Roman returned to the house followed by Mary. Finding Tony there was a surprise. Much more to see that the slave was insinuating to his friend that he was the cause of his nakedness and the marks on his body. Roman was silent, it was too obvious what he had been doing in that room with that boy. The general approached the slave and it looked like he was going to hit him, but that would be only to show his nervousness and eternal frustration, especially because of the defiant look Seth gave him. Roman did not say anything, just left the room hurriedly. Tony followed him. Mary, as usual, ran to find tools to clean the boy. Dean used that time to get out of hiding.

"That guy is a bastard, Seth, I promise we'll save you, we cannot leave you here any longer, that man will kill you." Dean said this and with great sorrow had to leave Seth there.

Roman was so upset that he went to a room in a distant part of his own house. Up there, Tony followed him. Dean took the opportunity to go back to the kitchen and look for Charlotte, when they were leaving, Mary could see them.

"Who are you?" The woman asked scared. "I'll call the soldiers."

"Please don't do that!" Charlotte threw herself at the old woman's feet and pleaded. "We came to see if Seth is alive, we're unarmed, I'm just a girl."

"Ma'am, we're really worried." Dean decided to fool the woman. "We just arrived and we just want to know if Seth is alive, just that and we'll leave."

The old woman felt sorry for the kids. They were very young and risked their lives to get information about Seth. "He is alive, I always take care of him and I will continue to do it, now go away or you will be killed".

Both kids thanked the woman with kisses and hugs and fled quickly.

Mary went upstairs to Roman's bedroom with a damp cloth and warm water. She decided not to tell Seth about those kids who were looking for him, she didn't want to distress the boy even more. Mary helped him to clean and dress. While she tenderly cared for the young slave, she began to advise him.

"Son, you cannot keep behaving like this. I raised Master Roman and I know him like the back of my hand, the only thing that can explain his obsession with you is that he is developing feelings for you. I think he is in love but he doesn't want to admit it, even to himself because you both are men and he used to hate guys like you. I also think that you feel something good for him despite your endless provocations, those sounds that you scream when you are together are not cries of pain, kid."

Seth blushed deeply. "It's just sex."

"I don't believe that, I think Master Roman needs someone to love him. If you behave docile, maybe if you show him some love, he could calm down and both of you could be happy and stop fighting. He's going crazy for you, instead of challenging him, you should try to find the good feelings he has inside him, but you're too stubborn."

"And you're too naive, nobody can find a good feeling inside of that man because he doesn't have any good feelings."

"You're wrong, he had a girlfriend named Mickie, she was the sweetest girl in the whole kingdom." Master Roman said she calmed the anger inside him, I don't know if he loved her, but in any case, he took care of her and protected her. When they were together, he even smiled and they planned to get married when he came back from a battle."

The old woman paused, it hurt to remember those incidents. "Unfortunately when he came back, he found out that she had died because of the plague, her mother is an old woman like me, and Mickie was her only daughter and her joy. With her death, that woman was alone in the world. Master Roman is now taking care of her, he sends her food and money so she can have a decent life. Now you see he has a good side, Mickie found it. Master Roman has a very strong feeling for you, I think he loves you and that gives you the power to do what Mickie did, to find the good feelings that the master has inside him, but because of your stubbornness, you don't do it."

"Even if I wanted to do that, there's something I can't change, I have not forgotten AJ, Roman has not done anything to make me develop any good feeling for him, just the fucking pleasure that makes me behave like a cheap whore when he touches me."

And it was obvious that Seth was trying to be strong, to hold back and still, several tears came out of his eyes without he could do anything to avoid it. "But that's not love, that strange and dirty desire that corrupts my body is not love, it can't be love! It is not love because I hate that feeling, I hate being weak against Roman. I hate myself for not being able to resist. I hate myself for knowing that tonight, when he returns, I'll beg him to take my body again."

Finally he could no longer resist and began to cry like a little child. "I hate myself a lot and I hate Roman even more for turning me into this, everything in my heart is hate, and I was not like this, I was never like this. I don't know what Roman did to me, how he transformed me into this! I feel so dirty, I feel like the worst scum in the world, and yet I cannot do anything but behave like a whore when he touches me!"

Seth paused, he was crying so much he could not even speak. "That's why we can't live in peace, no matter what happens. I hate him for having turned me into his bitch, for having awoken in me this dirty feeling that I hate so much, for making me hate myself, and he hates me because he believes that I turned him into a fag."

Seth continued crying even more as he was held by Mary.

Both men hated that feeling that they shared and that made them be in denial. The old woman hugged Seth feeling sorry for the two boys. There was nothing to do, both were doomed, they would destroy each other.

...

Tony was obviously worried. "I came to visit you because there was no news about you. I went to visit Mickie's mom and found out that she didn't have anything to eat, I was surprised you had not given her food and money, so I came here to find out what was happening with you."

"How could I forget her?" Roman said desperately.

"Don't worry, I took care of that. I gave her money and food and I apologized in your behalf." Tony said trying to reassure the raven-haired man. "You never forget her, that's when I realized something was wrong, I was surprised to find that boy in your bedroom. Roman, that kid is naked and full of bites and hickies."

Tony saw Roman pacing back and forth in that room like a caged wild animal. Tony looked at him trying to find an explanation of what was happening with his friend.

Roman didn't know what to do or say. He felt so lost and desperate and all he could do was confess everything to his friend. "What he said is true, I'm responsible for those marks and hickies on his body. When he arrived here I could not help it, it was like a damn spell. Little by little, I was being dragged." Roman grabbed his hair and looked at his friend desperately. "Tony, I don't know what's happening to me, I can't help it, every damn night I take his body, I fuck his brains like there's no tomorrow."

Tony paled at Roman's confession. The raven-haired man always hated fags as he called them. This was not possible.

"Are you saying you're sleeping with another man? With that kid! But you always said you hated guys like him!"

"I know!" Roman interrupted Tony. "I know perfectly well, but I can't even understand myself, since that boy came to my house, I'm not myself anymore. I can't imagine my life without him, every time I think about the day when the King is going to take Seth away from me, I feel like I'll go crazy. I don't have a minute of peace, all I can think about is the damn desire to possess his body again and again."

"This situation can't continue. I will go up to your room and kill that boy." Tony was angry.

"That's a terrible idea, that kid is the only source of wealth that this kingdom has, if the King discovers that you killed him, we will both be beheaded."

"Then I'll take care of him, if you don't see him, you'll be fine."

Roman approached Tony with a furious gaze. "Nobody, listen to me, Tony, nobody's going to get Seth out of my house or my bed. I don't care if you're my friend, I don't even care if you have good intentions or if you want to save me. I don't want to be saved, I'm more than doomed I will not let anyone take that kid away from me."

"The King will take him away, Roman. He must return that kid to AJ, when he complies with the deal."

"NO!" Roman was furious. "I will never allow anyone to return Seth to that AJ bastard. Before that, I'd rather kill Seth."

"Are you crazy, Roman?! You yourself have said it, the King will kill you if you kill that kid."

"I know Tony, and the worst thing is that I don't care. I can't bear to imagine Seth happy in anyone else's arms, even though I know he's not happy with me. I'd rather see him being unhappy with me than knowing he's happy with another man. Everything that matters to me is tied to the central pillar of my room. Tied, because if I take off the straps, the little slut who behaves like the worst of the whores every night and enjoys like a horny bitch when I take his body, he would run away from me in a heartbeat. The damn bitch gives me his body every night, but Seth loves AJ, the little whore doesn't feel anything for me, if he had the chance, he would escape."

Tony closed his eyes trying to recover from the shock. "Roman, just listen to yourself, you're in love with that kid." Tony said horrified.

"NO!" Roman shook his head, looking at nowhere. "What I feel for him cannot be love! Love is something that makes you want to save the life of your loved one and I would rather a thousand times to see him dead than with another man. Love is something that makes you want to take care of your loved one and I want to hit him every time he rubs in my face that he loves AJ."

Roman was so out of his mind that he was talking nonstop. "Love is something that should make me want to set him free so he could be happy, even if not with me, instead I prefer to keep him tied as a wild animal for the rest of his life, if that allows me to keep him by my side. This thing I feel is something so sick and destructive that I can't label it as love. A part of me hates him, Tony. I hate him because he transformed me into someone like him. There were moments I wanted to choke the little bitch, but when I put my hands on his body, all I want is to fuck him again and again."

Tony was surprised and completely pale. He could not believe that the person in front of him was the same Roman he thought he knew. Roman was always confident and proud and this man was a mess. It was also true that Roman let himself be dominated by emotions, especially anger. But love or whatever name that strange feeling that the raven-haired man felt for Seth might be, was not on the list of emotions that could dominate Roman. The man in front of him was almost on the verge of madness. That feeling that he had developed for that kid chained in his room, and that the man with jet-black hair refused to label as love, was consuming him. None of them would have a happy ending.

"I will not say anything about this to anyone, Roman. I will find a way to help you, I can't allow you to destroy your life and your future."

Roman looked at him defiantly. Tony knew him well and could read what Roman's eyes said.

"I will not do anything against that kid, nor will I take him away from you, that would only make you crazier. I still can't believe this thing you told me, but I still think there must be some way you can fix this without having to be separated from the object of your obsession and without ending up killing each other."

Despite Tony's apprehension about the kind of relationship Roman now shared with another man. Cesaro appreciated his friend too much to let him destroy himself and do nothing to stop him. He would have to find the way to help Roman.

The raven-haired man could feel the sincerity of his friend and approached him in a gesture that Tony would never have thought possible. Roman buried his face in the shoulder of his friend and began to emit light sobs. Roman trembled as he struggled to hold back the tears, but finally he ended up surrendering to the enormous emotional burden he had been enduring since Seth had entered in his life.

Tony could not believe it. Whatever that feeling was, which Tony was sure was love, although Roman refused to accept it, the soldier could not deny that it was very powerful and destructive. Tony felt so sad for his friend and not knowing what to do, hugged him back.

It was almost inconceivable and incredible to see Roman behaving that way. Roman did not shed a tear even when Mickie died. But now the raven-haired man was crying, and his sobs increased more and more. Tony, then realized that he had to do something for Roman, before a tragedy happened in his house.

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