* * *
“The stars are beautiful tonight.”
“They are.”
The night sky had darkened without them noticing, and the Milky Way stretched across it.
The ballroom, as well as the greenhouse they were heading toward, was bustling with guests.
Additionally, several escort knights discreetly followed them, their presence barely noticeable.
Yet somehow, Lowell felt as though he and Felix were alone in the vast universe.
As if they had slipped into a gap in time, disconnected from the world.
But even so, being with Felix meant he didn’t feel lonely.
‘Maybe it’s because we were in such a noisy place, and now it’s suddenly quiet.’
Feeling the warmth beside him, Lowell suddenly thought—he was happy.
It should have made him smile, but instead, his chest tightened, and he felt as if he might cry.
‘Is it just hormones?’
He tried to rationalize his emotions and suppress them, but he failed.
“What’s wrong?”
Felix stopped in his tracks and looked at Lowell.
Standing there, bathed in starlight, Felix seemed almost unreal—like something that could shatter at any moment.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
As if to reassure him, Felix bent slightly at the knees to meet Lowell’s gaze.
When their eyes met, Lowell felt like he was being drawn into those unwavering pupils.
“Felix.”
“Yes?”
“I’m not a particularly attractive person. It’s just that I seem that way in your eyes.”
Felix looked puzzled for a moment before recalling their earlier conversation.
He assumed this was an extension of their talk about Pierre.
“If that’s the case, then that’s a relief. You tend to underestimate yourself.”
“Looks aren’t important. Once people get to know me, they always leave.”
Lowell regretted voicing such melancholy thoughts, but he couldn’t stop himself.
Pierre, who had seemed interested in Felix, had likely triggered this reaction in him.
“I’ve thought this before, but it seems like you’ve only ever met trash.”
Felix’s blunt remark was so direct that Lowell’s tears vanished on the spot.
Reality snapped back into focus.
“Really? Then doesn’t that mean there’s something wrong with me too, for only attracting trash?”
“You’re only a year younger than me, and yet you’ve been involved with so many men.”
Felix’s voice flared with irritation, but he quickly took a deep breath, reminding himself not to be angry at someone who was already distressed.
“It’s not like I dated that many people.”
“Then did you date women too?”
Lowell burst into laughter, loud enough to shake the night sky.
He had no idea where Felix came up with such notions.
“That’s not it! I just got dumped a lot. It only seems like I dated many people because of that.”
Felix’s pupils trembled at Lowell’s admission.
He looked genuinely shaken, as if he couldn’t comprehend the stupidity of the people who had rejected Lowell.
“I can’t understand that.”
Felix’s confusion was so sincere that it didn’t even feel like comfort.
He looked up at the sky briefly before turning his gaze back to Lowell and speaking again.
“But if there are people who fail to recognize something precious, that’s their fault, not the fault of what is precious.”
His sudden seriousness made Lowell blink in surprise.
Even the cold night wind couldn’t wedge itself between them.
“You don’t have to listen to the opinions of those who fail to see your worth. I’ll recognize it for you, Lowell.”
It sounded like both reassurance and possessive desire—as if it was enough for only him to acknowledge Lowell’s value.
“Yes. As long as you do, that’s enough for me.”
A creaking sound echoed in Lowell’s mind, like a locked door trembling on its hinges.
“If I hadn’t gone to war, would I have met you sooner?”
Felix had never once expressed a reluctance to go to war or any regret about it.
For him, protecting people with his sword and magic was his duty—something he accepted without question.
“Maybe.”
“If I had, then you wouldn’t have met those trashy people.”
His certainty was oddly endearing.
It seemed Felix had forgotten how their paths had first crossed.
‘If I hadn’t warned him not to drink that drugged wine that night, we wouldn’t have gotten entangled at all.’
Even so, Felix’s feelings were sincere.
“Yes. It would have been nice if we had met earlier.”
Lowell indulged in the hypothetical scenario.
Perhaps they had been drawn to each other because of their wounds.
Even so, he wished Felix’s past had been a little less painful.
Even knowing it was contradictory, he couldn’t help but feel that way.
“Still, I’m glad we met now.”
The thought that their lonely, painful paths had led them to each other was oddly comforting.
A bridge of stardust had formed between two roads that had once been shrouded in darkness.
Standing side by side beneath the stars, they turned to face each other at the same time.
“Shall we head to the greenhouse?”
Remembering their original reason for leaving the castle, Lowell tugged on Felix’s hand.
Felix wanted to stay alone with Lowell a little longer, but he worried Lowell might catch a cold if they stayed out any later.
That night, after briefly conversing with the guests at the greenhouse, the two slowly made their way back to the tower.
The next day, after seeing off the remaining guests, Lowell finally relaxed.
“I’m exhausted, but I feel accomplished.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. We’ve shown that the duchy is actively engaging in exchanges, and this should also prevent unnecessary rumors from spreading.”
“You were thinking about that?”
Felix, who had long grown indifferent to others’ opinions after years of enduring misunderstandings and criticism, found Lowell’s concern surprising.
“Weren’t you considering that too?”
Felix had acted purely on impulse, wanting to make their relationship public.
“That’s right.”
Of course, he couldn’t tell Lowell his real motive, so he left it at that.
The servants, having seen off the last guest, returned to the castle.
“Good work, everyone. Things should be quiet for a while, so let’s take a breather.”
At Lowell’s words, the servants’ faces brightened.
Though they had felt a sense of accomplishment from working together for the first time, exhaustion was inevitable.
The next day, Lowell spent the entire day sleeping, which worried Felix, but by the following day, he had recovered quickly.
Perhaps because of the recent commotion, the castle was unusually quiet.
But that peace didn’t last through the afternoon.
An unexpected guest arrived.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the visitor wasn’t human.
“Where did it come from in this cold?”
“It’s a wonder it didn’t freeze to death.”
Lowell, having grown bored of reading and deciding to take a walk, spotted a group of servants gathered together.
Curious, he yawned and approached them.
“What’s going on?”
Startled by his sudden presence, the servants quickly stood up from where they had been crouching.
“Young Master, well… It’s nothing serious, just that an animal wandered in.”
Thinking it must be a wild animal that needed to be sent back outside, Lowell lowered his gaze—only to find a long-haired cat, its fur nearly twice the size of its body, sitting motionless on the ground like a statue.
What stood out the most was how it didn’t so much as flinch despite being the center of attention.
“Oh, it’s a cat.”
“It must’ve come in because of the cold. Just being here keeps it within the fire-attribute magic zone, so it’s probably quite warm.”
The servants looked troubled, unsure of what to do.
* * *
