Embrace

"I'm fine, little Lance. Are you bored?" Edward forced his gaze away, afraid to look any longer lest his reaction frighten the boy.

Tang Feiliu stared in astonishment as Edward glanced at him once before turning his face away, sitting stiffly upright as if the figure before him were not an ordinary human but some terrifying beast.

"I've finished all my tasks. I am getting a bit bored." Tang Feiliu persisted, circling behind the desk and resting his hands lightly on the Duke's shoulders. Feeling the Duke's body tremble slightly, Tang Feiliu's voice was soft and sweet, like winter milk laced with honey. He murmured in a gentle, almost playful tone, "Your Grace, what are you still occupied with?"

Edward felt as if he were undergoing a trial. This boy had no idea what he was doing. He had no clue how every single thing he did, every single move he made, was a torturously sweet torment for a man harboring such wicked desires. The veins on Edward's temples strained with the effort of restraint. Tang Feiliu heard his breathing grow coarse. Unseen by the Duke, the "innocent" young Lance wore a smirk. Tang Feiliu noticed the fine beads of sweat on Edward's forehead, and his heart felt as though it might soar.

This was no prank, of course. Knowing you held such allure in the heart of someone you admired was cause for joy. Yet Tang Feiliu remained a naive, simple-minded otaku at heart. Midway through teasing the duke, he found himself staring blankly at Edward’s forehead. When Edward turned back, he caught the faint smile playing at the corner of his little angel’s mouth.

Edward froze, momentarily stunned. He tentatively called out, "Lance?"

"Hm?" Tang Feiliu answered blankly. Edward's gaze grew deep and intense. He felt a mix of confusion, uncertainty, and a suppressed thrill. He looked at Tang Feiliu and asked softly, "Little Lance... just now..."

"Hm?" Tang Feiliu tilted his head, looking at Edward. The perfectly measured mix of confusion and sincerity on his face instantly drowned Edward's momentary joy. Edward's eyes dimmed. He shook his head at Tang Feiliu and said, "It's nothing. I must have been a bit crazy just now..."

Tang Feiliu couldn't bear to listen anymore. He looked at Edward and suddenly beckoned him over. Edward looked at him blankly, bending down at Tang Feiliu's gesture. Then, he felt the warm, soft little thing wrap its arms around his neck. Edward felt as if he were hearing an auditory hallucination. Even in his most wicked dreams, he had never heard such breathtaking words. He heard his angel whisper softly in a nasal voice tinged with babyishness: "Your Grace... Lord Edward..."

He called out softly, then nuzzled Edward's face with his own silk-smooth cheek. Next, Tang Feiliu felt his entire body grow light as he was lifted up, plunging into Edward's deep, dark eyes. Edward murmured, "Little Lance, do you know what you're doing?"

Of course he knew! In this era where chaste women married men yet spent less than ten days a year with their husbands—never shedding their nightgowns, as lifeless as corpses—everything he'd just done would seem overly intimate to modern eyes. Here, it was practically equivalent to stripping naked and performing a seductive dance. Need he ask?!

"I know," Tang Feiliu murmured affectionately into Edward's ear, her voice tinged with unstoppable laughter as she nestled against his sturdy arm. "But what's your answer, Your Grace?"

Then, suddenly, darkness engulfed Tang Feiliu's vision. The duke's warm, rough palm cupped the back of her head. Next, his kisses—rough and unrestrained—crashed over her like a tidal wave, completely submerging her.

Tang Feiliu kicked the out-of-control duke with all her might, barely avoiding suffocation.

"Lance... Lance..." Edward's eyes gleamed with astonishing intensity. His expression reminded Tang Feiliu of those hilarious online videos—like a giant dog finally getting its long-awaited, fragrant meat bone, too stunned and delighted to bite down, eager yet reluctant to devour it...

"Pfft." Tang Feiliu chuckled at his own imagination. The duke had placed him on the office sofa, kissing him until his cheeks flushed crimson, his blue eyes glistening with moisture. He couldn't fathom what sacred vision Edward had witnessed. For Edward, holding his breath was the only way to suppress the raging storm within.

Edward watched his angel settle into the chair—a chair comfortable and normal-sized for him, yet now, with his angel inside, the slender figure seemed to sink into it entirely. and Edward watched as this mischievous angel kicked off her little leather shoes, stretched out her slender legs, and gently pressed them against his already taut thigh muscles. It was suggestive and full of innuendo, making Edward's muscles tremble wildly with desire.

"Little Lance," Edward murmured, his eyes deepening. He drew a sharp breath, his large hand caressing Tang Feiliu's foot before carefully slipping the little leather shoe back onto his foot.

...Tang Feiliu's face instantly filled with question marks. Wait, wasn't the mood just perfect?! Though he still felt a bit afraid—after all, the Duke's physique was truly more bear-like than human—but... he'd finally mustered up the courage!

What kind of turn of events was this?!

"Little Lance," Edward knelt halfway on the floor, fastening the little leather shoe while letting Tang Feiliu's foot continue resting on his thigh. He gazed intently at the boy before him and whispered, "Listen, Little Lance, I'm happy. You can't even imagine how happy I am right now. But... but this is too fast. We shouldn't be doing this, you understand?"

Tang Feiliu looked bewildered. He asked in confusion, "What shouldn't we do?"

Edward clearly hadn't expected such a direct counterquestion from Tang Feiliu. Clearing his throat, he murmured, "Little Lance, I like you. Not like an elder likes a younger one, not like a friend likes a friend. I like you. I want to hold you, kiss you, mold you into my bones. I want to kiss every inch of your skin... Do you understand?"

Tang Feiliu flushed scarlet. Though he’d seized the moment during lunch—fueled by that glass of red wine and a sudden impulse—to break through the ambiguity between them, his momentum had waned. Now, as he heard Edward’s fiery confession, Tang Feiliu felt joy surge within him, yet his face grew redder by the second, burning so fiercely it felt like his brain might boil over.

He buried his head and nodded, then gathered his courage to reach out and caress the duke's neck. His voice was now as low as a mosquito's hum as he whispered, "I know."

Edward endured her tender touch, maintaining his half-kneeling posture while struggling to control himself. He seemed afraid of startling the angel before him, afraid she might suddenly spread her wings and fly back in terror to the dizzying heights above. He murmured softly, But you're still too young, Lance, my angel. I cannot take advantage of you while you're still a child, doing things you don't yet understand."

"I'm not a child!" Tang Feiliu suddenly understood what this man before him was agonizing over. He lifted his head, anger in his voice. "Edward! I'm not a child! I like you! I know what I'm doing. I understand perfectly!"

After all the circling around, Tang Feiliu finally grasped what Edward was truly conveying—he was offering Tang Feiliu a chance to back out. That earlier, hot, wet kiss had been Edward losing control. He'd wanted it so badly, and nothing could have stopped him in that moment except the doubt gnawing at Edward's heart and his own moral compass.

Tang Feiliu was furious. His hands gripped Edward's collar, his entire body bristling with rage. He stared intently at Edward and repeated firmly, "I know what I'm doing! Edward!"

This was the first time Tang Feiliu had ever addressed Edward like this. Clearly, being dismissed as an immature child by Edward had sparked immense fury within him, causing Tang Feiliu to lose control. Tang Feiliu had pondered it deeply: why did Edward constantly tease him, show concern, and care for him, yet never truly take action? Tang Feiliu had speculated it was the backdrop of the era, various factors standing in the way... Though Edward hardly seemed the type to be held back by such things. While not a standard noble lord, Edward possessed an unmistakably dominant personality, craving initiative and control. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent vast fortunes maintaining his knightly order during peacetime—especially when many nobles slashed such expenses to indulge in luxury.

A man like Edward, if he truly desired something, could be stopped by no one. Yet the reason Edward offered left Tang Feiliu utterly speechless—during the winter when Edward traveled to the palace, Tang Feiliu had already turned sixteen. He was now eligible to enter society, which meant declaring to all that this gentleman had come of age, free to pursue his heart's desire and build a family!

Thus, Edward’s justification failed to sway Tang Feiliu. As Tang Feiliu glared at him, Edward let him vent his fury before softly saying, "Xiao Lance, I know you’ve grown up, but not enough. I don’t want you to meet some girl one day and regret everything you’ve done today..."

"Why would I meet a girl? Why would I regret anything? Unless you can't handle it!" Tang Feiliu was so furious he could barely restrain himself from striking the man before him. His words came out in a torrent of anger.

Then he saw Edward's expression grow solemn, and Tang Feiliu felt a sudden chill run down his spine. Come to think of it, his earlier remark had indeed been overly provocative to any male creature. Tang Feiliu quickly stammered, "Or maybe you just don't like me, but don't know how to reject me..."

Edward watched the pained expression spread across the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy before him. He could no longer hold back. His voice was soft: "...Lance, if I told you that if you give up this chance to change your mind now, you'll be bound to me for the rest of your life..."

Tang Feiliu saw the genuine seriousness in Edward's expression—a suppressed darkness, a twisted desire, a thick, unmasked darkness and obsession. Listening to his soft, demonic whisper, he murmured, "... In the future, when you regret this, you will weep, you will want to flee, you will hate me... But no matter what you do, you will be trapped by my side, until we both step into the grave together..."

"Are you willing?" Tang Feiliu stared at Edward—the true duke buried beneath layers of gentleness and indulgence, the duke who had grown up in the tower and thrived in the shadows. He spread his enormous black wings and gazed at Tang Feiliu, asking softly.

Tang Feiliu felt goosebumps erupting all over his body—the primal instinct of an animal sensing danger.

Moreover, Tang Feiliu knew he had no way out.

By forcing the true duke to reveal himself, Tang Feiliu had signaled that Edward, beneath his tantrums and capriciousness, had made a genuine resolution: to pull him into his orbit. He no longer masked himself as a gentle elder or a gentleman indulging a child. Stripping away all pretense, driven by Tang Feiliu's relentless pressure, he had awkwardly confronted the deepest desires lurking within his soul. For someone like Edward, once Tang Feiliu forced him to confront the desires he could no longer evade, once he was stripped bare of pretense, the only choice left was to face them head-on.

Now Tang Feiliu understood why Edward had offered him a chance to back out. Beneath Edward’s carefully concealed facade lay a truth that might not be so beautiful. Edward feared the darkness he’d suppressed for so long—what if Tang Feiliu came to him, only to want to leave?

"You know, if you ever try to fly away, I'll bind your wings with thorns. Even if you scream until you cough up blood, I won't let you go," Edward murmured softly, a faint smile on his lips.

Tang Feiliu felt he'd probably provoked an intermittent lunatic. But... but... Tang Feiliu trembled as he reached out, his voice shaking with fear yet stubborn resolve. "But... but... but I still like you. I... I'm not afraid..."

By the end, his voice cracked with tears.

The dark tower, the despairing silence, and the daily torment that filled Edward's mind were suddenly swept away by this soft little thing. His eyes widened, snapping him back to reality from the brink of madness.

He felt the sweet, milky scent of the small creature clinging to him—so fragile, yet so warm.

A sudden glimmer welled up in Edward's dark eyes, and a single hot tear slowly rolled down his cheek.

Within the dark tower, the Holy Child from the mural stepped out of the painting, materializing before him in tangible form.

"...I've got you now, my angel," Edward whispered softly into Tang Feiliu's ear. He affectionately nibbled at Tang Feiliu's neck, his golden hair falling across his face like the rare, dazzling sunlight filtering through the tower.

The icy angel within the mural gained warmth, folding its wings and settling into his embrace. It trembled softly with his movements, utterly docile.

Author's Note:

My cold has finally improved significantly, so I'm rushing to update. The flu has been particularly severe lately—please take good care of yourselves and avoid catching colds. It's just too exhausting.