# Chapter 17
Asher had thought about visiting Luke’s residence at some point. Though he hadn’t expected the opportunity to come so quickly, he blinked rapidly with an affirmative gaze.
“I thought you might find it burdensome, but I’m glad you don’t seem to.”
“Of course not. Time spent with Your Highness is truly wonderful.”
At Asher’s words, a faint smile formed on Luke’s lips. Though subtle, it was a definite smile. Asher felt his pulse quicken.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Luke’s single statement spread through Asher’s chest like gentle ripples. Thinking about it, it seemed that by inviting him, Luke was gradually establishing his position as the future heir to the Duke’s household. But knowing the future, Asher silently gripped the hem of his pants.
“Why such a gloomy face?”
“What? But I’m enjoying myself right now.”
“Did you know that unlike before, your emotions are visible on your face? I’d say they’re closer to being impossible to hide.”
“Is that so? But I really am fine. If anything, I’m happy to be with Your Highness.”
His eyes curved smoothly on that pure face without a speck of dirt. But with an emotionless expression, Luke gazed steadily at Asher before getting up and approaching him.
“Y-Your Highness?”
Asher’s eyes widened at the suddenly shortened distance. At those eyes opened wide like a deer’s, Luke smoothly curved his red lips upward.
“See? Even now, you can’t hide your emotions.”
Asher’s surprised face turned as red as a ripe persimmon. At that redness that seemed ready to burst if poked, a faint smile appeared on Luke’s lips.
“We’ll have many public appearances together from now on. You can’t react like this every time, can you?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
Luke, who had approached Asher, whispered in a gentle voice. Like someone sharing a secret, he continued speaking in a soft tone.
“Then you need to get used to it now. Very slowly.”
Asher felt his heart tingle at Luke’s voice, which sounded as direct as if he had earphones in. In this situation where he couldn’t focus at all, Asher took a deep breath and swallowed hard.
While the way people like each other and the temperature of that feeling might differ from person to person, Asher knew how dangerous and futile his current emotions were. He knew that all of this would eventually be broken and shattered by the original work. In fact, in the original work, the author had used the phrase, “Those who covet what is not theirs shall be punished.”
Even though he was walking a different path from the original Asher, he thought that coveting Luke was no different. Asher moved his hips slightly backward, increasing the distance between them by a span.
“…What are you doing?”
“It’s bad for my heart.”
“…”
“You don’t know how handsome you are, do you? When you suddenly close the distance like this, it’s too overwhelming for me.”
Asher knew how childish and cringeworthy his words were even as he said them. But in the current situation, he thought this was the only way to lighten the mood while avoiding the question. Although this statement wasn’t entirely a lie, he felt Luke’s gaze deepen further.
“…You think I’m handsome?”
“…Yes.”
Though he was just being honest, heat rushed to his face. Asher felt like he wanted to hide in a mouse hole somewhere. Seeing him like that, Luke quietly thought for a moment before slowly parting his lips.
“I plan to officially visit the Duke’s residence during the founding party two weeks from now.”
“…In person?”
“Yes.”
The red eyes, clear like rubies, curved smoothly. Asher stared blankly for a moment at Luke’s much softened expression before coming to his senses and blinking rapidly.
“I’m grateful if you’ll come in person, but will you really do that?”
Luke gave a slight smile at Asher’s question, which seemed to be seeking confirmation. It was such a subtle change that one had to look closely to notice it.
“Oh…? You smiled.”
The thought that was supposed to stay in his mind ended up flowing out of his mouth. As a result, silence flowed inside the boat, and only the sound of rowing filled his ears. Asher hurriedly apologized to him and awkwardly rolled his eyes.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
As the atmosphere changed in an instant, Asher softened his gaze. As he was just observing, feeling like he had committed an impropriety, Luke slightly grasped his fingertips, and at the sudden touch of warmth, Asher was startled and widened his eyes. At Asher’s behavior, which seemed not to understand the current situation, Luke whispered softly with a warm gaze.
“…”
“If you would look only at me and not meet with others, as you are now.”
The emotion that came through Luke’s fingertips was one of obsession. But that wasn’t all. At the numerous emotions that followed, Asher trembled his eyelids with a confused gaze.
“What I was about to say earlier was that since we’ll be seeing each other often in the future, I thought we might need new rules.”
“What kind of new rules do you mean…?”
“To never betray each other no matter what happens. For me, this one thing is enough right now. I might become interested in you, you see.”
Asher’s heart was in turmoil because of how easily Luke had opened his heart. It would have been much better if he had pretended to open his heart and then backstabbed him. Considering what the past Asher had done to Luke, it was an understandable situation. Asher pulled his hand away from Luke’s touch as if rejecting it.
Luke’s eyes, as red as blood, touched Asher’s fingertips. It was a gaze without a single emotion, almost to the point of being insensitive. His eyes, with a dark color that could be said to resemble the night, had an expression that seemed to say, “I knew it would be like this.”
“I’m sorry. That’s not why I did that.”
“It’s okay.”
“I really didn’t do it for that reason…”
Luke stared at Asher, who was just repeating the same words.
“If you’re that sorry, how about adding a new clause?”
“…Such as?”
“We’ll be meeting frequently from now on. You can’t act like this every time, can you? We’ll be doing even more intimate things in the future.”
“M-more intimate things?”
Asher stammered at Luke’s unexpected words. If he didn’t have the ability to read emotions, he might not have been this embarrassed.
“…Um, Your Highness?”
“Luke.”
“…”
“I’ll gradually increase physical contact until you get used to it. You won’t be showing this resistant behavior every time we meet in the future.”
He whispered in a gentle voice, just enough not to make the other person uncomfortable. But his gaze was so intense that Asher felt eerily uncomfortable.
*
After meeting with him, Asher was lost in thought all day. While he had adapted well to life here since his possession, he seemed to have momentarily forgotten that he was an omega with abilities.
Meeting with someone he liked was pleasant. But he had never once thought about any more intimate contact. Above all, he disliked unintentionally reading the other person’s emotions. However, he couldn’t avoid contact with Luke forever.
“It’s not like I wanted things to work out well with Luke…”
Asher sighed deeply out of frustration. If he had been focused on adapting to life here until now, he now needed a plan for after Braden’s return.
At first, he thought he could just live without getting on his brothers’ nerves. He had hoped that if he showed his changed self during the year, they might treat him a bit more leniently after trouble arose. But now, Luke was weighing more heavily on his mind than them.
Luke’s words about not betraying him, and Baron Varhan’s words came to mind, making Asher’s head throb. At the time, he had responded because he didn’t want to be intimidated by Baron Varhan, but if he actually had a document pledging allegiance to the Crown Prince, that would be a problem in its own way. He felt like he might be punished for betraying Luke before Braden’s return.
“It definitely wasn’t just a benevolent feeling…”
Asher recalled the complex emotions he had felt toward Luke. Organizing these emotions in his mind, a similar form of love and hate emerged. There was clearly a feeling of hatred, but it didn’t feel like he disliked Asher that much. While these emotions seemed to be the main ones, there were complex feelings underlying them.
Feeling like he might actually grow white hair at this rate, Asher got up from his seat. Hearing a knock, Asher realized it was time for Aria to arrive.
For the lesson, Asher sought out a separate space. Though it had been a space prepared for Asher from the beginning, Asher deliberately hadn’t visited it. But today was different. Wanting to have a private conversation, Asher had instructed Aria to come there from now on.
When Asher arrived, Aria, who was already there, made a simple greeting. Asher nodded slightly, smiled, and sat in the center of the table, giving her a look.
“Please sit down.”
“Yes.”
According to Jan’s investigation, Aria was the daughter of a declining Count’s family. Befitting her age of over forty, she bore the traces of time, and according to information, she had a child. However, that child was reportedly abandoned at an orphanage for economic reasons. Although he wondered if that was easily possible, Asher didn’t want to interfere in someone else’s personal matters.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
