Little Pink Starfish

At Asher’s words, Dita gave a small smile. Everyone else around them was still stunned when a loud voice erupted from the black knights watching from a distance.

“WHAAAAAAAT!? No wonder I couldn’t win!!”

Asher turned to see the black knight Karl—who had been blown away in an instant during the friendly match—staring at them with a fierce expression. The knights near him scrambled to clamp down on his mouth, but he wouldn’t stop.

“Of course I couldn’t win! Look! He’s a bull beastkin! A muscle-bound fighting bull! There was no way!!”
“Yes yes! Got it! Karl, shut up already—we won’t tease you anymore!”
“Calling me ‘Instant-Karl,’ ‘One-Hit-Karl,’ how dare you—wait, mmph!”
“Shut it, you idiot! That’s disrespectful!”

His colleagues tried desperately to silence him, but Karl struggled.

Dita laughed aloud.
“I did do something unfair to him. If he’d known from the start that I was beastkin, he might have approached the match with more caution.”

He said this, but Asher didn’t agree. Beastkin or not, the difference in physique alone should have been enough to tell—it was Karl who had recklessly charged forward. Even if he’d known Dita was beastkin, he likely wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Seeing this, the other Temple Knights—still helmeted—hesitated, then began to remove their own helms one by one. They, too, were all beastkin.

“Wearing a helmet all the time is a bit stifling,” Dita said, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.
“It’s been a long time since I showed my face outside of Fana’ara.”

The other knights followed suit, breathing deeply with refreshed expressions.

None of the people of Dias had imagined there were beastkin among the Temple Knights. Speechless, they could only stare.

Why the helmets? Asher wondered—then quickly realised it was a foolish question.

Discrimination and prejudice against beastkin still hadn’t disappeared.

In fact, the entire recent incident had stemmed from that very issue. Dias had outwardly forbidden such discrimination, but in truth, it was no different from other countries.

Fana’ara had probably known that all along. That’s why the knights hadn’t removed their helms—until now.

A new question rose in Asher’s mind.
“…Why are you showing your faces now?”

Dita’s dark fur gleamed as he smiled.

“Before I answer that, Prince Asher—do you know why we beastkin are so hated?”

“…Because in the past, beastkin were said to eat humans and massacred many in war.”

In recorded history, beastkin were always portrayed as monsters—with bodies far stronger than humans and a lust for war.

“Yes… but what about before that?”

“Before the war?”

Asher fell silent. He couldn’t answer—because history always began with the war and the massacres.

“Of course you can’t. There’s nothing left in the records. Long ago, before the conflict, humans and beastkin were equals—good friends. But that truth was erased. The reason for the war’s outbreak? Never mentioned…”

“Humans and beastkin were friends…?”

The world now hated beastkin. But as Dita said, there was nothing recorded about their relationship before the war. While the details of human casualties were meticulously documented, nothing at all was said about the beastkin’s side.

“Someone must have found that friendship inconvenient—and erased it to justify hatred.”

Asher had no response. He simply listened as Dita spoke. So did everyone else.

“But one man doubted that history. He sought to change how beastkin were treated and restore the relationship between our peoples. That man was a King of Dias—long before King Augustin.”

Beastkin had once been enslaved in Dias. Asher had never questioned why that suddenly changed.

“That King abolished the beastkin slave system and outlawed discrimination. It must’ve caused great upheaval. Despite fierce opposition from royals and nobles, he used his royal authority to force the change. Still, resentment didn’t vanish.”

Asher was stunned by a truth he’d never heard. So were the black knights and beastkin nearby.

“Though successive kings continued the policy, the gap between humans and beastkin remained unchanged… until now.”

Dita looked directly at Asher. The other Temple Knights, too, turned their eyes toward him.

“Prince Asher’s hatred of beastkin was infamous, even in the Fana’ara Temple. We feared the one to sever the last thread between our races had finally appeared from the royal house of Dias… But we were wrong.”

With a loud clang, Dita knelt before Asher. One by one, the other Temple Knights followed.

“Your actions before the masses gave us hope—that humans and beastkin might walk toward a brighter future. I humbly beg forgiveness for hiding my face and doubting you, Your Highness.”

“P-please stop!”

Asher hurried to stop them, flustered.

“I didn’t do anything that great! I just…”

He had no reason to be bowed to. He hadn’t acted out of some noble motive for peace. His actions in the arena hadn’t been for beastkin relations.

He’d done it for himself.

When he first awoke, no one had been by his side. Faint memories of a lonely past life lingered. He remembered being alone—so lonely, so sad, so painful.

He’d been afraid of being alone. He just wanted someone to love him.

Why did everyone hate him? What could he do to be forgiven? That’s all he thought about at first.

But Theodore had stayed by his side. And Asher had come to love him. That was all.

“It wasn’t for the beastkin… I just wanted to save Theodore. Because he’s important to me.”

Shaking his head, Asher rejected the praise. He wasn’t a saint. These beastkin didn’t know who he really was. He looked down, uncomfortable.

Dita, still kneeling, gently took Asher’s hand.
“Prince Asher, you truly… love Black Knight Theodore.”

Beastkin could smell the scent of their destined mate—and instinct would pull them together. But that only worked between beastkin.

As a human, Asher couldn’t detect the scent. He didn’t have that instinctual pull. Most human mates rejected beastkin—it was the expected reaction.

But Asher was royalty. And yet, in front of nobles, foreign royals, and crowds, he’d declared:
‘Theodore is my mate. I love him.’

To say those words—what kind of resolve must it have taken? And yet Asher had said it, boldly and without fear.

A human loving a beastkin—that heart…

“That is what truly matters.”

For just a moment, it looked like Dita was about to cry. Asher gasped.

But the next moment, Dita’s expression cleared. Realising something, he let go of Asher’s hand, smiling and standing.

“My apologies, truly.”

“Um… why?”

Why did Dita know things that weren’t in any record? Why had he told Asher? Asher opened his mouth to ask—

But someone cut in.

“Dita. Don’t trouble Prince Asher.”

A graceful voice. A teardrop-shaped crystal earring shimmered on his right ear as Reachalf approached. The Temple Knights immediately lined up in formation.

“I’m sorry my subordinate detained you, Prince Asher.”
“No, it’s fine…”
“No, no. The time one spends apart from a beloved feels like torture. It’s unforgivable to keep you waiting.”

His smile sent a chill down Asher’s spine, remembering Hugo’s pale face.

“Really, Dita… blurting out such heavy matters in a place like this…”
“My apologies.”

“A-ah!”

Asher raised his voice slightly, drawing everyone’s gaze.

“How do you know things not even in history? That humans and beastkin were once friends… Why tell me?”

Dita glanced at Reachalf, who smiled and met Asher’s eyes.

“As Dita said, long ago humans and beastkin shared a bond. But that was destroyed. Still, there were those who continued to love each other despite the world’s hatred. Long ago, such pairs gathered in secret, cut ties with the outside, and eventually formed an independent power…”

Asher’s eyes widened.

He looked around at Reachalf and the knights.

“You’ve guessed it—many in the Fana’ara Temple are of mixed blood. Myself included. Beastkin blood runs in me. And those in beastkin form… have human blood as well.”

“S-such a serious thing, here of all places…”

This wasn’t something to talk about standing up, like idle gossip.

Then, as if remembering something, Reachalf leaned in and whispered:
“Top of the eastern spiral staircase, room at the end of the corridor… He’s there. Go to him. You must be near your limit.”

Startled, Asher turned to him. Reachalf winked and stepped back.

Seeing Asher’s stunned expression, he laughed.
“Your face is red… the heat will rise soon.”
“Huh?”
“He’s waiting for you too.”

Still bewildered, Asher tilted his head. Reachalf spelled it out clearly.

“Theodore Lewis is dying to see you. He’s craving you with everything he has.”

How did Reachalf know? Why did he know where Theodore was? Asher had a hundred questions.

But then—as Reachalf said—his chest burned hot. His heartbeat quickened.

“…Excuse me!”

Without a glance at anyone else, Asher took off running.

He couldn’t think. His mind was filled with just one person.

He didn’t understand why. But he had to see Theodore.

He wanted to run into that broad chest, to be held. To hear his gentle voice again.

The longing built, burning his throat.

He never imagined being apart could feel this awful.

Theodore… I want to see you, right now!

Everyone left behind just stared in stunned silence.

“Th-that scent…”

One beastkin muttered.

The others glanced at each other in alarm, then all turned pale.

“What’s going on?”

Ward, human, didn’t understand. He questioned the beastkin, who stammered nervously.

“Um, but Prince Asher is human! So that’s impossible! Nothing, it’s nothing!”
“What is it?”

“Now, now, Sir Ward. Let’s all settle down. And everyone—no more unnecessary chatter.”

“What’s that supposed to mean…?”

“Anyway, shouldn’t you all return to your training? I’ve got an appointment with Prince Hugo, so I’ll be off.”

As Ward fussed in the background, Reachalf feigned ignorance and left.

Behind him, Dita followed and spoke softly.
“You knew, didn’t you? That they’ve already…”
“Of course. That man’s obsession with Prince Asher is no joke. He was ready to kill Duchess Vale alone, just for threatening him. And with how fast Asher’s wounds healed… it’s obvious.”
“Yes… it’s better for all of us if their bond deepens quickly. Still, to think it’s already triggered his mate’s heat…”

Among beastkin males, their bodies transform to bear children when bonded with their mate. Once their body is ready, a heat cycle begins—and if joined during that time, they can conceive.

Human males can also bear children—but it requires certain preparation. In rare cases, some can do so without it.

Humans weren’t supposed to have heat cycles.

But the Fana’ara Temple alone knows the truth about mates: if one repeatedly receives the other’s essence, their bodies synchronise—able to heal each other and reshape themselves, regardless of species.

The sweet scent that had just wafted from Asher—was that of beastkin heat.

The beastkin had panicked because of it.

While others would just find it sweet, for a beastkin’s mate to have others smell their heat—it was a taboo.

The soldiers had all imagined Theodore’s furious reaction.

As they passed through the palace halls, many of the Dias staff gawked at the unhelmeted Temple Knights—but Dita and the others remained composed.

“Forgive me for acting without the High Priest’s permission.”
“Oh, I’m the one who’s going to get yelled at by that old fart—give me a break.”
“I just… wanted to say it myself.”

At that, Reachalf smiled softly.
“Then when he yells at me, you’re getting scolded too.”

His pale golden hair fluttered as the teardrop earring on his right ear swayed.

Dita and the others smiled and followed after him.