Chapter 53 After Confession

Chapter 53: After the Confession

Brother...

Idris looked up, wanting to say, I know Your Excellency likes to call me brother, but I'm not...

Idris stopped.

He saw the confusion swirling in Samuel's eyes and remembered the anticipation the Male had shown when asking to call him brother and the disappointment when refused.

It dawned on Idris. All along, he had assumed that Samuel's closeness to him was like a newly hatched chick imprinting on the first creature it saw—that he, as the one who rescued him, was seen as someone to be close to, hence the affectionate title "brother."

But he had never considered another possibility—that Samuel genuinely, wholeheartedly regarded him as a brother, as an elder brother.

If that were truly the case, then it would explain why the Male's gaze toward him was so pure, why he respected him so deeply, feared angering him yet always instinctively relied on him, and openly said he liked him.

The Male did like him, but did not love him.

Understanding everything now, Idris looked back on his previous probing and struggles, the mixture of gratitude and guilt he felt when seeing Samuel fall unconscious to save Luoken and Aosen, the anticipation and fantasies of these past few days, and this current confession—it all seemed so laughable now.

"Your Excellency, do you really only see me as a brother?"

Samuel gazed into those purple eyes, watching them shift from anticipation to confusion, then to shock, realization, and finally fill with sorrow. His heart gradually sank.

Faced with the question, he suddenly felt timid, no longer meeting Idris's gaze directly. Instead, he avoided those purple eyes and lowered his head.

The purple starstone refracted dazzling fire under the light—brilliant, beautiful, yet also illuminating him, leaving him nowhere to hide.

Samuel did not answer that question. He feared that once he admitted it, Idris would immediately withdraw and leave.

But silence can sometimes be the sharpest reply.

In the silent living room, Idris got his answer. Clenching his fist, unwilling to accept it, he suddenly thought of something else.

"Your Excellency, back in that dark alley, when you briefly woke up and saw me, the two words you called me—were they also 'brother,' right?"

Silence spread through the living room once more.

Idris got his answer again and spoke with difficulty, "That was our first meeting. Why would you call me that then?"

Because, at the very beginning, he had genuinely mistaken him for someone else.

Samuel hesitated, unsure how to explain.

The one who always carried a gentle smile, moved with decisive grace, and indulged him—now seemed on the verge of shattering.

Samuel was still struggling, but Idris had already found the answer in his expression, in the clear, handsome features reflected in his dark eyes.

"Is it... because of my face?"

Idris had considered many reasons why Samuel clung to him, but when the answer was revealed, he found it rather absurd.

Yet it wasn't without clues.

Idris recalled Samuel's stubborn insistence in the dark alley, ignoring his wounds; the desperate hug on the first day Samuel saw him again after waking in the hospital; every time Samuel called him "brother" while gazing at him, lost in thought.

How laughable—the Male liked him because of this face that resembled another's.

"I guessed right, didn't I?" Idris's voice trembled with bitterness. He forced a smile, but his body was already unsteady.

Samuel nervously reached out to support Idris, but he sidestepped to avoid it.

The moment their eyes met, Idris saw the timidity and concern in Samuel's gaze.

Idris thought, he wasn't entirely without a chance.

"If Your Excellency doesn't want to say it, then there's no need." Idris stood up. He glanced at the flowers in the living room, the decorations and starstones on the table. The items were already prepared, so no matter what, he had to deliver them to their intended Master.

One day, he would personally, one by one, place all these things on Samuel.

"My apologies, Your Excellency, for the distress I caused you today. Please consider these gifts as my apology."

"You can pretend today never happened. Of course, you can also rest assured. I will absolutely not harbor resentment or pester you because of your rejection."

Having said this, Idris felt he had expressed himself clearly and turned to head for the door.

Seeing this, Samuel sprang up, reaching from behind to grab Idris's hand. When the female tried to pull away, he decided to go all the way and wrapped his arms around Idris's waist from behind.

"Idris, I'm sorry." Samuel gently rested his forehead against Idris's back. He had guessed that his overly affectionate attitude had caused Idris's misunderstanding. He said anxiously, "It's my fault. I'll change from now on. Please don't go."

Change? Change to become distant from him?

Idris didn't want that outcome. Since it was already a mistake, wouldn't persisting in the mistake be the right thing?

"Your Excellency need not apologize. You haven't done anything wrong." Idris's voice was calm, carrying a chill. He began to pry open the hands tightly encircling his waist. "All along, I misunderstood Your Excellency's intentions. I was presumptuous."

"However, now that I understand Your Excellency's meaning, those explanations and apologies are no longer important."

"Why aren't they important anymore?" Samuel felt this sentence sounded like a farewell, as if he was about to lose Idris, to lose the family he had just found. "They are important! It's important to fix your mistakes! Brother is important too!"

"If I'm so important, then why did you specifically use the title 'brother' for me? Does Your Excellency truly believe others can't see through your thoughts?"

"I didn't! Brother, believe me! I didn't mean it that way!" Samuel found it hard to explain. At first, he had indeed mistaken him, but later, he could distinguish between Idris and his brother.

But now, with Idris angry, he definitely wouldn't listen to explanations.

"Brother, believe me, you are really, really important to me!"

"Perhaps you do care about me to some extent." Idris turned around, wiping the tear tracks from Samuel's eyes. "Just not as important as that other one."

"Your Excellency, you should understand—I do not want to be your brother. So from now on, please call me Idris. This will also avoid misunderstandings from others, especially your future Male Master."

"I don't want a Male Master!" Samuel clutched his chest, feeling so stifled he could hardly breathe, as if it might explode the next second. "I don't want a Male Master! I don't!"

"Bro... Idris, you said you would stay with me, always stay with me." Samuel seemed to grasp at a final lifeline. "You can't break your promise!"

"I won't break my promise." Idris gave a slight smile, his tone returning to its usual gentleness. "If Your Excellency is willing, you can still live here. We can interact as friends."

"However, once I have a Male Master in the future, I likely won't be able to live with you like this, taking care of you and accompanying you anytime, anywhere. I hope you can understand this."

"Then I won't take a Male Master, and you won't take a Male Master either, okay?"

Samuel moved closer, trying to take Idris's hand, but the female avoided him again. He wiped his tears aggrievedly, staring straight at the other, pleading.

"Of course not. Your Excellency, saying this—what position do you want me to occupy by your side?" Idris couldn't help but mock, "As your elder brother?"

Samuel froze, then slowly nodded.

His brother had said that family members never abandon each other.

As long as Idris was willing to be his brother, nothing but death could separate them.

Seeing Samuel nod, Idris felt helpless, utterly helpless. He couldn’t understand why Samuel insisted on pinning him to the identity of a brother.

Could it be that Samuel liked his brother?

Idris felt somewhat powerless. If that were really the case, how could he compete?

But giving up meant he would have to hand Samuel over to another, watch him become another’s Male Master, watch him act spoiled for another, and leave the light on for another.

He couldn’t do it.

“Your Excellency, there is another way,” Idris moved a little closer to Samuel.

“What way?” Samuel instantly perked up.

“Let me become your primary spouse,” Idris’s voice carried a hint of temptation. “As long as I become your primary spouse, I can stay with you forever.”

“No!” Samuel sharply refused.

“Why not?” Idris retorted just as sharply.

“It just won’t work! If I can’t like you the way you like me, then doing this would be unfair to you!” Samuel finally grabbed Idris’s hand, organizing his thoughts before saying, “Idris, you shouldn’t compromise yourself like this.”

Hearing this, Idris laughed. He ruffled the black hair right in front of him and asked, “Your Excellency, are you really not even a little bit attracted to me?”

“…I don’t know,” Samuel had never considered this question. How could he be attracted to his brother?

It went against ancestral rules and propriety.

“Then how about we try?”

Without waiting for the male’s reaction, Idris took another half-step forward. He lowered his head, slowly and gradually closing in on Samuel.

Realizing what Idris intended to do, Samuel took half a step back, instinctively turning to escape, but Idris cupped his head and pushed him down onto the sofa.

As he fell, memories flashed, and Samuel’s body trembled slightly. He raised his hand to push Idris away but stopped mid-action, remembering something.

Those beautiful, translucent purple eyes drew closer and closer. When they stopped just a finger’s width away, his lips were gently pecked by a warm touch.

Then, a soft, moist tongue, with an unstoppable force, slipped between his lips, snake-like, prying open his teeth, inviting him to dance.

Samuel had no experience with kissing. Like a fish on a chopping board, he gasped for breath, passively parting his lips, allowing Idris to conquer and plunder.

The sensation of lips and teeth entwined gave Samuel an inexplicable sense of fulfillment.

Gradually, Samuel stopped merely accepting. He slowly relaxed his tense body, his hands involuntarily wrapping around Idris’s back, learning from the female to bite and entangle with a teasing, elusive touch.

Feeling the male’s cat-like licks, Idris slowed his advance. He offered bait, luring Samuel to take the initiative, letting him experience the joy of control.

In physiology class, the instructor had said that the fastest way to win over a male was to make him develop a desire to conquer your body.

The key to sparking that desire was to offer bait, then respond and retreat with a teasing distance, while occasionally provoking the male’s anger.

When the male, driven by anger and bait, actively explored or even forcefully demanded, that was the beginning of his surrender.

Idris had once scoffed at this lesson, but for the sake of credits, he had learned it well.

When Idris tried to pull away from Samuel’s lips again, Samuel, somewhat irritated, flipped over, pressing Idris onto the sofa, attempting to reclaim the initiative.

Idris allowed the male to act. From Samuel’s reaction, he got what he wanted.

When Samuel, having tasted the sweetness, chased after him to continue biting his lips, Idris turned his face away, then pressed the male back into place.

He leaned over Samuel’s neck, his warm breath reddening the male’s earlobe. Idris found it utterly adorable and leaned in to give it a gentle bite. Panting slightly, he asked, “Your Excellency, has that brother ever kissed you like this?”

Brother, kiss me?

Was that a kiss? That was outrageous!

Samuel’s pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly shook his head repeatedly.

Idris was very satisfied with Samuel’s answer. He rose slightly, lowered his head to lick the bead of blood from the male’s lips, then gave it a light, teasing bite. With a low laugh, he asked, “Then, Your Excellency, do you still think I’m your brother?”

Idris emphasized the word “brother” heavily. Hearing it, Samuel thought of the female’s earlier rebellious words and shook his head again and again.

“Then, Your Excellency, did you like this kiss?”

Samuel avoided the damp lashes above, the slightly flushed and upturned corners of the eyes, and those crimson lips, nodding shyly.

“Since Your Excellency doesn’t reject my kiss, that means you’re a little attracted to me. So, will you accept my confession?” Idris leaned close to Samuel’s ear, whispering enticingly, “As long as you accept, I will belong to you forever and can stay by your side forever. Doesn’t that perfectly match your wishes?”

This indeed aligned with Samuel’s desires.

But his brother had said that one shouldn’t resort to any means for selfish desires and must take responsibility for their choices.

When he couldn’t be sure if he could give Idris the same level of affection, he couldn’t accept the confession.

He couldn’t be an irresponsible person.

“No,” Samuel sat up, his attitude firm. “Bro… Idris, I can’t impulsively agree to your confession and carelessly establish a relationship with you. That would be irresponsible toward you.”

“So, I can’t agree today.”

“Your Excellency is rejecting me?” Idris wiped the smile from his lips. He could understand Samuel’s concerns and was pleased that the other respected him so much.

But if left to Samuel to figure it out on his own, even if a star turned into a black dwarf, he’d never understand.

“So, Your Excellency still cares more about that brother of yours,” Idris let out a bitter laugh. “In that case, I respect your choice.”

Bang.

The door slammed shut heavily.

Samuel quickly opened the door and chased into the garden, only to find that Idris had already activated the hovercar and ascended into the sky. A breath later, the hovercar turned into a white dot of light and disappeared overhead.

Samuel stared blankly at the ring on his finger.

Had he been abandoned again?

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Author’s Note: Their arguments are always so unconventional, no tricks left. [Lying down]

*

Stardate 4056, September X, Sunny, then rainy, then cloudy, Weekday X

Is that brother’s charm really that great?

If so, better a short pain than a long one.