My Lover's Personality is a Little Strange

14

***

Embarrassed by Theodore's words, I was dazed, unable to respond.

Pretty...

Come to think of it, he said something similar in the past.

[You're the prettiest thing I've ever seen, Yvonne.]
Does he say that to everyone?

But now I'm dressed as a man. So....

"You have pretty eyes, pretty nose, pretty lips, pretty hands... ."

Whether or not he knows my spinning head, he smiled brightly and clasped my hands.

I glanced at the thick knuckles felt between my fingers, then lifted my head again.

Seeing him still staring at me, I gasped.

"Don't make fun of me... Your Majesty."

"Hmm........."

"Pretty doesn't suit me. I, I'm a man..."

When I protested like that, I stuttered a little.

Then he tilted his head to one side and asked me.

"Then what should I say about being pretty?"

Each time he blinked, his long eyelashes slowly fluttered.

I was once again at a loss for words at that beautiful figure that no one could deny.

I realized again.

That men can be pretty too...

"Your inauguration ceremony will be postponed for a while."

Theodore immediately changed the subject.

"I have a lot of work in the Imperial Palace, so I can't afford it right now. You're not disappointed, are you?"

And I, who had fallen in a dream, quickly put off the awkward conversation a while ago and responded to a new topic.

"No, Your Majesty. It's more than enough that you brought me here....Ah, I mean, if I was still there, I would have been an apprentice knight for the rest of my life...."

He smiled at me.

"I'm glad you said that, Yves."

Throughout the conversation he was fiddling with my hands. The touch made me feel strangely drowsy, so I fell asleep again without realizing it.

*****

When I woke up again, I was curled up on the sofa in his office. When I got up, the robe Theodore had been wearing a while ago slipped off my body.

"Huh...."

Theodore was nowhere to be seen. I realized that I had made a mistake by forgetting the duty of escorting the emperor.

In the meantime, I was grateful for the consideration he had shown me, so I grabbed his coat tightly and hurried outside. The knights in the hallway found me and rushed in.

"Are you okay, Sir Yves?"

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

As I questioned the sudden burst of interest, they breathed a sigh of relief as they scoured my body.

"His Majesty came out alone, so I thought something was wrong."