Special Side Story 5

Rose suddenly felt a surge of heat, her vision spinning, and her breath becoming short.  

“I told you not to drink it.”  

Felix gently laid her down on the sofa, filling a glass with ice and water before carefully pouring it into her mouth.  

“How do you endure it?”  

Rose clutched the collar of his shirt tightly, trying to hold onto her fleeting rationality.  

She had to keep talking. If she didn’t, it felt like her insides would boil over and her heart would constrict even more painfully.  

Even though she wasn’t doing anything, soft moans kept threatening to escape her lips, and a dull ache began to form below her navel.  

“I told you, I’ve built up immunity. Besides, men can handle it on their own.”  

Felix placed another ice cube into her mouth. Watching her roll the ice around with her tongue, he forcibly looked away, running a hand through his hair.  

‘It’s hot.’  

It wasn’t the first time the Empress had spiked alcohol with drugs.  

When rumors spread that he couldn’t be with women, the Empress had occasionally sent women and alcohol to his chambers in secret.  

He had sent those women away coldly, drinking the alcohol alone. That way, he could prove to himself that he wasn’t incapable like others thought.  

But as he dealt with the effects of the spiked drinks without a partner, images from the Imperial portraits would sometimes flash through his mind, leaving him shivering in guilt at his disloyalty.  

Yet, the ecstasy he felt in dreams where he held a woman…  

He wasn’t addicted to the drugs but to the dreams.  

“Felix.”  

Just like now, in his dreams, she would call his name in a soft, trembling voice.  

“Eat more ice. You only had one glass, so it’ll wear off soon.”  

Felix placed a large ice cube into Rose’s mouth as she sensually licked her lips.  

Clink. Slurp. Instead of her suggestive voice, the sound of the ice moving in her mouth filled the air.  

Maybe… I shouldn’t have given her the ice.  

Rose skillfully rolled the ice around with her tongue, and when she swallowed the melted water, his Adam’s apple moved in sync.  

What would it feel like if that ice were my tongue? What if what she swallowed wasn’t ice water but my breath?  

“Shall we start a lesson? We missed our lessons because of the hunting competition.”  

When all the ice in her mouth melted, a mix of regret and anticipation crept into Felix’s expression. It couldn’t be the drugs—not from just one glass—but the effects seemed to be taking hold. His body grew stiff and tense.  

“Beginner? Intermediate?”  

Had the drug’s effects worn off on Rose already? 

Her voice and gaze were much clearer than before.  

“Advanced.”  

Felix shrugged off his bathrobe and lunged for her lips.  

***

“Ah… Felix…”  

Rose gritted her teeth at the embarrassing sounds escaping from between her lips.  

But every time Felix pressed his lips against her neck, those sultry moans spilled out uncontrollably.  

“Rose. Keep making those sounds.”  

Felix buried his face in her shoulder and neck, leaving marks with his lips.  

This was the sound. The voice that had ignited him in his dreams.  

When he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, it felt as though the scent of the woman from his dreams was emanating from Rose.  

‘Rose. My queen. My Queen Red Rose.’  

Felix pressed a long kiss to her cleavage, pulling the knot of her dress loose with his teeth.  

“Ahh! Felix.”  

Taking advantage of her dazed state, he was about to lower his lips toward the soft curve beneath her dress.  

“Felix! Descendant! This is not allowed!”  

D*mn it! 

Rose, snapping back to her senses, grabbed his hair, preventing him from going any lower.  

‘No! How could I face Master Stephan after I die! You’re the descendant, and I’m the ancestor! Advanced lessons are forbidden between us!’  

Rose shook her head vehemently, gripping his hair with all her strength.  

“We agreed on advanced lessons.”  

But Felix smirked mischievously, prying her hands off.  

“Felix!”  

His lips finally claimed the soft curve beneath her dress.  

His hands, which had been roaming freely inside her dress, tore it apart with a ripping sound, gently caressing the exposed skin.  

“Make a sound, Rose. Call my name.”  

“Ahh! Felix!”  

The sensation of their bare skin meeting was dizzying and soft. Every time their lips touched each other’s skin, heavy breaths filled the air, blurring whose voice was whose.  

Their hands never left each other, and their names echoed endlessly.  

The effects of the alcohol and drugs had long since faded. Drunk on each other’s breaths, they mastered “Advanced Lesson 1.”  

***

Rose lightly pushed against Felix’s chest as he continued to pepper kisses over her eyes.  

‘This has to stop! Advanced Lesson 2 is absolutely forbidden!’  

She picked up a piece of fabric—a remnant of what was once an expensive dress—from the floor and used it to cover her chest and the area below her navel.  

“You’ve surpassed the master. You may descend the mountain now. I’ve taught you everything.”  

She nodded solemnly, as if deeply moved, while quickly scanning for something to cover herself with.  

Her l*ngerie was torn to shreds, leaving her with nothing to wear. She decided to grab a bathrobe and leave the room.  

“Not true. I still have more to learn.”  

Felix pulled her waist, pinning her beneath him once more.  

“Learn what?”  

“Don’t you know? Should I teach you?”  

When she feigned ignorance, fluttering her lashes coyly, he teased her collarbone with his fingertips.  

“Descendant! This is not allowed!”  

As his hand moved toward her cleavage, she grabbed it firmly.  

“Why do you keep calling me ‘descendant’?”  

Felix finally asked about the word that had been bothering him.  

‘Descendant’? Was she really claiming to be my ancestor?  

“Haha. Who knows? Felix, today’s lesson ends here.”  

“Ha! Rose!”  

Rose headbutted him lightly on the forehead and dashed into the bathroom while he stood there, dumbfounded.  

***

“The Bettran Merchant Fleet’s ship has been seized by pirates.”  

The next morning, Felix was tying his cravat when Gerald delivered the report.  

He deliberately took his time, ensuring Gerald could see the kiss marks Rose had left on him, as if he wanted to brag to someone.  

“I’ll need to meet with the Crown Prince immediately. We’ve already interrogated the pirates we captured last time and located their base.”  

After donning his jacket and grabbing his rifle, Felix slung it over his shoulder as Gerald hesitantly spoke.  

“That… their base is in the Nubigea Strait, isn’t it? The place known as the Graveyard of Ships where dozens sink every year.”  

It was such a notorious location that even Gerald knew of it. Even the pirates who made it their base often fell victim to its treacherous waters.  

“Don’t worry.”  

“But, Your Grace, you are the sole heir of the Duchy. For this operation, at least…”  

“How can you say I’m the only one? There are collateral lines too.”  

Felix brushed off Gerald’s hand, which was clutching the hem of his jacket in worry, and left the room.  

He knew that Gerald, who had grown up with him since birth, cared for him like a brother. However, Felix was both a Duke and a soldier of this Empire. He had no intention of neglecting his duties for personal feelings or gain.  

Douglas, upon hearing that Felix had arrived early for the meeting, ascended to the third floor of the banquet palace.  

Felix, who had been carefully examining the portraits, tilted his head slightly and stared intently at one particular spot for a long time.  

“You’re here again.”  

“Your Highness.”  

“Let’s go. We’re about to depart to eliminate the pirates.”  

“Are you going as well, Your Highness?”  

As Felix descended the stairs with Douglas, the maids and servants of the palace bustled about, dusting the portraits and polishing the marble floors.  

“Of course. I may not be as good as you, but my shooting skills aren’t bad, are they?”  

Douglas laughed heartily, patting Felix on the shoulder.  

Felix found it particularly annoying how this man, two years his senior, always treated him like a much younger brother.  

“Stay by my side at all times. I’ll make sure not a single strand of your hair gets hurt, Your Highness.”  

Look at that. Even now, he seemed to think Felix was still a baby.  

“Don’t be ridiculous. Just don’t loiter around me and end up getting shot by my rifle.”  

Douglas straightened his back to match Felix’s posture. For some reason, Felix’s spiky hair was especially irritating today. As soon as the meeting was over, Douglas decided he would style his bangs upward to make himself look taller.  

***

“Cecilia. Are you sure we won’t get caught if we stay here?”  

“Yes, Rose.”  

Hiding in a large wooden box, Cecilia flinched when Rose casually spoke informally to her. But considering the situation, she decided to let it slide.  

‘Well, if she becomes the Duchess, she’ll speak informally anyway. Let’s just say she’s practicing in advance.’  

Rumors were rampant that Felix had allowed only Rose to stay by his side. Even the Empress, who had subtly expressed her disapproval, had sent a gift after hearing about Rose’s performance at the hunting competition.  

When commoners occasionally married high-ranking nobles, it often strengthened the Empire’s unity, so it didn’t seem like the Imperial Family would oppose Rose.  

‘Well, she doesn’t seem to have a bad personality.’  

Having once entrusted her back to Rose, Cecilia found herself inexplicably trusting her more and more.  

“Cecilia. The ship is departing.”  

“Shh! We mustn’t be discovered for at least another hour.”  

The box tilted slightly to one side before settling into a gentle, rhythmic sway.  

Rose and Cecilia, who had secretly boarded the warship, crouched inside the box for an hour.  

“Get out!”  

Felix angrily threw open the box’s lid when the ship was already in the middle of the sea.  

“Ugh! I’ve got a cramp in my leg! … Sir.”  

Rose clung to Felix’s arms as he forcibly pulled her out, resting her forehead against his chest.  

After crouching in such a cramped space for over an hour, her legs were trembling and numb, completely devoid of strength.  

“Ha! What is this!”  

Felix wrapped his cloak tightly around Rose’s body, suppressing his anger.  

He decided that once they returned to the Duke’s estate, he would thoroughly scold her for humiliating him in front of his subordinates.  

Douglas, meanwhile, grabbed Cecilia by her hair and pulled her to her feet.  

“Your Highness! How dare you behave so rudely!”  

Cecilia, clutching her hair with both hands and preparing to lash out, immediately backed down when she saw Douglas’s cold, hardened expression.  

“Throw both of them into the sea.”  

“Your Highness!”  

Cecilia clung to Douglas’s arms, pleading.  

“We can be of help! You know Rose’s crossbow skills and my shooting skills!”  

Cecilia glanced at Felix, silently pleading for support, but he simply adjusted the cloak around Rose’s hair even more meticulously. Then, he finally spoke.  

“I’ll send them back on a wyvern, Your Highness.”  

It was an even harsher statement than Douglas’s.  

“No! I get motion sickness on wyverns!”  

Cecilia protested vehemently, looking up at Douglas.  

Everyone in the Empire’s noble circles knew that Cecilia couldn’t ride wyverns. It was a family trait. Since the time of Seyra Bettran, the Count of Bettran, anyone in the family would get motion sickness the moment they rode a wyvern.  

“Ha… Let’s deal with this matter once we return. For now, let’s focus on eliminating the pirates.”  

Douglas carefully withdrew the arm Cecilia was clinging to and ruffled her hair roughly.  

He had styled his hair upward to match Felix’s, but with just a few swipes of Douglas’s hand, it was all flattened.  

“You look handsome with your hair like this, Your Highness.”  

When Cecilia brushed Douglas’s bangs to one side, letting them lightly touch his forehead, his face turned bright red.  

“Stop saying nonsense. You’re still going to be punished when we return.”  

“Understood, Your Highness.”  

Cecilia smiled sweetly and lowered her hand, leaving Douglas to nervously ruffle his bangs again to fill the void.  

Cecilia. That infuriating girl.  

She had outshone him by graduating at the top of the Academy.  

She was even told that if she were a man, she’d rival Felix as a soldier.  

From beginning to end, she was a constant source of annoyance.  

At that moment, a sailor keeping watch shouted loudly.  

“Commander Felix! The fog is too thick! We can’t see even a step ahead!”