His eyes trembled with emotion.
But there was no hesitation in Theodore's steps as he approached Rosenta.
He hugged him straight away.
Then he squeezed his upper body almost to the point of crushing him to death and buried his face in his shoulder.
"Oh, how...….”
Theodore had only managed to spit out those two syllables, but they revealed how shaken Theodore was.
Rosenta could feel how scared and worried he was.
He was grateful for Theodore’s feelings, but on the other hand, they made him feel miserable.
The purpose of his coming here.
After hearing that story, he imagined what kind of expression, eyes, and tone Theodore would have towards him.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say...….”
He nudged Theodore away.
Then Theodore easily took a step back. Instead, he grabbed him by the shoulder and examined his body.
That wasn't the end of it.
Soon, he began pouring out All the questions he’d had at once.
“……How did you suddenly end up unconscious? Do you know how worried I was...…. You should be wearing a thicker coat. Why are you dressed so thinly…… Ah!"
Then he stopped talking as if he had realized something.
He looked behind Rosenta, at the railing.
"How did you get here...….”
Rosenta immediately offered up explanations.
"I'm truly sorry for coming to see you this way. There is a reason why I came to see you, Your Majesty, while avoiding the eyes of others. There is something I really want to say...….”
Theodore's expression became strange as his excuses continued.
He seemed to be listening, but he also seemed to be thinking about something else.
As soon as Rosenta finished talking, Theodore looked up at the sky.
To be exact, he looked at a crow circling above them.
Caw.
It was unusual.
The crow cried more harshly, and Theodore's eyes grew fiercer as he looked at it.
As if he had noticed something, the corners of Theodore's mouth shifted to one side.
Then he spat out the name.
"I heard you collapsed along with a man named Enoch, did he also get up and come with you?"
Caw.
The crow cried in response.
Then it descended and settled on Rosenta’s shoulder. With its big wings spread out as if to show off its prowess.
“……It's annoying."
‘Does he know something?’
Theodore's gaze on the crow was unusual.
Rosenta tapped the crow's beak and pushed him carefully off his shoulder.
"Your Majesty."
He stared at Theodore.
And once again he hinted at the reason for his secret visit, which Theodore had forgotten.
"I have something to say to Your Majesty about him. Before that, I would like to apologize to Your Majesty...….”
"Before all that! The night air is cold, so let's go inside and talk."
Theodore led him by the wrist.
***
The air surrounding them was strangely chilled even though it was a warm room.
"From the very beginning, he...….”
"Your Majesty."
Rosenta cut off Theodore's words.
Because he didn't think 'Enoch' was the most important topic for them to discuss right now.
He didn’t bring up that topic right away though, because he had to apologize to him before he could even talk.
He bowed a full 90 degrees.
"I am sorry, but please know that it was never intentional to deceive Your Majesty."
But at the same time as he bowed his head, Theodore grabbed him by the shoulder and raised him up.
Rather, he was worried about his body.
"Ha, is that why you came all the way here in pain? I’m actually glad you’re not a man...…!”
Theodore paused as he spoke.
He just wrapped his arms over his forehead and shook his head.
Rosenta’s heart ached and was uncomfortable with his appearance. Also, it was difficult to make eye contact due to the guilt.
"Please listen to me."
Theodore, holding his wrist, lead him towards the sofa just in time...….
He paused for a moment at Rosenta’s words.
Without missing that moment, Rosenta continued with great difficulty. Trying to filter out the most intense emotions.
"My father is alive."
Theodore's hand, which was holding his wrist, slipped weakly.
There was a ripple in his golden eyes.
“……What do you mean?"
"Harmonia, Luz. You know these two gods, but there are a number of gods that have been forgotten in history. One of them is another, who was born with Luz and led the other gods. His name was Estella…….”
Rosenta said the things he knew as honestly as he could, without exaggerating at all.
The story began in ancient times.
Then, it gradually branched out to his past, and to the connection between the Holy Kingdom and his father that he had come to know.
Oddly enough, Theodore's expression seemed to be the same as usual even though he had heard everything.
But only on the outside.
The back of Theodore's hand, which was gripping the edge of the desk, as if it was crushing something, spoke volumes about his true emotions.
Theodore was taking it all in.
While trying hard to suppress all of his emotions, which could explode at any moment like an active volcano in front of Rosenta.
But it didn't last long.
The moment mention of Theodore's father, the previous emperor, came out of Rosenta’s mouth.
" So, what I’m trying to say is that, after he drove His Majesty, the former emperor, to his death, he went into hiding for a while and planned various schemes...….”
"That's...….”
Theodore spoke for the first time since Rosenta had started talking.
Rosenta quickly stopped talking.
Theodore didn't speak immediately, though. His shoulders were shaking for a while, but the active volcano erupted rapidly.
"What do you mean!? My father was murdered? And at your father's hands, too!?"
Theodore covered his face for a moment, but his sobbing voice did not disappear.
It was heart-wrenching. Rosenta couldn't embrace him or comfort him like he had before.
He was the perpetrator's son, and Theodore was the victim's son.
They would not be able to achieve equilibrium like before. Even if they went in the same direction, they would no longer be able to run parallel to one another.
There was nothing he could do now.
He thought he was just calling out to him in a faint voice.
"Your Majesty...….”
But this seemed to make him more emotional.
"Please!"
Theodore removed the hand that was covering his face. His eyes, which had always shined brightly, lost their light.
Only a reddish, murky golden gaze faced him.
"Please don't say anything. Do you know how I feel right now? Just because you suddenly start talking doesn’t mean I’ll understand right away!"
They were words uttered under heavy breath. There was no way to stop Theodore's explosion once it had begun.
Rosenta closed his eyes quietly.
He could only listen to his violent cries.
"I didn’t even know any of this and you...…!”
Rosenta hoped that, if he could endure his suffering in this way, it would ease Theodore’s pain even a little.
"You must have found it really funny. Watching me go on and on without even realizing that you are a woman."
When Rosenta heard that, he realized.
He knew what Theodore was feeling towards him, but he tried to wrap it up in the label of friendship.
That way, it was easy for him to protect their relationship.
"No, Your Majesty...….”
But this was just his point of view.
Theodore's feelings of having to accept everything at once without knowing anything beforehand must have been agony.
‘In the end, I...….’
"I have never lied to Your Majesty and Vivian."
‘I declared that I would protect him, but I hurt him with my hands.’
‘I have no right to cry in front of him.’
He gritted his teeth and held back his surging emotions.
He just apologized.
"Really...… I'm sorry."
"I know! You've never lied! These are just words that come from my confused mind, so why are you apologizing even now...…!”
Theodore swallowed his words again.
Then he covered his face. From there, his body began to crumble gradually.
He sat down as if in despair, holding his disheveled hair at the back of his head.
"I want to be alone, so please go away."
He heard Theodore's feeble voice; but Rosenta couldn't leave immediately.
There was something he hadn’t said yet.
But he couldn't remain in front of someone who was so distressed just at the sight of him.
"Yes, Your Majesty...….”
At the doorway to the balcony.
A crow flapped its wings and tapped the window with its beak.
Rosenta opened the door.
Then he turned back and looked at Theodore again.
It was to briefly convey the words that he hadn’t been able to say.
" The Saint has found out about me. The former Duke will use that to keep me in check and out of his way."
Theodore looked up.
Rosenta continued talking, staring into his golden eyes, where the waves of emotion he felt towards him were continuously changing.
"First, I'll try running away as he wants."
He took one step out to the balcony after saying that.
He felt a white hand wrap around his waist and neck. And he heard a small voice in his ear.
"Did you say your farewells?"
At that moment, the pure white curtains fluttered like a painting in the cold night wind, as if trying to erase any trace of him.
While he was staring blankly at them.
Enoch, who was hugging him, took a backward step and plummeted over the railing.
Rosenta closed his eyes.