Little Pink Starfish

From that point on, Asher didn’t know what to call his relationship with Theodore.
He hadn’t told Theodore that he liked him.
And of course, he didn’t know if Theodore liked him either.

Yet, at the end of each day, they naturally found themselves pressing their lips together.
Asher, whose head had been filled with thoughts of Theodore like a field of blooming flowers, took several days to realize how strange their relationship was.

Wait… isn’t this a bad thing…?

Having no experience with romance, Asher didn’t know what was right or wrong.
He wasn’t even sure if Theodore liked him in the first place.

Does this mean we’re dating!?
But… what does dating even mean!? What am I supposed to do now!? I’ve never even been with a woman before!

Finally realizing the gravity of the situation, Asher took advantage of Theodore being away for training and hurried to see someone.

“Ward!! About that conversation from before—”
“…Prince Asher, please don’t suddenly appear and start shaking my arm like that.”

Ward, whose arm was being vigorously shaken, gave a wry smile.

“I heard you haven’t been looking very energetic these past few days…”
“I haven’t?”
“Yes, you seem absent-minded… Ah, did you perhaps hear about Lady Doriana…?”

Ward glanced at him with concern, but Asher tilted his head.

“Did something happen to Lady Doriana?”
“Huh!? Oh… um, well, she recently got engaged…”
“Oh, I see.”
“……Huh?”
“?”

Ward stared at Asher suspiciously, while Asher blinked back at him in confusion.

“Lady Doriana got engaged…”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“Ward?”
“No… ah, um… huh…?”

Ward forced a smile, but Asher continued speaking.

“Before… we talked about you teaching me, right?”
“Huh? Yes, which is why I mentioned Lady Doriana…”
“I get it! I understand about her engagement! Just listen to me.”

Ward’s face twisted as he realized his mistake, but it was too late.
He recalled Prince Samuel’s sharp gaze when he reported this and let out a bitter chuckle.

“You said you’d teach me about romance.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then… um… how can I tell if someone likes me…?”
“…Wait, wait, didn’t you say before that you didn’t know if you liked someone?”

Ward quickly stopped him, as Asher, blushing, began to speak.

“That’s…”

Seeing Asher’s flushed face, Ward placed a hand on his forehead.
Suppressing his irritation at the thought of whoever had made this happen while he wasn’t looking, Ward smiled, albeit with a strained expression.

“Prince Asher, unless you tell me who it is, I can’t properly teach you.”
“Eh… but…”
“…Shall I teach you something else instead?”
“Something else…?”
“Yes. I like you.”

Ward smiled as he gazed directly at Asher.

“Prince Asher, I like you.”
“…Huh? But I—”
“See? By confessing straightforwardly, you can gauge the other person’s reaction. And now I know that you don’t feel the same way about me.”

As Ward smiled mischievously, Asher puffed up his cheeks in frustration, realizing he had been tricked.

“W-What was that…! And with this method, my own feelings—”
“You can’t expect to understand someone else’s feelings while hiding your own. There’s no such convenient way.”

There were methods, of course, but explaining the nuances of romantic strategy to Asher would be pointless—he wouldn’t be able to pull it off.

“I guess that’s true, but…”
“What do you want to happen with this person, Prince Asher?”
“What do I…?”

Asher was a prince.
Marriage for love was not an option for him.
That was precisely why Ward had initially suggested playing at romance, as a gentlemanly pastime.
He had intended to guide Asher through it himself, to show him that love had no meaning for someone like him.
Of course, it would be a lie to say that he hadn’t also enjoyed the idea of corrupting such a pure, beautiful young man.

“…Ward.”
“Yes? Have you figured out what you want?”

Asher’s large blue eyes met his own, staring at him intently.

“I… I like you, Ward.”

Ward kept his gaze fixed on Asher’s lips as he spoke.
Then, in the next instant—

“…Hah, not convincing at all. Did you really think I’d fall for that? But, if you were serious, I’d gladly accept your invitation. I could teach you all sorts of things, as one gentleman to another…”

Ward wrapped an arm around Asher’s shoulders, pulling him closer.

“Ahhh! That was a lie! Don’t touch me in weird places!”
“If it’s an invitation from the lovely Prince Asher, this Ward Brown is always willing to accept.”
“I’m not inviting you! Ugh! You didn’t teach me anything useful in the end!”
“There are other ways, but they might be too advanced for you, Prince Asher… Ah, by the way, do you know when Marquis Clark is returning?”
“Eh? Lord Clark… oh.”

Asher had been so preoccupied with Theodore that he had completely forgotten.
About Marquis Clark.
About Queen Angela.
He had meant to ask the Queen about it subtly, but he hadn’t had the chance.

“Prince Samuel wanted to speak with Marquis Clark… He asked to be informed when a letter arrives regarding his return.”
“Prince Samuel…? I don’t know when he’ll be back, but I’ll let you know if I receive a letter.”

Saying that, Asher left.
Once he was out of sight, Ward’s smile faded.

“…That scared the hell out of me…”

He had known immediately that Asher wasn’t serious.
But still, he hadn’t expected to hear those words.

“I… I like you, Ward.”

Recalling the way Asher had looked up at him with a slight blush, Ward clicked his tongue.

“What a nasty trick…”

His ears were faintly tinged with red.

───

After watching his maid Ellie finish clearing his dinner, bow, and leave, Asher sat on his bed, lost in thought.
He couldn’t ask Queen Angela about Marquis Clark directly.

As he brooded, he suddenly heard a soft clatter.
He turned towards the sound—but saw nothing.

Thinking it was just his imagination, he lay down on the bed and buried his face into his pillow with a sigh.

“There’s so much to think about… I don’t even know where to start…”

He had been too caught up in thoughts of Theodore, but he still didn’t know what he was supposed to do next.
And for some reason, Queen Angela and Marquis Clark’s relationship nagged at him.

“…Theodore…”

At the same moment he murmured the name, a clatter sounded again—this time, clearly.

He tried to sit up.
But he couldn’t.

A strong hand pressed down on his throat, preventing him from making a sound.

“…Khh!”
“Quiet… Your Highness…”

There was more than one person.

“Apologies for disturbing your rest…”

The person smirking down at him was a tiger beastman.
He smelled faintly of something sickly sweet, and Asher grimaced.

“If you come quietly, we won’t hurt you… not yet, anyway.”

He was yanked upright, and he saw two other beastmen in the room.

How… how did they get in here…!?

Looking around frantically, he spotted it—a hidden door beside his closet, left ajar.

“…Surprised? I bet you are. Only royalty should know about that passage.”
“…!”
“Shh… Stay silent. Try anything funny, and I’ll claw up that pretty face of yours.”

Sharp claws pressed against his cheek, and for the first time, true fear gripped Asher.

Why…!? Who are they…!? Why are they in my room…!?

His mind raced.

Before he could react, his mouth was gagged.

No… I’m scared… Someone… help me…!

Just then, the tiger beastman’s body was sent flying.

A black blur followed in pursuit—but stopped instantly.

“If you move… I’ll snap the prince’s neck. It’s easy. This fragile neck…”

The wolf beastman had his arm wrapped tightly around Asher’s throat, speaking directly to Theodore.

“…Release His Highness.”
“You have no right to give me orders.”
“Ugh… damn it! This bastard…”
“Stop. That’s the Black Knight, Theodore. Don’t be reckless.”

The lion beastman warned the tiger, but the tiger’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.

“So what!? He’s already seen us! We have to kill him anyway!”

Asher frantically shook his head, screaming into the gag.

“What’s that? You don’t want him to die?”

The wolf beastman smirked as Asher desperately nodded. He appeared to think for a moment before grinning.

“Then tell him yourself. Order him not to resist and to come with us quietly.”
“What the hell are you saying!? We can’t take him!”
“If we kill him here, what do we do with the body? If it’s discovered, we’re finished. But if they both disappear, we’ll buy ourselves time… And, Theodore… didn’t you kill a tiger beastman?”

At those words, the tiger beastman’s eyes widened.

“You… what?”

“You remember, right? When the royal carriage was attacked. A tiger beastman was decapitated… That was this guy’s older brother.”

Asher turned to the tiger beastman—Gallan.

He remembered. When he visited the orphanage with Consort Jeffrey, they had been attacked by beastmen raiders.
The beastman leading them had been a tiger.

“I was there too,” the wolf beastman continued. “I saw it clearly. It was you, wasn’t it?”

“…I did kill beastmen that day,” Theodore admitted.

Hearing that, the wolf grinned at Gallan.

“See? Killing him outright would be a waste. We’ll take him with us.”
“…Yeah. I won’t let him die easily.”

Gallan, eyes full of bloodlust, glared at Theodore.

“Our goal was the prince, but this is perfect. Theodore, if you try anything, I’ll kill the prince. Now come quietly.”

The wolf beastman suddenly ran his tongue across Asher’s cheek, making Theodore’s face contort in rage.

Seeing that reaction, the wolf beastman sneered and whispered into Asher’s ear.

“Go on, tell him. You don’t want him to die, do you?”

They removed the gag. Asher trembled, his voice shaking in fear.

“…Theodore… please… help me…”
“No, no. That’s not what I told you to say.”
“Your Highness.”
“You stay quiet.”

The wolf pressed his claws into Asher’s throat. A thin line of blood trickled down.

Theodore fell silent.

Why is this happening…?

Everything had been fine just moments ago.
He had spent the evening as usual, planning to visit Queen Angela tomorrow.
But now, everything had fallen apart.

Even if they took him, what would happen to Theodore?
If they stayed, Theodore would be killed on the spot.

No matter how strong he was, fighting three large beastmen at once would be impossible.

“…Don’t resist, Theodore. I’m sorry… This is my fault… I’m so sorry…”

As they roughly tied up Theodore’s arms, Gallan punched him hard in the stomach.

Theodore crumpled to the floor.

Asher tried to scream, but the wolf beastman immediately clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Mmph—! …Ngh!”
“Shhh… Don’t make a fuss. We’re not going to kill him… not yet.”

Then, a sharp pain struck the back of his neck.
His vision swayed.

As his consciousness faded, he saw Theodore being beaten by two of them.

No… stop… please…!

The last thing he saw was Theodore collapsing—
Then, darkness swallowed everything.