“It’s uncomfortable and a bit unpleasant. But still, it’s fine.”
He was about to snap back asking what was fine about that, when Rosetta lowered his eyes beautifully and said.
“Because you won’t go anywhere leaving me behind.”
The gaze that had been looking at the floor as if shy turned back to Seoho. Rosetta, whose eyes met his, asked as if seeking confirmation.
“Right?”
When Seoho, who had been blinking and looking at that beautiful face, slowly nodded his head, Rosetta smiled sweetly and stretched out his other hand that wasn’t holding him forward.
“Right, I’ll attach a string here and make it like a pendant, so wear it around your neck.”
The approaching hand touched around Seoho’s solar plexus. The fingertips that touched through the thin clothes slid smoothly down below.
“If I make the string about this length, it’ll be hidden by your clothes and won’t be very visible.”
The hand that touched a little below the solar plexus, and the gaze that followed down that hand, were somehow different from usual.
The eyes that had been like a blue lake sparkling with moonlight had sunken heavily as if covered in fog.
Those eyes that looked like muddy water had splashed in them—Seoho flinched in surprise and grabbed Rosetta’s wrist that was trying to go a little further down.
“Th-thank you. Rosetta.”
Rosetta removed his hand without any particular resistance.
“Thank you?”
The eyes that smiled were no different from usual. When he met those eyes sparkling with affection for Seoho, his body that had stiffened loosened softly again.
There was no trace of that shadow from before at all.
‘I must have been mistaken.’
Seoho naturally smiled along with him.
***
Rosetta watched Seoho receiving his lesson and clenched his trembling hand.
He had clearly felt Seoho’s heart beating small beyond the body that touched his fingertips. And Seoho’s body that had stiffened at that moment too.
‘I didn’t plan to touch him yet.’
When he showed signs of being so openly nervous like that, the instinct to want to tease him more was unavoidable.
When he recalled the face that had relaxed as if reassured when he forced himself to smile as if nothing was wrong, his mouth went completely dry.
Rosetta smiled at Seoho who glanced back at him and drank the beverage Puti had brought. Because of unavoidable meetings that had to be held, he had inevitably spent a lot of time apart from him these past few days, so leisurely watching him like this was really for the first time in a long while.
‘It reminds me of that time.’
That time when he watched Seoho beyond the mirror in the dark room.
Of course, if you compared now to that time, naturally now was better when he could see Seoho directly, touch him, and have conversations with him, but even so, Rosetta sometimes missed that time.
‘No one but me could see Seoho and also…’
He could see all of Seoho’s intimate places. It was thanks to Seoho who showered diligently once a day without fail.
Following down the long, white, clean neck, there was a protruding collarbone, and following down below that…
“Ah.”
Rosetta, whose eyes met with Seoho who turned to look at him again, swallowed the saliva that had filled his mouth and smiled a picture-perfect smile. Then Seoho turned his head again.
Rosetta slightly lowered his head and looked down at his lower half.
“Hmm.”
“Aren’t you bor…”
Puti, who had handed Seoho refreshments and was trying to place refreshments on Rosetta’s table as well, set down the plate as if half-throwing it.
When Rosetta turned his head to look at Puti, he jumped in alarm and hurriedly stepped back.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Rosetta’s eyes furrowed at the continuing commotion, and sure enough, Seoho turned to look at them.
“Puti?”
Puti practically jumped from his spot and made a sound as if his throat was being choked.
Rosetta sent a warning to Puti who was looking at him with greatly shaking pupils. Then Puti quickly arranged his expression and let out his usual blank smile.
“Haha, it’s nothing, Seoho-nim. I’m sorry. Was I noisy?”
“Mm, no.”
As Seoho’s interest fell away, Puti bowed deeply to Rosetta once more and whispered.
“Your Majesty, so…”
To Puti who desperately averted his eyes from his lower half and couldn’t continue speaking, Rosetta said as if annoyed.
“Enough. I’ll step out for a moment.”
“Y-yes. But where to?”
At the stupid question, Rosetta answered indifferently.
“The bathroom.”
“What?!”
The end of his voice, which had grown much louder than before, cracked. Rosetta’s brow furrowed, and once again Seoho called Puti.
“Puti?”
“I’m truly sorry. Hahaha.”
Seoho looked back and forth between Rosetta and Puti with a suspicious face. Rosetta clicked his tongue at Puti who still seemed unable to get a grip. Then he opened his mouth again with a beautiful face as if knowing nothing.
“Seoho, I’ll step out for a moment. You look good working hard.”
“Thank you.”
“Aris, you work hard too.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
When Rosetta got up from where he was sitting, Puti hurriedly stood next to Rosetta.
“Haha, I’ll draw the water.”
He couldn’t understand why he was bothering to say out loud something that was natural.
“You’re being noisy today.”
To Rosetta who rebuked him in a volume that wouldn’t reach Seoho, Puti answered in a trembling voice.
“…I’m sorry.”
“You wouldn’t need to be sorry if you didn’t create things to be sorry about.”
“I’m sor…, yes. I’ll correct it.”
Puti followed Rosetta into the bathroom with a pale face. Fortunately, once the bathroom door closed, Puti briskly finished preparing the bath.
“Should I leave?”
“Yes.”
Puti hurriedly exited the bathroom. Rosetta clicked his tongue once more at the loud sound of the door closing and immersed his body in the warm water.
He didn’t have a hobby of taking long baths, but there was still some time before Seoho’s lesson would end. Rosetta stretched out his body in the bathtub with a thoroughly bored face, unlike when he was looking at Seoho just before.
***
Angel, though smiling, left the reception room after greeting the Second Prince while avoiding his evaluating gaze.
The figures of the prince’s attendants and an ordinary priest standing not far away came into view. She was about to hurriedly exchange greetings and leave when the priest who had been waiting for her hurriedly approached.
“…The conversation seems to have gone long—what did you discuss?”
Even though it was obvious he had come on orders from above, irritation surged for a moment. Fortunately, Angel, who didn’t let that emotion burst out, poured out her story in a slightly fast tone.
“The Prince asked us to send two high-ranking priests to the kingdom to pray for his mother.”
Using the mother as an excuse to package today’s meeting was something agreed upon with the prince, so there was nothing to hesitate about.
“Ah. Has her health worsened?”
“He said it’s not much different from usual.”
“Yes, then I’ll relay that.”
“Right. There’s no more schedule today, is there?”
“That’s correct.”
“I see.”
Angel hurriedly moved her feet to avoid running into the prince coming out of the reception room.
Several priests looked startled at the quick movement that didn’t match etiquette, but Angel didn’t care and returned straight to her room.
The roughly closing door with a bang spoke for her state of mind. As soon as Angel closed the door, she put strength into her legs that felt like they might give out and approached the desk.
Having entered a space entirely her own, Angel dropped the corners of her mouth that she had been forcibly lifting and gasped rough breaths.
“The situation is getting more and more…”
Angel swallowed the curse words that seemed about to burst out and recalled the prince who had been threatening her. The prince who had brought up the mirror calmly demanded of Angel who was looking at him warily with her mouth firmly shut.
‘With this kind of information, I should be able to return to the imperial palace. You just need to arrange a meeting between me and the stranger. No harm will come to you.’
The prince babbled as if it wasn’t a very difficult task, but arranging an appointment with Seoho wasn’t such an easy thing.
Moreover, giving the prince who seemed to know more than herself the opportunity to meet with Seoho? The possibility of disrupting their side’s plans was too great.
‘How can I know what you’ll do?’
‘Are you worried about what I might do to the stranger?’
The prince looked Angel up and down and let out a snicker. It was clearly mockery. As Angel gritted her teeth, the prince erased his smile and pressured Angel once more.
‘Seeing your reaction now, you knew exactly what would happen if you gave him the mirror, didn’t you? And yet you gave the mirror to the emperor… I can roughly guess what you’re thinking.’
Angel clenched her unseen fist under the table tightly and asked back.
‘Are you threatening me?’
‘I’m saying I have other options too.’
If the prince who knew the secret of the mirror that Angel thought only she knew went to the emperor and revealed everything, it would really be the end.
‘…There was no record of the kingdom’s story.’
‘Of course, since we hid it. Being royalty ourselves, creating secrets is an easy thing.’
Angel recalled the prince’s age. Did they say he was the same age as Rosetta?
‘This mirror hasn’t been taken out in over fifty years…’
At Angel expressing disbelief, the prince snorted.
‘Isn’t it more ridiculous to think there’s only one mirror?’
That there was another mirror was even harder to believe. But she couldn’t just ignore it either. Angel tried not to show signs of being shaken.
‘Then there’s no guarantee that mirror is the same one, is there?’
‘Aren’t you thinking it is the same?’
As the prince said, while denying it couldn’t be so, a corner of her heart was accepting that the prince’s words were true.
