Rubel’s prim eyes widened. The rosy blush that had seeped into the child’s eyes was so lovely that Maelo Sanson kept being drawn to it. No matter how he thought about it, this was the right thing to do. He had already offered it, and Rubel had at least mentioned wanting to receive it out of courtesy.
Seventy years ago, there was someone who offered the game they hunted to their lord, so he could insist that he was doing the same.
“Still… are you really sure? If, later on, you happen to have a lover…”
“Will Rubel be troubled when he has a betrothed?”
“No! No, I… It’s okay to receive it. For me.”
“Then I’m fine with it too. From the start, I haven’t thought of anyone other than Rubel.”
Rubel’s eyes curved into a round shape. Maelo Sanson saw him take a deep breath. Watching the boy regulate his breathing a few times, as if he was happy, Maelo Sanson also felt relieved. The sight of the boy’s shoulders heaving as he caught his breath made his heart tickle.
When the child offered him another cookie, he readily accepted it. It was sweeter than he had expected, making him wonder if he should have prepared milk instead, but it tasted good.
However, after finishing his tea, his worries returned.
“Am I perhaps offering you something you dislike? I don’t know what pranks my friends might have played.”
“No, Mika. I’ll take it. Thank you.”
“Yes.”
After answering politely, he had another question.
“Which animal does Rubel like the most?”
“Me? I… Uh… A bear?”
“Yes? I would catch one if there was one…”
“Ah, no! Was that about the Hunting Festival? No, it’s not that I want you to catch one…!”
Maelo Sanson wondered if bears usually roamed around at festivals like the Hunting Festival, but seeing Rubel frantically waving his hands and flustered at his expression, he burst out laughing.
What wouldn’t he catch for the child if he wanted it? He wondered if a bear skin cloak would be warm.
“A bear… No, it’s not that I can’t catch one. But I don’t know what kind of animals are in the hunting grounds.”
“At Sierren’s Hunting Festival, they usually… catch rabbits or deer that have been released and raised beforehand… or wolves, foxes, and eagles in the forest.”
“Is there a set list of items to catch?”
“No, no. It’s not that. It’s just that rabbit and deer skins and horns are good to use when caught, and even if they’re missed, they become food for the forest animals, so it’s okay to release a large number at once. And wolves and eagles harm nearby livestock, so no one worries about how many are caught.”
“Hmm.”
“But, you can catch any animal in the plains and forest. As long as it doesn’t become dangerous.”
“It would be difficult for me to seek out something dangerous.”
At his aloof words, the child laughed brightly.
A bear, he should look for a bear. Come to think of it, he wondered if the doll the boy had chosen before was doing well.
…No, is that why he said he liked bears? He couldn’t read any other implications from Rubel’s shyly smiling face.
When he asked what color clothes he would wear to the Hunting Festival, Maelo Sanson conveyed the words the tailor had told him before. However, the names of the fabrics and the color numbers were as bizarre as Magic Formulas, so he couldn’t convey them completely, which made them laugh.
When he replied that he would just wear whatever his Mother decided, the child subtly suggested.
“Then, could you tell Countess Ernhardt… that Mika has promised to be my bow?”
“…Does that also require attention to what I wear?”
“Uh-huh, maybe… She might use black ribbons or jewels.”
He was about to get scolded again. Remembering the commotion at his Debutante, he asked the child for understanding and decided to send a letter immediately, after discussing what to write. Rubel moved to his side to watch him write the letter to his Mother.
An unknown floral scent permeated the tip of his nose.
He quietly looked at the child, but feeling that their faces were too close, he lowered his gaze back to the letter paper. He copied down the names of the jewels and fabrics as Rubel instructed, and by the time he called a servant to send the letter, the sun was already setting.
“Then let’s have dinner now,” he was about to suggest, but Rubel exclaimed softly.
“Ah. And, also.”
“Hmm?”
“…What’s this about learning from Professor Wilton Roberts…? I meant to ask, but I just remembered now.”
“Ah.”
Maelo Sanson, who had risen to hand the letter to the servant, hesitated for a moment before sitting down in the seat opposite where Rubel had been sitting. He had spent more time writing the letter than he had expected, and he felt a little embarrassed that they had been shoulder to shoulder for so long.
Rubel blinked at him and then fidgeted, moving to sit in the seat he had vacated.
What to do. Everything about him was cute.
“I’m learning how to build resistance to poison, and I was wondering if Ruben had done something like that too. I heard that things related to the health of the Imperial Family shouldn’t be asked of others, so I thought it was a secret.”
“…Ah. No, no. I didn’t do anything like that. Professor Roberts is giving you poison…?”
“I asked for it because it was something I wanted to learn.”
“But, I heard that it’s very painful… And you have to ingest the same poison several times to build immunity.”
“It was bearable.”
He waved his hand, seeing how anxiously worried he was.
Ah, that’s a relief. Just thinking about the child groaning and suffering made his heart ache, so he was relieved to hear that such a thing hadn’t happened. He also resolved that on any day in the future when he was with the child, he would taste the food for him.
Seeing that the child was overly surprised, he smiled kindly and spoke in a soothing voice.
“How are you preparing for poison? With an Artifact as well?”
“Uh-huh. …I learned about poison in theory, but… I haven’t done any immunity training separately. I tend to carry an Artifact for detoxification wherever I go. If possible, I wish… Mika would do that too.”
“But I heard that Artifacts for detoxification only work on a few well-known representative poisons.”
“Still.”
“Then that’s fine. Let’s go eat. Didn’t you say you wanted to eat at the academy after a long time?”
He wanted to pinch Rubel’s face, which had become so tearful, and he raised his hand as if possessed, but then just swept his own hair back instead. Just last time, he had been relieved to know that the child had no feelings for him, and he had squeezed him a lot.
But now, he was… coveting the child.
His heart fluttered whenever their eyes met, and a taut tension settled on his back whenever their breaths touched. He was afraid that he would want too much every time he touched the child, so he naturally refrained. He didn’t want to make things awkward by making unnecessary advances.
Seeing Rubel still looking tearful and anxious, he urged him to go eat again.
They arrived at the third-year dormitory cafeteria. Because the final exams were over and the vacation was approaching, the number of students was significantly smaller. While eating, Rubel tried to put delicious side dishes on his plate again, so he gave the child what he liked, telling him to eat a lot too.
After dinner, they had a short Sparring session.
With his restored realm, the child’s movements were clearly imprinted in his eyes, one by one. What had he seen while practicing alone? He was familiar with the Azure Way that had seeped into the child’s sword, and the way he used a sword that was more graceful and lighter than Imperial Swordsmanship.
It was funny, joyful, and delightful.
He deliberately used a slow sword to help the child give it his all. He was so fond of the boy, who was panting heavily from trying to catch up to him, that he was anxious. He stopped his sword for a moment and watched him, and Rubel asked in a small voice, embarrassed.
“…Am I still cute now?”
“…Yes.”
“Then…”
Seeing the boy subtly standing closer and lowering his head, he couldn’t hold back the laughter that poured out.
It was right not to touch him in a secret room. But in a public place, there was no need to push away a boy who didn’t know anything and make him upset, was there? He wrapped himself in excuses like armor and gently stroked Rubel’s black hair.
The child’s head, hot with fever, was a little damp.
He didn’t want to take his hand away.
Still, it was fortunate that he had tried hard and endured not hugging the child. He was worried that the child would catch Cold Evil from being sweaty, so he suggested that he wash up in his room, but Ruben was too shy and just left.
Seeing Rubel this time, he knew for sure.
All the times he had felt heavy-hearted and sleepless with guilt while spending time with the child were all natural. Whenever Rubel acted affectionately towards him, he felt tormented, as if he was doing something terrible to a young child with soft downy hair.
But every time he took his eyes off him for a moment, the child grew up suddenly. Seeing the muscles bulging tightly on his forearms every time he swung his sword, he was every inch a stalwart young man. Watching Rubel smile with a dignified look, he felt relieved that he wouldn’t be seen as indecent for harboring feelings for the child alone.
If only the child was over thirty…
No, no. That couldn’t be. What reason would a man who was to become Emperor have to leave his seat empty for so long? Of course, he was a man who should have a good Empress by his side and spend a thousand years of peace.
He just wanted to give the child good things before more time passed. It would be enough to give him all the good, wonderful, beautiful, and precious things in the world and just watch.
He deeply wished for the Hunting Festival to come soon.
❖ ❖ ❖
The last week of May.
The Understanding of the Circle and Imperial Genealogy Class had ended last week, but most of the afternoons were filled with private lessons, so there was no need to let the remaining time go to waste. He visited the Professors and took their classes diligently until the last week.
The Professors, knowing that he was participating in the Summer Hunting Festival for the first time, gave him various advice.
Maelo Sanson advised him that if he caught small animals such as rabbits or birds, he should use them as bait to catch larger animals. Wilton Roberts urged him not to enter deep and dark caves recklessly. Douglas Mustang asked him to release any game that was carrying young.
Mage Boulder told him to be careful not to cause a forest fire if he accidentally grilled what he had hunted on the spot. The vivid description made it obvious that it was a personal experience, but he answered politely.
The Summer Hunting Festival was an event that lasted for a month, from the 15th of June to the 15th of July.
The academy administration circulated notices several times that they would prepare carriages to travel to the hunting grounds every Wednesday for a month starting in June.
Since most of the children, except for a few who had busy schedules or places to stop by, would be traveling in the public carriages, he had also promised his friends to take the public carriage on the first Wednesday of June.
It had been a long time since he had ridden in a carriage with his friends.
No, this composition was a first.
There were five of them: him, Marianne, Damian, Ivan, and Jenny, with Shayden and Benjamin tagging along. Since most carriages were six-seaters, the carriage with seven people was extremely cramped. Even that was only possible after begging and pleading with the coachman, who was reluctant, saying that it shouldn’t be done.
“…Is it really necessary to go like this…?”
“But it’s fun to go together.”
“Even though Ivan is practically stuck to the wall?”
“No, I’m fine. Maybe for a day…”
Jenny, Marianne, Ivan, and Shayden, who were relatively small, were sitting in the opposite seats. He, sitting with Benjamin and Damian on either side, wasn’t comfortable either, but he thought it was better than them. When Shayden asked to switch seats, he didn’t allow it.