Sleepless nights.
Early the next morning, Caijos entered the palace again.
The morning sun lit up the dark blond hair of Kaihos, and the blue mark under his eyes was so light that it was almost invisible, which did not damage the knight's handsome face with a mature charm.
On the way to Garlan's palace, this handsome knight attracted the eager eyes of many maids walking on the road with things in hand.
It has been a long time since the maids of Kaihos tried to talk to him, but the knights who used to laugh and tease them with a few words that made their hearts blush seem to be in no mood today, just nodded politely and walked over.
Hearing the voices of the young maids suddenly becoming excited outside the palace, the female officer standing in the courtyard turned to look in the direction of the palace gate.
Unsurprisingly, she saw Caijos walk in from there.
If it was before, she had always been expressionless and cold-hearted about the actions of the knight who always made the young girls in the palace excited. Occasionally she did it, and she would rudely reprimand Kaijos and be dissatisfied. He made the front of the palace gate so noisy that he disturbed the prince.
Of course, for Tapti's reprimands, Caijos always humbly and politely admits his mistakes and apologizes, and then, next time, just goes his own way.
And this time, when she saw the familiar scene again, although Tapti still couldn't see any expression on her face, the look of disgust in her eyes was gone.
She suddenly thought that although there were always many young girls who seemed to admire Kaihos, in fact, as far as she could see, the young maid who secretly looked at Lord Heimos with admiration all along Not a lot.
After all, from a woman's point of view, that Your Excellency is very good in terms of appearance and other aspects, in addition to his personality...
It was only because that Your Excellency was very inaccessible except by His Majesty's side, and those weak girls didn't dare to approach, so he gave the illusion that he was not welcome.
Moreover, that Your Excellency's eyes have always only been on His Majesty, so it is impossible to notice the eyes of others looking at him, and naturally he is unaware of the eyes of other people's admiration.
However, even if I found out... I'm afraid it would be completely ignored by that person.
The female officer thought so absently, and sighed silently in her heart.
Obviously a few months ago, she was still very angry.
At that time, she also thought that when that person came back, she would never be polite.
She will definitely protect His Majesty and not give that person the slightest chance.
However, things are changing.
The news that suddenly came back a month ago was like a sap, knocking her into a daze all of a sudden.
Your Excellency... is dead
Even now, Tapti still feels unreal.
She always felt that that terrifying man, even the god of death would detour him.
She always felt that if it was that person, even the gods couldn't let him leave His Majesty's side.
…
No matter how she felt, a month had passed and Lord Heimos had died, which was an unchangeable fact.
Tapti turned his head slightly, and saw the statue of the spring water of Isdar, the goddess of fate in the middle of the courtyard.
In the past, as long as that person was still in the palace, almost every day, that person stood and waited under this fountain.
When he waited, no matter how long he waited, there was no trace of impatience. On the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying the waiting process.
It felt like he was chewing his favorite dessert bit by bit.
Every time, when she followed His Majesty out of the door, she would see that person looking up.
That person's eyes only glowed when they fell on His Majesty.
Every time like this, that person's eyes are always focused and gentle.
... She hadn't noticed such obvious eyes for so many years... Sure enough, she couldn't see clearly because she was in the game...
Tapti thought of this and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
But, what's the use of thinking about it now.
She raised her eyes and glanced at the empty fountain again.
No one will be waiting there again.
She sighed deeply in her heart.
The deceased is gone.
If His Majesty was unwilling to show her vulnerable side in front of them, she would pretend not to know.
I just hope that as time goes by, the pain in His Majesty's heart can be relieved little by little.
When the footsteps came, Tapti turned around, restrained his thoughts, and looked at the young king who came out of the room.
She subconsciously raised a gentle smile, wanting to go up to talk to Garlan.
But she immediately saw Garlan's gaze.
The boy walked out of the door, perhaps inadvertently, or perhaps he was accustomed to it, and he glanced slightly to the right side of the corner of his eye.
The direction of that fountain.
That glance made Tapti's heart sink endlessly and cool down.
…
The real pain never goes away with the passage of time.
It would stay there, dripping with blood.
never go away.
…
Kaihos came to pick up Garland today because Garland was going to patrol the barracks today.
To put it simply, as a king, he has to appear in person to praise and inspire the triumphant soldiers.
When King Garlan appeared in the barracks, the morale of the soldiers was high.
Yesterday, King Garland personally went out of the city to welcome their return, which has moved them very much. Today, when Garland came to the military camp again to praise them, and personally said that he would give them plentiful awards according to their military exploits, the people in the military camp were very impressed. The atmosphere was at its peak.
The earth was jubilant, and all the soldiers were cheering the name of King Garlan.
Laughter resounded under the sky.
Kaihos stood beside Garland and looked up at Garland who raised his hand to the countless soldiers under the high platform.
The young king's smile was like the rising sun falling on him.
His smile always brings bright light to those around him.
As long as he is by his side, it is like being under the sun.
He always brings warmth and strength to those around him.
Kaihos clenched his hand tightly beside him.
He remembered yesterday, in the room full of sunlight, the appearance of the child who was squatting on the ground with his arms in his arms.
And now, who can become the strength to support this child
In a trance, Kaihos remembered the conversation he had with Tapti yesterday.
…
"Tapti, what can I do?"
Even if he can only share a little bit, he is willing to do anything.
"Don't say anything, don't do anything, pretend you don't know anything, that's all you can do for him."
"... I am the prince's guardian knight, can't I replace him?!"
A few seconds of silence.
Then, the female officer replied.
Yes, you can't.
That's what Tapti told him at that time.
Such a categorical denial made him unable to generate any anger.
Perhaps it was because he saw the almost substantial sadness in Tapti's eyes at the moment.
Cayhorth, neither you nor I.
Tapti shook his head.
Even if you and I were reluctant to admit it at first.
However, the only person in this world who can truly stand by his side and support each other with him is that person.
The throne reigns supreme.
There is no one to stand by.
Therefore, the king is always alone.
The king did so.
So is King Camos.
I was fortunate that, although sitting on the throne, the prince was not alone.
Although it was an accident, but because of the existence of that person, if the prince does not have to support the country alone, I am very fortunate that the prince has that person by his side.
But I never thought that that person would just leave like this.
…
Cayhorth, you know what
The female officer's low voice was like a sigh.
lose.
More brutal than if it didn't exist in the first place.
…
…
When the expedition army returned, the royal court began to run wildly. Countless political affairs, thousands of threads, are waiting to be dealt with.
For a time, all the ministers and officials were busy.
Statistics on the merits of the soldiers, injuries after the war, and the treatment costs and pensions of the fallen soldiers. In particular, when Garland reformed the military affairs, he strongly added a provision for the old and seriously injured soldiers who had to be discharged from the army. It will be implemented after a battle.
At the same time, Canal became a part of Aaron Landis, and the western frontier naturally ceased to exist, so it was necessary to mobilize the Sixth Legion on the border to enter Canal as soon as possible, and join forces with the army that Kejos left behind in the royal city. , to stabilize the overall situation of Canal.
Also, the royal court must negotiate the officials dispatched to Kanal as soon as possible to take control of those cities as soon as possible.
All of the above made Garlan, the king, very busy. People came and went in the government room from morning to night. Apart from eating and sleeping, he hardly had any respite.
If it was before, Tapti and the others would have felt distressed and discouraged seeing Garlan so busy, but now, they are relieved.
It's good to be busy.
They thought so.
In this way, the entire royal court has been running fast for a long time, and countless ministers and officials are crying in private, and even Zuo Sixiang, who is devoted to his work and almost makes the Government Affairs Office his home, can't bear it.
After working overtime like this, I finally managed to deal with the mountain of government affairs.
When they came back to their senses, everyone realized that it had been a month before they knew it.
More than half of the spring has passed, and even the night is still warm, and it will not make people feel cold.
It was late at night, and during this month, it was rare to find such a peaceful time, and Garlan was sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard.
In the dark night, Nega's low oooooooooo sounded.
The golden-brown mane flashed in the moonlight in the night, and the big lion was leaning on Garland and humming constantly, as if he was begging for something.
It arched Garlan with its head, then raised its front paws and placed it on the stone table beside it, snorted at the crystal bottle containing the bright red liquid on the table, turned its head, and squeaked at Garlan again.
The brown pupils stared at Garlan brightly, and those bright little eyes were really unstoppable.
Must have smelled the wine...
Garland was helpless.
At the time, Tarr was having fun, and while he didn't pay attention to feeding Nega a glass of wine, Nega slept drunk for a long time, making him nervous for fear that something might go wrong.
Unexpectedly, this drink actually made the big lion like this taste.
Since then, every time it smells wine, it will ask for wine from all kinds of cute and coquettish acts of its own.
The big fluffy head came over again and rubbed his face.
Garlan could only get up, took the plate where the raw meat had been placed, poured a little red wine into it, then crouched down and waved at Nega.
Nega immediately came over excitedly, took his hand and licked it in the saucer.
He licked happily, his long tail twitching behind him.
Garlan put down the saucer, looked at Nerga happily licking the wine, and patted its head.
He looked at it with gentle eyes.
Then, Garland stood up and walked to the entrance of the pavilion.
Below is a clear pool of water, and the moonlight falls on the water, sparkling.
When the wind blew, the large lavender hyacinths on the edge of the pool swayed slightly with the wind, like lavender waves undulating.
Looking at the swaying hyacinth, Garlan suddenly remembered that night a long time ago.
Late that night, when Heimos came over the wall and grabbed himself to speak, a maid who was watching the night suddenly passed by, and he was so frightened that he hurriedly pressed Heimos among the flowers to hide, for fear of being seen by the maid.
Although at that time he didn't know why he felt guilty of being a thief.
…
Hyacinth, a love that is destined to be fruitless, a hopeless love.
Later, he learned the flower language of hyacinths from the mouth of the maid who passed by that night.
He was startled.
At that time, he thought, this might be a prophecy.
Because it is impossible for him to accept Heimos, Heimos's feelings for him are destined to have no results.
… maybe that was indeed a prophecy…
Garlan poured a glass of wine, and the bright red liquid rippled slightly in the crystal glass under the moonlight.
He didn't drink, but just walked down the stone steps of the pavilion with a wine glass, and walked to the hyacinth flowers.
The young man raised his head, and the moonlight was like water, pouring down on his long golden hair scattered on his shoulders.
two months.
Sixty days.
During this time, he had been secretly holding a faint hope in his heart.
Perhaps, that person is not dead, just injured.
Maybe it will appear in front of him again soon.
If that person is still alive, Garlan believes that even if that person crawls, he will crawl back to his side.
However, it has been more than sixty days.
He waited a long time.
Can't wait for anything.
He has to face reality after all.
Heimos is dead. Two months ago, he died in the royal city of Canal.
"Sorry, this is a funeral that is two months late."
Standing among the hyacinth flowers by the pool, the young man threw it away.
The luminous cup crossed a shining arc in the dark night, and fell into the pool with a clatter of water.
It sank.
The bright red liquor spread out on the water, and soon disappeared without a trace.
Garlan watched the bright red melt in the water.
for a long time.
Nega's snoring could be heard from the gazebo next to her.
The drunken lion has fallen into a deep sleep.
The boy leaned over and slowly sat down beside the pond, among the large hyacinth flowers.
His arms were on his raised knees.
A faint floral fragrance surrounded him.
The pool water in front of him reflected the hyacinth group by the water, and there were double-imaged flowers everywhere, making it almost impossible to distinguish the real from the reflection.
He just sat quietly, his golden pupils reflecting the shimmering water.
"All this time, I've been wondering if it's because of me."
"Because of me, you will die."
In previous lives, I died, so you lived.
In this life, I live, so the person who died becomes you.
"You probably don't know, there was one time when I was a kid, I wanted to kill you while you had a fever."
"At that time, it was absolutely impossible for me to think that when you really died, I would be like this..."
so...
The boy closed his mouth and swallowed the last two words back into his throat.
He lowered his head and buried his face in his arms.
The fingers on his arms were squeezed so hard that the knuckles were almost white.
What you said you promised me, you will do.
You said you never told a lie to me.
[I am here.]
[I will always be at your side.]
[Even the gods of Aaron Landis cannot let me leave you.]
You lied to me after all.
After all, you still leave me.
…
pat.
It was an inaudible sound.
It is concealed by night.
It was lost in the purr of a sleeping lion on one side.
At the feet of the young man sitting by the pool with his head lowered, a circle of shallow water marks rippled out.
Silent in the middle of the night.
Only the clusters of lavender hyacinths swayed gently in the wind.