He swam toward that distant, faint place, calling out the name repeatedly whenever he could stick his head out of the water.
“Bru, Brukisel!”
Fortunately, perhaps having seen Rou’s appearance, the boat that had felt so far away began approaching little by little. Rou kicked with all his might. He originally had no talent for swimming, but still, the boat was getting closer and closer as if within reach, and Rou couldn’t die like this.
Just before his vision went black from lack of breath, his fingertips touched the boat’s solid bottom. As soon as Rou clung to the prow, he checked who was on the boat.
“Brukisel! It is you!”
Rou exhaled rough breaths and barely climbed onto the boat. His body felt heavy, soaked through with water, and he was a bit disappointed that Brukisel didn’t even offer a helping hand. Nevertheless, Rou smiled brightly while wringing water from his clothes.
“I thought I saw red eyes from afar. I thought I couldn’t have seen wrong. Your eyes have an intense light like June roses.”
“……”
However, Brukisel showed no particular reaction. He was looking at Rou with a face full of bewilderment, as if quite surprised. Normally he was busy showing off those healthy vocal cords by raising his voice even when trying to have a brief conversation, yet today he was uncharacteristically quiet, which was puzzling.
Rou examined himself, wondering if something was wrong with his appearance. Aside from the thin silk cloth clinging to his body being cumbersome, there was nothing different from usual, which was strange. Rou tilted his head wondering if his outfit was odd, but couldn’t find anything particularly unusual.
However, the problem lay in Rou’s appearance. The neck area was a bit loose on Rou, so his clothing had slipped down, revealing his pure white shoulders. That wasn’t all. Water droplets continuously fell from his wet hair, flowing along his pure white nose bridge to his plump lower lip, down his slender chin, over his collarbone.
Moreover, the thin silk was showing his slender lines as they were. The curves of his waist and his pale pink skin showing through faintly was dizzying.
“Ah…!”
Then one memory flashed through Rou’s mind. Even in the Room of Declaration where he’d shown the High Priest’s proof, when he was soaked like this, Brukisel’s reaction had been quite strange.
‘Right. Brukisel was afraid of water!’
Realizing that mistaken fact, Rou became filled with sympathy. Of all things, it was a banquet held on a lake, yet he had to attend despite fearing water.
‘How did he end up drifting this deep into the water?’
Brukisel, who must have been alone on this vast lake, felt pitiable.
He had even been afraid of the water pooled in the Room of Declaration. He had trembled even in water that didn’t reach his waist, let alone here on a lake. A lake of this scale would have felt no different from the vast ocean.
Rou approached Brukisel to comfort him. Rou stroked his shoulder, hoping he would quickly escape from his fear. Perhaps Rou’s comfort was somewhat effective, as Brukisel suddenly came to his senses and stepped back.
“Ah!”
The boat had no problem carrying two people of average build, but Brukisel was large for a human, and Rou was the opposite. Naturally, if Brukisel moved suddenly, the boat couldn’t help but rock. Rou, who had been moving precariously on the swaying boat, ended up tumbling toward Brukisel.
He swept past Brukisel’s solid shoulder and chest, but he swore it wasn’t intentional. Rou’s light body had lost its balance, and it was because he had bent his body halfway toward Brukisel to comfort him. But after that, unconsciously moving his hand to touch that firm chest a little—that was an act of Rou’s will.
“What the hell are you doing!”
Rou, realizing his mistake, quickly pulled his hand away. The sensation of solid muscle still seemed to linger on his palm. Too. It was too much the body Rou desired. He envied such a strong and powerful physique.
“Th-the boat tilted to one side, so I couldn’t help it. You know that!”
Rou hastily looked away and used the situation as an excuse. Though he’d removed his hand from Brukisel’s body, the two were still sitting closer than necessary. They were close enough that their breaths would mingle if they conversed.
“No! That’s not it. That too, but…”
Brukisel roughly swept his forehead. He was about to burst out angrily but shut his mouth tight at the sight of the High Priest tilting his head. Somehow it was difficult to raise his voice.
To be staring blankly at the High Priest’s appearance—his pride seemed to shatter into pieces. While despising the goddess, he found himself thinking the High Priest before him was beautiful—he was furious at his own contradiction. He turned his gaze away from Rou. That way it was easier to speak.
‘Was I this weak to visual stimulation?’
He had thought Rou would come since he sent an invitation, but he never imagined he would jump into the water like this to meet him.
The sight of him coming while looking only at him without any sign of fear was still vivid. If back then he couldn’t take his eyes off that action in surprise, after Rou climbed onto the boat, he couldn’t take his eyes away for a slightly different reason.
‘No. Was that brat originally that… that beautiful?’
That he was beautiful was already a known fact, but the emotion of his face growing hot just from looking was new.
He’d always thought him annoying and wanted to remove him from sight, but today’s Brukisel might have been waiting for Rou a little.
His pale golden hair was thoroughly soaked, a slightly calmer color than usual. Due to his thin, light hair, he’d always thought it seemed like it would lightly fly away somewhere, but today’s look was much better not being like that.
Unlike the nobles, perhaps because he wore thin clothes, his soaked body looked obscene. Because he was wet, his body scent could be felt even more clearly. Sweet and soft, it was exactly like the scent of milk boiled with plenty of honey.
“Why on earth…”
Brukisel had the image of the High Priest jumping into the lake flickering before his eyes. Even if an ordinary noble went missing in the lake unable to get out, the Imperial Palace would be in an uproar. For the High Priest to do such a reckless thing.
The jet-black lake water was dark as an abyss. The nobles were desperate not to fall into the water. The water’s color being so dark you couldn’t see the bottom was partly because the lake was deep, but also because of Brukisel’s Shadow.
Since he hated people crowding around, Brukisel rather liked that the surroundings were quiet. Anything with life would be reluctant to fall into this dark blue water.
But there was no hesitation in the High Priest’s appearance jumping into the lake.
“Why on earth did you do such a reckless thing! If the High Priest lost his life, didn’t you think about how much damage would come to the Imperial Palace and to me?”
“Ah…”
Rou made a blank face as if it was something he hadn’t thought of.
“If you understand, then quietly return…”
“But Brukisel caught me like this.”
Rou smiled brightly and grabbed Brukisel’s arm. At the tightly packed muscle, his hand arbitrarily kneaded Brukisel’s body. Rou unconsciously groped someone else’s body, then released it and glanced cautiously, but Brukisel only hesitated without getting angry.
“What if I had pushed you off the boat?”
“Hm?”
Rou blinked his large eyes as if he’d never imagined such a thing.
“But you didn’t push me off, right? I knew you’d save me. Because you’re a kind person.”
Brukisel couldn’t understand on what basis Rou was saying such things. He had no memory of being kind to him, so it was strange.
“Be quiet… How did you even get here?”
“You sent an invitation, so I came. You sent it.”
Brukisel closed his mouth. He felt foolish for trying to have a normal conversation with Jes. He might think everything could be done with just a honey trap, but that was a miscalculation. Brukisel detested people who acted without thinking.
“Such conversation without going through any thought process is meaningless. I should return to the lakeside now…”
Brukisel was unusually kind today. He didn’t raise his voice, didn’t narrow the space between his brows, didn’t show a fierce gaze. He even spoke at length instead of in short answers, as if he’d met someone welcome.
So Rou couldn’t help but ask:
“Brukisel, were you waiting for me?”
“……”
Brukisel’s face was dumbfounded. Waiting for him? What absurd story was this? Brukisel had come this deep into the lake because he detested the noisy nobles. He originally hated being near those who giggled and mingled with people.
“You were waiting for me, weren’t you?”
But he had looked at the lakeside just before departing on the boat. Despite disliking commotion, he had sent him an invitation. And that day, watching Rou’s retreating back as he fled, he suffered from inexplicable disappointment.
When he turned back to check the lakeside, he hoped Rou would be standing there like a miracle. Then he felt he could at least listen to an excuse for running away. Even if he had fled, if he returned, Brukisel was willing to see that face again.
Because he had confessed to liking him.
Thus, after long deliberation, Brukisel answered briefly.
“…A little.”
Rou’s bright smile deepened. Brukisel thought that the roses blooming fully in June didn’t resemble his own eyes, but rather the person before him.
