Shen Yuan checked his neck in the mirror to find both the love bite and the teeth mark were still stubbornly there. It had been 3 days and it didn't fade the slightest bit.
He never had a bruise any longer than half a day and a cut generally healed in 2 days. He didn't feel like Vesper bit him that hard either. Was it because he was a high-level vulture? This wouldn't become permanent, would it…?
Once again, he had to wear his high-neck innerwear. If that guy teased him about this with that hateful smile of his one more time, he really would punch him in the face and ban him from touching him ever again.
That day, Vesper officially made him his personal attendant. Though he did that, his job was far different than what it usually entailed.
He was free to do his usual work until noon when he would then attend him in his lunch. After that, he would accompany him in his work and assist him in some menial tasks until dinner. At night, he would accompany him in his training for 2 to 3 hours and then he was done for the day.
He was practically a wallflower. He had no complaints though since he had less workload now. Vesper must've allocated such a schedule on purpose since he was the busiest in the morning.
The true labor of his role was done by Juliard who had been Vesper's playmate and retainer since childhood. He was a tall, buff man with a stiff face and was a member of the were-fish species, apparent by the red scales covering his jaw. According to Vesper, an incident happened in his childhood that damaged his vocal cords and rendered him mute.
Unlike the shadow guards who had both of their eyes plucked out, Juliard had his left one spared, resulting in him having to wear an eyepatch over his right side instead. Shen Yuan didn't know if it was because of that or that he was just inherently clumsy, but he often stumbled on his steps or crashed into things. As Matthew mentioned before, he was a famous klutz around the palace.
Vesper never rebuked or punished him for his accidents as long as he did his job well, and Juliard always made sure he did. His loyalty didn't need to be questioned. If Vesper told him to pluck out his remaining eye himself, he would do it without a word. Probably even cleaned it and put it in a sterile box before handing it to Vesper to not dirty him.
Shen Yuan could understand where the fondness came from.
As for Harold, Vesper made the narration that he sent him overseas to do an important mission for him. Nobody suspected a thing.
After two princes had their eyes on him and one even made him his personal attendant, Harper became reserved when talking to him. She also took more care in choosing his tasks, not wanting to unknowingly offend Vesper by proxy. She must be confused why he was even there instead of by Vesper's side, but she didn't dare question it.
The others also became hesitant in asking for his help, so he had to be the one who inquired if they needed one. For better or for worse, there were a handful of things they truly needed his strength with.
After breakfast, he headed towards the library where Harper sent him to clean today. The librarian wanted to sort the books out to see if there were any that could be donated to the city library and asked for his assistance. Considering the thousands of books in there, even with his help, it wouldn't be possible to finish in a day.
"Miss Diane? Miss Harper said you need some help?" Shen Yuan opened the door and entered but was greeted by an empty front desk. He walked further in and called out one more time, "Miss Diane? Are you here?"
Not getting any reply, he tried searching through the aisles but didn't find a trace of presence. Diane didn't live in the palace and didn't have a fixed working schedule, but she usually clocked in at 7, following the standard working hour.
He was wondering whether she slept in when he heard the door open. Thinking it was her, he walked back to the entrance only to find an entirely different person by the door.
Zain closed the door behind him. "Sean."
Shen Yuan stopped in his steps and turned his back against Zain, hiding his smile. Took him long enough.
"Your Highness, you will trouble Miss Diane if you lock the door."
"It's alright. Miss Harper sent you here under my order." Zain took long strides towards Shen Yuan, impatient to hold him in his arms. "Sean, what—"
"We can't." Shen Yuan stepped aside and avoided Zain's advance. He clutched his vest and lowered his head. "Please leave, Your Highness."
Zain lowered his hand and balled them into fists. "Tell me what happened, Sean. What did Vesper do to you? Did he hurt you?"
"No, Your Highness. Prince Vesper didn't wrong me. So, please…"
"I assure you this place is safe." Zain took a careful step forward, suppressing his aching desire to touch Shen Yuan. "Please, Sean. I haven't seen you for 3 days. You disappeared without any words and when I asked Miss Harper, she told me Vesper made you his personal attendant. If it has something to do with me, it's my responsibility to deal with it."
"…"
"You can resent me all you want for involving you with our problem, but can you at least…look at me?"
Shen Yuan let a moment of silence pass before he slowly raised his head and cast a discouraged smile at Zain. "How can I resent Your Highness when I can't even be mad at you?"
Dull pain gripped Zain in his chest. He clenched his jaw and betrayed himself to cup Sean's cheeks. "No. Don't smile at me. You don't have to smile for me, Sean."
"…Your Highness, I…" Shen Yuan touched Zain's hand and dimmed his smile at a calculated speed. "I can't physically accompany you anymore, but please believe, that I will always be on your side."
"You…did something, didn't you?"
Shen Yuan widened his eyes and tossed his face away. "I-I…"
He wasn't surprised Zain figured it out. With how blatant Vesper changed his gear that night, it would be weirder not to suspect anything. His initial plan was to make it seem like Vesper just wanted to take everything that was precious to Zain, but this could work too.
It was always convenient when the target had their own fantasy of the situation. He only needed to play along with it.
Zain turned his face back towards him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Though still gentle, his voice became a degree sterner. "What did you do, Sean?"
"P-Prince Vesper found out I asked someone to find information about the first trial and threatened to frame it on Your Highness." Shen Yuan squeezed a tear out of his eyes and put a subtle tremor in his voice. "If I leave your side, he promised to keep it a secret. And for…s-servicing him in return, he let Your Highness win the first trial."
Zain drew his eyebrows until they couldn't be drawn further. A vein popped on his forehead as he suppressed his violent emotion.
Now he understood why Shen Yuan suggested going downtown that day and why he kept updating him about popular things among the commoners until the day of the banquet. All the information he gained from it proved to be useful during the trial.
"I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry, Your Highness. I only wanted to help." Shen Yuan spilled the tears he built up.
"I know. It's not your fault, Sean." Zain finally pulled Shen Yuan into his embrace. "It's mine for being so incompetent."
"N-No!" Shen Yuan pushed Zain off him and stumbled two steps back. He clutched his chest, letting a part of Vesper's love bite 'accidentally' peek out, and twisted his face into self-disgust. "I don't deserve to be held by Your Highness anymore… Not with this body."
The last thread of Zain's reason snapped.
His face descended into the abyss, and his eyes bled with bloodlust. He charged out of the library and trudged his way towards Vesper.
Unforgivable.
To his light. To his most precious.
Using him like he was a disposable rag.
He would make sure no god, no stars, nor even demons could salvage him.
Shen Yuan returned his expression to normal and wiped his tears before chasing after Zain at a slower pace. He searched where Vesper was and found he was on the second floor west wing, most likely in the middle of his work.
Zain went up to the second floor and turned towards the west wing without stopping to think or ask anyone, making Shen Yuan wonder whether he simply knew Vesper's schedule today or if he could instinctively sense where he was. He suspected it was the latter when Zain accurately knew which meeting room Vesper was in.
The enraged prince slammed the door open without any courtesy, shocking the ongoing discussion inside to a halt.
"Leave." Zain swept his murderous glare across the people in the room, his voice cold and unnegotiable. "Now."
Those who were caught in his vicious gaze paled with fright, and they all scampered out of the room, abandoning all their documents and belongings inside like they were running away from a natural disaster.
With a wave from Vesper, Juliard also retreated with a bow, leaving only the two princes inside. The moment Shen Yuan entered, he felt as if he was stepping into a snowstorm.
This would be fun~