Baekhan couldn't stay alone because of his condition. In addition, he was oddly wary of adults. That was probably why he was avoiding Collin.

But he acted strangely uncomfortable with me, so we naturally spent more time together with Blake.

"Blake, what's this?"

"A cravat"

"...Cravat."

Baekhan touched his cravat.

He was able to understand and spear the Imperial language at a tremendous speed. But then again, he was different from ordinary people.

"You're good at the Imperial language now, Baekhan."

Baekhan stared at me when I spoke to him. He wanted to be called 'the High Priest'. However, he was currently staying in the Royal Palace as Eunhan's younger brother, so he could not be addressed as 'the High Priest' or 'the Prince'.

Other people called him 'Sir Baekhan', but he didn't seem to like the title.

"I am the vessel of the White Dragon."

"I know. And I'm just a normal person."

"Hmm, so?"

Blake rubbed his chin and looked at Baekhan.

"How old are you anyway?"

Baekhan answered Blake's question dryly.

"I am the vessel of the White Dragon. Age doesn't mean anything to me."

"You're a man, aren't you?"

"That's meaningless."

Baekhan had many secrets and did not reveal his gender or his age.

Eunhan said he had already become a vessel for the White Dragon, so those things were no longer important.

"How long have you been blind, Baekhan?"

"I'm not blind, I just use my other senses more. I know where my brother is now."

Baekhan smiled happily. He was practically Eunhan's stalker.

"Then, do you know where the people are?"

"Why should I use this body to do such useless things? I'm not interested in other humans."

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, the target of his stalking seemed to be limited to Eunhan.

"My brother and I are connected. So don't bother me."

"When did I bother you?"

He sometimes said vague things. It was the same when we first met.

Baekhan said in the Chang language before turning his head away. It was like that every time. He acted as if he was going to tell me something, but then he'd shut up without explaining it any further.

He was wary of my relationship with Eunhan, but he still urged me to persuade him quickly.

"Baekhan, what did you just say?"

Baekhan smiled calmly, as Blake wondered what we were talking about.

"I said you are very cute."

"I'm not cute anymore."

"Haha, you're very cute."

Baekhan snorted with laughter. Still, it was fortunate that he seemed to like Blake.

Baekhan suddenly stopped laughing. He got out of his seat and ran outside. No matter how familiar he was with this place, it was dangerous to run like that when he couldn't see anything.

Blake and I hurried after him.

There was only one person who could bring out such a childlike smile like that from Baekhan.

Baekhan ran to Eunhan with a welcoming smile, but Eunhan did not even spare a glance for his half-brother as he courteously walked toward us.

"Your Highness."

"Brother, I studied hard about the Imperial language today, and I tried on Asteric clothes too. This is called a 'cravat'."

Eunhan had ignored Baekhan for quite a few days now, so Baekhan quickly poured out all his words. I could feel a sense of urgency from Baekhan as he spoke, but Eunhan reacted coldly.

"You're noisy. I'm here to greet the royal family. What kind of discourtesy is this?"

".....I'm sorry."

"Eunhan, you don't have to say that."

"That's just too much. Do you know how long Baekhan waited for you?"

"It must've bothered both of you. I'm sorry. I'll send him back as soon as possible."

"You can't say that!"

When Blake got angry, Baekhan hurriedly stopped him.

"Blake, don't be angry. It's my fault. Brother, I'm sorry. It's my fault."

Eunhan asked Blake in his usual polite manner, ignoring Baekhan's apology.

"Your Highness, how are you?"

"Good."

"Thank God."

Eunhan bowed his head and went back to his room. Until the end, he didn't say even a word of kindness to Baekhan.

Baekhan shook his head. He looked so sad but I couldn't even say any words of consolation.

***

Blake was in bed, but he couldn't calm down.

"So mean! How could he do that? I didn't know he was so cold-hearted!"

"I'm sure Eunhan has his reasons too."

"No matter what happened in the past, it's not Baekhan's fault! Eunhan doesn't know how much Baekhan likes him! He learned the Imperial language and tried on the clothes of our country all because of him."

I had never seen Blake become so angry for anyone. He had always been very calm and good-tempered, and had little interest in others except for me.

It was fortunate that his heart had opened up to someone else. He was growing up.

I stroked his silver hair.

"Are you upset?"

"Baekhan had been waiting all day. How could he react like that! If Ancia did that, I would be incredibly sad."

Tears welled up in Blake's eyes.

"Blake, why are you crying all of a sudden?"

I held his cheeks.

"I imagined Ancia ignoring me, and it made me sad."

...ah, he was still a kid.

"Why would I do that?"

"Ancia can't do that, okay?"

"I won't ignore you."

"Yes, though I still feel sad."

Tears dripped down from his eyes.

"Why is my rabbit sad again?"

"I just thought of Ancia being mad at me, so I keep feeling sad."

I smiled and hugged him tightly.

"My Blake is so cool and cute."

I kept praising Blake as if I was singing a lullaby.

When Blake fell asleep, I held his hands. He had a low body temperature where the place where the sentences of the curse were engraved.

I suddenly heard a knock.

Who was here at this hour?

"It's me. May I come in?"

It was Baekhan.

"Come in."

"Excuse me. Aah!"

Baekhan suddenly screamed when he came inside.

"Shh!"

I put my index finger to my lips. Blake had barely fallen asleep and he was going to wake him up again.

Baekhan covered his mouth. After that, however, he continued to mutter in the language of Chang.

I didn't know exactly how old Baekhan was, but he was younger than Eunhan.

"What are you thinking of? I'm massaging him."

"The temperature of his body where the curse spread is low. That's why I'm massaging him to warm him up a little bit."

Blake's left hand was cold and numb, so he'd often drop dishes, and sometimes let go of the sword during training.

I didn't see much of it, but I had heard many stories of Blake falling since he was a kid.

"Blake is blessed. He has a good wife."

"It's the least I can do."

"There's nothing more precious than a sincere heart."

"Thank you for your kind words."

"You remind me of the old days. Only Eunhan cared about me back then."

Baekhan smiled gently.

"Excuse me, Baekhan, about what happened today...."

"He's worried about me. He's trying hard to send me back to Chang. He's usually really nice to me."

He said the words I had prepared to console him with first. He was here to say it.

"I know. Eunhan is a good person."

"That's right. He's a great man."

Baekhan went closer to the bed and looked at Blake. It seemed as if he was clearly responding to him even though his eyes were closed.

What did he see?

Baekhan pressed down on the center of Blake's forehead with his hand, and traced along the sentences of the curse.

"There is a layer."

"A layer?"

"The white layer of light is preventing the curse from spreading."