TOPWL 87

Khalid didn’t explain any further and gently ushered Yudit into the bath. Inside, the attendants were already waiting. Recalling the ordeal of the previous bath, Yudit looked at them with a sour expression.

Fortunately, they seemed to mean it when they’d said it would be quick today. Though he’d soaked in hot water and had a grain-based facial paste applied, it hadn’t taken long enough to make him sleepy. From start to finish, it hadn’t even taken thirty minutes. That was a win in Yudit’s book.

As soon as he opened the door to leave, the strong scent of roses rushed in, and Yudit instinctively rubbed the tip of his nose.

“Your meal will be served in the greenhouse,” one of the newer attendants informed him as he changed.

Just hearing that he wouldn’t be eating in this rose-choked room gave Yudit a measure of relief.

“Woof!”

As soon as he stepped into the greenhouse, Ro came bounding over. Yudit knelt to hug the dog, patting his rump affectionately.

“Wow…”

Yudit couldn’t help the quiet sound of wonder as he entered the glasshouse. The warm sunlight flooding through the glass roof banished any memory of winter’s chill. Golden light streamed softly through the glass ceiling, catching floating dust motes in its glow. Vibrant green plants grew in abundance, their leaves casting shifting shadows as sunlight filtered through them. The air was thick with moisture and carried a sweet, gentle fragrance. It was nothing like the overpowering perfume that had filled his room—this scent was far more pleasant, far more natural.

Khalid was already seated at the table, reading the newspaper. On the linen-covered table, gleaming scones and breads piled high, their golden tops glistening with butter. Steam curled gently from porcelain teacups.

“You’re here earlier than I expected,” Khalid said, folding his newspaper. Yudit had assumed he’d already eaten a piece of bread or two, but Khalid’s plate was entirely empty—there wasn’t even a breadcrumb.

“You could’ve started without me.”

“How would that be any fun, eating alone?”

Since when did he care so much about eating together? Yudit took a seat and picked up a scone. There were so many different kinds of butter and jam that it was hard to choose. After some indecision, Yudit picked the butter on the far left and spread it generously across his scone. Khalid poured tea for him by hand.

Yudit took a sip. Brewed at the perfect temperature, the tea had no bitterness at all—it melted smoothly across his tongue.

After drinking a third of the cup in one go, Yudit added a bit of milk. White streams swirled through the tea like gossamer silk underwater. Watching the swirl for a quiet moment, Yudit then took another sip. The creaminess of the milk made the texture even smoother.

He became absorbed in trying different jams on his scone. Meanwhile, Khalid had consistently spread only butter on his—never wavering—and finally spoke.

“Jam’s no good in winter.”

“…It tastes fine to me.”

“Too sweet. Not my thing.”

“Then… what do you like, Khalid?”

At the sound of his name, Khalid’s eyes softened. He looked quietly at Yudit before replying.

“Apricot compote.”

“Apricot… compote?”

“There’s a big apricot tree behind my family’s estate. Every spring, I’d climb it and pick as many apricots as I could. The soft, sweet ones I’d eat right away. The firmer, tart ones we’d gather and turn into compote.”

Yudit suddenly imagined a younger Khalid, small and not yet grown, climbing a tree and plucking apricots. He pictured juice dripping down Khalid’s hands and elbows as he bit into the soft fruit—and just thinking of it made his mouth water.

“Compote doesn’t keep long, so we tried making jam too, but honestly, apricots taste best as compote. I’ll let you try it when spring comes.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“You should.”

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Khalid reached into his coat and pulled something out. Yudit took it—and his eyes went wide.

“…Khalid… do you have a younger sister?”

What Khalid handed him was a photo. A girl of about eight years old, wearing a dress and an adorably prim expression. The photo wasn’t crystal clear, but there was no denying the resemblance to Khalid.

“You wondered how I knew the women’s dances, didn’t you?” Khalid said with a slight smile.

As the connection between the photo and his words clicked, Yudit’s jaw slowly dropped.

“…No way.”

“That’s right.”

“You… used to dress as a girl?”

“It wasn’t by choice. My parents insisted on it. Partly because of an old superstition that boys raised like girls would live longer, but more so because female alphas are rare. It helped lessen my cousins’ wariness about inheritance. Thanks to that, I’ve managed to survive this long.”

Khalid gave a little shrug.

“How old were you when it stopped?”

“Eleven. Could’ve gone on longer, but thanks to a cousin who tried to assault me, the truth got out to everyone.”

Yudit frowned deeply at that. Seeing the look on his face, Khalid’s eyes gleamed with mischief.

“Here’s a question—did I kill that cousin early on… or later?”

Yudit thought for a moment, then answered:

“Later,” Yudit answered.

“And your reason?”

“I figured… you’d want to see him suffer.”

At that, Khalid couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Exactly. I wanted to make him suffer as much as possible. Still, I didn’t kill him myself. Seems the pressure finally drove him mad—he started murdering and assaulting the servants until they turned on him and beat him to death.”

“A fitting end,” Yudit said flatly.

He flipped through the rest of the photos. It was obvious Khalid had been quite the mischievous child. Hardly any of the photos were in proper focus, and even in the few that were, he was always making some odd face. So, even this man had a childhood like that… Yudit smiled faintly as he turned another photo—then stopped.

In the picture, Khalid was wearing a dress and holding a younger child in his arms, laughing like a little scamp. The child looked to be an infant, still clutching a baby bottle. With a head of thick, dark curls and wide eyes, the baby looked rather adorable. As Yudit studied the picture, Khalid glanced down at it as well.

“My half-brother.”

“You had… a younger sibling? Was he a boy too?”

“Yeah. And the dress actually suited him better than me.”

Khalid took a sip of his now-lukewarm tea before continuing.

“He was pretty cute. I’d always wanted a little sibling, so I wanted to let him live, at least…”

“…”

“But the moment I killed his mother, I knew it was too late to turn back.”

His expression soured, like he was sucking on a bitter candy. Yudit looked at him and asked softly:

“Why did you kill her?”

“She tried to kill me. Nearly succeeded.”

Khalid’s answer was quiet, matter-of-fact. It wasn’t something he’d had a choice in.

“That must’ve been hard.”

“I thought maybe if I locked him away for three years, he’d cool off about his mother ’s killer. But he died before those three years were up.”

“…I see.”

“I kept telling myself—‘If he doesn’t change, I’ll kill him eventually.’ But I never did. And when I heard he’d died, it was like all the strength left my body. When everything was finally over, there was nothing left by my side.”

Khalid spoke as though looking back through time, his gaze drifting through the air.

“I had everything, and still felt empty. That feeling just kept growing. I started thinking, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if the world just ended. Watching an idiot ruin the empire might even be entertaining… and then you showed up.”

He propped his chin on his hand, reaching over to gently stroke Yudit’s hair as he looked up at him.

“An omega, of all people, saying he’d be emperor. Weak as a reed, yet always trying to help others. Crawling through the dirt if it meant surviving… Made me wonder—where’s your pride?”

“…”

“And the more I watched, the more reckless you seemed—so reckless I started stepping in to protect you. I wanted to grant your wishes, see where you’d go. And somewhere along the way, I realized…”

Khalid lifted a lock of Yudit’s damp hair to his nose and breathed in deeply.

“…that I’d fallen for you.”

The sound of a chair scraping echoed faintly. Khalid had moved close, suddenly, without hesitation.

“You might think this is sudden… but for me, it’s been a while now. I just didn’t recognize it.”

“…”

“But now that I have, I won’t just sit back and do nothing. I want to shove away every filthy hand reaching for you, and make you want to hold only mine.”

Khalid rose and extended his hand. Without thinking, Yudit took it. Khalid opened the door to the greenhouse, and a cool breeze brushed against them. He walked forward, hand in hand with Yudit, striding down the hall without pause.

“Everything I do is, in the end, for myself. So I hope you’ll accept it with as much joy as you can.”

As they turned the corner, Khalid slowly pushed open a heavy door. The moment it opened, Yudit looked inside the drawing room—and blinked.