VII: The coming corruption.

─ ── ─────

It was strange to finally understand what was happening and, somehow, he knew it all along. Rex Lapis reflected on his behavior after the "suggestion" of his lover who told him to test the limits with his husband, the adrenaline that caused him to submit the tender prince that night opened a new door for him another disgusting taste.

Ajax, as always, was one step ahead of him, he knew, or intuited, from before without the emperor himself knowing of that twisted fetish.

In hindsight, it was obvious, not only did he advance his nation because of the circumstances that pushed him to do so, Rex Lapis is someone superb by nature, so his satisfaction and pride grew with each victory, with each praise from his subjects, with each nation that approached to ask for help, his help , that feeling of superiority was his addiction, the fact that no one could refuse his demands brought out the worst in him. That's why he became violent so quickly with that boy, he had been so submissive from the beginning that it awakened something in himself that he had subconsciously suppressed, or maybe not so unconsciously since pretending to be kind, reliable, and perfect was part of being the emperor, his public image also depended on it.

The brown-haired, sharp-eyed emperor looked at the garden from his balcony, his hand was playing with a golden pipe and the smoke came out of his mouth with a long sigh, there was still some doubt in his mind, despite Ajax's words. He knew well that he hadn't incited him for anything, no, he wanted him to discover himself again and enjoy other pleasures that he wouldn't have with him.

He smiled, his lover was so attentive, he couldn't even think of doing the same with the redhead even though they were rude, sometimes even violent, during their amorous meetings, the other was more of a power fantasy. The man closed his eyes at the thought of his lover, it could be more strength than intelligence but he was someone admirable, someone who can proudly call his equal, he loves him, he loves him so much and at the same time he does not have that kind of desire for him, that was definitely a strange thought.

He put the pipe back in his mouth inhaling the smoke that relaxed the tension in his muscles, his eyes returned to look towards the garden as soon as he heard the song of a small bird with bluish plumage that perched for a few seconds on the railing, its Cor Lapis-colored eyes averted as soon as the golden glow of his husband's hair was visible, beautiful, yes, and irritating at the same time, a prince acting with such little self-awareness was certainly a problem, and his love of socializing with every servant he came across it seemed laughable coming from someone in his position but he had let it go considering the difference between their cultures.

Rex Lapis sighed, he wondered what he would do with that brat, maybe training him to act appropriately would be for the best but a certain part of him knew that the boy perfectly differentiated when he should look like royalty and when not, to a certain extent he was considering letting it be, forgetting everything and live together as little as possible as they had done so far, after all, he was somewhat afraid of letting himself be carried away by that newly discovered problematic taste.

The door in front of him opened and the hooded man showed his face with pride as he entered and closed behind him, eyes like the abyss and a wicked smile, it seems that the redhead came at the right time to give him the push he needs to fall into the void.

His mere presence made him reconsider, he could do whatever he wanted, even if he managed to displease his husband enough to want to divorce the treatment that both nations had and their stability would be affected, probably Celestia more than Liyue, it would even give rise to Snezhnaya's greedy eyes will fix on the weakened nation.

The emperor turned his gaze again as he heard the slow footsteps of his lover approaching, this time a hot exhalation left his lips, oh, the idea of still having everything in the palm of his hand had heated him.

He was about to get up when he saw his loyal servant, the one with black hair and short stature, walking around with a smile he had never seen as he headed, during his break time, through the same corridors that led to the library. The emperor frowned but was still not aware of what was strange, perhaps his mind was scattered due to the time he had been smoking so he did not give it importance.

"I hope you haven't missed me too much."

He said as an unsophisticated laugh escaped from him, the emperor found it charming to hear, the redhead reached out his hand and helped his dear lover up, his footsteps slowly leading him to the center of the room so they wouldn't be seen, even if at that moment there was nothing but disposable servants they couldn't risk, Rex Lapis couldn't, his reputation could be tarnished by a rumor coming out of seeing them.

"It was just one day..."

The emperor muttered as his arms quickly captured the redhead's waist to draw him closer, his words did not match his actions.

"It feels like an eternity to me if you're not by my side."

He said against the neck of the taller one, splashing kisses all over its length, deep down he burned with the desire to mark his skin but he had to contain himself, Ajax consoled himself with the idea of being marked instead.

"I could say the same, my love. "

Breathing in his lover's scent, the emperor let his head rest against the other man's shoulder as he felt his hands slide inside his clothing.

"My love , I love it when you call me that." -He almost let out a purr at those words, the sweetness cloying his palate. Ajax leaned in to kiss his lover, once, twice, then three, soft, short kisses until he felt the bubbling passion goading him forward.- "Have you thought about what I said before?"

He asked before proceeding, at another time the emperor would growl in annoyance at naming other topics that would divert his attention to the "important" but Ajax was aware that he was relaxed.

"Something like that... Do you still think that's a good idea? Wouldn't it bother you?"

He asked, deep down he hoped he would tell him "don't do it, don't get carried away" so as not to face that part of himself.

"If it pleases you, I couldn't care less."

Ajax answered even though his strange jealousy had prompted him to propose something like that, it was a kind of twisted pleasure to see the prince suffer and also a guarantee that nothing romantic would happen between them, it certainly reassured him that the boy was not masochistic.

. . .

In the morning, as usual, the emperor waited a couple of minutes until his husband, that idiotic prince, entered the room. Although the maids helped him dress, he took more time than Rex Lapis considered necessary.

With a radiant smile and light steps like the wind, the prince greeted upon entering, the emperor immediately noticed how his gaze when speaking was not directed at himself and instead...

He took a moment to process it, to make sure he wasn't wrong, and the more time passed, the less doubt he had. At this point, and without the effect of the drugs on him, it was too obvious to ignore, the discreet glances and sincere smiles that Aether and Alatus gave each other were not lost on the emperor.

Rex Lapis held back his annoyance not to make a fuss so soon, Aether was still very young, he wouldn't be there if he was old enough to inherit the throne so in his eyes he was still an immature child, he just hoped he wouldn't be so idiot.

The man smiled mischievously when a little voice, very similar to Ajax's, told him that it could be cause for punishment later.

"By the way, I must tell you that we will have a banquet soon, our guests will start arriving tomorrow." -He said after taking what he considered the last sip of his tea, the prince looked at him seriously.- "I don't think I need to explain to you why it's important that you stay by my side for the next few days."

Aether was aware of what was coming, people from high society who were not at all close, trying to verify that the relationship, or rather, the deal, remained stable, and also, pretending that they are happy for a union that was not sought at all.

"I assume our honeymoon is over, do you also need me to fake my appreciation for you?"

Alatus gasped hearing the prince speak so coldly, something he hadn't told him was that their relationship had turned that way ever since they argued, when he abused him again it ended up killing the courtesy that Aether continued to offer to his husband.

"I wonder if you'll be able to."

Rex Lapis responded with irony in tone, he liked that, especially he liked the idea of violently silencing him to ruin his pathetic attempt at indifference, the prince still looked soft and malleable.

"I am capable of more than you think."

He said turning his gaze to the food, gently cutting a moon cake, to avoid being distracted by seeing Alatus worried about him, he could imagine what he was thinking at that moment.

"I'm sure of it, but we'll talk about it later." -The emperor got up, intimidating, he was warning that there would be another fight tonight so Aether felt sick. The man walked towards the prince slowly, his fingers sliding across the table as he advanced, when he reached the young man he grabbed his chin making him look up, towards whom had more power there.— "I'll give you the schedule, you can go play all you want for the rest of the day but tomorrow you have to stick close to me."

Aether swallowed his disgust before replying.

"Of course."

The prince was forced to keep his gaze on the amber eyes of his husband who was looking at him with such intensity that he felt he was going to burn.

"Good boy ."

The emperor whispered as he leaned down slightly to kiss the blonde's forehead who just stood still, he didn't say anything else when he finally released his grip, he left the room leaving an awkward silence behind.

───── ── ─