I woke up feeling someone shaking me awake. Who is it? I was definitely sleeping while holding William… When I blinked to chase away sleep, Erica stood before me with a troubled expression.
“Mm… Erica?”
Erica gasped and covered my mouth.
“Shh, please be quiet. If His Highness the Crown Prince wakes up, I might die.”
Looking to the side, William was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world. By the way, when William was beside me, Erica was someone who would never come unless called first or specifically ordered by William, so I was curious why she had entered first without my permission.
I lowered my voice as much as possible.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not the middle of the night right now, it’s evening time. Aren’t you hungry?”
“Ah… has it already become that time?”
Erica looked back and forth between William and me with a disgusted expression before opening her mouth.
“I can’t hold my head up and walk around here because I’m so embarrassed.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think? Because rumors have already spread that the Crown Prince from the Stamili Empire and his concubine locked themselves in the bedroom and won’t come out as soon as they arrived.”
“Don’t exaggerate. How long have we been here…”
Just as Erica was about to retort, William’s body, who had been sleeping peacefully beside me, stirred. Erica and I simultaneously covered our own mouths with our hands and widened our eyes.
“Mm… yawn…”
After William made strange sounds and then fell back into deep sleep, I whispered to Erica.
“Go out for now. I’ll come out later with His Highness.”
“Or should I have food brought here?”
“Yes. That would be better.”
It seemed better to let him sleep rather than feed him, as he must be tired from the long journey and had even had a confrontation with Kalroy during the day. Actually, I was more sleepy than hungry too.
“Then I’ll tell Behern-nim and bring food.”
“Thank you.”
After Erica left, I lay down beside William again and observed his sleeping face. This reminded me of childhood.
Back then, he would fall asleep before my stories even ended. He was cute.
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I quietly looked at his sleeping face like this. His white face with mysterious silver-gray eyebrows, his smoothly straight nose bridge, and his excessively red and vivid lips…
I unconsciously raised my hand. At that moment, William’s eyes flew open.
“Eek!”
When I was startled, William opened his eyes wider and asked.
“What are you so surprised about? What were you doing?”
“Y-Your Highness… no, I mean I wasn’t doing anything. I was just checking if you were sleeping well. That’s because Erica just now… no, anyway, it’s not that.”
“…I never said Daniel did anything wrong. I asked why you were surprised.”
William sat up as if he found it absurd. I was relieved that I wasn’t caught staring at him, but somehow I felt uneasy.
It was suspicious that William sat up immediately when normally he should lie there for a while unable to think clearly right after waking up.
“Aren’t you going to lie down more?”
“Yeah. If I lie down more, something big might happen.”
“Something big?”
William looked straight at me and said.
“Someone’s gaze was so hot that I might not be able to hold back and pounce if I’m not careful.”
“Hot ga-ze… you say?”
“Daniel, if you’re going to play innocent, either don’t blink your eyes or don’t stutter. You’re giving away all the signs, who would be fooled? I only indulge your fox-like behavior when it’s worth it.”
William ruffled his own hair and shook his head. It was as if I had pounced on him. Though I couldn’t say it was 100% justifiable, I didn’t have impure intentions either. Looking at William’s reaction made me feel a bit wronged.
“I feel wronged. How outstanding is Your Highness’s appearance? I was just appreciating it like admiring artwork… calling it fox-like behavior. Anyone who sees this would think I actually pounced on you.”
William suddenly spoke seriously as if warning me.
“Since the artwork might pounce without even knowing it’s being appreciated, let’s stop there.”
It was a statement that made my sense of injustice disappear completely.
Knowing that William was a Dominant Alpha at a sensitive age, why did I provoke him?
When I thought about it, William’s patience until now was also admirable.
***
The next day, William briefly left to have an audience with the Emperor of the Ohariko Empire.
They wouldn’t meet each other at the audience with the Emperor, would they?
Looking at yesterday’s William, even if Kalroy was there, nothing special would happen, but William was always like a child left by the water’s edge, making me anxious.
While I was calming my anxious heart by drinking tea, Erica carefully opened the door and approached me.
“Daniel-nim, I’m sorry to disturb your rare alone time, but a guest has come to see you.”
“A guest? Not His Highness the Crown Prince, but me?”
“Yes. They said they came to see Daniel-nim.”
Who could be looking for me when this wasn’t even the Stamili Empire? Except for Erica and Behern, who would come looking for me? No matter how much I thought about it, there was no one who would come.
“Who came?”
“Someone called Knight Rob Esher…”
Erica said with an expression of not understanding. For Erica, who had entered the palace after Kalroy left the Imperial Palace, it was natural that she wouldn’t know Rob.
By the way, why suddenly Rob…
“Where is he now?”
“I tried to bring him here, but he said it would be improper to come to a room where His Highness the Crown Prince wasn’t present, and that he would wait in the reception room.”
“Is that so? Then guide me, Erica.”
Erica looked me up and down and said.
“Right now?”
“Why?”
“Sigh… excuse me, Daniel-nim is here as the representative concubine of the Stamili Empire.”
“Who says what?”
“But you’re going to go in that state? Without putting anything on?”
“I can’t keep a guest waiting.”
“That’s why we need to hurry.”
Erica began driving me with frightening momentum. Though my status was clearly higher and Erica was an attendant, I couldn’t understand why I had no choice but to follow her words in everything.
***
Regardless of the situation, since I hadn’t expected to be able to meet Rob personally, my steps to the reception room were light.
How many years has it been? So much has happened with him…
I don’t know the specific circumstances of how Kalroy could become Crown Prince even after coming to exile, but Rob’s contribution was probably significant.
A person foolishly loyal from beginning to end…
When Kalroy left for exile, Rob, who had no guilt and had even achieved distinguished service in war, had choices. That is, if he wanted, he could have secured a position like knight commander in the Stamili Empire.
Such a person gave up a good position and followed Kalroy. That alone showed Rob was truly a loyal person.
When I arrived at the reception room, Rob was standing looking out the window.
“Rob, it’s been a long time.”
When I greeted him with a smile, Rob slowly turned around and bowed deeply.
“Knight Rob Esher greets Daniel-nim.”
His stiff formal manner was so like Rob that I couldn’t help but smile.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes. I have been well.”
His emotionless gaze swept over my appearance. To think someone could look at a person with absolutely no emotion like that…
I think I understood why Kalroy was always lonely, not knowing Rob’s true feelings. There are people who are kind inside but don’t show it outwardly.
“You seem to look a little different.”
“Do I?”
“Yes. Anyway, it’s good to meet again like this, alive. The reason I contacted you separately today is…”
Rob trailed off with a troubled expression. Seeing him come out like this, today’s visit also seemed like something Rob did independently without Kalroy’s permission, just like before.
“Please speak comfortably. We’ve had situations like this before.”
At my joking words, Rob seemed flustered and didn’t know what to do.
“Th-that time was really urgent, so I had no choice.”
“Then what about now? This must be an equally difficult situation. Rob is someone who considers propriety important.”
“Thank you for understanding. I have to make a rather difficult request from now on, and I hope you’ll listen without misunderstanding.”
I gathered all the goodwill I had for Rob and the camaraderie from enduring difficult times together to smile brightly. Rob seemed a bit more comfortable and began to speak in earnest.
“Around tomorrow, His Highness Kalroy will officially send an invitation to invite you both to a dinner.”
Just hearing up to this point, I could hear the sound of my goodwill and camaraderie toward Rob crashing down.
Yesterday afternoon my heart nearly stopped and I almost died, and you want me to see that scene again?
It absolutely couldn’t happen.
I desperately shook my head and answered.
“That won’t do. We must prevent it by any means necessary. Rob, I mean Sir Knight… There really could be a war. You know how things are between those two. When it’s best for them not to clash if possible, what reason could there be to make them meet?”
Rob sighed and looked out the window. Then he sighed again. I could feel the mental anguish he’d been through from his actions, making me tired as well.
Well… Kalroy is several times harder to handle than William. Our William at least communicates. He’s smart too…
While I was briefly thinking of other things, Rob opened his mouth.
“I also made this decision because I want to prevent a war from breaking out.”
What on earth does this mean? If you want to prevent a war, you should have opposed the invitation even if someone suggested it.
When I looked at him with eyes that showed I didn’t understand, Rob sighed and said.
“It’s already too late to make the invitation itself never happen.”
Unable to understand Rob’s repeated sighs, I asked in a somewhat agitated voice.
“If you’re not giving me a choice, then what exactly did you come to ask of me today? We haven’t even received a formal invitation yet.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
