Chapter 26
. The Old Wind (1)
The door to the office burst open, and Utter rushed in.
Iago, buried under a mountain of paperwork ever since returning to the palace, looked up in surprise.
Utter hadn’t even knocked—completely unlike him.
“Utter? What brings you—”
“I found it!!”
Utter, eyes sparkling with excitement, blurted out without preamble.
Why is he so worked up again? I have a bad feeling about this…
“Is this about that ‘Make the Priestess Cry’ thing again?”
Iago looked at him nervously, wondering what ridiculous idea it would be this time.
“I’ve told you before, I’m giving up on that plan.”
Utter, seeing the distrust written all over Iago’s face, spoke urgently.
“Y-Yes, all our previous plans failed—but this time, I’m certain it will work!”
“And what is it this time?” Iago asked idly, flipping a sheet of paper.
“The priestess isn’t someone who’ll cry over something so trivial. You know that by now.”
It’s not that she refuses to cry… she simply can’t.
Iago froze with the royal seal in hand.
Once again, Ilena’s face—on the verge of shattering at any moment—floated into his mind.
That pitiful sight of her, unable to shed even a single tear, no matter how much she seemed about to break apart.
I wanted to hold her tight.
And in fact, he had.
For the first time in his life, he had held a woman’s body—and it was the complete opposite of his own.
Surprisingly small, soft to the point it felt as if there wasn’t a single muscle.
Her white skin was so smooth, too… No, no, what on earth am I thinking?
While Iago fell silent, Utter clenched his fists and suddenly shouted,
“Romance! Love! Marriage!”
Thud!
The royal seal slipped from Iago’s hand and hit the floor with a heavy sound.
He thought his heart had made the same noise, falling straight down.
“Utter! What… what on earth are you saying all of a sudden?!”
Here, in this solemn space where they dealt with state affairs every day!
Iago could feel his heart pounding, his face heating until it was bright red.
He cupped his flushed cheeks in his large hands.
With all the government work and having to play the role of the Black King, he had never once shown anyone his true feelings.
So naturally, he had never been in a romantic relationship.
Utter was no different—just as clueless about love.
And the reason those words had left Utter’s mouth was none other than André.
“Ah, André!”
It was a quiet afternoon; Ilena, having eaten a generous portion of warm milk porridge, had fallen into a deep sleep from exhaustion.
“Yes, Lord Utter. What brings you all the way to the detached palace again?”
André, usually warm and friendly, greeted him with a rare frosty tone.
Clearly, he was still angry about the incident where the priestess had been abandoned in the desert.
But Utter had no time to worry about that right now.
With a desperate expression, he began,
“Earlier… did you… say something about ‘love’?”
“I did.”
André replied curtly, turning his back on him.
Utter quickly grabbed André’s thick forearm before he could leave.
“D-Don’t go! I… I want to consult you about something.”
“Consult…?”
Too kind-hearted to outright refuse, André reluctantly asked,
“A love consultation? From you, Lord Utter?”
That can’t be right…
André looked down at the thin, pale man before him. His finely tuned “gaydar,” which had a 100% accuracy rate so far, told him Utter had no romantic interest in anyone at the moment.
And sure enough—
Utter, worried André might bolt, clung to his sleeve and pleaded,
“No, it’s about His Majesty the Black King.”
“Ah…”
André’s gaze sharpened, his displeasure obvious.
“So this is because I mentioned that the two of you were acting awkward around each other? Lord Utter, why are you always so mean to the priestess?”
Hands on his hips, André declared firmly,
“Even if you don’t like her, you have no right to stop a young man and woman from falling in love!”
“No, not at all! It’s the complete opposite, André!”
Utter waved his hands frantically.
“What?”
“I want to help them get together! To make them fall in love!”
“Oh my.”
André let out a lilting exclamation, his anger dissolving in an instant.
Of course, he wasn’t the type to stay angry for long.
“Well, isn’t that admirable of you, Lord Utter?”
His eyes sparkled with curiosity, but Utter averted his gaze awkwardly.
André clearly liked the priestess—being the kind man he was, he had probably grown fond of the lone foreign woman living here.
If he knew this was part of the ‘Make the Priestess Cry’ plan, he’d never help.
Utter shifted his eyes guiltily and said,
“Well, after what happened today, she suffered in the desert because of me. Even if she demanded I be punished, I doubt she’d actually punish me. So… I… want to make amends.”
“My, how thoughtful of you.”
André’s gentle smile made Utter’s chest ache sharply, as if someone had scattered thumbtacks in his heart.
Ever since deciding on the “Make the Priestess Cry” plan, he had felt like this almost daily.
At this rate, I’ll die before I ever make her cry.
Still, if it was for the sake of saving the Kingdom of Lihu from desertification, he would do anything—even if it killed him.
With renewed determination, Utter pleaded,
“So please, André, help me! I… uh…”
He trailed off, hesitating. Somehow, admitting he had never been in a relationship felt too humiliating in front of André.
He’d never been ashamed of it before.
“You’re not used to this sort of thing, are you?”
André tactfully phrased “love idiot” in kinder terms, and Utter mumbled,
“Y-Yes… that’s right.”
“Well, in that case, don’t you worry!”
Hands back on his hips, André declared grandly,
“Romance! Love! Marriage!”
He chuckled and boasted,
“In that field, I’m an expert!”
“Well… that’s reassuring.”
“I’ll help! Within three months, I’ll have the two of them unable to keep their hands off each other without causing trouble!”
Causing trouble?
He had only planned to make them fall in love, not go that far.
Still… better to pretend to agree so André will cooperate.
Utter reluctantly nodded.
“Y-Yeah… alright, I’ll come back tomorrow. Let’s work out the details then.”
Goal achieved, Utter turned to leave.
“Oh, by the way.”
Halfway to the door, he spun back around.
“Yes?”
“…How did you know I’ve never dated anyone before?”
Heh. Just… a man’s intuition, André had said, brushing it off.
No, no. This isn’t the time to think about that.
Shaking his head hard, Utter turned back to Iago and shouted,
“There’s a method to make a woman cry that’s the easiest in the world! We’ve been going about this the wrong way.”
“And what’s that?”
“Make her fall in love.”
Utter’s voice was loaded with meaning.
“What? How is that supposed to make a woman cry?”
Iago stared at him, completely baffled. Then, with utter seriousness, he said,
“Utter, I have no intention of making a woman I love cry. I want to make her smile, and when the world is too hard, I want her to feel that life is still worth living because of me.”
“Your Majesty, that’s just a romantic fantasy. Fiction and reality are very different.”
Utter shook his head knowingly, only for Iago to shoot back,
“How would you know? You’ve never dated either!”
“Well… ahem.” Utter coughed into his fist.
“And I can’t do that. I’m not confident.”
Iago’s expression dimmed as he thought of Ilena. Unlike other women, who blushed at the sight of him, she always seemed indifferent—sometimes even sleepy.
Does Ilena find being with me boring?
“No confidence? Good heavens, how can you say that!”
Utter, fired up, exclaimed,
“With that decadent face! That dangerously lethal body!”
Like an overly proud parent, he went on,
“That’s why I came up with this plan! Anyone who feels nothing after seeing you must be either impotent or completely asexual!”
“Who said that?”
Utter promptly shut his mouth at Iago’s suspicious look.
“Anyway—don’t tell either His Majesty or Lady Ilena that I’m involved, alright?”
This was partly because André had insisted it be kept secret.
“In any case!” Utter folded his arms and declared,
“Even in novels, love isn’t all sweetness and roses.”
“What? So what, you want me to make her fall in love and then dump her?”
“Not necessarily something that cruel…” Utter’s voice trailed off, looking glum.
Who in the world would seduce someone first, then throw them away?
Neither of them could imagine such a villain existing.
“Well, anyway, people in love become more sentimental. If the two of you date, then fight or something, won’t the priestess cry?”
“D-Date?!”
Iago flushed all the way to the back of his neck.
D-Date? Me and Ilena?
That pale face, that soft hair… those eyes, like lemons or honey, gazing up at him while nestled in his arms.
Wait, we’ve already hugged, haven’t we?
It had been to prevent her from freezing to death, but still—
That minor detail was already erased from Iago’s mind.
If we’ve hugged… doesn’t that mean marriage should be next?
