“Ah.”
Sponsored Content
Seeing the red eyes open wide, Renato realized his mistake. When he noticed how surprised Khalid was, he came to his senses.
Just what did I say?
Startled by what he had said, Renato covered his mouth with his hand. He dropped his head, unable to overcome the rush of shame.
“I’m sorry, I said something weird…… Please, please forget what I just said……”
Embarrassed, Renato asked in a mutter. He felt pathetic for speaking impulsively, unable to hold back a moment’s agitation.
Contrary to Renato’s wish, Khalid didn’t seem willing to forget what he had said. Khalid stood up with a slightly dazed face, placed his hands on the table, and leaned his upper body toward Renato.
“Is my face really your type?”
“No, I……”
Renato raised his head reflexively to the question heard close by, and stiffened his shoulders when a shadow cast over his face. Before he could notice, Khalid’s face was right in front of him.
“So it’s not your type?”
“It, it’s not that either…… I was just too impulsive, uhm.”
Renato hesitated, unable to answer properly. No matter how much he thought, he must have been momentarily out of his mind. Otherwise……
“Agh.”
Engulfed in shame, Renato covered his face with both hands. He felt embarrassed as it seemed that he was always acting foolish and weird in front of Khalid after realizing his feelings. If there was a hole, he would want to hide there right away.
“Renato.”
Khalid called Renato to dissuade him from covering his face with his hands. A laughing tone had already returned to Khalid’s voice.
“Answer me, do you like my face? Is it your type?”
“……”
Sponsored Content
Renato was silent in response to Khalid’s question. To be exact, he couldn’t answer.
“Will you not answer me? Hmm?”
Tap, Khalid brought his forehead to the back of Renato’s hands, urging in a sad tone. In the end, Renato briefly nodded his head without answering. He still covered his face with his hands.
“You just confirmed it, right?”
When Khalid asked back, Renato’s head slightly moved up and down once again. Then, a muffled voice came from between his tightly pressed fingers.
“W, what about you, your highness?”
“Hmm?”
“What is…… your highness’ type?”
“My type? Hmm, well……”
At Renato’s question, Khalid trailed off at the end of his sentence. Until now, he had no intention of becoming lovers with someone else, let alone getting married and starting a family, so he had never considered his ideal type or preferences.
If he had to pick an ideal type, would that be someone like his mother Jamila? But it was too vague to call it his type. Since he had never had sexual desires or rational attraction to others throughout his life, he naturally had no preferred appearance or personality.
But he could no longer say he didn’t have a type. Recently, Khalid had been engulfed in strong desires at times, and they were only toward one person. So he opened his mouth confidently.
“I think you are my type, Renato.”
“Pardon……?”
Renato’s voice rose slightly in response to the unexpected answer. He only hurriedly asked that question out of embarrassment, so he didn’t expect an answer like this.
“M, me?”
“Yes. Your face, your personality, and everything else too?”
“Lie……”
Sponsored Content
“It’s not a lie.”
“But it doesn’t make sense……”
“Why doesn’t it make sense? I don’t have a hobby of kissing someone that isn’t my type.”
Renato gasped as he heard Khalid’s rebuttal. He couldn’t tell if he was hearing it correctly now. Chewing over what the man had said, he felt suffocated, heat rushing to his face.
“So please show your face now.”
“Alright?” With a soft whisper, Khalid kissed the back of his hands as if knocking. Renato’s hands trembled every time the man’s soft lips touched his skin. His hands soon turned as red as his face.
“Renato……”
Unable to ignore the low-pitched call any longer, Renato timidly lowered his hands. First of all, his pale purple eyes which were darker than usual were revealed. Next, his cheeks, having turned so red that there was no trace of his original skin color, came into view. Finally, his hands covering his face went down, revealing his small lips.
“Am I really, uhm, your highness’ type?”
Renato asked in disbelief. The heat dizzied him, making it hard to tell if Khalid was sincere or not. But he desired for it to be the truth. Because it meant at least the man would like his face.
“Actually, I never really thought about my type until I heard your question. But……”
Khalid slurred his words, moving his hand to hold the round chin. His thick thumb gently pressed down on the soft lower lip.
“I thought of you as soon as I heard the question. It’s so natural like that.”
“Ah……”
“And now that I see you like this, I’m convinced that my thought is right. I think I like this face.”
“I want to kiss you like this right now, so how can it not be the truth?” Having finished his words, Khalid immediately kissed Renato. He could feel Renato’s body tremble, startled by the sudden contact.
Khalid continued the kiss, his hand holding Renato’s chin gliding down and gently stroking Renato’s stiff neck and shoulders. Then, he lightly bit Renato’s lower lip, asking him to open his lips.
Then, the body in contact with him trembled, his lips gently opening. As the lips opened to welcome him, Khalid chuckled in his throat, tilted his head, and kissed Renato more deeply. The strange sense of fullness that appeared whenever he was with Renato from some point on filled his chest.
Sponsored Content
* * *
“Your Imperial Highness, the preparations for departure have just been completed. You should go down now.”
“Alright.”
Renato, who was sitting by the window while lost in thought, slowly stood up as he heard Louis’ voice. Today was the day to leave the kingdom and return to the Empire.
“How about his highness?”
“Her Majesty the Queen has come out to see him off, so they are chatting.”
“Is that so?”
Upon coming out of the guesthouse while talking with Louis, he saw Khalid talking to Maryam. Seeing Renato, Maryam waved her hand with a friendly smile.
“Oh, our Prince is here.”
“I offer my greetings to Your Majesty. Thank you for coming out to see us off like this.”
“Haha, no need for thanks. My brother and his companion are going a long way, so of course I have to come.”
Maryam laughed out loud and looked at Khalid to ask for permission.
“I want to talk with the Prince for a bit, is that okay?”
“Please go ahead.”
Khalid nodded to Maryam who asked for his understanding before leaving his seat. When there were only the two of them, Renato began to talk first.
“I heard that you had a good conversation with his highness.”
“Hmm? Aah, we did. All thanks to you.”
Maryam answered with a smile. Perhaps because she had put down the burden in her heart, her complexion was much brighter than when they first met, just like Khalid yesterday.
Sponsored Content
“After listening to you, I agonized for a few days. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me. The reason I couldn’t consolidate my royal authority as a Queen may have been that I kept trying to depend on Khalid or others.”
“Is that so?”
“So I will take this opportunity to be independent. I don’t know if I can do well…… But don’t worry too much. I won’t bother you and Khalid even if I fail. I promise both as the Queen and as that child’s sister.”
Showing her willingness to be independent, Maryam met Renato’s gaze with a determined face.
“……May I dare give you one piece of advice, Your Majesty?”
Staring at her red eyes resembling Khalid’s, Renato opened his mouth hesitantly. He pondered whether to speak until the end, but he made up his mind after feeling that Maryam was sincere.
Above all, the probability of her promise being kept would increase if she succeeded in being independent. So he decided to give Maryam a little help.
“Of course. Feel free to speak.”
“There is a saying from ancient times that ‘It is dark under the lamp’. I hope Your Majesty could reconsider those words.”
“It is dark under the lamp……?”
Maryam repeated Renato’s words and tilted her head. Then she froze as if having realized something. Her eyes gleamed sharply.
“You mean to take a look around me? It sounds like there is a traitor.”
“I will leave the judgment to Your Majesty. I wish to tell you more, but I don’t know much.”
“You sounded too confident to say that you don’t know, though?”
“They were the words of the head of an information guild which is among the best ones in the Empire. Special intelligence agents in the military also said something similar.”
“And you heard that?”
“Yes, by chance.”
Renato smiled faintly to say he couldn’t answer anymore. In truth, he couldn’t tell her even if he wanted to. After all, he only knew there was a traitor, but not the identity of the traitor.
“Ah.”
Sponsored Content
Seeing the red eyes open wide, Renato realized his mistake. When he noticed how surprised Khalid was, he came to his senses.
Just what did I say?
Startled by what he had said, Renato covered his mouth with his hand. He dropped his head, unable to overcome the rush of shame.
“I’m sorry, I said something weird…… Please, please forget what I just said……”
Embarrassed, Renato asked in a mutter. He felt pathetic for speaking impulsively, unable to hold back a moment’s agitation.
Contrary to Renato’s wish, Khalid didn’t seem willing to forget what he had said. Khalid stood up with a slightly dazed face, placed his hands on the table, and leaned his upper body toward Renato.
“Is my face really your type?”
“No, I……”
Renato raised his head reflexively to the question heard close by, and stiffened his shoulders when a shadow cast over his face. Before he could notice, Khalid’s face was right in front of him.
“So it’s not your type?”
“It, it’s not that either…… I was just too impulsive, uhm.”
Renato hesitated, unable to answer properly. No matter how much he thought, he must have been momentarily out of his mind. Otherwise……
“Agh.”
Engulfed in shame, Renato covered his face with both hands. He felt embarrassed as it seemed that he was always acting foolish and weird in front of Khalid after realizing his feelings. If there was a hole, he would want to hide there right away.
“Renato.”
Khalid called Renato to dissuade him from covering his face with his hands. A laughing tone had already returned to Khalid’s voice.
“Answer me, do you like my face? Is it your type?”
“……”
Sponsored Content
Renato was silent in response to Khalid’s question. To be exact, he couldn’t answer.
“Will you not answer me? Hmm?”
Tap, Khalid brought his forehead to the back of Renato’s hands, urging in a sad tone. In the end, Renato briefly nodded his head without answering. He still covered his face with his hands.
“You just confirmed it, right?”
When Khalid asked back, Renato’s head slightly moved up and down once again. Then, a muffled voice came from between his tightly pressed fingers.
“W, what about you, your highness?”
“Hmm?”
“What is…… your highness’ type?”
“My type? Hmm, well……”
At Renato’s question, Khalid trailed off at the end of his sentence. Until now, he had no intention of becoming lovers with someone else, let alone getting married and starting a family, so he had never considered his ideal type or preferences.
If he had to pick an ideal type, would that be someone like his mother Jamila? But it was too vague to call it his type. Since he had never had sexual desires or rational attraction to others throughout his life, he naturally had no preferred appearance or personality.
But he could no longer say he didn’t have a type. Recently, Khalid had been engulfed in strong desires at times, and they were only toward one person. So he opened his mouth confidently.
“I think you are my type, Renato.”
“Pardon……?”
Renato’s voice rose slightly in response to the unexpected answer. He only hurriedly asked that question out of embarrassment, so he didn’t expect an answer like this.
“M, me?”
“Yes. Your face, your personality, and everything else too?”
“Lie……”
Sponsored Content
“It’s not a lie.”
“But it doesn’t make sense……”
“Why doesn’t it make sense? I don’t have a hobby of kissing someone that isn’t my type.”
Renato gasped as he heard Khalid’s rebuttal. He couldn’t tell if he was hearing it correctly now. Chewing over what the man had said, he felt suffocated, heat rushing to his face.
“So please show your face now.”
“Alright?” With a soft whisper, Khalid kissed the back of his hands as if knocking. Renato’s hands trembled every time the man’s soft lips touched his skin. His hands soon turned as red as his face.
“Renato……”
Unable to ignore the low-pitched call any longer, Renato timidly lowered his hands. First of all, his pale purple eyes which were darker than usual were revealed. Next, his cheeks, having turned so red that there was no trace of his original skin color, came into view. Finally, his hands covering his face went down, revealing his small lips.
“Am I really, uhm, your highness’ type?”
Renato asked in disbelief. The heat dizzied him, making it hard to tell if Khalid was sincere or not. But he desired for it to be the truth. Because it meant at least the man would like his face.
“Actually, I never really thought about my type until I heard your question. But……”
Khalid slurred his words, moving his hand to hold the round chin. His thick thumb gently pressed down on the soft lower lip.
“I thought of you as soon as I heard the question. It’s so natural like that.”
“Ah……”
“And now that I see you like this, I’m convinced that my thought is right. I think I like this face.”
“I want to kiss you like this right now, so how can it not be the truth?” Having finished his words, Khalid immediately kissed Renato. He could feel Renato’s body tremble, startled by the sudden contact.
Khalid continued the kiss, his hand holding Renato’s chin gliding down and gently stroking Renato’s stiff neck and shoulders. Then, he lightly bit Renato’s lower lip, asking him to open his lips.
Then, the body in contact with him trembled, his lips gently opening. As the lips opened to welcome him, Khalid chuckled in his throat, tilted his head, and kissed Renato more deeply. The strange sense of fullness that appeared whenever he was with Renato from some point on filled his chest.
Sponsored Content
* * *
“Your Imperial Highness, the preparations for departure have just been completed. You should go down now.”
“Alright.”
Renato, who was sitting by the window while lost in thought, slowly stood up as he heard Louis’ voice. Today was the day to leave the kingdom and return to the Empire.
“How about his highness?”
“Her Majesty the Queen has come out to see him off, so they are chatting.”
“Is that so?”
Upon coming out of the guesthouse while talking with Louis, he saw Khalid talking to Maryam. Seeing Renato, Maryam waved her hand with a friendly smile.
“Oh, our Prince is here.”
“I offer my greetings to Your Majesty. Thank you for coming out to see us off like this.”
“Haha, no need for thanks. My brother and his companion are going a long way, so of course I have to come.”
Maryam laughed out loud and looked at Khalid to ask for permission.
“I want to talk with the Prince for a bit, is that okay?”
“Please go ahead.”
Khalid nodded to Maryam who asked for his understanding before leaving his seat. When there were only the two of them, Renato began to talk first.
“I heard that you had a good conversation with his highness.”
“Hmm? Aah, we did. All thanks to you.”
Maryam answered with a smile. Perhaps because she had put down the burden in her heart, her complexion was much brighter than when they first met, just like Khalid yesterday.
Sponsored Content
“After listening to you, I agonized for a few days. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me. The reason I couldn’t consolidate my royal authority as a Queen may have been that I kept trying to depend on Khalid or others.”
“Is that so?”
“So I will take this opportunity to be independent. I don’t know if I can do well…… But don’t worry too much. I won’t bother you and Khalid even if I fail. I promise both as the Queen and as that child’s sister.”
Showing her willingness to be independent, Maryam met Renato’s gaze with a determined face.
“……May I dare give you one piece of advice, Your Majesty?”
Staring at her red eyes resembling Khalid’s, Renato opened his mouth hesitantly. He pondered whether to speak until the end, but he made up his mind after feeling that Maryam was sincere.
Above all, the probability of her promise being kept would increase if she succeeded in being independent. So he decided to give Maryam a little help.
“Of course. Feel free to speak.”
“There is a saying from ancient times that ‘It is dark under the lamp’. I hope Your Majesty could reconsider those words.”
“It is dark under the lamp……?”
Maryam repeated Renato’s words and tilted her head. Then she froze as if having realized something. Her eyes gleamed sharply.
“You mean to take a look around me? It sounds like there is a traitor.”
“I will leave the judgment to Your Majesty. I wish to tell you more, but I don’t know much.”
“You sounded too confident to say that you don’t know, though?”
“They were the words of the head of an information guild which is among the best ones in the Empire. Special intelligence agents in the military also said something similar.”
“And you heard that?”
“Yes, by chance.”
Renato smiled faintly to say he couldn’t answer anymore. In truth, he couldn’t tell her even if he wanted to. After all, he only knew there was a traitor, but not the identity of the traitor.
