He must have been greatly shocked at being suddenly kicked out of the room without a single word of praise after working so hard to care for Rosetta. Honestly, Aris had been in a very surprised state these past few days.
‘He was extremely devoted.’
Puti was quite famous in the imperial palace. A lucky man who became the Emperor’s direct attendant thanks to his insignificant abilities and quick wits.
He had a gentle impression that didn’t match that position, but he’d also heard that he wasn’t as easy as one might think.
And the Puti he’d actually seen certainly looked gentle, but he wasn’t completely naive.
‘He’s not a man without ability either.’
At least his ability as an attendant could be said to be quite impressive. Because Puti moved solely for Rosetta.
Which meant he moved to benefit Rosetta. Even without Rosetta’s orders, he strove to maintain Rosetta’s reputation on his own while still keeping an appropriate line.
He shrewdly grasped the line that Rosetta could tolerate and that other servants, mages, and knights could tolerate. So although everyone grumbled when they saw Puti, they didn’t curse at him.
‘Maintaining balance is difficult.’
Aris was the same. He always grumbled when he saw Puti, but he still acknowledged his efforts.
‘He really is overflowing with effort.’
Aris glanced at Puti’s eye area, which had darkened as black as the mages’ from exhaustion.
Even though the Emperor didn’t treat him as human and completely ignored him, Puti still always strove to make Rosetta be in the best condition.
This time was the same. He brought reasons that Rosetta could understand while making him maintain minimal dignity.
‘He even trimmed his nails just now.’
But as soon as the nail trimming was finished, he was kicked out.
Aris looked at Puti with pity. Unlike the tremendous loyalty and affection Puti had for Rosetta, Rosetta didn’t seem to cherish Puti that much.
Originally, it was common for superiors to look down on subordinates, but he’d rarely seen such a devoted attendant, so it felt even more pitiful.
‘How should I comfort him?’
Aris spoke to Puti again, whose head was deeply bowed.
“Um, Puti?”
Then Puti muttered something small.
“Hm? What did you say?”
Aris, who hadn’t heard properly, grabbed him. Then Puti trembled and shouted.
“It’s over!”
“Huh?”
Puti suddenly raised his head and smiled brightly at Aris. And he spoke to everyone guarding Rosetta’s room.
“Now, it’s over now. Everyone move far away from the room!”
“What?”
“The crying sound has stopped, hasn’t it?”
Only then did Aris and the others realize that Rosetta’s crying had stopped. As people looked at the door in surprise, Puti began urging them.
“Quickly move away from the room!”
Aris asked back.
“Uh… why?”
“His Majesty has returned to normal, so we have to return to before. His Majesty dislikes people standing in front of his room.”
“Ah.”
“Now, quickly return to your original positions. And before you leave, tell me your names. I’ll speak to His Majesty separately and get you extra compensation.”
At Puti’s words, people who had been watching the situation began moving away from the room one by one, following Puti. Aris also moved following Puti like the others.
Aris asked Puti, who was writing down everyone’s names.
“Are you really going to arrange it?”
“Of course. I have to do everything I can. Even if His Majesty doesn’t do it, if I talk to the aides, they’ll do it all. Because everyone knows you all worked hard.”
Aris looked at Puti with suspicious eyes and said.
“Is it okay to do this?”
“It’s fine. His Majesty won’t say anything about this much.”
“It’s overstepping your authority, isn’t it?”
Puti calmly nodded.
“Yes, but as long as it’s at a level that doesn’t burden His Majesty, he doesn’t care.”
He was loyal yet also proactive. Aris, who vaguely nodded, gestured toward Rosetta’s room beyond the now invisible corridor and asked.
“But is it really over now?”
Then Puti smiled brightly.
“Yes, I caught a glimpse earlier and he was extremely happy. That person has come.”
That person—the fated partner Puti had mentioned.
Honestly, it was a story that was a bit hard to believe, but if the Holy Maiden Angel was involved in this matter, the story was different.
The mirror that the Holy Maiden Angel said a god gifted to a human loved by the gods, and the fated partner visible through that mirror.
‘It must be something the gods are involved in, right?’
No matter how unrealistic something was, if gods were involved in it, there was a strong possibility it would become reality.
‘If the Holy Maiden Angel wasn’t lying, that is.’
As he was having slightly cynical thoughts, Puti muttered with eyes sparkling as if dreaming.
“Now His Majesty will also return to normal.”
“…Well, I hope so.”
“You worked hard too, Mage-nim.”
At Puti’s words, Aris spoke sincerely.
“You worked hard. You’re an excellent attendant.”
Puti bowed very happily.
“Thank you!”
Well, apart from being capable, he seemed a bit clueless too.
‘I unconsciously used informal speech but he doesn’t seem to have noticed.’
No, looking at his behavior so far, rather than being clueless, he seemed to be so happy about the current situation that he couldn’t pay attention to anything else. Aris, facing the face full of pride, let out a small laugh.
***
Seoho blinked with a tired face. His eyes, which were dry to the point of being stiff, wouldn’t even open properly.
He’d hardly slept properly since this bizarre crying sound first began, but this was the first time he’d been unable to sleep like these days.
“How can I sleep when it keeps crying?”
Seoho wasn’t heartless enough to fall asleep comfortably while listening to someone else crying.
A week since the crying hadn’t stopped, Seoho was soaked in fatigue.
“Ah, I want to sleep.”
He really wanted to lie on a soft bed in a quiet place where no sounds could be heard, cover himself with a soft blanket, and sleep deeply.
As he lay on the bed, blinking vacantly while waiting for time to pass quickly, suddenly tremendous joy engulfed Seoho.
‘What is this?’
There was no time to be flustered by the sudden change in emotion. Seoho clutched the area near his heart, which felt like it would leap out of his chest from pounding so hard.
His vision became hazy and his ears felt stuffy.
Whether his body was surprised by the unexpected emotional change, Seoho gasped roughly, clutching his throat that was tightly constricted.
“Haah.”
Heat rose to his eyes and tears began to well up. Seoho gritted his teeth.
It was clearly an emotion he was directly feeling, but it was a strange sensation as if it wasn’t his.
‘Then whose emotion is it?’
He didn’t know why he felt this emotion wasn’t his own, but Seoho knew that such an emotional change without warning was not ordinary.
‘Am I going crazy?’
Seoho ignored his finely trembling body and barely managed to lift his bowed head. And upon recognizing the existence reflected in his eyes, he made a stupid sound.
“Uwah? Huh?”
On the wall where the eyes had been drawn, in the place where those eyes that had worried Seoho for the past few days while shedding tears had been, some person was standing.
‘…Is that a person?’
It was an existence too beautiful to be the same kind of person as Seoho.
A man who glowed despite the seemingly dark surroundings. A person for whom the word beautiful was insufficient. As he stared blankly at the man, it seemed their eyes met.
‘Clear blue eyes.’
They were familiar eyes. Those eyes exactly like the ones drawn on the wall. And tears flowing silently from those eyes.
‘It’s you.’
Seoho realized that this person was the one who had tormented him all this time, and whom he had pitied.
The moment he gained this realization, Seoho also noticed that the crying sound that had been stimulating him for the past few days had disappeared. As Seoho was trying to grasp the situation, the man before his eyes reached out his hand toward Seoho.
‘His hand is pretty too.’
The hand that person extended had a beautiful shape no different from his face.
Long, slender fingers stretching straight without any angles, neatly trimmed nails—the hand that had been slowly extending was soon filled with desperation and reached forward a bit more.
Seoho raised his gaze along that hand. And once again, his eyes met the man’s. He wasn’t just being sad.
‘That earlier feeling was this man’s emotion.’
The man was welcoming his meeting with Seoho that much.
Seoho had encountered it for the first time in his life—an emotion so intense it felt like violence—and this man was actually feeling such an emotion.
‘And right now he’s desperately begging for me to hold his hand.’
He didn’t know how this was possible, but Seoho was feeling the man’s emotions.
Strength entered his fingertips. He could tell that if he took that hand now, this life would end in some sense.
But strangely, he wasn’t scared.
Was it because of that speechlessly beautiful appearance? Or was it because of the painfully intense emotion the man was feeling?
‘Probably both.’
Such a beautiful man, a man who had always been sad, was happy just from facing him.
Ridiculously enough, just the thought that the man could regain his smile seemed like enough reason for him to leave this place.
A hollow laugh flowed out naturally.
‘It’s an absurd thing to do, but.’
Seoho just acted as his body moved.
Starting with his twitching fingertips, Seoho’s hand, which was slowly extending forward, soon passed through the wall.
