TOPWL 51

“Hey, Huyan. Why would you say that? I was going to say it myself.”

“……?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. The truth is, I already knew. I just wanted to see how far you’d go for us, so I acted a bit spoiled. But you really did everything for us.”

“……I see.”

“So, there’s no need to worry.”

“If Your Highness had even looked slightly displeased or angry, I would’ve stopped right away. But you didn’t. I honestly wondered if you were really a prince.”

Yudit flinched a little at Wadiram’s words. Wadiram occasionally crossed the line with his remarks, but Yudit never found him truly rude. Perhaps it was because Yudit wasn’t a typical prince. Having grown up roughly came in handy at times like this.

“I apologize,” Wadiram said, bowing his head.

Yudit waved his hand.

“It’s all right. I didn’t think it was particularly rude, and thanks to that, I felt more at ease.”

“I figured Your Highness would say that. But still, from the middle on, I really meant it. Eating with Your Highness, dancing in the rain—all of that was wonderful.”

Wadiram smiled playfully.

“By the way, aren’t you curious about the voting results?”

“Wadiram,” Huyan said, scolding Wadiram for suddenly cutting in. Yudit swallowed hard. Of course he was curious. But was it really all right to ask? As Yudit hesitated, Wadiram smiled.

“I voted for Prince Yudit.”

“Th-thank you.”

“……I voted for Your Highness as well.”

“Most people probably voted for Your Highness. Except for Lord Dahab.”

“We were told to keep our votes confidential.”

“But Prince Yudit is a friend. Friends shouldn’t have secrets from each other.”

Huyan rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Honestly, even Lord Dahab probably wanted to vote for Your Highness. He drinks the tea you gave him at every meal. But Prince Azil gave him a much bigger gift.”

“A gift……?”

“Yes, one of Herut’s national treasures that had vanished a hundred years ago. It was in Adanauer’s hands. He also gave many other things, which delayed our departure. They couldn’t leave them behind—each one was of national treasure level. They even had to buy another carriage and more provisions, which took extra time.”

The gifts would’ve had to come out of the budget, but looted goods didn’t cost anything to return. Azil had taken full advantage of that. No doubt it was the emperor’s idea. Yudit thought of Azil. He was cute and pure. He laughed when he was happy and cried when he was sad. Only he could maintain such innocence in the imperial palace. Yudit’s chest tightened a little at the thought of his unspoiled nature.

“……I see.”

He had tried not to show it, but his voice dropped despite himself. Noticing the shift, Wadiram became unusually perceptive.

“Prince, Huyan and I both voted for you. And there’s one more bit of good news.”

Wadiram puffed his chest and spoke with a slightly smug tone.

“What is it?”

“I’m staying here in Adanauer.”

“Really?”

Yudit’s eyes widened. Wadiram grinned, clearly satisfied with the reaction.

“Herut and Adanauer are establishing diplomatic relations. On top of that, there are roads to build, trade routes to negotiate, and all sorts of things to work out. So someone had to stay to handle those decisions. I volunteered!”

As Wadiram shrugged proudly, Yudit narrowed his eyes.

“Did you volunteer because of Sonia, by any chance?”

Wadiram didn’t answer—he only gave a sheepish grin. That was all the answer Yudit needed. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple.

“The moment I met her, I felt it was destiny.”

“You know, there are probably quite a few people who’ve felt destined to be with Sonia……”

“I know. But even so, how could I go back to Herut without even saying a word to her after feeling that kind of fate?”

Wadiram’s expression had turned into that of a man deeply in love. Yudit sighed quietly. If he tried to talk him out of it now, it would only fan the flames. Then Huyan, who had been silently listening, finally spoke.

“……I will return as well.”

“……What?”

“Huh?”

Yudit and Wadiram turned to him in surprise.

“I heard there will be a swordsmanship tournament in the spring. Wadiram and I were originally supposed to participate.”

“Ah… Then wouldn’t it be better to stay in Adanauer until the tournament?”

“I’ll return home first to apply for long-term residence in Adanauer. I must go back at least once.”

“What? You didn’t say anything about that to me!”

“I just decided.”

Wadiram looked at Huyan in disbelief but soon chuckled.

“You can’t live without me, can you?”

“Shut it.”

As the two bickered, Yudit looked at them with envy in his eyes.

“Then… Wadiram, don’t you need to stop by Herut?”

“Oh, I’m fine. I’m not royalty, after all.”

“……What?”

Then Huyan was royalty? Yudit looked at him, and Huyan made a troubled face.

“Wadiram, you…”

“Oh, come on. The envoy mission’s done. What’s the harm in saying it now?”

So it wasn’t something they’d planned to reveal. Yudit gained a lot of information from this, but he also realized he shouldn’t tell Wadiram anything important in the future.

“Huyan… you’re royalty.”

“I have no claim to succession. I wasn’t even raised like royalty.”

Yudit tilted his head. For an Alpha, wasn’t being born royal enough to claim succession rights? As if to answer his unspoken question, Wadiram explained.

“Huyan is the child of the late king. The current monarch is the late king’s younger brother. Huyan’s existence was only revealed after the former king passed away.”

“Ahh…”

Wadiram had cleared it up thoroughly. Yudit wondered if it was even appropriate for him to hear this, and glanced at Huyan, who let out a quiet sigh.

“And why do you say you have no claim to succession? All the king’s children are degenerates, and barely hanging on—”

“Wadiram.”

Huyan scowled and called his name in warning. Wadiram quickly clamped his mouth shut and looked wary.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t insult them any further.”

“I said I’m sorry.”

Wadiram crouched low, apologetically. Huyan glared at him for a moment, then sighed. Things must have been complicated over there, too. Yudit decided not to pry further and changed the subject.

“It’s sad to part, but I’m glad this isn’t really goodbye.”

Hearing that, Huyan looked at Yudit quietly. Wondering if he’d said something wrong, Yudit replayed his words in his head. Then Huyan spoke.

“……I’ll return as soon as I can.”

“Huh? There’s no rush.”

“……Understood.”

Yudit turned to look out the window. Dawn was breaking.

“When do you leave? I’ll see you off.”

“No need. Please rest.”

“I’m almost fully recovered.”

Despite the back-and-forth, Yudit was eventually forced to lie back down in bed. Neither of them told him when they were leaving. As Yudit made a baffled expression, Wadiram chuckled and even pulled the blanket over him.

“Well then, we’ll be off. See you soon, Your Highness.”

“Stay well until we meet again.”

Left alone, Yudit looked around from where he lay.

‘Was my room always this big?’

The presence of those two had been so overwhelming that their absence made the room feel vast. Yudit pulled the blanket over himself and curled up. It felt like a storm had passed. He was just glad their meeting didn’t end here.

“Hey, wasn’t it obvious earlier?”

“What was?”

“That you like the prince.”

At Wadiram’s remark, Huyan stopped and stared at him.

“It’s not like that.”

“Yeah, right. If the prince had said he was coming with us, you would’ve spent your whole life in Herut and never even looked back toward Adanauer.”

“I said it’s not like that.”

“I bet the prince noticed at least a little.”

“No, he didn’t…”

Huyan, growing annoyed by Wadiram’s teasing, suddenly went quiet.

“……Do you think he noticed?”

“No clue. He seems pretty sharp, but I’m not sure when it comes to stuff like that.”

“……Yeah.”

“What, do you really like him? Since when? Come on, tell me.”

Huyan ignored him and kept walking forward with long strides.