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“Didn’t you build up an iron wall toward people all this time? Everyone was taken aback.”
Nasir said with a smile. Even he, someone that knew the situation, found it amusing, so just how surprising and exciting must it be for people who didn’t know the specific story? Because of that, he understood the knights’ reactions. After all, Khalid’s iron wall was famous among the knights.
An extraordinary appearance, outstanding abilities, and even the rare trait of a dominant Alpha. Khalid always stood out wherever he went, so many people, regardless of traits, were interested in him. There were also quite a few people that admired Khalid within the Knights Order.
Perhaps that was why the temptation toward Khalid had never ended over the past few years. But no one succeeded in winning his heart.
On the contrary, rumors continued to increase, like that a young lady from a certain household confessed to Khalid but was mercilessly dumped, that an Omega tried to seduce him with pheromone but was kicked out, or that he refused a marriage proposal from a Count household without any hesitation.
In fact, Khalid coldly drew the line toward whoever approached him. There were dozens of people inside and outside the Knights Order that shed tears because of the cold and apathetic refusal just like a northern wind. He even spent his ruts alone every time.
As a result, people began to say that Khalid was an ascetic, had a phobia for pheromones, or had mysophobia. Khalid did not specifically deny it. Rather, he took it further by stating that he had no intention of marrying anyone.
Everyone was surprised when they heard Khalid was having a relationship with Renato. Within the Knights Order, there were also some people seeing the two of them spending time together, so they couldn’t disregard those as false rumors.
“Tsk, they are making such a fuss.”
Khalid clicked his tongue, not liking the knights who were curious about his relationship with Renato. He wondered if his being in a relationship or getting married had anything to do with them.
“Because it’s shocking to see a warm spring breeze around the Commander-nim who has been blasting cold winds so far. ……So is it true?”
“What is?”
“I’m talking about you having a good time with His Imperial Highness at Marquis Kyle’s mansion’s back garden. Because of that, the capital was very lively yesterday and today.”
Nasir’s eyes lit up when he recalled the newspaper article this morning. The effect of Khalid and Renato attending Marquis Kyle’s banquet was explosive.
Either because someone other than Maximo had seen the two kissing or the information was leaked by Renato, the day before yesterday, there were huge articles saying that the Khan Kingdom’s grand prince and the Empire’s 1st Prince were enjoying a secret date in the Marquis mansion’s back garden.
As if to support that, Khalid and Renato went out together yesterday. The two visited the Frey merchant guild. As the diplomatic ambassador and the special protocol officer, their task was to wrap up the unpleasant incident during the operation to clean up the smuggling organization, but in people’s eyes, it seemed like a date.
“Why would you care about whatever I did with His Imperial Highness?”
“No, I mean he will become my liege’s companion for the next three years, right? No matter what happens, you will be living together as a married couple for three years, so it is best for the two of you to get along well if possible.”
Three years. At those words, Khalid’s hand that was flipping the document pages stopped. Not noticing that, Nasir asked with a grin.
“It seems to me that you think quite well of His Imperial Highness, am I wrong?”
Nasir was almost certain of his thoughts. In his view, Khalid’s attitude toward Renato was unusual. It was different from how the man dealt with other people.
Watching the two over the past few weeks, Nasir knew for the first time that Khalid could be so affectionate to anyone apart from Maryam. No, his attitude was much more cautious and gentle than with Maryam. As if he was dealing with dry flower petals that could easily crumble.
If Khalid’s actions were merely acting to create relationship rumors with Renato, he would be a natural actor. That was probably why the knights were astonished or agitated when they saw the two together.
“……I don’t hate him.”
Khalid answered Nasir’s question half a beat late. He was annoyed because of the constant teasing from a while ago, but he couldn’t deny it. Hearing Khalid’s answer, Nasir quietly smiled with an expression saying he knew it.
“His Imperial Highness the 1st Prince is a bit cute, right? His personality is gentle just like his round face, and his speech is soft and elegant……”
“Uhm.”
Khalid softly murmured to confirm Nasir’s words. He didn’t feel bad when hearing someone compliment Renato. So he inadvertently opened his mouth.
“He’s cute. He’s also a bit unique.”
“Hoo……”
Nasir did not miss Khalid’s murmur, and his eyes sparkled. Just like what he had guessed, Khalid was quite fond of Renato. When he checked it with his own two eyes, he was filled with relief and anticipation.
Although he was in favor of the two’s marriage from the beginning, it was not that Nasir didn’t have any worries. He knew better than anyone that Khalid was negative about having a family.
Nevertheless, he advocated that for the sake of Khalid’s future. Because he didn’t want Khalid to be hurt or swayed by Maryam anymore.
Nasir hoped that the marriage with Renato would serve as an opportunity for Khalid to become independent of Maryam. However, when the contract was made between the two, he had all sorts of worries.
Could a marriage with a fixed period bring happiness? Would Khalid be hurt again because of a loveless marriage?
Then, seeing Khalid and Renato getting closer, he felt a little relieved. Nasir prayed that the two would continue to be like now. He thought that if they went on like this, they would be a fairly good couple. He asked in a voice full of anticipation.
“Which part? What’s unique about him?”
“Hmm……”
Instead of answering Nasir, Khalid traced back his memories of three days ago. On the way back from the Marquis’ banquet to the Imperial Palace, Khalid kissed Renato once more in the carriage. They were talking about whether they should show a goodbye kiss before parting, so the atmosphere became like that.
Due to that, Renato’s determination to do better next time was shattered within a few hours, and he became noticeably depressed. Khalid comforted him and asked why he wanted to become good at skinship so quickly. Then, he got an unexpected answer.
‘That’s because, in the books writing about companions’ duty, they said that to maintain a smooth relationship between a married couple, sexual compatibility is important.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
Sexual compatibility? In response to the completely unexpected answer, Khalid’s voice momentarily became higher. Renato lowered his head in embarrassment, wiggled his hands and mumbled.
‘They say that’s the most important thing when sleeping together, and sexual compatibility means that not only one side feels good, but both sides, uhm, have to be sexually satisfied……’
‘Please wait, I’ve been wanting to ask this for a while, just what kind of books did you read?’
‘Uh, they were just books in the Imperial Library…… like etiquette books written about marital duties?’
‘Does that kind of content also appear in etiquette books these days?’
‘Of course it appears since I read from there, no? Ah, they, they weren’t strange books at all!’
Khalid let out a chuckle when recalling Renato desperately explaining just in case he thought Renato had read erotic books. The fact that Renato studied and worked hard even in that area was both commendable and beyond his understanding capacity.
This is a little dangerous.
Erasing his smile, Khalid seriously agonized. He had a sense of crisis that he might really be together with Renato till the end.
How far should I go with someone that has a fixed end with me?
Dark shadows cast over his red eyes. Khalid actually had no intention of consummating the marriage after he married Renato. At that time, he only told Renato a companion’s duty to make him reconsider marriage.
If he had known it would become like this, he would never have said it. Just like what Nasir said a while ago, there was a time limit of three years between Renato and him.
No one knew whether they would be together after three years, or whether they would go their separate ways. He planned to do his best to help Renato achieve what he wanted even though it was just a contract, still, he couldn’t decide how close he should get to Renato. Khalid sighed, feeling a heavy burden on his chest as if it had been filled with stones.
“Huu……”
“Why are you sighing all of a sudden? You didn’t answer my question either.”
Having looked at Khalid’s expressions as the man smiled alone and then suddenly turned serious, Nasir spoke up to ask the reason. Khalid glared at him with annoyed eyes.
“It’s because you said something useless.”
“What did I do?”
Nasir had a resentful expression when he heard the sharp criticism. Not wanting to talk about that anymore, Khalid put down the reviewed documents.
“Whatever, stop your unnecessary talk and let Elaine territory’s monster subjugation proceed as it is.”
“……All right. Then I will tell Sir Amavand to immediately leave this evening.”
As soon as Nasir finished his words, there was a knock on the door. Soon after that, they heard a voice announcing the news that they had been waiting the whole time.
“Your highness, this is Alia. I have brought a letter from Her Majesty the Queen.”
“Come in.”
There could only be one letter from Maryam at this point. Khalid hurriedly told Alia to come in. After entering the office, she greeted him with courtesy, then politely held out an envelope with Maryam’s seal.
“The letter had a sealing spell on it, so I released it.”
“Thanks.”
Having received the letter, Khalid opened the envelope and took out a letter paper engraved with the royal insignia without delay. His red eyes glowed as he quickly scanned the letter. His gaze stopped at the last sentence on the paper stamped with the Queen’s official seal.
As the monarch of the country where winter begins and as the grand prince’s family member, I gladly approve of Khalid Nur Hakan’s marriage. You may return to the kingdom with Prince Renato El Fleurette, the descendant of the Fairy King, for the engagement ceremony as soon as possible.