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“I, need.”
When Khalid waited for his answer, Renato tried to move his lips. His throat was shaking and his tears had already welled up, making it difficult to let out a sound.
“I need it.”
After managing to speak, Renato clenched his teeth. He didn’t want to cry in front of Khalid again, but his tears continued to flow. He kept crying with his tightly closed mouth. Renato gave strength to his throat and moved his lips again.
“Help, me, hic. Please, help me.”
His answer came out with a sobbing sound. Renato’s tears flowed so profusely that his efforts not to cry until now became insignificant. As if that was not enough, he cried out loud like a child.
Sadness and relief, earnestness and guilt…… A mixture of emotions welled up inside him. He couldn’t hold back his tears at the thought of bringing Khalid into his circumstances again.
“……Okay.”
Khalid was silent for a moment, then opened his mouth. His voice was still lower than before. Khalid stared straight into the pale amethyst eyes that were looking at him and spoke out his resolve.
“I’ll help you.”
After finishing his words, Khalid moved his left hand up which was holding Renato’s chin. His hand was already wet with tears.
“I will help you achieve what you want, so……”
Khalid gently wiped the tear-stained corners of Renato’s eyes with his thumb. He felt his heart ache when seeing such a lovely and pitiful person crying because he needed him.
“Please don’t cry.”
His tender, warm fingertips carefully touched the puffy, swollen eyes. Not caring about getting his hands wet, Khalid covered Renato’s wet cheeks with both of his hands. The skin on his palms was hot, making him a little worried.
“Hic, huff.”
Renato hiccupped with his mouth closed to hold back his sobs. He wanted to stop crying, but the hands caressing his swollen eyelids were so gentle, making his tears keep coming out.
“You keep crying……”
Seeing Renato unable to stop crying, Khalid murmured anxiously. Then he slowly lowered his head. His soft lips slid down on a corner of Renato’s eyes that was glistening with tears.
Smooch.
The soft flesh touched Renato’s reflexively closed eyelid. Renato, startled by the sudden touch, shrank his shoulders. Then, Khalid’s right hand, which was still on his cheek, moved downward, lightly rubbing and supporting Renato’s tense neck as if to console him.
Khalid’s hot breath tickled Renato’s soft skin, the man’s slightly chapped lips wiping away the tears from his eye corner. Then, his lips glided down and gently pressed on Renato’s tear mole.
“Ugh.”
Renato briefly groaned when the man’s warmth rubbed against his flushed skin. Khalid’s lips which had been wandering around as if to soothe the delicate skin under his eye parted away with a sweet frictional sound.
“You have stopped crying now.”
Having parted his lips away, Khalid muttered in a contented voice. His ruby-colored eyes, which were darker than usual, curled up.
“Just, just now, what.”
Renato, who had never dreamed of being touched by Khalid’s lips, stuttered. He was so shocked that his tears came back into his eyes. Khalid took the handkerchief from Renato’s hand and wiped the tears on his cheeks.
Suddenly, he had a thought that he didn’t want to see Renato cry again. Perhaps it would be different if Renato cried tears of joy, but it was enough for him to see Renato cry so sadly today.
“We’ll talk more about it the next time…… Let’s go back to the greenhouse together when your face cools down. Your attendant and guard knight are anxiously waiting for you, Your Imperial Highness.”
“……Yes.”
Renato quietly nodded. He lowered his gaze when feeling Khalid’s hand gently wiping his face. His cheeks were burning in a different way compared to before, and he couldn’t look directly at Khalid.
A few days later, rumors spread in the capital that the grand prince of the Khan Kingdom was courting the sidekick Prince of the Empire.
IV. The Prince’s Scandal
Bang!
Hans, who had been Maximo’s aide since last year, was frightened by the noises coming from inside. It was dangerous to go inside when Maximo was throwing such a temper. Hans stood in front of the door, unable to do anything.
“Fuck!”
Clang, there was a sound of something breaking following a voice filled with rage. Hans inadvertently closed his eyes tightly. His forehead, which was bruised by the edge of a book that Maximo had thrown the other day, was throbbing for no reason.
“When is that bastard Hans coming?”
Hearing Maximo swearing at him for not coming, Hans quickly raised his hand. He didn’t want to go in, but if he was late, Maximo’s wrath would pour out again.
“Young master, it is me.”
“Come in.”
As soon as he knocked, Maximo’s voice came back. Hans gulped and grabbed the doorknob with his trembling hand. After carefully opening the door, he could see the room was a mess just like what he had expected.
Shattered vases and scattered flowers, books and papers rolling on the floor…… In the center of that scene, Maximo was standing with a crumpled newspaper in one hand. It was one of the most famous newspapers in the capital, with gossip about Khalid and Renato’s relationship.
“Why are you so late?”
“My apologies.”
Perhaps unable to cool down his anger even after messing up the room, Maximo’s chest was rising up and down in rage. Hans hastily apologized to Maximo who yelled at him. Fortunately, nothing was thrown to his side.
“Your report?”
“About that…… Here it is, sir.”
Hans slurred his words and went inside. Walking carefully so as not to step on the broken fragments, he stood in front of Maximo and presented his report. Maximo roughly snatched the report without saying any thanks, sat down at the desk, and quickly looked through the documents.
“The source of the rumor is the Khan Kingdom’s diplomatic office? Did that grand prince bastard spread the rumor?”
“No, sir. It’s not the grand prince, but the people who worked there spread that story to their families and the people around them for fun.”
“Then are all the rumors circulating in the newspapers false rumors?”
Because of Hans’ report, Maximo looked at him with an even more ferocious gaze. Meeting the sharp, gleaming magenta eyes, Hans bowed his head politely.
“So far, they are just false rumors.”
“So far? What is that vague answer? Don’t say something like that and give me a clear answer! Are you saying that those rumors will become the truth?”
Maximo frowned, disliking Hans’ words. Hans hurriedly opened his mouth before the man could lose his temper.
“I mean, there is already a lot of talk that the relationship between His Imperial Highness and the grand prince seems to be good. The indifferent grand prince seems to be very gentle and courteous to His Imperial Highness……”
“Those two have a good relationship?”
“From what I have investigated, that is true. I don’t know if the grand prince is courting His Imperial Highness, but I think it’s true that the two of them have become quite close. Not long ago, they had tea together in the greenhouse in the inner palace.”
Hearing those words, Maximo’s face contorted even more. The day Renato had tea with Khalid was also the day he said he hated Maximo.
‘I really hate you.’
Remembering the unpleasant memories, Maximo gritted his teeth. Even thinking about it again made him angry. Renato’s words were full of hostility toward him.
‘I am not your person.’
How dare he. Feeling his stomach boil, Maximo mercilessly crumpled the report in his hand. Perhaps something had changed in his mind, because Renato was acting as if he had become a completely different person these days.
When he recalled, there were already strange signs from the time of Ludmilla’s funeral. Maximo was quite surprised to hear that Renato had attended the funeral’s ritual. The Renato he knew wouldn’t have been able to attend the funeral because of his fear of Blanche and Marquis Medus.
It was after being in charge of the special protocol officer job that Renato genuinely became strange. Maximo was convinced that Khalid must have had some effect on Renato’s change. That arrogant bastard must have done something.
Otherwise, Renato wouldn’t have been able to say such a thing to him.
Maximo recalled how Renato said that he hated him and gritted his teeth again. He met Renato when he was a child, and he had seen him for over 10 years, but he had never felt as unfamiliar with Renato as he was now.
“Other than that? What did the two of them do to make people say they have a good relationship?”
“From what I found out, the grand prince gave a gift to His Imperial Highness, and they went for a walk in the diplomatic office’s garden together…… Both the diplomatic office and the official residence of the Khan Kingdom have tight security, so the details……”
“What the hell does it have to do with tight security?! It’s your job to get through it! Incompetent bastard!”
“Ugh!”
Maximo, unable to suppress his rage, threw the crumpled report on Hans’ face. Hans squeezed his eyes shut when the paper hit him in the face. As expected, there was no way that Maximo would just pass this on quietly.
“Get out right now! Don’t even think about coming back until you find out!”
“……Yes, young master.”
Hans picked up the report that had fallen on the floor, placed it on the desk, then left the room with his head bowed. Left alone, Maximo couldn’t hold back his anger and slammed his fist on the desk.