Volume 2 Chapter 8

Kyos’ request, to put it short, was: 「Meet with Sophia once every morning and advise her so that she and the child in her belly can remain safe.」 I am Kyos’s personal adviser, but since I am also a Court Pharmacist, officially I would be consulting with the Crown Princess, who had recently been in somewhat poor health, about her medicine.

Kyos does not have an exact grasp of my abilities, but it seems he places a great deal of trust in me. His expectations are so high that my stomach hurts.

「I think I understand how Hector-san feels when he doesn’t want to go to training. I feel so reluctant.」

I had often heard Hector, when switching places with Yunan and heading off to training, jokingly say that he did not want to go. For me, working with medicine also served as a hobby, and I had never disliked it before, so only now did I finally understand that perhaps this was how he had felt.

「I feel like it’s a little different, though… Yeah, but I do feel better after you’d hug me, so shall I give you a hug?」

Hector made a joke, which was unusual for him. He was neither teasing nor fooling around, and his tone was completely serious, so it had to be a joke. Although I understood that, I was in the mood to have someone cheer me up, so I decided to play along.

I wrapped my arms around the waist of the man who stood with both arms spread and a gentle smile on his face. It already felt like something from the distant past, but I remembered the day I was abducted. Hector had come to save me then, and when he embraced me, I felt relieved and the tension had left my body.

(…I really do feel a little more positive.)

The warmth of another person was reassuring. However, I could hear an incredible heartbeat through the ear pressed against his chest, and although he had been the one to ask whether he should hug me, my lover was still standing frozen with his arms spread wide. Curious, I quietly looked up at his face. He was rigid, still wearing the same smile he had before I clung to him, while his prediction lines of surprise, love, and joy were violently expanding and contracting. Apparently, the stimulation had been too much for him. Feeling a little apologetic, I pulled away.

「…I’m sorry. I knew you were joking, but I couldn’t help myself. I could resist the urge to get a bit spoiled.」

「Eh, ah, yeah, it’s fine… No, it isn’t…」

I had moved away because it seemed to be emotionally overwhelming for him, but as he said that he was not fine, he pulled me back and enclosed me in his arms. Once again, I could hear his heartbeat, pounding at such a rapid rhythm that it was worrying.

「Cyril-san, why do you always… manage to shake my feelings so precisely? I feel like my heart is going to explode…」

「…Your heartbeat really is something scary.」

「It’s always like this, so I’m fine.」

If this was always the case, it must be very difficult for him. With his heart rate this high, he might even experience breathlessness or dizziness. I was beginning to worry about his physical condition, so I tried to lift my face, but he gently restrained me by pressing my head against his chest.

「I’m probably making a pathetic face right now, so I’d rather you didn’t look.」

What kind of face could that possibly be? I was curious, but if he did not want me to see it, I would refrain from looking. The only thing I could say with certainty was that no matter what he looked like, my feelings would not change.

「I believe I would find you dear no matter what expression you were making.」

「Mmm… That’s exactly what I mean, Cyril-san. How am I going to recover if you keep saying things like this, now I can’t let you go.」

I could see neither his face nor his prediction lines, but judging from the heartbeat I could hear, he did not seem displeased. As I listened to the pulse that refused to calm down, I began to feel a little restless myself. Well, it was not unpleasant.

I feel at ease when I am surrounded by his warmth. He is the person to whom I have revealed all my secrets, the person I trust to conceal them no matter what happens, and the man I love. He is also the only person in this world around whom I do not need to put up walls, the only person I can depend on. …However, no matter how comfortable this was, we could not remain like this forever. It was almost time for work.

「I like it when you hold me like this, Hector-san, but I really do need to go to work soon.」

「………………You’re right.」

A long silence passed before he released his embrace. I reluctantly moved away, missing his warmth as soon as it disappeared. Above Hector’s soft golden hair, I could see a dissatisfied reddish-purple color, so he probably found it just as difficult to part from me. …Judging from the color I could see, he might even have been thinking that he wished there was no work at all.

「Thanks to you, I feel motivated now. Thank you very much. Shall we go?」

The sensation of my stomach constricting had completely vanished. I was still nervous, but I felt emotionally stable. In this state, going to see the Crown Princess would not be quite as painful. Just as Hector had said, having someone embrace you appeared to be effective. The next time he felt down and said that he did not want to go to training, I would hug him and cheer him up.

「Yeah. Then leave the protection and directions to me.」

I am a commoner and not of a social standing that permits me to walk openly through the castle. Normally, people appointed to court positions tend to be of reasonably high status, but unusual individuals such as me must travel using the back passages. They are complicated corridors used by servants and avoided by nobles. Servants apparently memorize only the routes they use for their own work, so nobody understands the entire layout, and getting lost can lead to serious trouble.

For some reason, however, Hector remembered most of the routes. When he looked at the map I had been given for the path I would use this time, he said, 「I know this route」 and volunteered to guide me.

「Once we turn right here, we’ll be going straight for a while.」

Guided by Hector, I walked through the dim stone corridor. There were numerous paths that did not appear on the map I had been given, so I truly might have gotten lost if I had been alone. Having him by my side was extremely reassuring.

Still, though. Why was he, a Royal Guard knight who normally accompanied nobles, familiar not only with the main corridors but also with the servants’ back passages? …Well, it was not as though I had no idea, but ordinarily he should not have known them. From the bottom of my heart, I was glad that Hector was the one guarding me.

「You really do know this place well, Hector-san. It’s a great help.」

「Kyos and I used to use these passages to sneak out when we were younger. I’m glad I can be useful to you.」

It seemed the mischievous prince had been that way ever since childhood. It was easy to imagine even from the man he was now.

Although this was supposed to be a servants’ passage, we did not pass a single person before reaching the door that would apparently lead us directly to Sophia’s room. Perhaps some sort of special arrangement had been made.

Now, in order to enter the room, we needed to speak to the knight standing guard outside and have them obtain Sophia’s permission for us to enter. However, the Royal Guard knight dressed in a black uniform opened his eyes wide upon seeing Hector and me. After freezing with a color of astonishment visible around him, he obtained permission for us, moving in a stiff and awkward way..

When he turned back afterward, his gaze moved repeatedly between my earrings and my face, and I could also see a color of distrust. He looked as though he could not believe what he was seeing. Perhaps I will be seeing reactions like this quite often from now on.

Once we were permitted to enter, we stepped into a calm room decorated primarily in white. Sophia, dressed in clothing looser than the gown I had seen her wearing the other day, sat waiting in a chair with an elegant smile. I walked quietly to stand before her and lowered myself to one knee.

「Court Pharmacist Cyril Vedito. In accordance with His Highness Kyos’s orders, I have come to receive Her Highness Consort Sophia’s consultation.」

「Yes. We will be discussing an important matter, so everyone other than the guard knights may withdraw.」

At those words, the maids waiting in the corners of the room disappeared as well. Four people remained: Sophia, the female knight who regarded me with distrust, Hector, and me.

Sophia’s emotions remained difficult to see, but I thought I could faintly detect a color of favor. Her behavior was the complete opposite of the knight, whose caution was plainly visible both in her expression and in her colors.

「I’ll tell you about today’s schedule, so would you sit over there?」

「…Then I shall gratefully accept your offer. Excuse me.」

I sat in the chair indicated by her smooth gesture and faced Sophia. Then I listened to her schedule for the day. She said she planned to spend most of it resting in this room while handling official work and reading. No black lines emerged from Sophia’s belly or lengthened in response to that. However, when she told me that she was looking forward to afternoon tea because she had obtained some new tea leaves, I saw one of the lines extend slightly. …Those new tea leaves might not be very good for her.

「What are you planning to have with your afternoon tea?」

「I was told they were tea leaves that soothe the heart…」

There were many tea leaves with relaxing properties, but which kind could they be? The maid who had just been dismissed was responsible for preparing Sophia’s tea. I would have to ask her before I could learn what type of tea leaves they were.

However, as far as I understood, most of the tea leaves commonly enjoyed in this country were not particularly suitable for pregnant women. This was knowledge passed down among healing magic users, so I did not know how much the court physicians knew about it.

「…There are certain tea leaves whose consumption should be approached with caution. If you wish, I could blend safe tea leaves specifically for Her Highness Sophia and prepare something special for you.」

「Oh my. Then perhaps I shall ask you to do so.」

「I would be delighted to accept. …Do you have any other plans?」

The moment Sophia asked me to prepare the tea leaves, the black line withdrew, so the problem must have been with the tea leaves she had obtained this time. Once I returned to the apothecary tower, I would need to immediately examine the tea leaves I had on hand, blend them while considering their safety, flavor, aroma, and other qualities, and deliver them before this afternoon.

None of her other plans appeared to pose any problems, so I decided to take my leave immediately. The Crown Princess’s room was not a place where a commoner wished to linger.

「Then I shall excuse myself. Until we meet again, I pray that you may pass your time in peace.」

「Yes, thank you. Then I shall see you again tomorrow. At the same time.」

Seen off by Sophia’s cheerful smile and the sharp gaze of her guard knight, I left the room and quietly exhaled. When I felt a light pat on my shoulder and looked up, Hector smiled at me and said, 「Good work」 which somehow was a relief and calmed me down. The gaze of the knight in front of the door, who was staring at us with bulging eyes, felt as though it were piercing into me, so we quickly entered the back passage and returned to the tower.

As soon as I returned, I began selecting tea leaves exclusively for Sophia. I did not know her preferences, so I would probably need to prepare several blends for her to try and ask her to tell me which she preferred at a later date.

Before arranging the tea leaves that were safe for pregnant women on the blending table and considering possible combinations, I realized that Yunan would soon arrive to take over. If people changed places while I was in the middle of thinking, my train of thought would be interrupted, so I decided to wait a little until he arrived.

「Yunan-san should be here soon, so… Please do your best at training.」

「Ah, yeah. …I don’t want to go.」

Hector, who would switch guard duty with Yunan and go to training, always said with a smile that he did not want to leave. It was not the training itself that he disliked. He did not want to be separated from me. This was partly because I had been abducted once before, and he was probably anxious whenever I was somewhere outside his sight. I could see a small color of anxiety stretching outward.

「Then let’s do something that will make you feel like going to training, Hector-san.」

「Eh?」

Hector himself had said it that morning: he would feel better if someone hugged him. I also believed it truly had such an effect. So I wrapped my arms around his waist and embraced him. …Since I was smaller than him, rather than saying I was embracing him, it might have been more accurate to say that I was clinging to him.

「Do you feel better…?」

I raised my face, intending to look at his prediction lines and determine whether he had become motivated, only for my eyes to be covered. When Hector covers my eyes with his hand like this, it means he is feeling something he does not want me to see. I cannot choose to stop seeing the prediction lines, and I had no intention of exposing feelings he did not want known, so I remained quietly as I was.

「Sorry for doing that without warning. You did something so unbelievably cute that I started having slightly impure thoughts…」

「…I don’t mind. I like you too.」

It is natural to want to touch someone you love, and it is by no means a bad feeling. However, Hector appeared to consider it impure, and because he restrained himself, he rarely initiated physical contact. We were in that kind of relationship, so I was always thinking that he did not need to be so considerate. But Hector, inexperienced in romance, seemed somewhat at a loss over what to do with his own emotions.

Though, well, since his very first love had resulted in feelings large enough to pierce the ceiling, perhaps it was inevitable that he would struggle to contain them.

「…Are you really sure?」

「Yes. It’s all right.」

The hand covering my eyes slowly moved away, and my gaze met his honey-colored eyes, which were filled with warmth. The ends of his brows were lowered slightly as though he were troubled, but he also appeared happy. I knew I was not mistaken because an orange line was extending from him. The madder-red line growing beside it did not make me uncomfortable either. …My heartbeat quickened slightly in the unfamiliar atmosphere, but I did not dislike it.

「May I… kiss you?」

「…Yes. You may do so whenever you wish, without asking.」

The gloved hand that smoothly stroked my cheek tickled a little. Then I gave a small smile as I looked up at him, only to freeze in surprise when I saw translucent colors of dissatisfaction and anger above his face. Why would those colors be visible now? The answer came to me in an instant. Before our lips could touch, there was a knock at the door.

「Yunan-san must be here. …Please wait a moment!」

「………………His timing really is terrible.」

Thinking it would be troublesome if he entered now, I called toward the door before returning my gaze to Hector’s face. Although he was smiling brightly, the colors of dissatisfaction and anger spread across him in an instant, making his foul mood obvious at a glance. Would he end up carrying these feelings with him for the entire day? …I also felt somehow disappointed.

「I’ll remove your earrings, so please stay as you are.」

「…Yeah. Please.」

Our faces were conveniently close together, so I removed the ornaments from both of Hector’s ears. Then, before he could straighten his posture, I wrapped my arms around his neck, gently pressed my lips to his, and immediately pulled away before heading toward the door where Yunan was waiting. Since we were keeping someone waiting, we could only share brief contact, but I had also entered that kind of mood, and leaving without doing anything felt unsatisfying.

However, feeling that way made me seem needy, which was slightly embarrassing, so I turned my back without looking at either his face or his prediction lines. I kept an unbothered expression, opened the door as usual, and welcomed Yunan inside.

「Thank you for waiting. Good morning.」

「Good morning, Cyril-dono. Hector is… What exactly is he doing over there?」

When he said that, I looked back and saw Hector standing frozen with both hands covering his face. Neither dissatisfaction nor anger was visible any longer, so those emotions appeared to have been thoroughly resolved. Although his body did not move in the slightest, inside he seemed to be writhing, as the pink of love and orange of joy moved violently. …Well, if it had made him happy, then that was fine.

「That is Hector-san, who needs some time to recover. I believe he’ll return to normal shortly.」

「…I see. I have never seen him like that before, so I was somewhat taken aback.」

Hector is a person who generally wears a mask in front of others, so Yunan’s surprise was understandable. Although he must have noticed Yunan’s arrival, Hector did not regain his composure for quite some time. We watched and waited, and when he finally raised his face, his cheeks and ears were still red, and his expression was somehow alluring. Perhaps because of that, Yunan drew in a small breath when he saw him.

「Haah… Yunan, go to training in my place. I want to stay here with Cyril-san.」

「…What foolish nonsense are you saying? Hurry up and go. You don’t have much time.」

After seeing Hector off as he was practically chased toward training by the serious Yunan, I immediately began blending the tea leaves for Sophia. Once the blending was complete, I would also need to write down the best brewing and drinking methods for each variety. I could not keep the Crown Princess waiting, so I needed to hurry.

My greatest concern was the possibility of poison being mixed into them, so I wanted to deliver them personally if possible. If anything happened to the Crown Princess or the child in her belly, it would not be surprising if my head literally went flying. When Yunan returned to the castle, I would ask him to have one of the servants pass along a message and inform Sophia that I intended to deliver them myself.

「Cyril-dono, what did you do to Hector?」

Just as I began seriously considering which combination of tea leaves would be best, Yunan asked that question with an intensely suspicious look. I evaded it by saying that I had not done anything special, then told him I needed to concentrate and would be unable to converse for a while, forcibly ending the conversation. …There was no way I could tell him something as openly affectionate as, 「That is what happens when I act sweet with him.」