By Zephyria 
“Are the wedding invitations already out?”
“No, I have to write them one by one from now on. The Emperor’s wedding is a state event. Even ordering the clothes to wear from now on would be tight, so we’re just announcing the approximate date in advance. Next week, a newspaper article will be published stating that the Emperor’s wedding is in July this year, so people should choose auspicious dates avoiding that month.”
“Mm.”
“It’s customary to send invitations with fewer handwritten notes to those with whom you have less acquaintance, but to personally hand-deliver invitations written in your own hand to those with whom you’ve frequently communicated. Someone like Walter Orgen is someone who wouldn’t find it awkward to attend our wedding.”
“Is there a specific order for handing out invitations? Like a courtesy of meeting closer acquaintances first?”
“Not really. You just give them to whoever you see. It’s common to playfully give invitations multiple times to people you meet often for work. It’s also a way of saying you want them to bring all their acquaintances to celebrate together.”
I see. If that’s the custom, then I should write the invitations.
As I was asking what kind of paper would be good, I happened to look at Ruben. The child no longer tensed up when I looked at him like this. He blinked a couple of times, then his eyes crinkled into a smile, asking ‘Why?’ with his lips. I kissed the corner of his mouth briefly and sat up straight.
I had become accustomed to frequent, casual contact, as if we had been doing this for ten years. Thanks to that, neither Ruben nor I flinched with tension at a single kiss anymore. If I kissed him two or three more times, the child would blush. The desire for that made my throat itch and dry, but even that had become familiar.
Moss grows on a stone that doesn’t roll; is it alright to be this comfortable?
“…Am I, by any chance, too ignorant about these things, and does that make you uncomfortable or displeased?”
“What? Hmm, no. I, Mika. I like that you’re a man who’s never even considered marriage your whole life.”
“……”
“You’ll only ever have me to take care of these things for you, for the rest of your life. I happen to like planning these things myself… And you always surprise me beyond what I expect, so it’s fine. I mean this sincerely.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
When I meet my parents and siblings next, I’ll have to tell them to keep it a secret that I once said I hoped to marry a nice girl from a good family when I was young. I need to be prepared in case Ruben becomes jealous at any moment.
So, on the weekend, I had a desk brought into Ruben’s study for me to use. To make it easier to see each other’s faces and converse, we sat at a wide desk placed lengthwise, each at our own spot, and wrote greetings on cards about a handspan in size.
“In the lush green of summer,
An affection that sprouted long ago finally bears its red fruit.
We wish to fill the twelve months of the four seasons with love for a thousand, a hundred years,
So we would be grateful for your precious steps in support.
—Michael Ernhardt, Rubel Anti Sieron”
It was a phrase we decided on together, heads bent close.
We carefully wrote the same phrase multiple times. We placed them in envelopes with a subtle, shimmering sheen and sealed them with melted wax. We hadn’t written names on the envelopes yet. Instead, we talked extensively about the people Ruben wanted to personally hand invitations to, and those I needed to hand them to.
In the process, I heard many unfamiliar names.
Ruben knew most of my acquaintances, but most of Ruben’s acquaintances were connections I didn’t know. Ruben had not only kept in touch with friends and seniors from his peer group whom he’d known before I came along, but he also knew exactly what they were doing in which region.
Come to think of it, the senior who took on Yulan’s matter a long time ago remembered even the title of her thesis.
No one could dislike such a thoughtful child. I thought that, and then felt pity for how this precious child happened to like someone like me and suffered so much heartache. Then, feeling shy and embarrassed, I brushed away the rising desires with an unnecessary cough.
Ruben’s fingertips were spotless, but my right hand was stained all over, looking unsightly. Ruben refused when I offered to use Clean Magic, so I decided to leave it as is. He suggested we rest and spend Sunday relaxing after working hard all day Saturday, and I nodded in agreement.
❖ ❖ ❖
The second Sunday in March.
Ruben and I were sitting in a greenhouse in a corner of the Crystal Palace gardens. We both agreed that while being outdoors was nice, looking at each other’s faces was even better. As we leisurely enjoyed our tea, discussing yesterday, today, and tomorrow’s plans, we were startled by a gaunt Mage rolling through the greenhouse door.
“Your Majesty! Lord Ernhardt! Your Majestyyy!”
“…No…”
Mage Boulder had stormed in.
There was no other way to describe his sudden, unannounced arrival. Why did he have to come in so noisily? I had never realized the Imperial Palace could be this chaotic. The man, screaming at the top of his lungs, staggered as if he might collapse at any moment, flailing his limbs.
Did he walk in on all fours? Where on earth did he come from?
Ruben was playing with the ink stains left on my hand. Sitting close together, we had to quickly let go of our clasped hands, conscious of the eyes of the attendants and Knights who had rushed in to catch the Mage.
Unconcerned with our embarrassment, Mage Boulder clung to the table and looked up at us like a dog begging for dumplings.
“My goodness, is that really Lord Ernhardt? Where on earth have you been, been, been! What have you been doing all this time! While I was searching from the bottom of the Saras River to the peak of the Yuil Mountains!”
The moment I saw his face, I understood why the Knights couldn’t stop him. Seeing his wrinkled face, wet with tears, I felt that even I would have lost the will to fight.
After a moment of stunned silence, I quietly asked Ruben,
“Is that… true?”
“Yes, half of it.”
“The pursuit team?”
“…Yes. Thankfully, they worked very hard to find you…”
“Hmm.”
The man looked like he was about to grab me by the collar. I stopped him from lunging and steadied the table that had nearly tipped over. Then, I quickly handed Boulder an envelope. This was to exploit the Mage’s habit of immediately focusing on anything readable once it was in his hands.
Indeed, Mage Boulder immediately stopped questioning me and opened the envelope.
It was fortunate that the names hadn’t been written on the outer envelope yet. Mage Boulder’s face lit up with a radiant glow as he took the invitation, which he had brought to play with comparing our handwriting, and opened it.
He looked back and forth between the card he took out of the envelope and our faces with his large, round eyes, then pulled out the staff he had hanging from his waist like a beggar’s cup and wiped away his tears. It was Clean Magic.
By chance, the ink stains on my hand, which was close to him, also disappeared. Ruben, with a look of utter bewilderment, was so cute that I couldn’t help but let out a helpless laugh.
“It’s been a while, Mage Boulder. You seem to have become even more robust.”
“And who do I owe that to! Wow, to think this day would come! Congratulations! Summer, July? August? I’ll make time no matter what! Can I wear my robe?”
“Yes. Well, you’d probably feel awkward if you weren’t wearing a robe.” I answered easily.
Still, it was quite amusing; I was glad to see him. After all, we had known each other for ten years since our Academy days. Moreover, I had news he would like, and I had been secretly looking forward to our reunion.
Since we were past the point of needing unnecessary pleasantries, I skipped all greetings and got straight to the point.
“Did you hear about me becoming a Duke?”
“Huh? No?”
“I plan to settle in the current Duchy of Grimesbane. I happened to connect with Kkokko, and I intend to bring his family to live with us. Since it borders the Yuil Mountains, other monsters will also be…”
“Me! You’ll need me!”
“…I have matters to attend to, and I was hoping Mage Boulder could help. It’s fortunate you’re here.”
He was certainly spirited.
For now, I seated him as he was a guest, and told the flustered attendants and Knights they could withdraw. However, more figures were approaching rapidly from beyond the open greenhouse door.
They couldn’t possibly run inside the Imperial Palace, so I let out a helpless laugh at the sound of their footsteps, which were about twice as fast as a normal human’s running speed, as they pretended to walk quickly.
I see.
It must be time for all the pursuit team members to return. I worried if the invitations I’d spent all day writing would be enough.
Ruben, who met my gaze by chance, smiled shyly with his eyes crinkled down in embarrassment. I smiled back.
An hour later, we decided it was best to move to the banquet hall.
Four hours after that, I helped the drunken Ruben, who had been overcome by the boisterous congratulations and toasts, into a room.
I gently laid the child on the bed. Whenever Ruben looked at me, he smiled with a soft, melting expression. The thought of Mac Weaber and Justin Barret, who used to tease him mercilessly whenever he smiled like that, made me laugh again.
In the ten years I’d known the child, I’d only seen him drunk a few times.
Even then, once he was fully conscious and just sipping honey water, and after he had passed out and whined, he had tried to avoid showing his drunken state out of shame.
Yet today, for some reason, he had been so happy and comfortable that even though I took some of his drinks for him, calling myself a ‘dark knight’ or something, he got thoroughly drunk.
“Mmm…”
“You drunkard.”
I licked his lips, which were making cute, babbling sounds. The fact that we were now in a relationship where such actions were permissible made me smile repeatedly.
Ruben opened his mouth slightly and stuck out his tongue. Without refusing the request, I lightly licked the tip of his tongue.
Then, Ruben casually unbuttoned his vest.