“Of course! Alrina, are you okay with it too?”
Emma quickly caught Assad’s question and asked eagerly, as if she couldn’t miss the opportunity.
Cayden, flustered, instinctively glanced at Alrina. Surprisingly, Alrina was smiling. But only with her mouth.
“Sure. I’m fine with it.”
Alrina said to Emma. It was clearly a lie.
“Really?”
Emma beamed, linking arms with her spouse.
“Have I ever lied to you?”
Alrina’s face instantly softened. It was different from the cold expression she had while looking at Cayden and Assad. It was as if she had become a different person.
And so, Cayden ended up with a strange lunch appointment with the Emma couple. Though the situation felt like being suddenly pushed from behind, and Assad’s willingness to accompany him to lunch was surprising… it wasn’t unpleasant.
They wouldn’t be able to stay long at Alrina’s estate. They would probably part ways after having a meal and drinking tea. According to the schedule of wealthy people that Emma had once playfully shared with him.
It was nice to think about seeing Emma again. It would be two years before he could see Emma’s face again. His selfishness had already caused enough trouble for others, and Assad’s difficulties on this journey were enough. He didn’t want to feel sorry anymore.
Emma, today’s protagonist, exchanged early goodbyes with Cayden with a light embrace. It was a farewell given hoping that Cayden, who disliked staying in crowded places, would return home early regardless of the reception’s end. She urged him to go back soon and rest a little before working, since they would meet again anyway.
Cayden decided to leave early following Emma’s suggestion. He was concerned about Assad.
But he didn’t end the conversation just yet. Finally, Cayden leaned in slightly and carefully spoke to Emma. He relayed exactly what he had heard from Assad—that someone seemed to be giving her strange looks. He also provided detailed information about the man’s appearance.
Emma looked somewhat puzzled. She said the man Cayden described seemed to be Alrina’s cousin, and frankly stated that he wouldn’t look at her that way. But she nodded, saying she would keep it in mind.
With that, Emma moved with slow steps alongside her spouse toward other guests. This was after saying “see you tomorrow” several times more. Her eyes, looking back, were filled with heavy reluctance. But soon she smiled as if there was no choice and turned forward again.
“…”
Silence descended upon the place where Emma and Alrina had been standing. Cayden quietly watched Emma walking away. Assad carefully observed Cayden’s profile.
“Do people in the north go on trips after getting married?”
Assad’s question chased away the silence lingering nearby. Though they were alone now and could speak normally, he seemed to want to be careful until they left the garden.
“A honeymoon?”
“Yes.”
“Well, people with means often go. Poor people like me can’t.”
“You know your husband is wealthy, right? You keep forgetting.”
“Huh?”
Leaving Cayden repeating the question without understanding, Assad continued.
“Well, since it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, I suppose that trip is as important as the wedding.”
“I don’t know much, but I guess so. Probably.”
“Senior was born and raised here in Elba too. After becoming my spouse, um, did you feel disappointed about not taking a trip? Were you secretly upset?”
“N-no. Upset? I never thought that way. I never even dreamed of marriage in the first place…”
“Then it’s fine.”
Assad’s profile looked somewhat curt as he turned his head. But suddenly he met Cayden’s eyes again, as if he had never looked away.
“Why have you never dreamed of it? Marriage.”
Assad asked Cayden while fiddling with the fluffy white flower tucked above his ear.
“Just… I didn’t think I could.”
“But you ended up having a wedding ceremony with me.”
“…”
“That honeymoon thing, tell me if you want it. Anywhere you want to go is fine. As if I couldn’t grant such a request.”
Cayden felt slight bewilderment at Assad’s words. He wondered if Assad was using the northern custom of honeymoons as an excuse to leave the imperial palace for a while. If not, why would he want to go on a trip with a man he would soon bid farewell to?
“You’re not answering. Well, I wasn’t asking for an immediate answer. Tell me when you want to.”
“…Yeah. Okay.”
After hesitating, Cayden gave a short, positive answer for now. Though he said he understood, he would never bring up the honeymoon again.
“Amun. Thank you for today.”
Composing his expression, Cayden awkwardly changed the subject.
“I did make you look good by being at your side, didn’t I?”
“Thank you for stepping in and asking to be invited to lunch when Emma said she wanted to meet again tomorrow.”
“Is that something to be thankful for?”
Assad’s head tilted slightly.
“Actually… I wanted to see Emma one more time too. But I thought I shouldn’t, so I was going to decline. But you, Assad, no, Amun, you offered to go together. Thanks to that, I could give Emma an answer.”
“…”
“Thank you so much.”
Having finished speaking successfully, Cayden exhaled a sigh of relief internally.
Once they left the garden with its piercing lilac scent, he and Assad would return to their original selves. While Assad was referring to himself as a junior, while he wasn’t the Crown Prince who was harder to like… Cayden wanted to express his gratitude.
“What’s this about? You don’t need to thank me for such things. What will you do out of embarrassment when something truly worthy of thanks happens?”
“I’ll thank you even more than I am now…”
“I should create more things to be thanked for, then.”
“No.”
“Yes, I should. … Well, shall we return to our lodgings? Let’s rest first, then think about what to do next. You can’t just go to sleep. You have to play with me.”
Though he wasn’t sure what games he could play with Assad, Cayden readily agreed to Assad’s suggestion. For now, he wanted to get Assad away from the persistent gazes scanning his entire body.
It was fortunate that Assad didn’t seem to notice others’ stares. While he was displeased with the man who supposedly gave Emma obscene looks, he was sharp about others’ affairs but couldn’t take care of himself.
But regardless of Assad’s perception, Cayden wanted to take all the uncomfortable gazes directed at Assad if he could. But lacking that ability, leaving was the only option.
“Here.”
Assad suddenly reached out to Cayden. Without waiting as usual, he instantly grasped Cayden’s hand. The sudden contact gave Cayden no time to be surprised.
“In case you get lost.”
“…”
“This is an unfamiliar place for me. The paths are complicated like the wizards’ mansion. And it’s so crowded that it’s disorienting.”
Assad said while pushing his fingers between Cayden’s.
The path only forked in two directions. Even children younger than those who had given them flowers wouldn’t get lost in this garden. But Cayden said nothing. He just moved first, leading Assad who was staring at him.
The two walked slowly. Assad, who usually walked quickly, matched his pace with Cayden, pretending not to be fast.
Flower petals mixed with the sunlit breeze, and a pleasant sweet scent spread everywhere. Assad, taking in the flower petals resembling white snow, looked happy. He even tightened his grip on their interlocked hands.
“Thinking that this is… where Senior worked, makes me feel strange. No, am I curious?”
Assad, who had looked puzzled, continued speaking slowly. Petals of different colors had settled on his hair.
“I want to know what kind of life the person named Cayden lived here. Probably.”
“…I, I took care of the estate’s horses.”
After hesitating, Cayden gave a short answer.
Someone like Assad would have already figured out what he did here. Hadn’t Amun said that Assad received many reports? So, he would have known what Cayden did just before going to Helio, even if he didn’t want to. He might have been forced to hear it.
The question about what kind of life he lived probably implied wanting more detailed content. He thought Assad wouldn’t want the bland answer that he tended to the estate’s horses. But even knowing it wasn’t the answer Assad wanted, he kept his response brief and vague.
A human too embarrassing and shameful to show anywhere. That’s how Cayden thought of himself. He didn’t try to deny the fact that he hadn’t lived properly.
But even while defining himself as less valuable than a stone rolling on the street, he had never been ashamed of the work that had kept him alive until now, the labor he had done. Because his value as a human only sparkled when he worked. It was natural to think so. Even if that sparkle was just momentary.
Yet, in front of Assad, somehow even the work he had done felt like something shameful that should be hidden, like himself. He didn’t know how many times he had inwardly hesitated before uttering the single sentence that he had worked in the stables.
Cayden already knew well that he was someone who couldn’t even reach the tips of Assad’s feet. It was such an obvious fact that he had never felt shame about it.
But love, that unfamiliar emotion, changed things as it mixed in.
Cayden was trying to hide even his time at this estate, which was like a benefactor to him, from Assad. He did so even though it was nothing compared to what he really wanted to hide.
And Cayden felt anxious. He felt anxious about Assad showing curiosity about his past.
After knowing what he did and how he lived at the estate in Ruana, Assad might become curious about even earlier times. What work he did at the Count’s farm, how he lived there. He might want to know more detailed stories.
‘That shouldn’t happen.’
With a face that would seem awkward to anyone watching, Cayden forced a smile.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
