Yeah, listen to him. Seiichirou and the others nodded.
But then…
“I promise to use my authority to secure further cultural exchanges with Romany. Would you be willing to allow us to participate in your movement spell research?”
“Your Highness!” The three Egorovans’ eyes lit up in glee.
“Nice!” Ist positively glowed as well, and so did the Romany sorcerers.
“Eld… Prince Lars!” Luciano cried out excitedly.
The research nuts had complete tunnel vision. Who was supposed to deal with this?
At the very least…it’s not my problem.
“We will consult with the authorities,” was all Seiichirou could say.
Zoltan went to report to Camile, marking the end of the day’s activities. The higher-ups were having an emergency meeting, apparently.
Still, they couldn’t leave Ist and the Egorovans to their own devices in the Sorcery Department, nor could they lock Ist up again, so the guests went out into town for the second day in a row. Orjef and a group of Second Royal Order knights went off to serve as their bodyguards, leaving Seiichirou to go home and wait for the official decision.
It isn’t even the Fire Hour yet, thought Seiichirou, though unusually for him, he didn’t feel like doing other work. Obediently, he climbed into a carriage and made his way back to the mansion, where he crossed paths with the gardener who came by once a week.
“Oh, hey there. Rare to see you home so early,” said the hearty-looking man. Apparently, he was quite popular in his field and tended to multiple nobles’ gardens. That said, he generally only came by during the day, so Seiichirou had only met him about three times.
“It’s been quite a day… Ah, you’ve done very nice work.”
The gardener nodded placidly, not prying any further. “Thanks. You’ve come at a good time, by the way. Mr. Aresh just got back.”
Seiichirou’s heart jolted at the unexpected news. Even though Aresh had only been away for three days, making it four since Seiichirou had last seen his face, he could feel his heart racing.
When he entered the mansion, Valtom came to the door to tell him that Aresh was home. Although Seiichirou already knew this, he reacted as if it was news to him. Valtom said that Aresh was in his room, so Seiichirou went up to the second floor. He didn’t see Erene around, although he forgot to ask Valtom whether she had left.
He was about to knock on Aresh’s door when he remembered that he was still in his uniform. Just as he turned around to go change, the door swung open.
“You’re back?” Aresh sounded surprised.
Seiichirou was about to say, “That’s what I should be saying to you,” when he remembered that he almost never came home from work early. That was the source of Aresh’s shock.
“Yes,” he said, turning back around to face his partner.
Aresh was wearing a simple shirt. Although it wasn’t his uniform, he certainly would not have come home in this outfit, which meant that he had already changed into his indoor clothes.
Aresh opened the door wide, making room for Seiichirou to enter. Seiichirou, however, did not budge an inch.
“What? Not coming in?” asked Aresh, sensing something amiss.
“…Am I allowed to?” Seiichirou asked quietly.
Aresh blinked, and then his cheeks twitched in an almost imperceptible sign of discomfort. “Sorry,” he said after a pause. “Come in.”
Seiichirou walked in, and Aresh closed the door behind him. The next moment, Seiichirou felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind. Strong arms, accompanied by warmth and the subtle scent of Aresh.
Aresh breathed heavily against his neck.
He must have sensed Seiichirou squirming, because his voice sounded slightly huffy.
“Hey…can’t you stay still?”
“Erm, not from this direction…”
“What direction?”
“Could you just let go of me for a moment?”
Seiichirou was being petulant, but Aresh released him without complaint.
Then Seiichirou turned around.
“I’d prefer we face each other.”
He spread his arms—and was greeted with an even stronger embrace than before.
Because of the height gap between them, Seiichirou’s head would fall against Aresh’s shoulder whenever they hugged while facing each other. This time, Seiichirou leaned in, taking in Aresh’s scent. After a few minutes of the two of them getting their fill of the other, Aresh finally relaxed his grip, and Seiichirou lifted his head.
Beautiful amethysts.
After spending the past few days looking at Lars, Seiichirou knew that he was beautiful, but Aresh possessed a more primal quality. There was a wildness to him, tempered by his status as a knight. Seiichirou was drawn to that roughness—perhaps he was something of a slave to love.
When Aresh slowly drew his lips close, Seiichirou responded in turn.
It was their first kiss in five days.
Over and over, their lips met, and then Aresh opened his mouth.
“Your barrier is still intact, but I’ll reapply it to be safe.”
Those words snapped Seiichirou back into reality.
He had reunited with Aresh, and their fight had not left things on a sour note. Plus, Aresh was as considerate about Seiichirou’s physical condition as ever. These were all good things.
But wasn’t there something they needed to talk about first?
“Before that, isn’t there something you need to tell me, Aresh?”
“…Huh?”
Seiichirou was surprised to see Aresh so surprised. “Like I said, don’t you have something to tell me?”
“Like what?”
Aresh’s expression suggested that he really did not understand.
Seiichirou decided to cut this circular conversation short.
“You never told me why your family summoned you.”
He had heard from Erene that the Egorovan royals had approached Aresh’s family about an engagement, but Seiichirou should have been involved in this conversation from the start.
He knew that Aresh had turned down the offer. This was something he should have heard directly from Aresh’s lips—hence why Seiichirou was asking about it now.
But the answer he received was outside the realm of his expectations.
“It’s not something for you to concern yourself with.”
“Huh?”
“More importantly, I need to get going again soon. I should reapply the barrier before then,” Aresh said as he reached an arm out to pull Seiichirou in.
His lips descended once more…
Crunch.
Aresh’s eyes widened in shock—his perfect lips were now lightly coated in blood. Because Seiichirou had bitten him.
Seiichirou used this moment to free himself of Aresh’s arms and take several steps back.
“Seiichirou?” Aresh looked surprisingly young in his bewilderment.
But this was no time to gawk at him.
“Oh, I see… I see how it is… Mr. Aresh.”
Aresh jolted.
He was always insisting that Seiichirou speak to him without formalities. Although Seiichirou didn’t drop the politeness entirely, he still referred to Aresh without a title whenever they were in the mansion together. And so the moment he used the word “mister,” Aresh could tell that something was amiss.
“I will not be coming home for a while, either,” Seiichirou declared.
“Huh? What are you…?”
“I’d like to collect my thoughts. Please excuse me.”
And then Seiichirou was out the door, fleeing with all the strength he could muster before Aresh could return to his wits and chase after him.
I’m glad this happened before I changed clothes, he thought.