Chapter Ninety-Four: Spring Lightning Pierces the Wagtail
PERHAPS we were both tired, because we fell asleep in each other’s arms.
When I woke, the emperor sluggishly sat up on the bed and murmured, “That was a good nap…” He seemed to be in a slight daze. “We fell…completely asleep…”
“We must have both been fatigued,” I commented.
“No, shouldn’t we… Like, you know… Isn’t there more…stuff you’d do in times like these…?”
“Your Majesty? Is something wrong?”
I didn’t really understand what was going on, but the emperor seemed to be engaged in a soliloquy. He looked as if he was in shock over messing up something critical. Did something happen? I sifted through my memories.
Finally, I said, “Your wings are very warm, and I felt comfortable sleeping in them.”
“Uh, that’s not what I mean… Ahhh, releasing a seal on memories is this taxing on my mana… I never knew…”
“I…see?”
“I can’t believe I just…dozed off…”
He seemed to have wanted to do something else. I wouldn’t be surprised. I also have a lot of things I want to talk about, like the memories I forgot.
“You’ll have another chance in the future,” I reassured him.
“…Yeah. I hope so…”
“I should actually apologize, Your Majesty. I was so impudent as to fall asleep in your arms…”
“Oh, isn’t it a little too late for that?” The emperor gave me a warm, groggy smile. He reached out and stroked my hair. “You have a case of bed head going on.”
I stilled. “I shall go fix it right away.”
“Stay here, will you? Just a while longer.”
“Understood.”
The emperor wound his arms around me from behind and buried his face into my shoulder. His wings bobbed lightly, and his ivory hair was ticklish on my cheek. His body and arms were larger than mine, yet he clung to me like a needy child. It felt a little peculiar. He must have been exhausted.
“Your Majesty,” I said.
“Hm?”
“As someone of your status… You probably do not have many people you can be yourself around like this. If you wish it, I shall always be by your side. Please do not hesitate to tell me whenever you need me.”
His head shook, still pressed into my shoulder. He appeared to laugh for a moment. “Sai, are you pretending to be oblivious to my feelings? Or are you saying that while being completely aware?”
“Your…feelings?” Am I missing something? With the emperor’s pleasant weight against my frame, I started to lay out events in my mind. The emperor had remembered me all that time. The emperor had dozed off with me. And currently, the emperor was acting like a spoiled child who wanted me to fawn over him.
“Feelings…” I sank deeper into my thoughts.
The silence stretched on.
It was almost as if there was a blockage somewhere in my psyche—I was drawing a blank. I had the feeling that even if I turned on the switch to stimulate my brain, the additional processing power wouldn’t help. My brain was entirely useless.
Eventually, I admitted, “My deepest apologies. The only theories I have are that you are very tired and…that you have times when you want to hug and lean on someone…”
“Not just anyone.”
“I understand.” I paused. “After all, very few people can look directly at your noble face.”
“That’s not what I mean…” As he spoke, he tugged hard on me. I nearly toppled over, resting my whole weight on him. Panicking, I looked up at his face, which softened with a smile. “This is enough for now. After all…the longer I get to spend with you, Sai, the happier I am.”
“Your Majesty…?”
What does he mean? I was a little puzzled by his wording.
He chuckled slightly as he watched me. “Hey, Sai.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve wanted to come here with you for the longest time.” Something seemed to catch his eyes—my collar.
Is there something on my clothes?
Reaching out a hand, he gently touched my collar with a finger. “These earrings.”
“Ah.”
“You’ve worn them there ever since you received them, hm?”
“Apologies. I do not have pierced ears, so this was the best alternative I could think of.”
“Shall I ask a craftsman to remake them into a clip-on type?”
“No, if possible, I want to treasure them in the state that I received them…”
“…Huh.” Suddenly a serious glint shone in his eyes as he held the collar of my clothes.
“Your Majesty…?”
His hand slipped under the cloth. I felt his fingertips ghosting across my throat as they moved beneath the fabric.
I froze and sucked in a sharp breath.
The emperor took the back off one of the pinned earrings, then withdrew his hand, securing the earring between his fingertips. “I just had a brilliant idea,” he said. His eyes narrowed. His gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s, the expression one I had occasionally seen on him before. “I’ll help you pierce your ears.”
“Huh?”
He pulled his thin lips into a wide smile, flashing his canines. The next moment, there was a crackle as a small spark manifested in his hand that gripped the earring. The tiny strike of spring lightning had sharpened the post’s tip. Some smoke was rising from it.
“Here, I sterilized it,” he said nonchalantly.
“St-Sterilized…” His features were sophisticated, yet his method rather violent. I sat up to face him. “Are you possibly going to, um, pierce my ears with that right now?”
He was fiddling with the earring as he gazed up at me. “I won’t if you don’t want me to.”
I closed my mouth and stared at him, quiet.
He reached for me—but his gesture wasn’t forceful. If I wanted to resist, I could easily slip away. Yet when I saw the emotions swirling in his clear, jewellike eyes, I could only raise the white flag of surrender.
I felt his hot fingertip touch my ear. Then something just as warm but much harder rested against my earlobe, and I inhaled sharply. He’s going to pierce it. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself for the pain.
Silence. We sat there in a standstill.
At last the emperor asked, “Are you just going to let me?” He sounded as though he was unsure as well.
“If that is your wish.”
“…But if I don’t wish it, you wouldn’t want to?”
I opened my eyes to see the emperor’s face right in front of mine. He was looking at me with concern. Our breath mingled together, and our gazes were locked into one.
It’s probably a concern that only someone like him would have—because he’s a person who can obtain anything he wants.
“I…” My voice was hoarse. Heat gathered in my cheeks; I felt shy under his attention. No, I can’t let blood rush to my head. That might make the pain worse. It wasn’t something I could control, however. “I pinned it to my collar because I wanted to wear it. If someone has to pierce me, I want it to be you.” I crafted a smile for my face. I wondered whether I had managed it successfully.
There was a tiny ripping sound. The sound was more painful than the pinch itself.
I released my held breath. Then came throbbing pain almost as if lightning was lashing at me.
“Okay, I’ll do the other one.” The emperor reached for the other earring on my collar. But then he knit his eyebrows together just a tad and halted. “Never mind. Let’s stop here.”
“Huh? But…”
“In exchange, can I have this?”