Chapter 56: Midnight in the Kitchen

As they descended the stairs, Fria could only hope they were headed for the garden. Instead of turning that way, Owen walked past the landing and stopped in front of the bedroom door. With the same hand that had been supporting Fria’s thigh, he pushed it open.

Inside, the portraits had been cleared away, and the chief steward was asleep by himself.

“Your Majesty, please put me down… Your Majesty?”

So this had been the destination? Relieved for a moment by the familiar surroundings, Fria looked at Owen in confusion when the emperor kept walking.

“If you want to wake him, keep talking.”

Fria had no desire for the chief steward to see him riding on the emperor’s back. He immediately fell silent, though his unease only grew.

‘Are we going outside? What on earth is he planning?’

“Your Majesty! What brings you here? And the person you’re carrying…?”

The guard stationed outside the bedchamber hurried over in surprise. At the sight of the emperor carrying someone piggyback, he could only stare and stammer.

“It’s my consort. There’s no need to be alarmed. Just open the door.”

“Pardon?”

‘His consort? The very one who had been taken into the bedchamber a week ago? No one’s seen him since then… Surely not for an entire week? He can’t even walk?’

“Open the door.”

Seeing the attendant frozen with a flushed face and an imagination running wild, Owen repeated himself.

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!”

The servant finally snapped out of it and rushed to comply. Glancing sideways at the consort resting limply against the emperor’s back, he asked hesitantly,

“Should I summon the royal physician?”

“He already came earlier today. Don’t make a fuss.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

‘Already? Just what happened to leave someone in that condition?’

The attendant watched in stunned disbelief as the emperor disappeared down the corridor with Fria on his back. The other servants standing watch throughout the halls and stairways were equally shaken by the sight.

Before long, rumors spread throughout the palace: the male consort who had been taken into the imperial bedchamber had later been carried out unconscious on the emperor’s back, and even the royal physician had been called after he lost all his strength.

Palace staff gathered in whispers to marvel at the emperor’s astonishing stamina. It was even said that Byron, upon hearing the gossip, had sprayed tea across the face of a lady visiting his residence.

****

To be carried around on someone else’s back like this while perfectly conscious…

Fria was too embarrassed to lift his head.

No one could see his face as he hid it against Owen’s back, but he could feel the reactions of every palace servant they passed. Had he been in their place, he would have been just as astonished.

He could imagine exactly what they were thinking. In reality, he was merely being dragged along by an overbearing emperor. Yet public opinion would surely become, The emperor dotes on his male consort so much that he carries him around himself.

Rocking gently with each step, Fria sighed.

‘Where are we even going?’

There was no point asking. Owen would not answer anyway. Unlike the emperor, who regarded the entire palace as his own home, every corner of it remained unfamiliar territory to Fria.

Whenever they encountered someone, he instinctively buried his face even deeper into Owen’s back to avoid being recognized.

Each time he did, he could feel Owen’s body trembling slightly.

The emperor was silently laughing.

“Your Majesty!”

The night watchman posted outside the kitchens sprang to his feet. Motioning for the startled man to step aside, Owen walked into the darkened room.

He approached one of the long preparation tables and carefully lowered Fria to sit upon it.

Feeling himself touch the surface, Fria opened his eyes and looked around. The ceiling soared overhead like that of a cavern, with broad archways opening into darkness on every side. Owen found an unlit candlestick and borrowed flame from one of the great ovens.

A delicious aroma drifted through the air.

A huge pot simmered over the fire, filling the room with the rich scent of stew. As more candles were lit, shelves lined with pots, pans, ladles, and countless cooking utensils gradually emerged from the shadows.

“This is…”

“The kitchen.”

Finding a deep bowl, Owen ladled steaming stew into it. One of the great ovens, kept burning around the clock, already held tomorrow morning’s meal.

Fria accepted the bowl. The broth, simmered for hours with meat and bones, was wonderfully rich. After the first sip, he quickly took another and another.

Watching him eat with renewed appetite, Owen allowed himself the faintest smile before serving himself.

A little later, Owen disappeared into the connected storeroom and returned carrying two wheels of cheese, several sausages, and a basket covered with cloth, filled with white bread and rye loaves.

“How do you know your way around here so well?”

He retrieved everything without hesitation, as though he had done this many times.

“When Arthur was alive, we came here often.”

Growing boys were always hungry. Though servants could have fetched anything they wanted, Arthur would regularly persuade Owen to sneak into the kitchens late at night.

They had once believed themselves clever enough to avoid detection, only to learn later that the chief steward had secretly ordered the kitchens cleared for their sake.

“You mean Your Majesty’s elder brother?”

“If Arthur had lived, you probably would have become his consort instead. He cared only for Lindgart, so you would likely have spent all your time inside the Swallow Palace.”

“So no matter who became emperor, I’d still end up a consort?”

Annoyed, Fria tore off a piece of bread.

“Isn’t it possible I wouldn’t become one at all?”

“I assume you’re not suggesting you’d become empress. Then would you rather have been another prince’s favorite?”

“What? Why would I become anyone’s favorite?”

‘Quite ambitious,’ Owen thought.

Sometimes he dreamed of a future where Arthur had survived: a young imperial couple on the throne, while he himself remained merely a supportive prince, free to travel wherever he pleased and spared the crushing burdens of ruling the Empire.

Oddly enough, he had never imagined what sort of family he himself might have had in that future.

‘I’m not even interested in men,’ Fria almost protested before remembering a similar conversation they had once shared and deciding against it.

The ovens in the kitchen dwarfed the fireplace in the attic room, flames quietly burning along every wall.

‘Surely he isn’t going to make me strip in front of one of these too…’

Even as he dismissed the thought, Fria eyed the blazing hearths with visible unease.

****

Once he had eaten, strength returned to his legs, and he no longer needed to be carried back. In fact, by the time they reached the attic room, it felt more comfortable than being anywhere else in the palace.

As Fria lay down and instinctively shifted to create his usual distance, Owen caught his shoulder and pulled him close.

“Your Majesty! Tonight really is too much…”

Fearing the worst, Fria tensed immediately.

“The physician’s orders,” Owen replied expressionlessly. “He said you should be kept warm.”

With that, he simply drew Fria into his embrace and closed his eyes.

“Your Majesty, you really don’t have to…”

‘It’s too hot.’

Fan in hand, Fria tried in vain to cool his flushed cheeks while glaring resentfully at the now-sleeping emperor. Having already slept through much of the afternoon, he found himself completely unable to fall asleep again.

Listening to Fria’s quiet sighs dissolve into the darkness, Owen smiled faintly in his sleep.

****

Lately the emperor’s behavior had been strange, and so had the chief steward’s habit of glancing at Fria with a knowing smile while humming to himself.

After tea, as the steward cleared away the cups, Fria finally spoke.

“Chief Steward.”

“Yes, Lord Fria. Is there something you require?”

“There’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Please ask anything. If I know the answer, I’ll gladly tell you.”

“A few days ago, when I fell asleep here… after looking at His Majesty’s portraits.”

“Yes. You weren’t feeling well then, and His Majesty was very worried. It’s a relief that you recovered.”

“I heard the royal physician came.”

“He did indeed. Shall I summon him again?”

Before calling for the physician, Fria wanted clarification.

“I was told you discussed my illness.”

“Please don’t worry, Lord Fria. His Majesty will surely understand your feelings before long. You’ve suffered greatly in silence, haven’t you?”

‘Why are you looking at me with such pity?’

“I’ve had difficulties, yes, but they’re mine to bear. I never intended to trouble His Majesty.”

“How kind-hearted you are. Your temperament is so much like His Majesty’s. Clearly the two of you are meant for each other.”

‘Again with the emperor…’

Every conversation somehow circled back to him. Fria sighed.

“Oh dear, Lord Fria, another sigh? You mustn’t be impatient. If you ask me, you’ve already won him over halfway.”

“…What exactly has been won over?”

Determined to end this increasingly bewildering exchange, Fria asked directly.

“Haven’t you had trouble sleeping? Haven’t you spent hours lost in thought, with little appetite? And whenever you see His Majesty, doesn’t your chest feel tight?”

‘It feels tight because talking to him is impossible.’

“…Yes.”

“And sometimes your heart aches, doesn’t it?”

“…It does.”

Though that had nothing to do with the emperor.

“And there are moments when sadness overtakes you and everything feels empty.”

‘That tends to happen when you know your time is limited.’

“You’re not the only one,” the chief steward continued warmly. “I’m the one who filters all the letters sent to His Majesty before anyone else sees them. Even today there were letters from young ladies hopelessly in love with him. One of them is due to be married next month. What a predicament!”

“What?”

“I understand their feelings completely. Truly, I do. How could anyone help falling for him? He’s so remarkable.”

“…Who exactly has fallen for whom?”

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