Although it was still in the afternoon, the sun was just in the sky, but the weather in Wangcheng had turned cold recently, so I was soaked in the pool water, and it was still a little cold when the wind blew.
The body is a little cold, but only that hand is hot.
The big brown hand held his hand tightly and forcibly pressed his hand to his chest.
It was obvious that the finger touched the wet clothes, which should be cold, but the high temperature on Heimos' chest seemed to be transmitted to his fingertips through the wet clothes, and it was hot.
He pressed Heimos's chest, only to feel that it was like a volcano about to erupt, beating one after another, and the invisible lava gushing out was so hot that it almost burned his fingers.
The heat was transmitted up from the fingertips along the blood of the hands and arms, as if the heat was also dyed in his body.
He even felt his heart beating one after another, as if he was connected to Heimos's heartbeat through his right hand.
This never-before-seen feeling made Garlan at a loss, and he also struggled a little in a panic, trying to retract his hand.
But as soon as he moved, Heimos's fingers clenched sharply, and he squeezed his hand tightly, refusing to let go.
Garlan tugged his hand a few times in a panic.
Soon, his hand stopped.
Because when struggling, he felt a slight tingling sensation caused by the friction of his hand by Heimos' rough palm.
Garland's hands were well-maintained, with long, fair fingers and glowing skin.
Although there are some thin calluses that he has cultivated from holding a sword, but every night, there will be a maid to take care of the skin on his hands and feet.
Most of the nobles are like this, and so is Heimos, as can be seen from the brownish lustrous skin on the wet arm.
However, at this moment, the palm of Heimos holding his hand is rough. Only those old slaves who have worked hard all their lives and are nearly sixty or seventy years old have such rough palms.
…
These palms, which are full of scars and even have no palm lines, are what Heimos left behind in order to save him from the sea of fire.
This injury was for him.
Garland suddenly softened.
He is not someone who doesn't know what to do, and he remembers everything Heimos has done for him over the years.
When he was a child, he did have a fear of Heimos. Even if he later learned the truth about Heimos's distorted character and knew that Heimos was innocent, as long as he remembered the past few lives, he would be overwhelmed. He couldn't help but feel the fear of Heimos in his heart.
But over the years, unknowingly, this fear has become less and less.
On the one hand, it was because he gradually began to grow, and he had many companions by his side. When a person begins to become strong in himself, he no longer fears others.
On the other hand... Heimos' meticulous care for him also invisibly eliminated that fear little by little.
So, enough is enough.
The shadow of previous lives, the shadow of this person in front of him, is almost time to disappear.
"Heimos, you are very important to me."
It was something he himself had never noticed.
I don't know since when, Heimos has also become a very important person in his heart.
He would want to protect him, he would not want him to be hurt, he would hope that Heimos would have a good life in the future, a good life... just like Brother Camos, just like Kaijos and the others.
Garlan looked at those golden red eyes earnestly.
"I care about you as much as you care about me."
He moved his hands, not struggling, but lightly. Only this time, he easily pulled his hand out of Heimos's palm.
"We grew up together, until now, and maybe in the future, we will walk together like this."
The young man leaned over.
For the first time, he took the initiative to reach out and hug Heimos.
He leaned on Heimos, wrapping his arms around the other's neck.
He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against the wet black hair.
"I'm not going to take one step forward, and likewise, I'm not going to take one step back."
He hugged Heimos' shoulders, closed his eyes, and whispered in Heimos' ear.
"We will always be like this, nothing will change."
Garlan clearly felt that the shoulders around his arms suddenly tightened.
When he said this, the person he was holding seemed to freeze for a moment.
Heimos understood his words.
It was because I understood it that I had such a reaction.
[We will always be like this, nothing will change.]
Only so far, only as it is now.
We will not be far apart, however, nor can we go further.
He will no longer be afraid of him, and will let the shadows of previous lives disappear from the bottom of his heart.
They will always be close and will guard each other until the end.
…
However, Heimos's feelings, he will not accept.
Maybe he was a little soft-hearted, maybe he was still a little moved, maybe he was really moved by Heimos.
But it was impossible for him to accept Heimos.
In every sense, in every way.
Garlan straightened up and opened his eyes to look at the person in front of him.
Heimos lowered his head slightly, his thin lips pressed tightly like a straight line.
His shoulders were tense and hard, the muscles bulging. The wet black hair came down and pressed against his forehead, making the shadow of his eye sockets more intense.
Garlan's hands were still on Heimos' shoulders.
He lowered his head and kissed Heimos lightly on the forehead.
Then he stood up.
The drops of water fell from the young boy who got up like broken beads, fell on Heimos' body, or fell into the pool water, splashing water in circles.
Garland got up and left.
He walked very fast, leaving traces of water on the gravel path he walked on.
However, when he was about to leave the garden, he couldn't help but look back.
He saw that Heimos was still sitting quietly in the pool, with his eyes down and motionless, not knowing what he was thinking.
The dark hair was dripping wet against his cheeks.
It was like an abandoned black wolf with wet hair all over his body, just squatting in a puddle like that.
…
…
It was almost evening, and the sun was still bright on the horizon, and a little starlight had already appeared on the other side of the sky.
Although it was still early, the lamps in the palace were already lit, illuminating the entire room.
Garlan sat on the olive wood chair, just after taking a bath, a little heat radiated from his fair skin, and his long wet hair fell from behind him.
"You're not a child anymore, how could you fall into the pool so accidentally?"
The female magistrate stood behind him, wiping the prince's wet hair with a soft white towel, muttering in a low voice.
Garlan's drenched appearance when she came back shocked her.
Later, Garland said that he was walking and talking to others, and he stepped into the pool without paying attention.
Tapti was very skeptical, so she asked, she didn't think the little prince was that careless.
But Garlan sat in front of her, smiling but not speaking.
She shook her head, dry her blond hair in her hands wholeheartedly, and asked no more questions.
When she was almost dry, Garlan, who had been looking forward, suddenly asked her a question.
"Tapti."
He says,
"If you have someone you like, someone you like very much, but that person won't be with you, so he has rejected you several times, will you continue to like him?"
"Won't."
Answer in a 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, don't say it several times, even if it is only rejected once, I will give up."
"Then... If you are also a person with strong self-esteem, similar to you, no, the kind of person who is stronger than you, if you are rejected several times and still refuse to give up, do you think such a person is stupid?"
"Although it's different from mine, I won't laugh at him. Maybe it's because my love is not deep enough, so I can't do what he does... But, if the person you're talking about really achieves that level, it must be He really loves each other so much that he can even give up his pride for it."
Tapti replied softly, brushing the velvety blond hair in his hands gently and gently with his ivory.
"But emotional matters don't make sense. No one stipulates that if he likes you, you have to like him as well. It can only be said that Avtomir didn't show mercy to this person and sent the bouquet of hyacinths to that person. hands."
Garlan turned his head subconsciously, and looked through the open floor-to-ceiling windows, looking at the large hyacinths by the pool in the courtyard.
The clusters of lavender flowers were bathed in the fiery red sunset, and the tiny petals swayed slightly in the wind.
Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was born with countless beautiful flowers, each with its own symbolic meaning.
Among them, hyacinths represent sad, fruitless love.
When Aaron Landis comforted a brokenhearted person, they would say, you are not wrong, but Aphdomir sent a bouquet of hyacinths to your hands.
…
It was late at night, and the female officer Tapti had already left, and Gallan was lying on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
He couldn't accept Heimos, so he came to a conclusion.
There can be no further between him and him.
He again rejected Heimos.
Heimos lowered his head, as if the scene of sitting quietly in the pool water without any anger kept revolving in his mind, lingering.
Garlan got up and sat up, put on a coat and left the room.
He stood by the pool and looked at the large hyacinth by the water.
The tiny lavender flowers, gathered in clusters, are slender and lovely, exuding a faint fragrance.
He thought about Heimos, he knew that he cared, valued Heimos, and even liked it, but it was not love.
Tapti said that emotional things don't make sense, and there's no right or wrong.
So, he doesn't think he has done anything wrong.
But he... a little distressed.
It was like a wild, fierce and sturdy wolf dog that was raised by himself, but at the moment it looked as if he was about to abandon him, squatting pitifully in the corner with his ears cocked.
It's a bit unbearable to look at.
The night wind was a little cold, passing over the cheeks of the young man who looked at the hyacinth flowers in a trance.
Suddenly, there was a movement on the wall not far away, and Garlan, who was keenly aware of the slight noise, immediately woke up.
He raised his vigilance, turned his head to look, and was ready to call the guards at the outer door to come in.
As soon as he turned his head, he saw a dark figure jumping down from the high fence with vigorous movements.
That movement is very skilled, and you can tell it is a veteran at a glance.
Garland: "..."
At least let him be sentimental for a while.
Also, when will Heimos's habit of turning over the walls of his palace at night be corrected
Before Garlan finished complaining in his heart, Heimos, who jumped down from the high wall, saw the boy standing among the hyacinth flowers at a glance, and walked over quickly.
He moved so fast that before Garlan could react, Heimos, who was approaching, grabbed his wrist.
Garlan felt himself starting to have a headache.
He thought that he had already said that. He had rejected Heimos so many times. Heimos was so proud of his character, it was time to give up on him.
He didn't break away from Heimos's hand, but sighed and said, "Heimos, I think I made it very clear this afternoon."
"Ok, I know."
"I said that no matter how long it has passed, 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, "If you say you won't change, then you don't need to change. As you said, between you and me, you can take no step forward, but Garland, you also said that you Not going forward, but not taking a step back."
"I said, but..."
What he meant was that he would not alienate Heimos, and would not have a barrier to him.
"You didn't say that I was not allowed to move forward."
Garlan was interrupted by Heimos halfway through his words.
"If you don't move, let me come."
He looked at the young man in front of him with deep eyes and said, "Let me come to you."
"I'll come to you, no matter how long."
No matter how far, no matter how long it takes, he will walk up to Garlan, just like now, and hold on to this person tightly.
He won't let go.
Because he was interrupted in the middle of his speech, Garlan kept his mouth slightly open.
But he looked at Heimos, his mind was in a mess, and he was speechless for a while.
Heimos held his arms in both hands and looked down at him.
Those golden-red pupils reflected his shadow, shining like a light in the dark night.
Being stared at by those eyes, he felt that his heart rate began to be abnormal again.
He was about to say something, but out of the corner of his eye he accidentally caught a light in the distance.
Startled in his heart, he reached out and grabbed Heimos's shoulder and pressed it down sharply.
"Hide away!"
He spoke quickly and quietly, pressing Heimos down hard.
Fortunately, the large hyacinth flowers were so high that they almost reached people's thighs. As soon as Heimos bent over and knelt down, his body could be hidden among the flowers.
"His Royal Highness?"
It was a night-watching maid, holding a lantern, standing at the corner not far away and saluting to him.
"It's so late, are you still resting?"
"Well... I can't sleep a little, so I went out for a walk."
Garland let out a soft, uneasy cough.
"There's nothing wrong here, you can go and see other places."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Watching the maid bow and retreat, Garlan let out a long sigh of relief.
… …Um
Suddenly he felt something was wrong.
and many more.
Why is he so panicked
Why did he hide Heimos with a guilty conscience
They didn't do anything embarrassing...
…
Goddess Aphrodite...
In the dark night, the maid who left quickly was so excited that her hand holding the lantern trembled slightly, and the light shook endlessly on her face.
She sees... sees...
Prince Garlan, and also, His Highness Heimos.
them…
…
Ah, what a beautiful scene that was.
Dreamy.
In the dark night, they stood among the hyacinth flowers.
Fragmented starlight fell on the two people surrounded by hyacinths...
It was a love hidden in darkness.
When the wind blew, the clusters of lavender bouquets swayed gently beside the two quietly embracing, as if they were sighing softly...
Hyacinth, sad love, unfulfilled sad love.
The maid clutched her chest.
Oh goddess, I seem to feel the taste of that sad romance too.
Is this your arrangement
You have given us love.
It is so beautiful, yet so cruel.
So... heartbreaking.