I Became The Tutor of The Royal Twins - Chapter 136

Translator: Yonnee

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‘But it couldn’t possibly be jealousy.’

This was just His Majesty being considerate. This concern was something for the tutor of his younger siblings. It was an emotion that came up to only that extent.

‘Crazy. You got so swept up by the festive mood of the banquet that you’re starting to imagine something ludicrous, Sera Popo.’

Helios wrapped his arm tighter around her and turned away from Aushuvel.

This made it so that Aushuvel wasn’t in their field of view any longer, but still as ever, there was a wide smile tugging up on the prince’s lips.

“Let’s stop by the main palace first so you can rest. The wind here outside will only make you cold—the early morning breeze is formidable, you know. And since you’re wearing such a thin dress, I’m sure you’ll just catch a cold while staying here.”

And after hearing his cousin’s gentle voice, Aushuvel let out a chuckle. Ah, it seemed like it’s worse than he first thought. No one else seemed to have noticed Helios’ feelings yet.

That is, of course, except for Duke Cross.

‘You keep revealing your emotions like this, but you never try to cross the threshold. How will this end, I wonder.’

While watching Helios and Sera’s retreating figures, Aushuvel let out a sigh filled with a hint of pity and resignation. His smile became tinged with complicated emotions.

* * *

‘How long has it been? It feels like it’s been forever.’

In that same dress, Sera was sitting in Helios’ office.

He took off his white coat and hung it on her shoulders. Then, he asked her to sit down there, while a maid soon came in and served simple refreshments and some tea.

It was the familiar black tea that she used to drink a lot while she told him stories about Rosé and Ferre here.

Holding up the teacup, a bright smile graced her features as she inhaled the soothing scent of the black tea, which was mixed with a bit of sweet chocolate and fresh fruit.

It was perhaps an infectious smile, and so Helios smiled just like her.

“It’s been a while since we last talked here.”

“It seems so. Your Majesty has been coming to the Star Palace personally lately, so I haven’t been here ever since.”

Thinking back on those days, she couldn’t believe how time would flow by so quickly while they were talking. Of course, this was because she had so much to say, too.

Back then, there wasn’t enough time in the world for her to convey every single thing that Rosé and Ferre did.

It was thanks to Helios being such a good listener that she found herself adding more and more to the story. The conversation would stop only when Raphael would arrive to tell them that it was time.

Sera also felt like that was much too long ago, and her contract was soon going to end as well. She let out a sigh of regret.

“Miss Popo.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When Helios called her, Sera set down the teacup, which she had been quietly sipping before this.

But as though he was saying that there’s no need for her to stop, he pushed more of the untouched refreshments to her side.

“I’ll go and change. May I ask that you wait here a little?”

He looked very apologetic while saying this, like he was asking a very huge favor.

Still, it did indeed look like what he’s wearing wasn’t comfortable.

His suit right now was adorned with many heavy embellishments that the emperor of the country usually wore to formal events. Sera nodded readily.

If there was a contest for clothes that bring the most discomfort, Helios’ clothes would win by a landslide. Those accessories all looked terribly heavy.

“Of course, Your Majesty. I’ll wait here while having the tea and refreshments you’ve kindly prepared for me. Please take your time, even after the tea has already cooled.”

“I’ll come before then. I’ll be back while the tea is still warm.”

With a smile, Helios rose from his seat. He moved with graceful strides towards the door, but he paused there.

“Is there anything you need, Miss Popo? I’ll ask them to bring it for you.”

He asked Sera suddenly. As she contemplated for a moment, her eyes gravitated towards the blue heels on her feet, which had been in pain for quite some time now.

“Um… My feet are aching a little right now, so would it be alright if I could request a more comfortable pair of shoes? I left my change of clothes and shoes at the palace where Prince Aushuvel is staying.”

Sera asked Helios as he was by the door.

“Then I’ll have them prepared.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

When Helios left through the door after giving her one last smile, Sera looked around her. It was the same office as before, and there wasn’t anything different about it from what she recalled.

‘I wonder if it’ll take a while.’

After thinking about it for a moment, she removed the tight heels that had been squeezing her feet all day.

As she gingerly set the pair aside, she finally felt like she could breathe again when her feet were finally free from those high heels.

However, the moment she saw her bare feet below her dress, she came to know just what she had been enduring until now. Seeing it with her eyes made it feel worse.

“No wonder it hurt a lot.”

Her toes were all red. Both her feet had significant blisters on the parts that had been squeezed tightly by the heels.

And the reason it started to hurt a lot more was because the blisters, which had already scabbed over, became open wounds again as she peeled off the heels. There were red blood stains inside the heels she had taken off just now.

‘I should’ve put something like a band-aid on, just like how I did in my previous life.’

Still, after she had freed herself from those heels, Sera felt her exhaustion sinking in more. She moistened her throat with some warm tea, which soothed her tiredness away.

Glancing towards the large clock hanging on the wall, she found that it’s already past three o’clock. She looked outside the window to see one side of the palace, where the bright lights were still on while the banquet continued to be in full swing.

With the orchestra’s accompaniment, the people’s voices hummed in the background and rang in her ears.

Sera took a sip of her black tea again. Oh, she can’t go on like this. Somehow, as she felt the tea’s warmth flow down her throat, she felt the drowsiness kicking in. Soon, her eyes closed by themselves.