“Taking sides.”
Heset shook his head. The clear golden eyes still held traces of amusement. He didn’t seem upset by Cayden’s denial.
The atmosphere, which had felt so chilly, suddenly softened. It was a change so rapid it was disconcerting.
Perhaps… it wasn’t the atmosphere that had changed, but his own heart. The Emperor’s smiling face resembled Assad’s so closely that it reminded him of Assad, unconsciously making his tension ease. Unable to deny this absurdly embarrassing thought in time, Cayden could only smile awkwardly.
“Let’s get to the point. I’d like to continue making pointless, unnutritious remarks, but I don’t want to see you fainting while trembling like a frightened house rabbit. So I’ll just speak concisely about what needs to be said.”
“…No, that’s not the case.”
After briefly closing his mouth upon hearing the strange comparison to a frightened house rabbit, Cayden barely managed to respond. He was recalling the image of Helio’s house rabbits he had seen in textbooks—large, black, and fierce-looking creatures.
“Lies.”
“……”
“You know Jahan? Assad’s maternal uncle.”
Heset, with his arms crossed, said. It was a topic Cayden hadn’t expected at all.
“Yes. I met him at the last banquet.”
“Something very joyful has happened to him. It’s quite remarkable. He’ll live the rest of his life with a face smiling like a clown. A problem he had been holding onto for nearly ten years has been perfectly resolved.”
“……”
“Marju. Jahan has found his lover.”
Cayden couldn’t hide his surprise at the news about Jahan that Heset shared. The old love story he had heard from Amun, Jahan’s eyes and voice tinged with lingering bitterness, vividly came to mind.
“I told you, didn’t I? That you resemble my lover. People like you have no greed. But the worries you hold inside… are as numerous as the sand grains of the desert. For me, too many to count.”
Jahan had met again with that uncountable lover. Cayden didn’t know Jahan well. He had only seen him for a few days. Even so, he felt happy as if confronting the happiness of a close friend.
“I want to congratulate my younger brother for achieving his long-cherished wish. I want to taste his joy with my own eyes and convey my blessings. Since I also helped with this matter, I feel even more eager. But coincidentally, as Emperor, I cannot leave the palace.”
“……”
“It’s also far-fetched for Jahan and Marju to come to Acro right away. Marju has lost his sight. We should give them time for the blind man to become familiar with Jahan’s embrace.”
Heset continued.
“I don’t want to call and dismiss an ill person just to satisfy my curiosity. That would be nothing but torment. So, I’m planning to send someone to Pima in my place.”
Cayden felt his mouth go dry. He felt somewhat anxious. It was because he could anticipate what Heset was about to say next.
“The Crown Prince’s consort before me will have to represent me. Go to Pima and deliver a gift to Jahan. While giving appropriate congratulations, also convey things that cannot be included in a letter.”
“How could I……”
“It’s not an official matter but a private one. You’ll be going to Pima not as a special envoy or anything like that, but as family, as a member of our imperial household. There’s no need to be so tense.”
“……”
“Your visit is also what Jahan and the man who will become his partner, Marju, want. Of course, I desire it too. And I have no intention of refusing their request.”
Cayden was confused. Why would the Emperor want to entrust a family matter to him, why would Jahan and his lover want him to visit… nothing made immediate sense to him.
He also suspected that perhaps his own tactlessness was preventing him from properly understanding the true meaning of the words. If this was truly a family matter, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for Mat, the prince, to step forward rather than himself?
“I’ll only get to see Jahan and Marju, those kids, after three or four more months. It’s a pity.”
“I……”
“Until then. I’ll have to ease my curiosity with the stories I hear from you. So, make sure to capture my youngest brother’s happiness well in your mind. So that you can fully convey that moment to me.”
The person before him was the Emperor. Heset wasn’t asking Cayden a favor. He was issuing an order that must be followed and accomplished.
“I understand.”
With a face half-dazed, Cayden obediently answered.
And then Heset opened his mouth again. He added one unexpected statement.
“It’s a secret from Assad.”
It was a startling declaration.
“You know that he’s preparing to depart for the south to meet the Crown Prince of Yeon, right?”
“…Yes. I know.”
Cayden answered. He was recalling the things Assad had told him just the day before yesterday.
“Twice a year. The heir of Helio must meet with the heir of Yeon Kingdom across the sea in the eastern continent. For the conference.”
While needlessly kneading Cayden’s hand, Assad had continued.
“The conference is a place of friendship that reaffirms the peace treaty between the two countries. But after that, another venue opens. The ministers of each country gather, clicking their abacuses and making numerous deals… perhaps ‘trading venue’ would be a more appropriate expression.”
In three days, Assad was scheduled to depart for Muhit, a port city located at the southernmost point of Helio. Last year, Mat had met the prince in the eastern continent instead of Assad, who was busy with marriage ceremony matters, so this year Assad had to meet the prince in person.
“Yeon Kingdom doesn’t have a Crown Prince’s consort. It’s absurd that a prince over twenty-seven years old doesn’t have a partner. Thanks to that absurdity, I have to go to the conference alone. They say I can’t be the only one accompanied by my partner. But next year, he’ll have to marry whether he likes it or not. So in the next conference… I can go with you. Riding a very big ship across the sea, we’ll go to the eastern continent together.”
Assad had spoken while gripping Cayden’s hand even tighter. His cheeks had already turned red. The color was so pretty that even Cayden, who was looking at Assad, felt needlessly excited. Crossing the sea together. It was something he should have been nervous about, not excited.
“Yes. He must have blabbed about it in excruciating detail.”
“…He didn’t do that.”
“That’s impossible. Anyway, the issue is the preparation for that conference you know about. We shouldn’t let anxiety strike him when he’s already overwhelmed, so let’s keep the Crown Prince’s consort’s trip to Pima a secret.”
In a listless voice, Heset added more words.
“Maybe it’s not anxiety but jealousy.”
“No. His Highness doesn’t have that, that kind of strange disease.”
Cayden’s face turned pale.
Seeing Cayden taking his words too seriously, Heset burst into laughter. Soon, Heset waved his hand.
“I have no intention of watching him neglect his own affairs while meddling with yours. Let’s leave him to prepare well for the conference just like now.”
Heset’s words seemed odd to Cayden. He didn’t think that the task he had been ordered to do would make Assad anxious. After all, wasn’t he just visiting Pima, which was guarded by none other than his maternal uncle? While Assad might show interest in his affairs, it didn’t seem likely that he would devote excessive attention to the point of neglecting his own work as Heset suggested. That couldn’t be the case.
Still, he empathized with Heset’s idea of not creating unnecessary concerns for Assad. This was separate from denying the strange joke Heset had made.
“Let me summarize. Conveying blessings to Jahan in Pima on my behalf, keeping that fact a secret from Assad. These are the two tasks you must accomplish.”
“I understand.”
Cayden answered hastily.
Heset slightly nodded his head. Then he silently gazed at Cayden, who was so tense that it seemed as if he had forgotten how to avoid the Emperor’s eyes. Heset’s face, with the smile erased, was flawlessly beautiful like a sculpture carved from marble.
“Is it because you’re so scared?”
“……”
“You’re not asking about the remaining time.”
Heset’s words plunged the colorless reception room into silence.
“Assad assured me that you would continue to stay here. That you would be here even after several years, even after decades. No, he said you would stay together for hundreds more years. Quite childish, isn’t it?”
Cayden’s face turned pale again. A different, rigid fear overcame him.
But at the same time, Cayden felt an indescribable joy.
Through Heset, Cayden learned that the words he had heard from Assad were not lies.
Assad really, at least for now, wants to be with me. He wants me to be by his side even after the set deadline.
That fact made Cayden unbelievably happy. It seemed like it would be fine even if the moment Assad didn’t want him came very quickly. He could smile thinking about today.
“I wonder if you share the same intention as him.”
Standing at the crossroads of fear and joy, Cayden faced Heset.
“I… don’t know about imperial matters. I just promised to be by his side until Your Highness dismisses me.”
Cayden, who had been moving his lips, slowly continued.
“It seems that the time I’ll stay by his side will be longer than two years. But it won’t be as long as you’re worried about.”
Cayden conveyed his honest feelings to Heset. Even in his sweet-scented joy, Cayden didn’t dream of a happy ending. It was because he didn’t know how to be greedy.
“…A promise. Did Assad threaten to break your ankle if you don’t stay by his side?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
