Gabriel enters their room. He slowly and swiftly makes it back. As he holds the steel doorknob, he feels a different kind of heat emanating from his chest. He slowly opens the door, and there he witnesses a sleeping Gianni with a bare top. Before he left, he knew he covered all of him. Surprisingly, Gianni moves a lot when sleeping.
He slowly approaches Gianni. He hears the slow and constant breathing that the peaceful sleeper makes for every step he makes. The room is quiet, and only Gianni’s breath is audible. As he gets even closer, he feels warmer. He continues, making his way to Gianni’s bedside.
“Gianni,” he clears his throat, “the prince wishes that you take your lunch.” But Gianni does not hear him. He repeats it a little bit louder, but the same result shows. He pats Gianni’s shoulder and tries to wake him up. But Gianni is a heavy sleeper, or so he thinks.
This time, he shakes Gianni. His sweat drips from his forehead to Gianni’s chest. He panics at the sight of his moistening sweat on the other's bareness. He gets his handkerchief and wipes the liquid slowly. The silk and cotton handkerchief absorbs all the fluid particles. But the more he wipes, the more sweat falls.
Wiping Gianni’s bare skin, the slumbering soul twitches. Now more liquid falls as well. Gabriel gently wipes the other. Feeling ticklish because of what Gabriel did, Gianni suddenly wakes up. He flicks Gabriel’s hands away, pushing them below his torso. Gabriel’s heart stirs with emotion as Gianni’s strong push makes his hands land somewhere. It makes Gabriel flinch and step back, colliding with the closet behind him.
What was that? Whatever it was, I must never repeat this farce. Gabriel’s mind dwindles on the hard stuff he collided with, but he tries to forget it. He knows it is something not meant to be touched by anyone except Gianni. His collision with the closet wakes Gianni up, though.
“Gabriel?” Gianni rubs his right eye. “What happened?”
“N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-nothing,” Gabriel tries to regain his calm.
“Why are you sweating pebbles?” Gianni yawns. “Did something happen while I was asleep?”
“The prince wants you to eat your lunch,” he replies. “There is also another thing he instructed, so follow me afterward.”
“The prince, huh? Is he mad at me?”
“Mad? Nothing of the sort. Regarding what happened, I bet he was even relieved to see Lady Adela storm off. Nothing of that was your fault. Accidents happen.”
Gianni is quiet, letting the conversation die without a reply. Silence resonates throughout the room, like a lingering scent that diffuses throughout. Their space is dead silent. Gabriel breaks the silence, approaching Gianni and giving him a new suit.
“Here,” Gabriel hands him the suit, “the prince wants you to eat lunch. Then, he also summons you to his side.”
Gianni stands up and realizes he is naked from head to toe. Gabriel’s gaze directs him to Gianni’s undergarments. His eyes move from the bottom to the top. He suddenly finds something poking a hole in the upper seam.
“Did you strip me, while I was asleep?” Gianni asks. “My suit must have smelled of tea,” he suddenly puts his right hand over his undergarment, covering something that the world should not see. Gabriel instantly blushes.
“W-w-w-w-w-well, you could have gotten sick or worse,” Gabriel defends his act. “Anyway, wear something quickly,” he throws Gianni’s suit. He turns and walks towards the window, distracting himself with the picturesque scenery from the tower. After quite a while, Gianni finishes wearing the suit.
After lunch, Gianni follows Gabriel outside the palace. Waiting for them is Prince Julien’s carriage. They enter the ride when the coachman strikes the reins.
“You have a lot of nerve making me wait,” the prince seems angry, but a sadistic smile remains.
“Your Highness, I…” Gianni is about to explain the events, but the prince prevents him by touching Gianni’s lips with his middle finger, even inserting its head inside Gianni’s mouth. His middle finger is wet with the latter’s saliva.
“No excuses, I intend to work you to the bone,” he surreptitiously and sadistically smiles, retracting his middle finger and licking its tip. Gianni blushes as he realizes that he indirectly kissed the prince.
He stays quiet for the duration of the trip. Like a concoction of fruits, his feelings mix with what the prince did. He feels embarrassed and intrigued but happy and excited about the trip.
Not long after, they arrive at the outer barracks of the Capital. They enter the structure. Inside the second prince, Prince Louis waits for Prince Julien. They stop past the entrance, receiving greetings from Louis.
“Lord Brother,” the second prince bows, “I waited for your arrival.”
“You should have started before me, Louis,” Julien laughs and shrugs the formality.
Cabin, Infirmary, Armory, Storage, the signages on top of the barracks’ doors. The entourage follows Prince Julien to the door with the sign, Administration. Gabriel opens the door, allowing Julien to enter. Gianni follows, along with the second prince and his attendants. Inside the room are military papers and documents cleanly stacked on drawers and cabinets. Gianni’s eyes follow the stack of reports and articles on the desk, which bears a sign with the name Julien S. Montmirail, Crown Prince of Gallia.
There are also things for body strengthening. Dumbbells and strengthening bars lay on the floor beside the desk. Attached to the walls are swords, shields, spears, and armor. All of them have the emblem of the royal family, the carnation rose.
A partition separates the offices from the administration office. Prince Louis enters the chamber.
Gabriel opens a closet to the left of the administration desk, beside the shield. Inside the cabinet, various outfits for different sports and occasions array themselves. He grabs a white outfit with a net-like mask.
“Gianni, come here,” the prince calls him as he sits on a chair. “Undress, me.”
“Wha-wha-what?” Gianni’s flustering face is a ripe red tomato. But then, he understands. He removes the prince’s shoes first. He slowly unties the laces and slowly pulls them away. He removes his socks and puts them inside each shoe, respectively. He places the pair neatly beside the closet. He removes the boutonnieres, medals, and decorations. Then, he unbuttons his uppers. “Please stand, your Highness.”
Prince Julien does what he instructs. Gianni begins unbuttoning the prince’s uppers. Eventually, he removes the outer garments. He does the tunic, next. When the tunic is undone, a thick muscular upper body greets him. Gianni’s eyes linger greatly on the perfect pecs and Adonis abs that the prince possesses.
“What are you looking at?” the prince smiles sadistically. “Looking at these?” he reaches for Gianni’s right hand and places it on his abs.
“I-i-i-i-i-it’s nothing, your Highness,” Gianni’s sweat drips like a raging waterfall. “Shall I continue?”
“Here you are, your Highness,” Gabriel interrupts the two as he shows them a fencing suit.
“Okay then, help me wear the set.”
Without further ado, the two butlers proceed with donning the outfit to the prince. Moments later, they finish the process. Gabriel then gets a rapier with a rose-shaped hilt. The prince finally gets ready. The second prince also wears the same outfits. Together, the two princes enter a room in the barracks intended for fencing.
When the instructor arrives, Gabriel gives the rapier to Prince Julien. Before heading off, Prince Julien whispers to Gianni’s ear, “Pray for my victory,” and leaves.
Their session then starts. The fast-paced fencing makes Gianni’s heartbeat fast. Prince Julien wins the first bout. The second bout is hard for him, as his opponent is an adept fencer. But with his footwork, speed, and accuracy, he decimates his foe.
The last bout is between the two princes. Prince Louis sees his brother as both an inspiration and a wall that he needs to surpass. It is his chance to climb the wall or at least lower its height.
Prince Louis starts great. With his determination, he is on his way to surpassing his brother. However, Prince Julien’s determination is even greater. He wants to show off his great fencing skill to Gianni who watches intently. The serene swordplay of the two bedazzles the audience as their speed and footwork are perfect.
The bout ends with Prince Louis losing his balance. Prince Julien immediately takes advantage of the situation and pins him to the ground. Applause fills the room, Gianni’s heart flutters, relieved to see Prince Julien’s victory. The two royals hold hands and bow. They return to the administration room.
“Splendid, your Highness,” Gianni bows at Prince Julien. “Your fencing skill is superb.”
“Praise me more,” Prince Julien caresses Gianni’s cheek. “Although, we do not have much time. Horseback riding is next.”
Gabriel and Gianni immediately undress the prince. Under the fencing suit, sweat makes the prince’s undergarments wet. They remove all his clothing except for his lower undergarment. Gabriel hands a towel to Gianni and instructs him to wipe the prince as he fetches the prince’s riding suit. Gianni’s heart wildly beats, as if he is on the fencing match. It gallops within the cavity of his chest. He starts wiping the prince’s sweat-soaked body.
He starts from his hair and face. When Gianni starts wiping, the prince’s excitement exponentially rises. He plots a scheme. Gianni eventually finishes wiping the prince’s face and proceeds to his neck and his chest. He feels the heat from his pectorals as he caresses the structure of the hard part. He gently wipes his chest. The prince guides Gianni’s hand, even removing the towel to make him caress the body part.
“Keep doing that,” the prince whispers. “You’re doing great.”
He recovers the towel and goes down to his abdomen. The prince starts pushing his body slowly towards Gianni, so slow his movements are not obvious. Gianni does not notice at first, but when he wipes between the prince’s legs, he notices something rubbing against his hair near his forehead. He looks up and the prince’s undergarments meet his face.
Gianni becomes as red as a strawberry. The prince shortly holds his head and pushes his hips. Gianni stumbles on his back. The prince makes a suggestive pose, as Gianni watches. His mind goes completely blank.“What is going on here?” Gabriel comes back into the partition. Quickly, the prince grabs the towel from Gianni and continues to wipe his own body. Gianni, meanwhile, just sits in front of him with his mind blank. He cannot fathom that the prince did what he just did. He stands up and acts as if nothing happened.
“Let me finish that, your Highness,” Gabriel puts the horseback outfit on a table and wipes the prince. “It looks like your lower undergarments are also wet, we should replace them, Your Highness.”“Yes, you should,” the prince concurs. “Gianni got them wet.”“What,” Gabriel turns to Gianni, “what were you doing while I was gone?”“Nothing,” the prince laughs.Gabriel gets a lower garment from the closet, where he took the fencing suit. The prince bids both butlers to leave the room. And they obey.“What were you doing while I was gone?” Gabriel asks bluntly. “And why were you stumbling on your back the moment I came back?”“I was just wiping his Highness,” Gianni whitely lies. “Nothing happened, honestly.”A knock from the partition then breaks the two’s conversation. The prince finishes wearing eq
After seeing the second prince, Gianni takes a quick peek at the dining hall. He looks for the prince he serves but to no avail. Thus, he heads to Prince Julien’s room.As he comes closer to the door, he notices some maids looking at him, whispering. He thinks something is strange, which is worth inquiring about. But he reserves it for another time and continues his way to the first prince’s room.Upon entering, his olfactory catches the scent of carnation wafting throughout the air. The fresh fragrance of the flower fumes in fickleness. It is a familiar scent to Gianni, perhaps too familiar.As he goes inside, no one is there. But he hears two people talking and splashes of water. He sees the prince’s messy bad and fixes it. He then goes to the source of the splashing sound.Behind the folding screen directly on the opposite corner of the prince’s bed is an open door where the sound is coming from. Gianni approaches the door and h
After eating lunch, the princes, and the princess along with their attendants return to the Grand Library. Beyond the center from the entrance is a space that has chess tables. It is on the opposite corner of the round table and is said to be the most comfortable part of the library according to the librarians.Upon arrival, they see Queen Sophia already waiting for them. She has her maids arrange all the chess tables with their pieces. The adviser and some scholars are also present.“Your Majesty,” all bows to the queen as they approach.“At ease,” she sits on the chess table nearest to them. “Camille, dear, let’s play, shall we?”“Me?” she turns to her brothers, the adviser, and the scholars but all shifted their focus elsewhere. “Fine.”The queen and the princess start their game. Meanwhile, Prince Louis approaches Prince Julien to ask him for one game. Julien agrees and the two p
The door to the prince’s room suddenly opens. The two who are in a seemingly awkward position on the bed pervades with aghast. It is Gabriel who carries a tray with a pitcher full of water and glasses. When he enters, he fails to notice the two on the prince’s bed, as the curtains that hang from its pillar keep the two from being seen from the door. Gabriel places the tray on the prince’s study table.Quickly, Gianni jumps out of bed and closes the buttons of his shirt. The prince, meanwhile, just pretends to be asleep.Gabriel knows something is going on. The loud silence of the room is strange. He checks the right side of the bed and sees Gianni in the act of buttoning his garments.“What are you doing?” Gabriel says as he approaches Gianni.“G-G-Gabriel,” Gianni quickly finishes, “two of my buttons got loose.”“Oh,” Gabriel has his doubts and sees the prince sleeping on his bed, &
Early in the morning, Gabriel, and Gianni packs for a three-day trip. The prince orders them to do so, saying it is a special occasion for the royal family. Gianni does not have any bags so he asks Gabriel if he can borrow one from him. But Gabriel has only one bag, so, he proposes to share the bag between the two of them.During packing, Gabriel is a minimalist. He only puts what he needs inside the bag. Gianni, meanwhile, puts voluminous stuff inside which already makes the bag full even without his clothes. Gabriel is taken aback by what Gianni places inside. There are fruits and even pickles. When he tells Gianni to pack only what he needs, Gianni laughs at the thought. He used to have so much luggage back when he was young because he has people carry it for him.Of course, Gianni belonged to the prestigious Saint-Amour family, he was born with a silver spoon, Gabriel thinks. However, Gabriel insists that he put only his clothes and things for hygiene. Gab
Shocked at what Louis declared, Camille insists that he lied, and he did bump their table. Julien slams the wall with his fist, ordering his sister to look at the tables.Louis explains what Julien demonstrates. The direction of the spill from their table is similar to the spill from the third table, which has its force originating from under the table. While the setup, which has been purposely bumped shows a different spillage direction. Even after hearing Louis’ explanation, Camille still insists that it is Gianni’s fault. She brands him a liar and clumsy.Annoyed and angered by her irrational sister, Julien slaps Camille definitively shutting her up. The slap comes as a great surprise to the young princess that she instantly feels humiliated. Her Lord Brother only argues with her, not once harmed her. But this time, she knows she went too far. Aghast storms the emotions of everyone present in the auberge. Camille storms off grabbing Ethan’s hand.
The carriage comes back for them as soon as it got dark. The coachman arrives to escort them back to the chateau. Gianni is about to stand and leave when Louis bids him wait for a while.“Can I trust you?” the prince suddenly asks. “Can I trust you, Gianni?”“Yes, Your Highness. You can trust me.” Gianni obeys the prince, attentively listening to every detail that is about to come out of his mouth.“I’m in love with Princess Ariane,” Louis outrightly confesses. “All of the poems and songs that I made are all dedicated to her.”Gianni’s shock is unmeasurable. He does not know what his reaction should be to what the prince tells him. Should he be happy? Should he tell the prince that the marriage is already arranged? Should he support him? A lot of questions furiously fill his mind.Louis begs him to keep his confession a secret. Gianni finds it in his heart to keep Louis’
Gabriel wakes to the sound of a knock from the door. He feels Gianni’s hand on his back and his foot on his. He stands up and wants to answer the door but realizes he is naked, and his extra bone is standing. He grabs his clothes from his closet and finally gets to the door.As he opens it, Princess Ariana appears giving him an early morning surprise. The princess is direct and expresses her interest. She has a favor for Gabriel and Gianni. Since Prince Julien orders Gabriel and Gianni to follow Ariana’s orders, he must follow what she is going to say.Princess Ariana tells Gabriel that she lost something at the city park, and it is very dear to her. The item has great sentimental value to the princess. Gabriel immediately promises to the princess that he is going to find it and return what the princess lost as soon as possible.“I lost my hairpin,” Ariana says. “It has magnolia flower designs.” Gabriel accepts the princess&rs