NOVEL NEXT Chapter 224: You wouldn’t believe what Prince Rian tells Prince Pollux!
Two weeks after Prince Pollux left the Angio Capital, Hadrian rode his horse and awaited at the Terra fief’s border for the Prince Pollux and Prince Haldor’s contingent.
“Good afternoon, Your Highnesses,” Hadrian called out in greeting. He caught brief glimpses of the two princes, but the contingent didn’t stop. Hadrian accompanied them to the Terra castle.
At the castle, Hadrian dismounted, and Prince Haldor, Prince Pollux and others disembarked from their carriages.
When Hadrian saw Prince Pollux, he was stunned.
Prince Pollux stepped out elegantly from his carriage, carrying Princess Sasha in his arms. His short golden hair was lightly styled, revealing more of his face and his golden eyes. He was wearing a crisp white shirt and a new rich red light-weight coat with gold detailing. A deep blue ornament was pinned near his throat, drawing attention to his slender neck. His skin glowed with health, and when he saw Hadrian, his eyes lit up and a blush coloured his cheeks.
Hadrian’s heart skipped a beat as his stomach flipped. That blush especially put him in a daze.
“Hadrian,” Prince Pollux said.
“Y-Your Highness!” Hadrian stammered. He made a flustered bow. “This new outfit really suits you, Your Highness.”
Prince Pollux’s blush deepened. “Oh? Lady Iris had it made for me…”
“It does. Your Highness, please come inside,” Hadrian said.
Hadrian couldn’t help but sneak a few looks at Prince Pollux as they walked. Prince Pollux looked handsome from the side angle too. This close, Hadrian could see a little bit of the top of Prince Pollux’s fine golden hair, and his long gold lashes.
Hadrian inexplicably remembered his mother’s question. Someone who made his heart skip after seeing them?
Wasn’t that Prince Pollux?
Hadrian stumbled and almost fell.
“Hadrian! Are you alright?” Prince Pollux asked.
“I’m fine,” Hadrian laughed sheepishly. “Before dinner, do you want to play with Lady Artemis?”
“Yes, that would be lovely.”
“Please follow me. I think I know where Lady Artemis is…”
As Hadrian expected, his siblings were playing with Lady Artemis, and had no intention of leaving.
Instead, they were eloquent and good at engaging Prince Pollux in conversation; his sister even made Prince Pollux laugh.
Weird feelings twisted in Hadrian’s chest, including jealousy, possessiveness, and Prince Pollux was cute when he laughed.
Why was he feeling this way? He didn’t feel like this a few months ago!
(Or did he?)
After playing with the cats, everyone went to have dinner before retiring for the night. Tomorrow, Hadrian would be leaving with Prince Haldor and Prince Pollux.
Once the door closed, Hadrian sighed.
Why did Prince Pollux make his heart skip?
Was Hadrian attracted to men after all?
But even if he was attracted to men, why did his heart choose to skip whenever he looked at His Highness?
Those feelings of jealousy and possessiveness earlier—how could he have such presumptuous feelings towards His Highness?
Hadrian was just the son of a marquis. He had no hope at attracting someone of a higher ranking—he wasn’t like the amazing Earl Rosewood. His feelings towards Prince Pollux made him feel like he was tainting his friendship with His Highness.
He couldn’t let anyone know, lest of all His Highness. He had to remove these deplorable feelings and be a proper, loyal subject.
On the journey, Pollux naturally invited Hadrian into his floating carriage, so that their cats could play together. Hadrian agreed, and they spent the trip talking about how they spent their summer, and their plans for the upcoming academic year. They also talked about their plans afterwards.
Hadrian was going to continue working on developing new and better glass. Pollux didn’t know what he wanted to do.
As the journey drew to an end, Pollux felt nervous.
Ayden and Prince Rian would be having dinner with them later, and that meant there was an opportunity for him to talk to them.
Before the Sedaverian Capital was in view, Pollux was already flipping between whether he should ask Ayden or Prince Rian or not. He had imagined a hundred different ways he could start the conversation, and he could also imagine not saying anything and keeping everything bottled up inside and forgetting about it.
Wouldn’t it be laughable and pitiful if he told Ayden or Prince Rian, but then never got together with Hadrian for whatever reason?
Prince Haldor’s contingent separated from theirs, heading to the Imperial Palace while Pollux and Hadrian continued to the Rosewood house.
Upon arriving at the Rosewood house, Ayden and Prince Rian greeted them at the door.
Pollux acted calm and normal. Prince Rian briefly asked about their trip. Pollux and Hadrian had time to relax and freshen up while their servants helped them unpack.
Then, they had dinner together. Florence and Baltasar were also there, and they all shared what they had done over their summer. Everyone congratulated Pollux on being able to walk and run again.
After dinner, Pollux returned to his quarters, half relieved and half disappointed in himself. In the end, he didn’t say anything.
Knock knock.
“Your Highness, Earl Rosewood is here to see you,” came the voice of Pollux’s guard.
Pollux was surprised. He thought that Ayden and Prince Rian had returned to the academy already.
“Let him in.”
Ayden entered, while the guard closed the door behind him.
“Is there something wrong?” Pollux asked.
“Rian thought that you wanted to talk to me.” Ayden said. “Unless you wanted to talk to Rian?"
Pollux’s nervousness spiked. “I suppose I did want to talk to you, but it’s not urgent.”
“We have time.”
Pollux invited Ayden to sit down. His nervousness grew worse, especially when Ayden just waited for him to speak.
Pollux lowered his gaze. “You…”
“If it’s something private, I can sign a contract,” Ayden said.
Pollux felt that was too much and unnecessary. Reluctantly, he said, “I admit, I’m curious as to how you and Prince Rian established your relationship. Did you follow Sedaverian courtship customs?”
“Customs? I don’t know them,” Ayden said. He shrugged. “I made Rian sign a contract of secrecy before I told him that I liked him. Hm…and then later, we kissed and established our relationship.”
Pollux’s mood became complex.
He imagined himself making Hadrian sign a contract first. The thought was embarrassing and uncomfortable and not at all romantic.
“I can give you a template for a contract, if you want,” Ayden said.
“No need,” Pollux said.
“Okay. Is there anything else?”
“No…” Pollux had other things he wanted to know, but he didn’t want to ask because he didn’t want to reveal anything yet.
Ayden gave him a look and then stood up. “You can always contact me for anything. Have a good night.”
“Good night.”
After Ayden left, Pollux started to seriously consider it again. If Ayden used a contract first, maybe it could work—
No, no, Pollux firmly threw those thoughts away. He and Hadrian weren’t like Prince Rian and Ayden! They didn’t have a love for unusual and tricky contracts.
Pollux sighed.
Pollux started his third year at the university, while Hadrian also returned to his research. Wolfgang invited them to visit his new cat lounge that he had contributed to (after much resistance). The cat lounge was quite nice, though Princess Sasha became affectionately possessive afterwards.
Pollux also met with Prince Alexius and Ayden to continue the development of single-person transport vehicles, building upon the idea of a ‘skateboard’, ‘scooter’ and ‘bicycle’, but without wheels. Due to his skills, he helped produce some prototypes for others to test.
A few weeks passed, and Prince Haldor eventually departed, returning to the Hraun Islands.
Then, after a weekly dinner with Hadrian, Ayden, Prince Rian, and Lady Florence Sage, Prince Rian requested a short meeting with him.
Pollux agreed and followed him into the nearest available meeting room.
Prince Rian cast a privacy spell.
Pollux became wary. Was this something important?
Prince Rian smiled in a friendly manner, which only made Pollux more wary.
“You and I haven’t spoken in private for a while. It’s nice to speak to a fellow prince like this,” Prince Rian said.
“What about Prince Alexius? And Prince Haldor?”
“My little brother doesn’t count, and Prince Haldor is married to a woman.”
Pollux was momentarily dumbfounded. What did being married to a woman have anything to do with it? Was it about being un-attached? Finally, he said, “But you’re engaged to Ayden.”
Prince Rian’s expression became a little smug. “I am. You’re invited to our wedding, of course. However, no date has been decided yet.”
“I’ll make sure to attend,” Pollux said, a little drily.
“Have you ever heard of the ‘gaydar’?”
“I have not.”
“It describes the ability of a gay person to detect whether another person is gay.”
Pollux’s heart thumped. Did that mean Prince Rian knew? “Is this some magical physic power?”
Prince Rian looked thoughtful. “No, according to Ayden, anyone can have this, even non-mages. And it doesn’t work very well either.”
Pollux: “…” If this was an imaginary power that didn’t work, why did Prince Rian mention it to him?
“Is there something you’d like to talk about?” Pollux asked politely.
“As a prince, one should be the pursuer, not the pursued,” Prince Rian said. “If you like someone, you should do your best to win them over, like myself with Ayden. I had to understand Ayden’s thoughts and values and ply him with gifts until he slowly liked me without even realising it.”
Pollux: Oh, you want to show off your relationship some more?
“Of course, a little seduction also helps.” Prince Rian winked.
Pollux stared. Did he just— “I beg your pardon?”
Prince Rian’s lips curled up. “As you know, Ayden is very attracted to gold. Thankfully, he has a high standard, and no other eligible bachelors are as wealthy as me.”
Pollux: “……” Oh, why hadn’t he realised that Prince Rian would be so abnormal when it came to Ayden? No, what was worse was that he also knew about Ayden’s attraction to gold!
Prince Rian pulled out a piece of paper. “Look, I’ve written down a list of gifts that I’ve sent Ayden, in case you were interested.”
Pollux took it but didn’t look at it. “Is there anything else?”
“Did you know that Ayden and I both asked Florence for help regarding our relationship? Anyway, Ayden is reluctant to accept more clothes, but I must keep my tailors busy. Expect to receive some clothes later. Maybe they’ll help,” Prince Rian said mysteriously. He stood up. “It was lovely talking with you, have a good evening.”
Prince Rian let himself out, leaving behind a perplexed Pollux.
Pollux finally looked down at the piece of paper. There was a long list of items, including gold, rare and common plants, and even personnel.
Prince Rian definitely knows something, Pollux thought. He thinks I have relationship troubles.
Remembering how Prince Rian recommended seduction, Pollux’s expression cracked. Hadrian wasn’t obsessed with gold. Was Prince Rian telling him to seduce Hadrian the conventional way? What kind of clothes was Prince Rian going to give him??
A few days later, the promised clothes arrived.
Pollux was relieved when he found out that the clothes were normal. They were in a princely style, Sedaverian in base but with Angian elements.
With the help of his manservant, Pollux tried them on and found them to fit well.
Suppressing a sense of nervous anticipation, Pollux decided to wear one of the outfits the next day.
As usual, Hadrian awaited outside the dining room.
“Good morning, Your Highness,” Hadrian said, bowing.
“Good morning, Hadrian.”
Hadrian straightened up again. His eyes widened.
Pollux coughed awkwardly. “Does it look good? Prince Rian gave it to me.”
Hadrian nodded. “It looks good on you, Your Highness.”
Pollux smiled, but he felt a little reluctant in his heart. This reaction was Hadrian’s normal reaction.
Should he try something…seductive?
Pollux immediately blocked his own thoughts. No, he had to get Prince Rian’s suggestion out of his mind!
Ren Xiyang: How was it? What did you tell Prince Pollux?
Rian: Of course, that he should seduce Hadrian~ 😉 It worked with you, didn’t it?
Ren Xiyang: *face palm*
Thank you to Flower for the monetary support! 🥰 Money is attractive, to be fair, especially in this economy…
website | tumblr | twitter | email newsletter