It had been more than a week since Asha watched Alexei’s bow and sword practice. One of the attendants approached her standing by the window. It was to convey Alexei’s words that she could come and watch.
Asha went down to the yard and sat down in a chair prepared by Alexei. As she watched Alexei shoot his bow, Alexei, who had shot about four times, looked back at her.
Still, Alexei’s face, which always seemed a little pale, seemed to be filled with color as she followed him around and fed snacks for the last few days.
“Would you like to shoot, too?”
“Um… yes!”
Asha hesitated a little and then nodded. However, the attempt failed because Asha couldn’t pull the bowstring at all.
“Maybe it’s because you’re still very small.”
“I will grow up soon too!”
“You only eat peas now, so tomorrow are you going to eat only kidney beans?”
“Alyosha!”
Even when Asha shouted his name, Alexei laughed a little and shot three more arrows as if making fun of her.
‘…What happened?’
Asha swallowed a sigh. She wanted to get along with Alexei. However, she didn’t know Alexei was this playful. Alexei looked back at Asha while she was agonizing alone. The expression was a little strange.
“The Imperial Palace is warm all year round. Because I signed a contract with Fire Dragon Fafnir.”
“Uh… Yes!”
Asha nodded even though she was wondering about the sudden topic. She knew it already. There was so much talk about Crown Prince Alexei that even the smallest woman in the Imperial Palace could hear.
But more than those rumors and words… When confronted by Alexei, the shadow of the flame seen beside him from time to time reminded her of the fact.
“So as you get closer to me, the heat gets stronger… You must not be so hot even if you are so close.”
The words made her feel that the chair that was still was rattling for no reason.
<Of course! How dare young Fafnir come before me?!>
‘Please be quiet!’
Asha spat.
Not being influenced by Fafnir’s power meant that her spirit had stronger power. And this empire was an ignorant country that had chosen a successor only by the power of the Spirit. Even if the Emperor had a different meaning. Asha managed to wring out an answer with her head spinning.
“Usually! Allies don’t usually attack.”
“…what?”
Alexei’s arrow flew to the wrong place, not even to the end of the target. The attendant in charge of the target was surprised and ran far to collect the arrow.
“You haven’t even read a novel, have you? You’ve only been studying.”
“…”
“Even though a wizard uses a lot of magic, it’s always the enemy, right? The magic doesn’t work with the same team.”
“…”
Alexei closed his mouth. Asha, who answered bravely and carefully looked at Alexei’s countenance, jumped out of her seat in surprise at what she saw.
Around Alexei, a pale, suppressed but cherry blossom-like color was reflected. Asha’s face brightened.
“You smiled! Alyosha, did you just smile?”
“You’re funny… I always smile.”
“No, you don’t? It’s not like that, it’s a real smile! It’s the first time you’ve smiled at me!”
“…didn’t.”
“Isn’t it? You really smiled just now, didn’t you? Your mouth was like this, right? Weren’t you smiling?”
Asha grabbed Alexei’s sleeve and shook it. Alexei’s expression stiffened.
“Even though I always smile at you.”
“Lies~! Now you even lie.”
“It’s not true!”
And at the same time Alexei pushed Asha.
To be exact, it was about shaking off the sleeve that Asha grabbed, but Asha, who was pushed unexpectedly, stumbled and fell on her back.
“Oh, my.”
Asha sat down on the floor and looked up. Alexei’s face was distorted. At first, she thought he was angry because she teased him too much, but there was no anger in Alexei’s firm face. It was her that was pushed, but it’s as if Alexei was stabbed.
And Asha finally recognized the identity of the airflow. The dark blue light that sprang from his side was fear. At a loss for fear of something.
“Alyo… sha? Are you angry? I’m sorry, I was mean…”
“I’m not angry. I’m sorry to scare you. I’m a little surprised.”
Alexei strongly denied it with a harder voice. Asha blinked her eyes. Alexei tried to help Asha stand up, but soon stopped and withdrew his hand and gestured at the servant. The attendants who received Alexei’s attention helped Asha instead of Alexei.
Asha felt strange about Alexei’s attitude, but apologized again.
“No, I… I think I was being harsh, too. Alyosha can be angry…”
Alexei, who had been silent for a while, looked down at Asha, who stood up completely.
“I shouldn’t be angry.”
And slowly, the achromatic particles, worn out and faded around Alexei, began to sink. Alexei’s words were more of a declaration than a denial of his feelings.
Alexei tried to turn his back, while Asha blinked in embarrassment. Asha grabbed it in a hurry.
“Alyosha! Alyosha, what does that mean? What do you mean you shouldn’t be angry?”
“…literally. I can’t be angry. I wasn’t angry earlier. I didn’t mean to push you, but I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
Alexei’s voice was soft. It was a softness made by erasing and shaving many things.
“Why shouldn’t you be angry?”
“…”
Alexei looked a little tired of this conversation. After a moment of silence Alexei stood in the shadow of the corridor, distancing himself from his attendants. The morning sun went up untimely. The bright light made Alexei’s blonde hair glow pale.
“I have the Spirit of Fire King, the Fire Dragon Fafnir, and… We signed a contract, but it’s still unstable.”
Asha shut her mouth in a flash.
In the meantime, she had forgotten about the dark clouds that Alexei and Karnov would bring to her future. In order to control the unstable power of the only Emperor of the empire, the imperial family seeked someone with the power of stability. They searched through the empire and finally found a commoner girl with that power, and she was the main character of the original story.
“A sage should always have a mind like a clear mirror, like calm water. To me, it’s more than the quality of a sage… It is a matter of qualification.”
Asha recalled Alexei, whom she had observed so far. Alexei had no emotional ups and downs, where everything was like an infinitely calm sleep. Alexei always had a cool smile on his face.
Alexei was looking at her, casting her shadow over her eyes. He seemed to be contemplating whether to speak or not and he seemed to distrust her understanding as well. Then he smiled lightly and said.
“…Anastasia, in fact, I find it difficult to contain the power of Fafnir. Even now, I can’t control my power, so the heat is leaking around me. I don’t know what’s going to happen if my heart shakes there.”
Alexei apologized to her again and turned his back. Asha couldn’t bear to hold him. Only the servant, who chased Alexei without knowing what to do, and returned with an arrow from a distance, looked puzzled at the unknown situation.
<Tsk tsk, stupid people.>
She couldn’t take her eyes off Alexei’s distant back, but at the moment, the bird shape engraved on her button became more vivid.
Asha grabbed the button of her dress and curled up in the corner with a quick movement to make the sound of the wind.
“Is that true? Do you have to be like that? Does that make sense? Should he not cry, laugh, or get angry to control the power of Fafnir?”
A bird sprouted from its button and pouted.
<Of course it’s ridiculous. Didn’t I tell you before. The heat is leaking out because Fafnir is excited. By the time he’s about twenty, he’ll be able to control it naturally.>
Asha suddenly remembered Cyril’s words.
– When he becomes an adult, no one will be able to touch him even at night.
She didn’t think that meant this.
“Ha… But there was a real runaway case… ”
Asha covered her head. Alexei’s rampage really happened. That’s why they tried to find a person with the power of stability by shaking off every grain of sand in the empire.
After learning the reasons for Alexei’s cool eyes, cold laughter, and distancing playfulness, she felt very anxious for some reason.
“Is that all Fafnir’s excitement?”
<That’s right.>
“Then Alyosha will… What about that? Was he told he shouldn’t get angry? What good, what good is that?”
<If he becomes stronger, he will be able to use the spirit’s power better, but I don’t know if that will help. How can this great spirit know the heart of a loathsome human being who does something useless? I guess it’s just self-consolation.>
“Oh, this, this…”
She wanted to curse, but she didn’t say anything because she didn’t learn anything. Asha tore at her skirt and rolled her feet.
‘Does this make sense? You’ve been pushing people like this, and that’s all for nothing? Shall we ask to find someone with the power of stability right away? What was the name of the female lead?’
It was a story I had seen so long ago that even the name of the female protagonist was vague, so there was no way to find her.
“Why on earth does Fafnir not tell Alyosha about it?”
<Don’t you understand me? Stupid humans still don’t talk to their spirits, maybe because they’re truly incapable or not willing.>
“No, Fafnir can tell Alyosha first!”
<How will you present yourself to a person who can’t hear you and what will you say.>
“It must be because he can’t even do that! Who doesn’t want to talk to their spirits?”
<Every human being in the empire.>
