Chapter 107: He Wanted To
- Reira ☾⋆⁺₊✧ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
- Nov 5, 2025
- 7 min read
"So, when are you going to tell me your second wish?"
"Are you rushing me now?"
“It’s cause you keep putting it off all the time.”
Although Cabelenus voiced his complaint, he still switched the plates between himself and Michael.
The steak on the plate was sliced into bite-sized pieces, perfect for eating.
"Don't worry. I thought about it really well today."
"That’s good to hear."
"What’s this, Mister? Do you really want to hear me say it that much?"
"Yes."
“...”
"What?"
Unlike Michael, who was scowling, Cabelenus remained utterly calm.
With a fork in his mouth, Michael muttered under his breath and shot a sidelong glance at Cabelenus.
"…Aren’t you embarrassed, Mister?"
"Then are you too embarrassed to say it?"
"...I’m not answering that."
Pouting, Michael speared a piece of meat with his fork.
The perfectly cooked steak had been cut with almost unnecessary precision.
“So, what’s your wish?”
"Oh, that?"
Michael looked at Alicia for a moment before returning his gaze to Cabelenus.
"Let’s draw together."
"Draw?"
"Yes."
“…I thought nothing could surprise me after the cookies, but there’s still more.”
He had expected an unusual wish, but drawing had never once crossed his mind.
Cabelenus pressed his hand to his forehead, imagining himself staring blankly at the canvas.
"Don’t you like drawing, Mister?"
“I’ve never drawn anything in my life.”
“That’s great.”
Michael’s eyes lit up with delight.
The cookies had been a failure, but this time, it was a real chance to properly tease Cabelenus.
“…Is teasing me really that fun?”
“Weren’t you teasing me for the same reason, Mister?”
“...”
“Anyway, it’s a wish! You have to grant it!”
“…Can’t we substitute it with something else?”
Cabelenus’s voice weakened slightly.
But the child, eyes shining as if entrusted with a great mission, showed no intention of giving in.
“Fine. But don’t expect me to draw well.”
“You don’t have to draw well.”
“So you can have something to tease me about?”
"Yes."
Michael nodded without hesitation.
“At times like this, can't you at least pretend otherwise?”
“Mister, lying is bad.”
“...”
Alicia certainly wasn’t like this.
Cabelenus frowned, rubbing his temple.
If he hadn’t taken after his mother, Alicia, then the only one left to resemble would be himself.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…I’m thinking about whether I should change the way I speak.”
“Well, you do seem like you need to fix that, Mister.”
Michael nodded, not missing the opportunity.
Cabelenus tilted his head to the side.
"So, what exactly don’t you like?"
“Firstly, you speak informally to Mum. Mum always speaks politely to you, but you don’t with her.”
“Hmm, that’s definitely something that needed to be addressed.”
Cabelenus nodded obediently, looking at Alicia.
Caught off guard by the two gazes turned her way, Alicia blinked in surprise.
“Will you lower your speech, or shall I raise mine?”
"Uh? That’s…"
Alicia didn’t know what to say and merely moved her lips soundlessly.
Cabelenus watched the scene and curved his lips into a smile.
Seeing the woman’s cheeks flush red brought back memories of the past.
“Back then, we just let it slide, but wouldn’t it be better to settle it properly this time?”
“Wife.”
At the subtly added word, Alicia’s cheeks grew even redder.
Cabelenus leaned forward slightly, thinking how he wanted to touch her cheeks, so perfectly ripe like apples—
“She's my mum.”
—Of course, that was if it weren’t for the suddenly interjected, disgruntled voice.
Cabelenus faced Michael, whose lips were jutting out like a bird’s beak, and raised one eyebrow.
“She's your mum, but she could also be my wife.”
“You didn’t marry Mum, did you?”
“That’s true for now. But once everything is over, we’ll naturally have a wedding…”
The man’s voice had initially burst out confidently, but it gradually grew faint.
Across from him, Alicia wore an expression that looked uneasy.
“…Don’t tell me, you never intended to marry me?"
Cabelenus’s voice trembled noticeably.
He had believed that they loved each other, and there was even a child between them.
He couldn’t do it now, but once everything was over, he had intended to hold the wedding right away.
"Well..."
“No. Don’t answer. I think I know what I did wrong.”
Cabelenus hastily raised his hand to stop Alicia from speaking.
Having gone through a series of challenges, the man had grown considerably quick-witted.
"Assuming marriage was a given was my mistake, right?”
"Huh?"
“I’m sorry. Let’s pretend you didn’t hear what I just said.”
He spoke rapidly, barely pausing to breathe.
To him, marriage had been a mere formality.
He had only ever thought of it as a system to unite families or make their relationship known to the world.
But that was just his own perspective.
Alicia could have a different way of thinking.
If she considered marriage as something special, she had every reason to be disappointed.
That was the conclusion the man reached after thinking it through carefully.
"I’ll propose properly. So perfectly that everyone would envy it — no, so flawlessly that no one could even dare to match it."
"Huh?"
“If by any chance, there’s a proposal you want, I can do anything—”
“No! That’s not it!”
Alicia quickly waved her hands back and forth.
Only then did Cabelenus catch his breath and look at Alicia.
"Then?"
"Well…"
Alicia fidgeted with her fingertips.
It didn’t matter what kind of proposal it was.
Even a clumsy proposal would make her happy if it came from Cabelenus.
But now wasn’t the right time.
She wasn’t sure if Cabelenus would propose to her if he knew the whole truth.
"…Or, did you simply not want to marry me?"
Cabelenus’s eyebrows furrowed as he read Alicia’s silence the wrong way.
“Rather than that, it’s just a bit sudden.”
"Sudden?"
“I didn’t realise you were thinking that way.”
“...”
Her awkward smile only made the tension worse.
Cabelenus fixed his gaze on Alicia, then straightened his posture.
“It’s my fault. I should have made our relationship more certain, but I didn’t.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s just that the timing wasn’t right.”
“No, it was not.”
“...Huh?”
Alicia’s pupils trembled at the sudden use of formal speech.
“It was postponed simply because the timing was not right, so there is no need to delay it any longer.”
“...”
“Since I have decided to make the effort, I will do my utmost."
'Whatever it may be.'
Cabelenus’s eyes curved gently, but the eyes beneath them were piercingly sharp.
It seemed the man’s attention had been drawn to something he hadn’t expected.
・・・・・
Gazeff lingered by the door for a long while before quietly checking his watch.
Normally, he would have been out by now, but Cabelenus’s door remained closed.
After pacing around for quite a while, Gazeff finally knocked on his superior’s door.
Knock, knock—.
“Your Highness, may I enter?”
“Come in.”
The immediate reply was no different from usual.
Gazeff tilted his head slightly in puzzlement, then carefully opened the door.
He reflexively frowned.
“…Was there an attack?”
“Of course not.”
“But the room…”
Gazeff trailed off and once again slowly surveyed the room.
The room was in such a mess that it looked almost as if it had been ransacked, with clothes scattered all over the floor, and Cabelenus, the room’s owner, was wearing nothing but his pants.
“I wasn’t sure what to wear, so it’s perfect timing that you’re here.”
“Pardon?”
“Which of these two is better?”
Before Gazeff could even process the situation, two shirts were held out to him.
Gazeff just opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish, unable to grasp what was happening.
“Don’t you think the white one looks neater?”
“Well…”
“...”
“Y-yes, the white one would probably look the neatest.”
Gazeff was about to ask a question, but under his superior’s sharp gaze, he instead pointed to the shirt on the right.
Only then did Cabelenus put on the shirt, wearing a satisfied smile.
But that smile didn’t last very long.
“It’s not quite right.”
Cabelenus roughly unbuttoned the shirt and stood before Gazeff again.
Gazeff glanced first at his superior’s displeased face, then at the bare chest visible through the wide-open front of his shirt, and reflexively furrowed his brows.
The body, honed over years on the battlefield, was perfect, as if sculpted by a skilled artisan, yet from a fellow soldier’s perspective, it wasn’t exactly a sight he wanted to see.
"May I ask what is going on right now?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m choosing my clothes.”
“...Clothes?”
Gazeff’s expression grew more subtle.
Cabelenus had little interest in adornment.
No matter what clothes were brought, as long as they weren’t inappropriate or too uncomfortable, he wore whatever the attendants prepared without complaint.
Choosing from a pile of clothes like this was uncharacteristic.
“As far as I know, you’re to spend this morning with the young lady and the young master…”
"Which one of these is better?"
Gazeff swallowed his words as another shirt was held out to him.
Cabelenus’s expression was more serious than ever.
As a loyal subordinate, he had to give the answer Cabelenus wanted rather than entertain any doubts.
"The shirt you have on now suits you better."
“Is that so?”
The moment Cabelenus heard the answer, he tossed aside the shirt he was holding without hesitation and picked up another one from the attendant.
"Then, how about this one?"
"Your Highness looks good in anything you wear."
“It’s not enough for it to just look good. It has to be perfect.”
Cabelenus’s eyes hardened with intensity.
“It would be helpful if you could tell me the purpose for which you are choosing the clothes.”
“Seduction.”
“Pardon?”
He had promised himself not to be surprised, but his resolve quickly crumbled.
Gazeff doubted his ears several times, unsure if he had heard correctly.
But judging by the attendant’s face, which had turned completely pale as well, there was no mistake.
"Alicia never intended to marry me."
"That can’t be."
"It’s true."
No matter what he wore, he wasn’t satisfied with his reflection in the mirror.
Cabelenus threw off the shirt he had been wearing and grabbed another one.
“Perhaps it’s because the timing wasn’t right that she didn’t have a chance to think about it. After all, it hasn’t been long since you two got back together.”
“More than that, it’s probably because I lack conviction.”
'Otherwise, it must be because I lack appeal as a husband.'
Cabelenus’s lips twisted into a crooked line.
The memories of the time when he thought marriage was merely a formality had already been completely erased from the man’s mind.
The man genuinely wanted to get married.
⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡ ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆
If you notice any errors or broken links, please let me know and I will get that fixed~ Additionally, if you would like to support me, I have a Ko-fi ~ Thank you! 💖
Comments