DHMM 30

Chapter 30

“An, an aphrodisiac?”

“I’ve heard that when the drug starts taking effect, you briefly lose consciousness, and after waking up, your body begins to heat up.”

“Then what about the antidote……?”

“There is no way to get rid of it except by releasing the heat from your body.”

Roy’s pupils shook greatly.

Vitor clicked his tongue softly as he watched Roy’s flushed face and the way she kept moving her lips restlessly.

“Fortunately, it isn’t something that will put your life in danger, but it will be quite uncomfortable while the effects last. I should have warned you not to accept drinks from just anyone. I shouldn’t have left you alone……”

“No. It was my own carelessness.”

Roy shook her head at the self-blame hidden in his cold voice.

“How are you feeling now?”

“I’m better than before. But…… how long does the effect last?”

“It depends on the person. It can last half a day at the shortest, or even a week at the longest.”

“A week?”

Her breath caught.

Then do I have to live like this, with my senses this sensitive, until then?

She could barely even stand properly.

Even if her life was not in danger, the situation was extremely troublesome.

And the only way to get rid of it was to release the heat.

Was he telling her to deal with it herself?

She had never done anything like that before, and she could not possibly show such an embarrassing side of herself in front of Vitor.

But she certainly could not return to the cabin like this, either.

She had to return in a normal condition before Harper woke up……

After thinking with a complicated expression, Roy finally spoke quietly.

“Um, first…… if there is an empty room, could you take me there?”

Vitor’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“What are you planning to do?”

“……”

Why are you asking when you already know……?

Roy’s face turned red as she looked away.

As the heat gradually moved downward, her knees instinctively pressed together.

Even now, Vitor could not decide whether he should praise her for trying to think rationally or find it strange that she had not asked him to take her to her girlfriend.

Well, if Roy had gone out pretending to be a man’s lover and returned in this condition, even a very understanding girlfriend would probably become angry.

Still, Vitor did not feel comfortable leaving Roy alone in an empty room.

This was clearly the first time she had been exposed to a drug like this.

What if some kind of side effect happened?

“Should I help you?”

That was why Vitor swallowed briefly before making the offer.

“W-what?”

As expected, Roy looked extremely surprised.

She opened her eyes wide before hurriedly looking away.

It seemed she understood what he meant.

“I can at least help you with a kiss. When the drug is strong, even that much stimulation should be fairly effective.”

“A, a kiss……”

Roy repeated his words hesitantly.

“Then what did you think I meant?”

“N-no. It’s just that you said it in such a…… strange way……”

Roy’s face became noticeably red.

The moment Vitor saw her like that, his throat moved heavily.

Because Roy had kept licking or biting her lips, they looked even redder and more moist than usual.

Naturally, the feeling of the kiss that had once brushed over those lips came back to him.

The memory he had tried so hard to forget.

The memory of the day he had felt desire for a man for the first time.

What had gotten into me that day? Had I been holding it in for too long?

But Vitor was not normally someone who was controlled by his desires.

Even when physical desire suddenly appeared, he was usually able to ignore it without much thought.

But that day had been different.

He had become so absorbed that simply saying he felt no disgust could not explain it.

Even the fact that Roy was a man had become blurred in his mind, and he had almost crossed the line.

His first kiss had been so intense that his lips had rubbed against hers until they covered his entire thumb’s width, despite his promise to protect her first kiss.

It had been fortunate that the young Marchioness had interrupted them.

If she had not appeared, Vitor would have regretted what happened that day for a very long time.

Even now, he could hardly understand the fact that he had felt desire for a man.

Then he suddenly remembered something Roy had asked him.

“D-did you perhaps like men originally?”

At the time, Vitor had confidently answered that he was heterosexual.

That was still true.

Just imagining himself being close to other men made him uncomfortable.

The only exception was Roy.

Why?

Why?

Because Roy smelled nice.

She was prettier and more delicate-looking than most women, her skin was soft, and her personality was cute.

And also……

……I’m crazy.

No matter how many times he asked himself, he always ended up back at the same place.

He was only repeating the reasons he already knew. He could not find the real reason.

He almost understood it, but he could never find the answer.

In the end, Vitor forced himself to simplify the matter, deciding it was not something worth thinking so deeply about in the first place.

I guess I’m healthier than I thought, if I can react to men too.

Even after he changed the kiss to one where he covered his lips with his palm, seeing those clear violet eyes still sometimes reminded him of that moment.

But he pretended not to notice.

Sometimes he wondered how far things would have gone if the young Marchioness had not appeared that day.

But he deliberately ignored that thought.

When he had undressed Roy in the dressing room to button her clothes back up, his mind had been filled with improper thoughts about how soft and fragrant her bare skin might be.

But he had pretended to be calm.

……And yet, here I am.

Since he had thought about all those things before, it was only natural that he now wondered whether this offer was truly for Roy’s sake.

But he should look at it simply.

Roy was in a difficult situation.

And Vitor could help her.

That was all.

“I know you’re conservative about these things, Roy, but it’s nothing unusual. Especially between men.”

Seeing Roy hesitate, Vitor spoke as calmly as possible.

“When men go on long voyages, they have almost no chance to meet women. So sometimes the men help each other satisfy their desires as a kind of joke.”

In reality, Vitor himself felt disgust toward such things, but he spoke as if it were nothing unusual.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, think of it as a medical treatment. It should be more effective if someone else helps you rather than doing it alone.”

In truth, unless they were actually sleeping together, the situation was similar.

But Vitor carefully kept the truth hidden behind his tongue.

“Is it really impossible?”

Roy was still hesitating, only biting her lips tightly.

Vitor knew very well what effect this drug had.

The fact that Roy was still able to keep her reason and not throw herself at the person in front of her showed how much self-control she had.

She had been looking up at his face and swallowing nervously for a while, yet she was doing a good job pretending to be fine.

“Can’t you say anything?”

Vitor gently urged her.

Sometimes there were moments like this.

Moments when you suddenly realized that, no matter how the scene unfolded, something was bound to happen someday anyway.

That was exactly how Vitor felt now.

Even though he shook his head, telling himself that he should not do this, the opportunity had returned to him as if it were an unavoidable path.

Perhaps it was because, deep inside his unconscious mind, Vitor had been holding an improper curiosity about Roy.

As long as he did not completely cut ties with Roy, a similar situation would eventually happen again.

If that was the case, it would be better to end it properly now.

If all these feelings were nothing more than curiosity caused by never having tried it once, then he could simply do it once and throw away the curiosity afterward.

Vitor did not want to be trapped in such impure thoughts about Roy anymore.

He felt a little disgusted with himself for making excuses to desire the gamekeeper standing before him, but he did not want to stop.

This time, Roy was too beautifully flushed to pretend not to notice.

And, deep down, Vitor had endured for far too long.

Vitor spoke in a low voice filled with determination.

“Then I’ll take it slowly. If you don’t like it, turn your head away.”

Roy’s throat visibly moved as she swallowed.

Vitor approached slowly enough for Roy to avoid him if she wanted to.

It was his final consideration to make sure he did not force her.

But even then, Roy did not turn her head away.

In the brief moment their eyes met, Vitor understood.

Roy would not run away.

Whatever he did tonight, she would not push him away.

There was fear in her violet eyes, but along with it was an equal amount of anticipation.

When they were close enough for their breaths to touch—

Roy carefully parted her lips and took a short breath.

Vitor could not hold himself back for that brief moment.

He covered her lips with his own.