By Zephyria The Second Prince was very fond of Mikael.
Anyone could tell that after spending just three minutes with the two of them. His gaze upon Mikael was incredibly ardent. Of course, it was evident that Mikael also liked and cherished the Second Prince greatly, but the Second Prince’s behavior had a peculiar side to it.
First, he became extremely sensitive whenever Mikael’s gaze drifted to a distant point.
Mikael would often perch on the windowsill, an uncharacteristic act for a noble, but he would sit there nonetheless, observing the Golden Turtles outside and the people drawn to them. Each time, the Prince’s pen strokes grew sharper. Whenever the sound from his fingertips wasn’t a soft scratch but a grating scrape against the paper, I felt awkward, as if I were intruding.
Second, he was wary of everyone Mikael was friendly with.
Even for lovers, sitting so close on a large sofa, spacious enough for three, that their shoulders touched while in the company of others was not typical behavior.
Still, he maintained a semblance of dignity in front of the informants from the Nobility Yearbook who came to report to the Second Prince, or the Yulan Nobles who came to beg. But when everyone else had left and only Ivan and I remained, it was a different story.
Mikael treated the Prince like a tiny kitten chirping and crawling on the floor, and treated Ivan like a dominant cat who roamed the neighborhood, coming by to beg for treats. Despite the clear difference in his attitude towards the two, his excessive wariness of my man was almost embarrassing…
Or was it? In any case, he was treated like a cat by both, wasn’t he? No, even so.
Third, and this was the most frightening, his demeanor changed drastically depending on whether Mikael was present or not.
When Mikael was not around, the Prince was expressionless and taciturn. He would look at everyone in the world as if they were flies, but when Mikael was by his side, he would smile sweetly, as if melting, and act solicitous. A personality disorder? A split personality? Any word you could think of fit him perfectly.
The only people the Prince showed any benevolence towards were those close to Mikael. Perhaps thanks to that, he never spoke harshly to me. I didn’t know why he was so cold towards Ivan, though…
Fifty push-ups, fifty sit-ups, twenty burpees with a clap before returning to the prone position… The bizarre training regimen was suffocating. My body ached, and the Prince’s piercing gaze made my heart ache too, making it pure torture.
On the twelfth repetition of thirty single-arm push-ups, my arm began to tremble.
“Just a moment, let’s rest for a bit…”
“You can still do more.”
More? I wanted to say, Could you please look behind you?
The Prince, who had been staring at me with terrifying eyes while resting his chin on his hand, suddenly dropped the pen he was holding. I squeezed my eyes shut. Ah, damn it. Again.
“Ouch.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, no. The pen was just heavy, I dropped it for a second. Continue what you were doing.”
“I’ll just wipe your hand and then we can continue.”
“…Mm, thank you.”
It was the 1.8kg longsword that was always strapped to the Prince’s waist. Even if his grip weakened, how could a mere 25g quill be heavy?
Whenever there was a brief moment of respite, between the informants from the Nobility Yearbook reporting to the Second Prince and the Yulan Nobles begging, the Prince would drop his quill like this.
Each time, Mikael would startle, stop whatever he was doing, and rush to check on the Prince. Then the Prince would show Mikael his ink-stained hand, Mikael would look at it with concern, and they would exchange tender glances…
It wasn’t even a convincing act; thump, ouch, thump, ouch. They had already pulled this stunt seven times, and I couldn’t believe he still fell for it. Even someone with eyes in the soles of their feet would know that Prince Rubel’s discomfort wasn’t due to a mere pen.
Was he fooled? Or was he just playing along? Was Mikael really okay with this? Wasn’t he scared? Really?
Every time I saw the Second Prince, who glared at me like a venomous scorpion spotting a rat in its den, my respect waned, and anger surged, stiffening the back of my neck. To think that someone who looked like that could act so duplicitously and infuriate people. If it were me, I would have screamed and run away long ago.
But Mikael kissed each knuckle of the Prince’s fingers and let out a soft sigh, as if full of pity. I see. Mikael’s eyes weren’t eyes, they were just decorations. No wonder they were more brilliant than the sea and maddeningly beautiful; he simply couldn’t see.
Unable to bear watching the blush creep up the Second Prince’s face, I stared at the carpet and counted the numbers.
Thirteen, fourteen…
“Why is your grip so weak?”
“I know… I think I’m dizzy from working too much.”
“You should rest a bit instead of pushing yourself.”
“Still, I have to finish my work… Just hold my hand.”
“…Yes.”
While the two of them were being lovey-dovey, my desire to rest was as high as the Yuil Mountains. But I couldn’t rest even for a moment. Just yesterday, Mikael had caught me trying to sneak a moment of rest and his gaze had been so intense that the Second Prince’s mood had soured considerably for a while.
Of course, the Second Prince didn’t say anything directly to me. He just didn’t answer the informants who came to report immediately. That alone was enough to throw the informants into disarray. At least one of them must have cried after leaving. If I had been standing opposite the Second Prince at that moment, I probably would have teared up.
With Mikael’s intense favor, my body was weary, and with the Prince’s strange displays of affection, my heart was weary. In that state, I somehow managed to complete the remaining thirty repetitions and collapsed onto the floor. Immediately, Mikael turned to me with a bright smile. The Second Prince naturally released Mikael’s hand.
I just wish he would continue his act as if I weren’t there.
“Still, it’s better than yesterday. See? You improve when you do it.”
“…”
“Let’s do it again.”
“…Yes.”
I got up with a groan and assumed the stance.
Was this the third day of training? I had begged Ivan to save me, to let me go, promising I could take care of myself and would never leave the room. But it was no use. Ivan had explained in detail how much more toned and delicious I had become, and now I had nowhere left to run.
I spread my legs shoulder-width apart again and lowered my stance. I had been told my center of gravity was too far back, so I had to clasp my hands together in front of me like in prayer to maintain my balance and avoid falling.
Mikael, who had corrected my posture, then lightly, surprisingly lightly, dropped to a push-up position beside me and began doing push-ups.
How could a person do push-ups using only their thumb?
Wiping the sweat pouring down like rain with the back of my hand, I thought again. I wanted to go home quickly.
So much had happened.
I had been trapped in a shield with a mad wizard and endured Wyvern attacks, been caught in strange fog summoned by a Black magician, witnessed a Spirit contract, visited Centrum, and even been attacked by a Ranunculus swarm at the Cambio inn.
I had seen the Second Prince and Mikael kiss tenderly in front of seven Wyverns.
They were such dramatic people, down to the smallest detail.
At first, I was scared, then I was dumbfounded, but by now, it was simply amusing.
I wished they would return soon and continue their beautiful love story. I joined the clapping Knights, clapping along and wishing for Mikael’s safe return. Defeating the villain and marrying the princess to live happily ever after was a very common plot.
The journey back to Sierren’s capital was very safe and comfortable.
Thanks to the special consideration of the Prince, the laborers of the Eldos Merchant Guild were able to travel in a separate carriage. I gazed out the carriage window, enveloped in a strange sense of exhaustion. We would probably stop by Centrum and then cross the Kiadris Duchy to reach the capital…
As I was lost in thought, Ivan’s warm hand quietly slipped into mine. I naturally intertwined our fingers and turned to look at him. He had his usual playful expression.
“Why do you look so spaced out?”
“…I know. It feels a bit… strange.”
“Strange? Why?”
“It’s just… a bit…”
Ivan gently pressed the soft skin between my fingers, urging me to answer. It had been quite a while since Ivan had engaged in such subtle playfulness, as I had been running around so busily.
I tightened and loosened my grip on his hand, then readjusted my hold, stroking the back of his hand as I pondered my answer.
“…It feels like I’m waking up from a dream now.”
“A dream?”
“Yes, well… It was a series of rather unrealistic events. Of course, it wasn’t like that for Ivan…”
“What do you mean, ‘it wasn’t like that for me’?”
“Ivan was just… too good. Suddenly being told to take the Prince’s place and without hesitation informing the princess of what needed to be done, telling me to go to Cambio or that you’d go to Centrum… Giving advice like that.”
“Hmm.”
“It was like that before, too. The way you contacted the informant from the Nobility Yearbook department, the items you requested… It all felt like I was seeing something on a different plane than the world I lived in, so it never felt real.”
“…”
“No, well… It’s not that I disliked it.”
What should I say? Beyond the clatter of the carriage horses’ hooves, I could hear Miss Philodendore’s laughter. A few Knights murmured in response to her joke. May was just around the corner, and the breeze filtering through the open window was warm.
“I’m glad I got to glimpse your world.”
“…Ah.”
“I feel like I can understand a bit about who Ivan was… in the time I didn’t know. Things that were natural to me weren’t natural to Ivan, and things that were natural to Ivan were so foreign to me… I think I acted more awkwardly than I should have…”
“…”
“I, well, you know, as you probably already know.”
“…”
Ivan waited patiently for my next words.
Somehow, I felt like laughing. Ivan had insisted on putting me in the Second Prince’s office and making me spend long hours with them, even when I begged him not to. Although I underwent sudden, intense training, being able to observe firsthand how high-ranking nobles worked was a tremendous experience.
Thanks to that, I learned a few things.
Before I left for my honeymoon, I might have been a decent friend, but I was unsuitable as a superior.
I had relied heavily on my friends when managing the merchant guild. Since all the mid-level managers of the guild were my long-time friends, our important meetings often devolved into casual chatter. Naturally, accountability was unclear, and my friends, who shared my responsibilities, must have felt a great burden along with their extensive authority. I now realize that their commendations, rewards, and punishments were all ambiguous.
From now on, I want to build a merchant guild where employees can fully utilize their capabilities.
To do that, I must change first.
Ivan pulled our clasped hands and pressed each of my fingernails, urging me to continue. My throat felt tight, so I cleared it with a cough and composed my expression.
“…There were many things I didn’t want you to see.”
“Is it different now?”
“Yes. You’ve shown me your world until now, so now I intend to show you mine.”
Ivan gazed at me, his face as serene as ever. And now, I could read many things in that face. Feelings of pride, accomplishment, joy, and… tender emotions like love.