 

“Do you think I possess some kind of divine power like Yuria?”

 

“If not, do you really think this is possible?”

 

“Then it would be more believable to say I came from the future.”

 

Cecil spoke as if he no longer cared how it sounded.

 

Dying once and coming back with knowledge of the future—would Alexis believe that? He’d be lucky if he wasn’t locked away as a madman.

 

Yet Alexis was still fiddling with Cecil’s wrists, rubbing at his skin as if searching for even the smallest clue. When it didn’t stop, Cecil let out a short huff.

 

“Do you really think I have divine power?”

 

“……”

 

“If you’re that determined to check, should I kiss you or something? What are you going to figure out by groping my hands?”

 

“You really have a talent for getting under people’s skin.”

 

I’m angry too. Why do you keep backing me into a corner? I’m already on edge worrying you’ll be ruined—and instead of helping, you’re provoking me.

 

Cecil shook Alexis’s hand off and roughly raked his fingers through his hair.

 

“Let’s stop here. This is a waste of time and energy. You’re busy too, aren’t you, Your Highness? Don’t squander your time on pointless fantasies—”

 

“Then let’s confirm it.”

 

“…What?”

 

“If you’re that confident, let’s confirm it.”

 

Cecil hadn’t expected Alexis to agree. He was momentarily at a loss for words, but quickly gathered himself and stood up from the desk.

 

He had no divine power. Which meant that no matter what they did, nothing special would happen.

 

If anything, it would be better to cut the suspicion off at the root. A kiss? What was the big deal?

 

Cecil straightened, almost defiantly. Standing directly before Alexis, he grabbed the back of his neck and pressed their lips together.

 

Dry lips met. Skin overlapped softly. Alexis didn’t move at all—he simply allowed Cecil to take him.

 

Once their lips touched, Cecil felt as though his heart might burst. No matter how many times he told himself it was nothing, the other man was Alexis—the one he loved. He emptied his thoughts as much as he could, trying not to be conscious of it.

 

Even so, despite the lack of intention, their lips gradually grew damp. As saliva seeped in, flesh softened further, and a shiver ran through him against his will.

 

With a faint smack, their wet lips parted. It felt as though an eternity had passed, but in reality, barely a minute had gone by.

 

“Hah…”

 

Cecil leaned back slightly and let out a short breath. It felt as though he’d completed some monumental task.

 

“There. Now you understand, right? I don’t have anything like divine power, so let’s stop—”

 

“Is that all?”

 

At the indifferent voice cutting him off, Cecil glanced up. Alexis, looking down at him intently, showed not a single breath out of place, as if nothing had just happened.

 

“What do you expect to learn from something so childish?”

 

Childish? Cecil was struck dumb. He’d done his best in his own way, yet Alexis dismissed it so easily that he didn’t know how to respond.

 

“At least make it convincing enough for me.”

 

Alexis suddenly grabbed the back of Cecil’s head. In an instant, those blue eyes were right in front of him.

 

“Brace yourself.”

 

With that, Alexis devoured Cecil’s lips. The moment they collided, a hot tongue forced its way into his mouth.

 

Unlike Cecil’s cautious, tentative kiss, Alexis’s was almost violent. Cecil learned, vividly, what it meant to feel like he was being consumed.

 

His tongue felt like it was being pulled out, his lips throbbed painfully. Each time Alexis slowly licked the inside of his mouth, numbness shot through Cecil’s fingers and toes, stealing his ability to think.

 

“Mmph—hn!”

 

Every time he tried to breathe, a muffled sound escaped instead. Cecil didn’t even have the presence of mind to realize how much he was reacting—he was too busy simply accepting Alexis.

 

Unable to endure it, Cecil stumbled backward.

 

Alexis, who Cecil had thought would pull away after a brief contact, instead wrapped an arm around his waist and pressed their bodies even closer. Just like their sealed lips, their bodies closed every remaining gap.

 

Backed up step by step, Cecil soon hit the desk.

 

Cecil sat down on the scattered pile of papers, and Alexis braced his hands on the desk surface. The kiss showed no sign of ending.

 

Cecil needed something to hold onto. Without realizing it, he reached up and wrapped his arms around Alexis’s neck. He felt the corner of Alexis’s mouth lift slightly where their lips were joined.

 

The deep kiss continued for a long time.

 

Tongues tangled and separated, saliva mixing freely. Their breaths grew so heated that even their cheeks felt damp with warmth.

 

Cecil forgot that he was supposed to push Alexis away and clung to him instead. Having obtained what he had long desired, he lost his reason entirely, his vision going hazy.

 

Alexis nudged his shoulder forward. Cecil, perched awkwardly on the desk, clung to him more desperately, afraid of falling backward.

 

That frantic movement brought Alexis a strange sense of satisfaction. Feeling Cecil rely on him filled him with an overwhelming sense of fulfillment, and he willingly became the support Cecil clung to.

 

The study was utterly silent, making the sounds of wet flesh being sucked all the more obscene. At some point, it felt as though they’d both forgotten the original purpose entirely.

 

Like Cecil, Alexis had become fully intoxicated by the kiss—but belatedly, he forced himself to focus and sharpen his senses.

 

There was nothing. At this point, he should have felt at least the faintest trace of energy—but there was nothing. This was simply hot physical contact. Exceptionally pleasurable contact.

 

Alexis lowered one hand and groped across the desk. When his fingers caught on a sheet Cecil hadn’t yet discarded, he briefly opened his eyes and glanced at it. He quietly slipped the paper—covered in meaningless scribbles—into his trouser pocket.

 

The confirmation was complete. There was no longer any justification to continue the kiss. And yet, Alexis couldn’t bring himself to pull away.

 

Just a little longer. Just for a moment. By the time he granted himself that small delay, he could feel both their lips swelling, thick and sore.

 

Only after a long while did Alexis finally pull back and straighten up. Cecil stood there with his eyes closed, panting for breath. His flushed cheeks and plump, swollen lips, slightly parted, looked indescribably obscene.

 

“You’re completely out of it. Was kissing me really that good?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Cecil answered weakly, barely aware of what he was saying.

 

Only then did he come to his senses and correct his slack posture. He saw Alexis biting down on his own swollen lips as well.

 

Blinking slowly, Cecil asked,

 

“Have you confirmed enough to be satisfied?”

 

“For now.”

 

Alexis let out a long breath and ran a hand through his hair. Strangely, he looked more troubled now than when he’d first entered the study to interrogate Cecil. Cecil wondered if he regretted what had just happened.

 

He accepted it. Neither of them could deny that they’d been swept up by the moment.

 

Wiping his damp lips, Cecil stepped down from the desk. Turning halfway around, he dropped heavily into a chair.

 

“Then you won’t bring this matter up again.”

 

“…Is that all?”

 

“Do you have anything else to say?”

 

Cecil asked back, sinking into the chair. His face was languid and damp, yet his tone was calm—like someone whose business was finished.

 

Alexis stared at him for a moment, then let out a hollow laugh.

 

“No. Nothing. I’ll let it go this time, as you asked.”

 

He left the study immediately and headed for Saint Palace. There, Alexis sought out Tristan at once and handed him a note along with a discreet request.

 

“These writings—I need them deciphered.”

 

“They look like doodles…”

 

“Look closely. There’s a pattern. It’s clearly a private cipher. If it’s difficult, find a specialist. And for now—handle it discreetly.”

 

“Understood. …However, Your Highness, have you perhaps caught a cold? Your face looks quite flushed.”

 

At that, Alexis placed the back of his hand against his cheek. The heat still hadn’t faded.

 

He had no room to comment on Cecil’s appearance. His own face had been just as fevered with excitement.

 

Alexis let out a long sigh and rubbed his face.

 

“Yes. It seems I’ve caught a rather severe one.”