"Cecillia," he called.
"Yes?"
"I will absolutely promise to keep my word to protect Birwick. I will still keep it as a sovereign kingdom. So, you don’t have to be sad anymore."
I felt my face being touched from the side, and when I looked up, I was faced with the figure of a man with jet black hair that was slightly curly. The man smiled sincerely, making feel a little guilty for always being quiet so far.
"I know that our relationship is only based on politics. But... I want you to stay comfortable here. If you can’t accept as a partner, can I be your friend?" the man asked.
Friend? I... honestly didn’t expect the man would offer himself as a friend of mine. Friends were sothing precious to and maybe... maybe the emptiness I felt in my heart since I lived here was because I didn’t have a friend.
The man looked sincere, and without understanding it, I nodded my head in agreent. He chuckled and glanced at . I tilted my head in confusion. Then, the man bit his lower lip to keep himself from laughing, but his smile was like soone holding back his amusent. Even his neck and ears looked red.
"Sorry, sorry... I didn’t an to laugh at you. I... I’m just so happy to talk to you. After all, I’ve been trying to muster up the courage to greet you, and finally I can talk to you right now. I am very relieved and also very happy."
Huh? Could talking to soone make him so happy? The man covered his mouth and threw his flushed face to the side. I also turned my face to hold back my laughter because the man was acting very funny.
"Hihi."
"Eh? Are you laughing?"
"Huh? N-no." I shook my head quickly and waved my hand. Of course, it was a lie.
"I saw it! You laughed just now, right?"
"Not! I-I didn’t laugh at all!"
"I know you laugh!" The man’s accusations made unable to hold back my laughter anymore.
For the first ti, I laughed loud enough, and finally the weight on my chest was slowly lifted by my laughter, which echoed throughout the cathedral hall.
***
It turned out that King Theodore wasn’t as bad as my parents used to say. The man was so kind to . He always told sothing that I had never heard before. He gave a lot of new knowledge. And only then did I realize that the Birwick Kingdom was just a small kingdom that didn’t have any power.
I always heard how my father used to boast about the Birwick Kingdom saying that it was the heart of the world. I didn’t understand what my father ant. Even to this day, I still didn’t understand why he always exaggerated about his kingdom.
After several tis walking around the Northendell, I knew that Northendell was more worthy of being called a kingdom. I also had the opportunity to et with several mbers of the nobility. The number was more than the total number of people staying in the castle, including the ladies-in-waiting, maids, and also the guards.
The party held in the palace was also far more grandeur, and I had never seen a real party before. In the castle where I used to live, the party only consisted of a few people dancing together with the lodious music, but in Northendell, it was really different. I couldn’t even recognize everyone there.
Being in the crowd made dizzy. The flashy colors of gold, red, yellow, green made my head spin. I still hadn’t fully adapted to life in Northendell, but I still smiled when I saw the queen who seed to enjoy the party.
I had never seen a queen smile and laugh freely like that.
Since I was still not used to the crowds, I decided to visit the library. It was much quieter there. There was no loud music, nor was there a series of people’s voices that blended together. I used to have sharp hearing, so it was all quite torturous. My ears felt tired, so I decided to hide behind the bookshelves lining up neatly.
Under the full moon, I could see the sleeping figure of the king leaning against the bookshelf. The book he was reading was placed on his stomach, and his mask was now tucked aside.
"Want to join?" the man asked, still with his eyes tightly closed.
I thought the king was asleep, but it seed he wasn’t.
"I’m sorry to interrupt your ti, Your Majesty. I will be back."
"Cecillia, could you stay with for a bit?"
I looked back and found no one. So I braced myself to get closer.
"Your Majesty, perhaps you should rest in your room?"
I just wanted to give him advice because sleeping in a place like this would make him sick.
"Cecillia, could you stay with for a bit?" he asked again, using the sa question.
I took a deep breath then sat two steps away from him, keeping a proper distance. However, the man waved his hand, asking to co closer. I frowned as I slled the strong sll of sothing. I knew it was alcohol, but I had never slled alcohol this strong.
After I got closer, I finally saw two glass bottles right beside King Theodor’s body. Then, Our eyes t. Feeling that it was rude, I quickly shifted to the other way. After sitting in a comfortable position, I leaned my body against the bookshelf.
The library was dark. Only the full moon was shining on us through the large glass windows on the side. I looked at the moon for a mont. It felt weird. The moon looked very far and out of my reach, unlike when I was still in Birwick. It was only the size of a little finger, and the whites were not as clear as usual. The color was a little gray, maybe because of the thin mist of clouds that covered it.
"You like the moon, huh?" he asked.
I just nodded because I still didn’t want to take my eyes off the small yet beautiful thing.
It was already a full moon. I should keep the promise I had made. Just thinking about it made very sad. Was that man waiting for ? Would he find here?
Mate, huh? But, I was already married to King Theodore. Even though he hadn’t touched as a wife, I was already bonded to him. Did that an our mate bond was no longer valid?
"You look sad. If the moon makes you sad, I can close the window."
I shook my head, and now I was facing him again.
"The moon never makes sad. It always comforts instead. I just feel sad because of sothing else."
I felt a warm hand touching my face. "Can I know what makes you sad? I want to destroy the things that make you sad."
The man sounded very sincere. Being his friend reminded of Mirai who always took care of wholeheartedly. It turned out that King Theodore didn’t know about Mirai’s incident. All he knew was that the entourage taking to Northendell had been attacked. Thus, King Theodore directly intervened to escort the second Northendell entourage to return to Northendell.
"Hey," he called softly.
The man took his hand away from my face.
"Want to exchange secrets as fellow friends?"
"Secret?"
"Yeah. Sothing you kept to yourself and didn’t tell anyone."
"But, if I tell you, doesn’t that an it’s not a secret anymore?"
After I answered it like that, King Theodore laughed out loud.
"Good grief... I’m such a fool. Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking straight," he replied, still laughing out loud.
I was silently waiting for the man to stop laughing.
"Ah... damn, I haven’t laughed this well lately. Thank you, Cecil. I can really breathe freely right now."
The man took a deep breath and then moved his body.
"You know, I hate all the people out there."
I was a little surprised to hear the hatred slip in his tone. I always heard my father say how much King Theodore hated people, but as long as I was here, I had always been treated well. So, I stopped thinking about all the bad things about the man.
"You know, before I beca king... I was just the son of poor farrs who almost died during a famine."
He looked down and took my hand then told to touch his head. I could feel that through his jet black hair that there was a long wound on his head.
"I almost died when I was caught stealing a glass of wheat from a nobleman’s house. They hit with bamboo, making my head almost crushed. I had held a grudge since then. From a small village, I gathered strong youths, and they beca my followers. I also gathered one or two villages to form a new territory. My goal was only one. To overthrow the noble man who nearly killed back then. But, after I succeeded, I was faced with a larger army."
The man took off his shirt and showed his back full of wounds. He told the story of the naivety of the village youths who wanted to fight the elite troops of the aristocrats. After receiving the punishnt of being hit by a cane for one hundred in front of all his followers, the man got back up, but this ti, he did it in a better way.
He licked their feet until he managed to beco one of the nobles. Even once he was on top, he still did not stop. He knew every face that had ever looked down on him, and he continued to expand the territory. Then, he declared himself as a king. The younger self of Theodore didn’t want to be known as the son of poor farrs.
So, he covered his identity by using a mask and from then on, he t more disgusting nobles, and over the years, he expanded his territory so that all disgusting humans were tied under his ropes of power.
I listened to everything carefully. There was not the slightest hint of anger in the man’s tone. All I heard was a tone of regret and sadness.
King Theodore never let go of my hand. He pulled and hugged gently instead.
"I lost the people closest to without being able to see them for the last ti," said the man in a trembling voice. He looked like he almost cried.
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