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“Stop it, we can't do this.” He giggled as he stopped the hands tracing his thighs.
“We can do this.” The emperor hissed as he pinned both his hands on the wall and proceeded to kiss him roughly.
“Your bride will be waiting.” He whispered as the emperor grew even angrier.
“Your point?” The emperor asks as he attacks his neck, leaving bites and hickeys all over his neck.
“You have to go!” He giggled when the man proceeded to slowly start to slide his hand against his belly, fully knowing he was ticklish.
“I don't want to. What are you going to do about it?” He moaned when he started to nibble on his ear, it was a sensitive spot for him.
“I'll be waiting for you right here. Now go!” He pushes the man away and makes him leave.
The man, the emperor, Byun Baekhyun and his oh so precious brat, Park Chanyeol.
“I'm very jealous of your bride.” Chanyeol pouts as Baekhyun hand feeds him, they are currently cuddling in the emperor's room.
“There's nothing to be jealous of, my love. You're the only one in my heart.” He declared as the boy just laughed.
“What can I do? Everyone wants a part of my lover.” Chanyeol giggled as he let his lover feed him to his heart's content.
No one knew how obsessed Baekhyun was and they also didn't know how much control Chanyeol has on him. Chanyeol was not part of the emperor's harem, not that he had one. Baekhyun’s harem houses envoys, mostly consisting of people who can be used to maintain the relationship with one of the kingdoms he captured or made an agreement with. None of them are married to him but since there was no other place that can fit all the envoys, they use the castle where the previous emperor housed his consorts.
The bride he mentioned was the woman who was crushing on Baekhyun and now got married to him and is the new empress. Baekhyun naturally didn't accept her proposal as he didn't like her. In her last resort she drugged him and slept with Baekhyun. Baekhyun was furious when she claimed she was pregnant. The court reluctantly arranged for them to be married. The engagement was set up and the wedding was to take place after she had given birth.
Two months later, during his engagement ball, something or someone caught Baekhyun’s attention. The tall beauty who had come in with Count's family. He saw him sneaking out of the party and followed him out and saw him walking towards his palace. Baekhyun approached him when he found the boy all alone and he noticed how tall his beauty was, almost a foot taller than himself. He dipped his legs in the pond and rolled his pants all the way up, giving Baekhyun a full view of it under the moonlight. The boy sighed as he rolled the cup in his hands and drank it. Baekhyun wanted to walk up to him and talk to him but here he was hiding behind the pillar spying on the boy like a pervert.
“Are you going to stare at me all night or are you going to come here?” The boy asked and Baekhyun flinched.
“Who are you?” Baekhyun asks as he cautiously approaches the boy sitting near the lake.
“Want to know a secret, your majesty?” The boy pulled him to sit beside him.
“Sure.” Baekhyun lets the boy rest his head on his shoulder and he wraps his hand around his waist, pulling him closer.
“I think you are handsome.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes at that. What was that supposed to mean?
“It doesn't make sense right. I'm not supposed to be attracted to humans, I have to capture them and drown them. But here I am, my heart is going to rip out of its place if you touch me.” The boy started to ramble and Baekhyun realised he was drunk. He looked sober but he was not.
“I'm drunk but I am not lying.” He huffed as Baekhyun nodded.
“Sure.” Baekhyun says as the boy lifts his head to glare at him.
“Fine then, after you have seen this, you can't get rid of me. I'm warning you, you can't tell anyone about this. Or else I'll drown you in this pond myself.” Baekhyun nods, he is drunk anyway so he decides to go along with him.
The boy started to take his coat off leaving it on the ground and jumped into the lake. Baekhyun was shocked, he was worried about the boy. He was about to go look for him when he heard a hum. It was coming from the middle of the pond, he got into the water trying to find out what it was and where his pretty boy went.
“Believe me now?” The boy popped up from the water and was pouting.
“What do you mean?” Baekhyun asked as he pulled the boy closer to him just to check if he had any injuries.
“This!” The water splashed as it revealed a beautiful mermaid tail and Baekhyun was too shocked to move.
“I told you I was a siren and you didn't listen!” The boy huffed as he crossed his arms.
“Why won't anyone believe me?” The siren bursts into tears and Baekhyun hurries to comfort him.
Baekhyun doesn't understand what was happening here, why was the little creature crying? He doesn't understand why but he absolutely feels the need to reassure the boy and calm him down. Baekhyun wanted to help him. He slowly lifted the boy out of the water and the boy mewled as he wrapped his hands around his neck. Baekhyun carefully got out of the pond and he observed how the boy started humming again. He saw his beautiful pink tail disappear and he was back to normal and he was drenched. Baekhyun carried him to his chambers.
“Do you like warm water?” The boy, Chanyeol nodded enthusiastically.
“Will you be a good boy and listen to me?” Baekhyun needed him to behave while he prepared his bath.
“I will be a good boy.” He smiled and Baekhyun felt his heart skip a beat.
“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol opens the door to see Baekhyun holding flowers in his hands.
“Can I come in?” Baekhyun asked as Chanyeol let the man in.
“What happened?” He asked as he helped him out of his coat and folded it to get it out of the way.
“I just missed you.” Baekhyun mumbled as he plopped down on the couch.
“What's wrong? Do you want me to sing for you?” Chanyeol sat beside him and let him lay his head in his lap.
“Yeollie.” He called as the siren hummed in response.
“Was I at fault? Am I a bad person?” Chanyeol was shocked when he heard that.
“Of course not. My Byun is the kindest and most generous ruler in history. Whatever it is bothering you, it's not true.” Chanyeol says and he observed Baekhyun’s face softening.
“It was her, wasn't it?” Chanyeol hissed as the man reassured him he was okay.
Chanyeol stormed into the said empress's palace. While he usually didn't do this, one of a siren's abilities is to look into one's memory. He was helping Baekhyun sleep and looked into his memory. He lost it when he saw her threatening Baekhyun about the child. He saw how Baekhyun’s eyes widened in fear.
That idio-
His idiot.
“How dare you threaten Baekhyun.” Chanyeol says, his tone cold, void of any emotion.
“That is between my husband and me. A mere mistress like you can't meddle in.” She says as she smirks.
“Aw. That's so adorable of you.”
“Sweetheart, let me remind you. The night you two got engaged, Baekhyun was with me, not you. The day of your wedding, he was with me before he came into the chamber.” Chanyeol laughed as he sat opposite to her.
“Yeah, I don't need him to sleep with me, I conceived his heir.” She says, too confidently.
“That's hilarious considering he looks nothing like Baekhyun.” Chanyeol knows now that it wasn't Baekhyun’s because of her reaction, she tensed in her seat for a second.
“How dare you!” She yelled and chanyeol just smiled.
“Why are you so jumpy? I just remembered that the temple offered a paternity test. What do you think would happen if I, his mistress, would talk him into taking one?” Chanyeol traced the rim of the cup in front of him before tipping it down the table.
“I'm the empress!” She yelled, all flustered, dropping her confident personality.
“And I'm the love of his life.” Chanyeol got up and headed out.
“Just saying, if I ever catch you troubling Baekhyun again, the empire would love to read the love story bloomed between you and your step brother.” Chanyeol winked as he got out of there.
“Where were you?” Baekhyun says, raising his eyebrow when the siren starts to pout.
“I went to get us something to eat!” Chanyeol declared as he opened his groceries to prepare a dish he usually makes when Baekhyun is sulking.
“Shouldn't you have to go to the castle?” Chanyeol asks as Baekhyun shakes his head.
“Great, dinner will be served in an hour, will the emperor help?” Chanyeol giggled when Baekhyun pulled a chair to sit at the kitchen counter.
“This was the house Count Park built for his lover, my mother. My father designed everything here according to my mother's tastes.” Chanyeol started to narrate his parent's love story as Baekhyun stared at the lovely creature in front of him.
“What is with the grin on your face?” Chanyeol asked as he saw Baekhyun sitting on the bed, grinning as he stepped out of the bathroom.
“The food was delicious.” He started moving towards him and chanyeol just stared at him, trying to understand what he meant.
By the time Chanyeol figured out what was happening Baekhyun had him trapped in between his arms.
“I'm pretty sure the chef is too.” Baekhyun pushed him onto the mattress, hovering on him he whispered as he went to nibble on his ear like he always does.
Baekhyun grabs his towel and pulls it off him, leaving him completely naked in front of the emperor's eyes. Chanyeol whined when he felt the cold air hit him and Baekhyun licked his lips as he dived in. Baekhyun left marks all over his body, his neck, his nipples, even his ass.
“You have a thing for biting.” Chanyeol grumbles as Baekhyun smiles.
“You're too delicious.” He leaves another mark in his inner thigh as the siren moans.
“I love you.” Chanyeol mumbled as the emperor smiled.
“I love you too.” Baekhyun rests his forehead against his and they stare into each other's eyes in a comfortable silence.
“You always leave marks.” Chanyeol grumbled as he checked himself in front of the mirror, grumbling as he limped all the way. Baekhyun had already left by the time he woke up but left him a bouquet and a note explaining he had to leave because he had a meeting.
He runs himself a bath and he slowly slips into the warm water. He starts humming the familiar melody and watches as his magnificent tail appears in front of him. He admired his precious scales as he tried to choose the most beautiful scale to make Baekhyun a gift.
When a siren wants to mate, they present their partner with a piece of jewelry which was made by using one of their own scales. It was believed that the scale would always watch over the mate in their absence.
Baekhyun was the last person who would need protection but it was tradition. So he was going to give him one anyway. Sirens believe that all of the kind are kin and hence they usually mate with someone outside their species.
Speaking of which, he has to deal with the empress and the duchy so they won't bother Baekhyun again. Chanyeol knows the woman was having multiple affairs before and after Baekhyun. Baekhyun was not the father of the baby, it was someone else. She claimed that the baby was born a month early but he was not a human to be fooled after the drama she put on when he mentioned that the baby wasn't Baekhyun’s.
After much research, There are three potential father candidates for the baby. One is her step brother, Duke Jung's son, Jung Seungho. The second participant is Choi Yejun, the knight who was recognized for his contributions when he saved Baekhyun in the war. He didn't mean to save him, he accidentally fell over blocking the arrow before it hit Baekhyun. Chanyeol hated that man more than anything. Finally Kang Hyeonju, who by the way was married to the Marchioness Kang.
She wasn't born a noble, Marques Kang offered to sponsor her if she agreed to be his mistress. That was five years ago, when she was nineteen. Then after marchioness Kang kicked him out, she seduced Knight Choi in an attempt to enter the palace but it didn't happen. She was a bright woman, she had an amazing memory. She had learnt the moves from Choi and Duke Jung felt pity for her and adopted her. However she got involved with her step brother behind his back.
Chanyeol shook his head, he had to make sure they wouldn't bother Baekhyun again. According to his new information, Marques Kang and her, they only talked. Sadly, Marchioness had taken him back because his story was too convincing. Therefore he wasn't the baby's father. It was hard to tell because that boy looks exactly like his mother. He knew she was having affairs and just tried his luck. When she heard her voice, it was clear that it wasn't Baekhyun’s. He also sent the Marchioness a fully detailed report of her husband's affairs anonymously because she deserved better. He wanted her to know it wasn't her fault and it was all his greed from the start.
Now the list was down to two suspects. Both are hard to tackle down. The knight in question saved Baekhyun's life, any wrong move will trigger public resistance. The duchy would be an easier task as half the people in the duchy hate him but it would cause political unrest if the empress's brother is arrested.
“Sujin, what's wrong?” Seungho asked as he held her face softly with his hands and pulls the comforter over their naked bodies.
“It's nothing, don't worry.” She says as she smiled.
“You can tell me anything honey. You know that.” He says as he gets up from the bed and fetches her a glass of water.
They were currently in her chambers and Sujin had put her son to sleep. She invited Seungho to her chambers to “discuss” a budget issue and sent all her maids home.
“I think Baekhyun is having an affair.” She bursts into tears as he almost breaks the glass in his hands.
“How dare he! I'm going to kill him.” He reaches out for the sword but she hugs him from behind, stopping him.
“Don't do it, what if he finds out?” She says as she sniffles and he pulls his lover into his embrace.
“I told you that you didn't have to marry him.” Seungho sighed as he patted her hair in comfort.
“It's like he's under a spell. One day he loved me and his baby and the next day he stopped.” She continued to sob.
She knew she couldn't go against Chanyeol, she knew what he was. Sujin believed that Baekhyun would come to love her after the baby was born but that boy came in between and ruined all her plans. At their engagement reception, she saw Baekhyun sneaking out of the party. After half an hour, she was worried about him and went in to check on him. She saw Baekhyun in the pond with the boy who had a mermaid tail and was claiming to be a siren.
“Maybe he used a spell.” The ducal prince mumbled as she pretended to be surprised.
“They exist?” She asked as he shook his head.
“Not really but I have a plan. Leave it to me.” He grinned as she jumped on him pressing their lips together. Sujin was disappointed that he didn't know about magic but was happy that he offered to help.
“Your majesty, my brother would like your approval for proceeding with the wedding.” Sujin smiled shyly as Duke Jung smiled.
“My son is finally growing up, please take care of him, your majesty.” Duke Jung bowed as Baekhyun smiled and nodded.
“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun almost yelled but piped down before he could create a scene.
“They're in love, yesterday I saw my brother and Chanyeol go to the market. I followed them and accidentally heard my brother proposing to him.” She giggled as the duke sighed.
“I'm going to surprise him with this when he gets home.” The duke said and Baekhyun felt sick to his stomach.
“There were many people who witnessed them together, you can ask and confirm.” She says as she points to the people who she had brought with her.
Baekhyun felt like puking when he heard them say that Chanyeol said yes. Chanyeol was his, he wouldn't lie to him. Chanyeol loved him and he was very vocal about it. He stopped going back to his mother so he could spend time with him. The siren had his complete attention and heart.
“You have to get the count’s permission first.” Baekhyun says as he dismisses them.
“I totally forgot, I'll be back.” Baekhyun watches as both of them walked out hurriedly.
“What are you doing here?” Chanyeol asks as he opens the door to Baekhyun who looks furious.
“Where were you last night?” Chanyeol didn't like the tone, it was cold and void. This scared him, this man was not his Baekhyun. Acting on instincts he almost closed the door on him but Baekhyun pushed his way inside.
“Answer me!” Baekhyun yelled and Chanyeol backed away from him, he was scared.
“I was out.” He says as he keeps a distance between them.
“Then where did you get that?” He pointed to the ring which Chanyeol put on the cushion safely.
“That's mine. I made it.” Chanyeol says as he avoids him.
“What are the marks on your neck then?” Baekhyun scoffed as Chanyeol stared at him, still quite startled.
“What is wrong with you!” Chanyeol yelled as he had enough.
“You should have at least covered up before you opened.” Baekhyun observed as Chanyeol stared at him.
“Get to the point! What do you want from me!” Chanyeol was barely holding his tears back, Baekhyun was implying that he had cheated on him.
“Wasn't I enough for you?” Baekhyun says as Chanyeol scoffed as he crossed his arms.
“I know Seungho proposed to you last night and you said yes!” Baekhyun yelled as he looked at chanyeol whose hand was bleeding.
“Get out.” Chanyeol couldn't believe his ears, his wounds had just begun to heal and Baekhyun was making it much worse.
“Are you alright?” Baekhyun approached the younger boy, only to be pushed away.
“I said get out!” Chanyeol yelled as he turned around and ran up the stairs, he couldn't listen to that anymore.
All he ever wanted in his life was Baekhyun.
He had done everything for this man.
He gave up all his life just so he could be with him.
He hadn't seen his mother for almost a year because he just wanted to be with him.
“Chanyeol, it's me honey. Open the door.” Chanyeol jumped up from his bed and unlocked the door to let his grandmother in.
He was scared Baekhyun would come in again and he locked all his doors and he saw the messenger pearl gleam behind him. He quickly called his mom who sent his grandparents to pick him up.
“It's okay, it's safe.” She pulled him into a hug and held him as he sobbed his heart out.
“It wasn't him. It isn't Baekhyun's voice.” He says as she comforts her grandson .
The countess didn't get what was happening except for the fact that her grandson was somehow devastated and scared.
“Your mother is waiting for you. Go stay with her for a while.” Chanyeol nods as he hugs her tighter.
“What have I done!” Baekhyun groaned as he grimaced.
“You have successfully fucked up.” Kai says as he pours him another glass of the wine.
“I don't know what came over me. Chanyeol must hate me now.” He says as he downs the wine in one gulp.
“I still can't believe you asked him that. That guy is head over heels for you, he would hand you his life if you asked.” Kai rolls his eyes as he pats him on the back.
“I don't know what I was thinking. The thought of losing him just made me blank and I lashed out.” Baekhyun says as he buries his face in his hands.
“I really don't deserve him.” Baekhyun observed a servant come in and whisper something to Kai.
“Baekhyun, I want you to promise me something.” Kai asked as Baekhyun stared at him.
“What is it?” Baekhyun asked but he hesitated but Baekhyun insisted.
“Chanyeol accepted the proposal.” Kai says and Baekhyun goes blank.
“Hey, honey! It's been so long.” Chanyeol smiled as he grabbed Seungho’s arm and intertwined it with his.
“What's happening here?” He asked, confused.
“It's about our wedding.” Chanyeol smiled as he faced the current Duke and bowed.
“Have you gone crazy?” Seungho yelled at him and Chanyeol started to tear up.
“You can't yell at him. Come here yeollie.” The Duke hugged him as he consoled him. Chanyeol stared at the man, grinning.
“You're going to get married in a few months. You can't treat him like this.” Seungho grit his teeth as he apologized to him on the Duke's insistence.
“What is this supposed to mean?” He roughly grabbed his wrist and yelled at him as soon as the duke left.
“You started the game, now play.” Chanyeol whispered as he left behind a shocked Seungho.
“Baekhyun?” Sujin calls out as Baekhyun kept staring at his brother and his date, Chanyeol.
Chanyeol was officially engaged to Seungho, her brother. They only meant to stir some trouble between Baekhyun and Chanyeol. While it worked, it also backfired. Chanyeol smirked as he waved to her as he saw her. However Baekhyun was already depressed because of the engagement news and his mood worsened when he saw Chanyeol at the party. He tightened his first when he saw Chanyeol smiling at that man.
Chanyeol had moved on from him. Honestly can he blame him? Baekhyun should've expected it after he was so rude to him. How could he ever insist that his Chanyeol cheated on him. It was a mistake on his part. He felt his heart break when he thought of that day. Chanyeol ran away from him because he was scared of him.
“Your majesty, let's retire for the night?” Sujin asked as he sighed.
“You can retire, I'll leave after a bit.” Baekhyun says as she bows and leaves with the child who didn't want to leave. Baekhyun never takes his eyes off Chanyeol the whole night.
“Maybe go talk to him.” Kai nudged him as he sighed.
“I blew my chance Jongin. He's not mine anymore.” Baekhyun says as they stand on the balcony at Zhang’s birthday party.
“He came here alone.” Jongin points out as Baekhyun shakes his head.
“He was scared of me Jongin. I don't deserve any chance.” Baekhyun says as he stares up at the sky and remembered when Chanyeol pointed out different constellations as they enjoyed the sandwiches he packed.
“Things change, it's been three weeks. Stop sulking and go talk to him.” Jongin says and Baekhyun looks at chanyeol who was running around with his friends. His pink outfit matches his pink tail.
“You know what, I'm going to talk to him.” He says as he turns around. Before he could approach him, Chanyeol left the party with his grandparents.
“You can talk to him at the engagement party, stop sulking.” Jongin laughed as he grabbed two more glasses of wine from the servant.
“Are you really getting married?” Baekhyun asked as he pulled Chanyeol into an empty room on his engagement ball.
“Be silent okay?” Chanyeol asked as Baekhyun nodded, he might be the emperor but Chanyeol had him wrapped around his finger. Chanyeol fought back the urge to ruffle Baekhyun's hair or to hug him.
“I'll be right back. Stay right here.” Baekhyun nodded as Chanyeol pressed a kiss against his cheek and left him.
He saw Chanyeol approach the Duke and he looked like he was asking him about something. The Duke nodded and hugged him and they seperated. Chanyeol whispered something to the tall guy who he assumed was his friend and came back to him.
“Come on.” Chanyeol grabs his hand and leads him sneakily to his room avoiding being spotted by anyone else.
“Speak now.” Chanyeol says as he locked the door and jumped on the bed, he was feeling drained. It was to be expected, he hadn't met Baekhyun for ages.
“Are you really getting married to him?” Chanyeol saw Baekhyun's face drooping as he asked. Chanyeol wanted to coo at his little puppy eyes.
“So what if I am?” Chanyeol asked as he saw Baekhyun wince. He knew Baekhyun was blaming himself but it wasn't true, Seungho and Sujin were to blame not Baekhyun.
“I'm sorry. I'll leave if you want me to.” Baekhyun looked down, he hurt chanyeol and there was no going back.
“You're funny.” Chanyeol starts to laugh as he takes his coat off in front of Baekhyun. He plopped down face first onto the bed.
“Did we stop when you got married?” Chanyeol giggled as he saw Baekhyun's eyes light up.
“I missed you so much.” Baekhyun pounced on him and hugged him tight as buried his nose in his nape.
“Me too.” Chanyeol wraps his arms around his neck as he pulls him for a kiss.
Chanyeol spent too much time away from his mate.
He needed Baekhyun.
A month earlier:
“Argh.” Chanyeol groans as he almost tore down the proposal sent to him.
“Fuck him.” He yells as Sehun, his friend, comes in as he hears him freaking out.
“I'll never forgive him. I'm going to make him regret even being born.” Chanyeol grinned and Sehun shrugged.
“Do it. I'm so bored these days.” Sehun grinned more maniacally than Chanyeol.
“Contact countess Erin and the Marchioness Zhang for me.” Sehun smiled as he nodded.
“What's the plan?” Sehun was really bored these days and Chanyeol creating a mess of the empire doesn't sound bad to him.
“I'm to dethrone him and bury him six feet under.” Chanyeol says holding the proposal in his hands.
“Do you need help with “burying him” part? I'd love to.” Sehun asked as chanyeol winked at him.
“You're a psychopath nymph.” Chanyeol grimaced as Sehun just laughed.
“As if you're any better, siren.” Sehun glared at his best friend and he was glaring at Sehun. They glared at each other for a few minutes before bursting into laughter.
“So how is your plan to trap Jongin going?” Chanyeol asked as Sehun shrugged.
“It's going nowhere, that guy is clueless.” Sehun says as Chanyeol bursts into laughter at his friend's misery.
“Hello! I'm Chanyeol.” Chanyeol smiled as he faced the current Duke Jung. The man smiled wide as he ushered him to sit.
“I heard so much about you.” He hurries to pour Chanyeol a cup of tea.
“Everything good I hope.” Chanyeol joked as he picked the cup from the table and took a sip.
“I like this tea. I feel like I'm eating cotton candy.” Chanyeol knows how to make someone like him, in the Duke's case, it was his wife.
“My wife used to say the same thing.” He says as Chanyeol grinned, bingo.
“Really? Seungho's mother? He talks so highly about her.” Chanyeol says as he adds more sugar to his cup and the duke smiles.
“He was really attached to his mother when he was a child. He had it the hardest when she passed away and during that time. That's around the same time I adopted Sujin.” The duke sighed as he recalled the memories.
“I want to see her portrait.” Chanyeol asked, his eyes sparkling at the request.
“Of course, come on.” He got up to escort him out, he started telling him all kinds of stories about her. The man loved her and he definitely wouldn't back down on telling all her stories especially with someone who wants to know about her.
“The empress is their main support.” Junmyeon, Marchioness Zhang says as Chanyeol shakes his head.
“If the duchy goes down, she will go down with it. I'll Make sure of it.” Chanyeol said as Sehun nodded.
“So another support is wealth and Marquis Lee. If we cut both of them off, he's going to lose most of the influence.” Erin added as Junmyeon nodded.
“We have to bring down the prince, not the duchy.” Chanyeol grumbles as he pouts. The duke was nice to him, he can't attack someone who was so nice to him.
“Did you grow a soft spot?” Sehun teases as chanyeol sticks his tongue at him.
“So how about you start with those businessmen who come from the other kingdom?” Erin points out as she pointed out the sea routes in the map.
“How did they manage to expand this rapidly?” Chanyeol asked as he looked at all the routes.
“What do you think they sell?” Sehun asked as he scoffed.
“Slaves and drugs.” Erin grimaces as Chanyeol starts to think.
“What boats carry legal and which ones carry illegal stuff? Which routes do they use?” Chanyeol asked as he looked at her.
“I can find it out.” Erin shrugged.
“Jun hyung, can you get a rescue team to rescue the slaves on the ship and safely escort them back to their lands?” Chanyeol asked as Junmyeon nodded.
“I can put together a team.” Junmyeon smiled.
“If we cut off his finances he's going straight to the treasure.” Sehun says as he rolls his eyes, what would they do without him?
“I can change the keys to the treasury and keep them with me.” Chanyeol chirps.
“Two happens to be my favourite number and the duchess loved the gardens. It's easy really.” They discussed their plan in more detail before leaving for their houses.
“Dada! Can I change the locks to these floral ones?” Chanyeol asks as he excitedly shows him the locks.
“Of course. Take the butler with you.” He says as he signalled for the butler.
“But there are only two keys for this lock. It's a new design called the twin roses, but I don't want to waste it.” He pouts as he holds the lock in front of him.
“How about this, use it for the treasury room. You can have one and I'll have one. If anyone else wants to access it, we'll know.” The duke smiled as he assured him it was alright.
“What if he wants the key and gets mad at me? He's been very odd lately after meeting with her majesty.” Chanyeol whispered as he hugged the lock closer to himself.
“He wouldn't dare, don't worry about that. Him and sujin probably had a fight.” He smiled as chanyeol hugged him and got to work.
That jerk won't know what hit him.
He should've listened to his warning back then.
“You're Chanyeol aren't you?” Seungho cornered him as he was in the market to buy something to complete the rings.
“So what?” Chanyeol countered as he attempted to escape.
“Come on, you're seeing his majesty right?” He whispered as chanyeol grimaced.
“While he's married to her majesty?” He continued.
“Oh! You are in no position to tell me that.” Chanyeol chuckled as he shoved him back.
“You're sleeping with her majesty.” Chanyeol scoffed.
“We are siblings.” He smirked as chanyeol winked.
“That clearly didn't stop you.’ Chanyeol smiled as he saw the enraged prince in front of him.
“I dare you to try it. I'll have your tongue pulled out.” He leaned in to whisper.
“Yes. Of course.” Chanyeol says out loud as he flips their positions to him holding the other against the wall.
“Try me.” He whispered as he left him there and he left him and resumed his shopping.
“I hear you're causing ruckus all over the duchy.” Baekhyun says as he wrapped his arms around his waist as they sat on the bed.
“Well, I'm a siren after all. Causing chaos is part of the job description.” Chanyeol laughed as reached out to a blue box on his nightstand.
“Here, for you.” Chanyeol tossed it into his hands as he freed himself from his grip.
Baekhyun opened the box to find a silver ring with a pink shell in the middle. That was the ring he saw in Chanyeol's house that day.
“I made it for you. It's a siren tradition. My scale will protect you from harm when I'm not around.” Chanyeol says as Baekhyun gives him the ring so he could put it on himself.
“Go ahead.” Baekhyun puts his hand in Chanyeol's as the latter puts the ring on his finger, it was a perfect fit. Baekhyun threw the other ring he was forced to wear to the other side as he hugged Chanyeol.
“Tell me you love me.” Chanyeol mumbles as he yawns. Baekhyun knew he was going to fall asleep anytime soon.
“I love you.” Baekhyun says as he kisses his cheek as he watches Chanyeol drift into sleep.
“I don't know what you are planning. I hope everything goes however you want it to baby.” Baekhyun mumbled as he watched papers and drafts on Chanyeol's work table.
He drowned all the ships that were supposed to return tomorrow. Seungho and Marquis Lee are going to be hysterical if they find out that the trade failed. It would cost them way too much to recover. Baekhyun just hoped for him to be safe. He almost lost him once and he's never going to again. Chanyeol assured him that he wasn't going to lose him. He also told him that if Baekhyun hadn't talked to him back then, he would've barged into his study and in his words “I would've shown you how ridiculous you were being”. He continues to tidy up the table for Chanyeol as he sees something that caught his attention.
“What is this?” He wondered as he picked it up and tried to make sense of what was written there.
Baekhyun was shocked as he read what Chanyeol had written. The baby wasn't his. The only reason she even was married to him was because she told everyone that it was his and he had to endure everything because of a lie? He was furious when he read further, she was having a relationship with her brother and the worst part was the probability that the baby might be his. Baekhyun knows that they were not biological siblings but adopted siblings are also siblings. He felt gross and he wanted to puke. Part of him wanted to go confront her and demand a paternity test but the other part was telling him to trust his lover and not mess something up for him.
He finally puts the documents under another pile of papers and goes back to the bed. Chanyeol snuggled closer to Baekhyun and Baekhyun pressed a kiss against his forehead as he slowly drifted off into sleep.
“Chanyeol! How dare you change the lock to the treasury’s door!” Chanyeol jumped in his seat as the man barged into his room.
Luckily for Chanyeol, he was talking to the duke about opening a new trade route through the park's county.
“He's in charge of the castle, why can't he?” Seungho jumped when he heard his father's voice.
“Why were you trying to get in there?” Chanyeol asked as he paled, he knew he was at a disadvantage if he explained.
“So anyway the land route will reduce the cost of transportation and it will also increase the efficiency, since the sea is dangerous and unpredictable.” Chanyeol clapped as the Duke smiled at him, Chanyeol purposely mentioned the last sentence just to provoke him.
“Sea isn't that dangerous.” Seungho glared at him and Chanyeol cheered for himself internally.
“Seriously, didn't you hear about the Marquis Lee’s shipment? Rumour is that they lost so much he was bankrupt.” Chanyeol smiled as he looked directly into his eyes, Seungho was scared, those eyes scared him.
“I know, I have heard about that too.” Chanyeol smirked as he saw Seungho flinch as his father spoke.
“Thank god, you didn't invest in that.” Chanyeol laughed as the duke sighed as he poured him another cup of tea. Seungho glared at him and started to leave and Chanyeol didn't feel like it, because of him, Baekhyun cried.
“I heard even the empress invested and the emperor was furious about it.” Chanyeol says as he sips his tea as he keeps his eyes on his fiance. Chanyeol knew Baekhyun had a meeting with her at the time, and the timing was perfect.
Seungho is going to run to the castle and declare that it was his idea to make the empress invest in the trade. The rumour didn't start yet, so the only way he had heard about it is if he was the partner in that trade. The problem arises because when a higher noble, like the Dukes, were in a business, they needed to pay ten percent to the imperial family as tax. So as to ensure the small territories don't have to pay equal tax as the big ones. His Baekhyun was a genius, since the rule was implemented, whoever ran their business under an alias for tax reasons was investigated and punished as traitors.
The duke and him weren't talking about that to begin with, it was a curse. Chanyeol casted a curse on him, the only reason he had heard those words from him and the duke was because of his paranoia. The ancient curse enables the siren to confuse the prey by making him hallucinate or hear voices about something he was already paranoid about.
The reality was that Chanyeol told him that the house looked really neat today and the duke replied that it was his effort. He said that the castle needed a duchess to shine and Chanyeol just told him that it was all because of him taking care of him.
“So you're telling me, you are a partner in marqise Lee's trade and you have convinced the empress to invest in the trade.” Baekhyun rubbed his temples as the court murmured.
“Your majesty, please launch an investigation so we can prosecute the traitors.” Baekhyun knew who that was, Marquis Zhang, he was usually not that interested in such matters but Chanyeol was impressive.
“Your majesty, I think there's more to their relationship than it seems. No sane person would put their position and the empire is on the line. I am asking you to make sure the prince is really yours.” Everyone gasped when Sehun spoke, Baekhyun had met him when Chanyeol introduced them, he was quite scary.
“How dare you talk about it!” The empress rose up yelling and that helped cement Sehun's request even more.
“He might be rude but I think you should do it, just to push back the rumours.” Countess Erin says as Baekhyun sighed, he was impressed with Chanyeol. There's nothing his siren can't do, he couldn't help but feel proud of him.
“I'm ordering an investigation and as for the test, I'll be writing to the prince's fiancee and I'll decide on a date.” Baekhyun says as the empress glared at him.
“How dare you talk to me like this! I'm the empress!” She yelled as she lunged at Baekhyun and Kai subdued her before she could hurt him.
Sehun knows she was headed down the hell the next minute the siren finds out about it. Chanyeol would go all out if he were to find out that she tried to hurt his Baekhyun.
Things are going to get interesting soon.
“How could you do this to me?” Chanyeol says as the duke hugged him, comforting him.
“You always told me she was your sister.” Chanyeol knew he was going to deliver the final straw and he was going to end both of them.
Chanyeol was going to drag them down to nothing just because they made Baekhyun misunderstand and made him sad. She tried to hurt Baekhyun, he was going to make sure she was dead.
“Don't you dare speak to me like that. You're sleeping with Byun and you dare talk to me like that. I've never loved you and I know you didn't either!” Seungho yelled as everyone gasped and Chanyeol wanted to gloat so badly but he had to pretend to be a heart broken lover.
“You never did?” Chanyeol mumbled as he clenched his hands and ran away from the room, keeping his head down. He had to look like he was crying but also because he was smirking and no one should see his face.
Chanyeol knew what was going down in that room. He could hardly wait until the day he can be by Baekhyun's side freely.
Rumours about what Seungho said spread like wildfire but not in a good way though. He had accused him of cheating on him with Baekhyun and everyone had turned their backs on him. It was ridiculous anyway, they just got caught cheating. All the imperial maids started gossiping and Seungho visited her chambers and stayed the night. No one was suspicious then but the times have changed.
The empress has been under house arrest. Chanyeol did visit her once, to everyone else he was just a heart broken fiancee whose spouse cheated on him with his own sister but honestly he went there to gloat. The empress threw the ceramic cup at him and Chanyeol let her. The public sentiment worsened against her. She was not showing remorse at all and she passed someone else's child as the imperial family. That was treason and not only that Baekhyun investigated the whole business and found out about their shady business and shut it down as well.
The duke disowned Seungho and declared that Chanyeol was his heir. Chanyeol was shocked, he tried to refuse but the duke was adamant. He kept telling Chanyeol how grateful he was to have met him and how he was the only good thing that happened to Seungho who didn't recognise him. The duke told him he trusted him to run the duchy and that he had no doubt he'd be amazing. He also insisted that he could call him father. Chanyeol teared up as he hugged him tightly.
The mother was guilty but the baby was innocent, Baekhyun announced that the child will take the surname Jung and grow up in the duchy. Since the empress was deposed, the search for a new empress started. Many suggested that Baekhyun marry the current duchess as he was already raising the former prince. Since Baekhyun had raised the child for five years, he obviously has grown attached to the child so if he were to have another child, everything would eventually settle down.
At that point, Chanyeol was very proud of him. Chanyeol only planned ahead until the empress got deposed. Baekhyun told him to rest and that he'd take care of the rest. Baekhyun shifted the public opinion on the new empress. Everyone loved a good story, all he had to do was to find a nice reporter to publish the story of the heartbroken lovers comforting each other and it spread like wildlife. The commoners and nobles included, everyone was starting to ship them.
“Why are you such a genius?” Chanyeol says as he cupped Baekhyun's face and kissed him.
“Then should we get married?” Baekhyun saw Chanyeol go red in the face, he was so adorable. He wonders what Kai saw in him that was scary.
“Yes, let's get married.” Chanyeol said as he kissed him again and hugged him tight.
“Are you crying?” Chanyeol laughed as he heard sniffles from behind him.
“I'm a human being with emotions.” Baekhyun argues as Chanyeol rolls his eyes.
“Correction, you are my human with emotions.” Chanyeol laughed as he ran his hands through Baekhyun's hair so as to comfort him.
“I can't tell papa either.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes as he watched the five year old throw a tantrum because he said no to more cupcakes.
Chanyeol liked that kid, he was so adorable. He looked exactly like her but the kid has won his heart. Sujin only had him so as to trap Baekhyun and when it didn't work, she ignored him. Chanyeol winced when he saw all the marks on his back. It took a while for the kid to trust him and Chanyeol felt proud when he acted spoiled and threw tantrums.
“Why not?” Baekhyun asked as the brat stomped his tiny legs and pouted.
“You're scared of mama too.” Baekhyun burst out laughing as Chanyeol glared at him.
“Why am I the mom?” Chanyeol asks as the brat, Byul just giggles as he whispers something in Baekhyun's ear.
“That's actually a good reason.” Baekhyun says as he and Byul shake hands with a wide grin on their faces.
“What do you want, brat?” Chanyeol asked as the boy laid his head on his lap.
“Can you be my mama?” He asks as he looks up with big wide eyes and he looks over to Baekhyun who was making almost the same expression.
“Can you be my empress?” Baekhyun asked as Chanyeol groaned.
“Did you two plan this ambush?” Chanyeol asked as he picked Byul up, placing him in his lap and the boy smiled at him.
“We were planning to ask you in front of the whole court tomorrow.” Byul says as he placed his little hand on his cheek.
“Go ahead, I'll give you my answer then.” Chanyeol laughed as he hugged Byul and Baekhyun nodded as he watched Byul and Chanyeol bickering. His son had never been happier, without Sujin.
Baekhyun blamed himself for not noticing what she was doing to his baby. Chanyeol had all the maids who cooperated with Sujin arrested and imprisoned. Chanyeol had also convinced him to visit the dungeon and punish them. Chanyeol was trying to make him see that it was him who was powerful, not them. In his words it's going to give him self confidence and a sense of power and relief, relief that they can't hurt him. Chanyeol was everything Baekhyun ever asked for and now he has him, he was never letting him go.
“Do you feel better?” Chanyeol asked his little son who was grinning ear to ear.
“Hmm, yes. I love you mama.” Byul says in excitement as he hugged his leg.
“Should I have them killed?” Chanyeol asked as Byul giggled and threw his hands up. Chanyeol rolled his eyes as he picked him up, he looked happy.
“Sure, throw them in the sea!” Byul yelled as Chanyeol pinched his little nose and the boy just hugged him.
“Where is she?” Byul whispered as Chanyeol pointed to the stairs which lead downstairs.
“Do you want to see them?” Chanyeol asked as Byul tightened his hands around his neck.
“I want to tell her that I wasn't the problem, she was.” He mumbled when Chanyeol ram his hands through his hair and mumbled out and okay.
Byul always thought it was because he wasn't enough. His mother always told him that he was not enough. If he threw a tantrum, he'd be punished. If he got a bad grade, he'd be punished. Everytime he asked to be picked up, she would scold him and tell him that it was not how he was supposed to behave. Everything changed when he met Chanyeol, his father told him that he could be his new mother. Byul was worried about disappointing him and tried his best to make sure Chanyeol liked him. Chanyeol told him he did well and that it was amazing of him when he got good grades but instead pinned a drawing he made of them. Byul collected pebbles from the pond and proudly showed them off to his grandfather and Chanyeol, who had them placed in a glass display.
Chanyeol always picked him up whenever he asked and never scolded him. Byul finally felt free, he could be whatever he wanted and there was no one who would object to that. He had his parents and his grandfather who loved him unconditionally and that's all he's ever wanted.
“You're my mama, no take backs.” Byul says as he hugged Chanyeol in front of the whole court who just cooed at the sight.
Baekhyun was standing behind him, he wanted to hug chanyeol and put the ring on his finger but his son looked like he had no plans of letting go of Chanyeol anytime soon. Chanyeol extended his left hand towards him and he slipped the ring on his finger, it was a perfect fit. Chanyeol smiled as he pulled him into a hug.
According to everyone else, they were two broken hearts who healed each other. In reality they were each other's first and last love. Chanyeol wasn't supposed to be in the engagement party but decided against it and Chanyeol still thinks about that day, what if he stuck to his original decision and didn't attend the party.
“Does anyone object to this wedding?” Baekhyun announced as Chanyeol glared at the people who were hesitating in the back. Kai felt shivers when he saw the glare. He still can't believe that Baekhyun doesn't find him scary, that can be explained because Chanyeol acts totally different in front of him but still how did he not notice that menace. Jongin just knew Baekhyun's reign was going to be peaceful because one, he was a great ruler and two, his lover, Chanyeol.
“Thank you?” Jongin says as he takes the wine glass the stranger offers him, he remembers that guy, he was Chanyeol's friend, Sehun.
“The wedding is amazing.” Sehun smiled as Jongin shrugged, he and Baekhyun put in a lot of effort for the wedding and it was always nice to know when his efforts were appreciated.
“Baekhyun was so paranoid about today but Chanyeol would still marry him even if he was wearing rags.” Jongin laughed, feeling drunk.
“He's obsessed with that human.” Sehun laughed as Jongin stared at him, confused.
“Human?” Jongin asked as Sehun just grinned at him.
“That stupid siren sure loves him.” Sehun mumbled as he intertwined their fingers together.
“Siren!” Jongin questioned as he looked over at the happy couple who were dancing with their little son.
“Mermaid!” Byul says excitedly as Chanyeol rolled his eyes as he glared at Baekhyun.
“What are you doing here?” Chanyeol asked as Baekhyun smiled as he showed him a basket with food.
“Picnic!” Baekhyun says as he raised the basket in his hand and Byul nodded thoughtfully.
“Byul, this is a secret between us okay?” Chanyeol says as the kid nodded.
“We made sandwiches.” Byul says, puffing up his chest, clearly very proud of himself.
“Yep, somehow it wasn't all that bad.” Baekhyun reached for Chanyeol's hand and held it.
“You didn't burn the kitchen down?” Chanyeol asked as he pulled himself up and sat beside Baekhyun who was dipping his legs into the pond.
“No!” Baekhyun answers, very flustered. It was once, just once. Chanyeol never lets go of that one incident.
Chanyeol burst out laughing and Byul snuggled closer to Chanyeol as he munched on his sandwich. Chanyeol laughed when he saw the boy wincing when he saw the cucumber that was in his sandwich and teased him for that. Baekhyun was glad he met Chanyeol, everything was finally settling down.
He was getting married to Chanyeol in a month and Jongin got himself a boyfriend, who was quite scary. Sehun, who apparently was a nymph all this time. Baekhyun wondered how many magical creatures were living with the humans without them knowing.
“I do.” Baekhyun says with a big smile on his face unlike the previous time where he was wearing a scowl.
“I do.” Chanyeol says with a big grin plastered on his face and the priest continued on with the ceremony and Chanyeol and Baekhyun were staring at each other that the only other words they registered was for them to kiss and so they did.
The pink ring glittered on his hand as he pulled Chanyeol into a kiss and Chanyeol laughed when Byul when he stomped his little feet, getting angry for taking Chanyeol away from him. Chanyeol helped his little hand for the rest of the day and the little brat dared to smirk at him, smugly.
Baekhyun saw Jongin whine as he talked to his lover, Oh Sehun. The said nymph took the wine glass from his hands and Jongin was already drunk. Sehun rolled his eyes as he picked him up and headed out. Baekhyun laughed as he saw Jongin go red, very very flustered. Now he has something to hold against Jongin. He found Chanyeol who was talking to Junmyeon and little Byul who was sitting on the table while Chanyeol fed him dinner.
Everything felt peaceful and calm. This was his home, with Chanyeol, Byul and maybe their future children. Byul wasn't biologically his son but he raised that boy, he was there when he was born. He saw the boy grow up, he watched as he took his first steps towards him, he listened to him speaking dada for the very first time. He loved him all the same and so did Chanyeol, if that isn't what parenthood is he doesn't know what is.
“Soyeon, don't try to kill your brother.” Chanyeol says as she pouts and lets go of her brother.
“Papa!” Minjun and Byul ran to hug him and he crouched down to hug both of them and his daughter just rolled her eyes. Soyeon looked exactly like him, he doesn't know where her attitude came from.
“Why were you trying to kill him?” Chanyeol asked as the five year old huffed as she crossed her arms.
Seriously though, where does she get that attitude from?
“It's not your business.” Soyeon says as Chanyeol scoffed, he blamed Baekhyun for all of this. He can never say no to her and she's giving him attitude.
“We were playing.” Minjun pipes up as he tugs on his robe and Chanyeol picks him up as he holds Byul's hand.
“Dada!” Soyeon jumps on her father as Baekhyun caught her mid air and she giggled.
“What were you up to?” Baekhyun asked as he pinched her little nose and she just whined.
“Can we go have lunch now?” Soyeon blinks up at him, she looks exactly like Chanyeol, even her eyes, Baekhyun refuses to believe that she can do anything wrong. Chanyeol wonders where she got that attitude from but so did he when they first started dating.
No matter how busy they get, they always have dinner together. That was an unspoken rule. Both their children were also sirens, like Chanyeol. But Chanyeol's tail was a brilliant hue of pink but his daughter's was a gorgeous colour of baby blue and his son's was a perfect mix of purple and lavender as Chanyeol would say. Chanyeol was afraid Byul would feel left out since both of them were sirens and he was not but Byul loved to play in the pond with them. The relief was showing on Chanyeol's face. He had also met Chanyeol’s mother, she was very kind and warm, like mother, like son. She takes all three of the kids with her to the ocean sometimes so they can enjoy themselves. Byul has a necklace with Chanyeol's fin, it protects him underwater whenever they are not around.
Sehun and Jongin had also gotten married and they have a son together, Jinho. He's almost a year old by now.
Baekhyun is perfectly happy, he has Chanyeol, his kids and everything will be fine.
Chanyeol laid his head on his lap as the kids run off to play. Chanyeol had fallen asleep in his lap, and honestly, there was nowhere else they'd rather be. Baekhyun belonged there too, right alongside him, with their little troublemakers curled up nearby.
In the end, Chanyeol really was the best gift he could’ve asked for.