#103
Skyle quietly observed the 2nd Prince who frequently ended up bedridden.
He had lost even more weight over the past few days, his slender frame now clearly visible. Though he had always known the Prince had delicate features, seeing him like this made it feel strangely new.
The Prince with his eyes closed looked particularly lifeless.
After tidying up the hair that was carelessly scattered on the pillow, Skyle moved away from the bed.
He felt like he would lose track of time if he kept watching.
“……”
The 2nd Prince was certainly someone interesting to observe. Whatever secrets he held.
While processing the accumulated documents, something suddenly came to mind and he couldn’t help but smile.
“You don’t like seeing blood.”
Certainly, he wasn’t someone who enjoyed seeing blood.
But whether he disliked it to that extent, that wasn’t quite right either. Would someone in his position be squeamish about such things?
‘There might be situations where I wouldn’t want to see blood, but such situations don’t seem likely to arise.’
But what exactly had the Prince seen to say that to him?
As if he knew everything.
Of course, he roughly knew what image Prince Ersen had of him. This strange notion about disliking blood was just added to that.
But for that statement to suddenly come to mind like this.
“Archduke, why don’t you just treat me like you did just now? It’s less frustrating that way.”
Yes, it must be because of those words.
Skyle seemed to know that he had threatened him, but his reaction was completely inappropriate.
Far from being hurt in his pride or wary, the Prince had said something strange.
Did the Prince perhaps have strange preferences? To say that getting angry was better.
‘He has no fear.’
If he knew that the curse on Skyle was one that maximized desires, now that the acceleration ritual had been performed, he should avoid being alone with Skyle more than anyone else.
This was a fact known by everyone who knew about his curse.
A brief moment might be fine, but staying together all day like this was dangerous.
Yet the Prince had reacted as if he hadn’t thought of this at all.
And then he displayed such absurd bravado.
Should this reason also be interpreted as affection?
Was that a normal emotion?
However, what couldn’t be denied was that the words of that Prince, missing a screw, had lingered unusually long in his memory today.
……To say he could act as he pleased only with him. Whatever his true feelings, whatever his intentions, they were sweet words.
The days before being cursed had long become a past he remembered but couldn’t empathize with.
So those words would have been sweet.
After Young Master Lindea’s door closed, he had stood still for a while organizing his thoughts. And he naturally focused on the sounds and voices coming from inside.
As if expecting him to listen, he explained the situation to Sercil in a clear voice as if telling him to listen well.
Though he usually found Sercil particularly endearing, it was strange to tell someone who likely betrayed him things he hadn’t even been asked about.
He had even wondered if the 2nd Prince owed Sercil some debt without Sercil knowing.
But apart from that strangeness, the aftermath of the Prince’s words didn’t easily fade.
……Strangely, rather than the Prince’s clear words, what Sercil said to the Prince after hearing them seemed louder.
‘Did the young master change his mind?’
Sercil’s change in attitude was impressive enough to make him certain of this without basis.
And as impressive as it was, it was irritating.
The sparkling eyes, the clear complexion that seemed to have lost all worries, the corners of his mouth that curved a little more each time he met the Prince’s eyes, and the cheeks that somehow gained more color… such things.
‘I can’t understand it.’
Changes that weren’t clear happened too frequently.
He welcomed constantly reestablishing the Prince’s usefulness in his mind. But he didn’t welcome such emotional changes.
He didn’t welcome them. Probably.
“Make sure the Archduke meets someone who won’t deceive or use you.”
Skyle’s hand slowed.
Had those words been with himself in mind? Such a thought briefly crossed his mind.
Since he knew the Prince was attracted to him in that way.
But then.
“Meet someone who treasures you.”
For a very brief moment, the Prince’s expression became calm.
He had been flustered because he never expected to see such a gentle expression on him, as if drawing a happy moment.
While staring at that face, he suddenly realized.
It wasn’t simply meant to appeal to himself.
“That way your old age will be comfortable.”
Vaguely, the Prince’s heart that had seemed within reach became hidden again.
How absurd it was for that word to pop out at such an unexpected timing.
Old age, of all things… normally when facing someone difficult, one doesn’t think about… that person’s old age… right?
Moreover, toward someone afflicted with a supreme-level curse, it was quite premature.
Besides, Skyle wasn’t in a position to worry about old age, nor was he of that age, and also……
‘Am I making excuses right now?’
He laughed once more.
The Prince… was unexpectedly.
Really unexpectedly, quite ridiculous yet adorable in some ways.
“The Archduke seems like he’ll live long, so you should think about it.”
Skyle blinked slowly.
He had never wished to live long.
Actually, getting through today safely was sufficient.
Whatever state Skyle was in, the curse was always watching for opportunities to bring him down. Just once. If he lost to it just once, everything would collapse.
The one remaining direct descendant of House Rodias had unfortunately been born with the greatest aptitude in history.
It wasn’t simply a matter of having talent or not. It was a disaster. If he became a disaster, not only the Empire but continental problems could arise. For an individual to hold such magical power and control was objectively strange.
But whatever the reason for that strange imbalance, the important thing was that no one knew how far things would deteriorate the moment he lost to the curse.
Several years had already passed since pain that would have driven an ordinary person mad became his daily routine.
Though it felt like eternity, he couldn’t give up a single day.
Yet to such a person, the Prince had mentioned the passage of time.
Placing someone by his side, spending time watching the sunset like ordinary people, he had spoken of it so naturally, then said with absolute certainty that such days would come, as if he had no doubt.
Without even knowing what such words meant to Skyle.
“……”
The more he looked, the stranger this person was. There were many actions that weren’t immediately understood and required pondering, but strangely, looking only at the results, he reached the conclusion that they weren’t bad.
That’s why he didn’t suspect the Prince.
The possibility of being in league with Eris, he ultimately denied.
‘At least not now. But there must be some connection. Something like being linked through magical power.’
So with such conviction as his reason, unlike what he had told the Crown Prince who would be outside the palace by now, he had no intention of ‘interrogating’ the Prince.
The Prince seemed to tell them what he thought they needed to know even without being asked, and there was much he could read even when the Prince didn’t speak.
“Well, I said it as payment for being fed, so take it to heart. Got it?”
Just by sharing daily life together, he could peel away one layer of the mask the Prince was wearing.
The Prince said this while shrugging his shoulders.
Looking only at his actions, he seemed merely playful, but his downcast eyes couldn’t be hidden. Gray eyes containing anxiety, worry, and affection. What stars had he packed so full into those storm cloud-like eyes that they held all kinds of light each time a layer was lifted?
His strange smile seemed only to show embarrassment.
Skyle organized the documents he had processed in an instant while raising the corners of his mouth.
He would put pressure on Duke Marsien and his ilk.
Since the 2nd Prince seemed to have no intention of protecting himself with succession rights, it was necessary to prepare for what came after.
First, it would be good to prevent the Marsien power from running rampant as if they owned the world after the succession rights stripping ceremony.
There was nothing to worry about. After taking such measures against the ducal house and several other families, he checked on Ersen’s condition at the sound of a small cough.
A trickle of blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth. Without much disturbance, Skyle stared at it with a calm smile on his face, then slowly wiped that corner of his mouth.
The Prince flinched, then turned his head sideways so Skyle could see his face better. Seeing the cold sweat beading, he seemed to be having another nightmare.
“……it’s okay to……”
Last night he had only apologized, but today he was saying something different. Listening carefully, it seemed like he was saying “it’s okay to kill me.”
Skyle gently stroked with his thumb the fingertip that had wiped the Prince’s mouth, then said to the Prince.
“I don’t like that though.”
“……please……”
Somehow hearing something, a soundless reply came back.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
