My life is almost perfect now

That night the wind was blowing gently. Aeneas does not feel cold even though he is outside without a cloak to protect him from the cold. Instead, he felt relaxed.

"Tonight, the moon is beautiful," said Blair, standing beside Aeneas.

"Yes," answered Aeneas. He raised his hand and gestured as if he was picking up the moon in the sky. "It looks so bright. The light must be able to penetrate the thin curtains of my room."

"Oh, really? If from my room, the moon is always invisible. But I can always see the sunrise," Blair told him. He chuckled then. "Every time I wake up late, the sun's rays will wake me up."

Aeneas chuckled at that. "Even though you can ask the servant to wake you up."

"Who knows? I don't like anyone entering my personal space. For me, the workspace is the limit for someone to know that side of me."

"Hmmm, that's true. Come to think of it, I never went into your room. Even though you have spent the night in my room."

"You just realized now?" he asked.

"You're not hiding anything in there, are you?" teased Aeneas. "Women or something, for example."

Blair laughed at him. "Why would I hide women in my room? You know I don't have time for that. After all, the woman I was with before was Duchess Dulcia—she wasn't that type of woman."

"Well… it doesn't have to be Duchess Selah. You can do it with other women," said Aeneas boldly. "I heard that the princes of other kingdoms have even kept many concubines."

"Ah, yes. I've heard news like that. The king of a neighboring kingdom even offered me several of his daughters as a gift two years ago." Blair furrowed his brows. "Disgusting. How could he sell his daughter like that?"

Our fathers did worse, thought Aeneas. "I remember that time. You do look uncomfortable," he said.

"It is not good for a king to have too many concubines, especially if they are from the noble ranks. Their sons will mostly fight for the throne, and their daughters will be sold into politics. At least that's what Father used to tell me," Blair said at length.

"Wow, it looks like Father loves you, huh?" asked Aeneas sarcastically.

Perhaps hearing that tone of sarcasm, Blair turned to Aeneas. His expression was serious, something that Blair wasn't used to showing Aeneas. This was the first time Blair had reacted this way to Aeneas' teasing.

It was as if something had changed about Blair.

At a time like this, Aeneas should have felt fearful and wary. But instead of that, he felt challenged. What is this? Has Blair finally realized something? Did Blair finally realize that all the love he poured for Aeneas was just a form of guilt?

"Father told me because he was worried about me," Blair finally said. "Because Father loves you and doesn't want you to get hurt because of me."

Aeneas flashed his best smile. "Should I thank Father for that one kindness?" he asked. "Or should I thank you because you've always taken good care of me all these years?"

"Aeneas, I really love you. You know you can ask me anything, and I will definitely obey you no matter what."

"Take it easy, Brother. There's nothing in particular I want right now," Aeneas said softly. "Why do you think I want something big from you?"

"No, it's just–"

Aeneas' hand moved to rub Blair's face. His initially serious expression softened instantly. Blair returns to being a figure Aeneas recognizes. "I'm fine now, thanks to Brother's help. So there's nothing for you to worry about anymore," Aeneas said softly. "Calm down, Blair. My life is almost perfect now."

Blair smiled gently and nodded, then kissed Aeneas' palm.

***

"You do realize that what you're doing is dangerous, right? Hmm, Prince Aeneas?"

Aeneas laughed, then hastily stopped him when Selah glared at him. "Sorry, sorry. But can you get off of me first? If Janette suddenly walks in, she might get the wrong idea," he said.

"You made her think that!" clicked Selah in annoyance and stepped aside from Aeneas.

As morning approaches, Aeneas goes to Dulcia's residence. To Selah's room, to be precise.

Maybe because she was tired of Aeneas' sudden arrival, Selah chose not to lock her bedroom balcony door. She seemed to invite Aeneas to come whenever he wanted. A dangerous act, indeed. That's why Selah kept a knife under her pillow…

This time, she nearly drew at Aeneas because he came without a sound and when Selah was deep in slumber.

"What urgent matter brought you here so early in the morning?" clicked Selah. "Don't you know it's time for the maids to start their activities? What if someone sees?"

Ouch, Aeneas winced inwardly. He didn't expect to be scolded like this. "I already apologized," he said, then kissed Selah's cheek quickly. "You still angry?"

Selah blatantly stroked her cheek, which Aeneas had kissed. "If you are here just because you have nothing to do, go home. I want to continue my precious sleep."

"Blair looks suspicious."

"What?" Instantly Selah stopped her intention to go back to sleep. "How?"

"Who knows? Last night he spoke to me about it," said Aeneas. "Hmm, he said, ' I'll give you anything, so please don't do anything stupid'."

"That means that at that time, it was true.…" Selah muttered. "That time Crown Prince Blair sounded as if he just realized something."

Aeneas furrowed his brows. "You met Blair?"

"Not like that, to be more precise…" Selah suddenly looked away. "Crown Prince Blair came to visit and… there was a bit of an incident."

Selah's movements looked strange. Aeneas believes she is hiding something. "Did Blair do something to you?"

"Not something you should worry about," Selah said quickly. "I managed to hit him."

"I always knew I could count on you. But you don't have to do everything yourself anymore. We are allies here," says Aeneas. "Anyway, now we have to be careful. From the start, Blair didn't believe I loved you and vice versa."

"Sorry, it must be because of me. It's always you who makes the move first."

Aeneas snorted in amusement. "Well, I don't expect you to act like you love me either, though."

Selah's clucking. "I'm sorry if I suck at acting."

"No problem, let me do it." Aeneas takes Selah's hand and kisses her fingers. "Besides, how can I leave something like this to someone without experience at all."

"Do you have experience yourself? Haven't you been cooped up in the Queen Consort Palace all this time?"

Aeneas' heart seemed to stop beating for a moment.

"Prince Aeneas." Selah pulled back her hand from Aeneas. "Other than the matter of Crown Prince Blair, isn't there anything else you should tell me?"