The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

Kailos gave the order with a stern expression. Robin had only done as instructed, but instead of feeling wronged, he seemed more relieved at not having to touch hands, quickly withdrawing and putting on his gloves.

Kailos looked down at his own palm.

“This is how it usually is, so why was it different then?”

“Exactly. If it were a woman, perhaps, but for someone who hates even brushing fingers with another man to suddenly try to devour Leslun whole… It was astonishing.”

Why had he been so drawn to Leslun just now? Normally, even being near anyone was intolerable, so why had he wanted to kiss him…?

Even considering Blue’s meddling, it was strange. Kailos, frowning, glanced toward Robin.

“Was I trying to devour Leslun?”

“That is how it appeared.”

Leslun’s back had been trembling pitifully, like that of a cornered prey animal.

***

It wasn’t only Kailos who had gone through something unforgettable.

Following the Crown Prince’s order to leave, Leslun had left the main building and returned to the dormitory, clutching himself tightly.

“What on earth happened just now?”

Even after distancing himself from the Crown Prince, his heart would not calm down.

Of course, anyone’s heart would race after seeing so close the face that all praised as flawless. But the problem was the emotions that weren’t made of surprise alone.

“I need to act as if nothing happened.”

If it didn’t improve, then he would have to ignore it, force himself back into his usual composure. He was a secretary. Once he left this place, he would once again have to follow directly behind the Crown Prince without fail.

The more deeply he thought, the more it felt like sinking into a swamp, so Leslun chose to abandon the thought altogether.

He checked the time and rose to his feet.

Whatever his conflicted feelings, he couldn’t remain apart forever. Even if not the Crown Prince, his senior Robin might come looking for him at any moment.

As Leslun hurried down the corridor, a hand suddenly shot out from the shadows.

He noticed it for the briefest instant, but there was no time to react.

The moment his hair was seized in a rough grip, his breath caught in his throat.

He twisted and writhed, trying to free his trapped hair, but with his slender, untrained body, it was useless.

He was yanked roughly toward the wall, his shoulder striking against stone. His heart pounded in foreboding terror.

Swallowing hard, Leslun lifted his head to see clearly who had dragged him here.

Shadows still swallowed everything before his eyes.

“Who—…”

“Shh.”

The figure hidden in the darkness raised a finger to his lips.

As Leslun lifted his gaze, the other’s lips spread into a bright smile.

***

Once things had settled somewhat, Robin handed over a letter.

“I don’t want to see anything right now.”

“Baron Kelly insisted that it be delivered directly.”

Robin held back the urge to add that he had also hesitated before offering it.

Kailos raised his brows at the seal pressed into the envelope.

“Prince Shaiman of Vancor.”

With reluctance, he unfolded the letter. Its contents requested that his younger brother be allowed to enroll at the academy.

The problem had not originated from outside, but within. It was Baron Kelly who had set things in motion.

Told to increase student numbers, this was the method he had chosen.

Knowing he would devise his own approach, Kailos had intended to wait, then quietly suggest Leslun’s idea: broadening admissions by social status, and adding a scholarship program.

In other words, to expand vertically. But instead, Kelly had abruptly expanded across the borders.

Not only within the Empire, but students from outside as well.

Even though this was an academy established by the Imperial Palace, he seemed to have brushed such concerns aside.

It appeared letters had been sent far and wide, declaring that anyone with the will to study could apply, as long as they would stay in the academy dormitory.

As a result, enrollment requests were flooding in.

The most outrageous of all was this letter from the Vancor Kingdom.

Kailos had been restraining himself, knowing that one sharp word could risk even Leslun’s own admission being canceled, but now the storm had reached him regardless.

“A younger brother, he says? Absurd.”

In the Vancor royal family, there were only two princes: Crown Prince Shaiman and Prince Tarensiu.

“To release that notorious scoundrel into my academy?”

Even Empress Tera was desperate to seize the academy for herself, and now a foreign crown prince presumed to treat them as little more than his younger brother’s wardens.

If Prince Tarensiu were to come, the academy’s atmosphere might very well be tainted.

At Vancor’s brazen interference, Kailos’s brows arched sharply. It hardly seemed likely this was Shaiman’s idea alone.

“Find out the details. I will return to the Imperial Palace.”

“Your Highness.”

He meant to hurry and reject this absurdity, but Robin stopped him uneasily.

“Aide Leslun has not yet returned.”