The man was sad, but I didn’t know the things that could make him feel better. I also didn’t take back my hand. I let him hold it a little longer if that could help him calm down. Just like whenever I was feeling down, my friends would lend their shoulders to lean on, and this ti, I would do the sa.
"I want to be seen as myself, not as a man with an iron fist who has conquered many territories for my own satisfaction. Ah, no. It is true. Putting those stupid nobles under my feet is such a joy, but... I haven’t really found what I want."
The man tilted his face to look at .
"I’m a pitiful man, right?"
I shook my head. The hatred felt by King Theodore was understandable. Actually, I also kept that feeling deep within . Ever since I could see, the world wasn’t really as beautiful as I had imagined.
When I still couldn’t see, all the ugliness of the world could be covered up by a lie wrapped in a beautiful dream that was always told by my mother. However, after I had my vision back, the first thing I saw was my father slapping Mirai.
I had never seen my father’s face who always laughed and smiled handsoly like my mother always said. The thing I saw was my father who was always frowning instead. His brows were always furrowed, as if he didn’t like whatever was in front of him.
After that, there were a lot more things that were different from what I had imagined. Until finally I kept everything to myself, but I couldn’t hold it in again when I saw Mirai beca my substitute to marry King Theodore.
However, King Theodore was actually a kind person. Maybe if I let Mirai go to Northendell, would she be happy? With food that was always ready at all tis and warm, beautiful clothes filled the cupboard, Mirai would surely live in peace.
"So, no one has ever seen your face?"
The man shook his head.
"You are the first person from the nobility and only a few confidants of mine."
"So you covered your face because you didn’t want the nobles to find out that the king they serve now is the one they once hit?"
The man nodded and smiled faintly.
"Isn’t it very sad? I did it to make them kneel to , but they don’t fully know that the man who is their king right now is the son of a poor farr. The one they hit his head before and nearly died?"
King Theodore had told a lot about his secrets. Did I need to share my secret too? The man got up and walked closer to then sat right beside , so that our sides touched each other. Suddenly, he put his head on my shoulder.
"Maybe if I were still a poor man without anything, seeing you is a dream, and even to death, I will not be able to reach you. Like the moon, it’s beautiful but out of my reach."
"Your Majesty... I also have a secret."
"Oh, you want us to share our secrets now? If you’re still not comfortable, you don’t need to tell ."
"After this, you will probably hate too."
The man got up and turned to . After I said that, King Theodore chuckled.
"? Hate you? It’s impossible. Even though we have just beco friends, you are the person I trust the most."
I was a little surprised to hear that. Becoming soone’s trusted person was a tough thing. I might lie to him soday, like what I did to the mysterious man. The man who claid to be my mate.
"So, what do you want to tell ?"
"On the day that Northendell’s entourage was attacked by a mysterious thing, my father actually sent soone to replace and pretended to be . Maybe if that night the entourage had not been attacked, right now you would have married another woman claiming to be ."
"Hmm... interesting."
That was his only response. After that short comnt, King Theodore leaned his head on my shoulder again. I didn’t know what kind of response I expected, but the casual deanor that he showed was beyond my imagination. I had thought that maybe King Theodore would feel betrayed by Birwick and leave . Yeah, I thought that would happen.
"You are not mad?" I asked, wanting to make sure if everything was alright, or maybe my voice was too low that King Theodore couldn’t hear it.
"Why should I get mad? After all, you’re already here. Hm ... I actually feel grateful. Because of that incident, you are here with now," the man answered with a wide smile on his face.
Ah... so it was really like that. He didn’t really care about anything else.
"That’s all? Anything else? Do you think that will make hate you?"
Actually, there were other things, but for this one, I really didn’t want to share it with anyone, even Mirai, my closest friend. I would never tell this secret of mine to anyone.
"Yup. That is it."
King Theodore chuckled. His face got even redder, probably due to the effect of the alcohol. The man closed his eyes again while still leaning on my shoulder, then he took a deep breath. It seed that the burden the man had on his shoulders was very heavy.
"So, why did you leave the party?"
"It was too crowded, and seeing too many colors made my head spin."
I rubbed my eyes a bit. Now I felt better because none of the striking and shiny colors that were giving a headache couldn’t be seen.
"You don’t like crowds?"
"I’m just not familiar with it. At Birwick, we’ve never had a large party like this. I also recently could see, so I’m still not used to seeing a lot of things."
"You can’t see before?"
I turned my head to the side and saw King Theodore who was looking at with interest. Did I have to tell him about it too? Besides, looking at the gaze, it felt like I wouldn’t be able to leave before I told him everything. Maybe I could tell about it without telling him about the mysterious man.
Then, I told King Theodore about the origin of my na, which ant ’couldn’t see’. Besides, I also told him about my life since I was a child, where I learned many things without using my eyesight. I read a special book that I could read by feeling the rough parts of the pattern on the papers.
King Theodore didn’t interrupt at all when I was talking. He listened carefully. Until finally, I told him that a few months ago, I got my sight again for the first ti.
I only told him that I was cured by a mysterious man whose na I didn’t know. The man helped just like that, and I finally could see again. I didn’t tell King Theodore about my etings with the man who turned out to be a mber of the werewolf clan. The one who also claid to be my mate.
"And, you are able to see again just like that?"
"Yeah. In the blink of an eye," I replied.
The man was slightly flabbergasted. I smiled as he looked into my irises.
"You know, you have the most beautiful blue irises I’ve ever seen. As bright as the morning sky. It’s like crystal clear water. It’s very beautiful."
"Thank you."
"Did you know that you are also very beautiful?"
I tried to change the conversation by saying sothing else.
"Eum.. what about the queen? Since when did you two get married?"
The man smiled crookedly. He probably realized that I was changing the subject. After he was satisfied looking at , the man returned to his place, but this ti, he didn’t rest his head on my shoulder.
"Well, the queen and I were married ten years ago. It was when I first used this mask. She was the daughter of the noble who hit on the head. After gathering the troops, I expanded my territory. I was assisted by the nobility that I took advantage of, and they finally declared a king. After that, I continued to conquer new territories. During those ten years, I had never stopped fighting."
"Ten years? Does that an you have been wearing this mask for ten years?"
"Yeah. And for ten years, they had never seen my face. I just said that my face was too ugly and had so many grueso wounds. Those stupid nobles believed in my stupid lies. And look at them, with just a little bit of bullshit and power, they believed and let their precious daughter marry ."
I looked at the mask the man was wearing. It was such a pity. Then, I stretched out my hand and closed my eyes for a mont. I touched his face, like I scanned my friends’ faces when I was blind. I hold his cheekbones, eyebrows, forehead, nose to his lips. The man let do it even though I didn’t ask his permission first.
After that, I pulled back my hand. "If I was still blind, you would still be a handso man for . Even after I could see, you’re still handso too."
The man chuckled. "It is an honor, Your Highness. Thank you for the complint. I’m very impressed," he replied in a joking tone, which also made laugh a little.
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