The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

The first reason was that a male aide could never be considered a suitable partner for the Crown Prince. And one could not ignore even Kailos’s hidden circumstances.

He would one day claim the throne he so deeply desired. At that time, the one who would become Empress was Lady Miroi, but the two of them would live a loveless, political marriage.

Was that all? As a result, he would receive Lady Miroi’s earnest resentment for having become Empress.

Toward the end, that resentment was no longer mere bitterness—it was closer to a curse.

And in truth, it was a curse. Her betrayal played a decisive role in Kailos’s downfall, and in the end, just as she wished, their marriage came to a close with his wretched death.

Having never been able to win a single corner of Kailos’s heart, she could only cry out that she was fated to live that way all her life. From the beginning, she believed his heart belonged to a first love who was already dead, and so she hated him all her life.

Even knowing such feelings of hers, Kailos deliberately brought in others. Rumors of the overnight companions who warmed the Emperor’s bed spread through every corner of the palace.

It was known that he began bringing others into his bed only after he had seized the throne. Before that, he vented his nature by cruelly tormenting the rivals he had imprisoned.

Signs of it had shown since his days as Crown Prince. Even after he became Emperor and took an Empress, the rumors did not vanish—if anything, they only grew.

On top of that…

“He doesn’t see the same partner twice, they say.”

‘If that was true, then perhaps tonight was my last night as well.’

‘Surely he won’t dismiss me from my post as aide…’

‘What if his interest in me vanishes completely?’

All manner of thoughts tormented Leslun’s mind.

If he saw him as nothing more than a passing encounter, then how would he be remembered? A sense of self-mockery seeped in—that he would be forgotten like a shadow, worth less than anyone else.

Leslun closed his eyes. He had to admit it to himself.

A single night with the Crown Prince was by no means a new beginning. To him, it was a bond that might have ended as his last, leaving him uncertain even of his place as an aide.

There had been a time when even short conversations with him had warmed his heart. He resolved to accept calmly that his presence would fade, even from the one who had once said he would call him his sunlight.

The one who had said he would become kind for his sake… he would have to let him go.

“Strange.”

He tried to resign himself and accept it. The more he recalled the Crown Prince he knew, the more it seemed right. He wanted to acknowledge it quickly, but a hollowness remained in the corner of his heart.

It seemed that along with fear of an uncertain future, affection had taken root as well. It was as if things had already spilled beyond retrieval.

As he struggled to steady his unsettled feelings, the faint sound of a door opening reached him.

“Leslun.”

At the gentle voice calling his name, he flinched involuntarily.

Lost in thought, he belatedly realized he was still lying in the Crown Prince’s bed and hurried to rise.

“Ugh…”

But the sharp ache in his lower back made him collapse forward again. In that moment, Kailos approached and sat on the edge of the bed.

“You shouldn’t move like that.”

Kailos pressed his shoulder and pushed him back. Though it did not seem as though much force was used, Leslun’s body turned and lay back down on the bed.

Blinking blankly, Leslun could not immediately accept what was happening to him.

Just moments ago, he had been lamenting that things with Kailos were over. Yet now, as Kailos drew close, he was wearing the same smile as ever.

“Sleep here tonight.”

At such unbearable words, Leslun shook his head where he lay.

“No. I will get up.”

“Really?”

Kailos replied with composure, as if he had no intention of stopping him, sipping his wine. After emptying the glass cleanly and setting it on the nightstand, he looked toward Leslun.

By then, Leslun, trembling, had forced himself upright. He had not even managed to climb down from the bed.

The Crown Prince’s chambers were vast to the point of seeming endless, yet he clenched his teeth. No matter what had happened between them, he wanted nothing more than to leave this place.

He also needed time to think on his own. If he was to steady his heart, which was already swayed by the Crown Prince’s tenderness, that was the only way.