By Zephyria 
After sending Aska away, I grabbed my mask and went outside. Since I came as a bodyguard, I was planning to follow Mahir when he went to meet the King. I wanted to see the King’s face and listen to them talk about the Ruins, killing two birds with one stone.
When I arrived at Mahir’s residence, I saw Tarik. He was the bodyguard who had come with Mahir when he met us. I wondered why he looked familiar, but it turned out he was a knight who had been by Mahir’s side since I was young.
“Your Highness.”
“……”
When I was sick and bedridden, Mahir often read to me. He was always there then, but sometimes he would read to me instead of Mahir.
He didn’t filter out things that weren’t appropriate for a child to read, reciting everything, which eventually got him scolded by Mahir.
Compared to then, he had only gotten bigger, but his face was the same.
“Call me Theodore. Where is Your Majesty?”
“He is tidying his clothes.”
Is he washing? Since he’ll be with the Servants anyway, there’s probably nothing to say. I shook my head and looked around. It was the inner chamber, so I didn’t see anyone other than Tarik.
“How many bodyguards do you take when you have an audience with the King?”
“Twenty, including me.”
“Twenty? Are you going to war?”
Tarik laughed at my bewildered muttering.
“In Calderia, it is a tradition for knights to have friendly exchanges by sparring with wooden swords.”
Not with real swords, but wooden sword duels? Are they doing that with a VIP present? It was a similar shock to when I heard that in foreign countries, people dance with different members of the royal family and nobility at banquets.
“What are you competing with using wooden swords? Do you lose if you get hit in the shoulder or leg?”
“I don’t know exactly, but it’s a knight’s duel, so surely not? Wouldn’t you lose if a wooden sword hit a vital point during a serious fight…? You can roughly gauge your skills by crossing swords, so sometimes people surrender.”
With the skills of a knight who guards the royalty, not just an apprentice, a wooden sword duel wouldn’t mean much. It seemed that the main purpose was really friendly exchange.
I was marveling at the strange situation when Tarik added.
“The sparring is scheduled to take place at an official event with a banquet in two days, and I will go alone today as it is a light occasion.”
I was slightly relieved at that. I almost followed Mahir and wasted all my time watching knights making fools of themselves with wooden swords.
“Then I will escort Your Majesty today.”
If it’s just a quiet conversation between the two, I just need to stand behind him. But Tarik opened his mouth as if he was in trouble.
“I’m sorry.”
I was about to ask why, but I closed my mouth. As the Emperor’s bodyguard, the Emperor’s orders would take precedence over mine. Besides, this wasn’t Actan, but a foreign country.
Thinking about it, I felt like I had gone too far, so I reflected on it internally when I heard Mahir’s voice from inside the door.
“Come in.”
I was startled at the words, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. Tarik stepped back to make way, and I opened the door and went inside.
About six Servants bowed their heads and left the way I had come. When only the two of us were left in the large, ornate room, Mahir suddenly hugged me tightly.
“What?”
Surprised by the sudden action, I stepped back, and he cleared his throat and let me go.
“I just wanted to hug you. Weren’t there too many eyes watching earlier?”
I didn’t know how to react to the shocking words. But I had been cautious earlier as well. In the end, I awkwardly hugged Mahir and let go.
Mahir, who was smiling brightly, asked me.
“But why are you here again, bothering innocent people?”
“I’m not bothering you, I just asked something. I’m going with you when you meet the King.”
“Why would you go there?”
If I told him the truth, he would never take me, so I lied.
“I’m just bored. Aska is asleep too.”
Perhaps because I was wearing a mask, Mahir didn’t see through my lie.
“Then let’s go with Tarik. But don’t cause trouble. Got it?”
“What trouble? I’m not a child.”
As I grumbled, Mahir stared at me and reached out to touch my mask. It seemed to be crooked.
“I plan to return to Actan as soon as my schedule here is over.”
“The banquet is in two days, right?”
Mahir nodded. He was probably saying this to ask if I was going with him. Until I met Mahir, I was planning to go to Actan, but now…
Wouldn’t it be better to be missing if I wanted to travel around?
I hesitated and said.
“I have some places to visit with Aska. I’ll go back when I’m done, so go ahead. Is Nadia doing well?”
Ah, she’s an Empress now, so is it okay to call her by her name? I belatedly realized it, but I had already said it.
“She’s doing well. She was worried about you. I was going to write her a letter tonight to tell her I met you.”
You could just go and tell her, why write a letter…? I remembered them exchanging letters with flowers and grass whenever they had the chance, even though they were close by.
Seeing him grinning, I felt strange and even shivered. Does Mahir feel like this when he sees me whispering with Aska? I should be careful in the future.
“As I said, I’ll take care of what happened in the Rollai Mountains, so don’t mention it in the future.”
Even if I wanted to mention it, there was no one to tell. Abyss and Sakira would take care of keeping the others quiet.
“Let’s go now. We’re actually a bit late.”
“If we’re late, tell them to wait.”
Why bother saying something so trivial?
Then Mahir, who was standing in front of the door, stopped and stared at me. I asked, feeling bewildered.
“Why? Did I say something wrong…”
Mahir reached out and hugged me tightly again. The clothes that the Servants had carefully arranged were getting wrinkled. But for some reason, I couldn’t tell him to stop.
When I first saw Mahir, I was dazed and didn’t really feel like we had reunited. But after seeing his face once or twice, I belatedly felt sentimental.
“Now that I think about it, it’s been so long since you came to me because you were bored.”
His voice was almost emotional. The very idea of coming because I was bored was a lie, so I suddenly started to feel guilty. Could it be that he didn’t realize I was lying because I was wearing a mask, but that this was what was shaking his composure?
“I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“I said that earlier.”
“I know. I just wanted to say it again.”
My conscience kept pricking me, so I had no choice but to tell the truth.
“Actually, I didn’t come because I was bored, I came because I wanted to see the King’s face.”
“Whatever the reason, seeing you act like this really makes me feel like you’re back.”
I awkwardly licked my lips, and Mahir suddenly grabbed a snack from the table and handed it to me.
“Let’s go.”
I was bewildered, but it was crispy and to my taste. I went outside and followed Mahir, walking with Tarik.
I glanced at Tarik and handed him a snack. But he bowed his head with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry.”
“Is ‘I’m sorry’ all you can say?”
“It’s not that, I just don’t eat during duty.”
“What’s wrong with it when it’s just us?”
“Kyle, stop bothering Tarik.”
“I’m not bothering him, I just asked. And call me Theodore.”
Why would I spread rumors about being me?
“What does it taste like?”
“Just like burnt sugar, I guess. Sweet.”
“Try the green snack too. What about that one?”
“This one is savory. Lots of nuts.”
Mahir kept asking me about this and that, as if he was amazed that I could taste again. It was annoying, but I couldn’t spoil his happiness, so I answered him diligently.
And finally, we arrived at the castle where the King resided. Along with the surrounding scenery I had seen while walking, the overall feeling was elegant and restrained. You could call it stillness?
On the other hand, the Servants and soldiers we met were cheerful and lively, unlike people who worked in the castle. To put it nicely, they were full of energy, and to put it badly, they seemed to lack decorum.
Is this a cultural difference? I couldn’t say what was good or bad, but it was fascinating.
While I was rolling my eyes inside the mask, the door finally opened and the King appeared. He was sitting on the sofa and stood up as soon as he saw Mahir.
“Your Majesty.”
His light blue hair and dark eyes had little to no resemblance to Aska, whether you looked at him briefly or in detail. If I had to find something similar, it would be his snow-white skin or hair color. He looked about the same age as Mahir or a little younger.
I thought he would be older since he had been fighting for the throne for a long time.
The two greeted each other warmly, like friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. And when they sat down, the Servants brought tea and refreshments.
Tarik and I took our places behind Mahir and stood straight. Similarly, two bodyguards stood behind the King.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you since you ascended the throne. Thank you for coming all the way to Calderia. Was your journey comfortable?”
“Thanks to your consideration, I came very comfortably, so don’t worry.”
The voices of the King and Mahir faded away. It was because I thought the face of one of the bodyguards standing in front of me with a blank expression looked familiar.
Wasn’t that the knight who was with the princess when she met Aska? To meet him so soon? But why is that guy still alive? Wasn’t he the princess’s man?
Perhaps because I kept sending intense glances amidst all sorts of questions, the man who had been looking straight ahead met my eyes.
“……”
“……”
His eyes were a deep green, like green leaves. I couldn’t help but smile brightly because I was so happy to see him.