“Your visit was too sudden. You should have made an appointment at least three days in advance. Barging in like this is outrageous.”
“…”
“I don’t understand why the Empress would approve such a request. Since when have ministers and their families received such exceptional VIP treatment…”
Amun’s face, which had turned fierce, became prim again when he raised his head and caught sight of Cayden.
“I apologize to you, Cayden. I should have been more attentive.”
“No, don’t apologize. I’m fine.”
“Wasn’t it uncomfortable meeting a stranger?”
Amun’s question felt difficult for Cayden to answer.
Saying he was fine would embarrass Amun. He didn’t want to make the person who had gotten heated on his behalf feel awkward. Cayden hid his true feelings and smiled ambiguously, allowing Amun to interpret his expression however he wished.
Cayden had also been somewhat surprised by Heka’s visit. But the meeting itself wasn’t uncomfortable. Naturally, he felt neither displeasure nor irritation.
This morning, the Empress’s aide who had come from the distant Imperial Palace had informed Cayden in advance about the visitor. He had also added that the guest was around Cayden’s age, of the same type, and was the second son of Kuram, one of the three ministers under the Grand Minister.
Although the appointment had been arranged somewhat urgently, it wasn’t as abrupt as Amun suggested.
But Heka’s visit had become an unacceptable issue for Amun. He had even declared that Cayden shouldn’t be alone with Heka, and that he would stay by his side in case something happened.
Though thinking it was unnecessary worry, Cayden could only nod and agree with Amun. He wanted to grant Amun’s request out of concern for him.
“I don’t understand why that man came to see Cayden.”
Questions and speculations with no correct answers began to swirl around Amun. Like a soliloquy, Amun mulled over various questions: why the minister’s second son had suddenly sought out Cayden, whether he had some evil purpose, and so on.
“He would have been the Crown Prince Consort if it weren’t for me,” Cayden spoke first to Amun, who was caught up in strange worries.
“Since he suddenly lost his position… Maybe he was just curious about the person who took his place?”
He wanted to end the conversation quickly and change the subject. He wanted to help Amun shake off the displeasure he had taken on.
“…Did you know that man was a candidate for Crown Prince Consort?”
“…Yes.”
“Who told you that?”
“I heard it in Elba. I don’t know who taught me that. It’s true.”
The person who informed Cayden that Assad had been engaged was the King of Elba.
“You ended up winning the Crown Prince who had been promised to the most beautiful man in the desert. You, who are nothing, defeated the desert flower. Isn’t that interesting?”
The moment he faced Heka, Cayden was reminded of the words he had heard when leaving Elba. The face of the man before him was beautiful enough to deserve the nickname “desert flower.” The way he looked Cayden up and down, as if measuring something, also gave Cayden certainty.
“But… he was really kind. He even used the kingdom language to accommodate me. You saw it too, Amun.”
Cayden hurriedly changed the subject to prevent Amun from questioning further.
Literally, Heka was a kind person. Though he momentarily looked embarrassed, as if disappointed that someone like Cayden occupied the position of Crown Prince Consort, he quickly hid his feelings behind a beautiful smile. From then on, until the moment he left the palace, he showed only a smiling face to Cayden.
“It was the god, who’s probably just yawning up there, who placed you in the Crown Prince Consort position. Why do you act sorry as if you’ve stolen someone else’s place? Tell Heka and the minister that if they want to complain about their fate, they should grab the god’s leg and do so.”
“…I understand.”
Cayden smiled for the sulky Amun.
“Well, that guest did present a kind face. To the point where I thought if Cayden were an alpha, he would have courted you right there.”
It was the first time Amun had spoken about someone else’s type in this way. What about Heka, who would surely be liked by everyone, made Amun so prickly? Though he pondered, he couldn’t easily find an answer.
“Maybe you think that because I don’t look like an omega. But he… was just being kind.”
“…”
“Other people might have thought the opposite of you, Amun. They might have whispered that I was being too informal and clingy with him. After all, I embraced him and even grabbed his waist.”
“That was…”
Amun, who had been resting his chin on the back of his hand, was startled and relaxed his posture.
“You helped him when he was about to fall after misstepping.”
“Heka was just being kind to me, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.”
Cayden finished speaking and laughed awkwardly. He didn’t intend to scold Amun but worried it might sound that way.
“…I don’t know why I’ve become so unable to distinguish things. Something feels twisted and irritating.”
“…”
“That person. He’s strange. He suddenly comes, smiles lasciviously, and acts unreasonably friendly. Even though he’s never met you before, Cayden. That… that was disgustingly unpleasant.”
Amun, who had been rambling in a small voice, pressed his lips together. He blushed as if unable to bear his own childish feelings.
“Even if I were a real alpha, there’s no way he would court me. Someone who had been promised to an alpha like the Crown Prince wouldn’t look at me.”
Cayden laughed lightly. It was a comment meant to refresh the atmosphere.
“What’s wrong with you, Cayden?”
“I have many issues.”
“…”
“Changing type doesn’t change your face. Looking at how my face now is the same as when I was a beta. I don’t think anything would change if I became an alpha. My personality too.”
Cayden mumbled vaguely. Somehow the conversation had turned to the topic of types. Though it wasn’t necessarily a secret, it felt somewhat embarrassing.
“…You were once a beta?”
“Yes. Until I was 20, I lived as a beta.”
“Did your type suddenly change?”
The person who changed Cayden’s type was Alex. But Cayden had no intention of honestly conveying that fact to anyone else, especially Amun.
The count’s magician, who had repeatedly drugged him and cast spells on him, sighed deeply every time he saw Cayden. He shook his head and clicked his tongue as if weary.
“Lazily selling your body to pay off debt, and now even trying to change your innate type. Aren’t you ashamed?”
Cayden had felt wronged by that reproach. But he thought it was undeniable that he was a shameful person, as the magician said. He knew it well, which is why he was still lying now.
“That’s how it happened. I’m not sure why my type changed suddenly.”
With an insipid smile, Cayden evaded the question.
“Is there really no difference at all from when you were a beta?”
“Yes. Really none.”
Fortunately, Amun didn’t question his lie. He just seemed curious. That’s probably because there are occasional cases where types change without any reason.
As if his face had never been flushed red, Amun quickly regained his usual vigor. He seemed excited and pleased to learn that Cayden had been a beta for a long time.
Starting with a question about whether his hair was originally black, Amun asked Cayden various questions. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he poured out all the curiosity he had been holding inside. He looked like someone who had found an opportunity to resolve the questions he had been neatly stacking up and was now eager.
To such an Amun, Cayden slowly provided answers. They were responses where falsehoods and truths were equally mixed.
Cayden was ashamed that he couldn’t be completely honest in front of Amun. But lying was better than receiving contemptuous glances. Even if it was just a temporary cover-up.
“These scars, did you get them while working?”
Amun traced with his fingertips the scars on the back of Cayden’s hand, which was resting on the table. The old scars were hidden by Amun’s hand.
Amun was neither a person who wanted to punish him nor someone who wanted to sleep with him. He wasn’t someone who wanted anything from him. Yet, he kept reaching out affectionately. Sometimes he would just rest his skin against Cayden’s, and other times he would fiddle with his hands like now.
At first, this kind of contact was somewhat bewildering. But Amun’s face looked so comfortable holding his hand, and as similar situations kept repeating, his thoughts gradually changed.
Cayden naturally came to accept Amun’s hand resting on his. He figured that just as the clothing and way of life differed between the people of Elba and Helio, so too would Amun’s thoughts differ from his own.
It was cute, like a puppy trying to play… Of course, this was a thought he had to keep secret from Amun.
“Yes. I got injured while working.”
Looking at Amun’s hand instead of his own, Cayden answered. This answer, too, was half a lie.
Amun’s hand lifted from the back of Cayden’s hand with its many scars. But it didn’t retreat. Amun’s hand touched Cayden’s cheek. The smooth fingertips gently caressed the pale pink scar that spread like paint below his right cheek.
“And this one?”
Amun asked in a low voice. The warmth of his gaze matched the warmth of his hand on Cayden’s cheek.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
