Jedrier screamed, dragged Henry down, and threw himself over him. Was it a beast? Why would there be a beast in the Imperial Palace? Then again, maybe there was. Perhaps the Emperor kept beasts to dispose of anyone who displeased him. Jedrier desperately hoped the beast would attack only him and ignore Henry underneath him.
But.
“Jeri.”
Nothing happened. As though the shape that had suddenly sprung out of the bushes had been nothing more than an illusion. Henry looked at the bewildered Jedrier and patted his back, telling him it was all right. Jedrier brushed the dirt off Henry’s cheek with his hand.
“Sorry. I thought there was something in the bushes.”
“I’ll go check.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes. After I take you back to the palace, Jeri.”
“That’s dangerous….”
“…Are you worried about me?”
Was there such a thing as a superior who didn’t worry about the people under him? Why was he asking something so obvious? Jedrier nodded.
“Of course.”
“…Then shall we look together tomorrow?”
“Okay.”
If he had been alone, he would have pretended he hadn’t seen anything and ignored it. But if Henry was with him, they absolutely had to check. There was no telling when or where it might leap out again. Henry seemed to enjoy taking walks through the garden quite a bit, so they needed to make absolutely sure it was safe.
By the time they returned from their walk through the garden, the sun was already dimly setting. Jedrier had thought they hadn’t spent that long in the garden, so how had so much time passed? He couldn’t believe it. Being with Henry seemed to be dulling his sense of time more and more.
“I would like to prepare today’s meal for you.”
Henry was going to cook…? Jedrier pictured a child standing in front of a fire.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“…You do not need to worry.”
How could he possibly not worry? There were blades, and there was fire. Of course Henry had more experience than he did, but…. Why did he feel so uneasy, like he was watching a child left alone near the water?
Maybe it was because he wanted to protect Henry, or because he was Henry’s superior and therefore had to look after him. There were more reasons than he could count, but…. Jedrier stiffly nodded. It seemed better to watch from behind than to simply forbid Henry from doing it. If it looked dangerous, he would step in immediately.
“I’ll look forward to it, Henry.”
“Leave it to me.”
Whoosh—.
Henry stared intently into the fire. As though the flames might die down if he glared hard enough. After staring at it for quite some time, he placed a chunk of meat on the heated grill. Sssizzle—. The sound of meat cooking filled the room. Jedrier wanted to move closer and watch from beside him, but he thought that might make Henry uncomfortable, so he stayed seated and merely craned his neck as far as he could. He had already been chased away once for hovering around nearby and getting on Henry’s nerves.
“How well would you like the meat cooked?”
“I like it fully cooked.”
People said medium rare tasted best, but Jedrier wasn’t particularly fond of meat with blood still left in it. At that, Henry gave a large, resolute nod.
“I’ll cook it thoroughly.”
The expression on his face as he stared at the meat over the fire was terrifying. If meat could be cooked with a glare alone, it would probably be charred crisp by now. Jedrier bit down hard on his lip as he watched Henry stare at the meat without even blinking before flipping it over. He was only grilling a piece of meat, so why did he look so grave about it? Meat tasted good even if you just threw it on a fire, didn’t it? What kind of person could possibly mess up grilling meat?
But.
“I apologize.”
“N-no, it’s fiiine.”
Jedrier gave an awkward smile as he stared at the meat, which was burned so black that it looked like one enormous lump of charcoal.
So there really were people who could completely mess up grilling meat!
And Henry was one of them.
Ha. Hahaha.
“It might still be cooked inside. Let’s just cut off the burned parts and eat it!”
The outside was completely black, so there was no way the inside could still be undercooked. Jedrier believed that.
That belief was soon shattered into pieces.
“W-well, it is cooked.”
Jedrier picked up a piece of meat that was still bloody and quickly shoved it into his mouth.
It was for Henry, who looked utterly dejected.
“It’s delicious, Henry.”
Seeing the corners of Henry’s mouth, which were usually gently curved upward, drooping so sadly was unbearably cute.
And Jedrier vowed never to let Henry cook again.
The next day, when they returned to the grassy area, they found no particular traces of anything.
That was a relief.
It seemed Jedrier had simply been so tense that he had seen something that wasn’t there.
From that day onward, one thing changed.
Their walks.
After meals, Jedrier would rise from his seat together with Henry. The palace was enormous, and he had gradually become certain that no one came all the way out to this remote corner, so his anxiety had long since begun to fade.
And the time he spent walking with Henry had become precious to him.
Soon, he would never be able to experience it again.
It would remain only as a memory.
“If we go this way, there is a greenhouse.”
“A greenhouse?”
“Yes. A greenhouse made of glass.”
Well, with a garden this large, it would have been stranger if there weren’t at least one greenhouse. Maybe there was a lake too. It would be beautiful, wouldn’t it? It would probably be breathtakingly beautiful.
Unfortunately, it seemed he wouldn’t get to see it in this lifetime.
The more beautiful a place was, the more crowded it would be.
“Shall we go?”
“…Me?”
Was it really all right for him to go somewhere like that? If he went and caught someone’s attention, it would be a disaster. He was a concubine, so no one would necessarily stop him, but….
What if servants started whispering from mouth to mouth?
‘You know, that concubine! Yes, the one Count Olson shoved into the palace. Apparently that concubine went to the greenhouse His Majesty treasures without even knowing his place.’
And what if those words eventually reached the Emperor?
What if the Emperor came looking for him because of it?
What if a black figure appeared, swinging a sword around and saying, ‘I heard you went there. Without my permission. So? How was it? You can tell me as your last words.’
Goosebumps rose from the tips of his toes upward.
“Maybe we should go another time?”
“Do not worry. It is currently under construction, so no one is there.”
Henry whispered that if they didn’t go now, Jedrier might never get another chance to see the greenhouse.
That was enough to sway him halfway.
And the greenhouse they eventually reached was….
“Wow.”
Beautiful.
Even from outside, they could see through the glass and look at all the different plants filling the greenhouse. It was far prettier than Jedrier had imagined.
“Do you like it?”
“Mhm.”
If he had never come because he was afraid of meeting people or having news reach the Emperor’s ears, he would have regretted it.
Jedrier stared blankly at the greenhouse for a while before following wherever Henry led him.
In a place thick with shrubs and trees, a single bench sat all by itself.
“They say this is where lovers come to enjoy secret meetings.”
“I see… Huh?”
At Henry’s mischievous words, Jedrier felt his face heat up bright red.
Of course, he and Henry weren’t lovers.
But the fact that they were alone together in a place where lovers came for secret meetings still made his mouth go dry.
Henry’s lips parted slightly, and for a moment, his gaze seemed to shift somewhere behind Jedrier.
Just as Jedrier was about to turn his head toward wherever Henry was looking, Henry’s hand gently cupped his cheek.
“Jeri.”
“Yeah.”
“Would you wait here for just a moment?”
“Hm?”
“There is somewhere I need to go.”
“Okaaay….”
The thought of being alone here without Henry was a little frightening.
But all Jedrier could do was tell him to come back quickly.
Henry occasionally disappeared somewhere.
Sometimes for an hour.
Sometimes for three.
Whenever Jedrier asked what he had been doing, Henry would say he had gone to take care of something troublesome. And whenever Jedrier asked who had called him, Henry would avoid answering with an awkward smile.
There was no need to even ask!
It had to be some nasty bastard.
Henry was his attendant, so why were other people ordering someone else’s attendant around?
Jedrier wanted to get angry at whoever it was.
He didn’t even make Henry work!
‘This time, I’m definitely going to ask who it was.’
Jedrier sat down on the bench and stretched his legs out.
The shoes Henry had skillfully obtained for him were incredibly warm. They were worlds apart from the old shoes he had worn before, which had done absolutely nothing to keep out the cold.
Jedrier wiggled his toes, then leaned back.
A cloudless blue sky and bare, dried branches entered his vision.
His white breath drifted into the air and dissolved.
Honestly, he still hadn’t fully adjusted to this world.
If Henry hadn’t been here, he probably would have adjusted even less.
No.
He probably wouldn’t even have thought about adjusting.
He would have fled the Imperial Palace without thinking about what came afterward.
And there was a very high chance he would have been caught.
That was when—
“Ugh.”
“When is winter ever going to end?”
Someone was approaching in his direction.
Jedrier, who had been sitting on the bench, froze in panic and held his breath.
Fortunately, it seemed they couldn’t see this place.
So this was what people meant when they said lovers came here for secret meetings.
‘Henry planned everything.’
Even so, just in case, Jedrier curled himself up tightly and covered his mouth with one hand.
“Why did His Majesty suddenly decide to have the greenhouse renovated?”
“How would we know what His Majesty is thinking? We just have to accept it.”
Apparently never imagining that anyone might be listening, the two people continued chatting away.