“Was I too hasty……”
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Khalid muttered in a heavy voice. At that time, he thought he could have asked for that much, but now that the situation turned out like this, he regretted it, thinking he was too hasty.
Unsurprisingly, Renato still called Khalid ‘your highness’ after that day. When Khalid jokingly said he wasn’t calling him by name, Renato awkwardly hesitated, then said ‘Khalid’ in a small voice. That was the only time, and soon afterward, he went back to calling him ‘your highness’ again.
Thinking that calling his name might be unfamiliar and burdensome, Khalid only reminded him once, but since that day, Renato’s attitude had become stranger, so he couldn’t help but be concerned.
So yesterday, he decided to ask Renato to call his name. The result was Renato’s escape. With flushed ears, he hid in the dressing room. And after a short while, he came out with a calm face.
Remembering how Renato escaped from his hand, Khalid frowned. Even when recalling, he didn’t feel very good.
I just wanted to get closer than now, was I greedy?
Engulfed in unfamiliar nervousness, Khalid clicked his tongue. It felt as if they had returned to the past. No, it was actually worse than in the past.
“Wouldn’t it be better to ask His Imperial Highness directly if you are so worried?”
Seeing Khalid’s expression getting worse and worse, Nasir cautiously said his opinion. He didn’t know what had happened between the two, but as a subordinate, it was easy for him to work only if his liege’s marital relationship was harmonious.
“And what if it becomes worse?”
Khalid was indifferent to Nasir’s opinion. He had already thought of making a head-on breakthrough before. Khalid had decided to ask, but when he saw Renato shrink back and overconscious of him like a frightened rabbit, his mouth couldn’t open. He felt just like a bad wolf tormenting a weak rabbit.
“Wow, to think one day I would hear our grand prince saying something so weak.”
Nasir exclaimed with interest. The Khalid he knew was always daring and confident. And he was not afraid of failure.
So just what is this current appearance?
Truthfully, Nasir was quite surprised. He was so shocked that he momentarily wondered if the man was really the Khalid he knew. It was incredibly new for a person who never showed signs of nervousness or fright even while carrying out operations that could cost him his life if he failed.
“It’s because you don’t know. Rena, no, His Imperial Highness isn’t the same type of person as us.”
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Inadvertently calling Renato by name, Khalid hurriedly changed his words. He originally suggested calling each other by name to show others a good relationship, but since Renato couldn’t call Khalid comfortably yet, he decided to only do so when the two were together until Renato got used to it.
“That’s true, but…… No, wait. Are you two calling each other by name now?”
“I’m trying to do that.”
“Wow, really……”
“What ‘really’?”
Nasir’s eyes gleamed as Khalid affirmed his question. Then, when seeing Khalid’s eyes turn fierce, he coughed and immediately fixed his expression.
“Ahem, as an aide, I’m very happy to see you two getting one step closer.”
“Well…… I feel rather distant.”
“Pardon? What does that, ah.”
Nasir blinked his eyes at Khalid’s words, then soon burst into an exclamation when he realized something.
“Did His Imperial Highness start avoiding you after calling each other by name, your highness?”
“Perhaps? That’s my guess for now.”
“Hmm, then maybe he is just embarrassed? His Imperial Highness is quite shy, isn’t he?”
“Is that so……”
Khalid depressedly mumbled when Nasir came up with speculation similar to his own. He guessed the problem was that he tried to narrow the distance by himself without considering Renato’s speed.
He’s whipped, completely whipped.
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Looking at Khalid whose shoulders were drooping, Nasir grinned with a happy expression. Perhaps finding that annoying, Khalid raised an eyebrow and scowled.
“What is that smile?”
“What else? Seeing the person who firmly declared never to get married his entire life just half a year ago agonizing about his fiancé, as your aide, I am deeply moved.”
“You…… Ha, whatever.”
Khalid spitefully glared at Nasir who answered with a smile, then leaned back in the chair. His mind was filled with worries about Renato, leaving him no energy to quarrel with Nasir.
“Please don’t worry too much and just wait a few more days. As your highness said, His Imperial Highness is delicate and soft-hearted, right? If it’s because he is ashamed and embarrassed, he will gradually get used to it.”
“That would be good, but……”
Khalid trailed away his words with an uncomfortable face. It seemed to be because of the name calling no matter how much he thought, but somehow he kept feeling that it was not the only issue. Knowing that his intuition was quite good, he could not easily relax with Nasir’s advice.
When Khalid sighed again, feeling frustrated because he couldn’t think of a proper solution, he heard a knock and the voice of the knight guarding the door.
“Your highness, Her Majesty the Queen’s chamberlain has requested to meet you.”
Khalid frowned when he heard Maryam’s chamberlain had arrived. Already anxious, he felt even worse when an unwelcome guest came.
“Let him in.”
But since he couldn’t send him back, Khalid softly sighed and opened his mouth begrudgingly. As soon as he permitted, the chamberlain entered the room and courteously bowed.
“Good afternoon, your highness.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Her Majesty the Queen is looking for you, your highness.”
“Her Majesty?”
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“Yes, she is waiting in the greenhouse in the main palace’s back garden. She has commanded me to take you there, your highness.”
The chamberlain replied with a gentle smile. Khalid vacantly stared at him, then nodded. He had somewhat expected it when hearing that the chamberlain had come, but he was not willing to go see Maryam.
Suddenly feeling the change in his feelings for Maryam, Khalid smiled bitterly. Realizing that he was freed from the bondage of the compulsion to be her good brother, he felt mixed emotions of both refreshed and bitter at the same time.
“……I’m also different from before.”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m just talking to myself. Let’s go to the back garden.”
Khalid glossed over it and stood up. It was time to end his matter with Maryam.
* * *
“Come on in.”
Maryam, strolling inside the greenhouse, welcomed Khalid when he entered. Khalid respectfully greeted her, who was dressed in the Queen’s outfit.
“I offer my greetings to Your Majesty.”
“Haha, there’s no need to be so formal when it’s just us.”
Maryam laughed aloud and beckoned Khalid not to do so. Then, she stretched out her arms to boast about the greenhouse.
“How is it? It’s changed a lot compared to before you left, right?”
“Yes.”
Khalid looked around the greenhouse with indifferent eyes. The greenhouse located in the main palace’s back garden was originally where he often visited whenever he had something to think about or wanted to take a rest. Because of that, hardly anyone else came in.
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The greenhouse, which was almost like a forest and had not been visited by people nor attended to by gardeners in several years, had become a completely different place after just a few months.
“After you left, complaints kept coming up that the greenhouse was inconvenient to use, so I ordered the royal gardeners to take care of it, and they organized it like this.”
“Is that so?”
Hearing Maryam’s explanation, Khalid bluntly answered. Perhaps because the scenery was different from what he remembered, he was not very impressed although it was one of his favorite places in the royal palace.
“I also had a chat with the 1st Prince here a while ago……”
“I heard from His Imperial Highness. But what did you call me here for?”
“You are so impatient. I just called because I want to talk to you before you leave.”
Maryam scowled at Khalid who asked her purpose, then went to the table where refreshments had been prepared and sat down.
“Sit down first.”
Khalid sat across from Maryam when she told him to sit down, not saying a word. Unlike the bright and beautiful greenhouse scenery, the faces of the two were strangely dark.
“……”
Maryam looked at Khalid with uncertainty, not knowing what to say. Khalid was the same. When neither of them spoke, there was a heavy silence.
“Hmm.”
Maryam softly murmured in the suffocating air. In the past, sitting quietly with Khalid was not uncomfortable at all, but not anymore.
But who was to blame? Her relationship with Khalid became awkward because of her selfish mistakes. Feeling her stomach burning, she gulped down the tea.
“I think it’d be better for you to keep the Empire’s diplomatic ambassador position as discussed before. The Fleurette Empire also wants it…… Instead, I will send someone to help with your work.”
It was Maryam who broke the silence. Putting the teacup down on the table, she brought up the issue that was still discussed at the state affairs conference until this morning.
“Was I too hasty……”
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Khalid muttered in a heavy voice. At that time, he thought he could have asked for that much, but now that the situation turned out like this, he regretted it, thinking he was too hasty.
Unsurprisingly, Renato still called Khalid ‘your highness’ after that day. When Khalid jokingly said he wasn’t calling him by name, Renato awkwardly hesitated, then said ‘Khalid’ in a small voice. That was the only time, and soon afterward, he went back to calling him ‘your highness’ again.
Thinking that calling his name might be unfamiliar and burdensome, Khalid only reminded him once, but since that day, Renato’s attitude had become stranger, so he couldn’t help but be concerned.
So yesterday, he decided to ask Renato to call his name. The result was Renato’s escape. With flushed ears, he hid in the dressing room. And after a short while, he came out with a calm face.
Remembering how Renato escaped from his hand, Khalid frowned. Even when recalling, he didn’t feel very good.
I just wanted to get closer than now, was I greedy?
Engulfed in unfamiliar nervousness, Khalid clicked his tongue. It felt as if they had returned to the past. No, it was actually worse than in the past.
“Wouldn’t it be better to ask His Imperial Highness directly if you are so worried?”
Seeing Khalid’s expression getting worse and worse, Nasir cautiously said his opinion. He didn’t know what had happened between the two, but as a subordinate, it was easy for him to work only if his liege’s marital relationship was harmonious.
“And what if it becomes worse?”
Khalid was indifferent to Nasir’s opinion. He had already thought of making a head-on breakthrough before. Khalid had decided to ask, but when he saw Renato shrink back and overconscious of him like a frightened rabbit, his mouth couldn’t open. He felt just like a bad wolf tormenting a weak rabbit.
“Wow, to think one day I would hear our grand prince saying something so weak.”
Nasir exclaimed with interest. The Khalid he knew was always daring and confident. And he was not afraid of failure.
So just what is this current appearance?
Truthfully, Nasir was quite surprised. He was so shocked that he momentarily wondered if the man was really the Khalid he knew. It was incredibly new for a person who never showed signs of nervousness or fright even while carrying out operations that could cost him his life if he failed.
“It’s because you don’t know. Rena, no, His Imperial Highness isn’t the same type of person as us.”
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Inadvertently calling Renato by name, Khalid hurriedly changed his words. He originally suggested calling each other by name to show others a good relationship, but since Renato couldn’t call Khalid comfortably yet, he decided to only do so when the two were together until Renato got used to it.
“That’s true, but…… No, wait. Are you two calling each other by name now?”
“I’m trying to do that.”
“Wow, really……”
“What ‘really’?”
Nasir’s eyes gleamed as Khalid affirmed his question. Then, when seeing Khalid’s eyes turn fierce, he coughed and immediately fixed his expression.
“Ahem, as an aide, I’m very happy to see you two getting one step closer.”
“Well…… I feel rather distant.”
“Pardon? What does that, ah.”
Nasir blinked his eyes at Khalid’s words, then soon burst into an exclamation when he realized something.
“Did His Imperial Highness start avoiding you after calling each other by name, your highness?”
“Perhaps? That’s my guess for now.”
“Hmm, then maybe he is just embarrassed? His Imperial Highness is quite shy, isn’t he?”
“Is that so……”
Khalid depressedly mumbled when Nasir came up with speculation similar to his own. He guessed the problem was that he tried to narrow the distance by himself without considering Renato’s speed.
He’s whipped, completely whipped.
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Looking at Khalid whose shoulders were drooping, Nasir grinned with a happy expression. Perhaps finding that annoying, Khalid raised an eyebrow and scowled.
“What is that smile?”
“What else? Seeing the person who firmly declared never to get married his entire life just half a year ago agonizing about his fiancé, as your aide, I am deeply moved.”
“You…… Ha, whatever.”
Khalid spitefully glared at Nasir who answered with a smile, then leaned back in the chair. His mind was filled with worries about Renato, leaving him no energy to quarrel with Nasir.
“Please don’t worry too much and just wait a few more days. As your highness said, His Imperial Highness is delicate and soft-hearted, right? If it’s because he is ashamed and embarrassed, he will gradually get used to it.”
“That would be good, but……”
Khalid trailed away his words with an uncomfortable face. It seemed to be because of the name calling no matter how much he thought, but somehow he kept feeling that it was not the only issue. Knowing that his intuition was quite good, he could not easily relax with Nasir’s advice.
When Khalid sighed again, feeling frustrated because he couldn’t think of a proper solution, he heard a knock and the voice of the knight guarding the door.
“Your highness, Her Majesty the Queen’s chamberlain has requested to meet you.”
Khalid frowned when he heard Maryam’s chamberlain had arrived. Already anxious, he felt even worse when an unwelcome guest came.
“Let him in.”
But since he couldn’t send him back, Khalid softly sighed and opened his mouth begrudgingly. As soon as he permitted, the chamberlain entered the room and courteously bowed.
“Good afternoon, your highness.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Her Majesty the Queen is looking for you, your highness.”
“Her Majesty?”
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“Yes, she is waiting in the greenhouse in the main palace’s back garden. She has commanded me to take you there, your highness.”
The chamberlain replied with a gentle smile. Khalid vacantly stared at him, then nodded. He had somewhat expected it when hearing that the chamberlain had come, but he was not willing to go see Maryam.
Suddenly feeling the change in his feelings for Maryam, Khalid smiled bitterly. Realizing that he was freed from the bondage of the compulsion to be her good brother, he felt mixed emotions of both refreshed and bitter at the same time.
“……I’m also different from before.”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m just talking to myself. Let’s go to the back garden.”
Khalid glossed over it and stood up. It was time to end his matter with Maryam.
* * *
“Come on in.”
Maryam, strolling inside the greenhouse, welcomed Khalid when he entered. Khalid respectfully greeted her, who was dressed in the Queen’s outfit.
“I offer my greetings to Your Majesty.”
“Haha, there’s no need to be so formal when it’s just us.”
Maryam laughed aloud and beckoned Khalid not to do so. Then, she stretched out her arms to boast about the greenhouse.
“How is it? It’s changed a lot compared to before you left, right?”
“Yes.”
Khalid looked around the greenhouse with indifferent eyes. The greenhouse located in the main palace’s back garden was originally where he often visited whenever he had something to think about or wanted to take a rest. Because of that, hardly anyone else came in.
Sponsored Content
The greenhouse, which was almost like a forest and had not been visited by people nor attended to by gardeners in several years, had become a completely different place after just a few months.
“After you left, complaints kept coming up that the greenhouse was inconvenient to use, so I ordered the royal gardeners to take care of it, and they organized it like this.”
“Is that so?”
Hearing Maryam’s explanation, Khalid bluntly answered. Perhaps because the scenery was different from what he remembered, he was not very impressed although it was one of his favorite places in the royal palace.
“I also had a chat with the 1st Prince here a while ago……”
“I heard from His Imperial Highness. But what did you call me here for?”
“You are so impatient. I just called because I want to talk to you before you leave.”
Maryam scowled at Khalid who asked her purpose, then went to the table where refreshments had been prepared and sat down.
“Sit down first.”
Khalid sat across from Maryam when she told him to sit down, not saying a word. Unlike the bright and beautiful greenhouse scenery, the faces of the two were strangely dark.
“……”
Maryam looked at Khalid with uncertainty, not knowing what to say. Khalid was the same. When neither of them spoke, there was a heavy silence.
“Hmm.”
Maryam softly murmured in the suffocating air. In the past, sitting quietly with Khalid was not uncomfortable at all, but not anymore.
But who was to blame? Her relationship with Khalid became awkward because of her selfish mistakes. Feeling her stomach burning, she gulped down the tea.
“I think it’d be better for you to keep the Empire’s diplomatic ambassador position as discussed before. The Fleurette Empire also wants it…… Instead, I will send someone to help with your work.”
It was Maryam who broke the silence. Putting the teacup down on the table, she brought up the issue that was still discussed at the state affairs conference until this morning.
