[BL]The Hero and his Party Won't Let Me Go-Chapter 147: Ch : And held me close

Shuu did see the meaning behind these tea parties, and in a way, they made sense as well.

These tea parties were just a formal way to remind everyone of the social hierarchy and to keep an eye on things. Subtle hints, like who was sitting with whom and which sides were conspiring, became a little more evident if you looked closely enough.

...Or that was what Princess Danielle had told Shuu when she had been teaching him the ins and outs of the political power frame of the imperial palace.

Unfortunately, Shuu was not a good student interested in gaining more power, so he had lost interest pretty quickly. But that did not mean he was totally clueless about it all.

"Hmm, do you feel annoyed by tea parties? Then, should I make them illegal? You don’t have to feel annoyed by them if I do that."

Emperor Kaiden offered this while looking at Caelis.

He looked completely serious as well, and Shuu had a feeling that he would do it in a heartbeat if he got an excuse to do so.

Caelis did not take the bait immediately, and that topic came to an end without Shuu’s interference.

"I will take the kids outside to play. They were sitting for too long, and they might have had too many sweets today. It will be good to get some of their energy out."

Shuu told the Emperor as he grabbed the kids and stood up. Kaiden stood up as well with a smile.

"I will accompany you as well. A small walk will do me good too."

He told Shuu and followed after him like an eager puppy.

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The garden was empty during the evening hours, so it was the perfect place for the kids to be able to play. Shuu allowed them to run around, but made sure he was not too far off. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Seeing the kids playing made Shuu feel calmer, and he sat down on the grass and folded his legs. He intended to relax when he suddenly felt a weight on his lap, and his eyes snapped toward it.

Emperor Kaiden’s face looked back at him with a relaxed expression, and Shuu’s hands immediately reached out to play with his hair.

"What are you doing?"

Shuu questioned as he felt the familiar weight shifting in his lap, and the Emperor buried his face against Shuu’s thighs before taking a big sniff.

"I am relaxing. There is nothing better for me than your scent. And I am currently surrounded by it."

Emperor Kaiden’s half-glazed eyes looked at Shuu, and Shuu felt his face blaze. It would not have been half as embarrassing usually, but the way Emperor Kaiden said those words and the heat behind his eyes...

"Stop looking at me like that."

Shuu complained as he brought his hands toward his face to hide his flush. But Emperor Kaiden’s eyes continued to look at him without any hesitation.

"I will not stop looking at you. You cannot imagine how much I want to sink my teeth into your flesh and leave marks. I don’t like the way these clothes keep my marks hidden on your body. But at the same time, I don’t want anyone to see you either. It all feels so contradictory..."

Emperor Kaiden complained with eyes filled with longing.

The way he looked at Shuu was not safe. His eyes were half-lidded, and the mood was strange... Shuu felt like he had to say something, or things might get bad...

"We are outside. I don’t think it’s the right place to say all this."

Shuu’s voice came out weaker than he intended. His face felt flushed with embarrassment, but Emperor Kaiden did not seem to care.

"So what if we are outside? I can dismiss everyone if you want me to. Danielle or the caretakers can take the kids for a night or two. We can have this place all to ourselves. If you feel nervous, I can put up a barrier as well and-"

The wind was suddenly knocked out of Emperor Kaiden, and he felt a weight crashing onto his back.

"Kaiden, are you alright? Caelis, what are you doing...? You need to be careful..."

Shuu scolded Caelis and looked at the Emperor with apologetic eyes.

"B-But he was bothering you, right, Mother? I saw your face go red, and you were shaking... so I wanted to help. D-Did I do something bad?"

Caelis’s face was full of innocence as he got off Kaiden’s back.

Kaiden straightened himself as soon as the kid was off him, and he looked relatively unhurt. But his expression did look annoyed.

"You brat-! You knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you?"

Emperor Kaiden complained as he rubbed his back.

"Shuu, alright-?"

Rin asked, hesitating to come over. He looked at Caelis, then Kaiden, and finally stopped at Shuu with a concerned look on his face.

Shuu sighed while looking at the one person truly innocent in all of this, and he felt sorry for him.

"I am fine. Anyway, we should head back to our room now. Kaiden, will you be coming as well?"

Shuu asked without a hint of hesitation in his voice, and Emperor Kaiden was about to accept this invitation when he suddenly heard loud footsteps heading his way. A guard emerged not long after, and his eyes looked shocked and filled with worry.

"E-Emperor Kaiden, I-I have very... huff... important information for you..."

The guard handed the letter to the emperor before he collapsed, and Emperor Kaiden looked startled but not surprised by this.

Shuu felt curious about the letter, but he was not sure if he was allowed to ask about it. Still, he decided to question the emperor.

"What is that letter-?"

Shuu started to ask, but the look on Emperor Kaiden’s face made him stop. There was a certain blankness on Kaiden’s face that warned people not to approach him or ask questions.

Shuu was sure that if he asked, the emperor would answer him. But he still did not want to push his luck.