Chapter 16
II.
Logan tapped the desk with his fingertips, restless. He didn’t seem to be aware of it himself, but he had been tapping the desk and shaking his leg all day. Thanks to that, Benjamin had been unable to focus and was miserable.
Since being selected as the prince’s aide at a young age, Benjamin had spent far more days in the royal palace than at home. At times, Logan didn’t feel like a lord he served, but like an older brother. Someone more like family than family.
But regardless of that feeling, there were also moments when he felt a clear distance. Born as the queen’s eldest son and raised as the heir, Logan rarely revealed what was truly on his mind.
Even though he knew it would probably be useless, Benjamin finally spoke again.
“Is something the matter?”
“What.”
“Well, I just wondered if there’s something bothering you.”
Logan answered curtly, as usual. Benjamin hadn’t expected much. If he pressed further, he would probably just be told to mind his own business.
But for some reason, Logan’s attitude seemed unusual. He stayed silent, his eyes shifting as if choosing his words. It really did seem like something serious was going on. Benjamin straightened his posture, tense.
This time Logan rubbed his face repeatedly with dry hands. After a long pause, he finally spoke.
“Didn’t you get married the year before last?”
“Yes.”
The question was unexpectedly trivial, making Benjamin’s earlier concern seem unnecessary. Or perhaps it was quite an important question. As Logan said, Benjamin had married his long-time partner in the autumn two years ago, after postponing it for a long time. She was a kind woman who had understood and waited for him, even though he was practically bound to the royal household.
In short, when it came to marriage experience, he was the senior. Benjamin stroked his chin thoughtfully. He had wondered what was so serious, but it seemed that with marriage approaching, the prince had a lot on his mind. That was understandable. Something like pre-marriage anxiety wasn’t uncommon for men either.
But Logan asked something Benjamin had never expected.
“…How’s married life?”
“Us?”
Benjamin failed to control his expression for a moment. Even if his late grandmother had appeared and asked, he wouldn’t have been this startled. His reaction was understandable. Anyone else might ask casually, but the prince probably didn’t even know his wife’s full name.
Logan frowned. Benjamin’s reaction reminded him of Anne Agnes. The expression she had made, like she had bitten into a bug, came back vividly. He waved his hand at once.
“Forget it. You don’t have to answer.”
“No, no! What would you like to know?”
“I said forget it.”
Even after being told to drop it, Benjamin enthusiastically began talking about his happy married life. Logan pressed his fingertips against his throbbing temples. Lately, it felt like more and more people were ignoring what he’s saying.
The McLean couple’s marriage seemed to be going very smoothly. Benjamin spent the whole time praising and boasting about his wife. He spoke passionately about how lovely she was and how devoted she was to him.
“Laura is truly… an amazing woman. It’s hard to believe someone like me actually won her love…”
He hadn’t been curious about his aide’s private life. But since he had been the one to bring it up first, he couldn’t exactly tell him to shut up. With his ears and head starting to ache, Logan leaned back quietly against his chair.
By now, the prince’s condition was the last thing on Benjamin’s mind. He talked with surprising enthusiasm, as if it was strange he had never spoken about his wife before.
“Do you know what happened when we were dating? I postponed our plans twice, you see…”
Logan let his words drift past him and sank into his own thoughts. In truth, Benjamin’s misunderstanding couldn’t be helped. Logan’s question had been wrong from the beginning.
What Logan had really wanted to know was something he couldn’t casually ask someone else. He was curious about their marital relationship, more precisely, their life at night. He wondered whether a marriage could truly be smooth without that. But even if Benjamin might answer, it would be disrespectful to his wife.
After being absorbed in praising his wife for a long time, Benjamin finally came to his senses.
“Ah, I talked too much, didn’t I?”
“No. Thank you. It helped.”
It was strange to hear the sensitive prince actually say thank you. Benjamin had only been boasting, so he couldn’t understand what he had helped with. Had the prince’s missing dragon egg, no, dragon t******e, somehow returned?
And in fact, his rambling had helped Logan. From Benjamin’s behavior, Logan had come to one clear conclusion.
He and Anne Agnes could never become a normal married couple.
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