The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

“Ah!”

The sound came from Blue. He had been moving quietly at Leslun’s side, then suddenly leapt onto the window ledge.

“Blue? What’s wrong?”

Leslun lifted his eyes from the book and stepped toward him. Just as he wondered if something was wrong, Blue darted straight out the window.

“W–wait! No!”

He rushed to the window and looked outside. The library was on the third floor.

This was bad.

Could he really be all right after leaping from such a height? Leslun scanned the area, but there was no sign of Blue. Perhaps he had landed on a railing and moved somewhere else.

Leslun walked along the wall, checking each of the library windows. With every step he took, a sense of emptiness weighed on him. The soft weight that had rested in his arms was gone.

He wasn’t heavy at all, light enough to carry all day without trouble, and now Leslun regretted having set him down at all. No matter how he searched, there was no trace of Blue.

Kailos had entrusted him with a precious creature, and now, as an aide, Leslun was on the verge of failing his very first duty.

“What should I do?”

He would likely need to seek advice from Robin, his senior.

He had been told twice not to take his eyes off Blue. There was definitely some reason behind it.

He might get scolded for letting Blue slip away, but more important than that was Blue’s safety. He was still just a youngling—what if someone stepped on him by accident?

So small, so fragile—it was impossible not to worry.

He could not find Blue anywhere in the library. He resolved to head straight to the headmaster’s office, but just then—

“Your Highness?”

Leslun’s eyes fell on the Crown Prince. Kailos was leaning against the wall, gazing steadily down at him with a blank expression.

Leslun’s gaze darted around quickly, but there was no one else nearby. Looking closer, Kailos himself seemed… strange. His face was paler than usual, his shoulders slumped, his breath coming short and harsh.

Before Leslun could even think to ask what was wrong, his body moved on its own.

“Are you all right?”

There was no trace of his usual composure. Even as he hurriedly dabbed the cold sweat from the Prince’s brow with a handkerchief, the ragged breathing did not subside.

“I’ll fetch someone immediately.”

But the moment Leslun tried to step away, his wrist was seized. A warm, firm hand pressed tightly against his pulse.

“I…”

Kailos’s eyes fluttered shut, his lashes trembling faintly. His lips, drained of color, quivered the same way.

A vibration rose from deep within his chest and carried up through his arm. The sight alone stirred pity in anyone who saw it. Leslun could not bring himself to pull the Prince’s hand away.

Yes, he had sometimes left Leslun flustered, asking things like what made a good man—but still, he had always looked after him. He was someone Leslun was grateful to. And now, seeing that same man weakened, he could not turn away.

“Think I’m insane if you want.”

“What do you…?”

Leslun, confused, looked at him—and suddenly the Prince’s face drew closer.

As though he meant for their lips to touch, his head tilted. Leslun’s mouth fell open in shock.

It never even crossed his mind that he should avoid it. He couldn’t believe what was happening to him.

Frozen in place, he could see every detail of Kailos’s thick lashes as the distance shrank. Then—Kailos stopped.

“…”

Perhaps it was fortunate that Leslun had already forgotten to breathe in his fright. The Prince’s breath spilled over his face and dispersed.

The sensation of that breath scattering was slow, heavy. Even its fragrance spread through him as if to stimulate his very mind.

His head emptied to blank white.

He forgot what he had been doing only moments ago, or even why he was here. The world seemed to halt, and the Crown Prince filled his vision entirely.

“…Why aren’t you avoiding me?”

Kailos’s voice was lower, calmer than ever before. Their lips brushed faintly—so close that Leslun shivered at the ticklish sensation.

“Hmm? Aide Leslun.”

“…You said you wanted to become a good man.”

The words tumbled out without thought. Only after he had spoken did Leslun slowly realize what he had just said.

“Yes. That’s right. I did say that.”

Kailos’s eyes, which had been fixed on his lips, rose upward. When at last their gazes met, Leslun thought he saw flames flare to life in those eyes.

“It’s no illusion.”

The Prince’s low, resonant voice reached him like a faraway echo.

Leslun exhaled without meaning to—the breath he had been holding until now. The instant he realized that breath had reached the Crown Prince, his body froze all over again.