SLDS 82

Even after the sun set, there was no news of Alexis.

After touring the entire guard post and even finishing dinner, Cecil slightly lifted the curtain in his room and looked out the window.

Outside, a downpour was in full swing. Since it was pitch black and the weather was foul, it seemed likely that Alexis would spend the night where he was currently staying.

Cecil gave up waiting and began to prepare for bed.

The scale of the guard post was considerable. The number of knights permanently stationed here was over thirty, and including the laborers and servants in charge of menial tasks, he heard the total was around one hundred people.

Although it was a new building, it was built to prioritize practicality over splendor due to the nature of a guard post, so it had a somewhat rough-and-tumble aspect compared to a typical mansion.

Still, the room Cecil was staying in was quite luxurious compared to the lodgings used by the other knights.

The bed boasted a fair amount of softness, the cold stone walls were covered with wallpaper, and above all, the bathroom even came with a bathtub made of marble.

After finishing his bath, he came out and looked around the room for a moment. Separate from his fatigue, he somehow felt that sleep would not come easily. There happened to be whiskey in the room, so he picked up a glass and went to sit in front of the fireplace.

Cecil sipped the strong liquor and became lost in thought. Reviewing the plan he had examined dozens, hundreds of times—inserting it into his mind, taking it out, and re-establishing it—had now become almost a habit.

As time dwindled, his heart grew anxious. He had vowed to make Alexis the emperor, but it seemed he would not be able to see him ascend to the throne before he died.

If that was the case, he had to at least eliminate all potential obstacles.

The one Cecil was most worried about was his mother, Empress Elizabeth.

Although her power had waned compared to before, his mother was not a person who would give up easily. She would surely try to crush Alexis in an unexpected way.

“…In the end, do I have no choice but to drag her down from that position.”

Cecil once again reminded himself that the person who drove Alexis to his death was the empress. Even if she was his mother, he had to betray her boldly if necessary. There was no reason to cling to blood ties at this point.

While Cecil was lost in his agonizing thoughts, the door was suddenly flung open.

He lifted his head at the sudden presence, and a drenched-in-rain Alexis burst inside. Cecil blinked his eyes slowly, wondering if he was seeing things.

In that time, Alexis took off his raincoat and handed it to the attendant who had followed him in. Rainwater dripped from his hair and clothes, as if to prove that the weather outside was no simple matter.

“I will prepare a bath.”

“Do so.”

Alexis replied indifferently and then finished shaking the water from his wet hair. He scanned the interior with a calm gaze until his eyes met Cecil’s.

Cecil, who was squatting with his knees bent, was in an awkward posture that was neither sitting nor standing. However, his surprise was so evident that Alexis let out a chuckle.

“You look like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”

“What happened? I heard you went for an inspection.”

“I’m on my way back from finishing it.”

“Even with it raining this much?”

“Because if I stayed for a day, you would surely be gone.”

Cecil was at a loss for words. He had indeed been planning to leave when morning came.

Then, seeing Alexis shucking off his wet clothes right in front of him, he momentarily snapped to his senses.

“Was this room perhaps the one Your Highness uses?”

“You just realized?”

“…I didn’t know.”

No wonder the room was so nice. Cecil placed his hands on the floor and hesitantly got to his feet.

“I will move to another room.”

“I was wondering when you’d say that.”

Alexis snorted and finished unbuttoning his shirt. His gaze remained fixed on Cecil the entire time he took off the shirt that was clinging damply to his skin.

“Unfortunately, there aren’t many lodgings in the guard post. Everyone sleeps jumbled together, several people to a small room. Still, this should be considered excellent, so how about you try to bear it even if it’s not to your liking?”

“It’s not that I don’t like the room, it’s that I cannot share it with Your Highness. If there are no empty rooms, I can sleep with Leo.”

“Your attendant is probably staying in a room attached to the stables right now. You’re saying you would sleep in a place like that?”

When Cecil looked at him with a face that plainly said, ‘what’s wrong with that,’ Alexis came closer, pressed on Cecil’s shoulders, and made him sit down.

“Don’t act up and stay here.”

He gave a single warning, then turned and headed straight for the bathroom. Just then, an attendant who had finished preparing the bath came out, flicking his wet hands. He bowed his head low, then carefully closed the door and left.

Cecil was still sitting there in a daze.

As he registered that he had to sleep in the same bed as Alexis, his mouth went dry all over again.

First, he downed the remaining liquor in his glass in one go. Cecil let out a long, tense breath, whoo, and then rubbed his sweaty palms all over his face.

Please, just don’t make a fool of myself. Absolutely do not show that I like him.

Soaking in the bathtub, Alexis splashed hot water on his face. He wiped his fatigue-worn face as if washing it and tilted his head back at an angle.

It had been about three hours since he had heard the news that Cecil had arrived at the guard post. The rain had been growing stronger, and he had already found a place to stay for the day.

Without a second thought, he had mounted his horse and galloped toward the Black Forest. All the way until he arrived in one go and entered the guard post, Alexis had not realized how irrational his actions were.

He recognized the problem just before opening the door. He paused only after seeing his appearance, thoroughly soaked in rainwater.

So this is how frantically I rushed to see Cecil. My mind was filled with nothing but him. That was the first time he recognized that he was not acting like himself.

He knew it was excessive even for himself to dismiss it as mere affection. Alexis was simply curious. Whether his feelings for Cecil were truly just simple goodwill, or if they were something more.

A while later, Alexis came out after finishing his bath. Cecil was still sitting absentmindedly in front of the fireplace. He was hugging his knees and half-dozing, and it seemed he had drunk a few glasses of liquor on his own.

The reluctance to go straight to sleep was mutual. Alexis also picked up an empty glass and approached his side.

He sat on the hard wooden floor and stretched his long legs out. As he leaned back into a comfortable posture, Cecil took the hint and filled Alexis’s glass to the brim with whiskey.

“The liquor is quite strong. I suppose knights enjoy this sort of thing?”

“There’s nothing like strong liquor to end a hard day.”

The two looked straight ahead in silence, only sipping their drinks. In the quiet, where time seemed to have stopped, the sound of wood crackling in the fire echoed.

Suddenly, Cecil spoke.

“May I ask you something?”

“What is it.”

“Why do you not ask anything about Johannes’s death?”

Alexis turned his head slightly. Cecil, who was staring at the firewood in the fireplace, looked somewhat gloomy.

As the flames flared up, shadows flickered across his small face, making him look as if he were holding back tears.

“Because it seemed like you wanted to hide it.”

Alexis answered nonchalantly and then wet his throat with liquor.

With the Prince of Themion dying on exactly October 16th, it had become an established fact that Cecil had prophesied the future.

The reason he did not press for the truth, however, was because Cecil had become drastically gloomy after returning from the funeral. To Alexis, who was always observing Cecil, that change was clearly visible.

Cecil also felt that Alexis was aware of everything but was tacitly ignoring it. Feeling both grateful and helpless, he took this opportunity to broach the subject tentatively.

“Johannes said something to me. That he was afraid of dying, but he had no regrets.”

“…”

“Honestly, I was envious. So much so that I thought I wanted to die like Johannes.”

“You’re still far too young to be picturing death.”

“What does age have to do with it?”

Cecil drank the rest of his liquor. He opened his flushed throat and poured out his resolve.

“So I’m also going to try doing everything I want to do so that I have no regrets.”

“For example?”

“Leaving the Imperial Palace and living alone for a while.”

“You’d willingly choose to suffer?”

Alexis let out a small laugh. Cecil’s plan was just random and cute.

In contrast, Cecil was quite serious. He too thought the chances of it being realized were low, but dreaming was free.

“If I have the time… I want to visit the house I lived in when I was young, too. I don’t remember anything else, but I remember that there were wild strawberries growing all over the garden there. When I got hungry while playing, I used to pick them and eat them often… they were so sweet and delicious.”

Cecil rested his chin on his knees. His eyes, half-lidded, grew hazy as if he were reminiscing about the past.

“I’m also going to buy and eat plums with my own money. A whole basket.”

“What’s with the plums now?”

“There’s this thing. They sell them at the fruit store stalls. I really wanted to eat them, but I couldn’t buy them that day because I didn’t have a single penny…”

Cecil was definitely drunk. His mumbling voice proved it.