Chapter 38

“……”

Lino had fully intended to answer honestly, but the sheer absurdity of the question struck him dumb. Why… is he asking me this? Unable to decipher the motive, he couldn’t formulate an answer. Grondil’s blue-grey eyes remained locked onto Lino’s, overtly searching his soul for the truth.

“Well… I am a man, after all…? Haha.”

“How many?”

“A-about three?”

“How many times?”

“T-ten times… I think?”

Bombarded with demands for exact headcounts and frequencies, Lino’s attempt to laugh it off completely collapsed, his face twisting into a mask of pure distress.

“Three? Ten times? Why are you asking me when you’re the one who knows?”

“……”

Grondil’s expression instantly soured at Lino’s chaotic, nonsensical deflection. The pleasant smile that had graced his lips vanished entirely, and the probing blue-grey eyes darkened into a flat, ominous ash.

“Why are you even curious about that, Your Highness?” Lino pressed, desperately trying to turn the tables.

“Why do you think? I am trying to determine just how loose you are.”

“Gah!”

Grondil’s hand shot out, plunging between Lino’s thighs to aggressively snatch his crotch. The sudden, violent ambush ripped a bizarre shriek from Lino’s throat as his upper body pitched forward.

“Y-Your Highness! Please, let go—!”

“This is also a punishment, so accept it gracefully.”

“Punishment…”

At the invocation of that dreaded word, all the strength drained from the hands desperately trying to pry Grondil’s arm away. How could he possibly refuse a punishment?

Maybe he’ll just handle the front roughly and be done with it. A tiny, pathetic sliver of hope tentatively raised its head.

“The past is the past, so it cannot be helped. But moving forward, you had best keep this tightly secured,” Grondil growled.

“…Yes.”

“While you serve as my escort knight, do not even entertain the thought of showing this to anyone else. Ah, and touching yourself is also strictly forbidden.”

“That is a bit…”

“I told you, this is a punishment.”

“……”

What argument can I possibly make against a punishment? Lino clamped his lips shut and managed a stiff nod. He was terrified that if he opened his mouth to speak, a highly inappropriate moan would spill out instead. The hand that had so brutally seized his crotch was now—as if apologizing for the rough handling—slowly and sensuously massaging the sensitive flesh through his trousers.

“Ngh… ah…”

The sensation was far more intense precisely because he was wearing the tight-fitting Holy Knights’ uniform rather than loose loungewear. Even though Grondil was only manipulating the swelling bulge between his thighs, the restrictive layers of fabric seemed to violently amplify the pleasure, spreading the heat outward to his entire body.

“Ah, but you are permitted to do it in front of me.”

Lino shot Grondil a withering glare, his spring-green eyes burning with the unspoken vow: Do you honestly think I would ever do such a thing?

The hand kneading Lino’s erection through the fabric slid upward, suddenly plunging inside. In one smooth motion, Grondil bypassed the waistband and slipped directly into his briefs.

Perhaps due to the complete lack of pubic hair, the area where the member joined the lower abdomen was incredibly smooth and soft. The mere friction of a few knuckles brushing against the skin instantly conjured the vivid memory of Lino from a few days prior—spread wide open beneath him, his flushed, trembling flesh fully exposed without a shred of concealment.

A heavy heat coiled in Grondil’s lower abdomen, and the thick, long member constrained beneath his trousers rapidly expanded. The sheer, overwhelming presence of the erection, feeling as though it might tear through the fabric at any moment, caused Lino to hold his breath in sheer terror.

“Y-you aren’t planning to administer the punishment… right here… are you?” Lino rasped, held hostage by the hand on his own member while simultaneously threatened by the monstrous swelling of Grondil’s.

“How could I possibly punish you in a space this cramped? I don’t know about you, Sir Cliff, but I despise low ceilings.”

Hearing that the limousine was deemed an unsuitable venue, Lino’s terror-stricken expression relaxed marginally. Regardless of what happened later, he was safe from being breached in the back of a moving vehicle.

True to his word, Grondil escalated no further than aggressively kneading Lino’s member. Or rather, it was more accurate to say he couldn’t.

The exact moment he moved to yank Lino’s trousers down, the chauffeur called to announce their arrival. Had the call come even a minute later, a chaotic punishment would undoubtedly have commenced in the back seat.

Their destination was an unfamiliar forest on the outskirts of the city. Following a narrow, winding path, a striking two-story building with a vintage, red triangular roof soon came into view. Lino wondered where they were, until he read the wooden sign erected out front: a restaurant named ‘Is’.

Why are we at a restaurant? He just finished eating.

Lino absently rubbed his flat stomach, looking around to see if their true destination lay elsewhere in the vicinity. However, aside from the red-roofed building, there were no other shops or residences in sight. He didn’t know exactly where they were, but given the length of the drive, they were clearly quite a distance from the capital.

“Let us go.”

Moving with the confident stride of a regular patron, Grondil headed straight for the restaurant. Lino mentally reviewed the breakfast Grondil had consumed. For a man of his colossal size, the portion had been surprisingly small, making it entirely plausible that he was hungry again. Had Lino shared meals with Grondil regularly, he would have known his average intake, but since this morning was their first shared meal, he had no idea that the Duke’s breakfast had been entirely standard.

Well, I’m pretty hungry myself. Trailing behind Grondil, Lino rubbed his hollow stomach. Because the breakfast had been so excruciatingly uncomfortable, he hadn’t tasted a thing and had barely managed to swallow more than a few bites of greens and fish. He had mostly just chugged water to soothe his bone-dry mouth.

By the time Lino snapped out of his thoughts, Grondil had already reached the restaurant doors. Instantly, the fundamental duty of an escort knight flashed through Lino’s mind. From the very moment they exited the limousine, he was supposed to be glued to Grondil’s side, actively providing security. Originally, he was meant to share this duty with Yuneria, but the youth hadn’t been seen since the underground auction incident, and neither Grondil nor Enoch had offered any explanation for his absence.

Therefore, the monumental responsibility of guarding a Duke of the Empire rested solely on Lino’s shoulders.

“I-I will open it!”

Lino scrambled to Grondil’s side, intercepting the door handle just before the Duke could grasp it. Grondil let out a soft chuckle and stepped back.

“Why the sudden dedication to your duties?”

“Because… I am charged with Your Highness’s protection…?”

“You need not bother. There is no one in this world capable of doing anything to me.”

Then why did you make such a massive fuss about hiring escort knights in the first place? The question burned in Lino’s throat, but he swallowed it down instantly, sweeping his gaze rapidly across the restaurant’s interior instead.

…Is there no one here?

The interior was just as cozy as the exterior suggested. The first floor held a mere five tables, all completely empty. Confirming the absence of patrons, Lino boldly strode toward the open kitchen. The kitchen was equally deserted and utterly silent. The cooking utensils and ingredients were prepped, but there was no chef in sight.

Grondil watched Lino frantically sweep the area before casually taking a seat at a nearby table. Meanwhile, Lino practically flew up the wooden stairs to the second floor, taking them three at a time, only to rush back down moments later. The second floor was a dead end; an antique wooden door blocked the top of the stairs. Living quarters? Or a storage room? No, I saw the storage room down here. It must be a break room or the owner’s residence. Having even pressed his ear to the door to confirm the lack of presence inside, Lino practically glided back down to the first floor to rejoin Grondil.