A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

Although it was still afternoon and the sun was in the sky, the weather in the royal city had turned cold recently, so I was still a little bit cold when I was soaked in the pool and was blown by the wind.

My body was a little cold, but that hand was hot.

The big brown hand held his hand tightly and forced his hand to his chest.

It was obvious that the clothes his fingers touched were soaked and should be cold, but the high temperature on Heymos's chest seemed to be transmitted to his fingertips through the wet clothes, making them very hot.

He pressed Heimos's chest, and it felt like it was like a volcano about to erupt, beating from time to time, and the invisible magma gushing out was so hot that it almost burned his fingers.

The heat was transmitted upward from the fingertips along the hand and along the blood of the arm, as if it was also infected with heat in his body.

He even felt his heart beating one by one, as if it was connected to Heymos's heartbeat through his right hand.

This unprecedented feeling made Garlan at a loss, and he struggled in a panic, trying to retract his hand.

But as soon as he moved, Heimos' fingers tightened suddenly, and he squeezed his hand hard, refusing to let go.

Garlan tugged on his hand a few more times in panic.

Soon, his hand stopped.

Because while struggling, he felt a slight stinging sensation caused by the friction of Heimos' rough palm on his hand.

Garlan's hands are well maintained, with slender fingers, fair skin, and shiny skin.

Although there are some thin calluses from sword-wielding practice, every night, a maid will carefully take care of the skin on his hands and feet.

Most nobles are like this, and so is Heimos, which can be seen from the brown and shiny skin on his moist arms.

However, at this moment, the palm of Heymos' hand was rough. Only those old slaves who had worked hard all their lives and were nearly sixty or seventy years old would have such rough palms.

…

These palms, which were full of scars and even had no palm prints, were what Heimos had left behind to rescue him from the sea of ​​fire.

This injury was suffered for him.

Garlan suddenly felt a little soft-hearted.

He is not a ungrateful person. Over the years, Heimos has been kind to him and remembered everything he has done for him.

When he was a child, he was indeed afraid of Heimos. Even if he later learned the truth about Heimos's twisted character and knew that Heimos was innocent, he would be depressed whenever he thought of the past lives. He couldn't help but feel the fear of Heimos in his heart.

But over the years, unconsciously, this fear has become less and less.

On the one hand, it was because he gradually began to grow up and had many companions by his side. When a person begins to become stronger, he will no longer be afraid of others.

On the other hand... Hermos's meticulous care for him also invisibly dissipated that fear bit by bit.

So, enough is enough.

The shadows of previous lives and the shadow of the person in front of me are almost gone.

"Heimos, you are a very important person to me."

That was something he himself had never noticed.

I don't know since when, Heimos has become a very important person in his heart.

He would want to protect him, he would not want him to get hurt, and he would hope that Heimos would live well in the future and have a good life... just like Brother Kamos, just like Kayhos and the others.

Garlan looked seriously at those golden-red eyes.

"I care about you as much as you care about me."

He moved his hand, not struggling, the movement was very light. Only this time, he easily pulled his hand out of Heimos' palm.

"We grew up together until now, and maybe in the future, we will continue to walk together like now."

The boy leaned over.

For the first time, he took the initiative to reach out and hug Heimos.

He leaned against Heimos and wrapped his arms around the other man's neck.

He closed his eyes and rested his cheek on the wet black hair.

"I will not take a step forward, nor will I take a step back."

He held Heimos' shoulders, closed his eyes, and whispered in Heimos's ear.

“We’re going to stay the same as we are now, nothing will change.”

Garlan clearly felt that the shoulders held by his arms suddenly tightened.

When he said these words, the person he was holding seemed to freeze for a moment.

Huymos understood what he said.

Because I understood, I had this reaction.

[We will always be the same as we are now, nothing will change. 】

It can only end here, it can only be like this.

We won’t drift apart, but it’s also impossible to go any further.

He will no longer be afraid of him, and the shadows of previous lives will disappear from his heart.

They will always be close and will protect each other until the end.

…

However, he would not accept Heymos's feelings.

Maybe he is a little soft-hearted, maybe he is still a little moved, and maybe he is indeed a little moved by Heimos.

But there was no way he could accept Huymos.

In every sense, in every aspect.

Garlan straightened up, opened his eyes and looked at the person in front of him.

Heimos lowered his head slightly and pursed his thin lips tightly, like a straight line.

His shoulders were tense and hard, and the muscles were bulging. The wet black hair fell down and stuck to his forehead, making the shadows in his eye sockets more intense.

Garlan's hands were still on Heimos' shoulders.

He lowered his head and kissed Heimos' forehead gently.

Then he stood up.

The water drops fell from the young man who got up like broken beads, fell on Heimos body, or fell into the pool water, splashing circles of water ripples.

Garlan stood up and left.

He walked very fast, leaving traces of water on the gravel road he walked on.

However, when he was about to leave the garden, he couldn't help but look back.

He saw Heimos still sitting quietly in the pool, eyes lowered, motionless, not knowing what he was thinking.

Black hair was wet and stuck to his cheeks.

It was like an abandoned black wolf, the hair all over its body was wet, just squatting in the puddle.

…………

………………

It was nearly evening, and the sun was still shining on the horizon, while a faint starlight appeared on the other side of the sky.

Although it was still early, the lights in the palace were already lit, illuminating the entire room.

Garlan was sitting on an olive wood chair. He had just finished taking a bath. There was a little heat radiating from his fair skin, and his long, slightly damp hair was hanging down from behind him.

"You are not a child anymore, how could you fall into the pool so accidentally?"

The female official stood behind him, wiping the prince's wet hair with a soft white towel and murmuring in a low voice.

Garlan's drenched appearance when he came back startled her.

Later, Gallan said that he was walking and talking to others, and accidentally stepped into the pool.

Tapti was very suspicious, so she asked. She didn't think the little prince was such a careless person.

But Gallan sat in front of her, smiling but saying nothing.

She shook her head and concentrated on drying her blond hair in her hands without asking any more questions.

When she was almost dry, Garlan, who had been looking ahead as if in a trance, suddenly asked her a question.

"Tapti."

He said,

"If you have someone you like, someone you like very much, but that person won't be with you, so he rejects you several times, will you still like him?"

"Won't."

Answer in one second.

"...So fast! Don't you think about it?"

"There is nothing to consider, Your Highness. I am a person with strong self-esteem. No matter how much I like someone, I will give up even if I am rejected even once, let alone say it several times."

"Then...if someone with a strong self-esteem, similar to you, no, stronger than you, refuses to give up after being rejected several times, would you think such a person is stupid?"

"Although his ideas are different from mine, I won't laugh at him. Maybe it's because my love is not deep enough, so I can't be like him... But if the person you mentioned really does that, They must really love each other, so much that they can even give up their own pride for them.”

Using an ivory comb to gently comb the velvety blond hair in her hands, Tapti answered softly.

"But there is no reason for feelings. No one stipulates that if he likes you, you must also like him. This can only mean that Avdmir did not pity this person and sent the hyacinth bouquet to that person. in the hands.”

Garlan subconsciously turned his head and looked through the open floor-to-ceiling windows at the large swathes of hyacinths beside the pool in the courtyard.

The clusters of lavender flowers were bathed in the fiery red sunset, and their tiny petals swayed slightly in the wind.

Avdomir, the goddess of love and beauty, was born along with countless beautiful flowers, each flower has its own symbolic meaning.

Among them, hyacinth represents sad and fruitless love.

Aaron Landis people will say when comforting a lovelorn person, you are not wrong, it is just that Aphidmir sent a bouquet of hyacinths to your hands.

…………

It was late at night, and the female official Tapti had left. Garlan was lying on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

It was impossible for him to accept Heimos, so he made a conclusion.

There can be no further step between him and him.

He rejected Heimos again.

The scene of Heymos sitting quietly in the pool with his head lowered, as if lifeless, has been swirling in his mind, and he can't get rid of it.

Garlan stood up, put on a coat and left the room.

He stood by the pool and looked at the large tracts of hyacinths beside the water.

The tiny lilac flowers are gathered into clusters, slender and cute, emitting a light fragrance.

He thought about Heimos, and he knew that he cared about and valued Heimos, and even liked him, but it was not love.

Tapti said that there is no reason for emotional matters, and there is no right or wrong.

Therefore, he doesn't feel that he has done anything wrong.

But he... felt a little distressed.

It was like a big wolf dog that he had raised with his own hands, and had been raised to be wild, ferocious and sturdy. But at the moment, he looked as if he was about to abandon him, squatting pitifully in the corner with his ears twitched.

It's a bit unbearable to watch.

The night breeze was a little bit cool, brushing against the cheeks of the young man who was looking at the hyacinth flowers in ecstasy.

Suddenly, there was some movement on the wall not far away. Gallan, who was keenly aware of the slight noise, immediately woke up.

He was alert and turned around to look, ready to call the guards guarding the outer door to come in at any time.

As soon as he turned his head, he saw a black figure leaping down from the high wall with great agility.

That movement was so skillful that you could tell he was an expert at a glance.

Garlan: "..."

At least let him be sentimental for a while longer.

Also, when will Heimos' habit of climbing over the walls of his palace at night be changed?

Before Garlan could finish complaining in his heart, Heimos, who had jumped down from the high wall, had already caught sight of the young man standing among the hyacinth flowers and walked over quickly.

He moved so fast that before Garlan could react, Heimos grabbed his wrist by walking over.

Garlan felt like he was starting to have a headache.

He thought he had already said that. He had rejected Heimos so many times. Heimos had such a proud character, so he should have given up on him long ago.

He did not break away from Heimos' hand, but just sighed and said: "Heimos, I think I made it very clear this afternoon."

"Ok, I know."

"I said, no matter how much time passes, the distance between us will not change."

"I remember."

Heimos replied.

"I thought about it for a long time, and then I had the answer."

He said, "You said you won't change, so there is no need to change. Just like you said, between you and me, you can not move forward even a step, but, Garlan, you also said that you I won’t move forward, but I won’t take a step back either.”

"I said it, but..."

What he meant was that he would not alienate Heimos or be estranged from him.

"You didn't say that I was not allowed to move forward."

Garlan was interrupted by Heimos midway through his words.

"If you don't move, let me do it."

He looked deeply at the young man in front of him and said, "Let me walk towards you."

"I will come to you, no matter how long it takes."

No matter how far it is, no matter how long it takes, he will walk to Garlan and hold this man tightly just like he is now.

He won't let go.

Because he was interrupted mid-sentence, Garlan's mouth was still slightly open.

But when he looked at Heimos, his mind was in a mess and he was speechless for a long time.

Heimos held his arms with both hands and looked down at him.

Those golden-red pupils reflected his shadow, so bright that they seemed to be glowing in the dark night.

Being stared at by those eyes, he felt that his heart rate was starting to feel abnormal again.

He was about to say something when he accidentally caught a glimpse of a light in the distance from the corner of his eye.

Shocked, he reached out and grabbed Heimos's shoulder and pushed him down sharply.

"Hide now!"

He spoke quickly and quietly, pressing Heimos down hard.

Fortunately, the large tracts of hyacinth flowers were very tall, almost reaching a person's thighs. As soon as Heimos bent down and knelt down, his body could be invisible among the flowers.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

It was a maid on night watch. She was holding a lantern and standing at the corner not far away to salute him.

"It's so late, why don't you rest?"

"Well... I can't sleep a little, so I went out for a walk."

Garlan coughed slightly uncomfortably.

"There's nothing going on here, go look elsewhere."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Seeing the maid bow and retreat, Garlan let out a long sigh of relief.

………Um?

He suddenly felt something was wrong.

etc.

Why was he so panicked?

Why did he hide Heimos with a guilty conscience?

They didn’t do anything shameful—

………………

Goddess Avdmir...

In the dark night, the maid who left quickly was so excited that her hand holding the lantern trembled slightly, and the light swayed endlessly on her face.

She saw it... she saw it...

Crown Prince Garlan, and His Highness Heimos.

them……

…

Ah, what a beautiful scene that is.

Like a dream.

In the dark night, they stood among the hyacinth flowers.

Fragments of starlight fell on the two people surrounded by hyacinths...

It's a love affair hidden in the darkness.

When the wind blew, the clusters of lavender bouquets swayed gently around the two people hugging each other quietly, as if they were lamenting softly...

Hyacinth, sad love, sad love that cannot be realized.

The maid held her chest.

Oh, goddess, I seem to feel the feeling of sad love.

Is this your arrangement?

You gave us your love.

It is so beautiful, yet so cruel.

So... heartbreaking.

The author has something to say: Avdmir: I am not, I don’t have it, don’t talk nonsense.