Sien sighed, looking dead as he slumped on the arm of the couch. Ritt, who was still standing, looked down at him pitifully, and reached out to calmingly stroke his back, like he’d seen others do before. However, just before Ritt’s hand made contact, Sien flinched and moved slightly away. Ritt quickly retracted his hand, this not having been the first or even the fifth time that Sien had flinched away from his touch. Still, he could feel a small pain in his heart every time it happened.

 

Sien looked up at Ritt apologetically for a moment and then sighed again, dropping his gaze down onto the floor.

 

“That old man must still hate me. Sorry if all this has been annoying to you, Ritt.”

 

Ritt pulled a chagrined look for a moment, and then joined Sien on the couch. Duke Freylan had arrived early in the morning, just a few hours ago. The elderly noble had looked disapproving from the very moment he was revealed in the doorway of the carriage. It was a bit hard to tell amongst his bushy white beard and wrinkle covered face, but it could be seen that he’d been frowning in every instance that Ritt had met him.

 

The Duke had given Ritt, who had gone out to greet him with Sien, a very obvious once over, scanning him judgingly with his eyes, before turning to look back at Sien.

 

“Capricious as always. I see that your father’s blood still runs strongly in you.”

 

That was the first thing he’d said to Sien. From his tone, the words were clearly spoken with disdain. Sien looked like he was used to hearing such things from him, although Ritt could still see the corner of Sien’s smile twitching a bit in annoyance.

 

“...It’s good to see you again too, uncle.”

 

The Duke just huffed in reply, staring at Sien for a while longer before slowly striding into the fortress with the help of his cane. Sien rolled his eyes and grabbed onto Ritt’s hand, leading him after the old man. Ritt was quietly surprised by the action; So far Sien had only been grabbing a fistful of his shirt or sleeve every time he’d pulled Ritt along, so this hand holding was an entirely new development. Considering Sien’s furrowed brow that he’d seen, and the way that Sien was squeezing his hand, perhaps Sien had done it as a way to calm himself down through skinship. Ritt couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased with himself if that were truly the case. He’d be quite happy if he and Sien had really managed to become friends, like he’d been hoping was the case.

 

The Duke made his way to the meeting room familiarly, as if he’d done so dozens of times, and sat down. Before Sien and Ritt had even been able to sit across from him, a maid had already shown up to serve the Duke tea, as if she’d been prepared and waiting. Ritt noted the action, thinking back to the times when Sien had said that the servants couldn’t be trusted. Could it be that they all secretly served the Duke?

 

After taking a long sip of his tea, the Duke slightly lowered the cup and peered over at Sien.

 

“Alright. Explain where you plucked this man from.”

 

“I didn’t ‘pluck’ him from anywhere. Ritt came to my forest on his own two feet!”

 

The Duke’s eyes squinted for a moment in judgment and doubt, but he soon looked down into his lowered cup instead, with a sneer.

 

“Yes, that’s what they always say.”

 

Ritt frowned, wondering if he should say something. It was a personal talk between family members, something that he’d never really been a part of before, and he didn’t know if he was allowed to cut in and speak his case. However, the topic was about him, so he wondered if he was allowed to interject. After all, what Sien said had indeed been true; Ritt really had come here of his own free will, even if this wasn’t exactly his plan.

 

Ritt glanced over towards Sien to see if he could maybe catch any hints from Sien’s face, but the glowering expression that mismatchedly painted Sien’s youthful visage quickly made him consider otherwise.

 

“Yeah, of course you’d think that, you stubborn old thing. Are you too senile to accept that someone would actually choose to be with me?”

 

“Hmmm, well…”

 

The Duke’s sharp gaze passed over Ritt’s statue-stiff form, and a small mocking smirk appeared on his face.

 

“...That still remains to be seen.”

 

And that was the last of the conversation before Sien angrily stood up and marched off like a rebellious teenager. Ritt looked helplessly towards the doorway for a moment, then stood up and offered the Duke a courtesy bow before leaving to follow after him. Those were the course of events that happened before they wound up together, with Sien sulking on the couch, muttering that the Duke must hate him.

 

Ritt awkwardly sat down next to Sien, keeping his hands firmly placed on his lap so he wouldn’t be tempted to re-make the same mistake he’d just made, and quietly asked the question he’d been wondering.

 

“...Do you know why he behaves like that towards you?”

 

He could see Sien’s shoulders twitch a bit, and for a moment things got very quiet, but then his lowered voice slowly drawled out an answer, as if he were bored with the topic.

 

“He hates that my mother gave birth to me.”

 

Ritt immediately realized how big of a landmine he’d stepped on. He wanted to fix things somehow, or take his question back and not hurt his friend, but with his limited social knowledge, it was impossible for him to come up with the right words to say. If only he hadn’t asked such an insensitive question in the first place, when he knew he couldn’t possibly be of help.

 

The panic was clear on Ritt’s face, and for some reason that helped heal Sien’s mood a small bit. A tiny tingle of sadism raced through Sien, and he had to hide the teasing smile that was beginning to grow on his face. He always loathed to speak about this boring topic, but for some reason he felt eager to see Ritt growing more and more awkward at the new information.

 

“It’s no surprise he’d hate me; My mother was a noble and well-loved Crown Princess who got ‘snatched away’ by a Fae and had to hide away in disgrace while giving birth to a bastard. Of course he’d hate the little monster who ruined his beloved sister’s life.”

 

And what’s more, his uncle had even ‘volunteered’ to be the envoy between their country and the neighboring Fae afterwards. Sien had heard many tales of the discord between the two sides at the border. And of course there was no way his Fae-hating uncle wouldn’t have also been aware of all the people who had been ‘taken away’ over the years. It was no wonder he was so sensitive to such things.

 

Sien had never expected to do the same thing as the other Fae after seeing how it had ruined his mother’s life, and yet here he was, repeating such actions with Ritt. At least his troubled conscience could be eased by the fact that Ritt wasn’t quite human, although there’s no way he would ever admit such a fact to his uncle. There was a chance that even if the Duke did find out, that he would still sneer and despise him for it all the same, anyways, so what was the point?

 

Ritt had still been quietly panicking as he learned more about Sien’s awkward past, but when he heard Sien refer to himself as a ‘monster’, he quickly settled down with a serious expression. He wasn’t sure why, since he’d called Sien a monster dozens of times in his own head, but for some reason hearing it said out loud felt completely wrong. Sien had been far too kind to him for Ritt to allow such things.

 

Resisting the urge to reach out and touch him, Ritt instead did his best to lock eyes with Sien as he spoke.

 

“No. You’re not a monster, and the circumstances of your birth were not your doing.”

 

Sien had simply been born into the situation, and had done nothing to deserve the blame for it. If anyone were going to be called a monster, then Ritt felt that he himself was much more worthy of the name, considering all the years he’d obediently sat still and allowed himself to be made into such an unnatural existence.

 

The unexpected answer made Sien freeze for a moment. Ritt was the first person besides his mother who had ever told him that he wasn’t a monster and that none of this was his fault. There wasn’t even a hint of a single lie in it either, the heavy words seeming completely translucent in their sincerity. He’d thought that teasing Ritt would have been the key to feeling better, but somehow, this firm, heartfelt consolation that just so perfectly matched Ritt was just… It was as if it healed Sien’s heart, if only a little.

 

A soft and happy smile, unlike the cheeky, childish one that Sien usually wore, blossomed on his face as he reached out to lace his hand with one of Ritt’s own. He was sure now that no matter how his uncle protested, there was no way that he could give up on Ritt. This monster would be his to keep, safe by his side in the confines of this fortress, for as long as he possibly could.

 

Ritt, thinking that he’d managed to successfully console his new friend, also smiled a soft smile in accomplishment, sending Sien’s calmed and resolved heart beating frantically at the sight. A small blush began to grow on Sien’s face unbidden. His frazzled mind quickly grew upset at the fact that Ritt was able to so calmly sit there holding his hand, oblivious to how afflicted he, on the other side of it, was becoming. And so, with his mean and teasing nature swelling forward, he decided to rectify the situation.

 

With Ritt’s hand still laced and held captive, Sien pulled it towards him and planted a deep kiss on the back of it, locking eyes with Ritt all the while. He felt a deep triumph as Ritt’s face turned completely confused, with Ritt’s mouth opening and flapping like an embarrassed fish as he struggled dumbly to get his words out. Yes... Although he’d grown a deep fondness for the resolute and sincere face that Ritt sometimes showed him, perhaps he preferred Ritt in this flustered and teasable state more.

 

Once more, Sien decided it would be alright to get a bit closer to Ritt.