It appeared Theo hadn't noticed that Damien had been pretending to sleep. He mentally patted himself on the back for managing to keep up the act despite being under Theo's gaze the whole time.
"Mmm… good morning," Damien muttered, feigning just waking up.
"Yes, good morning. We're here. Can you get up?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Damien replied. He grabbed onto Theo's outstretched hand as he helped him get up.
His hand is surprisingly soft, Damien thought.
"Watch your step," Theo said, guiding him out of the carriage with the grace of a gentleman straight out of a film.
Once outside, Damien couldn't help but let out a gasp.
"Whoa…"
A massive mansion stood before him. It was so large that even when he looked to either side, he couldn't see the end of it. The carriage had stopped so close to the front doors that it was hard to take in the full scale of the building, but it was undoubtedly enormous. It might even be as big as his school.
"Is something the matter?" Theo asked, noticing Damien's surprise.
"Oh, no… Sorry, I'm just… amazed by how large it is," Damien replied, still staring up at the mansion.
"The mansion? Well, it was our family's main residence before my father was granted a new estate by His Majesty, so it's a decent size," Theo said with a casual shrug.
"Decent," Damien thought to himself, glancing again at the sprawling mansion. That was putting it mildly.
Damien couldn't quite process what was happening.
As he stood there and stared blankly at the mansion, Theo suddenly scooped him up into a princess hug. Even though Theo appeared slender despite being much taller than Damien, he lifted him effortlessly before Damien had a chance to resist.
This was the second time in his life someone had carried him like this.
"Th-Theo, please! I'm fine, I can walk by myself!" Damien stammered in embarrassment.
"Don't strain yourself. We'll be in your room soon, so relax," Theo replied calmly, ignoring Damien's protests.
Mortified, Damien kept asking to be put down, but Theo paid no attention to his requests. Unable to struggle, Damien had no choice but to let Theo do as he pleased, just like he had with Cedran before. However, unlike with Cedran, this time Damien felt more like he'd been captured.
As they approached a large, ornate door, a servant standing there opened it for them. Theo, still carrying Damien in his arms, stepped into the mansion.
"Whoa…" Damien let out an involuntary noise.
They had entered a grand hall with a large staircase leading to the second floor at the far end. On either side of the hall, rows of what appeared to be servants were lined up, their heads deeply bowed. They stood motionless, like statues. There must have been at least twenty or thirty of them, creating a strange sense of intimidation.
Most of the servants had the same horse-like ears on their heads as Theo, though not all of them. Theo, unfazed by the sight, walked straight through the line of servants, still holding Damien as if it were the most natural thing in the world.