Chapter 33
“May I… come in?”
Despite having received the owner’s permission, Kyle hesitated and didn’t enter through the door.
“Why are you hesitating, Your Highness?”
Blair tilted his head, looking at Kyle who remained standing outside the door. Blair wasn’t the type of person who would turn away a guest who had come all this way. Regardless of his true feelings, Blair believed that hosting a visitor was basic human courtesy.
“Is it really alright if I come in?”
“Of course, please come in.”
Besides, he couldn’t send Kyle away when he had brought sandwiches as a gift. The proper thing to do was to offer him at least a cup of tea before sending him off.
As Blair walked in first with confident strides, his slender white back was visible. The body of a boy in his prime growth period had a thin, long frame. With no muscle to speak of, his thin arms and legs, and narrow waist that made his school uniform pants hang loose. Kyle’s gaze helplessly fixed on that immaculately clean back.
While Kyle was fidgeting, not knowing where to look, Blair himself wasn’t thinking anything of it. Having spent years on battlefields and frequently mingling with knights, exposing skin wasn’t a particularly significant matter to Blair. Moreover, the person before him seemed considerably younger in his eyes.
Kyle’s gaze traveled down along the long legs that stretched below Blair’s waist. Though he couldn’t gauge exactly, it seemed Blair would grow to be quite tall once fully grown. Even now, Blair, being two years older and almost done growing, wasn’t that much shorter than Kyle. Just looking at his long, slender fingers gave an indication of his height. Blair, who had casually thrown on a large shirt, brought over a tea set placed on one side.
“Have you eaten?”
“I ate with Aaron earlier.”
Blair began brewing tea.
“I’m not particularly skilled at making tea, but this is precious tea I brought from home, so it should be somewhat drinkable. Please try it.”
What Blair served was the same tea used for entertaining guests at House Monetery. It was probably the most expensive tea traded within the Crassia Empire. Having lived his life as a warrior, Blair wasn’t particularly fond of tea and didn’t know much about brewing or serving it. He prepared the tea with the brazen confidence that since it was fundamentally good tea, it would turn out decent no matter what he did.
After a short while, the tea seemed fully steeped, and Blair poured it into the teacup. He added one sugar cube and pushed the cup toward Kyle.
Kyle usually added one sugar cube when drinking black tea. Two cubes made it too sweet, and none left only bitterness at the end. There was also the option of adding milk, but he detested that, saying it only added a fishy taste to the tea leaves.
‘How does he know my preference?’
Kyle tilted his head. Until now, they had never shared tea together because Blair had been so obviously keeping his distance. He couldn’t think Aaron had told him either. Aaron Taklamakan wasn’t the type of person who would notice such subtle details about tea preferences.
Of course, Blair’s action came from his subconscious. Having known Kyle’s unchanging preferences for nearly twenty years, he couldn’t help but know them. That taste preference had remained constant regardless of time. Even on days when paperwork piled up like mountains, when Kyle would drink black tea so strong it seemed almost black, gulping it down to stay awake, he would always add exactly one sugar cube.
‘You’re drinking tea to stay awake, yet you add sugar?’
‘It’s too bitter otherwise.’
The past conversation came to mind. Somehow, it made Blair feel wistful, and he drifted into thought.
In the awkward atmosphere, Kyle fiddled with the warm teacup. The warmth spread to his fingertips, which had been stiff with inexplicable tension. Kyle glanced discreetly at the tea Blair was drinking. It seemed Blair drank it plain, without adding anything, preserving the original taste. Somehow, it made him seem more mature.
“This is… good tea.”
Kyle spoke in a small voice. Though he hadn’t tasted it yet, he could clearly tell it was quality tea. The rich aroma filled the room. The steam rising in geometric spirals made Kyle’s vision blur.
“Indeed. It’s from my home. I don’t know much about it, but it’s likely quite expensive. I’m glad you like it. Well then, let’s eat.”
Blair unwrapped the sandwich covered in thin paper. Indeed, Blair was also hungry. It was a rye bread sandwich filled with fresh lettuce and ham. The Academy’s meals weren’t bad. They often managed to satisfy even the picky palates of noble lords. Though this sandwich contained only basic ingredients, the freshness of the contents made it delicious.
The sound of Blair crunching into the crisp lettuce brought Kyle back to his senses, and he slowly looked around the room. Being a single room, it was slightly smaller than the double room Kyle shared with Aaron. However, everything was neatly and meticulously organized without any clutter. One could read the owner’s character from the room.
Being in a quiet, stable place made Kyle’s heart soften. It was his first time being alone with Blair in a secluded, quiet place. Yet somehow, it gave him an inexplicably familiar sense of déjà vu. Kyle slightly tilted his head. Why?
By now, Blair had finished eating the sandwich Kyle had brought. Having completed his light meal, Blair rinsed his mouth with tea and posed a question to Kyle.
“Do you have any more classes later, Your Highness?”
“Hmm? Yes, but not right away. I have enough time to rest a bit before going.”
“I see.”
“You, what about you?”
The words stumbled in his mouth. Kyle was flustered. He wasn’t normally inarticulate. In fact, he had been told several times that he was quite eloquent. But in front of Blair, his words always seemed to get stuck. What if he thinks I’m stupid? Kyle was anxious, but Blair simply answered in a casual tone.
“I have a class in the left wing in thirty minutes. I’ll need to leave soon.”
Blair took a sip of tea. The perfectly cooled tea warmed his body pleasantly.
“…I see.”
Kyle nervously gripped his teacup. He wanted to say something to break this awkward atmosphere, but all words just circled inside his mouth. Suddenly, he thought of Aaron. In this moment, he wished he could borrow even a tenth of Aaron’s conversational skills.
Kyle had a personal liking for Blair. Though not as much as for Aaron, he wanted to form a slightly closer relationship than just being acquaintances who exchanged greetings and knew each other’s faces. But at this rate, he couldn’t even have a proper conversation with Blair.
A lifeline was thrown to Kyle. It was Blair who cut through the dreadful silence.
“Thank you for bringing this. I might have gone hungry otherwise.”
Blair smiled gently and put down his teacup. Encouraged by that smile, Kyle’s eyes sparkled as he opened his mouth. The sight of a beautiful person blushing charmingly and sparkling eyes was undeniably lovely. Had Blair possessed literary talent, it would have been enough to fill an entire poetry book with a single brushstroke.
Kyle’s lips moved. He had so much to say, but the words couldn’t form outside his mouth. It was as if all the things he wanted to say had piled up and blocked his speech.
In truth, while he had plenty he wanted to say, they were all things he couldn’t say to Blair.
Why do you dislike me?
This wasn’t child’s play—he couldn’t just ask so directly. After all, Kyle was a prince of the nation. Because of this, Kyle was quite perceptive. There were always people around him who showed goodwill based solely on his handsome appearance.
However, excluding those who only liked his face, the rest were hostile toward Kyle. People’s emotions toward Kyle were always blatant. Either very favorable or hostile. One of the two. It was so clear it could be perfectly divided. Having lived his entire life this way, Kyle was quick to identify affection and hostility directed at him.
But he couldn’t figure out what kind of person Blair Shuho Monetery was. He had long realized that Blair wasn’t the type to fawn over him because of his face. Yet he didn’t seem to dislike him either. Neither dislike nor like. Just a lukewarm response.
This subtle gray area was truly a type Kyle had never encountered before. If he had to be precise, that gray area leaned closer to disliking Kyle. Kyle was certain of it.
Kyle was quite a decent person. He didn’t have any particularly rough edges to his personality, and he never threw his weight around because he was a prince. With his pretty face, many people liked him. So the people who disliked Kyle usually had very obvious reasons. Political opponents like Empress Kalshon and Empress Spirenda disliked him. People who supported Empress Kalshon and Joshua also disliked Kyle. Kyle had a somewhat distant relationship with his older brother Joshua.
Unlike those with clear reasons, Blair had no reason to dislike Kyle. He had never heard that House Monetery had aligned itself with any particular royal candidate. Although Empress Spirenda was currently pregnant, he had never heard that House Spirenda and House Monetery were on good terms. He had only vaguely heard from Aaron that they were a family only interested in money and had no interest in political struggles.
The problem was that Kyle felt considerable affection for this gray area person. And not a small amount of affection at that. If they had both just remained indifferent to each other, it wouldn’t have mattered. But Blair Monetery was too good a person not to like. It was immediately apparent why Aaron had gone to such lengths to introduce them.
Though he was a young student two years his junior, he always had a unique atmosphere about him. He was very mature. Kyle began to scrutinize Blair’s face carefully. Looking at his round cheeks still covered with soft down and his clean, white skin, he was undoubtedly a young student. But when Blair opened his purple eyes, the atmosphere changed dramatically. He possessed a much more mature and composed aura.
[To be continued in the next part….]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
