Just as he was about to ascend the stairs in good spirits, Amun found himself stopped by a familiar voice.
“Amun!”
One of the servants who worked between the east and west wings called out to him.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face.”
A female servant carrying a flower basket in one hand patted Amun on the back as she greeted him.
“Indeed it has.”
Amun took the basket from the servant’s hand and carried it for her.
“Hey!”
The woman who had raised her voice teasingly laughed heartily, clearly pleased. Amun responded with a light smile of his own.
“I heard you’ve been assigned to the Crown Prince’s consort?”
“Yes, I’ve been visiting for over a week now.”
“The others were happy to see your face after so long.”
“I doubt that.”
Amun followed the woman who had already started climbing the stairs.
“Sister, you’ve been serving the Crown Prince’s consort since the day she arrived in the capital, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“How is it? I’ve only met her a few times, so perhaps that’s why I still find her intimidating.”
“Well…”
The woman glanced around briefly, then lowered her voice and continued.
“She’s really quiet. Doesn’t ask for help with clothes or bathing, doesn’t call us to do this or that, doesn’t say anything unpleasant. She’s so quiet that… sometimes we wonder if we’re serving a person or a ghost.”
“Ah.”
“Still, everyone likes the Crown Prince’s consort. Especially Lihet—she’s going crazy about it. She keeps saying she wishes she wouldn’t stay alone and would call for her. Says she wants to see that handsome face more often.”
The woman winked mischievously as she whispered.
“…Is that so?”
“She has a thing for northern men. Pale-faced, dark-haired handsome men.”
After finishing her words, the woman took back the flower basket that had temporarily been in Amun’s hands. They were now approaching the bedroom where Cayden was staying.
“Are you going to the library?”
“No, the reception room. After I finish the decorations, I need to go to the east wing. Well, see you next time.”
The woman concluded their brief exchange with a wave of her hand and carefully walked down the corridor. Amun could see her exchanging silent greetings with the guards on duty.
Hmm. Amun fixed his slightly crooked posture and slowly moved to stand in front of the Crown Prince’s consort’s bedroom.
Just as he was about to grab and turn the doorknob, Amun hesitated. He remembered Cayden, tucked away in a corner of the balcony, startled at the sight of him as if encountering a ghost. No, was it just the first day? The next day too, and the day after that as well.
Assad, in Amun’s form, reluctantly raised his hand and knocked on the door. Unlike his grumpy expression, the knock sounded light and gentle. But he had only knocked to announce his presence. With no intention of waiting for an answer, Amun flung the door open.
And immediately, Amun came face to face with Cayden.
Goodness! Amun unconsciously took a step back. He hadn’t expected Cayden to be right in front of the door.
“Did I startle you? Sorry. I heard a knock and was about to open the door…”
Cayden, with a smile as awkward as his posture, spoke to Amun first. It was Kingdom language spoken with noticeable urgency.
“I wasn’t startled.”
Feeling embarrassed, Amun maintained the most expressionless face possible and stepped back into the bedroom.
Cayden led Amun to a marble table placed near the wide arch leading to the balcony. Drinks and snacks had been set out. Amun wondered how many times Cayden must have hesitated before asking the servants to prepare the table.
‘He must have hesitated at least ten more times.’
Amun thought silently as he took a seat.
Despite having had only a few proper conversations with Cayden, he could tell what made the man uncomfortable and what made him awkward. That man found everything related to Crown Prince Assad Mekerius difficult—his position as the crown prince’s consort, the servants and guards ready to work for him, and even the bedroom he was currently staying in.
But strangely enough, he wasn’t uncomfortable with Amun.
That didn’t mean he was completely at ease. However, in front of Amun, it was as if his heart loosened up, and he often had an unusually stupid-looking face. As the days passed, the frequency of his weak, foolish smiles increased. And they had only met for about a week.
What on earth had Amun done?
He trembled like a dying man in front of his supposed lifelong partner, yet smiled so easily in front of a mere companion. Truly, there wasn’t a single aspect of this man that wasn’t irritating.
“How did you spend your day today?”
Amun asked the person whose thoughts he couldn’t understand at all. It was meant to start with simple conversation before their Imperial language lesson. He also intended to make Cayden accustomed to the question-and-answer format first. In ten days, he planned to ask this question in the Imperial language.
“I’ve been well. I attended lessons…”
“…”
“That’s all I did, really.”
Cayden gave an embarrassed smile.
As the weak smile that made one want to sigh faded, he rubbed the area below the scar on his right cheek while glancing at Amun. It seemed like an old habit. A strange habit that made observers feel uncomfortable.
“Ah… That reminds me. Today, I heard the same phrase multiple times… Perhaps you could tell me what it means? You’re the only one I can ask.”
“Feel free to ask me anything.”
Amun smiled kindly. His still-youthful face made the smile look somewhat cute.
Reassured by that gentle smile, Cayden haltingly but quite accurately conveyed the Imperial language phrase he had heard to Amun. He added that he had searched through his study materials but couldn’t find anything similar.
Amun took in the phrase Cayden had pronounced somewhat awkwardly. Then, he pondered the word he had just heard once more.
For a moment, a brief silence fell.
“…You heard that phrase?”
Amun barely managed to hold onto his smile, which had nearly collapsed.
He placed back the glass he was about to pick up. The thought occurred to him that his tense hand might shatter the glass.
Stupid fool. That’s what they had called his bride.
Cayden was Assad Mekerius’s one and only partner. No matter how pathetic the man was, that was a fact that wouldn’t change immediately.
Yet who dared to utter such words to his partner?
Before entering the bedroom, Roan had told him that most of the servants in the annex liked the quiet Cayden. Apart from the constantly silent guards and the servants who were said to be favorable to him, the only ones left were those above them. Whether they were nobles frequenting the palace or his disgusting relatives.
He wanted to identify the face of the person who had committed a sin deserving of having their tongue cut out.
“That’s quite a compliment. Who was it that said such a thing to you?”
Amun asked, suppressing the rising sense of insult. He was making an effort not to lose his smile.
“…”
The answer didn’t come easily. Despite speaking with a smile, Cayden sensed anxiety in Amun’s question. That simple-minded man was surprisingly skilled at perceiving others’ feelings, despite being terribly oblivious otherwise.
Amun looked directly into Cayden’s darkened eyes and pretended not to notice, smiling again. Fortunately, Cayden quickly believed in Amun’s new smile. It was apparent that he was setting aside the anxiety he was about to embrace.
“…My Imperial language teacher told me.”
After hesitating, Cayden carefully offered his answer.
“The Imperial language teacher, I thought as much. He was praising you for being an exemplary student.”
Amun, with quite an affectionate expression, lightly picked up his glass. The cold droplets of water on the glass were crushed under his hand. But as if suddenly remembering something, he put the glass back down without drinking.
Amun thought about the useless person who was teaching Cayden the Imperial language. The vice-principal of a school under the imperial family, a wealthy nobleman, a scholar, a stubborn old man.
‘Yes… It’s time for him to retire.’
The imperial family couldn’t be seen as employing senile individuals. Paska should be lying in bed, cared for by his family.
“By the way, Cayden.”
“Yes?”
“Since we’re talking about teachers, I just remembered something. It seems like the right time to share a concern I’ve had these past few days.”
Amun continued.
“I think it would be better to have one teacher of Imperial language rather than two. Just as we don’t assign two teachers to teach children how to write.”
“…”
“I’m worried you might become confused between teachers with different teaching methods and directions. Especially since your Imperial language is not much different from that spoken by young children.”
In fact, it’s even more dismal. Hiding that thought, Amun spoke.
“…I see.”
Cayden, with a dazed expression, barely managed to utter a word. He looked quite gloomy as his lips moved, as if he had more to say.
“It wasn’t a long time, but I’ve learned so much from you, Amun. My request must have been surprising, but thank you for becoming my teacher.”
Why are his thoughts jumping around like that? Amun was puzzled by what the man was saying.
“Are you wishing that I, not Paska, would step down from the teaching role?”
Amun frowned unconsciously as he asked Cayden.
“No, not at all.”
Cayden, with eyes widened in a manner that didn’t suit him, fumbled with his words. The face of the man, who was flustered to a pitiful degree, looked paler than usual.
There are such people in the world. Watching his bride, who seemed to possess not even a nail’s worth of confidence in his heart, Amun had that thought. He was a peculiar type of person, enough to make one laugh in disbelief.
“There’s no way the teacher being removed would be me.”
