Lowell thought he hadn’t let it show, but it seemed he couldn’t fool the boy’s keen eyes.
Having no intention of making Edwin anxious, Lowell moved closer to Felix’s side and hurried to explain.
“It’s not like that. We just talked so much before you got here that we were resting.”
“That’s right. We were just waiting for you to tell us about your day,” Felix added, immediately picking up on Lowell’s lead.
“Really?”
Felix picked Edwin up, lifting him high and swinging him around.
Edwin, who had been asking “Really?” repeatedly, was quickly won over by Felix’s playful handling and let his suspicions slide.
“Your Highness, His Majesty has sent gifts.”
“Tell them to come in.”
With the arrival of a new guest, the ambiguous atmosphere between the two was glossed over once more.
“His Majesty has prepared attire for the banquet.”
Felix and Lowell had intended to wear the clothes they brought, but the Emperor appeared to have prepared outfits not just for them, but for Edwin as well.
There was no reason to refuse, and many reasons why they shouldn’t.
“It’s not too blatant.”
The clothes sent by the Emperor hinted at a pro-Imperial stance through the choice of accessories, but it wasn’t so garish as to be off-putting.
The garments fit so perfectly it made Lowell wonder how the Emperor had known their measurements.
“You look beautiful.”
“You look good too, Felix.”
It was the first real conversation they had shared all day.
Edwin, the last to change, came running out and sat on Lowell’s lap, his little mouth moving a mile a minute.
“But where am I going?”
“To a banquet. There will be lots of delicious food and many people. Remember when we had one at our castle?”
“Ah! I ‘member. Lots of people came.”
Edwin clapped his small hands.
Though he had been shy and hadn’t talked much to other children back then, he apparently didn’t have bad memories of it.
Both Edwin and the other children invited at the time had been somewhat conscious of their status, but they had played together like children should.
‘Phoebus might be a bit different, though. Children here tend to wake up to political instincts much earlier.’
Fortunately, among the children of the noble families attending today, there were none Edwin needed to be wary of due to rank.
If anything, the perceptive children would likely be eager to stay in Edwin’s good graces.
“Shall we go?”
The three of them wore clothes that differed slightly in design but clearly signaled they were a matched set.
Looking at Felix and Edwin standing side-by-side, Lowell suppressed a stray giggle and familiarly linked his arm with Felix’s.
In that instant, Felix flinched—a movement so sharp Lowell felt it clearly.
Feeling how intensely conscious Felix was of him, Lowell—who had momentarily forgotten his own nerves while worrying about Edwin—became tense all over again.
‘Honestly, it’s not like we did anything that wrong. Why are we walking on eggshells like this?’
Given Lowell’s personality, it would have been easy to just say, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I ended up hiding without thinking. I’m sorry. And about the engagement—I wasn’t hiding it; it was just so long ago that I truly forgot.”
But Felix’s hesitation seemed contagious.
‘Maybe I should have just said something yesterday.’
When Lowell turned his head to look at Felix, the man jerked his gaze away, despite the fact that he couldn’t actually flee while their arms were linked.
‘I can’t tell if he’s angry or just embarrassed.’
Lowell wanted to settle things with Felix the moment the banquet was over.
The banquet began, and a tedious round of greetings ensued.
Even as the familiar procedures passed and the time for dancing arrived, Felix couldn’t meet Lowell’s eyes once.
Lowell, in turn, was exhausted from spending the whole evening worrying about him.
“Did you have fun?”
“Yeah!”
The only one who truly enjoyed the banquet was Edwin, who had feasted on cake and played surrounded by children his age.
Even so, meeting so many new people must have been draining, as his eyes were now heavy with sleep.
“We will take him from here.”
The nannies waiting in the room took the dozing Edwin into their arms.
“Goodnight, Edwin.”
“Mmh…”
Even as his fathers kissed his forehead, Edwin couldn’t wake up.
Once the child was settled and the escort knights stepped outside, Lowell and Felix were finally alone.
“Um…”
“That…”
They both spoke at once, then stopped.
Lowell was slightly surprised that Felix, who had been running away all day, had tried to speak first.
‘Felix was waiting to be alone, too.’
But once the words were stalled, the unbearable battle of wits continued.
Lowell, unable to stand the awkwardness, spoke first.
“I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I should have at least let you know I was there.”
“No. If you had come out then, the situation would have become more complicated. I know that much.”
Since Felix replied that way, Lowell had no more apologies to offer.
Instead, he decided to open the floor for what Felix really wanted to say.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were upset? You even went as far as to investigate…”
“Lowell, you acted like you didn’t want to talk about it,” Felix replied in a low voice, as if suppressing a storm inside.
“Pardon?”
“There’s no way you wouldn’t remember. I thought you lied because you didn’t want to tell me.”
Lowell had only said he didn’t know because he truly didn’t, but it seemed Felix had interpreted it differently.
Since the Lowell Felix knew had a fairly good memory, it was a plausible misunderstanding.
“Besides, there must be more than one or two men charmed by you. I can’t react to every single one… because you hate it when I do.”
“I… do?”
Felix began to pour out his words like a broken dam.
“A while ago, when that man who was newly appointed as an escort knight lusted after you and I reassigned him, you got angry and told me to act like an adult.”
“No, that was because I felt bad for the knight! He was more than ten years older than me; logically, what kind of feelings could he have had?”
“Why do you even remember his age?”
Lowell buried his face in his hands, feeling dejected that he had spent the whole day agonizing only for the conversation to turn into this.
Seeing this, the agitated Felix realized his mistake and shut his mouth.
A laugh leaked through Lowell’s fingers.
Now that the words were out, the tension between them seemed to melt into the air.
Nothing had been officially “solved,” but simply showing their hearts had calmed the fluctuating anxiety.
“It might sound like an excuse, but I really didn’t know. I only found out yesterday that there were talks of an engagement.”
Felix cupped Lowell’s neck with his palm and leaned down to look into his face.
He stared intensely, as if he wanted to disappear into Lowell’s eyes.
“I know you don’t lie to me.”
Felix believed Lowell’s sincere words, but at the same time, he couldn’t shake a lingering sense of strangeness.
Whenever he heard about Lowell’s past, there were parts that felt inconsistent.
Felix always felt a restless urge to point it out, yet Lowell, the person in question, accepted those inconsistencies as a matter of course.
Lowell closed his eyes and leaned against him, as if sensing Felix’s inner turmoil.
“Trust me for now. When I’m ready, I’ll explain everything so you won’t be anxious.”
