SLDS 19

“…Isn’t that good enough?”

At the voice that cautiously chimed in, Cecil whipped his head around. The apprentice knight who had been resting with him under the shade of a tree scratched his head as if embarrassed.

Was his name Roco? For a knight, his build was slight, so he had been partnered with Cecil for training. Of course, Roco’s skills were far superior.

Roco’s cheeks reddened as he smiled awkwardly. He risked being rude and brought his face right up to Cecil’s ear.

“It’s a secret, but I, too, actually like men, just like you, Mr. Cecil. Maybe that’s why, but honestly, my eyes enjoy the view at this time of day.”

“Is that why you joined the knighthood?”

“No! That has nothing to do with it! It’s been my dream to join the knighthood from the very beginning!”

Roco spoke with fervor. The young man, who admired the knighthood, exclaimed with his pebble-black eyes sparkling.

“I will definitely become a great knight like the Commander!”

Cecil recognized the feeling contained in those eyes. Such affectionate eyes were commonly seen in those who had fallen in love.

“You like Claude, don’t you?”

“…Yes. He’s cool, isn’t he?”

“That guy?”

Cecil tilted his head back and briefly stared at Claude, who was talking with someone. Phew, a dry laugh escaped along with a puff of air.

“You have terrible taste.”

“Excuse me? Knight Commander Vandel is considered one of the best husband prospects in the empire… just how high are your standards?”

Cecil just smiled faintly instead of answering.

There was one thing many people misunderstood. Cecil did not feel sexual attraction toward men in general; it was just that the person he liked happened to be a man.

The only person he had ever given his heart to was so noble and beautiful that he could not be compared to anyone else in the world. There was a reason Cecil’s standards had become high.

“High enough that you would be surprised if you knew.”

A refreshing breeze that blew from somewhere wrapped around Cecil’s entire body. As the sweltering heat cooled, Cecil looked at the Saint Palace, visible in the distance, with a more comfortable expression.

Even though he had been given another chance at life, he still could not forget Alexis and was repeating a life full of lingering attachments.

Is this really the right path, for a heart that can’t even be confessed? Even when he asked himself, the answer was already set. It was his fate to love Alexis until he died.

✽ ✽ ✽

The afternoon sunlight shining through the window warmed the crown of Cecil’s head and his left cheek.

It was so warm that, thanks to it, Cecil dozed off like a sick chicken throughout the entire lesson.

It was no use even when Viscount Gerhalt slammed the desk, thump, thump. His slightly opened eyelids kept sinking, and his head nodded up and down as if keeping time.

It wasn’t that he was feigning sleep because he didn’t want to study; he had really fallen dead asleep from exhaustion.

“If you truly wish to sleep, please solve all these problems and then you may sleep!”

When the problem sheet was presented, Cecil glanced up with half-closed eyes. He propped his chin on his hand at an angle, then, without hesitation, scribbled down the answers and threw down his pen. While he was sleeping with his head down, Viscount Gerhalt began to grade the paper.

“Huh?”

It was a perfect score, no doubt about it. How could this be when he had let the entire lesson go in one ear and out the other!

Viscount Gerhalt stared blankly at the sleeping Cecil with a sense of wonder and suspicion. The utterly unpredictable man had indeed fallen into a sweet slumber with his head on the desk.

After recovering his stamina with a short nap, Cecil would become bright-eyed again. Afterwards, he would head straight for Alexis’s office.

His afternoon schedule had become packed, so he could only stay in the office for an hour or two at most, but it was an important time in Cecil’s day that could absolutely not be skipped.

It had become surprisingly quiet after the debutante ball. Cecil would sit blankly guarding the front of the desk, and if he happened to make eye contact with Alexis, he would flash a bright smile. Of course, the reaction was not very good.

Lately, Alexis seemed extremely busy.

He had to take care of the knighthood, establish a new guard post in the Black Forest, and there was always a line of nobles for meetings to build connections.

The state affairs entrusted to him by the emperor were always piled up like a tower next to his desk. They were the main culprits that made him stay in his office late into the night, because if he didn’t finish them today, a larger amount would pile up tomorrow.

Due to his haggardness, his well-defined nose and jawline had become even sharper, and a vertical line always formed between his eyebrows when he looked at documents. The act of pressing his temples seemed to have become a habit now.

He wondered if he was sleeping properly. Alexis, who seemed more sensitive than usual, looked as if his fatigue had reached its limit.

Cecil couldn’t watch any longer and threw out a word.

“Your Highness, please give me something to do.”

“……”

“I’m free. Feel free to work me as much as you want. You saw that I’m quite good at my work, didn’t you?”

As always, a sharp gaze flew over and landed on him.

Whenever Cecil said such things, he would dismiss it as nonsense and not even react, but for some reason today, on a whim, he pushed a few documents his way.

Of course, it was menial work that even the attendants could have done.

Cecil knew that Alexis would not entrust him with any important work, so he accepted even that willingly. If he could help, what did pride matter?

While Cecil was faithfully carrying out his assigned tasks, Alexis briefly left his seat for a scheduled audience.

Whenever he left, the attendants who always stood guard in front of the desk also disappeared along with him. It was because a slight disturbance had occurred outside, and they had gone out to handle it.

Cecil took advantage of the empty room to peek at Alexis’s desk.

On the cluttered desk, a memo scribbled in a familiar handwriting was visible. Cecil propped himself on the corner of the desk and quickly took in the contents.

Just then, the door opened and the sound of a presence was heard. Cecil quickly straightened his posture. The attendants, seeing him standing right next to the desk, sent him a suspicious glance.

“Should I just put the documents here?”

At times like these, one had to act brazenly.

Cecil, just in case, roughly tossed the bundle of parchment he had brought onto Alexis’s desk. Then he dusted his hands, pat, pat, and stretched out his arms.

“I’m tired. I’ve finished my work, so I’ll be going now.”

“Mr. Cecil, we will escort you to your palace.”

“That’s fine. You all just guard the office properly. Where did you all wander off to when His Highness wasn’t even here?”

He deliberately chided them and walked out with his hands clasped behind his back. Even his retreating figure, walking at a leisurely pace, exuded a sense of ease.

The moment Cecil entered the Peridot Palace, he quickened his pace. He headed straight for the study and found his own book of prophecies, which he had hidden deep inside.

As he flipped through the pages, swish, swish, he saw a meticulously recorded list of nobles. According to the memo he had secretly glanced at earlier, Alexis was currently searching for a chief aide.

“No, your chief aide will backstab you spectacularly later on. Are you telling me to watch that happen again?”

Cecil quickly scanned the list. An sense of urgency arose from his desire to pick out a suitable person for him.

While chewing his lips and rolling his eyes, he finally found a familiar name.

“Yes, here he is.”

The corners of Cecil’s lips curved into a circle. He could declare that there was no one more suitable than this man. Tristan Dyke. The second son of the Count Dyke family.

He was a person who could not inherit the title because he was the second son, but his abilities were outstanding. He would later enter the Imperial Palace and serve as His Majesty’s administrative secretary. Cecil remembered him clearly, as he had had numerous clashes of opinion with Tristan when he was active as a strategist.

He was smart and, above all, his high self-esteem was a characteristic that made him stand firm, belonging to no faction. He was not easy to handle, but his excellence also lay in the fact that once he swore loyalty, he would trust and follow only that person until death.

If he could make him the Crown Prince’s close aide, it would surely be of great help to Alexis in expanding his influence within the Imperial Palace in the future.

“The problem is that my relationship with him is awkward….”

Cecil drummed on the desk and fell into deep thought. A sigh already escaped him at the thought of facing that stubborn Tristan again.

The only fortunate thing was that, chronologically, Tristan and Cecil had no connection yet.

…Should I try to gently coax him? At the suddenly occurring proposition, Cecil pressed the inside of his cheek firmly with the tip of his tongue.

It seemed there was a good chance of success. He was already well-versed in Tristan’s personality and way of speaking. If he knew his opponent inside and out, winning them over would not be difficult.

The plan gradually became more concrete. At the thought of being able to help Alexis, his heart pounded for no reason.

What was there to put off? He had to execute it immediately. Cecil let out a long breath and shouted loudly toward the outside.

“Leo! Bring me some stationery!”

✽ ✽ ✽

Late in the evening, Cecil, who had visited the count’s residence, confidently presented his invitation to Count Alfonso, who came out to greet him.

Count Alfonso was known as a celebrity in high society. As he had a wide network of connections and loved people, he kept his residence open at all times and used it as a gathering place. His residence was tantamount to a gateway to high society.

At Cecil’s sudden visit, Count Alfonso was in a slightly dumbfounded state. Although he was giving him a cordial welcome, it was filled with awkwardness.

A letter had arrived out of the blue last night saying he wanted to participate in the gathering, so he had sent an invitation, but he hadn’t expected him to actually show up.

“Thank you for granting my request, though it must have been a bother.”

“A bother? It is an honor to have you.”

Although his expression screamed, You really came?, Count Alfonso skillfully guided Cecil inside. As he was a member of the imperial family, he had no choice but to serve him unconditionally.

While salons were mainly held during the day, clubs always started in the evening after the sun had set.

The unique feature of a club was that it was a social gathering for male nobles. Most of them relieved the fatigue of the day by enjoying alcohol and entertainment. The stories shared by the prim and proper gentlemen gathered there were not much different from those at a salon. They were mostly gossip related to society and current affairs.

The moment Cecil entered, the room became momentarily chilly, and the gazes of the guests who had arrived earlier focused on him. Half of the reactions were surprise, and the other half were looks of disapproval.

Cecil simply waved his hand at the hazy cigarette smoke that had spread through the air, showing no sign of nervousness. On the contrary, he flashed a bright smile toward the gentlemen.

It was just that he didn’t use it, but Cecil had a natural talent for captivating people.