Little Pink Starfish

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Each day was busy with knight duties.

Even so, Theodore, who would find time whenever he could to visit Asher, noticed something unusual.

Asher was acting strange.

Maybe he was unwell—he occasionally sighed and looked distant.

“Asher?”

“What? Theodore.”

When he called out, Asher smiled as usual, but he looked somehow troubled.

Was it my imagination? But still…

“……Did something happen?”

“Eh? Why?”

“No, if it’s nothing, then…”

“Whaaaー‼︎ You’re putting it all on display again!”

A loud voice approached from behind, and Theodore furrowed his brows. Without turning around, he already knew who it was.

“Calling Prince Asher by name so boldly out here… Even if you’re his fiancé, that’s way too much mixing business with pleasure, Lewis.”

With brown hair flowing and eyes the same colour narrowed in amusement, the man—Ward Brown—grinned as he shamelessly placed a hand on Theodore’s shoulder.

“Hey, Ward.”

“Prince Asher. It is an honour to behold your beauty again today.”

“Haha, you say that every time. Do you have to?”

“I mean it sincerely.”

“And Theodore isn’t mixing business with pleasure. I asked him to call me by name when we’re alone.”

“Is that so. My, my…”

Nodding at Asher, Ward’s eyes sparkled as he turned his gaze to Theodore.

“……Brown. What do you want?”

“Am I not allowed to talk to you without a reason? Don’t be so cold. We’ve shared a laugh or two, haven’t we?”

“I have no memory of that.”

“No, no, I saw it clearly. Burned into my brain, I tell you. It was the first time I saw Lewis with such a happy smile—I’ll never forget it.”

“Eh? When was that?”

“While we were seeing off High Priest Reachalf. He had this never-before-seen face full of pure happiness! The people present, myself included, were all shocked silent.”

“Eh?”

“……”

Not this again, Theodore thought as the crease between his brows deepened even further. Since then, Ward had taken great delight in telling that story to everyone, so much that it made Theodore sick of hearing it. And for whatever reason, the people who heard it would look at him with sparkling, expectant eyes.

Asher was no exception. His beautiful blue eyes shimmered with curiosity, and he looked up at Theodore with a sweet expression.

The corner of Theodore’s eye twitched. He desperately fought the urge to pull Asher into a hug and looked away from his gaze.

“Happiness… full of it?”

“Oh yes, with this totally slack and dopey face.”

“Theodore? With a dopey face?”

Theodore glared at Ward for the rude phrasing, but whether Ward noticed or not, he nodded enthusiastically and continued.

“Even if you two are fated mates, if you saw Lewis with a face like that—haha! I bet even Prince Asher would…”

That’s when Ward’s words suddenly stopped. Just moments ago, Asher’s eyes had been sparkling, but now the light had disappeared, and his expression twisted slightly.

“Prince Asher? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No! Not at all!”

He denied it, but his voice cracked unnaturally.

“Brown. Cancel all of His Highness’s appointments for today. I will escort him to his bedroom.”

“Eh⁉︎ Really, I’m fine—”

Asher tried to object, but Theodore didn’t allow it.

“No. Please rest.”

The moment Theodore gave him a sharp look, Asher lowered his brows and looked down.

“But…”

“Lately, Your Highness has been overdoing it. Resting your body is important. You’ve seemed somewhat distracted lately.”

“That’s…! ……Yeah. Maybe I’ll rest for a bit.”

For a moment, Asher showed a sulky expression toward Theodore, but quickly averted his eyes.

Something was definitely off.

Theodore gave a meaningful glance to Ward, who raised one eyebrow and responded with a wink as if to say leave it to me.

“Please rest easy. I’ll handle the cancellations. Take your time.”

With a smirking bow, Ward stepped back. Theodore looked down coldly at him, then took Asher’s hand.

“Come, Your Highness.”

Asher, still with a dark expression, followed silently. Theodore’s worry grew. Was it his health, or was something weighing on his mind? Why wouldn’t he talk to him about it? The frustration was unbearable.

The two walked toward Asher’s room in silence. Several times Theodore opened his mouth, but he couldn’t find the right words, so he kept closing it again.

He wanted to ease Asher’s worries right away. Earlier, when he asked if something was wrong, Asher had put on his usual smile and insisted everything was fine.

Does he not want to talk about it? …Or is it something he can’t tell me?

It was clear something was going on, but if Asher didn’t want to confide in him, pressing further might not be right.

The more he thought about it, the deeper the crease between his brows became. People they passed looked startled, but Theodore didn’t even notice. His thoughts were entirely on Asher.

Upon arriving at the room, Theodore had Asher sit down on the couch and then knelt on one knee, staring straight into his blue eyes. Surprised by the sudden gesture, Asher widened his eyes.

“Asher… what happened?”

“Eh⁉︎ N-no, nothing! What about you, Theodore, what’s with you⁉︎”

“Is it something you can’t tell me?”

Even if he said nothing was wrong, Theodore could tell it was a lie. He clearly wasn’t his usual self. It might be annoying, but there was no way Theodore could leave him like this.

“Really, it’s nothing? I’m not sick or anything, just a bit tired…”

“……Then why do you look at me like that, like you’re worried?”

Asher’s faint smile twitched. He dropped his gaze and blinked repeatedly, as if trying to find the right words.

“Even if it’s something small. If something’s bothering you, please tell me. …Do you want to cancel the engagement?”

“There’s no way I would‼︎”

Asher suddenly raised his head and gripped Theodore’s arm tightly.

“No way! I don’t want to be apart from you, Theodore‼︎ No matter what, that would never happen… okay?”

Asher’s desperate expression was so adorable, Theodore couldn’t help but soften his expression into a smile. Asher, embarrassed, looked away again.

“……Then, please tell me.”

Theodore whispered gently into his ear, and Asher’s shoulder twitched.

“Asher.”

“I… I love you, Theodore.”

The unexpected confession made Theodore widen his eyes.

“You said you love me too… so I don’t want to doubt that. But once I started thinking about it, I couldn’t stop.”

“Doubt?”

From a sweet confession to suddenly being accused of something, Theodore was confused. Asher continued with a pained face.

“I know it’s a really stupid question, and I don’t want to doubt your feelings… but the thought won’t leave my head.”

“Just tell me. What thought?”

Wandering his gaze like he was hesitating, Asher shut his eyes tightly and asked Theodore:

“Why did you fall in love with me, Theodore?”

For a moment, Theodore didn’t understand what he was being asked.

What did he just say…? Why did I fall in love with him?

It was such a simple and adorable question that it caught Theodore completely off guard. He wasn’t good with words, but if Asher wanted, he could whisper his love as much as he liked.

“Why, huh… That’s—”

“Is it because we’re fated mates?”

Seeing the anxiety in Asher’s eyes, Theodore faltered. Asher gripped his arm even tighter and continued before he could reply.

“Did you fall in love with me because we’re mates? Then… if we weren’t… would you still have loved me? 〜〜I know! I know I sound super childish asking something like that⁉︎ But still! I couldn’t get it out of my head! I tried to hold back because I thought you’d think I’m annoying for asking something so clingy and nagging… but I ended up… asking anyway.”

Drooping powerlessly, Asher buried his face in Theodore’s chest.

“I… I can’t even sense that scent mates are supposed to have. When I think about why you were drawn to me… I start to lose confidence.”

Asher, being human, couldn’t sense the sweet, beloved scent that only fated mates could detect, nor the burning, instinctive desire toward one’s mate. When he found out that Asher had feelings for him, Theodore couldn’t believe it. He had genuinely wondered why me? But at the same time, he felt overwhelmed with love and joy that Asher accepted him just as he was.

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

If Asher wasn’t his fated mate—

“……”

“Theodore…?”

Asher looked up at Theodore nervously, seeing him fall silent.

“……You’re right. Maybe… neither of us would have even thought of each other that way.”

“……っ”

As soon as he heard that, Asher’s eyes filled with sadness, as if he was about to cry.

“Th-then… you only love me because I’m your fated mate…”

“Even being fated mates… we might not have ended up like this.”

“Eh……?”

As Theodore gently touched Asher’s cheek, he gave a pained smile.

“My father was a beastman… and my mother a human. …They were fated mates.”

When Asher had previously asked about his parents, Theodore had dodged the topic. He hadn’t wanted to ruin the happy moment with such an unpleasant story. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk about it—but judging by Asher’s reaction now, he must have been thinking about it ever since.

Maybe now’s the time to tell him.

About the foolish and tragic fate of his parents.

“In the place I was born, unlike Dias, beastman discrimination was still very strong… and my human mother apparently rejected my father.”

“……Apparently?”

“I don’t know the details. It’s just something I overheard the teachers at the orphanage gossiping about.”

Asher tilted his head suspiciously, and Theodore continued.

“Adults thought I was creepy. A forbidden child with beastman blood. In a place where many humans looked down on beastmen, you can imagine how my human mother felt about my father. She wouldn’t have been able to recognise him as her mate, and unable to accept it, he kidnapped her… and forced her to carry me. …My mother lost her sanity.”

Asher’s expression visibly tensed. Theodore gave a wry smile and gently stroked his cheek.

“Just because you’re fated mates doesn’t mean you’ll always be together, Asher.”