Episode 20

“Aha, I see…”

I nodded, my eyes slightly dazed.

So, a noble young lord learned how to cook just to make something for someone he liked. And the result was this delicious stew.

Well, if As says so, then that’s just how it is.

I thought to myself and then continued.

“As, the stew was really delicious, and I’m really grateful that you made something so good. But you’re still young, so you don’t need to do things like this anymore. It’s dangerous to handle fire and knives, you know!”

“…”

“Kids should just enjoy the food adults make and play happily. Oh, and of course, study hard too—”

“Ainra, I’m not a child. I can handle cooking just fine.”

As cut in firmly, his voice unusually sharp.

Startled by the change in his tone, I quickly waved my hands in defense.

“No, no! I didn’t mean to say you can’t do it! I just meant that children should be taken care of by adults, that’s all!”

“I’m not a child, I’m an adult, so—”

As trailed off, his expression suddenly faltering, and he sighed like someone hit with a wave of realization.

Seeing that pushing further might only upset him more, I glanced around nervously and quickly changed the subject.

“Uh, right! Do you like spicy food?”

“Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“Well, most people don’t like spicy things, but the stew had a nice kick to it, so I was just curious.”

For a brief moment, As’s eyes seemed to flicker, but then he smiled, as if brushing it off.

“I don’t really like it.”

“…”

“But, I might end up cooking for someone who does like it.”

He spoke so casually, yet his words left me frozen in place, as though something had anchored me down. My mind went blank, and I struggled to come up with a response.

I stared at As in a daze when suddenly—

*Ding.*

The sound of the doorbell from downstairs echoed through the house. Someone had arrived at the front door.

Internally, I thanked whoever it was for rescuing me from the awkward moment and immediately jumped to my feet.

“Someone’s here. As, if you’re feeling better, come down slowly, but don’t push yourself!”

I gave As’s head a gentle pat and hurried downstairs.

“Who’s there?”

I called out as I opened the door, and a soft chuckle greeted me.

Lifting my gaze, I found myself staring into familiar sky-blue eyes curved into a warm smile.

“Did you run here, Ainra?”

The voice I had only heard through the communication crystals now echoed clearly in my ears.

A breeze passed by, lightly stirring his ash-blonde hair.

“Did you miss me that much?”

It was my dear friend, Harnen, standing at the door with a smile.

“Harnen!”

Overwhelmed with happiness, I grinned from ear to ear and immediately wrapped my arms around him.

Harnen chuckled softly and patted my head, ruffling my hair.

“Seems like you’ve gotten more clingy since the last time I saw you. Or is that just my imagination?”

“If you didn’t take so long to visit, I wouldn’t have to be! I’ve missed you so much!”

Pouting playfully, I pulled away from him and grabbed his face, inspecting him closely.

“You haven’t been skipping meals, have you? You’re eating properly, right?”

Harnen smiled like a puppy looking for praise and tilted his head slightly.

“With you worrying about me, of course, I’ve been eating well. How do you think I did?”

I couldn’t help but laugh and patted his head like I was rewarding him.

“You did great. After all, health is the most important thing. Got it?”

“If that’s what you want, Ainra.”

Harnen obediently lowered his eyes, accepting the affection like a well-behaved golden retriever.

But suddenly, his gaze shifted behind me, and his expression turned slightly colder.

I was about to turn around when a soft voice called out from behind me.

“…Who is that person?”

It was the first time I had ever heard As’s voice sound so cold.

Startled, I quickly spun around.

Standing there was As, with a smile painted on his lips, staring intently at Harnen.

“Ah, um, As, this is—”

“Nice to meet you, young lord.”

Before I could introduce them, Harnen smiled brightly and spoke first.

“I’m Harnen. Ainra’s dearest friend.”

“…!”

I gasped, overwhelmed with emotion, and instinctively covered my mouth.

Harnen had just called me his ‘dearest friend’. My heart swelled with joy, and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

But As’s reaction was starkly different from mine.

“Oh, is that so.”

As answered curtly, twisting his lips in apparent displeasure.

“So, you’re Ainra’s ‘dearest’ friend?”

“That’s right, ‘little one.’ But who are you? I don’t recall seeing you here until recently…”

Harnen emphasized the word “little one” with a playful grin, tilting his head innocently.

As’s crimson eyes flashed dangerously for a brief moment.

Forgetting my earlier excitement, I quickly clammed up, nervously watching the two of them. This was not the atmosphere I had been expecting.

Before I could worry too much, As suddenly flashed a bright smile and responded to Harnen’s question.

“Nice to meet you, brother Harnen. My name is As. Ainra picked me up after I passed out and has been taking care of me since. She even stays with me at night so I don’t have nightmares.”

“… ‘Stays with you’ at night?”

The smile vanished from Harnen’s face.

Sensing the growing tension, I couldn’t let this go on any further. I hurriedly stepped between the two of them.

“Alright, everyone! Let me formally introduce you!”

Pointing to Harnen, I explained to As.

“As! This is Harnen. He’s my childhood friend, and we both went to the same academy. He works as a sorcerer in the capital but took some time off to visit me!”

Then, turning to Harnen, I introduced As.

“And Harnen! This is As. I found him unconscious a week ago and healed him. He doesn’t remember much besides his name, so he’s been staying with me. He’s really afraid of nightmares, so I’ve been helping him sleep since last night.”

I grabbed each of their hands and clasped them together.

“You two will be spending time together for a while, so let’s all get along!”

When I cheerfully commanded them to greet each other, the two men, who had been glaring coldly at each other, forced smiles and squeezed each other’s hands.

“Nice to meet you, As.”

“The pleasure’s mine, brother Harnen.”

There was something unsettling about their smiles, as if I could almost see veins throbbing on their foreheads, but I smiled brightly and tried to ignore the strange tension.

Everything was fine.

…Really, it was fine.

Chapter 4. My Favorite Person Came to Visit

“Harnen, any progress with the situation?”

As always, whenever Harnen visited, we had tea in the living room together.

Although As seemed displeased, he left the room, knowing we were about to discuss sensitive matters.

Once I saw As head to the study, I asked the question. Harnen, after sipping his tea, shook his head.

“No. It seems those bastards have already covered their tracks. I checked everything through Quiel—any witnesses, the items I used, even the records meant for the official history logs…”

His sky-blue eyes darkened.

“…Everything that could have helped is either destroyed or gone. The logs are long filled with falsified rubbish.”

I clenched my fists.

Of course, if we wanted to topple the villains of Belzesti, we could do so right away. Simply exposing how they’ve been manipulating the young emperor like a puppet would give us enough justification to take them down.

But if we went that route, Harnen—the Emperor Valarisian—would still be left with the reputation of a “tyrant.”

And I absolutely couldn’t bear to let my favorite person be saddled with a crime he didn’t commit.

“We’ll find another way. There must be something those bastards overlooked… Or, we could even create evidence ourselves, or manipulate them into creating it.”

I said, a mischievous glint in my eye.

Harnen looked at me with a satisfied smile, his face relaxing into a lazy grin.

“Sounds good. We have time, so there’s no need to rush.”

“…Alright.”

Though my whole body was itching to clear Harnen’s name as soon as possible, I nodded at his words.

There’s a saying that haste makes waste, after all.

If we were careless, even the plan to crush the villains could fall apart.

Taking a deep breath to calm my emotions, I sipped my tea.

As I did, I found myself glancing toward the study without realizing it. Harnen, noticing this, suddenly spoke up.

“You don’t need to worry about that boy, As.”