Kibon stood frozen, not even breathing, as he looked down at .
I let out a sharp exhale, eyes narrowed with a chilling glare.
“Where do you think you’re going, leaving behind the foxlike civil servants and the rabbitlike citizens of the Empire? Where?”
I’d worked so hard to keep him alive, and now he wanted to run away because of so pressure? Just imagining it had spiraling into over-imrsion.
“His Highness the Crown Prince, just like he has until now, must remain in the palace—with —for a long, long ti, for a hundred years of overwork.”
Right then, Kibon muttered, seemingly unable to believe his ears.
“Not a hundred years of harmony, but a hundred years of overwork...”
“If His Highness tries to run away...”
I tilted my head toward Kibon, eyes wide and intense, and whispered threateningly,
“I’ll chase him to the ends of the continent myself. No matter what, I’ll grab him by the collar and drag him back to his office. I’ll watch him like a hawk so he can never escape again.”
Kibon, usually so expressionless, had gone completely pale.
“Anyway, it's bad luck, so don’t say things like that ever again.”
Just then, a bird chirped from the branches above.
Only then did I snap back to my senses.
‘Oh, gods...’
Before I realized it, Kibon had flattened himself against the tree, and I’d backed him into it with one arm, looming far too close.
Despite his ashen face, the tips of his ears were flushed bright red.
***
“Ah, crap.”
Namia’s eyes regained focus. Kiaros watched as the look of alarm slowly filled her face.
“Oh no... I’m sorry.”
Startled, Namia hastily pulled her arm back from where it had been stretched toward his shoulder.
“I was too aggressive, wasn’t I?”
Despite himself, Kiaros couldn’t suppress the absurd laughter bubbling up inside him.
She was a head shorter than him, rail-thin, with barely any muscle to speak of. And she thought she was being intimidating? There probably wasn’t a more mismatched word in the world.
Still flustered, she looked around and rambled on.
“That was my fault. Even if soone under says sothing infuriating, that doesn’t an I should lose my temper and behave like that as their superior. Gods, look at you, you’re frozen solid... I’m really sorry.”
Well—intimidating or not, frozen solid wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
The sudden closeness, the scent of her, the sound of her breath just inches away—it had honestly felt like his heart stopped.
Was it that chilling sense of resolve when she said she’d drag back from the ends of hell?
He had felt the sincerity in her wide, blazing eyes.
Maybe it was the first ti in his life he’d ever experienced real pressure from soone. His heart was still pounding so hard it made his vision blur.
Namia finally pulled herself together and stepped back quickly.
“If it made you uncomfortable, report . It was wrong for a superior to behave like that to a subordinate.”
She hadn’t laid a finger on him, but still, the warmth that had been so close now felt strangely distant. And for so reason... he missed it.
Kiaros found himself with the sudden urge to reach out and pull her back by the wrist.
“No, actually, maybe I should report myself. Might do good to reflect a bit. I’ve been too comfortable with you, clearly...”
She was spiraling, muttering to herself in panic. Kiaros, almost automatically, murmured in response.
“It’s fine. Really... it’s fine.”
He rambled, flustered, afraid she might actually go report herself.
“I—it’s because of, um, your feelings for His Highness, right?”
“Ah... Right. That’s true.”
Namia finally nodded, looking slightly relieved.
“My feelings for His Highness the Crown Prince are genuine.”
She seed to have cald down a little, but Kiaros’s heart had not settled in the slightest.
That chilling glare when she asked “Where do you think you’re going?”, the breath at his neck—he was still haunted by it.
Namia continued speaking with unusual calm.
“I just want him to always stay healthy, physically and ntally, like he is now. Even if I’m not by his side, I’m always thinking of his well-being. Maybe that’s why I got so emotional when I heard the word ‘run away.’”
“...”
“What? Is sothing weird?”
Kiaros looked at her, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ barely managing to answer.
“...No, nothing.”
Even when she wasn’t by his side, he thought of her constantly. He too was always wondering about her.
He saw her nearly all day, every day, but the ti they weren’t together? That was what gnawed at him.
She didn’t trust Kibon—he could tell. She hadn’t even told him about what happened with Jaden.
It was admirable loyalty to the royal family, but for so reason... it stung. And that sting surprised him.
What goes on in that small head of hers? Even when she was right next to him, there were gaps he couldn’t reach. He was desperate to know what filled them.
If Namia were to suddenly vanish one day... run away and disappear—then I’d be... no better. Maybe even worse.
If that was true... then did that an they shared the sa feelings?
Kiaros looked at her quietly and said,
“I think... I understand how you feel.”
Namia nodded sharply and replied without hesitation.
“Right. This feeling is called loyalty. A pure, 100% loyalty to the Empire and the royal family.”
...So not quite the sa feeling after all. Kiaros certainly wasn’t loyal to Namia.
Then what was his feeling called?
Before he knew it, that earlier thought—“Maybe everything would be better if I just weren’t here...”—had completely vanished. And in its place...
[If His Highness tries to run away, I’ll chase him to the ends of the continent myself.]
Only that chillingly clear voice remained. Her wide, blazing eyes were so vivid in his mory, his heart kept racing.
***
‘Gods, I really need to get a grip.’
She had never lost her temper to that degree before.
‘Turns out I’m the type who bullies my subordinates. I just never had any before, so I didn’t know.’
Or... maybe it was just that she felt too comfortable around Kibon.
Because Kibon followed her orders with almost blind loyalty back at the office.
Even earlier, when she’d been completely inappropriate, he’d just turned pale and froze up—he didn’t even glare at her.
Maybe that’s why the thought “It’s fine to treat Kibon however I want” had started creeping in. A dangerous mindset.
‘The more comfortable soone makes you feel, the more uncomfortable they probably are with you. I need to stay alert.’
Namia sighed and scolded herself.
‘Still... up close, he really is built well... No, stop it, Namia. Get it together. Imagine if Oson had acted like that to . I’d be traumatized.’
Anyway, we returned to the Scroll Departnt just as the lunch break was ending.
It wasn’t quite over yet, so the only one in the office was Anastasia.
She was reading a book intently by herself.
It must’ve been her last few minutes of break before afternoon work began.
“O-oh, you’re back!”
Anastasia jumped up and greeted us.
The title of the book she quickly closed was “I Love You as Much as the Salary Gap Between Us.” I decided to pretend I didn’t see it.
“W-would you like so coffee?”
“No, it’s okay. We already ate.”
I smiled gently as I replied.
“You really don’t have to ask that kind of thing anymore.”
“B-but... I’m not very good at my job, so I thought... at least I could do this...”
She seed to be aware that her work pace wasn’t the fastest, especially considering she’d asked about Victor’s return yesterday.
Anastasia fidgeted awkwardly, then turned to Kibon.
“B-but, weren’t you scheduled to start at two?”
“Ah... That’s true.”
Since he returned with right before lunch ended, Kibon had effectively arrived an hour early.
With his usual blank expression, Kibon answered,
“I just wanted to co early.”
Anastasia fell back into her chair in shock—almost completely collapsed.
She gasped for breath and cried out,
“Y-you... are you okay?”
“...Pardon?”
“You said you just wanted to co early to work? Wh-what illness is this?”
Now that she ntioned it... she had a point!
Who in their right mind cos early to the office by choice?
‘If it’s contagious, we’re in trouble.’
I imdiately began inching away from Kibon.
He, ever the confused foreigner, tilted his head in blank confusion.
“I don’t understand... I’m perfectly healthy.”
“N-no way! T-then why would you co in early?”
Anastasia scooted back in her chair, practically shouting.
“There’s no one you like here! Unless you’ve got a crush on soone, this doesn’t make any sense!”
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