Chapter 25. Confusion

Translator: AdCaelum

Editor: meli

Thank you kiraa for the ko-fi!

This is a short chapter, but I hope you enjoy!

“Asher, happy birthday.”

Asher had been staring at Angela when someone’s voice called out to him, making him turn towards the source.

“Oh, Prince Samuel,” Asher addressed his brother, “Thank you very much.”

“With Theodore as your personal guard, I can rest assured that you’re in safe hands.”

“Are you sure about this…? Our national hero as my personal guard? And I’m certain Father wanted Theodore to be… your personal guard.” Asher couldn’t suppress his unease after seeing Augustine’s reaction before. His father already hated him, so he didn’t want to do anything to worsen their relationship.

“What’s the problem?”

“You should have sensed Father’s disapproval of Mother’s proposal, so why did you approve?”

“Unlike you, I’m strong enough to protect myself. Besides, it’s only natural for an older brother to be worried about his younger brother’s safety.”

Samuel drew his face closer, and Asher’s heart skipped a beat. Samuel possessed the same extraordinary beauty as Asher and the rest of the royal family, but regardless of their relationship, Asher still couldn’t get used to his brother’s handsomeness.

When Asher looked at the smiling Samuel, he was hit with a sudden feeling of discomfort. Huh? Was Samuel always like that? Rather than having a lack of memories of the two brothers ever conversing, “Asher” had distanced himself from Samuel. But in the scant few memories of the two together, Samuel had looked at “Asher” with bitterly cold eyes. They terrified Asher, but when he recalled that weird cycle of lies Samuel spun, Asher’s thoughts were thrown into chaos.

This confirmed it. Samuel really did hate Asher… But of course! Angela didn’t hide her attempts to place Asher on the throne. Any normal person wouldn’t think fondly of such a rival. Still… this kind of concern was unexpected. Nevertheless, Asher knew he should express his gratitude.

“U-um, I very much appreciate… how much you care about my well-being.” Embarrassed, Asher gave a timid smile. That paired with his pink cheeks—done both unconsciously and unknowingly—created an utterly endearing look. It wasn’t his intention; he was simply and genuinely happy. He didn’t know why Samuel had said those things, but this was the first time Samuel had ever publicly voiced his concern for Asher like this. And Asher was slowly filling with joy. “Th-thank you very much.”

Asher’s eyes narrowed as his smile towards Samuel widened. The space around Asher bloomed into brightly colored flowers and petals danced in the air. The surrounding crowd gasped at the sight.

“I-It’s fine, Asher,” Samuel said after a pause. “It’s only natural. Make sure you always take Theodore with you wherever you go.” He wrapped a protective arm around Asher’s shoulder and hid him from others behind his back.

Oh, right… Asher had forgotten about Theodore. He glanced over at Theodore, but Theodore was not even looking in his direction. He stood next to Ward as if absolutely nothing had happened.

Theodore as his personal guard… Now of all times… after that had just happened…

Asher bitterly hung his head, but Samuel pretended not to notice and continued talking. “You’ll be going to the castle town for the festivities tomorrow, yeah? Noah wants to go together with you.”

“Prince Noah does?”

“He couldn’t attend tonight, so he asked me to ask you if you’d like to go with him tomorrow.” At seven years old, Noah was too young to attend any evening parties.

“Of course I’d love to… I’ll actually feel more reassured if I’m with him.”

“Wonderful. I’ll let him know. Did you know? He was throwing a tantrum that he couldn’t come and ask you in person.”

Hearing this, Asher imagined a pouting Noah, the fourth prince throwing a tantrum just to see him, and his heart felt warm and fuzzy.

“Theodore,” Samuel turned to the knight, “you have your first guard assignment tomorrow.”

“As you command,” Theodore responded.

The warmth Asher felt slowly chilled as he turned to Theodore upon hearing that exchange. Why were they doing this? Oh, since Augustine had given the appointment, even Theodore couldn’t refuse. Still…

Asher stole glances at Samuel and Theodore as they conversed. His eyes naturally followed Theodore’s captivating lips.

“Prince Asher, is there something the matter?”

The abrupt question made Asher immediately tear his eyes away from Theodore.

“W-Ward! It’s, err, nothing.”

“Even though you allowed me to be your escort tonight, Lewis stole all the good parts.”

“What?!”

“Don’t you think I’d make a better personal guard for you than Lewis?” Ward covertly whispered into Asher’s ear, and Asher was relieved.

“Oh, you’re talking about that.”

“What else could it be?”

“D-don’t worry about it.”

No one was around to witness what had happened back there, yet Asher was too on edge, and he kept beating himself up over it. In his defense, he hadn’t expected that his first kiss would go down like that. Of course he would be conscious of Theodore. In spite of that bone-chilling declaration of hatred after that hot, passionate kiss. That exchange remained in his mind. He doubted it would ever leave. In fact, he could still feel the raw sensation of Theodore on his lips. The ferocity and violence in that kiss should have terrified him. But it was hearing “I hate you” from Theodore’s mouth that threw his mind into chaos. Shouldn’t Asher have been the one to say that? Really, what was Theodore thinking?!

Asher rubbed his hand over his mouth and grumbled to Ward, “It’s nothing.”

Ward was confused by Asher’s behavior, but he nevertheless smiled and invited Asher to dance. As he escorted Asher to the center, he felt Samuel’s gaze on him. Samuel had his usual smile on as he watched Asher. But Ward was not one to miss the flickering flames in those eyes.

Our 12th grade vocabulary is enhanced by coffee. We would be elated by any philanthropic endeavors.