SLDS 75

“Let us move to another location. I believe we will be a nuisance to everyone here. As it happens, there is a good place to talk.”

Alexis responded skillfully, detaching Larissa from him. His handling of the situation was so fluid that Larissa had no time to feel offended. She stepped back obediently, gently clutching the hem of her dress and curtsying in the Imperial style.

“In that case, I will stop by the powder room for a moment. Please wait just a little while.”

Larissa seemed thoroughly excited at the thought of conversing with Alexis.

As soon as she disappeared with her ladies-in-waiting, Cecil openly ruffled his hair. His fiercely glaring eyes were now directed at Alexis.

“Why are you here?”

“Why did I come to the opera hall? What kind of question is that?”

“I naturally assumed Your Highness would be on the first floor…!”

“The same goes for me. I simply sought out a quiet place in case Princess Larissa were to come see the opera…”

Alexis broke off his words and burst into laughter. In the end, this mess had occurred because they were both trying to be considerate of each other.

“Let’s move for now. It is not polite to chat during a performance.”

Alexis personally smoothed down Cecil’s disheveled hair. Forgetting to be annoyed, Cecil stared blankly for a moment, and Alexis, in turn, gave him a gentle smile. It was truly a strange thing. Nowadays, just looking at Cecil made the corners of his mouth want to turn up.

A short distance from the box seats, there was a wide-open balcony.

Its original purpose was for people to get some fresh air from time to time, rest comfortably, or have a simple conversation.

However, because heavy velvet curtains were hung to prevent voices from leaking out and there were many secluded blind spots, the opera hall balcony had, at some point, become famous as a trysting spot.

Even now, there were several nobles who had put the opera performance on the back burner and were sharing their love. But the moment Crown Prince Alexis and Cecil appeared, they scurried away as if caught stealing.

Cecil walked on without giving them a glance. A splendid garden was visible beyond the arched iron railing, but he had no energy to pay attention to such things right now.

Drained of strength, he plopped down on a sofa. Plush cushions were scattered everywhere, and his body kept leaning. He wanted to just lie down comfortably.

Alexis naturally took the seat next to him. He glanced down at Cecil, who was sprawled out limply.

“You look terrible. You look like you’re about to collapse.”

“Do you have any idea… how much I’ve been suffering these past few days?”

“Of course I know. But isn’t that something you brought upon yourself? I never ordered you to pour your entire day into it.”

Alexis stretched out his arm. On the low table, there was a glass vase. He plucked a small flower from it and, as if bestowing an award, tucked it behind Cecil’s ear.

Cecil, still leaning back on the sofa, frowned. The flower petal tucked by his ear kept tickling his temple.

“What is this?”

“This makes you a bit more presentable.”

“Do I look so shabby that I need a flower decoration?”

“You know your own condition well, don’t you?”

Cecil let out a hollow laugh and pulled out the flower.

He could have just thrown the flower, which had lost its utility, onto the floor, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so since it was something Alexis had given him for his sake. In the end, he surreptitiously tucked it into his pants pocket.

Alexis laughed out loud at the sight. Embarrassed, Cecil straightened his back, poured some wine, and offered a glass to Alexis as well.

“Did you come alone? What about Yuria?”

“Yuria? Why are you looking for a child who should be resting well in her quarters?”

“That’s because…”

Cecil clamped his mouth shut. It was strange. He clearly remembered that on the festival eve, Alexis had watched the opera with Yuria.

Of course, the minor details could change. Cecil no longer placed much meaning on trivial changes. As long as the outcome was right, that was all that mattered.

As a brief silence fell, Alexis gently swirled the glass in his hand. The wine inside lapped against the glass walls, and its mellow aroma rose to tickle the tip of his nose.

Alexis looked down at the swirling wine and said.

“Do you know? You sometimes stop talking in the middle of a sentence and get lost in your own thoughts. As if you are trying to recall a memory.”

“…Of course not. It is just because I forgot what I was going to say.”

“Alright, let’s go with that for now.”

Alexis replied noncommittally and brought the wine glass to his lips. As his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down with a gulping sound, Cecil couldn’t help but swallow along with him.

If he sometimes got lost in thought, Alexis would abruptly sound people out. Lately, the frequency had been increasing, and at times, he would catch him so off guard that it made him wonder if he knew something.

Ahem, ahem. Cecil cleared his throat a couple of times as if it were scratchy and composed his expression. All he had to do was act shamelessly. There was no way his secret would ever be revealed.

As they were each drinking their wine, the velvet curtain was drawn back, and Larissa appeared. Her face was much glossier than before, and her more daring attire hinted at her determination.

“I am thirsty. Would you give me a glass of wine as well?”

Larissa approached Alexis with an elegant posture. Cecil poured a drink and handed it to her before he could.

At his unnecessarily quick action, Larissa’s eyes sharpened. However, she could not refuse Cecil’s goodwill, so she took the glass without a word.

She rolled her dark eyes. As it happened, Alexis and Cecil were sitting side by side on a two-seater sofa, leaving little room for her to squeeze in.

“Please sit comfortably, Princess Larissa.”

At Alexis’s invitation, she had no choice but to sit on the sofa across from them. Larissa gave Cecil a look, as if expecting something, but for some reason, the usually quick-witted man played dumb at that moment.

“I am glad to see you are having a pleasant time in the Empire. Come to think of it, the day of your departure is not far off.”

“Exactly. Thanks to your excellent care, I lost track of time. I hope you will visit us in Kazalujan soon. I will treat you with the utmost hospitality as a way of returning the favor.”

Alexis gave a standard smile. He raised his wine glass as if to make a toast and replied.

“I will visit if the opportunity arises.”

“Really? Now that it’s been brought up, how about we set a date? When would be good for you? Next week? Or next month?”

“I have duties that I am in charge of, so I cannot easily leave the Empire. I will give you my promise, but I cannot say for certain when that will be.”

Alexis replied politely, but his words contained a refusal.

Princess Larissa, too, was not unaware that it was mere lip service. Her face, which had been so joyful, quickly clouded over with disappointment.

Cecil, who was listening to their conversation from the side, became so worried that he could hardly sit still.

Although Alexis was responding more kindly than he had expected, his opponent was the unpredictable Princess Larissa. He couldn’t relax for a moment, wondering if she might do something rash that would upset Alexis.

“By the way, you two…”

Suddenly, Larissa opened her mouth. She tilted her head and pointed her index finger between Cecil and Alexis.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t close?”

“…”

Cecil searched for something to say. If only Alexis hadn’t been there, he would have made up a suitable excuse in his own way, but with the person in question right next to him, it was incredibly unnerving.

While Cecil hesitated, Alexis slowly raised the corners of his mouth. His blue eyes held the reflection of Cecil’s troubled side profile.

“We… are not close.”

At his words, Cecil also turned his head. As their gazes met, a hint of tension could be seen on Cecil’s face. Alexis’s smile deepened.

“It’s because this one is so jealous of me. Not only does he stick by my side at all times to interfere with me, but he also follows me around and pesters me.”

“Oh my!”

“When… have I ever done that?”

“Oh dear, are you trying to save face in front of a guest?”

Alexis grabbed Cecil’s earlobe and pulled it hard. Along with it, Cecil’s head tilted and followed.

Cecil fiercely slapped Alexis’s hand away and fiddled with his still-stinging earlobe. His skin, which had been white from his neck to his forehead, had turned reddish like a ripe peach.

“Why don’t you try to save some face yourself, Your Highness? Even a child wouldn’t do something this childish.”

“Why don’t you try to do something about that rude way of speaking of yours?”

“I am being as polite as I possibly can right now. Do you want to see what being truly rude is like?”

While the back-and-forth conversation was exchanged, Larissa silently watched the two of them.

It seemed like a lie that they didn’t get along. Not only were they sitting too close together, but above all, the Crown Prince’s expression right now seemed the most honest and relaxed she had ever seen.

“Alexis, you… seem to be very fond of Mr. Cecil, don’t you?”

Larissa offered her assessment.

Alexis, who had been looking at Cecil the whole time, straightened his head at those words. He was smiling in the same way, but the joyful expression from before had vanished as if it were a lie, and a cold shell had been layered over it, knowingly or not.

“Does it look that way?”

“Even if you don’t share a single drop of blood, a brother is a brother, I suppose? You’re better than Killian and I. Hah, if only Killian were like you…”

“Lara, what’s wrong with me?”

A lazy voice came from beyond the curtain. Soon after, the velvet curtain was drawn back, and Killian abruptly showed his face.