'It's warm…I want to sleep a little more…'
Shuu cuddled into the warmth surrounding him. For the first time in a while, he actually felt well-rested. His mind was blank, and no dreams plagued him.
It almost felt like he had taken sleeping medicine to force his body to relax.
His hands gripped the hardness, and the space around him vibrated softly, causing him to burrow even harder against that warmth.
Warm air blew around his ear, causing Shuu to shiver, and a gentle hand cradled his head, moving through his hair and massaging his scalp lightly.
Shuu never wanted to wake up. He wanted to remain in that embrace for as long as he could be allowed to.
"Are you comfortable, honey? You can sleep more if you want to."
The soft voice tickled Shuu's ear, and he shivered before he tried to get even more comfortable. He wanted to be closer to that warmth.
"Sleep as much as you want to. I will take you along."
The arms around him quickly picked him up, and the warmth left him. Shuu's eyes immediately snapped open as he looked around, only to see Prince Kaiden's smiling face looking down at him.
"Oh—! You woke up? You should sleep a little more, honey. I can wash you and dress you while you do—"
"I-It's fine. I will take care of that myself."
Shuu immediately struggled to be put down, but the crown prince's grip frightened him even more.
"Hmm, that's so sad. All I want to do is help my honey out, and this is the result I get? Ahh, are you seeing this, Liam…?"
Shuu's eyes immediately turned to look at Liam, who stood on the other side of the room.
Liam was smart and had already diverted his eyes away from Shuu and the crown prince. But Shuu still felt embarrassed by the fact that he knew what was happening.
"I think you should let Shuu down and let him wash up on his own. You don't want to be hated by him, right?"
Liam's words caused the crown prince to immediately give up.
Gasp
"You are right. I don't want my honey to hate me, so I will back off now. Honey, you must call me as soon as you need help, alright? I will be there to help you out."
The crown prince promised. But before he could finish speaking, Shuu had already left the room with a flushed face.
Reina, who saw all this, only let out a frustrated sigh.
She felt sorry for Shuu, who was being toyed with by their crown prince. But she was not going to go out of her way to help him either.
As much as she pitied Shuu, it was his own fault he was in this mess. If he still chose not to distance himself from the crown prince…
"In the end, the choice is his. If he wants to be foolish and believe in someone who is deceiving him, then it is his choice. I am not going to stop him…"
__________
'This is so embarrassing. I wish Prince Kaiden would stop acting like that with me. It is beyond embarrassing…'
Shuu submerged his head in the water, but he quickly ran out of breath and pulled himself back up.
But even the water did nothing to hide the blush on his face.
"I know that Prince Kaiden is not serious about me. He's just playing around…or something. Lady Reina and Lord Liam's expressions make it very clear. But still…what can I do now?"
Since Shuu did not have the goddess's blessing, he was doubtful that he would be welcomed anywhere. Even if he managed to hide it for some time, he would not be able to hide that he was a cursed child forever.
The only one who had accepted him and told him that he was needed was the crown prince.
"In the end, even if I know I am being used, I have no choice but to stay by his side. And it's not all bad. The crown prince treated me with respect…huh…am I crying? Why am I crying?"
Shuu tried to make himself feel better, but when he reached to touch his face, tears were flowing out of his eyes.
It was hard to control his feelings once the dam broke, so he did not try. He allowed his emotions to run wild until he was wrung dry.
He remained in the bath for around half an hour and then decided to head out. Everyone else looked ready to move, and once again, a wave of embarrassment went through him as soon as he realized that he had made everyone late.
"Shuu, you are finally out. I was about to get you. I was so afraid that you lost consciousness in the bath and somehow hurt your head or something…"
The crown prince quickly walked over to Shuu before checking him over. Once he was sure that Shuu was fine, he wrapped his arms around Shuu and tugged him close to his chest.
Shuu melted against that chest and felt his mind going blank. He knew this was not fair, and he should not be feeling like this, but he could not help himself.
Once again, the two in front of him gave him a pitiful look. But he did not say much to them, just looked down.
Sigh
"We should get going now. I got a reply from Nico. He has already reached the swordsmith village and has ordered them to start preparing the sword for the journey. We should get going as well now."
Reina spoke from the other side of the room. She already had her luggage in her hand and had also opened the door to walk out.
"Hmm, let's get going now. Shuu, I will hold your hand so that we don't get separated. You always need to be by my side, alright? Especially once we reach the swordsmith village. Don't listen to a word anyone else tells you. All you need to do is believe me and my words."
The crown prince was trying his best not to stress these words out, but Shuu had a feeling there was another meaning behind them.
Still, Shuu only smiled and gave him a nod. That was the best he could do to not let his feelings show.
He finally pulled his hood up over his head, and they quickly entered the carriage that was supposed to take them forward.
The carriage was comfortable, but Shuu's feelings about this journey were not.
_________
Don't be shy. Drop Power Stones for me.