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After Eustace led Frieren’s party out of the sword viewing room and to the carriage, Yosho turned back to the sword and gazed up at it on its dais. Yosho’s soft, grateful smile for Frieren and her party faded to one that was a bit stonier. Because now he had to consider again just how many people the sword had been used to butcher and kill this time, despite Yosho’s best efforts to ensure against how the sword had been stolen in his great-grandfather’s time.
He didn’t know as much of demons as he could, other than they were dangerous and lusted after the sword. But Frieren and her party had estimates of how many the sword demon had slain.
Sword demon, Yosho thought as he stood, watching the sword and recalling Frieren’s group’s report on the demon who’d stolen it. It styled itself that way, then…
He’d heard the tales of how the Hero Himmel and his party had recovered the sword so many years ago. Likely the tale had been changed over the years, whether with embellishment to play up a popular group of heroes, or to downplay the failings of Graf Dach at the time, Yosho didn’t fully know. He never thought he’d get to meet any of those heroes himself, and getting word that Frieren herself had come to visit his domain in their hour of need had seemed a fortunate twist of fate.
Did so many have to die, he wondered, so that I could meet a legend?
He breathed in deeply, and his hands tightened behind him. He didn’t think himself so selfish, but it was an uncomfortable feeling all the same, knowing what it cost to encounter history, and to save his people from worse fates. The warriors he had to call on had been preparing to set out themselves when Frieren’s party arrived, and they were likely breathing sighs of relief that they didn’t have to die to a demon for an ancient relic that served more as a symbol than anything else.
Time passed, and he heard Eustace’s familiar, quiet footsteps on the carpet behind him.
“I dropped them off at the marketplace, at their request, Yosho-sama,” Eustace said. His gentle voice was smiling and would have been soothing normally. He’d been assigned to Yosho when they were children, and knew the perfect way to keep Yosho calm and content, most of the time.
“Thank you,” Yosho said as he continued to gaze up at the sword.
Eustace stepped closer, until he only a few steps away. “It’s almost time for lunch, Yosho-sama. Would you like to go to the dining room?”
“You think food is a good distraction for failure?” Yosho asked, idly.
Eustace didn’t reply.
Yosho breathed in deeply, knowing getting angry was meaningless, especially at Eustace, and rude besides: his parents had drilled into him not to be rude to staff. And he wasn’t angry at Eustace. He was angry at himself. “My great-grandfather could be a difficult man.” He remembered his father’s tales of his aged grandfather. “His part in the sordid tale of the sword’s last theft is not lost on me. Nor is his failure to personally recover it.” Or Yosho’s own. Perhaps it was fate that brought Frieren’s party back to his door. Because he didn’t know how many of his own people would have died trying to do what Frieren, Fern, and Stark had done. And he didn’t know if his people would have succeeded, which was part of the reason for delaying sending them.
A decision that cost lives all the same, as a demon ran rampant with Yosho’s family heirloom yet again.
“Yosho-sama…” Eustace said, cautiously.
“Am I any different?” Yosho asked, still looking at the gaudy sword. He’d seen much of wealth in his life. Much of finery and glamour. Even for the worst of his class, the sword was an ugly thing. Oddly placed gems in the scabbard and a hilt that looked painful to wield. His mother had him practice with it once, to see how it handled and show it wasn’t just a toy like some nobles favored, and Yosho’s own assessment was, “Horrible.” As an adult, his assessment hadn’t changed, especially knowing that even before it had last been stolen, it was used by demons for who knew what.
And yet so many more had died for the damn, useless thing.
“The adventurers were wary of you,” Eustace said, coolly. “But they were not afraid. I think you are not the same as your great-grandfather.”
Yosho chuckled and said, “Yes. I am better because I do not make threats.” He’d been lucky things hadn’t come to that. And he wasn’t sure one who defeated a demon king would obey them, wary as those adventurers had been.
“That is a difference, Yosho-sama,” Eustace said.
Yosho breathed in deeply again, and then let it out, though it did little for his mood. “If I had just gone to fetch the thing myself…”
“You would have likely been killed by the demon,” Eustace said. “Even your best knights couldn’t get it back.”
Yosho knew all that. He was trained to fight, but not as a knight, let alone as a mage. Frieren’s party was truly necessary. But if they hadn’t come? If the demon had gone on rampaging, as the one in his great-grandfather’s time had?
“What if it’s stolen again?” Yosho asked, squeezing his hands tighter behind his back. “What if no heroes of legend come wandering our way before even more are slaughtered?” Now he would have to go visit the fallen villages and survey the place. See what was to be done for repairs, proper burials, and maybe even reparations. He would have to look through reports on the unknown dead. There could be requests from family and friends, asking what happened to their loved ones. And he would have no answers but his own incompetence.
“You could spend forever worrying about maybes,” Eustace said. “It won’t help you deal with them.”
Yosho blinked and then turned to Eustace, who was watching him with a neutral expression. Or at least, what would have looked neutral to most anyone else.
But Yosho knew that handsome face more than any other, and he knew Eustace was worried about him.
Yosho smiled bitterly. “Indeed. I suppose I won’t waste time on it, then.” What could he really change? He could not become someone of Frieren, Fern, or Stark’s caliber. Not even close. He could keep training and standing watch. But he was not gifted in more than that. His domain was a bit sheltered from most of the world, and no one expected much of its leader other than his leadership. No brave heroes came from his domain. Not in a long, long time. Certainly not from the nobility, anyway.
“What would you like, Yosho-sama?” Eustace asked, watching Yosho with those soft purple-blue eyes of his.
“I’m not hungry,” Yosho said after a while, which was true. He couldn’t stomach food at the moment. But he didn’t like how he was handling being alone. “Would you… take me to bed?”
Eustace smiled then, seemingly unbothered by the fact it was still daylight and they both knew Yosho had a mountain of paperwork and other duties to get through. “Of course.”
When they arrived at Yosho’s bedchamber, Eustace shut and locked the door after ordering the guards to keep watch and only fetch them for something urgent.
Yosho wandered to the bed and sat down, looking at the sunlight stretching over the pale red sheets. He would regret playing hooky on his duties, but he wasn’t sure how much he’d get done in this state anyway.
Eustace walked over and stood before Yosho’s knees, drawing Yosho’s attention. They were nearly of a height, though Eustace was slightly taller – which he’d lorded over Yosho in their youth – and like this, the height difference was far starker. “Does Yosho-sama have any preferences?” He reached out cupped Yosho’s cheeks in his hands, gently caressing the skin there. His gloved fingertips pressed under Yosho’s pale hair.
Yosho reached up and grasped Eustace’s wrists, before pulling back Eustace’s left hand, nudging the glove up with his nose, and then pressing his own lips to Eustace’s palm. When he pulled his lips away, he said, “I just want to be a bit spoiled and used.” He wanted to forget, for a moment, all he had to do and resolve. Then, maybe, he could get to it properly.
It was his lucky privilege, after all, to be born into such a life. He wasn’t some poor villager killed by a bloodthirsty demon.
“As you wish,” Eustace said as he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss by the corner of Yosho’s left eye. He traced a finger down Yosho’s face, his neck, and to his collar. Then he quickly began undoing Yosho’s clothes, revealing more of his skin.
“You’re just going to have to clothe me again for lunch,” Yosho said as he fell back on the bedspread while Eustace worked, trying to focus on the butler’s figure. He never grew tired of gazing at Eustace, even though the man often stood annoyingly behind him.
“A change of outfit for lunch isn’t a bad idea,” Eustace said with his usual soft smile, focusing on removing Yosho’s clothes. “You greeted your guests in this outfit, and can enjoy a meal in another.”
Do you think that will help me forget the whole affair? Yosho wondered as Eustace took away more clothes and bared Yosho’s skin to the cooler air. Changing out my clothes for something new and unrelated? I’ll have to wear that outfit again.
Eustace, who couldn’t read minds – so far as Yosho knew – finished unclothing his lord, and then took his gloves off, setting them, along with Yosho’s clothes, neatly aside. He then removed his own dark jacket and folded that, taking his time.
Yosho grew impatient and sat up so that he could grab Eustace’s black tie, pulling him back down for a kiss.
Eustace tolerated the impertinence and leaned into the kiss. He also reached out with his right hand and lightly caressed Yosho’s bare chest, before circling his pointer finger around Yosho’s left nipple.
“Mmm,” Yosho said against Eustace’s lips.
Eustace pulled away and then leaned down to lick the cool bud, before sucking it into his mouth.
Yosho reached his hands to the back of Eustace’s dark hair, not pulling him close, but just holding on.
Eustace nudged Yosho back onto his back again, and then switched nipples, sucking until Yosho was twitchy beneath him.
“Eustace,” Yosho whined. His cock needed attention, too.
Eustace sat up and licked his lips with a smile, his blue-purple eyes practically sparking in the sunlight. “My lord’s impatience is his own enemy.”
Yosho snorted lightly, but let Eustace pull away for some lube in a magically sealed container in the nightstand, that also kept it warm.
Eustace opened the small jar and pressed his fingers inside to coat them thickly with the stuff, before moving back over Yosho and gently pushing his legs apart. Then he leaned down and wrapped his lips around Yosho’s cock, making the noble arch up slightly and press his feet to the bedspread.
Yosho put his arm over his mouth, biting lightly at the skin as Eustace swallowed more of him. He barely felt when Eustace’s fingers found his entrance and pressed inside. Yosho didn’t really need the prep, as Eustace often warmed his bed, but Eustace was taking his time, making sure everything was properly ready, distracting his lord with things, teasing him a little to keep his interest.
I suppose I need the managing, Yosho thought as he spread his legs wider and Eustace angled his arm more to press his fingers deeper.
When Eustace hit a special point inside Yosho’s body, Yosho groaned softly.
Eustace pulled off Yosho’s cock, with saliva leaking down his lips. “You’ll not come until I’m inside you, Yosho-sama. Understand?”
Yosho nodded, willing himself back from the brink, even as Eustace encouraged him to sit properly back against the pillows, which was more comfortable than the middle of the large bed.
Eustace reached out for a pillow and then carefully nudged it under Yosho, to prop him up more.
Yosho watched greedily as Eustace pulled his belt loose and set it aside, before undoing his pants. He still didn’t take off most of his clothes. They actually had a spell that cleaned them: one of the few spells Eustace’s mother knew, and that Eustace could replicate. And useful, for two boys exploring their bodies over the years.
Eustace pressed forward between Yosho’s legs, caressing the soft skin slowly, and knowing he was frustrating Yosho by not pressing that hardening cock inside. “Are you anxious, Yosho-sama?”
Yosho glared at him. “Eustace, come on…” He felt too empty and wanting.
Eustace tilted his head playfully and smiled, even as his cock hung out over his pants. “You’ll have to give me specific orders, I’m afraid.”
“But I asked—”
“To be spoiled and used,” Eustace said. “Yes, you did.” Eustace pressed forward and easily shoved his cock inside Yosho’s entrance. “Just making sure you did. That’s spoiling done.”
Yosho clutched the bedsheets, thinking they disagreed on what spoiling meant. Eustace was also larger than him, and always felt like so much whenever he pressed deep into Yosho. But it meant that all of Yosho’s thoughts were drowned out. He could only concentrate on Eustace, who grabbed Yosho’s hips so that he could thrust even deeper.
“What a handsome cock-sleeve I’ve found,” Eustace said as he pulled out and began quickly thrusting in and out, making Yosho and the bed shake with the movement. “All quiet and open for me.” He squeezed Yosho’s hips, making Yosho groan. “Ah, that’s better. I dislike the quiet.”
“Eustace,” Yosho whined, wishing he had the man’s hand on his cock. “Please touch me.”
“What part of you am I not touching?” Eustace asked, playfully, before reaching out to grasp Yosho’s cock. “I suppose you do seem a bit lonely here.” He somehow managed to time his hand movements with his thrusts, making Yosho moan louder.
Yosho tried not to bite his lips as he moved back against the headboard, making it creak. His legs twisted around Eustace, and he grasped hard at the sheets. His long hair fell slightly over his eyes, making his vision half-dark. Eustace’s cock felt so good, holding him… Yosho thought he might burst. And Eustace had said he couldn’t come until Eustace was inside him, but…
Eustace groaned and came, filling up Yosho’s body with his seed. “Yosho, come for me. I know you want to.” He squeezed Yosho’s cock more.
Yosho groaned and came in a burst, falling limp even as his body shook around his release. He lost track of time a bit there, and any of his remaining worries faded away.
Yosho had a vague cognizance of Eustace pulling out and grabbing towels to clean them both off with, gently patting them both dry. A warm scent filled the air: the potpourri that Yosho liked so much and which they only got shipments of once a year. He must have set it out. It helped Yosho relax even more, and even doze, though thoughts of how the merchant caravans might find the area after the slaughter played at the edges of his mind.
Eventually, he was gently shaken awake by Eustace, who asked, “Are you hungry now, Yosho-sama?”
Yosho gazed up at Eustace, who was clean and properly dressed for his duties, while Yosho now wore a slightly ruffled nightgown that Eustace had presumably put him in.
At least I’m not alone, Yosho thought. I can get through things with him at my side, even if neither of us are heroes of legend. Then he smiled. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Eustace.”
Eustace’s smile warmed. “Best not to imagine, then.” He leaned forward and lightly kissed Yosho’s forehead, before reaching out and pulling Yosho up to a sitting position. “Let’s get you ready for lunch, hmm?”