"Aeh ~ Yurei… or should I say… Yuyao… sing for me."
Sozai drawled, voice thick with wine, words rolling lazily off his tongue. The empty bottle of Yeifeng wine dangled from his hand, rose petals clinging to its rim.
Without warning, he reached out and shook Yurei's shoulder.
Startled, Yurei jerked upright from where he'd been dozing, a soft gasp escaping his lips. Gray fox ears twitched upright, fur fluffing in sleepy alarm. His half-lidded eyes blinked, barely able to stay open; silvery hair fell messily over flushed cheeks.
They had drained almost five bottles of rose-watered wine, the scent of rice wine and petals heavy around them on the moonlit balcony.
"Nou…! How many times… must I tell you… do not call me by… that name… you black… pussy cat?"
Yurei's words slurred slightly as he pointed an unsteady finger at Sozai. His expression held sleepy annoyance, stubbornness buried under the haze of wine. His lips had turned a deep red, parted slightly as if breathless.
"Of course… you've to sing… or I'll make you," Sozai teased, his voice a teasing slur. "And forcing you isn't fun… right? So sing… I'm already not in the right mind… who knows if I won't really run to Kyoren-sama… and tell him… without a second thought~"
A drunk smirk curled Sozai's lips, black cat ears twitching with amusement. His half-lidded eyes glinted wickedly as he leaned forward, pressing his own finger gently against Yurei's pointed one.
"S…shut up! You're going to regret it…" Yurei snapped back, sharply pulling his hand away. "Always using that same thing whenever I resist… that's unfair… how'd you feel… if someone blackmailed you like that?"
His voice, though softened by wine, still carried stubborn steel. He looked away, gray tail curling protectively around his legs, ears lowered just a little.
"Your emotional blackmail… won't work on me… like it did on Kyoren-sama," Yurei continued, blinking drowsily. "Because I know what he doesn't know… and also what he does know."
"I might be a low royal guard now… and you're the right hand… but I'm nothing less than you," Yurei muttered, tail flicking with quiet pride. "Also… you should show some respect, rose princess… I'm a hundred years older than you."
Sozai's teasing smirk froze for half a breath. His cat eyes narrowed, playful darkness swirling there. He threw his words back, sharp as rose thorns yet oddly soft.
"Don't look at me like that… cutie kit," he murmured, voice teasing yet a note of hidden shyness slipped through—so quick it could be missed. His lips curved back into a sly grin.
"Huh~ I won't sing," Yurei huffed, voice dropping. "And I won't respect you… not for your age, or your knowledge… or even for knowing everything about me…"
His words faltered near the end, as if the truth beneath them stung. Yurei was older, wiser—and Sozai really did know him from the start till now.
Still, stubbornness stayed. He dramatically stood up to leave the balcony, robes slipping around his waist. His steps were clumsy; he nearly tripped.
"Hey hey hey, baby fox~ you can't leave me like that…" Sozai purred, stepping forward and grabbing Yurei's right hand gently. "Without recording me with that song… from your beautiful voice…"
His voice dropped, barely a whisper near Yurei's ear.
"You never can~"
Yurei's head tipped back, gray ears flicking low, face flushed darker.
"Mmph!! You're really annoying… even when I'm a fox and you're… a black pussy cat…"
His voice shook with exhaustion, stubborn annoyance softening into something vulnerable.
"Hehe~ of course… you can never be free from me until you… or I die first… should I kill you? Or myself… to break it?" Sozai teased, lips curling in drunken cruelty.
"Kill yourself… at least I could sleep peacefully… and bathe in roses…" Yurei shot back, though his voice had softened.
Sozai's smile wavered, shadowed by something hidden, unspoken. Then he spoke again, words almost gentle beneath the tease.
"Wise choice, rose princess… but sadly, I'm no lover of suicide… I'll leave you… when my soul leaves my body… when gods want it… until then… can you wait?~"
"No ho-h hou~" Yurei fake-cried, eyelids fluttering heavily.
Suddenly, Sozai's hand slipped around Yurei's waist, pulling him back. Yurei's back pressed to Sozai's chest, soft wine-warm breath ghosting over his neck. His head fell back onto Sozai's shoulder, mouth parted, breath shaky.
"Close it, dear~ or bugs might jump… into your pretty mouth… before Kyoren-sama claims it~" Sozai teased, gently pressing a finger to close Yurei's lips.
"Shut up… why must you always mention his name… in front of me?" Yurei whispered, face reddening until even the tips of his fox ears burned.
"Because you don't move for my words… only for his name," Sozai murmured, tone lowering into something that hurt more than teased.
"Shut… up!~"
"Don't always shut me up… it's boring… and I'm your elder, remember?"
"Still shut up."
"No."
"Shut up, pussy cat."
"You shut up, baby fox."
"No, you… your voice is annoying."
"Excuse me?~ I've a great voice. Just because I praised yours… doesn't mean mine is ugly. You'll see when the real sparkling time comes for me."
"You're dreaming too big."
"No—I work hard too, okay? And I believe I'll stand higher than you one day… high enough that your jaw drops so low… that bugs could crawl in and even build a nest~"
"Shut up… it's never going to happen… you can never cross me."
"Then watch and wait. And what if I can?"
"Then I'll kill you."
"Fine. Then let's set a great condition. If I ever cross you—which means becoming the Ribbon King's special guard… something he's never let anyone be—then you'll forget Kyoren-sama… who noticed you just a year ago… while you chased him for 300 years… and all that blood you spilled for—"
"Shut up!! Shut up!! SHUT THE FUCK UP!! I'm NOT… going to forget him… because of your stupid success! Set anything else… but not that!"
"No, I want only that one."
"No, I don't!!"
"Then if you sing now, I won't force you again, baby~"
"Again with that damn singing?!"
"Yes, darling~"
"Shut up! Don't call me baby or darling!"
"Then sing~ what are you waiting for?~"
Sozai's teasing words echoed against the marble floor. But Yurei had frozen, eyelids drooping lower, chest rising and falling slowly.
"Eh? Yurei? Yuyao? Whatever you are… you fell asleep? Standing? While arguing?" Sozai muttered, sighing.
He gently laid Yurei onto the bed, his tail flicking thoughtfully, then turned toward the balcony, half-laughing.
"Stubborn fool—"
But stopped mid-word.
Yurei had already risen again, swaying unsteadily. The balcony door stood half-open, moonlight spilling over marble.
His robe sleeves fluttered as he stumbled outside, lips parting, voice slipping out softly into the night air:
"Drunk on moonlight, drunk on rose wine,"
喝醉月光,也醉玫瑰酒
(Hē zuì yuèguāng, yě zuì méiguī jiǔ)
"Duty's cold iron can't chain what's mine."
王命如铁,也锁不住心
(Wáng mìng rú tiě, yě suǒ bù zhù xīn)
Sozai blinked, eyes widening in awe and quiet triumph.
"When did he wake up… slip out… and open the door…? Damn… faster than a ghost when drunk," he whispered.
And with that, Yurei's song spilled into the silent palace halls, rose petals swirling gently in the breeze.
[ End of Chapter 32 ]