The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 38.1
Blue’s prank had shattered all of Leslun’s defenses. Normally, when Kailos leaned in as if to kiss him, he should have refused.
But at that moment, something in him had been undeniably strange.
Instead of recalling reasons why he must not, he had been drawn into that face.
There were plenty of reasons why such feelings should not be allowed in his heart—yet none of them seemed to matter.
“Am I really someone who gets swayed just by a handsome face?”
It could only be explained as mischief. Nothing else.
If Blue was a guardian beast, then such a thing was not impossible.
His heart still pounded hard, but Leslun rationalized it as nothing more than embarrassment.
A momentary impulse. Nothing beyond that. It was fortunate. It had been only that.
…Only that, right?
Between Kailos’s smiling eyes, there flashed a look that would not miss Leslun’s reaction. The moment he caught the resignation settling into Leslun’s expression, Kailos’s lips spread in satisfaction.
Yes, that’s it. Give in like that.
Watching Leslun begin to accept stirred up a joy far greater than when Kailos himself had first admitted his feelings. He was glad he had come to meet him.
From now on, he would never let Leslun leave his side. He would make him fall again and again…
“I—I’m just an ordinary country youth.”
At that mood-breaking statement, Kailos’s satisfied smile froze in place.
“Those words… I feel like I’ve heard them somewhere before.”
Kailos’s smile vanished, his gaze turning reproachful. What unnecessary preamble was this harmless-looking aide about to utter?
“As I thought, for someone like me to dare embrace you—it’s absurd.”
“It’s not.”
Leslun blinked in surprise at Kailos’s sharp reply cutting him off. Then, after a beat, Kailos, who had been frowning as if displeased, softened into a benevolent smile.
“It’s not absurd. Otherwise, where could you possibly go, leaving me behind?”
And, as though worried Leslun hadn’t heard, he repeated it again.
“That’s not what I meant…”
“You are more than enough. Don’t trouble yourself over that.”
Sealing off every path of retreat, Kailos looked at Leslun as if he were something delicious.
“I treasure you, Leslun—the ordinary country youth—so you don’t need to worry.”
“That only means it’s natural that Your Highness and I don’t suit each other.”
“Two things that shine too brightly together only dazzle the eyes, nothing more.”
At Kailos’s retort, Leslun almost wavered—then realized he had missed something.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant… because Your Highness is perfect, I am far too insignificant…”
“Have I ever been so solemn as all that?”
No.
Leslun nearly said it aloud but bit his lip to hold it back. True, when the Crown Prince grew silent and closed his expression, he could look solemn, but that was hardly his usual self.
“This should make things clear. You will, forever…”
Kailos’s voice trailed off, letting the atmosphere linger suggestively.
“…serve me.”
At those words, Leslun could not react at all.
By “serve,” he surely meant what Leslun thought—remain by his side forever as his aide.
“Then what Your Highness has been saying… this ‘mischief’… it means…”
“It means you’d best abandon the idea of escaping from me.”
Leslun sighed. He had misunderstood. It wasn’t what he had thought, and yet he had fallen into strange imaginings by himself…
The tension drained from his body, leaving only emptiness. More than anything, he wanted to leave this alley.
But still, the Crown Prince did not lower his hand.
“More importantly…”
“…What is it, Your Highness?”
Kailos continued to gaze down at Leslun, as though holding back words he wished to say. That gaze was so intense Leslun felt his face burning up.
He shrank back, trying to avoid the Crown Prince’s eyes. Then Kailos’s hand came to rest on his shoulder.
It was just as he had done when instructing Leslun to guide the visiting prince from Vancor. At first, Leslun tried to accept it without much thought—only to grow belatedly flustered.
That hand, once so firm upon his shoulder, slid downward, turning gradually more suggestive. As the thumb and forefinger brushed over the edge of his clothes, a strange feeling crept in.
Heat surged across Leslun’s face.
“Since we’re out, it might be nice to look around. What do you want to do right now?”
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