Our Strange Duet (Yandere Modern Princes x Reader)

Chapter 69: That's All I Want

It seemed to (Y/n) that the royal family was cursed with tragic fates. Whether they were born into the family or marrying into it, they all seemed to be hurt by something. Orion and Moriko were both killed by illnesses and frail constitutions while others were killed by themselves or accidents. Truth be told, the younger girl didn't buy it, believing something else to be at the root of everything, but it wasn't as if she could easily gain the information to know it was hidden.

However, she was content sleeping on Kazuki as he painted, the relaxation of the atmosphere and the faintest smell of roses and champagne allowing such tranquility. He was put at ease as well, relieved to have hidden his secrets from her. Violence didn't sit well with her much in the same way Ichiro used to be squeamish to blood. Of course, things had changed with the bluenette, but the older male was certain that it wouldn't just fade out with her.

Moriko had been able to overlook the blood he shed purely because of the fact that love was blind. She might have loved what he could provide for her, but she also harbored strong feelings for him. Still, harming her turned out to be her breaking point as much as it was his. If the (h/c) haired girl learned of his streak of violence, she would have run, and if she ran, he might have done something he regretted.

The thought shook him to his core, the male even dropping his paintbrush in surprise at his own train of thought. Never once did he ever imagine harming the people he loved even if it put his life at risk. However, it dawned on him that dying for something was the easy way out. Living without light or a purpose was a continual nightmare, and surely a mad man would only become more immersed in insanity.

"Zuki?" (Y/n) asked, rubbing at her eyes, "You look pale."

The blonde once again felt the tightness in his chest, unable to respond in complete sentences or even sentence fragments. His voice had been stolen from him once more. Placing his hand to his throat, he shivered, wondering what he was capable of. If he could hurt something so pure, he truly was a monster. No, more like a leviathan, enjoying twisting the sweetest things in life and devouring them whole.

It was certainly reasonable to the male. He had wholeheartedly believed himself to be a siren, but that was far too naive. Even if his voice drowned out the will of other living beings, was he truly beautiful enough to be called such a thing? No, of course not. Perhaps he had once started as a siren, unknowing of his own ability to bring disaster and heartache, but had since morphed into a being of unimaginable horror. He wasn't so beautiful any longer. The blood of others must have done that.

Kazuki's grip on the younger girl soon turned desperate, unwilling to part with her even if they both died in the process. He didn't know what he was capable of, truly, he didn't, and that was what scared him the most. Nonetheless, such thinking would have been more akin to who he was before he had decided on giving up everything for the sake of earning the right to love her. Surely he wouldn't snap so easily because of what happened to someone wholly unconnected to him.

As if proving to himself that was the case, the blonde gripped onto the younger girl's chin and pulled her up, connecting his lips to hers. It was a bold move, something he hadn't done in ages. He wouldn't have had the confidence to do anything of the sort, especially to someone who was supposedly "taken", but he refused to hold back any longer. Even if he did end up harming her, it would only harm them both to be passive.

She was already struggling with her feelings, unable to understand what was going on around her. Rei had been by her side for two years whereas the older males had only just met her a handful of months prior. It was unfair, especially after all of the conditioning he had been placing on her, unknowingly though it was. That being said, if the (h/c) haired girl could be uncertain about her feelings for him because she was torn between him and two others she had known for significantly less, their relationship must not have been very strong in the first place.