Chapter 47
Blair slowly walked along the beach, moving toward the outskirts where no ships were moored. The Blair with a mature adult face spoke this way. Kyle, looking at Blair’s deep purple eyes, fumbled to take off his shoes.
“Are you going to dip your feet?”
“Yes. Can I try?”
“Of course.”
Blair nodded readily. The sand pricked Kyle’s bare white feet. It felt strange. The foam rushing over the sand began to tickle his feet. Kyle carefully walked with shoes in one hand. Each time the waves approached, the dispersing sand tickled his calves and feet. The cold seawater cleared his mind. Emboldened, Kyle moved to slightly deeper water. His calves were submerged. Kyle bent down to look at the transparent seawater.
“Be careful!”
Kyle turned back at Blair’s shout. With perfect timing, a large wave made Kyle lose his balance, and he fell on his backside in the seawater. The rushing seawater washed over Kyle.
“Your Highness!”
Startled, Blair splashed into the water with shoes still on and grabbed Kyle’s hand to pull him up. The splashing water also thoroughly soaked Blair’s pants. Kyle’s lovely blond hair was completely wet, with droplets running down his forehead. The sunlight reflected off the water droplets streaming through his hair, making them sparkle. Kyle, rising with Blair’s hand, smiled brightly. He was in an exceptionally good mood.
“You’re completely soaked and yet…”
Blair scolded Kyle, feeling awkward, but the person holding Blair’s hand had a face full of smiles.
“Hahaha.”
Since both Blair and Kyle were completely soaked, they had to hurriedly move to the Monetery merchant guild. They couldn’t ride in a carriage while wet with seawater. Being in a place with a large floating population, the store was considerably sized. Naturally, there was a staff lounge inside the guild.
Knock knock-
“Young Master, may I come in?”
After washing off the salt from his body, Blair, wearing a bathrobe for lack of proper clothing, opened the door. A guild employee peeked in and handed over two well-ironed sets of clothes.
“Please call if you need anything else.”
“Thank you.”
Taking the clothes, Blair approached Kyle. While Blair had dried his hair with a towel and was almost completely dry, water was still dripping from Kyle’s hair.
“Even in summer, you should dry your hair properly. You’ll catch a cold otherwise.”
Blair moved behind the seated Kyle and thoroughly dried his wet hair with a towel. The already radiant blond hair glistened even more when wet. Kyle was somewhat uncomfortable having others touch his neck or head. But strangely, Blair’s touch wasn’t bothersome at all. Kyle, who had been about to stop Blair saying he could dry his own hair, closed his mouth firmly.
Blair gently rubbed the scalp with a soft towel. Each time Blair moved the towel, his touch brushed against Kyle’s sensitive nape. Kyle, who had obediently yielded his head, had reddening ears.
After drying Kyle’s hair enough to stop the dripping, Blair slowly stepped back. Stepping back one step, he could see Kyle’s neck and ears tinged with a pretty color. Blair’s heart suddenly became tumultuous.
“Ahem!”
Blair, clearing his throat unnecessarily, turned around and changed into the prepared clothes. Blair wore relatively dark clothes, while Kyle wore light ones. Though not as comfortable as what they wore at home, the fabric and finishing of the clothes were luxurious, suggesting they had been carefully prepared. The two, now in lighter attire, left the port. A carriage drawn by well-rested horses quickly guided them to the center of the city.
“What would you like to do? Are you very tired? If you’re tired, we can go straight home.”
Kyle shook his head. Despite leaving at a fairly early hour, after falling into the seawater and taking care of various matters, the sun was already visibly setting. Since there was a considerable distance between the port and the center of the Monetery territory, traveling time also took quite a while.
“You don’t have to push yourself. We can come out again tomorrow or the day after.”
Blair tried to coax Kyle gently, but Kyle stubbornly shook his head.
“Then shall we just look around the night market briefly and then go back? You must be hungry?”
“Yes, a little.”
Kyle nodded, his face slightly reddening.
“I’m not sure if the traveling performers are coming today. It would be nice if they were. Anyway, let’s first get a quick bite to eat and then look around before heading deeper into the market.”
Blair, getting off the carriage, took the lead. Even at the entrance of the market, there were far more people than at the harbor earlier. Blair walked so quickly that he was already far ahead. Kyle hurriedly ran to grab the hem of Blair’s clothes.
“…?”
Blair turned to Kyle silently.
“I, I might get lost.”
As Blair turned around when his clothes were grabbed, Kyle answered hesitantly, meeting his gaze. Despite Blair being much smaller in build than Kyle, he seemed just like Kyle’s guardian. Blair removed Kyle’s hand from his clothes and firmly held Kyle’s hand instead. The body temperature from the hand he was holding was very warm.
Blair approached the stalls lined up at the market entrance. Various foods that Kyle had never seen before were arrayed in front of him. The stimulating and sweet smells tickled Kyle’s nose. Blair picked up a chicken skewer being grilled over charcoal. Slices of chicken and green onions were skewered on thin, long sticks and being grilled. There were ones with sweet marinade, spicy marinade, and soy sauce marinade. The colors were varied.
“Two of each type, please.”
Blair took out his purse.
“Ho ho, looks like the young masters are out for some fun.”
The friendly owner laughed heartily as he placed the skewers over the fire. Seeing the chicken skewers sizzling and emitting delicious smells, Kyle swallowed slightly. Having lost body heat to the cold water and not having eaten properly since morning, he was naturally hungry.
“Here you go! Handsome young masters. I’ve added one extra for each of you, so eat plenty.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Blair bowed and paid, then handed the chicken skewers to Kyle. Kyle received the chicken skewers with round, wide eyes. For Kyle, who had grown up quietly only in the Imperial Palace and the Academy, this was unfamiliar food.
“Take your time eating. It’s still hot. And if you see something else you want to eat while we’re walking, just tell me right away.”
“Okay.”
Kyle nodded slightly and bit into the still warm chicken skewer. As he tore the meat with his front teeth, the juices burst in his mouth. Kyle chewed the meat in his mouth, experiencing a fresh taste he had never had before.
“It’s good, isn’t it? Though it’s street food, it’s worth trying at least once.”
“Yes. It’s delicious.”
“Eat the green onion too. Don’t just pick out the meat.”
Blair strictly pointed out Kyle’s picky eating. Kyle’s shoulders slightly twitched as if his inner thoughts had been hit.
Blair was equally hungry. For a while, as they ate, no conversation occurred between the two.
The night market had a different atmosphere from the daytime. Kyle was captivated by the dazzling night market, almost dizzy with its vibrancy. Being late summer, people’s attire was light and colorful. Couples and families all walked around with joyful expressions. Kyle’s heart began to lift bit by bit.
Blair put another chicken skewer of a different flavor in Kyle’s mouth. Temporarily handing the rest of the skewers to Kyle, Blair found another store.
“Hold these for a moment.”
“Blair?”
It was a shop selling sugarcane juice. Sugarcane juice served in bamboo tubes for take-out was one of the specialties of the Monetery territory. People from other regions would occasionally visit after hearing about it. Even Blair, who didn’t particularly enjoy sweet flavors, sometimes thought of its distinctive taste.
“Two cups, please.”
“Just a moment.”
Before long, the owner handed Blair two cups of the beverage. With drinks in both hands, Blair called out to Kyle.
“Your High—! Ah.”
Realizing his mistake, Blair quickly controlled his speech. Blair approached Kyle, retrieved the chicken skewers, and gave him the drink. Shouting “Your Highness” loudly in such a crowded place would be almost suicidal. Even without that, both Blair and Kyle were types that drew attention. Despite having thoroughly concealed Kyle, people glanced at the two as they passed by.
“Sorry for the wait. This is delicious too, so please try it. It’s made by applying pressure to extract juice from sugarcane, which is used to add sweetness to food. It has a strong sweet taste, and the aroma is fairly sweet too.”
Was he about to call me ‘Your Highness’ just now? Judging by how he was about to call out loudly but trailed off, it seemed so. The different setting and atmosphere from usual gave Kyle unnecessary courage.
Kyle looked at Blair, not accepting the sugarcane juice he offered.
“You don’t want to drink it?”
“Blair.”
“Yes?”
Kyle, taking a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly and spoke.
“Um, well. We’re outside now, so couldn’t you call me by my name?”
“Ah…”
Blair looked as if he’d been caught off guard. He didn’t expect Kyle to notice. Kyle wasn’t usually the type to be so perceptive. Yet he had just caught on to what Blair was about to say. Kyle occasionally showed this unexpected sharpness in trivial matters.
Of course, in the past, Blair had called Kyle by his name most of the time, except in official settings. But thinking that using his name now wouldn’t do any good, Blair had deliberately avoided it. He didn’t know Kyle had been keeping this in mind.
“You call Aaron by his name too. We’re just students attending the same Academy. Not senior, not brother, ‘Your Highness’ is a bit… And we’re outside now, right?”
Kyle showed his disappointment.
“Ah, is that so?”
Blair tried to change the subject by pretending not to understand, but Kyle was persistent. It seemed he had thought about this more than once or twice. Kyle certainly had a tenacious side. He was indeed worthy of the Crassia Imperial bloodline. It appeared he wouldn’t yield his opinion until Blair called him Kyle.
[To be continued…]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
