Claude's mysterious encounter

Claude woke up from a dream, startled and sweating. In his dream, he had seen Wade crawling above him, placing Claude's duck in his backside while teasing, "Come on, Claude, I know you can't refuse~." Claude woke up screaming, breathing heavily.

"Was that just a dream?" he muttered to himself. As he sat up, he noticed a bulge in his pants, making him more frustrated.

His mind flashed back to the incident at the market with Wade and that commoner.

"That bastard!" he growled, gritting his teeth in anger.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. His grandmother entered the room, smiling gently. "Your Uncle Henry is waiting for you downstairs."

Claude quickly changed his clothes and rushed downstairs. He saw his Uncle Henry standing by the door, arms crossed. "Come on now, the banquet starts in an hour."

Before leaving, Claude kissed his grandmother's forehead. "Don't worry, Grandma. I'll bring you your favorite curry, alright?"

His grandmother chuckled and nodded. "Be safe."

Claude left with Uncle Henry, driving a carriage filled with wine towards the palace.

---

Twenty Minutes Later

Upon arrival at the palace, Claude stepped out of the carriage, dressed like a gentleman. Uncle Henry handed him a box of wine.

"Deliver these inside," his uncle instructed.

Claude nodded and started carrying the wine inside the grand halls of the palace. The banquet had begun, but he only saw Wade's two older siblings. Wade himself was nowhere to be found.

After finishing his task, Claude stepped outside to check on the last box of wine. To his surprise, Uncle Henry was nowhere to be seen, and the last box looked different from the others.

Curious, he read the note attached to it: "Mansion 3: Room 5."

"Who could this be for?" he murmured.

Claude approached one of the royal guards. "Excuse me, where is Mansion 3, Room 5?"

The guard glanced at the note and nodded. "Ah, a special delivery for His Highness. Go through the garden at the back, turn left, and you'll find it."

Claude hesitated but followed the given directions. He arrived at a private villa near the palace. Strangely, there were no visitors, guards, or even butlers around.

Entering the villa, he walked toward Room 5. Wade was still nowhere to be seen. Claude set the wine bottles on the table, noticing rose petals scattered around.

"Is Wade... expecting a date?" he muttered, recalling the whispers he had overheard in the restroom earlier.

Suddenly, he heard approaching voices. Panicked, he quickly hid inside the closet.

From the gap in the door, he saw Prince Wade enter the room, accompanied by unfamiliar nobles and commoners, all wearing robes.

One of the nobles asked, "Why didn’t you attend your brother’s banquet?"

Wade scoffed. "Banquets are boring. I hate interacting with people."

As the nobles and commoners started loosening their robes and settling on the bed, one of them knelt before Wade.

Before anything happened, Wade stopped the commoner. "You're not wet enough. There's a gel in the closet—go get it."

Claude's heart pounded. "Oh crap! What do I do?!" he thought frantically.

Just as the commoner opened the closet door, Claude was standing there, frozen, with an awkward smile. "Oh, uh... hi?"

The room fell silent.

Claude panicked, rushed past them, pretended to rearrange the wine bottles on the table, and then bolted out of the room, blurting, "Have fun!"

---

Outside, he saw Uncle Henry waiting by the carriage. "Where have you been? And where's the VIP wine box?!"

Claude, still panting, widened his eyes.

His uncle's expression darkened. "Don't tell me you delivered—?" He groaned. "Right, I forgot to tell you—there's a VIP wine that only His Highness’s butler is supposed to deliver!"

Claude, still shaken, grabbed his uncle’s arm. "Let's get out of here."

---

The next day, Claude looked pale and distracted in class.

As soon as class ended, Wade called out to him, but Claude pretended not to hear and rushed to the horse field to practice.

After training, he washed his face at the faucet area when he suddenly noticed Wade standing in front of him.

Startled, Claude turned to leave, but Wade followed him. "Hey, Lord Peeping Tom!"

Claude halted, clenching his fists.

Wade smirked. "Are you going to ignore me all day? Mr. William will give us an F if we don’t finish our project together."

Claude sighed and responded coldly, "Your Highness, I'll do my part and give it to you once I'm done."

Wade leaned closer. "Is this about what happened last night?"

Claude stiffened. "It was an accident, Your Highness. I wasn't informed that I wasn’t allowed to enter your private event."

Wade smirked and held up a familiar piece of fabric. "Oh, stop being so uptight. We’ll do the project together, or else I’m keeping this."

Claude’s eyes widened. "My handkerchief! Give it back!"

Wade dodged as Claude tried to grab it.

"Please, Your Highness! My grandmother knitted that for me!"

Wade smirked. "Then stop ignoring me and work on the project with me."

As Wade continued to tease him, he accidentally stepped on a muddy patch and slipped.

Reacting quickly, Claude caught him just in time. Their eyes met—like two galaxies colliding.

Claude's face turned red. He quickly pulled away, flustered, and turned to walk off.

Wade, still standing there, smirked. "Are you going to work with me, or should I use this handkerchief as a table rag?"

Claude groaned in frustration. "Ugh, fine! We'll meet in the library during recess!"

Wade grinned. "Don’t worry, I’ll be on time!"

Claude ignored him and kept walking.

Watching him leave, Wade smirked to himself. "Who really are you, Claude?"

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