Part 4. Time Limit
Amun, with his arms crossed, watched the not-quite-conflict between the servants. Leaning against the wall, his posture looked somewhat askew.
Amun was listening to childish conversations that he normally wouldn’t have bothered with. The constant, simultaneous chatter was enough to make his ears itch.
Thinking that everyone must be quite bored, he should have left the servants’ quarters without even saying goodbye. But somehow… he found himself occupying a corner of the room, eavesdropping on their conversations.
Assad would often move around among the servants in Amun’s form, paying attention to rumors, scandals, and heartwarming stories from inside and outside the imperial palace. But he never had enough interest to forcibly make time for it.
However, if the subject of those stories was his foolish consort, that was a different matter.
Amun wanted to know how much these perceptive servants understood about Cayden, who was difficult even for him. Of course, they couldn’t know that man better than he did.
The argument among the servants had started over who would accompany Cayden on his walk today. Lihet confidently smiled, saying it would obviously be her. Several other servants opposed her, and that’s where it began.
‘Lihet should go.’
With a smile as crooked as his posture, Assad privately took Lihet’s side.
Cayden was popular among the servants because he didn’t summon them without reason or make them stand around idly all day, and he tried to handle most things by himself.
It made sense. Wouldn’t it be much better to care for his mild-mannered, kind consort than to serve some ill-tempered, fussy royals?
“Why is everyone so eager to work under the Crown Prince Consort? I don’t understand his popularity.”
A man who had been talking with the servants with his arms crossed like Amun suddenly blurted out.
‘That man is… probably around Cayden’s age.’
Amun’s eyes narrowed as he studied the male servant who had spoken.
“It’s because he’s so easy to work for. He doesn’t go out often, doesn’t summon guests to his palace daily. He says he doesn’t want anything, so he lets the servants rest frequently. Plus, he doesn’t ask for strange or disgusting errands. He doesn’t do things that would make us have to grit our teeth and pretend not to notice.”
“That’s right. And he’s kind on top of that.”
Another servant’s words echoed like an afterthought to servant Turan’s statement.
“Yes, Turan is right. If you have to do the job anyway, it’s better to do it under someone who makes your body and mind comfortable.”
Listening to the older servant’s voice mixed with laughter, Amun nodded. With a smile.
“Why aren’t you mentioning his excellent appearance? That’s what’s really important.”
“Well, the Crown Prince Consort is the Prince’s spouse. How could I speak of such things?”
Turan scolded Lihet who had jumped in to add her comment.
“I’ve already said ‘such things’ at least a hundred times. If it were truly a sin, I would have been arrested long ago.”
“I don’t think he’s that handsome.”
What is he saying? Amun shifted his gaze to the man who had made such a pointless remark.
It was the same man who had crossed his arms and joined the conversation earlier. When Lihet’s irritated gaze fell on him, the man shook his head from side to side. He was imitating Lihet.
“Ha. That’s because your eyes are attached to your toes… You probably can’t see the face of the person up there properly?”
Lihet lowered her eyebrows as if pitying him.
“Wow, and the Crown Prince Consort is at least half a span taller than you. Oh my, you probably can barely see what color his hair is. Be honest. You don’t even know what the Crown Prince Consort looks like, do you? You’re just roughly guessing whether that person is the Crown Prince Consort or not based on skin color and hair color.”
“Hey, why are you talking like that? Aren’t you exaggerating?”
“The Crown Prince Consort is completely different from those desert fools who reveal their pathetic thoughts on their faces and are infatuated with themselves. He’s not just good-looking. Got it?”
Lihet poured out her words, dismissing the man’s protest. She didn’t care whether his ears were turning red as she held his gaze.
“An omega might look handsome to a beta woman.”
What’s wrong with this bastard? He seems to be showing off.
Amun thought he should give the head servant a hint to transfer him. He needed to be removed before he could harass the diligent Lihet, hurt her feelings, and interfere with her work.
“Why are you picking fights? You, be careful of the back of your head for a while. I might come looking for you with a stone jar soon.”
Lihet scrunched her face like mishandled laundry and glared at the male servant.
“Fine. The Crown Prince Consort is so handsome that even you, a beta, are completely taken with him, and his character is excellent too. But what does it matter if he can’t become the Crown Prince’s beloved consort or the future empress?”
“Why would you say something like that?”
“No matter how hard you defend him, praise him, follow him around diligently and serve him faithfully…”
“…”
“You won’t get any power, honor, or even a small reward by his side. You might be lining up hoping for a chance to become the head servant of the imperial palace, but can the Crown Prince Consort really become the Empress?”
The man’s words instantly dampened the lively atmosphere of the servants’ quarters. A cold silence spread quickly.
While mingling with people as Amun, Assad had encountered truly diverse human characters. He heard stories he would never have heard if he had just maintained his position as Crown Prince. He also experienced numerous things he would never have experienced otherwise. He could even casually overlook extremely colorful curses directed at the imperial family.
He had no intention of pettily confronting someone over complaints he had overheard while in disguise. He never had. But watching this guy badmouthing and sniping at the Crown Prince Consort, his heart kept shifting into a crooked shape.
From royalty to servants. It seemed the entire imperial palace treated Cayden like a punching bag.
Regardless, Cayden was chosen by god. Yet, simply because one person—Assad Mekerius—didn’t give him love, he had become such a laughingstock.
If he had married Heka as planned, there would have been no love between them either. But no one would have laughed at them, saying there was no visible love between Heka and himself. No one would have said the Crown Prince Consort wouldn’t become Empress.
It was just that his inexperienced, awkward consort with nothing to his name seemed easy to push around, so people spouted such nonsense.
With an irritated sigh, Amun detached himself from the wall. He was tempted to “accidentally” punch that guy in the face.
But before Amun could act, Lihet broke the silence in the servants’ quarters.
“You have no sense.”
“What?”
“I said you have absolutely no sense.”
Lihet was smiling. It was a somewhat confident smile.
“Why wouldn’t the Crown Prince Consort be loved by His Highness? Your tongue is too long for someone who hasn’t even been around the two of them. Do you even know that a huge amount of precious gifts arrived for the Crown Prince Consort today? All of them were sent by His Highness.”
“…”
“Hey, Amun. Come here. You have a lot to say too, don’t you? Hurry up and open your mouth.”
“…What?”
Amun, suddenly pulled into the conversation, asked in slight confusion.
“You know how often the Crown Prince Consort has private audiences with His Highness. Since you serve the two of them more closely than I do, you must know better how strong their relationship is.”
“…Well, yes. I do know that well.”
“See? This idiot doesn’t know anything and just spouts nonsense after picking up a few strange rumors.”
Lihet stared at Amun with a somewhat peculiar gaze. A few more words were quickly added.
“How well the two of them match, and he doesn’t even know it. They’re as beautiful as a picture that will go down in history. Isn’t that right?”
It was a gaze with quite a sharp edge to it, if not quite a knife’s edge, then at least the point of a needle. Why would she look at someone with such eyes? Amun couldn’t even guess the meaning behind Lihet’s gaze.
“Amun, don’t you think so too?”
Matching like a picture that will go down in history. Being presented with such an absurd and bizarre story and asked if he thought the same—it was simply ridiculous.
“Yes. I think so.”
But in the end, Amun gave an affirmative answer. With a sigh. He did so because it seemed like Lihet would keep staring at him until she got the answer she wanted.
“See? Even Amun is saying so. That inscrutable kid.”
Lihet smiled broadly. Whether Amun had a disgruntled expression or not, she seemed to think it was fine as long as he had uttered words of affirmation.
The male servant grumbled a few more words, not wanting to lose. But seeing Lihet’s eyes drift away, having lost interest in him, he shut his mouth as before.
Assad wondered why the man was acting this way. What a petty person. Moving his post wouldn’t be enough. He needed to ensure that he and Lihet would never have to face each other again. Assad hoped that a better peace would come to the imperial palace servants.
With Lihet’s speech, the topic of conversation changed. While letting the various jokes that followed flow past his ears, Amun prepared to leave the room. All while trying to erase the bizarre words that kept popping up in his mind.
‘The notion that a man like Cayden and I are well-matched—what nonsense.’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
