* * *
“Young Master Holt treats the duchess like a younger sibling.”
“A younger sibling, huh…”
Zeroth stroked his chin at the report.
Yuri was younger than Sylvian, yet he treated him like a little brother?
Whisen maintained his usual expression, but his eyes looked increasingly unimpressed.
‘Maybe I need to train those idiots even harder.’
From the beginning, Sylvian had been particularly fond of Whisen.
That alone had made Zeroth wary of him.
“How about stepping away from Sylvian’s guard duty soon?”
“…Understood.”
There wasn’t even a trace of hesitation in him.
He shouldn’t doubt Whisen, but Zeroth thought that Sylvian’s loveliness could weaken his master’s loyalty.
That was the problem of pests that loitered around despite knowing their master was taken, not the fault of the beautiful Sylvian.
“If you step down from guarding him completely, Sylvian will be disappointed.
Reduce your shifts appropriately.”
“Understood. Also, may I visit the duchy in advance?”
Whisen planned to move ahead of spring to adjust the training schedule.
He believed that if he distanced himself, his feelings for the duchess would fade.
If something was wrong, it was only right to eliminate it before it grew any larger.
“Is it for training?”
“Yes. And the commander is coming to the capital.”
The knight commander had been staying at the duchy.
Upon hearing that Zeroth had married, he wanted to visit the duchess, but Whisen had been holding him back.
“It might be good for you to join him for joint training.”
“I’ll make preparations in advance.”
At the duke’s words, Whisen bowed.
Outside, the sky had darkened, and the air was quite cool.
A white puff of breath escaped from Whisen’s lips.
This should be enough.
Returning to the knights’ order, he sat down and selected knights with exemplary conduct.
If they rotated shifts during the day, there would be fewer unnecessary disputes.
He thought it best to remove himself from the position as the duke had decided and adjusted the schedule to minimize his time as a guard.
Whisen believed this was enough and erased his inexplicable emotions toward the duchess.
“Could you turn a little more to the right?”
A few days later, when it was time for him to guard the duchess, Whisen entered the drawing room and saw Sylvian nestled in Yuri’s arms.
“Whisen? You’re here?”
Sylvian greeted him first as he walked in.
“Yes. Young Master Holt is here as well.”
Their eyes met, and Yuri gave a slight nod.
A slow melody played from a recording device beside the table.
Holding Yuri’s hand, Sylvian spun around the room.
“Haha! Sylvian, you really learn things quickly.”
“It’s because Yuri is a good teacher.”
He hadn’t seen them for a few days, yet of all days, they were here again while he was on duty.
Whisen debated whether to revise his report to Zeroth and confirm that the pest eyeing the duchess was actually Yuri Holt.
It all seemed perfectly innocent, yet something about it felt off.
Thinking of them as an Omega and another Omega should have made it nothing, but the way the duchess was completely enveloped in Yuri’s large frame gave off an odd atmosphere.
“You’re sweating.”
Yuri naturally pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Sylvian’s forehead.
“Th-thank you.”
Sylvian felt uneasy about how close Yuri was to him.
He had heard that Yuri and Zeroth often met at the knights’ order.
Recently, after the crown prince achieved the rank of Sword Master, the empire had been in a state of celebration.
The emperor had dumped the Second Knights Division on Zeroth.
Annoyed, he still showed up to work every day.
Yuri, as a knight-in-training, was being trained under Zeroth, but instead of love blossoming, only hatred and malice seemed to be growing.
“Your face is red. Maybe you should rest a little.”
With a gentle touch, Yuri guided Sylvian to the sofa.
This was seriously insane.
The two people who were supposed to love each other were now both strangely drawn to him, leaving Sylvian clutching his head in frustration.
Even Yuri was giving him subtle looks now, so he needed a way to deal with this.
‘Whisen seems to be sorting out his feelings on his own.’
His shifts had been decreasing, and now he was even leaving for the duchy soon, so there was no need to worry about him.
He felt guilty for giving him false hope, but he was in no position to hesitate when his life was at stake.
Even in training, whenever Whisen had tried to get close, he had deliberately maintained distance, unlike before.
He did regret losing the chance to admire Whisen’s handsome face, but he also had to make his decision clear.
That day, the jealousy in Zeroth’s eyes had been so vivid that there was no way Sylvian could be unaware of his feelings.
The warmth of the hands that held him all night as he wept in vain had been comforting.
Ever since he was reincarnated, nothing had come easy, so he needed certainty.
He wanted to confirm whether Zeroth truly loved him.
If it were Hanseong, he wouldn’t have cared, but Sylvian needed to dissect every little thing to feel at ease.
Was it truly love, or just possessiveness over his toy?
Was it anger at someone else touching what he considered his?
He had thought about it dozens of times, but after facing Zeroth’s gaze thousands of times, he knew it had changed.
Even though his smile was soft, his eyes had always been cold.
But one day, warmth had started to creep into them.
He had tried to ignore it, but when Zeroth’s emotions were laid bare, they shook him.
He still sometimes gave unreadable looks, but at least toward Sylvian, he was warm.
If Zeroth would just stop punishing him—no, if he would just show his true feelings, Sylvian was willing to accept anything.
“Is the tea not to your taste?”
“I just feel like drinking something cold.”
Seeing Sylvian sitting blankly on the sofa, Yuri asked cautiously.
His pale face looked unsteady.
Of course, even looking so drained, he was still beautiful.
Yuri didn’t want to break that moment, but the fact that Sylvian was thinking about something else even while sitting with him was disheartening.
“You must be feeling hot.”
“I think I’m finally starting to build some stamina. It’s not as exhausting anymore.”
“That’s great news! It seems like you’re recovering quickly! I was the same way.”
Yuri smiled brightly and grabbed Sylvian’s hand.
He was a problem, too.
Even when Sylvian tried to subtly put more space between them, Yuri always closed the distance without hesitation.
At first, he thought Yuri simply liked beautiful things, like the countess, but lately, he had been using his smile to confuse him.
Even now, with Yuri’s thick thigh pressed against his own, he felt his body heat up.
“Yuri, it’s too hot.”
“Oh! I was too close, wasn’t I?”
Yuri quickly moved away, saying he hadn’t realized because they were talking.
His awkward smile made it clear that he had no idea what he was doing, and Sylvian sipped the cold drink Penny had brought.
“Will you be returning to the academy once spring comes?”
“Yes. I originally planned to take extra courses during the breaks to graduate early.”
Yuri’s gaze drifted toward Sylvian. Forget about early graduation.
Not seeing Sylvian for three whole months was out of the question.
He would have to find an excuse to come to the capital every break under the guise of knight training.
* * *
