CHAPTER 149: RESTLESS HEART

"Why not? He’s inside, right?" said Eresia, smiling softly.

Alvaro nodded. "It seems His Majesty needs some rest. And so do you, Princess."

"No, I don’t. I’ve had enough rest." Eresia stepped past Alvaro and asked the room guard to announce her arrival.

The guards seemed reluctant, but they went ahead and informed Sylas. No one wanted to deal with that spoiled girl. Sylas also seemed to want to avoid trouble.

A few moments later, Eresia was inside the room, looking at Sylas, who had just finished changing his clothes.

"Why aren’t there any servants to help you?" asked Eresia. Usually, a servant named Sean was always there to serve him.

Sylas smiled slightly. "I didn’t want to bother him. He already helped me this evening," he replied, inviting Eresia to sit on the sofa in front of him.

"I hope there’s something important that brought you here so late, Princess," said Sylas, sitting across from her. His face looked tired, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"You’re always busy during the day. I only get to see you at night, but even then you spend your time with your lover," said Eresia, complaining.

Sylas was silent for a moment, looking at the girl’s face in front of him, then smiled gently. "You’re right. I’m sorry. I have a lot to do. But you don’t need to come every night like this."

Eresia smiled, but her eyes were sharp. "So you’ll see me tomorrow instead of your lover?"

Sylas nodded. "It’s not like I never see you, Princess. I saw you two days ago. You were in my room last night, too," said Sylas.

"I want the same amount of time you give that slave."

Sylas looked at Eresia for a long time before speaking. "He’s not a slave. I’ve told you that, Princess. He’s my man, my partner, just like you."

Eresia frowned in displeasure. "How can you compare us, Sylas? You’re not serious, are you? After all, I’m your future queen. Even if you love him, his status will only be that of a kept man. Nothing more. It’s impossible for you to make him your concubine."

Sylas leaned back. "What’s important is that you understand his status. I don’t want you to look down on him just because he isn’t from the nobility. I want you to respect him the same way you respect me."

Eresia pouted, clearly unhappy. "Do you really love him? What’s so special about him? Why didn’t you choose a prince or someone from a noble family? Why a slave?"

Sylas stopped smiling. "Princess, is there anything else you want to talk about? If you came here to talk about Kai, then stop it. It’s none of your business who I fall in love with."

Eresia glared at him. "How is it not my business if he’s going to be the third person in my relationship with you?"

Sylas took a deep breath. He wanted to say that she was the third person, not Kai. But he didn’t want to cause more problems.

"I need to rest. Can we talk again tomorrow?" Sylas said softly, dismissing her.

Eresia was silent, not moving from her spot, still pouting. But then she decided she wouldn’t lose to Kai for Sylas’s attention.

"You promised to spend time with me tomorrow. I’ll hold you to that promise," said Eresia.

Sylas nodded. "All right. We’ll go to the capital. I promised to take you out. It might rain tomorrow, so wear something warm."

Eresia finally smiled happily. "Of course, Your Majesty!"

As soon as the girl left, Sylas held his head. She had asked too many questions about Kai, and that worried him.

He wanted to stay away to avoid jealousy, but he worried even more when he didn’t see Kai. The new school year had begun, and the young man was having some trouble adjusting. Sylas just wanted to make sure Kai was all right.

But it seemed that would only make things harder for Kai.

For a moment, he lost himself in thoughts of Kai, who always greeted him with a bright smile even when he looked tired. The young man’s limp always seemed full of energy.

Even though they couldn’t meet openly because of the new servants who had just arrived, Sylas still missed him. Kai never complained, but Sylas knew that meeting him openly would only cause new problems.

He would have to ask Garry to take Kai to the oak tree behind the dormitory.

***

Meanwhile, Kai was facing many new problems now that the dormitory had opened. He didn’t expect so many people to come and fill all the rooms. He felt overwhelmed.

Kai could read simple words now, at least well enough to understand the class schedule. Even so, on the first day he still needed help reading parts of it.

Classes had been going on for a week, and he already had more enemies than friends. He still didn’t understand why everyone seemed to hate and avoid him.

He was used to the pressure and life in Omino, but the tension in the dormitory was completely new to him, and it often confused him. In Omino, he never felt threatened by other slaves. But in the dormitory, anyone could hurt anyone they wanted. Kai didn’t know how to deal with that.

That morning, as usual, everyone left their rooms to start the day’s training. The thing Kai hated most was the morning exercise. The teacher in charge made an exception for him, but that only made the other students talk about him even more.

Kai chose to help the kitchen staff instead. They had started working a week ago and seemed young and friendly. Rather than go to the training field, he spent his time in the kitchen helping to prepare breakfast and wash dishes. He did whatever he could, at least avoiding the angry stares from the other students.

After the exercise, everyone rested and changed clothes before breakfast. They entered the dining hall together at the same time. Everyone had to be punctual. If they were late, they would lose points, and those points determined whether they could stay or be sent away.

Most of them were already familiar with this system from their schools in the capital, so it was rare for students to be expelled or fail after entering the dormitory, except in special cases.

So everyone was always on alert. Kai, however, was confused on the first day and ended up being late to the dining hall. He had to go hungry that day.

That day, for the first time, Kai realized that everyone seemed interested in him, because he was the only student who didn’t lose any points. Even when he made mistakes, no points were deducted.

And that was the day Kai understood that he couldn’t fit in with them. Everyone already knew each other, and his presence felt like an insult.