‘There was a problem with the seed from the beginning?’
It was the first time he’d made a mistake. And of all people, he made that mistake with Seoho. Out of all the many people, with Seoho.
His face flushed and embarrassment filled him. It was something he was experiencing for the first time. Making a mistake and feeling shame about it.
After obtaining the Power of Dawn, Rosetta naturally came to know all sorts of strange information—which fruit was the freshest, which tree was the sturdiest, which soil had more nutrients, what would soon die, and so on.
‘And all of that was the power of divine power.’
He just knew when he looked. Ah, I should take this one.
So this time too, he casually handed Seoho a seed that caught his eye. But thinking about it now, Rosetta’s power of light had already disappeared.
‘How pathetic!’
He was truly stupid. As Rosetta bit his lip, Seoho thrust his face in front of Rosetta and asked worriedly.
“Why are you about to cry again?”
At that question, Rosetta realized his eyes had grown hot.
‘Crying—I don’t even deserve to cry.’
This was exactly what Rosetta hated most.
Just crying after causing trouble. It was already annoying that things had gone wrong, but if you cried on top of that, the annoyance doubled. The noisy sniffling appearance was disgusting.
And yet that’s what he was about to do now. Rosetta quickly tried to swallow his tears. He didn’t want to be hated. Rosetta tensed his eyes and struggled to hold back tears as he quickly said.
“I’m not crying.”
His voice came out trembling a bit, which was troublesome. As Rosetta quickly closed his mouth, Seoho patted Rosetta with a troubled face.
“Rosetta, it was a bit absurd, but it worked out well, didn’t it? Don’t cry.”
Even in this situation, Seoho was concerned about Rosetta. Rosetta tried to apologize while catching his breath.
“I…”
Then Seoho lowered his eyes and said.
“I didn’t know you’d cry like this. Maybe I shouldn’t have spoken so honestly.”
Rosetta shook his head hard.
“No, I’m grateful you spoke honestly.”
Seoho smiled slightly and pulled Rosetta close again.
“Right? So don’t cry anymore. I’m feeling really good today. So I’d like you to smile.”
The smile seemed to have no falsehood, which was reassuring on one hand, but he felt pathetic about himself. Rosetta answered in a slightly choked voice.
“…Yeah.”
Seoho looked up at Rosetta from below his face and said.
“I was really looking forward to it.”
“To what?”
Seoho answered with an embarrassed smile.
“To Rosetta smiling. Rosetta is such a beautiful and lovely person. Especially when you smile, it’s like the world brightens.”
At the compliment delivered as if stating only facts without any ulterior motive, this time his face seemed to heat up in a different way from before.
Rosetta asked again, putting strength into the corners of his mouth that were thoughtlessly trying to rise.
“…Me?”
Seoho answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Yes.”
Rosetta shook his head and said.
“You’re prettier.”
“What?”
Seoho was always pretty. Rosetta spoke sincerely.
“You smiling right now are prettier. Of course, you’re pretty even when not smiling, but…”
Then Seoho burst into laughter. Clear laughter echoed through the room. At that sound of laughter, his ears tickled.
Seoho lightly hit Rosetta and said.
“What are you saying? When Rosetta says things like that, it feels like you’re teasing me? Am I ugly…”
At the friendly physical contact, laughter came out, but at Seoho’s denial, Rosetta said firmly.
“Ugly? I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as you.”
At Rosetta’s too-firm words, Seoho, who had been laughing playfully, asked in confusion.
“…Uh, are the standards of beauty a bit different?”
Rosetta nodded hard as if that was correct.
“Right, you’re the prettiest in this place. Right, Puti?”
Then Puti, who had been reading the room from a little distance away, quickly answered.
“O-of course! Seoho-nim has a strong feeling of purity and freshness. Also refined, graceful, and has a gentle impression!”
Rosetta affirmed Puti’s words.
“Right, exactly.”
Seoho looked back and forth between Puti and Rosetta, then smiled slightly as if there was no stopping them.
“Uh…, okay. Let’s go with that for now.”
“It’s not ‘going with that,’ it’s really…”
As Rosetta was about to continue praising Seoho, Seoho cut off his words and requested.
“Rosetta, rather than that, it seems you’ve stopped crying now, so won’t you smile for me? I think I’d feel even better if I saw Rosetta smiling…”
This face that he hadn’t particularly cared about suddenly pleased him very much. And he liked Seoho so much. The corners of his mouth rose naturally.
He didn’t hide the smile that flowed out naturally.
Seoho’s pupils, facing Rosetta head-on, grew a bit larger. Rosetta slightly shook Seoho’s hand that he was holding as if acting coquettishly.
Then Seoho, who had flinched and trembled, burst into loud laughter once again.
It was a laugh he’d never seen before.
‘The sense of distance…’
Wasn’t felt. Seoho’s face was full of freshness like breathing in the scent of the forest while feeling a cool breeze.
Unable to contain the feeling that his heart might burst, Rosetta unconsciously pulled Seoho into a tight embrace. That was exactly the limit of what Rosetta could endure. While strongly embracing Seoho, who squirmed as if surprised and filled his arms, Rosetta held back his desire to kiss Seoho.
***
A man with jet-black hair without any other color mixed in and bright yellow golden eyes bowed deeply to the existence beyond the white curtain.
“I’ll be going now.”
“……”
As always, there was no answer. But the man without hesitation kissed the back of the hand—so pale it was almost blue—that protruded beyond the curtain.
The man who slowly pulled his lips away drew back his body. The door closed and the space separated, but traces of the room followed the man out. The thick flower fragrance that had filled the room piercingly still enveloped him.
The man, who had been standing in place without moving like someone captivated by that scent, slowly moved his steps.
As the wind created around him swept through and all traces were washed away, the man took another deep breath that he had been holding.
The man made eye contact with the attendants who had been waiting for him and said.
“Let’s go, to the Empire.”
***
When Rosetta finished his vacation and busily started work again, Seoho sprouted seeds and repeated practice several times. And today, he stepped foot in the garden for the first time in a while.
Seoho stood quietly in place and looked around like someone waiting for something. How much time had passed? Puti, who had been waiting for something like Seoho, clapped his hands and said.
“The birds aren’t flying over anymore!”
Seoho answered with a bright smile.
“That’s right.”
Birds not flying over was supposed to be proof that he handled divine power well.
“It’s proof that you can handle your power sufficiently now.”
At Puti, who was trying to praise him in a voice that had risen a notch, Seoho felt a bit embarrassed. Constantly praising and telling him he did well over trivial things felt like watching a mother with a five-year-old child.
It was a bit embarrassing, but still, it didn’t feel bad.
“That’s a relief.”
“Then shall we look around a bit more?”
At Puti’s question, Seoho looked around the garden. Come to think of it, he remembered returning to his room in a hurry because of the birds that suddenly appeared during his last walk.
‘After that, just in case, I didn’t come out to the garden again.’
As Seoho was nodding his head, something suddenly flew toward Seoho with a flutter.
“Ah.”
Seoho caught the yellow canary that had flown into his arms. Puti approached Seoho’s side.
“That bird…”
Seoho looked over the bird that had flown into his arms from various angles. He didn’t know if it was a mistake or not, but this bird seemed to be the same one that had flown into Seoho’s arms before.
As Seoho looked at the bird as if it was fascinating, Puti said restlessly for some reason.
“Seoho-nim, so this is…”
Seoho, who realized what Puti was worried about, burst into laughter.
“Yes, I know. This one seems to follow people well. The other birds aren’t coming, are they?”
It seemed he thought Seoho would be depressed about not being able to use his ability well like before.
But now he knew how to use his ability quite well in various ways, like making plants grow or healing, so he wasn’t as discouraged as before.
‘I’m not worried or anxious either.’
When Seoho smiled brightly, Puti examined Seoho’s face from various angles and then stepped back with a relieved face.
Puti tried several times to make the bird fly away again, but when the bird kept coming back no matter what he did, he finally let out a small sigh and took the lead in walking.
As he was listening to Puti’s story explaining the structure of the garden, at the end of the explanation, he asked.
“Now that the urgent matters are finished, how about asking His Majesty and going outside the palace together?”
“Outside the palace?”
“Yes.”
Outside the palace. Seoho looked into the distance. Beyond this Imperial Palace, there was another palace, and even if Seoho looked outside from the window of the room where he stayed, all he could see was more palace.
So Seoho had never once gone outside the palace since coming here.
“But…”
“His Majesty will gladly go out with you. He would want to introduce you to the capital.”
It seemed he realized what Seoho was worried about. A place he was visiting for the first time—no, a slight fear, worry, and excitement about a new world.
If he went with Rosetta, it would be reassuring in many ways. It was an apology to Puti, but it seemed like going with Rosetta would be safer than going with Puti.
Moreover, this was a place Rosetta ruled. He was curious about his world, the country he governed.
