It seemed that crone prince had calmed down with his jealousy for a while, but when Ray received a letter from the King, he became tense again.
"What is he writing to you?" - He flashed his eyes feverishly when the young Duke unfolded the message.
"How curious you are!" — Ray noted disapprovingly, not letting go of the gilded paper covered with monograms.
"I see he scribbled a lot of things... Does he confess his love to you?"
"He's just inviting me to take a walk with him in the royal garden tomorrow..."
"Hmm... just a couple of lines are enough for this! Is he calling you alone?"
"Don't know…"
"I won't let you in without my participation. Who knows what's on his mind?"
"What could he have on his mind? We'll just have a heart-to-heart talk. I'll tell him about the Realm Amriobraes. He likes to talk to me..."
"Eriolan fell in love with you, - Arlow muttered under his breath. - He usually walks around the garden like this with the ladies. He looks after them, feeds them treats, takes them into the tent, and so on... It's better to give up this walk."
"What is this!? I love flowers and such pastimes. Moreover, Eriolan is far from gay things and despises sodomy. What can he do to me?"
"Do you like him? Because he looks more gorgeous than me?"
"Well… he is gorgeous and pleasant man and he's not as arrogant as he seems."
"Damn it… — sweared quietly Arlow. - This is because you are an angel for him. It is so obvious! He fell in love with you…"
Ray carefully folded the letter and put it in his inner pocket under the piercing gaze of his husband.
"Whatever it is, stop controlling me and be jealous! I have fun as I want!"
It was quite obvious that the King was dressed for a date in warm spring weather, wearing a fitted gown of fine patterned gilt brocade with an elegant tiara on his luxurious blond long locks. The gorgeous image of the eternally young monarch delighted the visitor. A piercing déjà vu again blinded Ray's consciousness and his heart trembled: he had already seen something like this somewhere.
"It's good that it's not cloudy today, Eriolan! The luminary makes you especially brilliant in the bright greenery of the garden," - Ray paid a compliment, approaching a large arch entwined with flowering vines with crimson buds.
"My angel... I'm very glad that you came... aren't you angry with me?"
Eriolan seemed embarrassed and looked away, only for a moment fixing his gaze on the young man.
"I must apologize for what happened two days ago. Something indecent between us... but I don't remember anything..."
"You ran away so quickly when I woke up," - Ray noted, looking into the King's eyes.
"I'm terribly ashamed, because I've never... done this with guys."
"Nothing bad happened and I'm fine," - Ray said reassuringly, looking around.
There was not a soul around, only the singing of birds under a shining sky and a luxurious fragrant garden.
"Well, how about it!? - said the King in frustration. - We were both naked in bed and doing something... judging by..."
"You weren't there... that is, your consciousness... Your body was possessed by the Overlord to have fun with me in the flesh."
"Like this?" - Eriolan was scared.
"You signed a contract with Rohen, remember? About cooperation! So he used you as he pleased. No offense! You acted recklessly, selling your soul to him without consulting anyone."
"I didn't sell my soul! There was no such point!"
"This is me speaking figuratively. From now on, you belong to him and his army for an eternity perhaps..."