[BL] Rules Of Desire: His Majesty's Secret-Chapter 61 - 59: Love Beneath the Crown

Kaelith turned his face away, avoiding Elion’s eyes. He hadn’t expected that name to be said aloud, especially not from Elion.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Kaelith muttered, his voice hoarse from crying, but Elion only gave a quiet sigh, not pressing him further.

"You don’t have to lie to me," Elion said gently. "You forget, I’ve known you since we were kids. I know when something breaks you... And right now, Kaelith, you are breaking."

"What do you mean?" Kaelith asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

Elion took a slow step forward, arms crossed. "Hale... he looks like he never truly cares about you. All he does is his duty."

Kaelith turned to face him, and how is that related to me? His eyes narrowed just a bit. "He’s assigned to serve me, Elion. Not to care for me."

But Elion wasn’t backing down. "That’s exactly the problem. He’s with you all the time, and yet... he can’t even tell when you’re in pain." He paused, then added softly, "A real servant, a good one, should care. Especially for someone like you, Kaelith."

There was a flicker of something in Kaelith’s expression hurt, maybe? Or guilt. He masked it quickly.

"You think I should change him?"

Elion nodded. "Yes. That man has done nothing to help ease your burdens. I can see it in you. You’re tired. You’re always alone, and he does nothing. What’s worse is he’s not even here right now when you need someone the most."

Kaelith shifted uncomfortably. For a moment, his heart raced, He thought Elion knew about him and Hale? But then, he realized Elion was still in the dark. This was about something else entirely.

"I told him to leave," Kaelith said quietly. "He was done for the day, and I just wanted to be alone."

Elion raised a brow but said nothing more on that. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Still," he added, "you should think about replacing him. You don’t have to bear everything alone."

Kaelith looked down at his hands.

Elion continued. "Maybe you don’t love Lysandra. Maybe it’s time you told the King the truth. If there’s someone your heart truly desires, shouldn’t he consider your happiness?"

Kaelith gave a bitter chuckle. "The one my heart desires? The King would never accept that."

Elion leaned forward a little. "So there is someone?"

Kaelith only smiled, his lips curling slightly, but no words followed.

Elion sighed, seeing that Kaelith wouldn’t give more than that. Still, he wasn’t giving up on lightening the prince’s burden.

"Then take a trip," he suggested. "Just a few days. Somewhere far from the palace clear your mind. Rest. When you return, maybe things won’t feel so heavy."

Kaelith considered it for a moment. "I don’t even know where I’d go."

"Then think about it." Elion stood up and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "You deserve at least that much."

As Elion turned toward the door, Kaelith finally allowed himself a soft sigh.

But just outside the chamber, hidden behind a thick pillar in the hallway’s shadows... Hale stood. His body was still, but his heart thundered. He had heard everything.

Every word.

He watched in silence as Elion left Kaelith’s chamber, a bitter tension rising in his chest.

Kaelith lay on the bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, arms resting over his chest.

Elion wants me to cut Hale off... he chuckles.

Cutting Hale off mattered to him than asking what is really behind my pain.

The thought echoed over and over, louder than it should.

He let out a small, dry smile.

So that was it. All that concern, all that care Elion wasn’t worried about him. He was worried about Hale. About replacing him.

But how could Kaelith ever explain that the one Elion wanted gone... was the very person he loved with every beat of his guarded heart?

He didn’t know whether to cry or smile. So he did neither.

He just stared upward in silence, the weight in his chest growing heavier.

A few chambers away, Hale stood alone in the corridor, half in shadow. He had heard enough.

Enough to know that Elion thought he was failing... that he didn’t deserve to serve Kaelith.

But instead of letting it burn him, Hale pushed it aside.

He walked toward Kaelith’s door.

Paused and breathed.

Then push the door creaked open softly.

Kaelith didn’t need to turn. He knew it was Hale, he could feel him even before he stepped inside. The air shifted, and the silence changed. He kept his eyes on the dim ceiling, still lying on the bed, heart heavy with the weight of Elion’s words.

He heard the slow, familiar footsteps... then suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped around him from behind. Warmth, steady breath, and the scent that belonged only to Hale enveloped him.

"I’m sorry," Hale whispered, his lips brushing against Kaelith’s neck.

Silence then.

Before Kaelith could say a word, Hale leaned forward, his face gentle, and kissed him.

It was soft at first more of a plea than a kiss. Then deeper, hungrier, as if Hale needed to prove what his actions had failed to say all this time. Kaelith responded without hesitation, turning fully into him, letting his fingers slide into Hale’s hair, pulling him closer.

The world outside no longer mattered.

As their lips parted and met again, more desperate, Kaelith slowly reached for the clasp of Hale’s cloak, undoing it and letting it fall silently to the floor. His hands found the hem of Hale’s shirt, lifting it with care, as though undressing someone sacred. Piece by piece, layers came undone until Hale stood bare under the golden moonlight seeping through the tall windows.

Kaelith didn’t rush. He wanted to feel every moment of this, memorize the curve of Hale’s shoulders, the sharp lines of longing drawn across his chest. His own robe slid from his body next, pooling at their feet, skin against skin at last.

They stood there for a second foreheads pressed together, breath shared in silence.

Then Kaelith leaned in, kissing him again. This time, it is slower, more deliberate. His lips explored Hale’s neck, collarbone, chest... every kiss a vow unspoken.

He guided Hale backwards to the bed, and Hale lay willingly, eyes never leaving his. The sheets crinkled beneath them as Kaelith hovered above him, their bodies brushing, sparking need like fire along their skin.

"Are you sure?" Kaelith asked, his voice barely audible.

Hale nodded, his hand reaching up to trace Kaelith’s jaw. "Only with you."

Their lips met again, slower this time, burning deeper.

Kaelith positioned himself, fingers trailing along Hale’s waist before aligning with him. His breath hitched, and he looked into Hale’s eyes as he slowly entered, inch by inch, carefully, patiently, like he never wanted this moment to end.

Hale arched beneath him, his breath trembling. Kaelith stilled, brushing his hand down Hale’s chest, soothing him, letting him adjust. Then he moved, gently at first, deeply, rhythmically, lovingly. Every thrust was steady, controlled, less about urgency, and more about meaning. This wasn’t lust. This was something carved from longing.

Hale clutched Kaelith’s back, pulling him even closer, their foreheads pressed once again, mouths searching between every breath, every whisper of need.

"You’re mine," Kaelith murmured into his ear. "No one else will ever take your place."

And Hale... Hale broke into a soft moan, not from pleasure alone, but from finally feeling wanted and needed by the man he loved.

The rhythm between them deepened. Their bodies moved as one, every motion wrapped in tenderness and heat. The soft gasps, the shared whispers, the sound of their skin brushing, everything echoed like a prayer inside the chamber.

They reached the edge together, trembling, breathless.

And when it was over, Kaelith stayed inside him, lying his body over Hale’s, as if shielding him from every doubt, every cruel word ever spoken.

No more roles. No more silence.

Just two hearts, finally beating in the same rhythm.

Their bodies had calmed, their heartbeats slowly returning to rhythm, but neither moved right away.

Kaelith lay with his head resting lightly against Hale’s shoulder, his fingers drawing soft, mindless patterns along his chest. The silence was comforting but too full. The kind of silence, that demanded to be broken.

So Kaelith did.

"Hale..." he whispered, almost afraid of how heavy his own voice sounded.

Hale didn’t respond. He only turned his head slightly, enough to meet Kaelith’s eyes.

Kaelith swallowed the knot in his throat. "I know how you’re feeling... about the marriage. About me getting engaged while we’re still... like this." He paused, searching Hale’s expression for any sign of anger. There was none. Just pain, quiet, and patient.

"But I can’t disobey the King," Kaelith said, voice cracking at the end. "You know that. You know what’s expected of me."

His fingers slid down Hale’s chest, resting over his heart.

"You know I love you, Hale. I really do. With everything in me."

Hale’s eyes stayed on him, unreadable, but there was something soft behind the silence. Something that held back a storm.

"I wish," Kaelith continued, emotion rising in his throat, "I wish there was something I could do to make you see that you’re the only one I want. Nobody else."

He laughed bitterly under his breath, shaking his head. "And here I am, saying that, knowing full well I’m still going to be bound to someone I don’t even," He stopped himself.

Hale remained still for a moment more, until finally, he spoke.

"I understand." His voice was low, rough with guilt. "I must’ve been stupid earlier... I acted like a jealous child and said things I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry, Kaelith."

Kaelith quickly sat up on the bed, turning toward him. "No. I should be the one apologizing. You did nothing wrong, Hale. You were right to feel the way you did."

Hale reached out, gently taking Kaelith’s hand in his.

"I just wish," Hale whispered, "there was a way for us to have each other. Without all the secrecy, the pretending, the pain."

Kaelith’s eyes softened, and for a moment, he looked away, toward the window where the moonlight spilled across the floor.

Then he turned back.

"Can we not think about it right now?" he asked. "The engagement isn’t finalized yet. There’s still time. And I want to spend it with you, not chasing ghosts of duty and expectation."

Hale stared at him for a long second, then gave a slow, small nod. "Okay."

Kaelith squeezed his hand.

Then leaned forward with a sudden spark of hope in his voice. "Come with me."

Hale blinked. "What?"

"Take a trip with me,"