Aloof King and Cool (Acting) Queen - Chapter 31

*POV: Shane*

One month after leaving Orania, as promised, Urie came to visit Caspar.

While drinking the herb tea brewed from the plants I was raising, we talked about flowers.

When I told him that Leo-sama wasn’t like the rumored “Aloof (Cold) King”, I was warned to not be “moved by his affection(kindness)”* Just like that, time went by as we talked about how Alex would sometimes go missing, and stories about Urie and his lover.

Having met Urie again, I felt nostalgic when I remembered my time in Orania, but I also realized that I had already adapted to life in Caspar.

And around the same time, a small incident occurred. Leo-sama collapsed. Even though he fell, it was not a serious illness. It was diagnosed as a cold that deteriorated due to lack of sleep (accumulation of fatigue?).**

However, the problem was that no one was nursing Leo-sama. Because Leo-sama had collapsed and was bedridden, his aids were much busier than before. So, I offered to nurse him. I felt guilty and wanted to at least atone for being partly responsible because Othello was one of the reasons for his lack of sleep.

When I hurried to his room, Leo-sama was sitting on his bed, reading documents.

“Your health deteriorated because of overworking, so it doesn’t make sense that you are still working.”

I confiscated the documents while I said this. The Prime Minister and Sir Kristoff repeatedly said to not allow him to work.

(T/N: Here comes that weird and annoying Japanese formatting for the dialogue that I hate the most.)

However, Leo-sama was resisting,

“If there is something, I will wake you up, so please sleep a little.”

When I said that,

“Well then, please wake me up in 2 hours. There is work due tomorrow.”

After he said that, he immediately fell asleep. Well, I didn’t wake him up.

When Leo-sama woke up after a while and realized that I hadn’t woken him up, he was a little angry. Nonetheless, he obediently laid in bed when I convinced him that the work was seriously getting done.

And then, when he was out his drowsiness, I prepared a meal suitable for a sick person. While watching him eat little by little, I started to speak.

“I also feel responsible for Leo-sama collapsing. Because we played Othello almost every night. I can nap during the day, but that is impossible for Your Majesty. I made you stay up too much.*** I’m very sorry.”

“No, it was because I said something selfish. I’m sorry you had to come out of your way to nurse me.”

I didn’t expect Leo-sama to apologize.

“No, it is my fault.” (T/N: Shane is more formal)

“No, it’s my fault.” (T/N: Leo is more casual)

As we went back and forth, I couldn’t help but laugh. Leo-sama also gave a small laugh. It was the first time I had seen him laugh. His eyes became gentle; his expression was different from the usual unfriendly face.

“This is my first time seeing Leo-sama laugh. I think it would be good if you laughed more often.”

“It is also my first time seeing you (Shane) laugh towards me.”

Once more, we laughed at the dispute over something trivial. At that moment, I was being myself.

After that, we talked about various things and had a good time. And little by little, I got to know more about Leo-sama. For example, Leo-sama doesn’t like flying insects, and he dislikes sticky foods.

I was happy to know about those little things. I have never been interested (moved) by things like this. However, is there anyone who wouldn’t feel happy when they get to know the unexpected side of a seemingly cold acting person?

And there’s also one more thing I was happy about. While Leo-sama was recovering, he entrusted to me with the task of visiting farmers, looking over petitions related to agriculture and looking through improvement plans. Since there were no agricultural specialists working in the Royal Castle, I was able to use the knowledge that I learned in Japan and my experience in gardening while living in Orania.

I could make use of my knowledge and felt a sense of fulfillment. Due to that, I had many debates with Leo-sama.

Thus, the distance between Leo-sama and I had shrunk in a heartbeat.