SLDS 28

“Adrian. Don’t you think you’re being too meddlesome?”

“……”

He had expected that Alexis would not have anything favorable to say.

Was that all? He was considerably angry right now. Unlike his dry voice, which betrayed no emotion, Cecil could see the fist propping up his chin gradually tightening. The veins standing out on the back of his hand were so distinct that they made even the person watching feel tense.

Above all, the stare boring into his face was so piercing it was hard to meet.

Cecil rolled his lips inward, carefully choosing his next words. He knew his actions right now were an overstep of his authority, but there was no other way.

“Loco Maxwell’s mental state is currently very unstable. He needs to be protected separately and requires continuous, careful observation.”

“Are you telling the Crown Prince of the empire to personally look after a mere squire.”

“I am asking you to take responsibility until the end, as he is a member of the Knight Order.”

“Somehow, it’s getting harder and harder to tolerate you.”

Alexis threw the document he was holding onto the desk. He leaned his head back and let out a bitter laugh for a moment, and when his face returned to its original position, only a cold cynicism remained.

He glared intently at Cecil.

“Loco Maxwell has not yet had his knighting ceremony. Although he is receiving basic training, he is not a proper member of the Imperial Knight Order, and I have already taken appropriate follow-up measures. Enduring it from here on out depends on his own mindset. If he is so weak-willed that he cannot even endure that much, it means he was unqualified to join the Knight Order in the first place.”

“……”

“Moreover, this is our Knight Order’s problem. Meaning, it is not your place to interfere. Do you think you’ve become a part of the Knight Order just because you trained alongside them for a bit?”

He then kicked his chair back and stood up. It was because he deemed it meaningless to listen to Cecil’s demands any longer.

Alexis quickly straightened his clothes. Then, as he turned to leave the office, Cecil blocked his path. He even audaciously grabbed onto the hem of his clothes.

“Your Highness, please reconsider just once. The trauma from sexual abuse has more severe aftereffects than you think.”

“Move.”

“Loco is your knight and a citizen of the empire! If you leave him like this, something bad will surely, ugh!”

In that instant, a large hand grabbed Cecil by the scruff of his neck and simultaneously threw his body onto the desk. Not only was he slammed onto the scattered documents, but Cecil also struggled for breath against the force pressing down on his throat.

Alexis pinned down his flailing legs with his knee.

“Know your place. How far do I have to indulge you? Isn’t loitering around by my side enough for you?”

The elbow he had bumped earlier screamed in pain. His neck was squeezed so tightly it felt like it would break, and he couldn’t even exhale easily. But what was more agonizing was Alexis’s gaze, filled with loathing, which he faced up close.

It was such a familiar expression that there was nothing new about it. Alexis had always looked at him with those eyes.

He had tried countless times to repair their relationship, but in the end, this was the extent of what was between Alexis and him. The hatred and distrust rooted in his heart would not be easily resolved.

Cecil closed his eyes in resignation.

Right, you wouldn’t know why I’m trying so desperately. You wouldn’t understand either.

His eyes grew hot, but he clenched his jaw and held it in. The struggling movements also came to a halt.

Before he knew it, the grip that had been tightly squeezing his windpipe loosened. Alexis pushed his upper body up, swallowing his ragged breaths.

The sensation of having choked the slender neck still lingered on the hand he had lowered. As if to shake it off, Alexis clenched and unclenched his fist tightly.

In the meantime, Cecil turned to his side and let out a series of small coughs. A distinct bloodstain remained on his trembling arm.

Seeing it, Alexis’s eyes narrowed into a thin line. But he soon erased the sliver of sympathy and said.

“I’ll warn you one last time. Know your place.”

Alexis turned away, throwing the sharp notice at him.

Bang, the door slammed shut as if it would break, and Cecil was left alone in the quieted office. His body, lying sprawled on the desk, couldn’t get up for a long time as he swallowed his sorrow.

✽ ✽ ✽

The wound left on Cecil’s body was larger than he thought.

The chamberlains were aghast when they saw his blood-soaked clothes and brought the palace physician on their own, but Cecil adamantly refused to be examined.

Showing his bare body to someone was not easy. Although there weren’t many who could read the numbers written in the ancient language, the marks that looked like dots at a glance changed every time, so it would surely look suspicious.

For that reason, Cecil applied medicine to the deep bruises on his shoulders and the wounds on the back of his arms by himself.

As Cecil tended to his own wounds while looking in the mirror, his expression was as impassive as usual, and he even looked faintly melancholic.

“…Mr. Cecil. It would be best for you to refrain from swordsmanship training for the time being.”

After some time had passed, Leo placed a warm milk tea on the table and broached the subject with difficulty.

He knew well how rude it was to offer advice to a member of the imperial family. But Leo genuinely cared for his master, so he had to say what needed to be said.

“Do you also think I’m doing something beyond my station?”

“Of course not. I am only saying this because I am concerned for your well-being, Mr. Cecil. Your physical condition isn’t good right now… and above all, you might get hurt if you get involved with someone who is not in their right mind.”

“I know, but… it’s not easy.”

Cecil let out a heavy sigh and lay down on the sofa. His aching limbs went limp. Even when he tried to erase his thoughts, Loco’s image kept circling in his mind.

Only someone who has experienced it can know how terrible this feeling is right now.

He probably feels disgusted and filthy. Unable to vent his anger, he will become more vicious, and because of that, the people around Loco will surely distance themselves from him more and more.

That was why he couldn’t just pretend not to know. Cecil gathered his thoughts for a moment, then pushed himself up using the armrest of the sofa.

“I’m going to the training grounds.”

Cecil knew it too. He knew this act was self-destructive.

But since no one else would help, he had no choice but to act.

At that time, the news that Cecil was stirring up the Knight Order was also delivered to Alexis.

“He still hasn’t come to his senses.”

Despite having been warned once, Cecil’s act of ignoring his words was hard to overlook. Moreover, the Knight Order was a group under the Crown Prince’s direct command. He could no longer tolerate this act of carelessly rummaging through his domain.

“Bring my sword.”

Though the command was short, the head chamberlain did not move readily and watched him cautiously.

Right now, Alexis was full of a sharp, murderous aura. If he went out like this, he might just cut someone down.

“Your Highness, please calm your anger and first…”

“Are you now looking down on my commands as well?”

As the ice-cold gaze shot toward him, the head chamberlain had no choice but to bring out a longsword and offer it. Alexis gripped the sleekly designed scabbard and then stormed out of the office.

He could see the squires gathered in the distance. They were all standing idle at a time when they should have been in the middle of training.

It was because the commanders who were supposed to lead them were all held up by Cecil, forced to listen to his denunciations.

As soon as Alexis entered the training grounds, he walked toward the platform.

The knights, who came face to face with the Crown Prince’s furious expression, were all startled and bowed their heads, but Cecil was unaware of this. He continued his scathing criticism until the presence that had approached from behind him abruptly snatched the back of his neck.

“Ugh, Your Highness!”

“Shut your mouth.”

Alexis gripped Cecil’s collar tightly, like holding reins, and started walking. Cecil grabbed onto his elbow and hung on, but it was no use.

In front of everyone, Cecil had to be dragged away in a humiliating manner. His feet often got tangled, causing him to fall, and his knees hit the ground, but Alexis showed no mercy and only looked forward as he walked.

The place where he stopped walking was a clearing located deep inside the Saint Palace.

A place where soft grass covered the ground and lush sequoia trees surrounded the area like a fence. A secret space where no scream could escape even if one were to yell.

Only when he reached his destination did Alexis let go of Cecil. He glared mercilessly at Cecil, who had been thrown limply to the ground, before drawing the sword from his waist and tossing it in front of him.

“Pick it up.”

“……”

Cecil looked back and forth between the longsword that had fallen at his feet and Alexis’s face.

He tried to quickly grasp the situation. He understood that Alexis was extremely angry, but he couldn’t figure out why he had dragged him all the way here.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to learn the sword from me? That I should make time for you. Pick up the sword now.”

“…I.”

“What was the reason you’ve been loitering around the Knight Order until now? Wasn’t this what you wanted?”

As Cecil remained frozen, just sitting there, Alexis walked over to a royal guard standing nearby, drew the greatsword he was wearing, and held it. He swung the long, heavy iron sword lightly and said.

“I’ll tell you in advance, my patience is not that long. Get up and grab the sword.”