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115
The sunset that had dyed the sky red quickly disappeared. By the time they arrived at the room where they would spend the night, following Owen’s guidance, darkness had long since settled outside the window.
After that, it was a day no different from usual. If there was one thing different, it was Rohan’s attitude, unusually reluctant to be apart today. Even a slight distance would make his eyes drip with lingering attachment.
At such times, Arpel would silently stay by Rohan’s side. Seeing his face, unable to openly show his sorrow and holding a subtle anxiety… the ache in his chest felt similar to guilt.
“Rohan.”
And, as the time to end the day approached.
Arpel suddenly called out to Rohan, who had just come out freshly bathed. A faint smile settled on his face as he approached. Although his face seemed relaxed without a care in the world, Arpel knew.
That was only ‘at a glance’.
“Is something bothering you?”
“…Ah.”
There was no way Arpel, who could sense Rohan’s emotions, wouldn’t notice the worry and anxiety lurking in a corner of his heart. As if only realizing this fact after hearing the brief question, the smile on his face quickly crumbled.
“I really can’t hide anything from you, Arpel…”
Once again, a subtle smile settled on Rohan’s face, but unlike before, it was tinged with a hint of bitterness.
Arpel chose to wait for him to speak on his own rather than asking for the reason. Perhaps because he knew that the cause was fundamentally different from when he had been anxious about Arpel leaving.
After a time that could be called neither short nor long, Rohan finally cautiously broached the subject.
“You know, Leriana…”
Arpel naturally recalled Leriana’s face as he had last seen her at that question, but soon gave up searching his memory. There wasn’t much that came to mind. For him, who had lost consciousness midway due to being swept up in holy power, all he could remember were fragments of her voice heard during the battle.
Since only Leriana possessed such powerful holy power, she must have been the one who caused him to lose consciousness.
Quietly observing Rohan’s face, tinged with faint guilt, Arpel quickly came to a conclusion.
“Shall we go find her?”
It wasn’t a difficult guess. Given Leriana’s personality, she would surely be blaming herself severely, and Rohan, in his urgency, hadn’t been able to pay attention to her. Only after everything was resolved did he realize this fact.
There was no further urging. Rohan let out a small laugh at Arpel, who simply stood quietly by his side and gave the answer he wanted. It felt mysteriously comforting to have someone who understood his heart without him having to speak.
He should tell her that he and Arpel are fine, that her answer then wasn’t sincere, that she did nothing wrong… Thinking this, Rohan nodded.
It seemed like he would be able to sleep deeply tonight.
***
The next morning, late in the day, the two finished preparing to leave the temple. Just before boarding the carriage prepared for them, Rohan turned to Owen, who had come to see them off.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
“Yes. I still haven’t finished tidying up this temple, and I plan to return home briefly before going back to the central temple.”
It was a smooth answer, but Owen’s face was particularly stern. More precisely, it was an expression that naturally emerged as he suppressed his true thoughts. He had almost blurted out, “Why would I want to get between you two?” the moment Rohan asked.
Suppressing that with superhuman patience, Owen glanced at Arpel instead of explaining further. Seeing his face, which looked particularly cold today, he felt like sighing spontaneously.
It was an obvious look, but it was Rohan who reacted. He turned awkwardly to Arpel and gave an ambiguous smile. Owen, who wasn’t unaware of the cause of the unspoken atmosphere between the two, finally let out a big sigh.
“That guy isn’t such a bad person. He just… um, admires Rohan too much, that’s all.”
A subtle self-deprecation tinged Owen’s face as he said this. The question “Why am I making such excuses?” was written on his face, but…
“I see.”
“……”
Choosing to close his mouth at the reply that was so cold it felt like a winter wind was blowing, he intuitively sensed that whatever he said would be useless. He bowed without hesitation. On the surface, it was the very picture of a polite farewell, but in reality, it was tantamount to asking them to leave.
“Well then, take care. I’m busy with work, so I’ll be going now.”
All he could do was silently offer sympathies to Rohan, who had to ride in the carriage with Arpel.
Owen turned his back, and the coachman began to pull the carriage. In the completely isolated space except for the slightly open window, Rohan was left alone with Arpel, who was visibly in a bad mood.
At the same time, the events of the morning began to resurface in his mind. So, all of this was because of…
Halion, a priest who had excitedly approached him while he was still groggy from just waking up, saying he wanted to meet him at least once, quickly shaking his hand, and even making strange requests like asking for his autograph with paper and pen he had brought.
“Arp-“
“How nice. You’ve got someone who cares for you.”
“……”
Rohan, who was about to call Arpel, was at a loss for words and couldn’t continue speaking. The extremely stiff voice, and moreover, the abrupt ending of his words, was the opposite of Arpel’s usual demeanor. However, Rohan’s reaction wasn’t simply due to this reason.
His slowly blinking eyes stared blankly at Arpel. The gaze that was slightly averted towards the window, the expression that somehow seemed to contain intense emotion…
Rohan didn’t have the ability to read others’ emotions, but having known Arpel for a long time, he could easily guess what emotion was etched on his face. What was melted into his gaze, his expression, his tone of voice was none other than dissatisfaction.
So, this might be…
“…Arpel.”
It might be jealousy that Arpel was showing.
As soon as he thought this, Rohan felt not troubled but extremely excited. In a way, it was a funny situation. He had been anxious about Arpel’s reaction until just now, but now he was delighted by it.
The name he belatedly uttered was full of overwhelming emotion he couldn’t hide. When Arpel turned to look at Rohan the moment he felt the sudden change in emotion, Rohan couldn’t help but break into a wide smile as he met the gaze that contained a hint of question.
“I’m really, so happy…”
That wasn’t all. His actions of immediately moving to the opposite seat and firmly interlocking their hands were so natural that Arpel couldn’t even react to it. He only flinched slightly.
The ecstatic emotion that poured out was mysteriously transparent. He even had a strange conviction that it would be sweeter than any love whispers exchanged between lovers.
So he couldn’t say anything. His breath caught, his chest felt tight, and heat rushed to his eyes, making it impossible to come to his senses.
His throat began to feel parched, as if by magic. Even though he, as a sword, had no need to drink water or feel thirst.
“You know.”
The gentle, warm voice captured all his attention. The touch that started from their intertwined hands, then moved to his wrist, and finally climbed up to the ‘accessory’ around his neck, was the same.
It was a careful and soft touch, as if handling a precious treasure or tickling. But paradoxically, Arpel felt a deeper desire in that touch than ever before.
“…Can I kiss you?”
Amidst all this, the question he actually asked was so cute it was almost innocent. Judging by the faint mischief reflected in his gently curved eyes, it seemed like he said it on purpose, but Arpel had neither the time nor the inclination to argue about it.
In the end, Arpel completely forgot about his displeasure towards the person who had clung to Rohan under the pretext of admiration. As if his heart had been completely stolen by the subtly playful voice and the beautiful eyes that didn’t hide their intense emotion.
It was Arpel who moved first. Forgetting even the fact that he needed to answer, his hastily extended hand touched Rohan’s nape.
The golden eyes that widened in surprise soon drew a beautiful arc. Rohan, responding obediently to the force pulling him in, embraced Arpel’s body with his other hand. His body, hotter than usual, left a clear warmth on his fingertips.
Arpel squeezed his eyes shut. The moment their lips touched, warm to the point of being hot, his mind went blank as if by magic.
Perhaps because they had kissed once before, albeit briefly, Rohan seemed familiar as he delved inside with his tongue, gently exploring the interior.
But Arpel couldn’t do the same. More precisely, he didn’t have the presence of mind to do so. The only thing he could do of his own volition was to pull Rohan closer.
“Mmm…”
The kiss lasted longer than expected. For that moment, it felt as if he couldn’t even feel the jolting of the carriage. His mind was too busy struggling with the excessive heat rising, making it impossible to think properly.
The sensation climbing up his back felt unfamiliar. A strange feeling of his chest swelling or his breath quickening. Just as he was about to break away from the kiss, shuddering at this sensation, Arpel’s eyes fluttered open, letting out a small moan.
“…Mmm. Can we do it a little more?”
The moment their eyes met, those eyes filled with heat drew a dreamy smile as if acting coy. He hadn’t intended to urge for more, but amusingly, the moment he saw that expression, something welled up in his chest.
Arpel pulled Rohan’s body closer again without answering. Somehow, the situation wasn’t much different from before…
And so, the two ended up spending most of their journey to the nearby village engaged in deep kisses.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
