Little Pink Starfish

Each day, Asher was filled with happiness.

Everyone already knew who the person he loved was, and they had accepted it. Just how joyful, fun, and happy that was.

His cheeks relaxed naturally, and Asher smiled softly.

I can flirt openly with Theodore… It’s embarrassing, but I’m happy! So happy!

Back when their relationship was still a secret, he had to suppress his feelings desperately so they wouldn’t be noticed. But that was no longer necessary.

He could openly smile at Theodore and send him looks filled with warmth, and no one would say a thing. It was accepted as natural. Rather, they looked upon them warmly as a loving couple.

──But of course, there were exceptions.

“Asher, the weather is nice. Let’s go for a walk.”

Golden eyes captured Asher with a gentle gaze.

Silver hair swayed as his brother—Samuel—approached gracefully, and Asher was taken aback.

His slack expression tightened hurriedly.

“Samuel-nii-sama, are you done with work today?”

Looking up as he asked, Samuel narrowed his eyes and smiled softly.

“I’m competent. There’s no need for you to worry.”

In truth, he was worried not for Samuel, but for Hugo, who bore the brunt of Samuel’s delayed work. Just the other day, Hugo had looked visibly worn out from dealing with the knight appointment ceremony preparations. In contrast, Samuel, who should have been busier, didn’t show a hint of fatigue.

“If you have time, you should rest a bit…”

“If you’re worried about me… don’t you think a hard-working person like me needs a break? For example… taking a walk with my beloved little brother?”

Samuel rested his chin on his hand, his gaze drifting above as if thinking, then raised one eyebrow. He glanced down at Asher and smirked.

At the unusually playful smile from Samuel, Asher couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Fufu, alright. Actually, I was just thinking that I wanted to take a walk with Samuel-nii-sama too!”

They laughed together, and Samuel took Asher’s hand, wrapping it around his own arm.

“No interruptions. We can talk slowly.”

He whispered happily into his ear, and Asher puffed his cheeks.

“Interruptions… you mean Theodore?”

“I didn’t say who.”

“You’re the one who dumped a bunch of work on Theodore… You do realise he hasn’t been able to properly guard me, right?”

“How harsh. Knights have all kinds of duties.”

Far from feeling guilty, Samuel looked smug. Asher sighed.

Theodore, who never left his side before, now had less time with him thanks to Samuel’s interference. Asher wanted to complain, but he couldn’t insert personal feelings into official knight duties.

“They say the buds that were closed yesterday bloomed this morning. Let’s go see.”

Clearly changing the subject, Samuel pointed it out, and though Asher pouted, he nodded.

＊＊＊

Sunlight streamed in, and the water droplets on the flowers and leaves sparkled like jewels. The well-kept garden, no matter when he came, was always a healing place for Asher. His cheeks relaxed, and a smile appeared.

Samuel let out a deep sigh.

“……Haa…… what a sight for sore eyes.”

“Yeah! This place always soothes the heart.”

“This place? …Ah, the garden. Yes.”

There was a small pause, so Asher looked up at Samuel. But Samuel only returned a smile, and Asher tilted his head in confusion.

As they walked further in, a flowerbed near the bench caught Asher’s eye.

“Asher?”

He gently plucked a flower, put the stem to his mouth, and sucked the nectar.

“Mmm, it’s sweet.”

“……The Rulial flower can be used for jam. Only children suck the nectar straight from the flower.”

“Um, Noah taught me. So it’s called Rulial… I thought it was an azalea or something…”

“Aza……?”

“Ah, um, never mind.”

Asher panicked and tried to brush it off, but Samuel didn’t seem to care and simply looked down at the flower.

“I taught Noah… Well, Hugo and I were taught by Lord Geoffrey.”

Asher imagined a small Samuel and Hugo happily picking flowers with Geoffrey. The image made him giggle.

“The leaves are sharp, so Hugo often got his hands all scratched up. Even though I warned him, he always grabbed them with his whole hand.”

“I didn’t know at first either, and I cut my finger…”

There, Asher’s words trailed off.

──Yes, back then.

He had cut his finger, it bled, and that was when Theodore had appeared.

“He said… the scent of the blood told him I was his mate.”

Asher said shyly. At that, Samuel’s smile vanished in an instant.

“……I don’t much care for this ‘fated mate’ business.”

The softness from earlier disappeared, and Samuel’s expression turned cold.

“You hate Theodore that much? I heard before… that Theodore used to be your favourite.”

“Him, my favourite? Hardly! ……Well, his swordsmanship is solid. We did spar often.”

Samuel denied it, but his words acknowledged Theodore’s skill. Asher gave a wry smile.

I heard they trained together often, and it’s true. But I can’t really imagine them together now… Samuel-nii-sama and Theodore, side by side…

If it weren’t for Asher, maybe the two of them would still be training together.

Why did Samuel look so displeased?

“You really don’t like me being engaged to Theodore?”

“It’s not the engagement. I want you to be happy and to be with someone you truly love. But…”

“But?”

“I just don’t like the concept of beastmen’s fated mates. …I’m not a beastman. A partner chosen by the gods from birth? Where is your will in that?”

Asher had believed he could laugh off anything Samuel said.

Don’t worry, just being with Theodore makes me happy. Him loving me is my happiness.

But those words never made it out.

Because Samuel’s words hit him like a blow to the head.

“Asher is human… and they say he can’t sense this ‘mate scent’.”

“Ah… yeah. I guess. I don’t really know about this ‘mate’ stuff…”

“You loving him had nothing to do with fate. But what about him?”

“That’s…”

“If you weren’t his fated mate, would he have loved you?”

“O-of course he would!”

Of course.

He would love me… right?

Until Samuel asked, Asher had never even considered it. What if we weren’t fated mates?

“……The concept of mates among beastmen is hard for me to understand.”

“……”

Samuel snorted softly through his nose, while Asher stood frozen like a statue. Samuel’s words kept echoing in his mind.

Does his will matter?

Theodore’s will… Does he truly—

『I hated you. More than any other prince.』

『…When I found out you were my mate, I despaired.』

Asher naturally looked down, frowning.

“Asher?”

Samuel, concerned by Asher’s silence, gently patted his head.

“What’s wrong. Something…?”

“I’m fine. It’s just warm and sunny, I got a little sleepy.”

The next moment, Asher looked up with a bright smile. But Samuel’s expression didn’t change; he continued to study Asher closely.

“Your complexion is pale. Let’s go back to your room. You don’t have to attend to any official duties today.”

“It’s just your imagination. But… I’d like to nap in my room a bit. I’ve been staying up late lately…”

“If I’d noticed earlier… Sorry. I shouldn’t have dragged you along. Shall I carry you to your room?”

“Pfft! What kind of joke is that? I’m not Noah… I’m not a child.”

Asher laughed and looked up, but Samuel’s face was serious.

“I mean it.”

“…If not me, would you carry Hugo-nii-sama?”

“……”

His expression didn’t change, but Samuel fell silent. Asher, seeing that, chuckled.

“Fufu…”

Just then, thundering footsteps approached.

“SAMUUU‼︎ You bastard! So you were with Asher after all!!”

With a terrifyingly angry expression, Hugo charged toward Samuel.

“…The noisy one is here.”

Samuel sighed and shifted his gaze toward Hugo with clear irritation.

“You know this is YOUR jobーーーー⁉︎”

“If it’s my job, then as my right-hand man, Hugo also bears responsibility.”

“So you DID dump your work on Hugo-nii-sama!”

“…Oh, Asher.”

Hugo gave a curt reply, barely glancing at Asher. It seemed he still wasn’t used to being called ‘nii-sama.’ To hide his embarrassment, he roughly tousled Asher’s hair.

“Sam, get back to the office. Go through the stack of documents waiting for approval.”

“Good grief… Can’t even talk to my little brother in peace.”

“I’M your little brother too⁉︎”

Ignoring Hugo’s angry protests, Samuel turned to Asher again.

“I’ll take you to your room.”

“Just go back to the office with Hugo-nii-sama already.”

“…But—”

“There’s a beast soldier—I mean, beast knight—at the garden entrance who’s an acquaintance. He’ll escort me. That’s good enough, right?”

“Sorry, Asher. Come on! Let’s go, Sam!”

As Asher waved with a smile, Samuel looked displeased but gave a wry smile in the end.

“I’ll come again once I finish work.”

“Don’t trouble Hugo-nii-sama.”

“Tell that to him, Asher.”

As he watched the two walk away, Asher sat back down on the bench and looked down.

A sigh escaped him naturally, and his expression clouded over.

“…Fated mate.”

If we weren’t fated mates… would he have loved me?

Why couldn’t I answer immediately? I should have known…

I should have.

He didn’t know how long he sat there.

Once he noticed the air had grown chilly, Asher suddenly raised his head.

“…Time to go back.”

His steps toward his room were heavy, and the mood of Asher, who should have been full of happiness, had sunk completely.

One question.

It’s ridiculous to be thinking about this now.

Fated mates, chosen by the gods.

……But what about our own will?