The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 45.2
Kailos’s voice shifted to a subtle tone. Leslun’s mind grew hazy, as though he might be swept away by the dangerous atmosphere. He suddenly recalled what had happened in the alleyway.
Could this too have some hidden intent?
“You’ll be attending the Academy, won’t you? Imagine if we were to cross paths there from time to time.”
Wisley Academy. Just hearing that stirred Leslun’s heart. If that was what the Crown Prince intended, shouldn’t he give his very best in return?
Leslun nodded as if he understood, but then soon turned to Kailos again with eyes full of uncertainty.
Still, there were plenty of other signals. Using such an embarrassing nickname was a bit too much……
He almost gave in, but not quite. Kailos frowned slightly, then quickly smiled again.
“In that case, it would also need to be shared with Robin.”
“What have you been listening to? I told you—it has to be something only I can call you by……”
Kailos nearly let out a sigh but restrained himself.
“At any rate, there will be times like today when we must meet in private. Let this be something known only to us. If it’s ever necessary for Robin to understand, I’ll explain it to him myself.”
As if asking whether that would suffice, he looked at Leslun, who gave a small nod.
“……Do you have a name you would like me to use?”
Finally, a low, cautious voice slipped through Leslun’s lips. Kailos narrowed his eyes with satisfaction.
“I’m fine with anything. In my eyes, your hair resembles the glow of moonlight, and your gaze sometimes sparkles like a ruby.”
“I wasn’t talking about myself, but about Your Highness……”
Wasn’t a nickname usually something short and light, taken from a person’s name? In that case, Kailos seemed to have the simpler path available.
“Exactly. That’s how I want to be made into someone special……”
“Kai!”
Before Kailos could add something stranger, Leslun blurted out the word. He instantly regretted it and clapped both hands over his mouth.
Kailos’s eyes narrowed, then he nodded.
“Simple, but not bad. In that case, may I call you ‘Lun’ from now on?”
Leslun hesitated, then quickly answered, “Leslun is fine.” Still, when his name was shortened, he pressed his lips together as if it felt awkward.
“No, that won’t do. ‘Lun’ makes it sound as though you’ll run away. That doesn’t sit right with me. Then, ‘Len’?”
At that, Leslun flinched reflexively—after all, he had already once fled before. Kailos caught the reaction, smiling once more as he spoke.
“This is a nickname I’m granting you especially. I’d be disappointed if you refused. Of all the names you’ve ever been called, which was the warmest?”
At those words, a memory unexpectedly surfaced.
Leslun couldn’t answer properly. Avoiding Kailos’s gaze, he whispered softly:
“Sunshine……”
Kailos’s expression shifted with surprise.
“My parents used to call me that, when I was young. They said I was like a ray of sunshine on a winter’s day to them.”
As Leslun mentioned his parents, a faint smile appeared on his lips, while Kailos’s face hardened. But it was only for a moment. When Leslun raised his head again, Kailos smiled as if nothing had happened.
“If it were a name given by a lover you left behind, I would’ve told you to leave it out.”
“There is no such person.”
“That’s a relief. Then I’ll claim that name for myself.”
Leslun turned his head away, embarrassed at his own words.
To call him ‘sunshine’ in front of the Empire’s Little Sun—of all things, it felt far too much like a paired set. The shame burned hotter for it.
“Very well, let’s do it that way. From now on, you are not only my aide. Since you’ll be attending the Academy, you are also a student named Leslun, and my sunshine. So keep your wits about you.”
Leslun, who had flushed at the nickname, suddenly widened his eyes at what followed. Attending the Academy had already been a settled matter, but hearing the Crown Prince himself acknowledge him as a student gave the words an entirely different weight.
“From now on, just keep an eye on the people I tell you to watch, and try not to mingle with them too much.”
With those words, Kailos held out his empty wineglass.
“Ah—watch them.”
Leslun quickly looked around, found the wine bottle, and picked it up.
The tension in his chest, swollen like a balloon filled with hot water, deflated in an instant.
Of course. That was why he had been allowed to enter the Academy in the first place.
He was one of only two aides, and now one of them would be absent for at least half the day, every day. There was no way Kailos would have arranged all of this simply for Leslun’s sake.
It was obvious—yet somehow, he couldn’t help but feel deflated.
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