Let’s just say it’s a luxurious house arrest.
That was Derek’s honest impression of the current conditions under which his friend Sil resided. He was staying in a room reserved for high-class noble guests, and it was furnished with every basic necessity so that he need not ask for anything.
However… Derek glanced at the two guards stationed in the room. One of them was Sirius’s bodyguard, but the other was one of the king’s own. Neither showed any signs of budging when Derek entered the room. They were there both to protect and surveil Sil. They would report on every visitor he had, every word they exchanged.
Guess we can’t discuss anything controversial…
It was also a little surprising to Derek that Sirius was not present. Derek had required permission to visit Sil, and that permission had come from Sirius himself. And yet…
I wonder… Did Sirius visit Sil at all while his memory was temporarily back?
“Derek?”
Derek made himself smile when he heard his name.
“Hmm? Oh, right. How are you feeling?” he asked Sil, who was seated at the other side of the desk.
“Not bad.”
And indeed, Sil showed no sign of injury or distress. It seemed to be true that he was the one to request house arrest. What had transpired at the junior ball in the Sky Chamber—Sil losing his mind and turning a sword on Octavia—Sil did not remember, but he was very determined that it be investigated.
Derek figured what scared Sil the most was the possibility of it happening again.
“Right. Why don’t I pour us some tea?”
As Sil reached for the teapot and began to scoop the tea leaves, Derek quickly stopped him. “Wait, Sil, allow me.”
“Huh? But you’re my guest, Derek, I should—”
“Your tea always has an overly complex flavor. You make the fine royal tea leaves weep.”
While he meant well, Sil was a dunce in all forms of cookery. There are some skills a person simply cannot attain, no matter how hard he tries. It was difficult to evaluate his skill, too. His cooking wasn’t inedible—there were some things one could eat. And his cooking wasn’t exactly disgusting, either…but everything he touched was too intense. This was vividly evident even in a simple cup of tea. The result—an overly complex flavor. Any subtle nuances that should be present were decimated.
Then again, his tea was always at least presentable to the average person. And in Sil’s case, being a mediocre cook—or tea brewer, for that matter—was not even a problem.
“Sometimes I forget you’re the son of a duke, Derek…”
“It has nothing to do with class—I’m just very particular about flavors. I want to avoid eating anything substandard unless the situation insists on it.”
If necessary, Derek could eat or drink basically anything, but now was not such a case. He would rather brew his own tea than let Sil do it. Derek already knew that his standards were above average.
“Substandard…” Sil was crushed. Derek felt sorry for him, but he couldn’t tell a lie. “But Sirius always happily drinks my tea…”
“Because love makes us blind to any faults. Also, while Sirius doesn’t have a dead palate, he ultimately cares more about a food’s nutritional value than its taste.”
As he said it, Derek realized that was one trait the couple shared. While Sil also had a discerning palate, he cared about quantity over quality. And despite his delicate appearance, he had a hearty appetite.
Derek stood up and took the teapot from Sil. He proceeded to brew tea with the proper procedure and the exact amount of tea leaves required. When the tea was finished, he poured it into Sil’s cup before filling his own.
Then he returned to his seat and said, “There. Drink that and tell me what you think.”
Sil silently sipped the tea. “You’re right… It is better than mine…”
“Delicious, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but…I remember when you were kids, you taught Sirius the incorrect way to brew tea…and poor Octavia was harmed the most by it…”
“Pfft!” Derek choked on his tea. “But that’s all in the past.”
“I’d love to taste it just once, Derek—your disgusting tea.”
“…Can we please not?”
That was a memory Derek wished he could forget. He didn’t know the difference between right and wrong back then.
“Well, I’m not making you tea like that. If you insist—”
“If you insist on drinking it, just ask Sirius,” was what he was going to say, but he shut his mouth.
It was an impossible notion. The very person Derek had deceived did not even remember it happening. So naturally, he didn’t remember how to brew the tea either. He did have a glimmer of hope…that someday, Sirius’s memory would return fully…but still.
“If you insist on drinking it that way, you’d best give up,” Derek rebuffed him.
Sil tucked his chin downward in disappointment.
“By the way…” Derek decided to change the subject. The purpose of his visit was to check in on Sil. “Aren’t you tired of being surveilled by now? You’re surely starved for information. Isn’t there anything you’d like to know?”
Sil’s eyes blinked rapidly. He paused in thought.
“Well, I don’t know, Derek… Do you have any good news for me?”
Now it was Derek’s turn to blink rapidly in surprise. At first, he suspected Sil might be referencing the survey. Sirius tended to hide intel from Sil. That alone surely made Sil curious about all sorts of things—like Hugh, for one.
But “Do you have any good news?” was the last question Derek was expecting from him.
“Like, in my personal life?” Derek asked.
Sil nodded.
“What makes you think something good happened to me?”
“Well, being a higher nobleman, you are quite skilled at concealing intelligence…but I’m your friend. I can just tell…something’s different.”
“You mean…I’m different?”
Sil nodded yet again.
Derek was completely unaware that he was different, but if he had to find a reason why, he had one idea.
But was that a good thing for him?
“It’s just, I don’t normally see you like this, Derek.”
For someone who seemed dense, Sil could sometimes be quite perceptive.
“Well…I just received word that Prince Alexis has made a full recovery. As a vassal of the royal family, I suppose that is very good news to me?”
As he answered, he scrutinized the reactions of the two guards…and it appeared that was news to both of them.
It was a well-known fact at the castle that the second prince had been ill for the past couple of weeks. Personally, Derek had his doubts as to whether or not that was true, but he had no definitive proof one way or another. He just couldn’t help but think…maybe Alexis’s illness was merely a cover for some sort of secret operation.
“Oh, I see,” Sil murmured. Then he dropped his gaze to his cup and said, “That is good news.”
An anxious smile filled his face.
There it is again.
Derek never made a point to call him out on it, but whenever Alexis came up in conversation, Sil’s face always tensed ever so slightly. Like he was trying to hide his emotions but failing.
To Sil, Alexis was the younger brother of his lover. This made them close associates. There didn’t seem to be any particular disputes between the two.
Derek trusted Sil was not the sort of person who would hate someone without good reason. And Alexis, as far as Derek could tell, wasn’t all that interested in others. He was aware of Sil—whether or not he liked Sil was irrelevant. If Alexis were to take an interest in anybody, it would only happen to somebody whose relationship evolved, in any way, with Octavia.
And at present, Derek presumed this did not apply to Sil. This was why Sil’s reaction mystified him.
He glanced at the two guards. Should he ask, or shouldn’t he…?
“Sil. Did something happen between you and Prince Alexis?”
Sil frantically shook his head. “No. Nothing at all.”
“Then you ought not show it on your face.”
Sil sighed heavily.
“Um, seriously. Prince Alexis did nothing to cross me. This is my problem alone.”
“Your problem?”
“Yeah… When it comes to him, I’m a little…guarded? Nervous? Maybe it’s because he’s a prince.”
“Look, Sil…”
His lover, Sirius, was also a prince, and he said he liked Octavia, a princess.
“I’m trying to get over my aversion… I don’t want to offend Prince Alexis.”
“Well…sometimes people just don’t get along, I guess. People have prejudices, too.”
“Have you had prejudices, Derek?”
It was an innocent question, but one person immediately came to Derek’s mind. From the moment they met, he thought they wouldn’t get along, and that this would never change even when they grew up—Octavia.
Derek took a sip of tea and said, “Yes.”
“Huh?” Sil sounded surprised, like he had asked the question rhetorically and hadn’t expected an answer.
“Ever since the day we met, we were an absolutely horrible match. Each time we saw each other, I developed more and more reasons to hate that person. Eventually, it led me to believe my first assessment was correct.” He paused. “But now…”
Even though it was now for a different reason, he still felt like they were ill-matched.
“Do you like them?” Sil asked.
Derek smiled vaguely.
“Well…I’m not sure.”
Once, in the past, he had decided never to fall in love. Whether or not he was keeping his promise to himself…he did not know.
But in reality, he understood…that saying he did not know was actually his way of avoiding the truth.
The truth that he was not keeping his promise to himself.
Otherwise, his heart would not be elated over the visit he was about to have after this one.
Derek heaved a sigh. “Well, damn…”
Sometimes he found himself so insufferable.