Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Caterpillar
Back to another world.
If Alaric the Emperor had a happy night, even though his spouse was plotting his demise the next morning after hearing their kids’ words. In another realm, Alaric the crown prince experienced a night like a giant tornado.
During a council meeting to discuss the two-year war’s aftermath, Alaric ordered Rowan to lock Carlton in the chamber. A few calming hours in that meeting room almost made Alaric shed tears of joy. It reminded him of just hours ago with crazy Carlton - like being on the battlefield with a tricky situation requiring genius strategy since talking with Carlton needed ironclad mental fortitude!
Kastiel, who fled after ’sexually harassing’ Rowan, also nearly cried from relief at no Carlton or Rowan now. Nobles and advisors were baffled during the meeting seeing Alaric and Kastiel looking moved and ecstatic. They were also perplexed by Duke Carlton’s absence, although having heard rumors that something had happened to him the previous night and he was now being treated at the palace by the royal physician.
Strangely, there’s another wild rumor suggested he’d become Prince Alaric’s personal koala, clinging to him constantly. Of course, no one believed this last part - they all knew how stoic and unyielding Carlton could be...
But little do they know, if they saw how Carlton was acting when he woke up this morning, their jaws would surely hit the floor!
After a few hours passed and the meeting finally concluded, as Alaric and Kastiel prepared to depart and privately discuss matters with Marquis Dorian who had left earlier, Rowan suddenly materialized before them in the palace corridor out of nowhere - his appearance was both random and frantic.
"Your Highnesses!" Rowan exclaimed breathlessly, "I have urgent news! Duke Carlton... he... he..."
"What’s wrong with Carlton?" Alaric asked, his brow furrowing with concern for his best friend, despite the current predicament plaguing his mind.
"Duke Carlton wants to kill Marquis Dorian!" Rowan blurted out frantically. "I tried to intervene, but he shoved me so hard against the wall that I blacked out for a moment!"
Alaric only then noticed blood trickling from Rowan’s head. Kastiel rushed over and gripped Rowan’s arm tightly as he scowled.
"You’re bleeding! You need medical attention right away!" Kastiel insisted.
"This isn’t the time to worry about my head! Duke Carlton and Marquis Dorian are more pressing concerns now!" Rowan exclaimed urgently, not giving a second thought to his own condition.
"Do you know where they are?" Alaric inquired swiftly, feeling panic rising in his chest.
As if on cue, a commotion erupted and several royal guards hurried up to Alaric before reporting:
"Your Highness!!! Duke Carlton is currently pursuing Marquis Dorian through the palace garden while wielding a sword!"
Alaric’s head pounded as he heard the news, but he quickly took off running, calling out to Kastiel and Rowan.
"Hurry! We must stop Carlton before there’s bloodshed in the palace garden!"
The trio raced after the royal guards who led them to where Carlton and Dorian were last spotted.
Alaric felt perplexed by Carlton’s actions. What other delusions was his friend entertaining about Marquis Dorian? He prayed it wasn’t anything too far-fetched anymore.
Upon reaching the palace garden, more royal guards approached them urgently while pointing in a direction.
"Your Highness, Duke Carlton is pursuing Marquis Dorian that way! We tried to intervene with Lord Duke, but he shouted that Marquis Dorian is a criminal and insisted on being the one to apprehend him."
"He said that?" Alaric groaned, his mental exhaustion growing by the second. He then drew a sword from the sheath of one of the guards and sprinted in the indicated direction.
Naturally, the others trailed after Alaric, anxious and curious about the unfolding situation. They soon heard cries for help nearby. Alaric quickened his pace, only to be stunned by the scene before him as he came to an abrupt halt.
Kastiel, who was following closely behind Alaric, collided face-first into Alaric’s back when he stopped suddenly. Rowan also slammed into Kastiel’s back, as did the royal guards beside them. The leading guard halted beside Alaric as well, and a chain reaction of collisions ensued among the other royal guards.
Kastiel rubbed his reddening nose and asked Alaric in confusion:
"Your Highness? What happened? Why did you stop so abruptly?"
Alaric remained silent, so Kastiel followed where Alaric’s gaze was fixed and found himself equally stunned by what lay ahead.
Carlton chased after Dorian who was completely nude save for the tattered remnants of clothing clinging to his chest and crotch. Dorian cried out with both hands clutching scraps of fabric in each area as he ran. Carlton pursued him, swinging his sword relentlessly. The sight of Dorian’s ample, jiggling ass during his flight left Kastiel gaping in disbelief.
As Kastiel remained transfixed by the mesmerizing sight of Dorian’s bouncing posterior, a hand suddenly covered his eyes. Rowan’s voice whispered in his ear from behind:
"Stop ogling that man’s ass. If you stare too long, you might give in to the urge to grope Marquis Dorian."
Kastiel attempted to remove Rowan’s obstructing hand, his cheeks flushing not due to Rowan’s words but rather from... Rowan’s breath tickling his ear. He couldn’t fathom why, but a peculiar tingling sensation stirred within his chest. Ever since this morning, because of Duke Carlton’s bizarre behavior, Kastiel realized that his usual train of thought had been corrupted! His mind was now tainted!!!
"I... I’m not interested in Marquis Dorian’s ass," Kastiel stammered defensively. "I simply didn’t anticipate witnessing such a scene."
"Is that so?" Rowan scoffed skeptically. "Well, I find it hard to believe you. Make sure I don’t catch you in prison for sexual harassment next time."
It seemed Rowan had already mentally branded Kastiel as a sexual harasser, recalling the incident earlier this noon when Kastiel had grabbed his chest.
"Don’t paint me as some sex offender who’ll harass anyone with a big chest and ass!" Kastiel retorted indignantly, finally managing to remove Rowan’s obstructing hand from his eyes. He reflexively turned his face back to argue as usual, but the words caught in his throat when he realized how close Rowan’s face was to his own. Their noses nearly touched.
Rowan was equally startled, his body freezing up. If either of them moved even slightly, their lips would meet. Panic set in as they both recoiled instinctively, not wanting such an awful mishap to occur. Unfortunately for Kastiel, today seemed destined for calamity...
"Carlton!!! Stop that!!!"
Alaric’s shout startled them both, causing their faces to collide instead - and naturally leading to an accidental lip-lock...
".....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"....@$#%£#&!!!"
A silent scream erupted between them as the unfortunate event unfolded. The culprit responsible for the kiss, Alaric, of course remained oblivious to what had transpired behind his back, his attention fully focused on Carlton.
Alaric observed Carlton’s actions, noting how he seemed to be "playing" with Marquis Dorian. Rather than delivering a fatal blow, Carlton allowed the tip of his sword to merely graze Dorian’s back, leaving behind a trail of wounds. He could have easily overtaken Dorian but deliberately slowed his pursuit, always maintaining a position slightly behind him.
At first, Alaric let it slide for a while, curious to discern Carlton’s intentions. However, when Carlton appeared poised to stab at Dorian’s plump posterior with his sword, Alaric found himself unconsciously intervening.
The sight of Dorian’s voluptuous rear reminded Alaric of the poem extolling its virtues that Carlton had recited. Without realizing it, Alaric began to associate Dorian’s derriere with his own and felt compelled to prevent any harm from befalling it.
Not only Kastiel but also Alaric today found their minds subtly influenced by Carlton without either being fully aware of it.
Alaric sprinted towards Carlton and blocked his sword strike using the blade confiscated from the royal guard.
Clang!
The swords collided with a resounding clang.
Carlton was taken aback by Alaric’s sudden intervention. Now Alaric stood before him, obstructing any further attacks on Dorian.
"Enough, Carlton," Alaric warned sternly. "Remember where we are - in the palace. Do not act rashly. Even if I am the crown prince, I would be powerless to extricate you from trouble should you do anything untoward to him."
Carlton glared at Alaric with annoyance, his face contorted as if the crown prince was bullying him. The burly man let out an expression reminiscent of a puppy that had been cruelly abandoned by its owner.
"Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m doing this?" Carlton asked, his voice tinged with hurt and indignation.
Alaric felt a throbbing pain in his head as he tried desperately to banish the memory of Carlton’s pitiful puppy face from his mind. He sighed heavily while massaging his temples.
"Whatever your reason may be, you should not have acted in such a manner," Alaric chided firmly. "You are the one who will face punishment for this transgression."
Carlton exhaled deeply and finally composed himself. He released his grip on the sword, allowing it to clatter to the ground below.
"I understand, darling," Carlton conceded solemnly. "I erred in failing to control my emotions."
The nosy Marquis Dorian, always eager for juicy gossip despite looking utterly exhausted and drained of color, perked up at the sound of Carlton addressing Alaric as "darling." He blurted out loudly, his voice echoing through the palace garden.
"Darling?! So the crown prince and the duke are... coup-"
Carlton swiftly cut off Dorian’s outburst, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Silence, you vile child predator!" Carlton spat venomously. "I’ll not tolerate your foul tongue! You dared to harass my son when he was but a mere four years of age!"
Before the assembled crowd could even begin to process this revelation, Carlton turned his attention to Alaric, his words tumbling out in a rush.
"My love, that wretched man had intended to molest our dear Noah! That is the true reason behind our son’s timid and withdrawn nature."
A collective gasp rippled through the gathered onlookers - royal guards, servants, nobles alike - as they struggled to comprehend the magnitude of what they had just heard. The palace buzzed with stunned whispers and murmurs.
Crown Prince Alaric and Duke Carlton... lovers? And not only that, but parents too? Had they adopted the child or was one of them kid’s biological father?
The scandal would undoubtedly spread like wildfire overnight, fueling an explosion of rumors and gossip throughout the kingdom.
Alaric, Rowan, and Kastiel stood frozen in a state of utter shock and terror. They remained rooted to the spot, their minds reeling as they grappled with the enormity of what had just transpired.
Meanwhile, the true tragic figure in this sordid affair was Dorian, who found himself unjustly accused of being a child predator. Fortunately for him, the salacious gossip surrounding Alaric and Carlton quickly overshadowed his own misfortune. There he sat, nearly nude and weeping like a damsel from some melodramatic novel, persecuted and misunderstood.
Dorian, who ironically enough was actually allergic to small children - once upon a time, his cousin’s little brat had pointed at his manhood while they were all bathing together in a hot spring and declared it to be "small like a caterpillar" - could only shake his head in despair at the cruel twist of fate that had befallen him.
How can I possibly molest or harass children when merely standing near them makes me feel as though I’m on the verge of an epileptic fit?.. sob...sob...
