The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

It was Kailos.

Leslun stiffened, startled that the Crown Prince had sat down beside him. Perhaps because of the closeness, he felt oddly tense.

A pleasant, low chuckle reached only Leslun’s ears.

Kailos had turned his body fully toward him, yet Leslun kept staring straight ahead. The distance was far too close. If he turned his head and their eyes met, he felt as though he wouldn’t even be able to breathe.

“Um… you’re watching everything from the front anyway.”

Was it really okay to show Robin this side of himself? But Leslun’s question was neatly ignored.

Kailos turned his head, scanning the table. His eyes fell on the small dessert plate Leslun had not touched from earlier. On it lay several neatly arranged, appetizing cookies.

“To have something like this right in front of you and not touch it.”

The low, subdued voice made it unclear whether he was marveling or reproaching him. Leslun just kept petting poor Blue.

“The fragrance is quite nice, isn’t it?”

Kailos reached out and picked up one of the small cookies. As he turned the thinly chocolate-coated cookie this way and that, he suddenly leaned toward Leslun—and brought the cookie right up to his lips.

“Open your mouth.”

Instead, Leslun pressed his lips firmly shut, his eyes darting in confusion. But the Crown Prince’s hand was far too close, and the faint sweetness rising from the cookie made his mouth water against his will.

Leslun tilted his head back slightly.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“If you refuse me here, I’ll feel a little foolish.”

Kailos’s even reply left Leslun hesitating, caught between embarrassment and awkwardness. He couldn’t very well say he would take it with his hand, and to brush it away outright was equally difficult.

More than anything, what unsettled him most was that the Crown Prince was doing such things as if they were perfectly natural.

In the end, Leslun obediently opened his mouth. The cookie slid between his lips. As Kailos withdrew, his fingertips brushed lightly against Leslun’s mouth. For some reason, it felt as though the warmth lingered faintly on his lips, tickling him.

Kailos spoke with a trace of amusement in his voice.

“Well done.”

At the brief praise, Leslun felt as if cold sweat was breaking out from the top of his head.

“Don’t mind me. Keep talking.”

Kailos’s voice was low and gentle. Whispered almost into his ear at such close distance, the words made Leslun’s fingers twitch.

There was even a leisurely playfulness in his tone, as though he were deliberately testing for a reaction. He was clearly enjoying tormenting him.

Yet Kailos picked up his teacup as though nothing had happened. It was tea Robin had swiftly prepared while Leslun had been dazed over a single cookie.

Leslun, unable to turn his head toward the Crown Prince, only parted his lips.

“The idea is to grant special privileges to students who show outstanding performance or growth. For example…”

“Like dining together with the Crown Prince, you mean?”

“…Such as scholarships.”

The Crown Prince’s playful interruption forced Leslun to tack on a quick clarification, as if to say that wasn’t what I meant. Even though Kailos had spoken half in jest, it somehow turned into a situation where Leslun ended up contradicting him, leaving the air awkward.

Leslun vowed to himself that no matter what, he would not turn his head. But not turning didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the Crown Prince’s reactions or moods. His presence was so overwhelming that even the smallest movement seemed to reach him.

Behind the Crown Prince’s light laughter, the fingers tapping the table suddenly stopped. That brief pause was enough to make Leslun’s nerves spike.

Watching the restless Leslun, Robin bit his lip. The way Leslun sat there, stiff as a board, looked oddly endearing.

But the moment Kailos’s displeased gaze swept over him, Robin quickly schooled his expression and spoke up.

“Ahem. Yes, scholarships. For commoners, they would reduce the burden of tuition, and for the children of nobles, they would serve as a point of pride. A far more effective alternative than dining with His Highness the Crown Prince.”

But Robin was not one to waste such an opportunity. Blue too lashed its tail against the floor, openly mocking Kailos.

“Yes, far more realistic than the unreachable Crown Prince.”

Even as he listened to Robin, Kailos kept his eyes fixed squarely on Leslun.