Chapter 24 - Snow White's Son

Translator's Note:

Hello, I hope you've all been doing well.

Here you go, and I wish you a good read.

And as I said before, if you wish to read ahead, you can head over to my Patreon to get early access to all the translated chapters.

"Even though the one I love is my own brother, nothing has changed for me. If I could free him from his curse, I would gladly give my life... for I love him. Ernst, Baze, Heiter, Hachie, Myude, Yunk, Schuchten—you all know this, don't you? You know I've found the one person I was meant for."

 

If the seven elves were here now, surely they would understand the depth of his feelings.

 

But the one who did not understand was Kyle himself. Upon confessing their true bond as brothers, Kyle had convinced himself that Crow's love had come to an end—or perhaps, he wanted to believe it was so.

 

When Kyle was a child, the servants and physicians often spoke of how deeply he had doted on his younger brother, the affection he showered on Crow as a child being nearly boundless. Kyle had never denied it, showing no shame in his devotion; indeed, he seemed proud of the love he had for his younger brother. Though Crow could not recall those days clearly, he felt in his heart that this was true.

 

The lullabies Crow sang—though no elf had taught them to him—were the very ones Kyle had once crooned to him.

 

Now, as an adult, Kyle cared for his blind brother with the same doting affection, gazing at him, marveling at how he had grown, running his hands over Crow's face and body, and planting tender kisses upon him. In the role of the older brother, Kyle pretended that Crow's love had been forgotten, so that he might continue this closeness under the guise of familial duty.

 

Each time Kyle touched him, Crow's heart would race and his body would burn with desire. Yet Kyle remained oblivious to these feelings, merely cooing about how "cute" Crow was, sometimes whispering sweetly, "I love you," in a voice so warm it was almost unbearable.

 

How could Crow's fever ever break when Kyle treated him so?

 

He could not burden his suffering brother with the truth—that his love had not ended—especially when Kyle was so tormented by the curse that turned him into a beast every night. And yet, that love burned ever brighter in Crow's heart. Knowing now that the fearsome beast had been his brother all along, Crow only loved him more fiercely.

 

Was it only my imagination, Crow wondered, when I thought I saw more than just kindness in the Beast's gaze? Could it have been something deeper—desire, perhaps? Or was it nothing more than a brother's gaze upon his younger sibling? Did he simply think I was... cute, nothing more?

 

In the unchanging darkness of his blindness, Crow answered his own question with a silent no.

 

When the Beast had still been half-man, half-monster, he had kissed Crow's lips, licked his most intimate parts, and had even tried to enter him.

 

By the time we reunited in the tower, surely Brother already harbored such desires, Crow thought. He had imagined me grown, and the love he once had for me had grown into something like longing. That's why he wanted to claim me as his own.

 

Perhaps Crow was only hoping for this to be true, but the fact remained—Kyle had nearly taken him while in the form of the Beast. That memory, dark though it was, gave Crow a strange glimmer of hope.

 

Kyle, who lived so morally by day, refusing even to hunt for sport, was like a man at war with himself. He sought to atone for his nightly sins by living a life of purity. Yet, Crow longed to believe that beneath this noble facade was a man filled with passionate, forbidden love.

 

If only circumstances didn't bind him, Crow thought, he would give in to those darker feelings. I pray that's true. I need to believe that.

 

Crow wished for a future where his unfulfilled love might one day be returned. He clung to that dream, even though it seemed impossible.

 

How shameful, Crow mused to himself. Brother suffers under a terrible curse, and here I am, filled with such thoughts...

 

Curled beneath the silk sheets, Crow's body ached with a longing he could not quell. Whenever Kyle was away, the places where his brother had touched him throbbed with a painful need. Even the bed beneath him seemed to whisper of his absence. His hand, as if possessed, wandered across the sheets, seeking the brother who was no longer there.

 

Though Kyle had refused to lie beside him when the Beast took over his body, now, as a man, he slept in this very bed. The bed was large enough to fit several adults without their bodies touching, yet it was the same bed, and any shift in position, however small, would send a faint tremor through the mattress. How could Crow sleep when Kyle held his hand so tenderly, night after night?

 

Crow bit his lip, trying to suppress the urge that stirred within him, the need to ease his own yearning.

 

As his brother wrestled with the curse, Crow knew that somewhere, Kyle—against his will—was attacking livestock, perhaps even deer. He killed, though his heart wished not to, and devoured their flesh as the monstrous Beast.

 

When dawn broke, Kyle would return, tormented by the memories of his deeds, sickened by the blood he had spilled. Exhausted, he would lie beside Crow and beg for a lullaby. Crow would sing softly, and Kyle, worn by the night's horrors, would fall asleep in moments.

 

And yet, by midday, Kyle would rise, bathe, and emerge once more the perfect crown prince, betraying no sign of his weariness. He performed his duties impeccably, fooling even the sharpest eyes with his unshaken composure, living each day as the prince he was born to be. That was Kyle. It was the way he had lived for twenty-seven long years.

 

How could I find any pleasure while my brother suffers so...? Crow thought, his heart pounding in his chest, the ache between his legs throbbing with the intensity of his yearning.

 

But he refused to give in to it. He breathed deeply, again and again, trying to calm the storm within.

 

He loved Kyle, but he could do nothing. Even if he professed that his love was unaffected by curses or appearances, it would never unite them. Kyle, burdened by his darkness, sought to walk the path of light, and so he would reject the forbidden love that Crow wished for so desperately.

 

If I truly cared for my brother, would it not be best to remain nothing more than his beloved little brother? Crow asked himself.

 

Of course, came the answer, as clear as day. Kyle, burdened by the curse, does not wish to commit any further sins. Even if, as I hope, he secretly harbors forbidden desires, I should never provoke them—not for his sake. I know this... and yet, I cannot accept it.

 

Crow's heart cried out for more. He wished to strip away Kyle's mask, to see the Beast beneath, to force his brother to act on the primal instincts he so carefully buried.

 

I am a terrible brother, Crow thought. What kind of brother wants to see his sibling lose control... wants to be taken by him, not as a brother, but as something else entirely...?

 

He stifled a moan as his body trembled, his desire so strong that he nearly reached his peak without even touching himself. His face pressed into the place where Kyle usually lay, Crow surrendered to his fantasies—imagining himself crawling over his brother's body, unable to resist the burning need that consumed him.

 

His hips moved instinctively, and a wave of shuddering pleasure rushed through him, bringing him to a shattering climax. The evidence of his longing soaked his undergarments, staining them with the telltale signs of his shameful release.

Last Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter