People are the most beautiful when they’re in love.

Taught from birth to suppress his emotion, the only thought allowed in Vasell’s head was His Highness’s safety. He was to be a perfect bodyguard, one that cared about nothing else.

You were just another student, one of the many faceless parasites trying to curry favor with His Highness before his ascension to the throne. However, as Vasell continued to observe you, looking for any perceived threat that he can use as an excuse to keep you away, he realized that you were different from all the others.

You loved His Highness.

A simple greeting from His Highness was enough to keep you happy for the entire day, and you freely offered gifts and your time without expecting anything in return. And, as you spent more time with His Highness, Vasell found his gaze drifting away from His Highness to look at you instead. To look away from His Highness goes against everything he was taught, but he was too weak to stop himself from following your retreating figure when you left for class.

At first, Vasell was content to watch you spend your time with His Highness, but soon, he found himself dreaming. In the dead of the night, when His Highness was asleep and he was left with nothing but his thoughts and the moonless sky, he imagined what it would be like for your attention to be directed at him.

If only you would look at him. Could he be the one to make you smile instead if you had known he existed?

Hidden in the garden around the gazebo, Vasell listened to you chat with His Highness. Closing his eyes, he pretended that you were talking to him instead, smiling softly at the sound of your laughter. Then, you suddenly brought up the Firelight Ball.

Asking someone else to the Firelight ball was the equivalent of declaring your intent to court them, and if you happened to ask His Highness…

Unable to finish the thought, Vasell shook his head, finally deciding to act.

Forging a letter with his Highness’s handwriting, Vasell invited you into the academy’s library on the night before the ball.

Waiting inside the dark library, Vasell heard the soft thump of the dark oak doors closing as you slipped inside. As you stepped further into the library in search of His Highness, he dropped down from one of the bookshelves, landing in front of you.

“His Highness isn’t here.” He murmured, snaking an arm around your waist to pull you flush against him. Behind him, the bright moon shone through the library’s grand window, leaving you in the dark shadow he created.

“Disappointed?”