CHAPTER 147……………………………
Summer at Age Fifteen (4)
During my time as the High Saint, I could never fall in love.
I had to live as a single person, and if I got involved with someone in the temple…
“Do you think life would let that happen?”
That said, it’s not like I don’t understand what it feels like to like someone.
Loneliness is an emotion you can’t help but feel once you know it.
If I hadn’t known loneliness, I wouldn’t have spent the time after Ares left just waiting for the next season we could meet again.
I wouldn’t have been embarrassed every time I saw him change in front of me.
Before I knew it, Ares had dressed completely and returned to me.
“Shall we go, Your Highness?”
“Is it okay if I leave without saying goodbye to my friends?”
“We’ve seen each other enough this semester, hasn’t it gotten boring?”
Ares shrugged indifferently.
It was slightly irritating, but it suited him well.
“So that’s why so many girls were watching earlier, huh?”
But what’s his relationship with that girl who ran up to him?
If I hadn’t been carrying these strange feelings, I could’ve asked him comfortably.
But thinking I liked him made me nervous, and I couldn’t ask.
Above all… the truth is…
“Ares and I have a mental age gap of twenty years.”
Is it even okay for me to have these feelings?
“Royalty and nobles marry with big age gaps, but isn’t that… a crime?”
Even if it’s not technically a crime, isn’t it… kind of disgraceful?
Once, I took pride in saving lives as a High Saint.
“….”
Suddenly, a cold sweat broke out on me from self-loathing.
“And he still… likes me like that, doesn’t he?”
Long ago, in Halkion, Ares confessed to me.
But we were just kids back then.
“Who takes a kid’s words seriously?”
My thoughts spiraled further into chaos.
Just then, Ares leaned right in front of me.
“Shion. Your Highness?”
“Uh, yes?!”
“It looks like there’s an earthquake in your pupils.”
“…No! My eyes are perfectly fine!”
I grit my teeth and snapped, afraid he’d notice my flustered state.
“Let’s go quickly! You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”
“Yes, yes. Is it just you and the instructors, Your Highness?”
“No. Theia and Glauco are coming, and Kalion is following too.”
“Our accomplished Lord Icarus seems to be doing well.”
“If you fight again at dinner, I won’t forgive you.”
Ares smirked all the way to the main gate.
I retorted with my usual nagging, but my heart kept racing like it would burst out of my chest.
“My face keeps getting hot.”
Meanwhile, Ares…
showed no sign of being shaken by me.
If he were as flustered as I was, he wouldn’t dare press his face so close.
“…Hah.”
“What’s with that sigh?”
“Look ahead, Ismenios.”
“…? Why are you angry at me for no reason?”
It annoyed me that he played so easily with other girls, and it annoyed me that I was old enough to be fluttered by him.
The palace I hadn’t visited in a while still looked beautiful to Ares.
By now, the Persen Palace must be in full bloom with summer flowers, beautiful as ever.
But anywhere, as long as Shion was there, it would be the most beautiful place in the world.
Shion’s side was where he wanted to be forever.
Before heading to the dining hall for dinner with everyone,
“Ha… this is maddening…”
In the parlor, Ares finally let out the frustration he’d been holding in.
Thanks to mental preparation, he could pretend to stay composed.
But even that had its limits.
“…Did someone pour an entire jar of gold dust on her head?”
Ares muttered in resentment.
Shion looked crazily beautiful after not seeing her for a while.
It was so dazzling he almost thought he could see a halo.
She was already lovely enough—couldn’t she just stop there?
But his princess had no intention of stopping.
Her attitude, as if she had decided to be adorable with every breath, was infuriating.
“We even installed video stones in Orpheum.”
Thanks to that, everyone could see Shion.
Every time, students and professors alike were enchanted by her.
“Of course they would be.”
Still, it was infuriating.
So, just to see her in person even for a day, and to stop being apart from her, he had endured with gritted teeth.
“No more hiding in Orpheum.”
Graduation? That would be a waste of time.
Yet, Shion looked a little hesitant when he finally met her.
Almost as if she found him awkward.
Reflecting on it, Ares felt unjustly frustrated.
“Why did I have to go through all that trouble…”
“What’s this? You’re back?”
“…!”
At that moment, a familiar voice reached his ears.
He hated to admit it, but it was his non-blood-related “brother.”
Kalion, dressed in casual clothes, approached.
It seemed he never wore the pocket watch Ares had given him.
Still, Ares smiled casually.
“Good to see you, Lord Icarus.”
“Of course. You’ve been very busy lately, haven’t you, Prince?”
“Are you only asking about Lord Icarus?”
“Well…”
“But those shoes Shion’s wearing, did you buy them too?”
Ares recalled Shion’s outfit earlier.
The casual clothes looked familiar, but the shoes and accessories always stood out.
Kalion sneered coldly.
“Still so perceptive?”
“Isn’t it something Shion would pick?”
“And what do you know, having never let her wear shoes?”
“…Haha.”
“Hahaha.”
They laughed at each other maliciously.
Yet secretly, Ares wondered.
“Where does she get the money?”
Not that he looked down on Kalion, but it left a strange unease.
Just then, Shion came down smiling brightly.
“Kalion’s here too! You must’ve worked hard!”
“Nonsense. It was only natural to come.”
“It would’ve been easier if we left together.”
Ares pouted.
“He still takes care of Kalion so well.”
So cold to him, who had just returned after a long time.
Then Shion looked up at him and murmured softly.
“Ares, you… you come too.”
“Ah, yes.”
As soon as he answered, Shion turned her head sharply.
Before turning, both her cheeks and earlobes were slightly flushed.
“…Could she be shy right now?”
His instincts whispered excitedly.
Could it be because Shion was aware of him?
But Ares shook his head quietly.
“No, don’t expect too much.”
He couldn’t let himself fantasize just because he wanted to see that side of her.
Yet seeing Kalion cling to Shion again made his stomach twist.
“Shion, are the shoes you bought last time comfortable?”
“Yes! They’re pretty and comfy.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
A vein almost popped in Ares’s temple.
“Ah, that blue-eyed prince brat.”
While he was away, how close had Shion and the prince been?
Now it was hard to hold back, and fear began to rise.
Kalion had a title and was older than him.
“I can’t wait until next year.”
Ares clenched his fist secretly.
“I’ll properly confess to Shion.”
Not whining like in Halkion, but showing a mature side.
Even when leaving for Orpheum, he hadn’t shown how much he hated it.
“From then on, I should show Shion my grown-up side.”
That way, his second confession would work.
“Perfect timing with this year’s coming-of-age ceremony.”
Thinking of the gift he’d give during his confession, Ares steeled himself.
Yes, this summer was his chance.
A few days after the princess departed,
Erebos’s group also left the capital Kore.
But this time, Phobos, Erebos’s aide, didn’t come along.
It had become increasingly hard for him to “pretend everything’s fine.”
“Cough, ah…”
Phobos covered his throat while coughing.
Once, he thought, “A little loss of life is no big deal.”
But the scars left by the 14th High Saint brought more pain as time passed.
Soon, he might have to leave the capital and recuperate in the Northern Duchy.
“Ha… our youngest better do well.”
Phobos thought of Ares in the south.
This year, Ares would have his coming-of-age ceremony, and based on his skills, he would compete for the position of “Captain of the Kore Knights.”
“Then even if he inherits the lordship, there won’t be any problems…”
And if Ares’s future changed, so would Princess Elysion’s.
From this year onward, the lives of many people would begin to change.
