TOPWL 165

“I’m fine. It was just the dust.”

“Drink it anyway. The towel was pretty cold. I didn’t notice since I was somewhere warm.”

At Khalid’s words, which brought back memories of the previous night, Yudit’s cheeks flushed red.

Noticing this, Khalid reached over and ruffled Yudit’s hair affectionately.

Yudit turned his head away, embarrassed under that steady gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’ve grown a lot.”

“Did I gain weight?”

“Well, you’ve filled out a bit, but that’s not what I meant.”

Khalid lightly tapped Yudit’s round forehead with a finger.

“You said you didn’t like doing it in the water, but you were fine with sucking me off.”

Yudit clapped a hand over Khalid’s mouth at the blunt remark.

Khalid, still holding his wrist, kissed the palm and smiled.

“It made me happy. That our relationship has changed to the point where we can say: ‘I don’t like that,’ or ‘I do like this.’”

“I… wasn’t like that before?”

“You couldn’t be. You did try to express things. Like glaring at me—your eyes would get like this.”

“When did I ever…”

Yudit pouted.

“It’s a good thing. Having someone who can look at the same things from an equal place. I’ve dreamed of that for a long time. I was half ready to give up on it.”

Khalid spoke gently, holding Yudit close and patting his back.

“I’m glad I listened to Bashur that day.”

Yudit, too, could easily recall that day.

He met Khalid at the crossroads of life and death.

That night, when he’d risked his life to make a deal with him, he never imagined he would end up in bed with the man who tried to kill him—

That they would kiss, entwine tongues, surrender their most sensitive places, and caress each other’s bodies.

“I’m glad I met you too, Khalid.”

At Yudit’s sincere words, Khalid looked a little surprised before smiling.

Just then, the attendant entered with the floral tea.

Reading the room, he said nothing, bowed quietly, and left.

Khalid touched the teacup and said:

“It’s still hot. Let’s wait a bit.”

“Yes,” Yudit replied and snuggled back into his arms.

Khalid ran his fingers through Yudit’s hair.

“I wish I could clear away all the obstacles in your path.”

“You’re already doing so much.”

“More, so that there’s nothing left standing between you and me.”

Khalid was the empire’s only duke.

There was very little he couldn’t do.

Had Yudit been an ordinary omega, there would have been no real obstacles between them.

But Yudit was a disfavored, unwanted prince—and one of the competitors for the imperial throne.

He suddenly felt a pang of guilt for Khalid.

It felt like Khalid’s regret over not being able to do even more was all because of him.

“You’re thinking something weird again.”

Khalid pressed his index finger between Yudit’s brows.

Apparently, he’d started frowning without realizing.

Rubbing the spot between his eyebrows, Yudit licked his dry lips.

“I was just… feeling a little sorry toward you.”

“Don’t.”

Khalid clicked his tongue.

“I’m happy just to have you. I just hope you’re happy to have me too. That’s all.”

Khalid’s simple words struck a chord deep in Yudit’s heart.

He looked at Khalid, eyes brimming with emotion.

“I am… I’m really happy to have you.”

“Then that’s enough.”

Khalid handed him the tea.

It had cooled to the perfect temperature for drinking.

***

“Your Highness, please look at this!”

A child looked up at Yudit with bright, hopeful eyes.

In their small hands was a bowl of bread dough.

“Do you think it’s risen enough?”

Yudit stared at the dough with a conflicted expression.

To be honest, it was his first time baking bread, too.

Strictly speaking, he should have been with the students, not the teachers.

But the children were so excited that Yudit was baking with them that they kept running up to him asking, “How’s this?” or “Is this okay?”

Sweating nervously, Yudit glanced toward the other instructors.

They smiled warmly and either nodded or shook their heads to help him out.

This time, it was a nod.

“Yes, I think that looks about right.”

“Yes!”

The child responded brightly and immediately turned to their friends to brag: “His Highness said my dough’s perfect!”

As a result, other children came swarming in, and Yudit once again found himself breaking into a nervous sweat.

The children had recently started making their own food.

The younger ones only helped with serving, but the older students were allowed to use fire and handle knives.

Perhaps because of the joy of eating something made with their own hands, nine out of ten students these days said their dream was to become a chef.

When Yudit expressed concern about this, one of the teachers laughed and said that whenever they held special lectures about other jobs, about seventy percent would switch dreams again.

“Alright, shall we put the bread into the oven now? Who wants to do it?”

The children shot their hands into the air.

As Yudit looked around to see who would be picked, one child stood out amid all the excitement—Luka.

Luka stood among the others with a gloomy expression.

He looked even more pale than the last time Yudit had seen him.

Wondering if he might be ill, Yudit watched him. Luka noticed his gaze and flinched.

“Luka?”

“Oh. Then Luka, it is.”

A nearby teacher, misunderstanding Yudit’s call, pointed to Luka.

Caught up in the moment, Yudit ended up putting the bread into the oven with him and took the chance to check Luka’s condition more closely.

Though his chubby cheeks and clear skin were a sign of good care, his complexion didn’t look as healthy as it used to when he’d still been grimy and scrappy.

“Luka, have you been sleeping poorly at night?”

Even at the gentle question from someone he liked so much, Luka only blinked and said nothing.

After placing the bread in the oven, he quickly slipped back into the group.

Yudit tried to call after him, but he had already vanished.

“Your Highness! Look at the bread I made!”

Another child suddenly shoved a piece of bread toward him.

He was about to pass by, but the child’s talent stopped him short.

It wasn’t unusual for kids to press flour into flat faces or stick on eyes and noses—but this child had gone so far as to sculpt an actual face.

Though it was a bit rough, the features and hair were clear enough to know exactly who it was meant to be.

“Th-this is…!”

The teachers were speechless.

What the child had made was Yudit’s face.

As if just a face wasn’t enough, the child had even shaped a neck—making it look eerily like a severed head from a guillotine.

Pale with shock, the teachers couldn’t even muster an excuse as they looked back and forth between Yudit and the child.

“You made me? Why?”

“Because… Your Highness is the prettiest person I’ve ever seen! If you were a jewel and I were rich, I’d definitely buy you!”

“Teacher!”

Looking to the side, Yudit saw a sensitive teacher beginning to faint.

Yudit, staring into the child’s innocent eyes, hesitated—should he praise them or warn them this could be dangerous?

After a moment’s thought, Yudit made up his mind.

He gently knelt down on one knee and met the child’s gaze.

“I see. You did a great job. You seem to be really good at making things—maybe you should try sculpting something other than bread too.

Once this bread is done baking, may I keep it as a keepsake?”

“Yes!”

The child nodded happily.

There was no way Yudit could bring himself to bite into a bread version of his own severed head—this was his way of quietly setting it aside.

Only the teachers, who caught the deeper meaning, sighed in relief.

And so, on the tray waiting to go into the oven, one more loaf shaped like Yudit’s head was added.

“Also, people aren’t things you can buy or sell. Every person deserves to be respected as an individual. So it’s best not to say things like ‘buying someone.’ Long ago, there was a saying…”

But the lecture had begun, and the child’s expression grew darker.

Still, the teachers thought it was a fair price to pay and let Yudit continue his moral guidance as much as he wanted.

Meanwhile, the smell of baking bread began to fill the air.

“…and that’s why, okay?”

“Yes…”

“Oh, and another thing—”

“The bread’s done baking!”

The child, as if thrown a lifeline, perked up instantly.

Still unsure whether it was okay to leave, they glanced at Yudit.

Though he hadn’t finished yet, Yudit let the child go, figuring there’d be another chance.

The child didn’t look back and hurried off to the oven.

When the oven opened, the scent of bread washed over them—a devastatingly delicious smell.

Taking the bread out was the job of the adults.

The teachers rotated in turns, warning the children not to touch the hot trays.

Once the bread had cooled a bit, the teachers sliced it open and filled it with prepared vegetables and meat to make sandwiches.

Today’s meal was that sandwich, served with milk.

Each child took a seat and began nibbling at a loaf as big as their own head.

“Your Highness, here you go. It came out really well today.”

“Thank you.”

Yudit took the sandwich and found a spot to sit.

Usually, the children would crowd around him, but perhaps still stunned by his earlier scolding, none of them came near.

A shadow suddenly fell over Yudit.

When he looked up, he saw a familiar face smiling down at him.

“Your Highness, have you been well?”