The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 21.2
“Haah.”
The floor was hard, but simply not having to stand made him feel somewhat better. Yet it was not a state he could let others see.
His body ached, but his heart did not feel the same.
To be forgiven by Lady Miroi… That did not erase his sins, but it pleased him that at least one person could say he had not been wrong that day.
“Pathetic.”
“……”
A voice came from an unexpected direction. Leslun jerked upright.
When he lifted his head and turned his gaze, he saw someone step slowly out from the shadow behind the curtain. It was the Crown Prince, Kailos Delroi.
He approached Leslun with such a natural gait that it was impossible to guess how long he had been there.
More than the shame of being seen in such a pitiful state, what weighed on Leslun’s mind was the fact that he had just spoken with Lady Miroi. The Crown Prince knew full well who it was that had taken her away, yet it did not sit cleanly with Leslun.
He had thought perhaps the future could be changed. That was not something he wanted the Crown Prince to discover.
Leslun parted his lips, intending to say something, when suddenly a sharp, twisting pain knotted his insides. Perhaps it was from moving too violently.
Unable to bear it, he pitched forward. He managed to brace himself with his hands before collapsing fully to the floor, but his arms trembled as if they might buckle at any moment.
Kailos dragged a chair over, sat down beside him, and crossed his legs. He tapped the tip of his foot lazily as he looked down at Leslun, showing not the slightest intent to help him up.
“I’ve never hurt my aide… so why is it that my aide keeps ending up hurt?”
At the Crown Prince’s calm remark, Leslun’s head dropped heavily, as though a weight had been tied to it.
The injuries from escaping the Count had been ones Leslun had inflicted upon himself. And this pain now, though brought on by strain, was also, strictly speaking, his own fault for not enduring.
“How did you survive in such a harsh world with a body so frail?”
Kailos asked as though genuinely curious. Leslun had only one possible answer. But the Crown Prince was quicker to anticipate it.
“Spare me the apologies.”
“……”
“Go on. Say something else.”
Embarrassment welled on Leslun’s brow and slid down. Cold sweat dripped to the floor, leaving dark spots.
“It’s all my fau—”
“I already know it’s your fault. No need to repeat it.”
“I’ll never aga—”
“And I know you’ll never show me this pathetic side again. You may be weak, but you are not stupid.”
Every word he tried was blocked, leaving Leslun gaping soundlessly. He could think of nothing more to say.
“Where did that defiance from the beginning run off to?”
The Crown Prince let out a long sigh.
“Not knowing when you’ll fall ill, when you’ll collapse again—makes me wonder if I’m meant to keep you at my side and look after you myself.”
His words pierced Leslun’s chest. He too felt he had shown the Crown Prince nothing but unreliability.
“Or is it that you’re asking for my attention?”
“No, no, Your Highness.”
Leslun opened his mouth too hastily, his breath catching, his words stumbling.
“Truly not?”
“Yes. It is only that I… I am weak. Forgive me.”
The Crown Prince had told him not to apologize, but it was the only thing Leslun could say.
He had always been frail. Even in childhood, he had been unable to help his parents in the fields—he could only watch.
With nothing else he could do, his interest turned to books, and that talent earned him a place in the Count’s household.
But now, with his body failing him, his thoughts only spiraled darker and darker. In this state, it was difficult to even respond to the Crown Prince, and he had already lost control over the negativity consuming him.
His vision blurred, his hands lost strength on the floor, and just as he began to collapse—something caught him.
Leslun blinked at the ground in confusion before shaking his head. He wanted to confirm what it was that pressed firmly against his chest.
Long… firm… as though stretching from somewhere above.
“A leg?”
Trousers. Made of fine fabric.
Instinctively, he lifted his head—and saw the Crown Prince, arms crossed, looking down at him. Kailos had extended his leg to support his body.
“You’re… sweating quite a lot.”
Kailos muttered words Leslun could not immediately grasp. There was no time to puzzle out what he meant.
The Crown Prince seized Leslun’s forearm roughly. Then, almost as though embracing him, he pressed his face into the hollow of Leslun’s neck. The unexpected gesture left Leslun utterly shaken.
“Perhaps if I keep a weak aide by my side, I’ll become a better man.”
“……”
The Crown Prince must have gone mad.
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