The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

“Nothing is impossible!”

Cassian shouted at the top of his lungs.

At that bold response, Kailos shook his head in disbelief, then grabbed Cassian by the nape and pulled him away.

“Brother, I can’t breathe.”

Cassian flailed his arms.

“Do not hug me recklessly. The only one who can hug me is Leslun, and the only one Leslun can hug is me.”

Kailos spoke teasingly.

“That is unfair. It is unfair!”

With no effort, Kailos placed the struggling Cassian into the carriage.

Then he turned toward Leslun. Leslun, who had been leaning against Blue, got up belatedly.

Seeing the two speak like ordinary siblings, Leslun had let his guard down, but tension returned to his body. He had momentarily forgotten the moments that had just passed between them.

Kailos reached out his hand to the hesitant Leslun.

“Get on.”

“Your Highness…”

He wanted to grab that hand immediately, but the faint fear that his choice might ruin everything made him hesitate.

“Leslun. I am asking you. Watch over me. I need you.”

At those words, Leslun lifted his head and met Kailos’s gaze. He seemed somewhat tense as well.

He must have thought that he might be rejected.

A Crown Prince waiting for the choice of a mere minor aide.

“Come on. Hurry.”

At Kailos’s repeated urging, Leslun hesitated for a moment before taking his hand and stepping into the carriage.

He watched Kailos’s changing demeanor, wondering if there was a way to protect him. He also wanted to believe in the words of Blue, the empire’s spirit.

Then, catching sight of Cassian grinning inside, Leslun froze without realizing it.

Only then did he realize that he had revealed his relationship with Kailos to Prince Cassian.

Standing awkwardly without even sitting down, Leslun drew Kailos’s curious glance.

“Are you hurt?”

Kailos placed his hand on Leslun’s forehead to check for a fever.

The gentle touch made Cassian smile even more. He even cupped his own cheeks with his hands, showing a shy expression.

“No, I am not hurt.”

Trying to cover it up now would not work. Leslun slightly pulled his head back to avoid Kailos’s hand.

Heat rose to his face from embarrassment. He pretended to look out the window to hide his flustered feelings.

Little did he know, it was a worse choice.

Kailos immediately noticed why Cassian was smiling, clicked his tongue, and muttered quietly.

“Do you want to walk here?”

Cassian immediately pressed his lips together. Despite trying to suppress his laughter, his eyes sparkled.

Trying to joke in such a serious moment—he was still a child.

Kailos hid a sigh and sat beside Leslun, murmuring calmly.

“Do not worry about it.”

“Yes.”

Leslun answered without conviction and lowered his head.

Blue seemed uninterested in riding in the carriage and perched on the roof instead. The doors closed, and soon the carriage moved.

***

Looking at the now familiar scenery outside, Leslun wondered what the Empress had done.

What on earth was happening? Worry grew as multiple thoughts crossed his mind.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Leslun’s mind. He grabbed Kailos’s sleeve and tugged.

“Hm? Why? Do you need something? Or are you cold? Should I hold you?”

Kailos reacted swiftly, as if he had been waiting for Leslun to speak.

Cassian watched the two, holding his breath, with a look of curiosity.

Leslun carefully ignored all of that and cautiously spoke.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Hm… first, we need to return to the Crown Prince’s palace and check.”

Kailos replied briefly.

“And then?”

“We have to figure out what has happened. Do not worry. Robin will have prepared everything.”

His indifferent answer suggested he had already anticipated this kind of situation. That alone was reassuring, but Leslun had another reason for speaking.

“May we delay going inside for a moment?”

Kailos turned his head.

“Seems like you have a guess.”

He turned toward Leslun as if to hear what he meant.

In the original story he knew, the former Emperor had fallen unconscious from an unexplained incident. Kailos had quickly taken control of the Imperial City in that gap.

In the novel, Kailos framed the Empress for the crime and eliminated her. There were hints throughout the novel that he had been behind the former Emperor’s assassination.