"Hey, should we wake him? Prin-I mean, young master Kaiden has gone to get us a room, and I don't want to impose…"
Liam questioned as he looked at Shuu's unconscious form. Shuu was currently groaning while still asleep. His face was pinched together, and it truly looked like he was having the worst time possible.
Still, Liam knew better than to touch anyone their Crown Prince had brought with him.
"Tsk, what a coward. Step aside. I will wake him up for you."
Reina pushed Liam aside before she grabbed Shuu's shirt and shook him. His eyes immediately opened, and his sleep-covered gaze landed on her.
A mixture of relief and disbelief filled Shuu's face as he looked at Reina, and it made her feel…odd.
"Y-You are alive…? Wait-! That was a dream-?"
Reina felt her head throb, and she immediately smacked Shuu lightly on the head to wake him up fully.
"Tsk, I don't know what kind of dream you were having, but as you can see, I am fully fine. There is not much that can take me out."
Reina sounded proud of this, and she finally put Shuu back on his feet.
"I-I see. That's good…"
Shuu could not even muster enough strength to feel embarrassed. He was just relieved to see her and Liam alive and well.
Liam immediately jumped in when it looked like Reina would lose her temper, and he addressed Shuu.
"Are you feeling fine now, Shuu? You were…making some weird noises in your sleep, and it worried us a little bit."
Liam commented, ignoring Reina's "not me" coming from the other side of the room. Shuu just blinked and nodded.
"I am fine. I just…had a bad dream I don't want to remember. By the way…where are we? And where is Prince Kaiden?"
He asked as he looked around.
"Princ-I mean, young master Kaiden is out right now. You better also address him as 'young master Kaiden' as well-"
"Or why don't you just call me by my name? I sure won't mind that coming from you."
Prince Kaiden quickly slipped into the room before walking toward Shuu and wrapping his arms around Shuu's shoulders.
Reina and Liam were annoyed and startled at the same time, but they did not say anything.
Shuu was the only one who dared to speak up.
"Calling Prince Kaiden by name is a little…can I call you young master as well?"
He asked, and the Crown Prince let out a dramatic sigh before he relented.
"Very well. If that's what my honey wants to call me, then who am I to tell him no? Ah, what a pity…I really wanted to be called by my name…"
The crown prince made a sad face, and it made Shuu panic a little. But one look at Reina and Liam was enough to tell him that he was on his own.
So he did the best thing he could in such a situation-pretend he did not notice and change the topic.
"Uhm, what are we going to do now? Based on the stories that we are told about the hero's journey, the saintess is supposed to guide them, right? But we…left her behind."
Shuu asked, and the crown prince's expression immediately changed.
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that. This journey has taken place so many times that we already know what to do without her. She's…more of a symbol at this part."
Liam quickly assured him, but Shuu did not immediately believe him.
Kaiden decided he did not like Shuu's attention not being on him, and he immediately pressed most of his weight on top of Shuu, causing him to brace himself to keep both the crown prince and himself from collapsing.
"We are going to get my sword next. The first step in the hero's journey is to get the sword that accompanies them, and the same family makes the sword every time."
The crown prince whined as he put even more pressure on Shuu. It was getting harder to breathe now, and Shuu's face was turning red.
And just when he felt like he could not take it anymore, the crown prince's weight suddenly vanished from on top of him.
Shuu looked at the crown prince, wondering what this meant, but Prince Kaiden just tugged him back toward the bed.
"We should go to sleep now. We will leave for the sword family tomorrow. We need to make sure we are in top condition when we reach there."
Crown Prince Kaiden's hold around Shuu was tight. He was sure that he would not be able to get out of it, even if he tried. So he decided to relax and accept his fate…for now.
For the first time, both Reina and Liam gave him a pity-filled glance, and Shuu wanted to reach out to them as well.
But Prince Kaiden quickly turned around with him in his arms, making it so that Shuu was not able to see the other two.
"Don't pay too much attention to others, darling. Or I will start to get jealous. Go to sleep now."
The crown prince covered Shuu's eyes as soon as they started to look around.
Shuu felt a little irritated, but sleep slowly started to crawl over his eyes until he could no longer keep them open.
"Go to sleep now. I will wake you up when it is time to head out. You don't have to think about a single thing."
Shuu felt a shiver go down his spine as soon as he heard those words.
For some, it may sound endearing, but he could not help but feel like he was falling into a trap.
The presence behind him felt too prominent to ignore.
Despite that, sleep claimed him soon enough, and he fell asleep.
No one said a word, and it was only after Shuu was asleep that Liam dared to open his mouth.
"Prince Kaiden, about Shuu…are you sure you want to take a partner? Didn't you say you were loyal-"
"That is not something for you to decide, Liam. I am going to forgive you this time for asking useless questions. Make sure you do not repeat this again."
Liam closed his mouth at the obvious rejection from the crown prince, and Reina put her hand on his shoulder to console him.
"Don't bother, Liam. Crown Prince Kaiden's actions are none of our business. The sooner we learn this, the better it will be for you."
Liam sighed, knowing that she was right and that he could not do anything about it.