By Zephyria 
“What if there’s nothing to drink?”
“Then I’ll offer something to eat.”
“What if there’s nothing to eat either?”
“You can get it from somewhere, can’t you?”
Am I an eagle? Where am I supposed to get food from?
“Haa.”
I couldn’t help but sigh. It didn’t seem like we could have a conversation anymore, so I decided to change my approach.
“Don’t genuinely smile, just act.”
“I can’t even act.”
“Why? Haven’t you ever had to force a smile when you didn’t want to?”
“No.”
I nodded at the firm answer.
“I see, people in your country must all be kind…….”
Aegis’s lips twitched as if he was about to say something to my words, but no sound came out. I watched Aegis twitch a few times before finally closing his mouth, and then I said.
“Anyway, if you want to keep living here, you need to know how to act appropriately. It’s fine in front of me, but if you act like that to other people, it could be a disaster.”
This was really true. Especially if he acted like this in front of Khalifa, not only Aegis but even my life could be in danger. And if he acted towards Mahir the way he treated me, it would be a big problem. Mahir is kind, so unlike Khalifa, he would just smile awkwardly, but I didn’t like that.
“Just…….”
At that moment, Aegis mumbled in a small voice. It was so quiet that I stopped breathing to concentrate on his voice.
“Just don’t meet anyone.”
I wondered what he was going to say…….
“How can you not meet anyone? I’m telling you in advance, that’s impossible.”
I sighed and said, and Aegis flared up.
“No! I mean, not meet anyone, just to a minimum……. Anyway, I’m going back in a year, so, that……. Emperor? Anyway, I’ll just greet that person and stay here.”
“…….”
I doubted my ears for a moment at the rapid-fire words.
What did he mean by going back in a year, and what kind of etiquette was it to call the Emperor ‘that person’?
“I’ll just stay quietly in my room if you give me food, so don’t keep coming to me and telling me what to do! No……. Anyway…….”
“…….”
“I wish you would leave now.”
“…….”
Aegis, who had suddenly calmed down, turned his back while saying strange things in a strange tone.
There were many suspicious points to simply call him clueless, but more than that, I was bothered by the fact that Aegis was leaving in a year.
Could that be what he knew when he came here? That he could go back to his country in a year without hearing anything properly?
“…….”
Suddenly, I started to feel sorry for Aegis. He seemed to have a bad personality, but it was natural to feel sympathy for him since he was practically tricked into coming here.
“Um……. First.”
As I opened my mouth, Aegis, who had turned around, turned his head back to look at me. Just as I was about to say something, I noticed a faint sweat on the back of his neck and got up from my seat.
Then, I went to the window and blocked the intense sunlight, saying.
“What are you going to say if you meet the Emperor?”
Aegis’s brow furrowed at my sudden question. I thought he would curse, but Aegis frowned and rolled his eyes as if he was thinking, then muttered in an unsure voice.
“Hello?”
“…….”
“I have to greet him first.”
It was right to greet him, but it would be a problem if he greeted him like he was greeting the neighborhood bakery owner. I suspected for a moment that he was deliberately acting like that, but looking at his expression, it didn’t seem like it.
“Then what if you meet the Crown Prince?”
“Crown Prince?”
“Hello, Crown Prince.”
Was he playing a joke? I was seriously thinking about it when Aegis’s eyes widened as if he had realized something, and he looked at me and added.
“Hello, Emperor.”
“Sit down here for a moment.”
I pulled out a chair and sat down again, gesturing to Aegis. Perhaps because my expression was serious, Aegis thankfully sat quietly across from me without saying anything.
“I’ll call a tutor, so let’s start studying from tomorrow.”
“Study? No, I’m going back in a year anyway…….”
“You can’t go. I don’t know who told you that, but even if you die, your country won’t be able to take your body back.”
Considering the temper I had seen for a short time, I thought he would get angry after hearing these words, but he was surprisingly quiet. Aegis looked at me and chuckled as if he knew I would say that.
“Anyway, I think you need to learn a few urgent things quickly, so keep that in mind. Until then, don’t even open your mouth.”
“Don’t talk?”
“Yes, just keep your mouth shut. I think that would be better. It’s okay to say that you have a bad cold and can’t talk. Anyway, don’t have a conversation, just.”
Aegis interrupted me before I could finish speaking.
“You said we shouldn’t bother each other, so why are you telling me what to do? Not only do I have to study, but you’re telling me not to talk?”
Aegis said irritably, grabbing the clothes around his chest and fluttering them lightly. The area of white skin that was visible each time the hem of his clothes moved became wider. I stared at the bluish veins on the back of his neck and said.
“You have to wear a veil whenever you leave the room.”
“What? Fuck, you want me to wear that damn carpet again?”
“There’s a much thinner veil than that damn carpet. And stop cursing so much…….”
My vision blurred for a moment at the crude curse. I sighed and briefly rested my forehead on my hand, and Aegis, who had been sitting down, jumped up and leaned his back against the marble wall, saying.
“Anyway, I can’t wear a veil or whatever.”
“Are you that hot?”
It wasn’t even that hot today……. At my question, Aegis turned his body around and this time stuck his stomach and face to the wall, then closed his eyes.
“…….”
“…….”
He was sticking his left face to the wall, then turning his head to stick his right face, moving his body around as if looking for a cold spot. The sight of him was like a leech stuck to the skin, so I couldn’t laugh.
What kind of person is this……. He was acting so childish that it was ambiguous to say anything.
Is this how Mahir feels when he sees me?
I was staring blankly at Aegis, who was leaning on the wall like a leech with his chin propped up, when our eyes suddenly met.
“What are you looking at?”
Aegis said in a fierce voice, frowning.
It was amazing that he thought I wouldn’t look at him while he was doing such bizarre things.
“Get your eyes off me.”
“You’re cursing again.”
“When did I?”
“Isn’t ‘eyes’ a curse?”
“What curse is that? It’s just eyes.”
Aegis, who had been grumbling, turned his body around again. He was leaning against the wall, closing his eyes and panting as if trying to cool down, and it wasn’t funny.
Watching him, I suddenly remembered what Aegis had said at the wedding.
He had definitely said ‘eyes’ very briefly while looking at me. Seeing that it was because I was staring at him then, it seemed like he was shortening the words ‘get your eyes off me’.
“Did you tell me to get my eyes off you at the wedding too?”
I couldn’t resist asking what I was curious about, and Aegis said without opening his eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“I’m not looking at you?”
Aegis opened his eyes as I lied without turning my gaze away. Of course, our eyes met, and a slender hand clenched into a fist and slammed against the marble wall.
I was surprised by the louder-than-expected sound and widened my eyes, and Aegis held out his fist and said.
“Don’t tell me what to do. I’ve made it clear.”
“…….”
He must be so brave because he’s stupid?
I was about to say something, but I decided to let it go because I felt sorry for his situation.
“Okay, just do that to me. Don’t do that to other people.”
“What?”
“Don’t say rude things like ‘get your eyes off me’ or curse, and don’t roll around on the wall. And don’t threaten people with your fists.”
Aegis’s lips twitched as if he was about to say something to my words. But he soon closed his mouth. He seemed to be thinking about something, looking slightly down.
“Especially when you meet the Emperor, just prostrate yourself and don’t say anything. Don’t say things like ‘Hello, Emperor’.”
“Prostrate myself?”
“I’ll send a tutor tomorrow, so learn the imperial etiquette then. I won’t let you out of Talim until you’ve learned it all.”
Aegis glared at me with a dissatisfied expression and asked.
“I heard the Emperor killed a lot of people?”
“Has the rumor spread to your country too?”
Aegis nodded, asking with an expression that showed no emotion. That such words were circulating across the sea, he really must be a great Emperor.
“There are rumors about you too.”
I was admiring him inwardly when I asked with a puzzled expression.
“Rumors about me? What rumors could there be about me?”
“I heard that you fought in wars with barbarians and when you were hungry, you split open their brains to suck out the brain fluid, and when you were thirsty, you drank their blood.”
“…….”
While I was panicking at the unexpected words, Aegis asked with a nervous expression.
“Is it true?”
“Would it be true?”
“You didn’t suck out brain fluid?”
“Why would I eat something like that?”
Could this be why he’s been so hostile?