TOPWL 159

“…Author: Yvonne Raylack.”

The moment Yudit read that line, a strange feeling swept over him. It felt as though he had been waiting for that name for a very long time.

“Thank you for honoring my wish, Jayna.”

Publishing the book under Bonin’s name would’ve guaranteed commercial success—it was a name still widely recognized. But putting it out under a new author’s name, especially a woman’s, ran the risk of being overlooked. Yudit had also worried about that and suggested adding Bonin’s name to the author bio, but Yvonne had flatly refused.

“It’s nothing. I’m just happy I could publish the book at all.”

Jayna was visibly unable to contain her excitement. It wasn’t just from running—her whole face was flushed.

“I’ll pass it on to Yvonne.”

“Yes, please.”

Yvonne still avoided direct contact with the publisher. There were only a handful of people she felt comfortable around in the first place. She was oddly at ease with Selena, despite trying to keep her identity as Bonin a secret. When Yudit once asked about it, Yvonne had said Selena was “so twitchy and easy to fluster it’s actually cute.” Hopefully, she didn’t tease her too much.

“Jayna, have you had lunch yet?”

“Ah, not yet.”

“Then shall we eat together at the student cafeteria?”

“Huh? Is that okay?”

“Technically, meals are for students and teachers only, but… sometimes it’s fine.”

“Then… I’ll take you up on that.”

Looking a bit sheepish, Jayna followed behind Yudit. When they entered the cafeteria, everyone’s attention turned to him.

“Teacher! Teacher Yudit!”

“Sit here! Eat with us!”

The students eagerly welcomed him, and even the teachers subtly tidied up empty seats, pretending not to watch. From behind him, Jayna mumbled,

“Your Highness… you’re really popular.”

“I’m grateful they like me. Though I’m not quite sure why they’re this welcoming…”

He didn’t remember being this popular before, but lately, more and more people seemed drawn to him. Jayna looked at him for a moment, then awkwardly cleared her throat and turned away.

Today’s lunch, as one of the students had wished, was cream stew. A simple but satisfying meal of thick slices of bread, creamy stew, and tangy pickles.

Normally, Yudit would sit among the students and chat as they ate, but he didn’t want Jaina to feel left out, so they took seats toward the end of the room.

“Ah… it’s delicious again today.”

Yudit smiled happily after dipping the rye bread into the stew. Naturally, all eyes turned to him. The attention made him self-conscious, and he lowered his gaze, letting his smile fade.

“It is good, but… Your Highness, why do you keep speaking so formally with me? You said you’d talk casually.”

“Oh, did I? I’ve been mixing speech levels a lot lately—guess I got confused.”

“Are there really that many people you have to speak formally to?”

“This is a school, after all. I’m here as a teacher. If we’re equals, it feels unfair for me to be the only one using informal speech.”

Jayna gave him a look that was somewhere between understanding and confusion.

“You really care about things like that, huh?”

“I do. So don’t worry about it too much.”

Realizing that Yudit didn’t use formal speech just with her made it easier for Jayna to accept. As they chatted about the publishing process, Yudit lowered his voice under the growing weight of others’ stares. Jayna, too, fell silent.

“Um, Jayna. Lately… people have been staring at me a lot. Do you know why?”

“…Pardon?”

“I mean, there’s definitely been an increase in the way people look at me. It wasn’t like this before…”

Yudit was more accustomed to being looked at with disdain: like filth, like something pitiful or disgusting. He had lived for over twenty years under gazes like that. But recently, things had changed. Was it because they didn’t know he was that prince? Or because he was the duke’s lover? It couldn’t just be because he was a teacher—no one looked at the other teachers like this.

While he was pondering, he glanced up and saw that Jaina’s face had gone bright red.

“Jayna? Are you feeling sick?”

“…You really don’t know, do you?”

“Huh? If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking.”

Jayna swallowed dryly and, after a moment’s hesitation, opened her mouth as if bracing herself.

“It’s because, Your Highness…”

“Yudit!”

Just then, Khalid burst into the student cafeteria. He was visibly agitated—a rare sight. Yudit’s eyes widened in shock like a startled rabbit. Everyone else froze and turned to stare at the unexpected intrusion. Unfazed, Khalid strode straight toward Yudit and pulled him into an embrace.

“K-Khalid?”

“Everyone’s watching.”

The students, the teachers—even Jayna—were speechless, staring at the passionate embrace of the two lovers. Yudit wished Khalid would let go already, but Khalid looked so desperate that he couldn’t bring himself to push him away.

“What happened?”

“…Prince Hiore escaped.”

Yudit’s expression hardened instantly.

“How? He was still out cold this morning.”

“He slipped out through the garden. At that level of movement, the physician thinks he must’ve been awake for at least two days.”

Only then did Yudit realize why Khalid had clung to him so urgently. He must’ve thought Hiore had been faking his condition in order to get close to Yudit and assassinate him. Yudit gently patted Khalid’s back and stood up. He could feel Khalid’s heart pounding through their embrace.

“There’s an empty classroom next door. Let’s talk there.”

Even alone, Yudit already drew too much attention. With Khalid around, it was overwhelming. He quickly excused himself to Jayna and led Khalid into the adjacent room.

“Khalid, here’s some warm tea. Try to drink a little.”

Yudit poured hot black tea and set it in front of him. Khalid, still gripping Yudit’s hand, picked up the cup. His hands trembled as he brought it to his lips.

Just then, someone knocked on the classroom door. A knight, too large for the entrance, ducked his head and stepped inside.

“Your Highness. We found the individual you asked about.”

“Be specific.”

The knight glanced briefly at Yudit, then spoke as ordered.

“Prince Hiore purchased food and tea from a luxury boutique. The amount was enough to last about a week, suggesting he’s preparing to return to the territory under his jurisdiction. Three of our knights are monitoring him. So far, he has not shown any signs of asking about Prince Yudit’s whereabouts.”

Yudit let out a quiet breath of relief. But Khalid didn’t look nearly as reassured.

“Send a carriage to escort Prince Hiore comfortably back to his territory. Leave no room for complaint. Also, restrict access to his lands for the next three months—no outsiders allowed without approval. That includes merchants, nobles, and members of the royal family.”

Though he said “escort comfortably,” it was effectively an expulsion.

“Yes, and…”

The knight pulled a note from inside his coat.

“What’s that?”

“It was found in Prince Hiore’s guest room. Written in his own hand.”

Khalid took the note and read it. He sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“Check if there’s any other trace left behind. And find out if he had contact with anyone.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Assign two more shadows to Prince Hiore. Add another to Prince Reginald as well.”

The knight blinked in surprise, lifting his head. He looked between Khalid and Yudit before bowing deeply again and leaving the room.

Once the door closed, only Yudit and Khalid remained. Khalid studied Yudit’s calm face for a long moment—then pulled him back into a tight embrace.

Yudit felt like he’d caused Khalid a great deal of worry. He returned the embrace, gently patting Khalid’s back.

“I’m sorry, Khalid.”

“For what?”

“For making you worry. For choosing something that put that kind of stress on you.”

“In the end, I agreed with your decision. And I’m the one responsible for protecting you after that choice. I didn’t do that properly. So if anyone needs to apologize, it’s me—not you.”

“But why do you think you’re responsible for protecting me? You’re my lover, not my bodyguard.”

“You’re my lover—and this is my domain. That makes it my responsibility. Someone who could’ve killed you spent two days pretending to be unconscious, then snuck out of the estate. If you’d run into him while still in the castle… you might’ve died. And that terrifies me.”