Little Pink Starfish

Bursting out of the room, Asher took off running.

He had been holding back—ever since waking.

Even as the guards called his name, urging him to stop, he didn’t.

The people he passed stared wide-eyed, voices rising.

“What the!? Now it’s Prince Asher!?”
“Earlier it was Prince Noah and Lord Jeffrey…”
“Just the day before, His Majesty and the Queen too…”
“What on earth is going on!?”
“What’s wrong with the royal family!?”
“Kyaa! Prince Asher, you’ll hurt yourself if you fall—please stop!”
“Prince Asher!? Even running, he’s so beautiful… wait, no! Please stop!”

The continued sprinting of the royal family had thrown the castle into chaos. Still, Asher didn’t stop. He was looking for a particular person.

And only as he ran did he realise—

When Theodore wasn’t by his side, Asher didn’t know where he went or what he did.

Theodore had always been there—as if it were natural.

Running blindly, Asher headed toward the knights’ training ground. Then, spotting a familiar figure, he called out.

“Ward!”

Ward blinked in surprise as Asher came running toward him.

“Wha—what’s wrong? You’ve just recovered, and you’re rushing around without an escort?”

“Hey, have you seen Theodore?”

Breathless, Asher questioned him. Ward blinked again.

“What about the hearing…? What happened to Lady Doriana?”

“She’s going to a convent. She won’t be executed.”

“I see…”

Ward looked momentarily relieved. Then he glanced back at the training field.

“Let’s see… Louis, right? He hasn’t come here. I haven’t seen him today at all. Sorry, I don’t know where he goes when he’s alone—I’ve never cared to find out.”

“I see…”

Asher had thought that another black knight like Ward might know—but it seemed not. Disappointed, he looked down, and Ward watched him closely.

“That’s good though, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

Looking up, Asher found Ward smiling gently.

“Well, Prince Samuel aside, I heard the other royals didn’t object. I didn’t get to take part in the mock battle, so I missed the whole ‘fated pair’ spectacle, which is a shame…”

After waking, Asher had been told everything the others had done behind the scenes—including how Ward had volunteered to lead the mission that captured the beastkin kidnappers, which became the decisive evidence against Duchess Vale.

“So, the thing about the Temple Knights on the day of the match—that was a lie, huh.”

“Ah, well. They’re far too stiff. Didn’t seem like we’d get along at all.”

“You totally tricked me.”

“Perish the thought. I’ve only ever been completely honest with you, Prince Asher.”

“…Liar.”

Asher glared at him. Ward laughed.

“It’s true. Even now, I think this: Why did fate pair the lovely Prince Asher with someone as dull as Louis? It’s not too late—why not switch to me instead?”

“Eh!?”

“Ha ha! That face! I forgot—you’ve always been serious. Refused to do ‘romance practice’ from the start. So… I kind of regret it.”

The tall Ward bent slightly to meet Asher’s eyes and gently took his hand.

Asher thought it was another one of Ward’s usual jokes and tried to pull away—until he saw Ward’s expression. The playful smile was gone.

“I should’ve said I’d teach you about real love. Then maybe the serious Prince Asher would’ve noticed me.”

He brought Asher’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

Asher froze.

That intense gaze. The heat in Ward’s grasp. Normally he’d pull away immediately. But Ward felt different—serious.

“Um… Ward?”

“Pfft… phuh!”

“Huh?”

“Ahahahaha! Kids are the best—so easy to read!”

Ward burst into laughter.

Asher, stunned, realised he’d been teased again.

“You liar! I’m never trusting you again!”
“Prince Asher, that’s cruel! Ahaha!”
“Don’t laugh!”

As their voices rang out, those nearby started to gather.

“Prince Asher! Are you all right?”
“P-Prince Asher, g-g-good day to you!”
“Brown! What are you doing to the prince—”
“No, it’s fine! Sorry for interrupting—huh?”

Asher turned and blinked at the soldiers who’d spoken.

They were beastkin—and wore unfamiliar uniforms. This training ground was normally off-limits to them.

Before Asher could ask, Ward explained.

“Prince Samuel gave them permission. He doesn’t like wasting time. These are the ones scheduled to be formally granted the title of ‘Beast Knight.’ He said there was no point waiting, so he told them to move into the barracks now.”

“So that means…”

“Prince Samuel is the kind of man who follows through, no matter what others say. He’s determined to make the Council accept granting noble titles to beastkin.”

Looking again, Asher noticed the beastkin soldiers now wore new uniforms similar to the Black Knights. Then—

“Ah! Vex!”

At the sound of his name, the hyena beastkin perked up, shoving others aside to reach Asher. The others glared at him bitterly, but Vex didn’t care—grinning proudly.

“Prince Asher!”

As he bared his fangs in a cheerful smile, Asher quickly bowed his head. The onlookers were shocked.

“I’m sorry. I heard you got scolded after that time…”
“No, no! Please don’t worry about me!”
“It was my selfishness… I keep troubling you…”
“Not at all! Please do trouble me! If it’s you, I’d be happy to—gyah!”

Someone from behind did something, and Vex turned pale after a whisper was delivered to his ear.

“Vex, I’m telling Theodore-sama about this later.”
“Yeah, remember this, Vex.”
“Flirting with someone’s mate… and that someone is Theodore-sama?”
“S-Shut up! I know! I know they’re fated mates! But unlike you lot, I’ve known Prince Asher for a long time, okay? It’s not like—”
“Your tail’s wagging like mad, and you say that?”

They were muttering too quietly for Asher to follow. He tilted his head.

“Is something wrong?”

Asher looked around nervously. Everyone smiled and replied in unison.

“Not at all!”

Those with tails wagged them enthusiastically.

“Oh! Um, does anyone know… where Theodore is?”

His voice trailed off. As soon as he said the name, the beastkin soldiers’ eyes sparkled.

“Anyone seen Theodore-sama!?”
“Nope! Actually, haven’t we only seen him with Prince Asher lately?”
“True…”
“All right then, let’s all look for him—”
“I-It’s fine! Thank you! I’ll find him myself!”

Panicking, Asher stopped them before it got out of hand.

Ward watched with amusement, and when Asher looked his way pleadingly, he just smiled.

“Excuse me, Prince Asher.”

A sudden voice silenced the crowd.

Turning, Asher saw a giant in full armour, his face hidden by a great helm with bull-like horns—Captain Dita of the Temple Knights. Behind him stood Vice-Captain Zachary and several other fully-armoured knights.

“I heard you’re looking for Black Knight Theodore. One of my men saw him near the eastern tower.”

“R-Really!?”

Asher was about to run off, but then he hesitated.

He was surrounded by beastkin, and now even the Temple Knights were involved. People were staring—even the Black Knights from afar.

“Thank you for telling me. I—I’ll be going now…”

“Prince Asher.”

Just as he tried to slip away, Dita stopped him.

Asher looked up at the towering knight, neck craning.

He’d never seen Dita without his helmet. Even during the welcoming banquet, many of the Temple Knights had kept theirs on. Only Zachary had shown his face.

After a brief pause, Dita lifted his hands to his helmet and began undoing the heavy fastenings.

When all the clasps were undone, he slowly removed his helm.

Everyone in the room froze.

It wasn’t just that the horns weren’t part of the helmet—

They were real.

Sprouting directly from his head.

“…You’re a beastkin,” Asher said softly.