Rustle.
Jedrier opened his eyes at the faint noise tickling his ears and realized that he had been sleeping with his head resting against Henry’s shoulder.
Just how long had he been asleep? The shop had large windows, but the curtains had been drawn, making it difficult to tell how much time had passed.
“Are you awake?”
He couldn’t exactly blurt out, I wasn’t asleep, could he? He had been using Henry’s shoulder like a pillow. He hadn’t drooled, had he? Jedrier subtly wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he had.
“Mhm.”
“Were you tired?”
“…Sorry.”
Jedrier reached out and kneaded Henry’s shoulder and arm.
‘These muscles….’
How could a person’s muscles be like this? It was like trying to knead a rock with his hands. Henry probably couldn’t even feel anything if he massaged him like this. Jedrier put more strength into his fingers and pressed firmly into Henry’s shoulder and arm.
“Was I heavy?”
“Not at all.”
Honestly…. At times like this, he was supposed to tell the truth and say that Jedrier had been heavy, that he had thought his shoulder was going to break. Not say that he hadn’t been heavy at all. A person’s head was surprisingly heavy. On top of that, Jedrier was a healthy grown man!
“Did I sleep for long?”
“No.”
Just as Henry seemed about to say something more, the door creaked open and the owner of the haberdashery came inside.
“Y-you’ve waited a long time.”
Fortunately, it seemed Henry had been telling the truth when he said he hadn’t slept for long. At most, it would have taken the owner around thirty minutes to go and bring back the clothes.
“I prepared clothes that are warm enough for winter but still light.”
Jedrier stared at the clothes hanging on the rack, his mouth falling open. He had worried that the owner might bring out poor-quality clothing after judging him and Henry by their appearances, but….
The clothes the owner had brought were perfectly respectable.
No, they looked more than respectable. They looked incredibly expensive. The sort of price you could tell just by looking without even asking….
‘Can we afford this on a manservant’s salary?’
Of course they could probably buy them.
If Henry poured several years’ worth of wages into it.
Jedrier swallowed nervously. Henry, on the other hand, seemed entirely unconcerned and was carefully examining each piece of clothing one by one.
Jedrier became worried that Henry might suddenly say, “These are nice. We’ll take them.”
So, while holding Henry’s hand with one hand, he asked the most important question.
“…About how much are they?”
Perhaps he had failed to hide his nervousness, because his voice cracked horribly. He was the one who should have been nervous, yet for some reason the owner looked even more tense.
Jedrier could see the man’s eyes darting violently from side to side.
As though he were trying to come up with a price.
“They’re very, very cheap.”
So how much are they?
Jedrier blinked as he stared at the man, who was sweating profusely. He was only asking the price, so why was the man stalling instead of answering?
Just how expensive were they?
“I-it’s my first time making a sale…. Haha. I was a little nervous.”
Ah, so he was a beginner.
Jedrier hadn’t realized. Now that he thought of the man as a shopkeeper dealing with his very first customers, he could understand why he was nervous.
Jedrier nodded in understanding and asked again in a noticeably gentler voice.
“So how much?”
The man took a deep breath, then held up three fingers.
‘Th-three hundred gold?’
No, that couldn’t be right. They were clothes, so they would probably be more expensive than that.
‘Three thousand…?’
Surely not.
‘It isn’t thirty thousand, is it?’
…He didn’t think they could buy them.
No, even if they technically could, investing that much money in clothes seemed unreasonable.
After finishing that train of thought, Jedrier tugged hard on Henry’s sleeve. Then he rose onto his toes and lightly grabbed Henry’s shoulder.
“Eek!”
He thought he had heard a strange sound for a moment, but quickly turned his attention back to Henry.
“Hey, Henry.”
“Yes.”
“I think this place is too expensive….”
He was a little bothered by how pathetic and stingy he sounded, but there was nothing he could do.
“Wouldn’t it be better to spend the money we’d use on clothes to buy more food instead?”
He could endure the cold.
Going hungry was much harder.
“If the two of us stick really close together, I think we can survive the cold too…. W-what do you think?”
“Even when we sleep?”
“Y-yeah.”
At that moment, the disgraceful memory of rubbing his face against Henry’s chest that morning flashed through Jedrier’s mind.
Only then did he think, Oh no, but the water had already been spilled.
The innocent child in front of him, who knew absolutely nothing, was smiling as though he genuinely thought it was a wonderful idea.
“Then shall we do that?”
“Mhm.”
Jedrier carefully controlled his expression. If he gave an awkward smile here or showed even the slightest strange reaction, Henry might notice something.
“However, Lord Jeri.”
Henry’s voice dropped even lower.
Jedrier, who had been standing unsteadily on his toes, wobbled, and Henry naturally caught him around the waist.
As a result, they ended up practically embracing.
Had he noticed?
Of course he had!
How could he not have noticed when Jedrier had been plastered against his chest like that?
He should have apologized earlier.
Regret surged through him like a tidal wave. He was about to apologize even now when Henry’s voice brushed against his ear.
“You seem accustomed to sleeping with someone.”
“Hm?”
Why had the conversation gone in that direction?
Jedrier was flustered, but at the same time, he sighed inwardly in relief when he realized Henry apparently hadn’t noticed his shameful behavior that morning.
“I heard that people who are used to sleeping alone feel uncomfortable sharing a bed with someone else.”
For some reason, Henry looked quite a bit angrier than before.
“But since you don’t seem uncomfortable sleeping with me, I wondered if perhaps you were accustomed to sleeping with other people….”
“I’m not.”
Jedrier’s eyes widened as he finally realized what Henry was misunderstanding.
Was he indirectly calling him promiscuous right now?
Of course, Jedrier didn’t know what kind of life the original Jedrier had lived before he possessed this body.
But the person inhabiting this body now could look up at the heavens without the slightest shame!
“The reason I’m not uncomfortable is….”
How was he supposed to explain this?
He was flustered by an accusation he had never expected.
He couldn’t exactly say he was uncomfortable now, either. That would practically be the same as confirming Henry’s words.
Jedrier swallowed hard.
He could feel his Adam’s apple bob noticeably.
Henry had seen that too, hadn’t he?
Of course he had. He had eyes.
If Jedrier hesitated any longer, the situation would only become more awkward.
He had to go for it.
Jedrier hurriedly opened his mouth.
“B-because it’s you.”
“…….”
“It’s okay because it’s Henry. If it were anyone else, I’d be so uncomfortable I probably wouldn’t sleep a wink.”
“Are you serious?”
“O-of courrrse!”
Henry’s sharply raised eyes gradually lowered again.
Thankfully, it seemed that suspicious look accusing him of promiscuity had softened.
“Because it’s me?”
“Mhm.”
Jedrier nodded vigorously in agreement with Henry’s words.
His heart was pounding as though he had committed some terrible crime, but Henry couldn’t possibly hear that, so it was fine.
“Do you like me?”
“Mhm, of course.”
Then, as though he were sharing a secret, Henry lowered his voice.
“More than His Majesty the Emperor?”
The corners of Henry’s lips curved smoothly upward, positively overflowing with mischief.
This wasn’t even a question worth thinking about.
Jedrier stared directly into the blue eyes fixed on him and nodded.
“Mhm.”
“…….”
Why would I like the Emperor more than you when I’ve never even met him? That man has never even met me.
To Jedrier, Henry was more than just a manservant.
They ate together, slept in the same bed, and had even come outside the palace together like this….
If he thought about it, he hadn’t actually spent much time with the boy. He had spent far more time alone.
But Henry was the first warmth and kindness he had encountered here, so the meaning of it was entirely different.
Besides, Henry was such an unbelievably innocent, good child who knew even less about this world than Jedrier, who had suddenly fallen into it.
That only made Jedrier grow even more attached to him.
It was only after meeting Henry that Jedrier realized he had been longing for another person’s warmth.
And Henry had also helped him regain a sense of reality.
If he hadn’t met Henry, he probably would have tried to run away with some ridiculously flimsy plan and gotten caught.
And then he would merely have brought the death awaiting him a little closer.
The Emperor was the person who would kill Jedrier.
For absolutely no reason.
Of course, it hadn’t happened yet.
But how could he possibly like someone like that more than Henry?
“…Why do you think that?”
Jedrier met Henry’s gaze as Henry looked at him as though waiting for an answer.
An indescribable mixture of emotions rippled through those blue eyes.
“Well….”
“…….”
“Because that’s obvious?”
He had only blurted out something vague because there was nothing he could actually say aloud….
Fortunately, Henry seemed convinced.
The corners of his lips rose into an elegant curve, as though drawn with a brush.
‘He really is surprisingly simple-minded.’
How was he supposed to survive in such a harsh world like this?
Honestly.
A fresh wave of concern for Henry suddenly rose within Jedrier, leaving one side of his chest feeling slightly tight.
They still had some time, so he intended to teach him things slowly, one by one.
“Then shall we head out now?”
“Yes.”
“If we leave without buying anything, the owner might dislike us, so let’s slip out as quietly as possible, okay?”