Little Pink Starfish

After a short while, Asher returned to his room with Ward, but something seemed off.
He appeared deep in thought, his expression shifting between red and pale. Seeing this, Theodore tilted his head.

“…What’s wrong with His Highness?”

He quietly asked Ward, but Ward simply responded with an indifferent, “Who knows?”

“He seems to be dealing with a lot of issues, so why don’t you, his personal guard, Louis, listen to him? …I mean, just when I was about to make a move, he suddenly found someone he likes… Now I have no idea how to report this to that guy.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.”

Ward mumbled the last part in a barely audible voice, so Theodore couldn’t catch what he said.

“Prince Asher, I’ve been summoned by Prince Samuel, so I’ll take my leave here.”
“Huh!?”

Ward called out to Asher, who looked back at him with a troubled expression.
Smiling at Asher, Ward quickly left.

The two left behind fell into silence.
Originally, this time was meant to be spent with his tutor, Marquis Clark, but since the marquis had returned to his territory, Asher had free time.
He had considered going to the garden or studying like before, but the image of Queen Angela and Marquis Clark’s intimate moment kept replaying in his mind.
And unlike before, this time, Theodore was always by his side.

“…Your Highness, is something the matter?”
“…Huh? …No, it’s nothing.”

When Theodore suddenly spoke to him, Asher’s heart skipped a beat. He tried to act normal, but his voice wavered.

“Did something happen earlier…?”

As Theodore took a slight step closer, Asher flinched.
Seeing his reaction, Theodore stopped moving.

“…”
“Um… uh…”
“…I apologize.”
“Eh…?”
“I have shown repeated disrespect… and as a knight, I have done something unforgivable to Your Highness…”

Hearing those words, Asher was momentarily bewildered.
But when he realized what Theodore meant by something unforgivable, his cheeks turned bright red.

“Uh… that is…”
“To act that way toward Your Highness… it is an act deserving of punishment…”
“Wait, wait, wait!”

Caught off guard by the sudden apology, Asher panicked.
But seeing Asher’s reaction, Theodore seemed equally confused.

“That was… that was…”

Why is he suddenly apologizing!?
We weren’t even talking about that just now, and this is so abrupt… But… maybe it’s only natural?
I was going to ask Ward about it, but I was too distracted by Mother and Lord Clark…
Yeah… that’s right. Kissing a prince isn’t normal… Wait, what even is normal?
Ahhh! That’s why! That’s why I wanted to ask Ward in the first place!!

—More importantly.

“You hate me… so why did you do that?”

That was what he truly wanted to ask.
Asher could understand why Theodore had despised him before. But kissing someone he hated made no sense.
Why had Theodore kissed Asher? It was a simple question.

“…That was… a slip of the tongue.”
“A slip of the tongue?”

A slip of the tongue…?
Does he mean when he said he hated me?
Why? How come?

“…It is true that I did not think favorably of Your Highness.”
“…!”

Those words pierced Asher’s heart.
Even though he already knew, hearing it directly still hurt. His face twisted in pain.

“But…”

Theodore hesitated as if struggling with something.

“…Your Highness has done nothing wrong recently.”
“…?”

Asher was puzzled by those words, but Theodore continued speaking.

“That is why… punish me for my careless words.”
“Wait, hold on!?”
“Yes?”
“Why does it turn into that!?”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s not what I was asking! I was asking why you kissed me—”

Asher’s voice grew louder, but realizing his own words, his face burned with embarrassment, and his voice trailed off.
As he shyly lowered his gaze, he thought he saw Theodore smirk.
But when he glanced up, Theodore’s expression was as composed as ever.

“…It was disrespectful.”
“Th-That’s not what I—”

I want to know the reason, but this conversation isn’t getting anywhere…

“Theodore, listen, it’s not about whether it was disrespectful or not—”
“I wanted to silence your lips.”
“Sin or not, that’s not the po… huh?”

Frowning, Asher turned to Theodore, not understanding the meaning of his words.

“At first, my body moved on its own, simply to silence Your Highness’s lips.”

Asher froze at Theodore’s straightforward words, spoken without hesitation.

“And yesterday… I wanted to touch them again.”

Asher opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to process what he had just heard.
As Theodore gazed at him, he took a step closer.

“Your Highness… why?”
“…Huh?”

A foolish-sounding noise escaped his lips.
Theodore took another step closer, closing the distance between them.

“Why didn’t you run away?”

This time, it was Asher’s turn to hesitate.
The deep black of Theodore’s eyes reflected a faint light as he gazed at him.

Why…?
At that moment… I…

Either of them could have escaped if they wanted to.
For the second time, Asher had even anticipated what would happen next—yet he didn’t run.
Why?

“Because… I didn’t hate it.”

As soon as he murmured those words, a gentle hand grasped his own.
Asher flinched but did not pull away. Instead, he squeezed Theodore’s hand in return.

“Is this also not unpleasant?”
“…No.”

As he answered, Theodore’s hand slowly moved to caress Asher’s cheek.

“Is this also not unpleasant?”
“It’s… not.”

He didn’t know why it wasn’t unpleasant.
But wherever Theodore touched felt warm, and his chest ached.
Asher found himself hoping for another kiss.
Yet, just as he expected it, Theodore’s hand withdrew.

Realizing his own greedy desire, Asher bit his lip.

—I like Theodore.

He had never liked anyone before, but this must be it.
Because he wanted to be touched more.
Because even though he felt afraid, he still wanted Theodore close.

So, he wished.
If only Theodore liked me too.

“…I apologize. I just apologized, and yet I did it again…”

As Theodore tried to step back, Asher grabbed his hand.
Startled, Theodore looked at him, only for Asher to throw himself into his chest.

“Wait!”

Clinging tightly, Asher looked up and asked:

“Theodore… do you hate this? When I do things like this?”

His eyes, slightly wet with unshed tears, shimmered under the light.

“…Why would I hate it when I was the one who touched you first?”
“But… you said you hated me.”
“That was a slip of the tongue.”
“You said you didn’t think favorably of me.”
“Yes, but… that’s not how I feel now.”

Theodore gently stroked Asher’s head.

“You’ve changed.”

His expression was the same as always, yet somehow, it looked gentle.

“You earnestly checked on my subordinates, including the beast soldier tortured by the queen… You smiled and greeted beastmen, even though you used to hate them… You lifted a beastman child into your arms with a smile… And even when receiving your coming-of-age flowers, you smiled at each and every person…”

As he spoke, Theodore pulled Asher into an embrace.

“You’re no longer the same person you once were.”

He stroked Asher’s trembling back.
It was only then that Asher realized—he was crying.

“…Ugh…”

Tears and sobs overflowed uncontrollably.

No one noticed. No one could possibly understand.
But deep down, I wanted someone to.

“Hic…”

As he wept, Theodore continued to soothe him.
Clinging desperately, Asher buried his face in Theodore’s chest.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Even though it wasn’t his fault.
Even though he didn’t understand why the previous Asher had done those things.

The guilt crushed him.
Even though he knew he wouldn’t be forgiven, he still wanted to be.

“I’m so… sorry…”

Asher’s lips were gently silenced by Theodore’s.

After the kiss, Theodore sighed and murmured, “I did it again without permission… My apologies.”

“…D-Don’t… apologize.”
“Then… why don’t you stop apologizing too, Your Highness?”
“But… but…”

Theodore kissed him again.

“I won’t apologize anymore. Is that alright?”

Asher looked up at him with teary eyes, then chuckled.

“…That’s so weird.”

Though the tears hadn’t stopped, he smiled just a little.