Karel roused himself up from his dreamless slumber when he heard the soft knocks from the door. His eyes nded on the brunet’s figure still sleeping soundly beside him. Another unhurried knock rapped on the door and immediately went to open it.

  Once the door opened, the female servants shrieked as they came face-to-face with the blond’s exposed chest. Karel leaned onto the door sill and ignored the stuttering maids as he questioned them.

  “Master Kani, is he alright?”

  “He’s not yet up. If there’s something urgent, I can attend to it in his stead.”

  “We…” another servant nervously cleared her throat, “we just wondered because master usually gets up early in the morning.”

  “He needs more rest.” Karel finally stood up to his stature. “We’ll take the luncheon in the room. Thank you.”

  “As you wish, sir.”

  The door softly closed before them and retreated. As they attended to their duties, they gossiped in their group. A lot of them still specuted about the two men’s retionship—secret lovers under the guise of being a master and bodyguard.

  All of them squealed at the thought of it until the topic turned to Karel’s physique. The servants dreamily sighed, now envious of the master’s disposition.

  “Ah, where can I get a man like that?”

  “You’re ugly, you can’t!”

  “Bummer!”

  Karel sat on the bed again and noticed the pair of amber eyes staring at him. Their muffled conversation woke Kani up but decided against accompanying Karel to the door, still comforted by the warmth of his bed.

  “Rest some more. You need it.”

  Amber eyes blinked zily and only then he noticed the sloppy dress shirt on the blond’s figure. “Going out like that might cause misunderstandings, you know.”

  He shrugged. “It’s not like you’re bothered by what they’re saying about us.”

  Gossips surrounded the master since his childhood and since he’s considered a noble, he’d been familiar with it. While accustomed, there were still certain topics he’s sensitive about—his family, and well, Karel.

  “Are you, though?”

  “No.”

  “You shouldn’t be.”

  A hand tucked away a portion of his hair as Karel suggested, “Would you like to go elsewhere instead? As an apology for—”

  Kani huffed, interjecting, “No, you’re right. You’ve always protected me.”

  The hand tucking away his hair froze and withdrew.

  The master roused himself up from the bed, leaning onto the headboard. “Right from the start, you have my interests in your heart.”

  Karel repositioned himself to face him and held his hand, eyes with tumultuous emotions once again. Kani swallowed the question already at the tip of his tongue and scooted closer to the other man, circling his arms on his torso and leaning his forehead on his shoulder.

  Hesitant hands patted his back, eventually emboldened by the tighter embrace of the brunet. Karel leaned closer too, his lips nearly kissing the crown of his head, as he whispered only for them to hear, “I apologize for what I did, Kani, but I meant it when I said I care for you.”

  Shakily, he muttered, “I know.”

  Hands carded through his hair, his hot breath tickling his scalp with the next spoken words: “You don’t deserve to be treated that way by anyone. Not me, not even your family.”

  Kani clutched onto his shirt, closing his eyes and quietly sniffling to himself.

  “I only asked you to cut your ties because it’s clearly making you uncomfortable.”

  “I…” he choked, “I know.”

  Karel held onto his nape, humming a soft, low tune to his hair while swaying them a little. Kani shuddered as he voiced out his sentiments, voice ragged, “You’ve done… so much for me.”

  Crimson eyes stared at the headboard, wistful.

  “How can I ever repay you?”

  A slight upturn painted the blond’s lips. “No need. Just stay happy, Kani.”

  The master groaned, tightening his hold on him while burying his face onto his neck, comforted by the pulse and warmth he’s offered. “You Ramayans are so weird.”

  Karel chuckled softly. “I know.”

  The estate never cked servants to personally attend to Kani and yet, he had always been attending to himself. Large, warm hands massaged his scalp and nearly dozed off while sitting inside the tub. He couldn’t help but remark: “I feel like an imperial with you serving me like this.”

  Karel hummed, continuing his work. “Our contract goes as far as this, don’t you remember? I wrote it there—to serve you personally.”

  “Right.”

  Kani looked beyond the window as his thoughts once again drifted. Questions pgued his mind about who Karel really was. He might not be vocal about it, afraid of stepping on the boundaries but his intuition told him that something lies deep. A buried secret, perhaps. Curious as he was, also with what happened st night, he tampered it down by turning a blind eye.

  Observant eyes noticed his exhausted mien as servants served luncheon and gnced at Karel who attended to the master like he’s a butler instead of a bodyguard.

  The blond dismissed them with a hand gesture next. “Go now. Leave the rest to me.”

  The servants saluted and left the master’s bedroom with questions, still wondering what their real retionship was.

  The scandal reached the other nations and caused a huge stir in Astadvran’s aristocracy—knowing they descended from the same noble family of Liafor—and the mistress’s deeds only worsened after the aforementioned incident.

  In Deorya, however, while most of them showed concern about the situation, none of them answered to Liafor’s invitations anymore. With the worsening situation, Kani’s elven godmothers also joined in the fray and relentlessly fanned the fmes.

  Another two years passed peacefully in spite of the incident. Now, in the eighth year of their contract, another shocking news nearly turned Kani’s world upside down.

  “What do you mean?”

  Cashile bowed his head a little. “The Kingdom of Shirazi forcefully closed our stores and also seized out assets.”

  Kani put down his pen and scrunched his nose. “For what reasons?”

  Cashile handed him a letter containing accusations of his misdeeds, crimes and whatever actions he never did since he signed the contracts with the said kingdom decades ago. Exhaling, he ordered, “Compensate the workers. With how things ended and I was decred persona non grata, might as well relent to their wishes.”

  “But—”

  Kani leaned back on his chair, face paler than before, Cashile gnced at the other table and only then he noticed the bodyguard’s absence. “Where—”

  “How about in the other parts of the Shimhazril?”

  The assistant flinched and nervously looked at him, fiddling with his fingers behind his back. “Masih and Piaten said nothing about the incident and I have no news about Penzak.”

  “Alright. Do what I told you.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  Cashile gnced at the empty desk again, frowning as he walked out.

  Where is the bodyguard when he needs him most?

  Left by himself, Kani discarded all the work he’s currently attending to while discarding the letter on the table.

  Karel had yet to return from his personal trip and with the bodyguard’s absence, unwanted thoughts intruded in his mind.

  Shirazi was the first kingdom he traded with during the first expansion of his business when he started merchanting in Astadvran. The stores he erected in the said Shimhazrilian kingdom remained the second highest grossing right after Piaten.

  By no means he’s an amateur and underhanded methods remained prevalent even in business. It would only mean another party involved themselves in the said predicament. No matter how wealthy he had become, he’s still helpless against someone holding onto authority. Kani lost a great asset this time, he couldn’t deny that, and even a compint or appeal seemed not to be an option.

  Amid his spiraling thoughts, the door opened and revealed the blond. The bodyguard greeted him a pleasant afternoon and quietly walked to his desk. Halfway through his strides, Kani handed over the letter quietly to Karel; the tter now puzzled. Only then did he notice his paling countenance.

  “Master? What’s wrong? Are you—”

  “Read the letter first.”

  The paper’s edges crumpled beneath his grip as he read further. He scowled, muttering grimly to himself, “They have a death wish, huh?”

  Instead of burning the infuriating letter, he discarded it on his own desk and moved beside Kani. He circled his arm over his shoulder, squeezing them in reassurance and let his head lean on his torso. Carding through the silky tresses, he whispered, “Rest for today, will you?”

  Kani dazedly closed his eyes, comforted by the gesture. “I think I really need that.”

  The bodyguard then proceeded to arrange the documents on the master’s desk and assisted him to stand, leading him towards Kani’s bedroom. Along the way, Karel ordered the servants to bring up some refreshments.

  “This would really become a problem.”

  “Even if you ask for a reconsideration, I highly doubt they will listen to you.”

  He frowned deeper. “I’m aware.”

  “It’s useless to think about it now. So, just rest for today. When another problem like that arises, at least, we know what to do.”

  “Thank you, Karel. Your efforts really helped us a lot.”

  “You also studied under Elder Orazio.”

  Kani chuckled. “You are my senior. You have more experience about this matter than me.”

  Karel huffed. “I won’t deny that.”

  The maids delivered the refreshments and the two men discussed some more matters about what happened until Kani dozed off halfway through. Karel let him take a nap as he stayed on the room’s balcony instead.

  Clumps of dark clouds hovered above the city and his thoughts about the letter occupied his mind again. As he pondered about the problem, rain suddenly poured down on the said city.

  As an entryway to the Shimhazrilian Deserts, the Port City of Dahar upheld the protocols strictly and with his identity as Kani’s bodyguard, they might restrict his entry.

  Karel ran his hand through his soaked hair and scowled. The pouring rain made his mood worse.

  “I might need to use my authority.”

  He entered the room again and noticed Kani still sound asleep. Deciding to change his soaked clothes, he went to his own room and along the way, he overheard something.

  “The bodyguard is always around the master. Have you not wondered about their real retionship?”

  “Shh!” another one hushed.

  “As if someone can hear us. Master don’t even care about gossip!”

  Karel turned at the corner and heard next—

  “You really haven’t learned your lesson! Do you want the same thing to happen again?”

  “It’s not like you’re any better! Who do you think orchestrated all of this, huh?”

  Silence filled the hall and Karel clenched his fists.

  A den of traitors and idiots, he muttered to himself and quietly went on his way.

  I might really need to visit Her Imperial Highness.