Chapter 15
Being angry was a refusal?
“You’re always angry when you see me. How was I supposed to know that meant no?”
Before returning to the past, even while angry, Felix would still do as Abel wanted whenever circumstances left him no choice.
That was why, even after Felix reopened the wound Abel had healed and left the prayer room yesterday, it had never once occurred to Abel that it was meant as a refusal.
In response to Abel’s perfectly reasonable explanation, Felix asked coldly,
“Are you saying this is my fault?”
It felt like saying yes would be a mistake.
“I’m just saying there was room for misunderstanding. You should refuse more clearly from now on.”
Since I might misunderstand. Understand? After doing his best to soothe Felix as gently as possible, Abel added, already anticipating what Felix was going to say next.
“As for this matter, what’s done is done, so you’ll just have to accept it.”
At Abel’s insistence that there was no way to take back words once they had been spoken before the Pope, Felix’s eyes darkened and churned.
Abel quietly watched the fragments of emotion swirling chaotically within those beautiful eyes, and Felix finally laid his feelings bare.
“…I truly hate you.”
I know. Since Felix kept repeating things Abel already knew, perhaps Abel should tell him something Felix already knew as well.
“Yes, and I love you.”
Felix shuddered in revulsion and clamped his mouth shut.
* * *
After that, Abel took Felix with him wherever he went. However, from that day on, Felix not only refused to speak with Abel, but merely smiled like a flower.
Abel found that expression immensely frustrating, but the people around them whispered that it was obvious why someone as beautiful as Felix had caught Abel’s eye.
Indeed, the rumor that Abel loved Felix was spreading nicely.
“Continue.”
At Abel’s command, the priest who had been reporting the rumors circulating through the temple hesitated before continuing.
“There are also rumors that, for some reason, his smile seems somewhat sad.”
Keeping Felix by his side at all times had been worth it. So had placing jewels in his hands and offering him flowers, even though Felix had shown little interest in either.
“Lord Abel, shall we put an end to the rumors?”
The priest standing before Abel now was not affiliated with the Pope or any of the other High Priests. He was someone who had earned a place at Abel’s side through his own abilities alone.
Even by Abel’s standards, the man possessed considerable divine power. His faith in the Father ran exceptionally deep, and because of that, so did his faith in and loyalty toward Abel, who was beloved by the Father.
‘Deep enough to draw his sword the moment I lost my divine power.’
Which was why, at present, he was the person Abel trusted most.
His faith in the Father was so profound that he worshipped Abel, the ‘Herald of God,’ without question, and thus was not swayed by the whispers of the Pope or the other High Priests.
He was the perfect disposable tool, one who would move exactly as Abel wished.
At the moment, the priest looked distressed enough to want to tear his own mouth apart simply because he had to relay unfavorable rumors about Abel, but that was not something Abel concerned himself with.
“No. Let them spread further.”
“But…”
Abel set down the scripture he had been reading with a bored expression.
“Is there any need to force them into silence?”
“I know that Your Eminence pays no heed to worldly rumors. However, I—”
Abel cut the priest off.
“Just do as you’re told.”
There was no reason to listen to worries that were neither helpful nor intended to be followed.
“If things go too far, I’ll step in then. Do not act rashly.”
The priest was loyal enough that he would never presume to interpret Abel’s intentions and act on his own, but Abel decided to warn him anyway.
Trembling as though asking how he could ever do such a thing, the priest bowed deeply.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Abel narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the back of the priest’s bowed head.
‘I thought he would try to suppress the rumors.’
He was referring to the Pope.
Usually, rumors like these found their way around no matter how much people tried to keep them quiet, but they were spreading even faster than Abel had expected.
Gregory seemed wary of Felix becoming well known and attracting people’s attention.
It felt as though Gregory had some other motive.
Especially considering that the man who had always done his utmost to manage Abel’s image had personally told the priests around him that Abel was merely somewhat clumsy when it came to love.
‘He also said that Felix would likely suffer because of me.’
It worked out well for Abel, since it meant there was no need for him to treat Felix excessively badly in front of other people….
‘Still, it feels unsettling to simply be happy that things have become easier.’
He would have to find out what Gregory truly wanted.
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