OPDPS 144

Aeryl softened his expression on purpose and coaxed Derbas.

“Tell me what happened. I need to know so we can handle this to our advantage.”

“Uh, well… nothing much happened…”

“Nothing much?”

“I just talked a bit with His Grace and came back here to wait for Your Highness.”

“You didn’t get caught?”

“Nope. Oh, by the way, did you hear about the imperial envoys?”

“I just got back. What about them?”

“They left the outer quarters a little while ago. Pretty much got kicked out.”

“I see.”

Aeryl felt a wave of relief wash over him. They’d bought time, just as planned.

“I thought they’d be more persistent. Guess they gave up easier than I expected. Now all that’s left is to tell His Grace the truth.”

He was planning to do that after a bit more snow blocked the roads. Hearing this, Derbas rolled his eyes without Aeryl noticing.

“Let’s go to Valbean tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“I think dawn would be best. He’ll want to see you as soon as possible, right?”

It made the most sense to leave at dawn if they wanted to avoid running into others on the way to Valbean. Derbas nodded, dazed.

Was it hard to believe he was finally going to see the one he longed for? Aeryl didn’t understand Derbas’ desire for his adoptive father, Valbean, and simply pretended not to notice the sense of wrongness he felt.

“I’ll bring you something to eat, Your Highness! Please rest up!”

Derbas rushed out of the bathroom and returned with some light food.

“So you do know you messed up, huh?”

“Haha…”

Aeryl was starving and immediately dug into the food. Once his stomach was no longer empty, the anger flared up again, and he glared at Derbas.

“You rotten bastard!”

“I said I was sorry! Why are you only mad at me?”

“Then who else am I supposed to be mad at…?”

Wait. The Grand Duke left me behind too. Even if he was fooled by Derbas’ disguise…

No—what made it worse was that he was fooled.

‘He didn’t recognize me?’

‘You said I was special! That there was only me! That you loved me!’

Rationally, he knew he brought it on himself. But human emotions didn’t always follow logic.

“I’m going to the Grand Duke.”

“Whaaat? What are you going to do?”

He didn’t know yet. He just knew he needed to see him. Aeryl kicked the door open and stormed out.

Aeryl climbed up to the third floor and started searching for the Grand Duke. It wasn’t hard to guess where he’d be—he found him in the study on the second try. The first place he checked was the bedroom.

When the study door opened, the Grand Duke was seated at his desk, writing something. He looked up, his expression as blank and cold as usual, which only made Aeryl feel more hurt.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Aeryl asked sharply. Only then did the Grand Duke suddenly rise and stride over to pull him into a firm embrace.

“What are you doing?”

Aeryl tried to push him away, still sulking, but the Grand Duke didn’t budge. He let his pheromones mix with Aeryl’s, blending them together.

“I missed you.”

The Grand Duke’s words melted away the anger and disappointment that had driven Aeryl all the way here. Aeryl wrapped his arms around the Grand Duke’s waist and grumbled.

“We were just together a little while ago.”

“That’s different. Come here.”

The Grand Duke wrapped an arm around Aeryl’s shoulder and led him deeper into the study. He went to a long lounge chair, sat down first, and pulled Aeryl onto his lap, naturally positioning him in his embrace.

“The chair’s long. Did I have to sit like this?”

“There’s no fireplace in the study. It’s cold. We need to stay close.”

“That… makes sense.”

Aeryl let himself relax into the Grand Duke’s warmth, settling into a comfortable position. When the Grand Duke even pulled a blanket over him, the comfort rivaled the bliss of soaking in the bath earlier. The Grand Duke’s pheromones lingered warmly around them.

“You’re wearing one of the new outfits. It suits you.”

The Grand Duke’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Aeryl. Was this one of the new outfits? He’d just grabbed whatever was on hand. Honestly, he couldn’t even remember what they’d bought. The fact that the Grand Duke still noticed made Aeryl’s heart ache.

“Thanks… for the clothes.”

“It’s just one of the ones we had made. But for spring, we should call the tailor again and custom order some. Should’ve done that for winter too.”

“You would’ve offered, but I probably would’ve refused. It would’ve felt too much like a gift for a physician.”

“What about now?”

“Well… now we’re lovers. And besides, they say buying clothes is never just about the clothes.”

Aeryl spoke with a hint of playfulness, lowering his gaze. The Grand Duke smiled and leaned in for a kiss.

It started with simple kisses—pressing lips together, parting slightly to suck gently on each other’s lips. Then it deepened as they explored each other’s mouths.

“Haah… Your Grace.”

“Hiello. We’re lovers, aren’t we?”

The Grand Duke gave him permission to use his name for the first time.

“Hiello… It sounds a little awkward.”

Aeryl gave a shy smile. The Grand Duke returned a similar expression.

“Me too. I haven’t been called by my name since I was a child.”

“Call my name, too.”

“Aeryl.”

“Yes. I’m Aeryl.”

Not someone else—your Aeryl. Aeryl wrapped his arms tightly around Hiello’s neck, inhaling his pheromones deeply as he smothered his own over Hiello.

“Didn’t I say not to do things like this without permission?”

“You’d let me anyway.”

At Aeryl’s shamelessness, Hiello burst out laughing.

“You had this side to you? Cute.”

“Well… yeah.”

Hiello peppered Aeryl’s cheeks with kisses, then hugged him tightly again.

“Would you like to go to the festival with me tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes. If you’re up for it.”

He had told Derbas they’d go see Valbean, but he planned to sneak out at night, so it didn’t matter.

“Of course I’d love to! Wow, I’m already excited. From what I saw earlier, it looked like there’s a lot of fun stuff.”

Aeryl lightly filtered the festival scenes he’d glimpsed while wandering the alleys and shared them.

Hiello had seen it all during his patrols, but he still listened like he was hearing something new. Aeryl’s excitement was infectious, and the way he saw the festival made it seem so much more vibrant and fun than Hiello remembered.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

He echoed Aeryl’s excitement—and before he knew it, he really was looking forward to tomorrow’s festival.

Who would’ve thought his life would come to this? With a sense of wonder, he kissed Aeryl once more.

***

Late at night, well after sunset, it was almost time to close the town gates. The guards were stretching and beginning their final checks. Just then—

“Wait! Please, just a moment!”

A cart came barreling in from the distance, its driver frantic.

The guards waited. The man seemed desperate, and if the gates closed now, he’d have to sleep outside until they reopened at dawn. It was the festival, too—spirits were high.

“Ah, thank you so much.”

The cart driver was panting like he’d run all the way there himself, pulling out his identification documents from his coat. One guard gave him a once-over, relaxing slightly at the sight of his clearly Northern appearance.

There’d been rumors about some knight of the emperor trying to sneak back in after being exiled, so they’d grown wary of Southerners lately. This man being Northern was reassuring.

“I’ll need to check the cart. We’ve been ordered to tighten inspections lately.”

Another soldier hopped into the cart to check the cargo.

“Really? Things aren’t turning dangerous, are they? We’re supposed to perform in the streets.”

“Oh—are you with the Fire Circus? You were here last year too, right?”

Once they confirmed he was from a known troupe, the rest of the guards’ caution melted away.

“Yes, that’s us. One of my wheels broke, and I ended up late all on my own.”

The man looked exhausted as he explained.

“You must be dying to rest. Hey, anything weird in there?”

“Can’t see too well in the dark… What are these crates and cloths?”

“Props for the performance.”

“Ah, stage props, huh? Nothing dangerous then.”

The inspecting guard gave the cargo a cursory check and stepped down. It was the Fire Circus—hardly a threat—and they were eager to clock out.

“Take care, and good luck with the show.”

“Thank you.”

The cart passed through the gates without incident, driving a little further before stopping behind an inn where the troupe was staying.

“Ahhh…”

The driver climbed down and stretched with a groan. His body was stiff from driving nonstop without rest.

Just then, a large shadow leapt from the cart.

“Huh?”

The driver turned at the sudden presence. Seeing nothing, but feeling uneasy, he started to move around the cart to investigate—

“Hey! You finally made it!”

The inn’s back door slammed open and one of his troupe members ran out.

“Yeah! You all ditched me, and I had to make it here all on my own!”

“Come in! Let’s grab some stew and beer!”

The driver walked toward his friend, eager to complain over a hot meal and cold drink. He completely forgot about the strange presence just moments ago.

The inn door shut behind him.

Silence returned to the alley behind the inn. A man who had been hiding behind the cart quietly slid a sword into its sheath.

Keeping low, he slipped into the shadows of the alley. For a moment, the sun shaped insignia glinted from beneath his black cloak before vanishing again.

No one knew that the Fire Circus had smuggled a man into the city.

***

The next morning, the Grand Duke and Aeryl met in the first-floor hall.

Both looked a little different than usual.