* * *
“I know.”
“What?”
“I know where the ritual will be held.”
A heavy silence fell over the room. Felix couldn’t even manage to ask, ‘How do you know?’
“If you trust me, please contact the Crown Prince right now and tell him you’re willing to head to the capital.”
Lowell’s clear eyes pierced through Felix.
“It sounds like you’ll have a lot to explain on the way.”
Felix couldn’t hide his exhaustion and ran a hand down his face. Lowell’s chest tightened — even though he was only trying to resolve the situation, he felt guilty for adding to Felix’s burdens.
“Yes. But before I explain anything, please know one thing: I have never, not even once, intended to harm you, Felix.”
The sound of the river flowing beyond the window briefly filled the space between them.
Lowell hesitated, feeling the weight of Felix’s next words.
“I don’t think you approached me with ulterior motives, or that you’ve been colluding with someone else behind my back. I trust you.”
Hearing those words, Lowell couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.
He was happy to have earned such trust, yet somehow it felt like Felix’s belief in him left no room for doubt at all.
“What if I betray you one day?”
Lowell’s voice was weary.
Felix let out a low snort.
He reached out and gently brushed Lowell’s cheek.
He couldn’t even bring himself to pinch it, worried he might leave a mark.
“If you were going to betray me, you wouldn’t say such a thing.”
“You never know. Liars are good at honeyed words.”
Lowell clung to the end of the conversation stubbornly.
It was a habit — when he was overwhelmed by tension, he would latch onto pointless topics to calm himself.
He didn’t even realize it, but Felix noticed.
That was why he kept the conversation going.
“I don’t think it will happen, but if everything you’ve done until now was a lie just to kill me…”
Felix’s hand, which had been stroking Lowell’s cheek, now touched his lips.
The light, teasing taps felt strangely intimate, almost like a kiss even though their lips never met.
The burning desire in Felix’s gaze only deepened the atmosphere.
“I’ll die happily. So you don’t have to feel guilty even if it comes to that.”
“……”
Lowell opened his mouth slightly.
Felix playfully tapped his teeth with his finger.
There was no time to feel strange about it.
“Instead, think of me every day. Just mourn and miss the man who died for you.”
The affection and obsession tangled in Felix’s voice stuck stubbornly to Lowell’s eardrums.
Goosebumps traveled up his spine, melting all his earlier worries.
“You don’t have to do anything like that. I already think of you every day.”
“That’s good. Because I do too.”
Their hands intertwined. A firm trust held them together.
“Your Highness, everything is ready.”
At the sound of a knock, they continued to simply hold each other’s hands for a moment longer.
“…Alright.”
“Head for the capital.”
As soon as Felix climbed into the carriage and gave his order, the knights, who had been moving like clockwork, suddenly faltered as if rusted.
“Pardon? Weren’t we headed for the castle?”
Tia, speaking on behalf of the confused knights, asked.
Only after he spoke did he realize it was a bit rude, but once words were out, they couldn’t be taken back.
However, Felix, understanding their confusion, did not rebuke him.
“The Crown Prince summoned me.”
Felix shamelessly invoked the Crown Prince’s name.
From Felix’s earlier reaction upon reading the letter, the knights had already guessed this wasn’t entirely true, but it wasn’t their place to question their lord’s words.
They could only assume Felix had changed his mind after some thought.
“Understood. We’ll prepare to head for the capital.”
“Make sure that any traveling mages we meet along the way are ones who leave no traces.”
“Yes, sir.”
Once the knights withdrew, Felix tapped his finger against the armrest while studying the map laid before him.
“Once we leave this region, we’ll have to travel on horseback for a while. Will you be all right with that?”
It was a troublesome matter.
Lowell’s physical endurance aside, Felix wasn’t sure whether he could even ride a horse properly.
‘Would this body have learned horseback riding?’
It was standard etiquette for any noble son to know how to ride, but Lowell had been a discarded child.
There was a real chance he hadn’t learned.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up.”
“And why would you need to?”
Realizing their conversation wasn’t lining up, the two quickly understood there had been a misunderstanding.
“You didn’t actually think I was going to let you ride alone, did you? Of course you’ll ride in front of me.”
Lowell flushed red.
If he had thought for even a moment, it was obvious.
Felix treated him like a feather that could blow away in the wind—there was no way he’d leave him to ride on his own.
“I’ll make it comfortable enough for you to fall asleep up there if you want,” Felix added firmly, almost like a vow.
Contrary to Felix’s confident promise, Lowell found it impossible to fall asleep while sitting on the horse.
At first, it was because he was too conscious of how closely he was pressed against Felix.
‘I thought I wouldn’t be embarrassed anymore after everything we’ve done…’
Being nestled against Felix’s broad chest was one thing, but his thick thigh was pressed firmly against him, the warmth and the pressure impossible to ignore no matter how much Lowell tried.
If it had been under different circumstances, he might have laughed it off.
But right now, Felix was only trying to protect him.
Thinking he was the only one having inappropriate thoughts made Lowell burn with quiet shame.
(Of course, contrary to Lowell’s worries, Felix was also quietly feeling a slow, simmering heat.)
“Ahem, are you all right?”
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Felix asked.
If Lowell had been able to see Felix’s face, he might have felt less guilty.
But stiff from the unfamiliarity of horseback riding, Lowell couldn’t even turn his head.
“Y-yes, um… my butt’s a little sore, but I’m okay.”
After riding nonstop for what felt like half a day, the knights who had gone ahead to make contact with the teleportation mages returned.
“Report,” Felix ordered.
“Yes, sir. We arranged it so that as soon as we enter the village, we’ll be able to teleport directly to the capital.”
Normally, Felix would have ended the conversation there.
But something made him tighten his grip on the reins.
“You ensured no information leaked out?”
“We contacted a guild known for handling secretive matters in the neighboring city. They’re a relatively new but highly competent group.”
Felix’s mouth twisted slightly.
Ideally, he would have worked with the teleportation mages he’d used for years.
But that would have risked leaking information to the Emperor.
Thus, he had chosen this backup plan, but something about it still gnawed at him.
And Felix’s instincts were rarely wrong.
“Fine. If they try anything foolish, we’ll deal with it.”
Felix hugged Lowell closer against him, sharpening his senses.
The tense alertness radiating from him was so intense, it chilled the air between them.
They continued traveling for some time before the atmosphere among the knights shifted noticeably.
“They’re closing in… slowly but surely,” Felix murmured.
“Could it be the guild we hired turned on us?”
Lowell, who had tensed at the thought it might be a trap from the noble faction, quickly reconsidered.
That seemed unlikely.
* * *
