Chapter 3
“Lord Abel, may I ask you a question?”
The priest, pouring tea and stepping back, spoke. Abel nodded. Since he was in a good mood, he could afford to entertain a question.
“Is the punishment given to the paladins today connected to Sir Felix, your bodyguard?”
Of course it was.
Abel nodded calmly, without denial.
“…And why is that?”
Abel didn’t know which paladin had spoken with Felix. If he didn’t know the individual, then punishing the entire group was the simplest solution.
He looked at the priest with casual indifference.
“It seems you already know the answer.”
With a clink, the priest set down the teacup and hunched his shoulders, then spoke again.
“I don’t want to make a mistake by presuming to understand Lord Abel’s intentions.”
He wanted to hear the answer directly from Abel’s lips.
The intention was obvious. They wanted to know how to deal with Felix from now on.
Abel obligingly played along with that intention.
“How dare he come all the way to my prayer room and upset my beloved?”
“…Are you talking about that one man?”
He said “beloved,” yet why didn’t he believe Abel’s declaration of love?
Abel didn’t need to explain his feelings in painstaking detail to anyone but Felix, so he continued.
“To know one is to know ten. Isn’t it because the discipline of the entire paladin order is a mess that one man acted that way?”
There was only one thing they needed to know: If anyone dared touch Felix, Abel would step in.
“They need to know their place.”
Abel looked down coldly at the priest who was cautiously gazing up at him and asked:
“Is that answer sufficient?”
“I will deeply engrave Lord Abel’s will in my heart.”
“Good.”
Now no one would dare act arrogantly in front of Felix.
‘Then Felix will be able to act at ease too.’
Abel didn’t like that Felix couldn’t fully show his true temper and instead acted hypocritically. How adorable would it be if Felix could act according to his true nature?
However, because of his position in the temple, that wasn’t possible right now…
‘To others, Felix is someone who has nothing but his beautiful appearance.’
Since Abel had found the cause, solving the problem was easy.
Just as no one could touch Abel because the Father was behind him, it should be enough to make sure everyone in the temple knew Abel stood behind Felix.
Abel was very pleased with the measure he had taken.
So the next day…
“I just heard an unbelievable story.”
Even when facing Felix, who looked at him angrily, Abel remained calm.
‘Should I make sure we have more chances to be alone together in the future?’
Though Felix seemed to have a lot to say, Abel was thinking this while watching him wait for the priests to leave the room before speaking.
“What story?”
When Abel asked kindly, Felix’s jaw tightened. But that didn’t last long; Felix pulled his lips into a pretty smile again.
But as Abel had said before, he didn’t miss Felix’s negative emotions.
Confirming the coldness flickering in Felix’s blue eyes, Abel smiled contentedly.
“Felix?”
At Abel’s call, Felix spoke again.
“You punished the knights because of me.”
Although he had kindly replied that it should be spread widely throughout the temple, the priests who assisted Abel were certainly loose-lipped.
“That’s right.”
When Abel confirmed it, Felix’s smile cracked. The plainly visible emotion was satisfying. When Felix looked at him as if to ask why, Abel answered calmly.
“Because I love you.”
Abel didn’t find it difficult to speak of love.
His feelings were clear, and he didn’t want to hide them. He wanted Felix to know about his love.
However, Felix didn’t seem pleased by Abel’s confession. Was he about to vomit?
“Why all of a sudden… Are you feeling unwell?”
Though it was the paladin who asked that question of him, if they had to choose who was actually unwell, Felix was the one who looked sick. Abel answered cheerfully, as if reminding him of his position as a bodyguard.
“I’m perfectly healthy. Love makes a person healthy.”
Felix’s face, after giving up trying to hide it, was horribly crumpled.
‘Perhaps I should give him a vase of flowers?’
Abel looked at the elegant porcelain vase beside him, and Felix asked in a tightly restrained voice,
“You didn’t even know my proper name, did you?”
That was partly Felix’s fault. Who would have known that the name he gave at the moment of his death was a lie?
Of course, it had been Abel’s mistake not to try to find out Felix’s real name until then. Still, these feelings were genuine.
“You can love someone without knowing their name.”
In truth, Abel didn’t even know Felix’s name or remember his face clearly, yet he loved him.
“But still, there must be some reason…”
Abel stared intently at Felix’s face to convey his feelings, but Felix sighed deeply and muttered as if giving up.
“Ha, yeah, that’s true.”
“Do you believe that I love you?”
“…Falling for someone’s face is common. But I didn’t expect you, Abel, to be like that.”
Felix seemed to have misunderstood Abel’s words, but Abel chose to be satisfied that Felix did not deny his feelings.
To be able to say “I love you” to the living Felix, and for Felix to be able to hear it, was already an incredibly happy thing.
“But then why did you put me in such a difficult position?”
Difficult? Felix bit his lip as he watched Abel look at him with a puzzled expression.
“Didn’t you know that more people are speaking ill of me behind my back now?”
What of it?
“Yes. But now, no one dares to speak ill of you to your face, right?”
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