Little Pink Starfish

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Sunlight faintly filtering in through the window fell across his eyes, and Asher winced at the brightness.

“…Nn…”

Turning his head away from the light, he blinked repeatedly into the blurry view.

“…………”

He saw the familiar canopy of his bed and stared at it vacantly for a moment—then his eyes widened in surprise.

…Eh?

His groggy mind snapped fully awake, and when he glanced downward, he saw Noah’s fluffy red hair. Pressed snugly against him, Noah slept with a peaceful expression.

“I can move…”

It seemed he could speak without issue too.

He felt a wave of relief—but the moment he turned his face the other way, for a completely different reason, he froze again.

Right before him, at a shockingly close distance, was Samuel’s handsome sleeping face.

Close enough to count the silver lashes one by one. Smooth, refined skin, bold brows, perfectly shaped full lips. Though his eyes were closed, Asher knew they shone with beautiful golden light.

…U-Uwaa…

He had never seen Samuel’s face from this close. Anyone would be stunned to find a man of such flawless beauty right in front of them without warning.

As he remained frozen, staring, Samuel’s eyes suddenly snapped open—and met Asher’s.

“…Ah…”
“……”
“Um…”

Without even blinking, Samuel’s golden eyes widened further and locked onto Asher. Seeing his brother like that, Asher hesitated slightly but still called out his name.

“…Samuel…-nii, sama…?”

He had meant to say “niue-sama”, but somehow “nii-sama” slipped out more naturally. At that moment, as if time had resumed, Samuel blinked.

“…A…she…”

“Ah! Aaah‼︎ Asher-nii-samaaaaaaaaーーっ‼︎”

“Uwah! Noah!”

With a loud cry, he was suddenly tackled into a tight hug. Looking over, he saw Noah staring at him through tears. Startled by the outburst, Hugo, who had been asleep in a chair, jerked upright.

“Wha—what the hell!? …It’s too early for—huh?”

“Ah, um…”

“Waaaah! Asher-nii-sama woke up~ uwaaaah!”

“…Asher’s awake?”

“He’s awakeee! A-she… nii-samaaaa~”

When Asher stroked Noah’s head to comfort him, Noah clung to him even tighter.

“…Noah…”

Asher tried to apologise for worrying him, but his words were cut short.

With powerful arms, Samuel pulled him close and, along with Noah, embraced Asher gently.

“…Asher…”

“Uwaaaah! Asher-nii-samaaa‼︎”

“U-uh…”

Unable to move, Asher looked to Hugo for help in confusion. Their eyes met—and to his surprise, Hugo was looking at him with an expression he’d never seen.

His brows lowered, as if he might cry any moment—but only for an instant. Immediately, he furrowed them again and glared at Asher.

“You made us worry…!”

Before, Asher would’ve never noticed it. But now he could clearly see it—in Hugo’s face, in his actions, his emotions for Asher were written all over him.

Realising that, Asher was left speechless.

All this time, deep down, he hadn’t trusted them. He still doubted them, somewhere in his heart.

Because the past couldn’t simply be erased.

But while he couldn’t move, he’d heard everything his brothers had said—their true feelings. The harsh words from Hugo, the way Samuel now held him so tightly, and of course, Noah’s crying. All of them truly, deeply cared about him.

“Asher.”

Samuel loosened his embrace, and Asher looked at him.

The face he saw was not the usual composed one—it was unrecognisably pitiful. His brows drooped, and his usual confident smile was gone.

“…Are you alright? Does anything hurt…?”

“…No.”

Hearing that, Samuel let out a weak sigh of relief.

“…Good… Noah, you’re smothering Asher.”

Noah, still clinging to Asher with his face buried in his chest, refused to let go and continued crying loudly. Perhaps the sound carried into the hallway, because a hurried knock came at the door, and Ellie the maid cautiously peeked in.

“A-Asher-sama has awoken⁉︎ Oh thank goodness… I must inform Lady Angela at once…!”

As soon as she saw Asher sitting up, her face lit up and she quickly ran off.

Soon after, the hallway grew noisy, and the door slammed open.

Augustine entered, slightly breathless, followed by Geoffrey.

“Father…”

“I told you… huff… not to run… didn’t I? huff… Gas…”

Ignoring Geoffrey’s glaring as he caught his breath, Augustine frowned slightly and silently approached Asher.

His stern face peered down at him, and Asher braced himself, prepared to be scolded—
But instead, a warm hand gently rested on his head and stroked it slowly.

Augustine’s expression softened slightly as he gazed at him.

“Does anything hurt?”
“…N-No, I’m alright, Father.”
“…I see.”

The hand on his head was kind, but it withdrew quickly, leaving Asher feeling a little lonely.

Not noticing that, Augustine glanced at Samuel. Seeing this, Samuel silently lifted the sobbing Noah off the bed and stepped down—though his slightly sulky expression didn’t go unnoticed.

“Asher, do you remember what happened?”

Spoken with a serious expression, the question made Asher falter.

“Yes… I… um…”

“……Why did you do something like that?”

“……”

Before, Asher might have felt scolded.

He would have jumped to conclusions, grown timid.

But now, it was different.

He could tell from Augustine’s eyes that he wasn’t angry. Just as Asher hesitated to speak, the door opened again.

Angela appeared, seemingly having rushed—she wore a plain dress, no adornments, no makeup, not even lipstick. Her hair was simply tied up, and Asher stared in surprise.

“Mother…”

“Asher… Ah, thank goodness!”

She ran straight to him, throwing her arms around his head and hugging him tightly against her ample chest.

“You foolish child! What were you thinking, doing something so reckless!? Sneaking out the window, disguising yourself, infiltrating the council chamber—such things are unfit for a prince‼︎ No matter your reasons, never do something so foolish again‼︎”

“Ugh! …M-Mother… I can’t breathe…”

“…Let go of Asher, Angela.”

At Augustine’s words, Angela slowly pulled away. Just as Asher caught his breath, a large teardrop fell onto his cheek.

He looked up at her. From those same deep, jewel-like blue eyes he inherited, tears flowed endlessly.

“…No… I’m sorry… You’re not the foolish one… I am…”

“Mother?”

Angela had always seemed strong-willed. But without makeup, her bare face looked just like Asher’s. It was as if he were watching himself cry.

“You’ve done nothing wrong… I… I, as your mother… instead of protecting you… I…”

“Mother!”

His body moved on its own.

Asher cupped her tear-soaked cheeks in his hands and gently kissed her forehead. Angela’s eyes widened in shock. She looked at him as if she wanted to say something—but turned her gaze away.

“…Mother, you were always trying to protect me. I got hurt because of my own actions, not because of you. You’re not to blame. Not for anything.”

“Asher…”

“…It’s true… if someone asked me whether I never once thought ‘why me’… it would be a lie.”

He had never intended to say it.

“I did wonder what I did wrong… why it had to be me… but,”

He looked straight into Angela’s eyes and smiled.

“Not once did I ever hate you. And I never will—because I love you, Mother.”

There was no way he could hate her.

Never.

Angela buried her face in Asher’s chest and sobbed, muffling her cries. Asher gently stroked her trembling back over and over.

And then, as if to add warmth, a large hand joined his—Augustine, looking at them with a gentle gaze, gave a small nod.

Seeing such a tender moment—something previously unthinkable—Geoffrey quietly tried to slip out of the room.

Noticing this, Asher quickly called out.

“Please wait, Lord Geoffrey.”

Geoffrey stopped just before opening the door.

“Please stay.”

“But… I…”

“There’s no reason for you to leave.”

Though uncertain, Geoffrey let go of the doorknob and remained. His expression was dim, as if he truly believed he didn’t belong in this moment.

But soon, Angela finally lifted her head. Her eyes were still red, but no tears remained.

“…Mother, Father… Samuel-nii-sama, Hugo-nii-sama, and Noah… and Lord Geoffrey…”

Calling each by name, Asher looked at each one. The moment they met his gaze and heard him say their names with a smile, they all froze.

The smile Asher gave them was far softer and more beautiful than ever before.

“I’m sorry for worrying you… I’ll never do anything like that again. I don’t want to make my precious… beloved family sad.”