“The hunt is over. The battle at the campsite is over too.”
“…”
“Those idiots who didn’t listen when told not to follow and pretended not to know while stubbornly trailing all the way here… I didn’t care whether they died at the campsite or not…”
Assad’s voice, which had been muttering to himself, suddenly cut off.
Assad fell silent. In the silence he created, Assad simply felt Cayden’s warmth against him.
“Cayden.”
And Assad called out to Cayden. It was a call uttered in an uncharacteristically small voice.
“…Yes.”
“I was afraid I wouldn’t find you. Even though I was confident I could find you, I was still scared.”
“…”
“I still am. The Crown Prince of Helio, who should fear nothing, is pathetically trembling.”
While cradled in Assad’s arms, Cayden took in his partner’s words. He felt the pheromones embracing him—gentle and sweet without any sharpness. It was a soft scent hard to believe belonged to a man who had been fiercely roaming the desert sands.
Cayden slightly lifted his head to look at the night sky. The desert night, viewed while embracing Assad’s warm body, felt more beautiful than before. It was truly a strange thing.
“Your Highness.”
Still looking up, Cayden called to Assad.
“Yes. I’m here.”
And Cayden tried speaking his companion’s name. He called him after such a long time.
“…Amun.”
It was such a warm name. Yet also a name that chilled a corner of his heart.
“You told me in front of the painting in the art gallery. You said the desert night is more beautiful than day. Remember?”
“…”
“Sitting in front of the fire looking at that sky, I remembered what you told me. You were right. The desert is more beautiful at night than during the day.”
Cayden gently patted Assad’s back again, who had lost his words.
“Assad.”
“…”
“You’re a person who deceived me. But you’re also the person who has treated me more honestly than anyone else in this world.”
Slowly, Cayden continued.
“My companion, my teacher… I will never forget you for the rest of my life.”
To Assad before him, to Amun, Cayden conveyed his honest feelings.
“Thank you so much. I really wanted to say thank you.”
A small smile that Assad couldn’t see appeared on Cayden’s lips as he expressed his feelings.
And then, like a candle flame about to be blown by the wind, a precarious voice caught the tail of Cayden’s words.
“…I’m sorry.”
The man who wouldn’t bow his heart even to God offered Cayden a heavy apology.
Cayden’s body stiffened upon hearing unexpected words from Assad. He couldn’t tell whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that he couldn’t see Assad’s expression as he was held by him.
“…I want to turn back time. I want to go back to the day I received the prophecy.”
“…”
“If I could, then, without doing such foolish things, I would get to know you properly. Not as Amun, but as me, Assad Mekerius, as your husband, I would share everything with you. I… should have done that.”
There was a hint of laughter in Assad’s words. It was self-deprecation directed at himself.
“I’ve long forgotten any thoughts of letting you go. You know how much I’ve changed…”
At the end of the rainy season, Assad had spoken while being soaked by the suddenly pouring rain. He had declared that he had changed.
Cayden no longer doubted Assad. What he couldn’t believe in the Garden of Light, he could now fully believe in the desert night.
Assad’s change wasn’t just something fabricated to get what he wanted.
‘After wandering through this vast desert… he finally came to find me.’
How could he not believe such a person?
Cayden believed that just as he had developed human affection for Amun, Assad too had changed because he had developed human affection for him.
He didn’t expect love. If Assad’s small affection was genuine, that alone was enough. He could smile joyfully like someone who owned the world.
Even if he was being foolishly deceived once more, it didn’t matter. If it was Assad’s deception, he could willingly fall for it. He could let himself be tripped up.
“I resented Your Highness a little. Ridiculously, I felt betrayed.”
Slowly, Cayden continued.
“But now… that resentment and sense of betrayal have all disappeared. Not a trace remains. I don’t think the feelings that Your Highness wrote for me were meaningless lies. In Helio… I was happy. In my life, I’ve never smiled so much. So I don’t hate the Crown Prince, I don’t hate Amun at all.”
“…”
“I don’t know what Your Highness wants from me. Still, if it’s something I can do, I’ll do anything. If you don’t want me to leave right now, I’ll continue to stay by your side. For the remaining time, for Your Highness…”
Cayden couldn’t finish his words. It was because Assad suddenly created distance after releasing the embrace. However, Assad’s hands didn’t completely leave Cayden. He grabbed Cayden’s two arms, desperately, as if the man in front of him might run away.
“Why do you talk about leaving? Why do you keep saying such things?”
“I…”
“Remaining time? There’s no such thing.”
Assad’s hands gripping Cayden tightened.
“Cayden. I… don’t like you disappearing from my sight.”
“…”
“You need to be where I can reach you with my hand. When I hold you, my mind is at ease… when I can’t see you, I feel uncomfortable, I don’t want to be separated from you. I don’t want to be distant. I will hold onto you by any means and keep you by my side.”
Assad spoke with a pale face. It was unlike him to slowly drag out disorganized words. Assad was in a state of confusion.
“I also don’t like seeing you making such a sad face like now.”
“…”
“You said you’ve never smiled so much in your life, right? It will continue to be that way. I’ll make sure you only have reasons to smile. I will make it so. So… stay by my side.”
They were truly tender words. The man before him, Assad, felt so lovable to Cayden. He didn’t want to measure the sincerity in those words. He too wanted to say that he didn’t like seeing Assad’s sad face, and wanted to caress his cheek.
But Cayden couldn’t do that.
Cayden loved Assad. But he wasn’t a dreamer who dreamed impossible dreams.
He tried to understand Assad’s attachment to him without misunderstanding, and to recognize his own place. After all, he had already experienced during the end of the rainy season how embarrassingly shattered his first-ever dream could become.
“Such words… Please save them for someone you love.”
You shouldn’t say such sweet things to someone who can’t be your real lover or lifelong partner. Cayden expressed this indirectly.
As expected. The moment the word “love” was mentioned, Assad’s face instantly hardened. It was exactly like the expression Cayden had encountered in the Garden of Light during the rain. His mouth tasted bitter.
“Do you think I’ll welcome a new bride?”
“…”
“Or is that what you wish for? To reluctantly remain by my side, coaxing and placating me, while inwardly worrying about my remarriage… and then leaving me without hesitation when you get the chance?”
Assad asked with an expressionless face.
Cayden couldn’t easily give Assad an answer. What should he reply? It was only difficult.
Asking if he would live worrying about remarriage and then leave without regret. From the beginning, the time that he and Assad would spend bound by the name of a couple was limited. It was just three years. And it wasn’t him who had set that time, but the imperial people.
A flustered Cayden could only move his lips. But soon he had no choice but to remain silent, until a crooked smile appeared on Assad’s lips.
“What to do. Just a few years, a few decades, won’t be enough for me.”
The distance with Assad narrowed again.
“Cayden. You asked what I want. For you not to leave me. That’s what I want. I don’t wish for anything else.”
“…”
“Who on earth is scaring you? Who is making you think only about leaving me? Mother? Father? Or those other scraps?”
“Your Highness, I…”
“Cayden. I have no intention of separating from you.”
“…”
“If you really want to escape from me, try it. Think carefully from now on about what methods you’ll use to run away.”
Assad whispered, looking down at Cayden’s dumbfounded face.
“Committing adultery… and then standing before a judge saying you’ll pay for your crime won’t work. Because I’ll kill any alpha bastard who’s your counterpart. That person won’t be able to stand as a witness before the judge. No matter who it is.”
“…”
“If the evidence of adultery disappears, divorce would be impossible, right?”
“Your Highness. Why are you saying such frightening things?”
“Am I… frightening you?”
“No, that’s not it…”
Cayden’s words trailed off.
Genuinely, Cayden didn’t find Assad frightening at all. Assad wasn’t angry. He looked as if he was terrified. He was feeling fear. That’s why he was raising such sharp thorns.
Facing such an Assad, Cayden had to carefully select his words inwardly for a long time. Feeling Assad’s impatience with his visibly shocked face, Cayden’s heart raced needlessly.
“Your Highness. The feeling of disliking it when I’m not visible is simply because you’ve grown attached to me. After all, we’ve had to face each other every day as supposed bride and groom.”
“…Attachment?”
“I was the first person you’ve kissed, the first person you’ve spent the heat with, so perhaps that’s why you feel even fond of someone like me.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
