* * *
The novel barely touched on Felix’s day-to-day affairs, so he had no idea who the guest might be.
‘A guest visiting Nix, a borderland, for a few days? And right after the Month of Blessings? Who could it be?’
Felix frowned slightly, but it wasn’t the kind of frown he showed Lowell out of embarrassment or awkwardness.
It was pure irritation.
“Yes. They’re sending an envoy from Maia, one of Halo Empire’s allies. The envoy is the third prince. He’s traveling by horse instead of teleporting, so the Emperor ordered him to rest in Nix before continuing his journey.”
“Why travel such a long distance by horse?”
“They claim it’s to meet the common people and experience the Halo Empire firsthand.”
Felix didn’t seem impressed by the prince’s reasoning.
If anything, his attitude suggested he found it all a nuisance.
Considering the number of people such a wish would inconvenience, Lowell couldn’t blame him.
“Is this the Emperor’s order?”
But what caught Lowell’s attention was something else entirely.
Only the Emperor could give Felix such orders.
‘The Emperor entrusted Felix with hosting an important guest? Why?’
Given Nix’s harsh terrain and constant snow, it made sense to stop here for a break before moving to Phoibos.
But from what Lowell knew, the Emperor wouldn’t assign Felix a task that might lead to favorable connections.
‘Maybe the Emperor assumes Felix won’t bother forming a connection with the prince. But even then, what’s the benefit for the Emperor? It would’ve been easy to redirect the prince to a neighboring territory. Unless the prince insisted on staying in Nix, this doesn’t add up.’
Lowell fell silent, lost in thought.
Felix seemed to interpret his quietness as reluctance and spoke again.
“If you don’t want to deal with the guest, you don’t have to greet him. If you don’t want him here at all, I’ll refuse.”
Refusing an imperial order wasn’t so simple.
Nor did Lowell want to reject the guest without understanding the Emperor’s true intentions.
He shook his head.
“No, it’s fine. I’m just wondering how best to welcome him.”
“You don’t need to do anything. Apparently, he wants to learn swordsmanship from me. A few lessons, and he’ll be satisfied enough to leave. There’s no reason for him to stay long in a cold place like Nix.”
Felix’s explanation only deepened Lowell’s unease.
‘So, the prince specifically requested to come to Nix?’
Hiding his discomfort, Lowell simply nodded.
Though the unease lingered, time waited for no one, and soon the morning of the prince’s arrival dawned.
Early in the day, someone knocked on the gates of the Grand Duke’s castle.
“Greetings. I am here to meet His Grace, the Grand Duke of Nix.”
The third prince of Maia, Zephyros Maia Zen, was a confident alpha radiating an air of warmth.
“Please call me Zephyros.”
In every way, Zephyros was the opposite of Felix.
His long silver hair glowed like moonlight, and his blue eyes sparkled with self-assurance.
Standing side by side, their contrasts became even starker.
Lowell unconsciously gravitated closer to Felix, quietly observing the newcomer.
Zephyros didn’t exude any of the dark, scheming energy Lowell expected.
Instead, he seemed inexperienced and youthful, his gaze betraying a lack of polish.
For instance, he couldn’t stop sneaking glances at Lowell, unable to hide his curiosity.
‘So, the beloved prince really is just a kid. It doesn’t seem like he’s pretending to be naive. Maybe I was wrong to think the Emperor sent him as a spy.’
Despite dismissing the thought, Lowell couldn’t entirely shake his suspicions.
“Are you acquainted with my fiancée?”
Felix’s sharp question cut through the formalities.
Though his tone remained polite, his words were anything but welcoming.
Zephyros, who had been smiling confidently, faltered in surprise.
“Of course not. This is my first time visiting Halo and meeting your fiancée.”
“You were staring so intently I thought he might be your secret crush.”
It took Lowell a moment to register that fiancée referred to him.
His face flushed as he quickly ducked his head to hide it.
‘Fiancée?’
It was the first time Felix had openly defined their relationship.
Lowell’s fingertips tingled, a giddy warmth spreading through him.
But to anyone unaware of the situation, Lowell looked like he’d shrunk into himself after Felix’s words, overshadowed by their stark size difference.
Zephyros, now visibly stiff, bowed deeply.
“That’s absolutely not the case. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“I hope it’s just a misunderstanding,” Felix replied coldly.
The tension thickened, and Felix finally moved to end the awkward atmosphere.
“It seems I’ve kept you too long. Please rest and recover from your journey.”
Once Zephyros and his entourage were shown to their rooms, Lowell planned to retreat to Felix’s study to collect his thoughts.
But Felix, clearly holding something back, stopped him.
“Is that pale little prince your type?”
“What?”
Lowell blinked, caught off guard.
His thoughts had been preoccupied with whether Zephyros posed a threat, not Felix’s jealousy.
Felix’s tone made it clear he was unsettled, though Lowell hadn’t taken it seriously.
“You couldn’t take your eyes off that fledgling.”
Lowell almost mentioned their small age gap but stopped himself.
It might sound like he was defending Zephyros, which was the last thing he wanted.
Instead, he decided to ease Felix’s worries.
“I prefer black,” Lowell said, standing on tiptoe to brush his fingers through Felix’s dark hair.
Felix remained frozen, allowing the gesture.
“I like deeper voices, taller figures, and warmer hands,” Lowell whispered, his smile soft and genuine.
“Of course, if the Grand Duke were to have blonde hair, I’d like blonde better. So, there’s no need for comparison.”
Though said indirectly, the meaning was clear: Felix was better, no matter who the other person was, even if this was their first meeting.
It was simple enough for Felix, his mind ablaze with jealousy for the first time, to understand.
“Alright.”
Felix turned his head slightly, his ears reddening, as if realizing he’d overreacted.
Yet, he still added another remark.
“Some depraved nobles supposedly keep separate lovers. But let me be clear—I won’t tolerate that. I refuse to watch the Grand Duchy’s dignity be tarnished.”
Despite his apparent concern for the Grand Duchy’s dignity, Felix was really just cobbling together excuses.
For Lowell, who already viewed adulterers as trash, this wasn’t even worth confirming.
“That would never happen.”
“Good.”
Felix let go of the pheromones he had been tightly controlling.
Normally, he suppressed them thoroughly to avoid letting out aggressive signals when upset, but this time, he adjusted them so that Lowell would feel perfectly at ease.
Lowell stopped thinking altogether and sprawled comfortably on the sofa, swinging his legs lazily.
The subtle tension in his lower abdomen dissipated as well.
Humming a silly tune, Lowell inwardly wished that Zephyros would leave Nix quietly.
But of course, the world rarely granted such wishes.
* * *
