The same night, Karel kept on pondering about the question Kani asked earlier.

  If they knew what awaited Elise, why did they let her go?

  He frowned again, trying to comprehend the reason behind it. Amidst his thoughts, an arm hugged his torso and the other man scooted closer to his back. Distracted by the sudden action, he cautiously turned around and embraced Kani.

  A soft hum of satisfaction escaped the brunet’s lips and Karel couldn’t help but huff in amusement. He might really have indulged his master too much with this kind of setting.

  Sleep well, Kani.

  Karel attended to his master as always, albeit nowadays, a little bit preoccupied.

  “Karel,” Kani called worriedly. “It’s unlike you to be like this? Is something the matter?”

  He shook his head and held tightly onto their packed luggage. It’s about time for them to return.

  They arrived near the port and observed the bustling pedestrian and cargo going to and fro.

  Kani stared ahead, thinking about the time they spent in Shimhazril and the Eastern States.

  A warm feeling swelled in his chest at the thought of it. In such a short amount of time, he grew fonder of this contractual retionship, of Karel. He looked beyond the ship, towards the sea, and despite the drumming heartbeats on his chest, he firmly asked the question: “How many months have passed since we traveled from Astadvran?”

  Karel chuckled, thankful for the new topic. “More or less a year.”

  Karel looked at him, and so did Kani. They smiled at each other before looking forward.

  “Thank you, Kani.”

  The brunet stepped forward and looked back at him when he’s a few steps away. “You deserve some gratitude too. Thank you, Karel.”

  “The ship to Astadvran is now accepting passengers!” announced the person in-charge.

  The merchant hummed then reached out his hand towards his companion. “Shall we?”

  Karel needed not to be told twice and grasped onto his hand as they both boarded the ship.

  Three days into the voyage, they both remained cooped up in their room. While a passenger ship, the space of the cabin seemed small for both of them. They agreed to share the bed because the sofa looked uncomfortable for their figures.

  Tonight, Karel leaned towards the brunet’s sleeping figure. He carded through and caressed his hair, feeling the soft tresses sliding between his fingers, on his palms.

  This trip which sted for a year proved something to Karel. He knew about his fondness of the brunet, although not denying or admitting it aloud, and gravitated more towards him as they spent the days together. Something began to exist between them; something unspoken. None dared speak about it and they basked in each other’s attention without crossing their personal boundaries.

  But, Karel already crossed the boundaries he set for himself the moment he became closer to his employer. Supposedly an exchange, it turned to something more one-sided. He protected him but asked nothing in return and even declined the wages they agreed on before.

  “You’re not asleep yet?” a raspy voice asked.

  He looked down and saw Kani’s eyes fluttering open and the faint moonlight lit his cheek.

  “Not yet sleepy. Did I wake you up?”

  “No…”

  “Then, sleep some more. It’s still evening.”

  Kani hummed in response and scooted closer. “Can you accompany me to Ramaya in the future?”

  Karel stopped caressing his hair after hearing the question. “I can. Do you like it there?”

  “A little bit.”

  He smiled. “Alright. We’ll go next time.”

  The seventh day came abruptly and Karel nearly forgot about the present he bought a little while ago. He gathered his courage to give the arm bands he purchased alongside the neckce.

  Having their own room proved to be helpful and Karel wouldn’t be embarrassed if the other man decided to reject his gift. He berated himself for thinking negatively about Kani’s reaction. Why did he fear being rejected by him? That’s so unlike him.

  “Master?”

  “Yes?"

  “Can you give me your hands?”

  “Hands?” he asked, confused. Under the stern look of the blond, he hesitantly offered his hands. A few seconds ter, a box sat atop his palms.

  “This is?”

  “A thank-you gift.”

  He smiled while looking at the box. “You don’t need to do that, you know.”

  Karel crossed his legs. “I wanted to.”

  He chuckled and carefully put down the box on his p. “Alright. Thank you, Karel.”

  The blond gestured. “Open it. I hope you like it.”

  Light from the window behind him gleamed on the golden arm bands sitting on dispy in the box.

  “This is…”

  Karel nervously csped his hands on his knee.

  The brunet held the arm bands quietly, examining them closely but the smile never left his lips.

  “I like them. Thank you.”

  “I’m gd you like it,” Karel replied softly.

  Two weeks of voyage went by and another week passed before they arrived in Norn. Everyone warmly welcomed them and noticed the changed atmosphere between the two men. Many commented something behind their backs while they ignored their specutions.

  “You really aren’t bothered by what your servants are saying.”

  “As long as they do their jobs right, I will pay them.”

  “Still, you should be careful and exercise your authority. While not a noble, you have the capability to rule this estate. You are the master.”

  Kani chuckled and removed his coat. “That’s right.”

  Karel then bowed to him and quietly exited the room as he left the master by himself.

  When he closed the door, Cashile stood near the door outside and greeted Karel.

  “If it’s urgent, I can attend to it. If not, please let the master rest until tomorrow.”

  Cashile looked him in the eye for a few seconds before the assistant nodded as he replied, “I will seek the master out tomorrow with the reports. Have a good night, Sir Karel.”

  “You too, Cashile.”

  When the assistant turned his back on him and left for the other direction, Karel held onto the wooden door without turning around.

  He squinted his eyes as barriers invisibly surrounded Kani’s room.

  “Flies… everyone is…” he uttered and gred at the figure spying at him from a window at the other end of the estate.

  With their current arrangement, Kani brought in another table set in his study for Karel to use. The blond protested at first but he had no choice but to relent because he needed to help him in the paperworks too.

  “I don’t want to deal with the business stuff, alright?”

  “But, why?”

  “I failed my economics subject before. I don’t want your business to plummet down just because of me.”

  Kani chuckled. “You have good eyes for things and yet you failed the subject?”

  “I have keen eyes, true, but that’s just it.” He shrugged and continued reviewing the papers Kani gave to him.

  The brunet stared at him, at how serious his expression was while he scanned the papers.

  “If you have something to say, just say it, Master.”

  “Your blond hair is truly eye-catching.”

  “Is it?”

  Kani hummed loudly, leaning onto his hand while he continued staring at him.

  “Master…”

  “Mm?”

  Karel covered his face with the paper he held. “Please stop staring at me.”

  I can’t believe this man has this side of him.

  “If you continue staring, I will go bald.”

  He chuckled behind his hand. “But you have regenerative ability, it will just grow back.”

  Karel groaned in frustration as the master’s ughter echoed in the room. “Why are you like this to me today?”

  “I really find it amusing that you have a side like this.”

  “Please pretend you don’t know it.”

  “Oh, no worries, my dear bodyguard. I will keep it to myself.” He mischievously smiled at the blond, eyes turned to crescents.

  “Master…”

  “Mm?”

  “How can I work if you’re like this?”

  “You weren’t bothered before though.”

  Karel’s face flushed, realizing what he meant. In the end, he rid his mind of such thoughts and looked away.

  Now, he blushed. Wow.

  “You know, Karel, your eyes are actually like rubies.”

  “Like what?” the blond looked at him, eyes wide.

  “Rubies,” Kani repeated, smiling at him again.

  He nodded, unnerved by the compliment. “And your eyes are like molten gold.”

  This time, Kani flushed and covered half of his face.

  Aha! Time for payback!

  “You know—”

  “Master, this is Cashile.”

  They looked at each other then at the door. “Come in.”

  Cashile opened the door quietly as he could and brought the papers in his arms on Kani’s desk. He reported about the businesses he handled and affairs concerning the mansion.

  “Something to take note about?”

  “We don’t have a store in the Kingdom of Masih and one of the nobles contacted me about establishing a store with us as their source of goods.”

  With his reputation in Piaten, the fashion capital of Shimhazril, a lot of them proposed colborations and the like. Kani, despite wanting to expand his business more, declined them. He never mentioned the reason but wished not to burden himself with more work seeing how he stressed himself about meeting the demands.

  “Did you answer them yet?”

  “Like you’ve ordered beforehand, I declined their offer, master. However, they insisted and it’s becoming a problem.”

  Kani became pensive after hearing that. He turned to look at Karel, asking, “What do you think?”

  He continued writing on the paper as he replied, “That’s harassment. Collect their letters and use them as evidence. File a criminal case, submit it to their kingdom’s court, and proceed with the trial.”

  Cashile widened his eyes in surprise while Kani huffed in amusement.

  “Tell me more about it.”

  Cashile nodded. “They’ve been trying for months now. It’s possible that they send letters every week seeing how they piled up on my desk. Threats already reached us during the st batch of letters.”

  “Would you like me to attend to it?” Karel offered.

  “How will you handle it?”

  “Passivity.”

  “Passi” —he scrunched his nose—“dear sir, please stop joking.”

  “Right. Put them in their right pce. No matter what form of harassment, it’s no ughing matter. If the authorities tolerated such indecency, I would definitely question their ws.”

  Ah, he’s a noble. He knows how to deal with this.

  Kani hummed thoughtfully. He scanned the documents and came to a decision, “If anything like this happens again in the future, decline all of them. Manage the other businesses as you usually do and we will pay them a visit ter on.”

  Cashile bowed. “I will see it done, Master.”

  “Alright. After settling the papers for today, you can have an early off from work. Now, go,” he ordered, then shooed him away.

  Timely enough, another knock sounded from the door and the maid informed them about the luncheon.

  “Kindly serve them here.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  The maid and Cashile went away and Karel shot him a questioning look.

  “We can just go down though?”

  “Hush it. I like to eat here right now.”

  They bantered for a little while before the maids served them their meals.

  “Did you bring the bowls?”

  “Yes, Master.”

  He accepted the two bowls in hand and gestured for the maids to leave them be. “Alright. Leave those behind and I’ll call you after we’re done.”

  “Yes, Master. Please enjoy your meal.”

  Once the maids exited the room, Kani gave the other bowl to Karel much to his surprise.

  “My pte?”

  Kani looked at him for a few seconds and realized he never dined casually.

  Kani held his hand holding onto the bowl and filled it with food. He pulled the spoon from the side and said, “Eat casually when we are alone together. I get intimidated by your dining etiquette sometimes.”

  “Oh, I see. I apologize for that.” He scooped the food. “It’s been engraved in me so I unconsciously do it most of the time.”

  Kani nodded and also filled his own bowl with food. After finishing one pte of fish, he asked, “Is it fine to ask some things?”

  “Like?”

  “How old are you?”

  “At least 6000 years old—”

  Cng!

  Kani looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked while picking up the spoon on the floor.

  Kani swallowed his food and choked out, “Six thousand… you…”

  “Ah,” he reacted and put the spoon at the edge of the table. “Yes, I’m far older than I look.”

  “That’s not what I mean! I—ugh! I’m just surprised!”

  He chuckled softly. “Well, surprise?”

  Kani pinched his arm and Karel shrieked as he distanced himself. “What are you doing?”

  “I forgot that you’re Ramayan! You’re basically 150 times my age!”

  “I guess?” Karel answered and munched on his food unbothered.

  “Do you also celebrate birthdays?”

  “If we only wanted to. Humans celebrate it every year, right?”

  “Yes. When’s your birthday?”

  “The 65th day of fall.”

  “Sixty-fifth?” Kani echoed, puzzled by the date.

  Realizing he used the Stelris Calendar1Stelris Calendar is the original calendar used in Trojka. It's also an astronomical calendar which has 90 days per season. This calendar is still used in the continent of Ramaya. rather than the Enaryan Calendar2Enaryan Calendar is the calendar system used in Grantierra and the Southern Isnds. It's divided into 12 months and has 30 days within a month., he corrected his words: “Oh, I think it’s around the 11th month here.”

  Kani picked the unused spoon on the side and continued eating. “It’s intriguing, you know. My mother might be one of the immortal beings, but to actually interact with Ramayans, it’s quite fascinating for us.”

  “That’s true. We rarely go out of the empire and even if we did, it’s not for longer periods of time.”

  He nodded and silence followed thereafter.

  “When’s yours?”

  “Hm?”

  “Your birthday. When is it?” Karel asked, still looking at the dishes while munching.

  “May 24th.”

  A momentary silence.

  “We were in Shimhazril then.”

  “After what happened during my coming-of-age, I haven’t celebrated my birthday since.”

  “If you don’t want to, then don’t. Just do what comforts and makes you happy.”

  Kani stared at him, still unused to his encouraging and comforting words. He turned to his bowl and saw the meat bathed in sauce.

  “You should eat some vegetables too,” Karel said and put lettuce and tomato in his bowl.

  What did my past life do to deserve you?