Don’t Concern Yourself With That Book

1. 1. 1. 1. The Small Flower Blooming in the Desolate Land.

“Close your eyes.”

His lips bit my lower lip for a moment before he carefully entered my parted lips. His tongue let itself in as softly as a feather before slowly pressing down on my own and releasing its grip. As our saliva mixed, I let out a soft groan. His hands swept down the nape of my neck and my back slowly. Even through the thin fabric, I could feel how cold his hands were.

“… Hm.”

As soon as he swept his hand down my spine, I trembled unintentionally. As if he hadn’t done that on purpose, he pulled his hand away from me in surprise before wrapping his arms around my waist again. HIs kiss did not feel skilled but rather clumsy as if this was his first time but it felt refreshing like a kiss from my adolescence.

In the meantime, he lifted me up in the air gently before placing me against a fluffy pillow. As my body leaned backwards slowly, something firm brushed against my inner thighs. I could feel a shadow cast over my face,

“Ashley.”

With his eyes still red, Amor glanced downwards. Like a man still yearning for another after such a long kiss, he called my name. Dishevelled, he lifted his hand before grabbing my own and interlocking our fingers.

“Ha… Ashley…”

As he called for me once more, he sounded unsatiated. I closed my eyes in response. As if he could no longer hold back, he lunged at my lips again.

“… Hmph, urgh…”

Our lips were once again frantically entangled. He brushed his tongue against every corner of my mouth as if he wasn’t going to allow any part of me remain untouched. His touches were soft and warm like a wild animal tending to its litter.

“Why is it that even though you’re in front of me, I feel as though it is not enough?”

He rushed towards me patiently but he was never rough with me. Rather, he was like a child who could not keep his hands off his prize. Our noses bumped and our tongues intertwined and unravelled like snakes as I swallowed a moan.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. I first spotted his eyelashes illuminated by the moonlight. As he opened his eyes as well, our lips parted only slightly leaving a small gap between them as he whispered slowly.

“I love you.”

But before I could answer, his lips captured mine persistently yet again. Whilst I caught my breath after that long kiss, he held me in his arms and embraced me tightly.

“It’s fine if this is just a dream that’ll disappear tomorrow.”

“It won’t disappear.”

Our conversation might seem dry but I closed my eyes in his firm embrace. Before long, a husky voice, which had been evidently underused for a while, crept into my ears.

“Perhaps I’m dreaming right now.”

He let me go from his arms and we stared at each other. I had just wanted to confirm it but despite long kisses we had one after the other, Amor’s eyes still looked like he was yearning for something more. Even whilst catching his breath, he wiped the tears welling up in my eyes.

With our fingers still interlaced, Amor kept glancing at me shyly. Like he wasn’t sure whether to look or not. He swept his hand down my cheeks before fiddling with my hair and letting go and bending towards me. He placed another small kiss on my lips, as light as a bird’s peck.

Peck.

As if that kiss had confirmed that this was really not a dream, he removed his lips and smiled.

“Ashley.”

I widened my eyes.

“There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

His smile made him seem happier than I had ever seen him before. It was so beautiful before I realised it, I had been staring blankly at his lips.

“What’s the matter?”

When I carefully replied him, he gave another bright smile before hugging me. After a while, I could feel his hair cascading down and its softness on my shoulders. I could feel him tensing his arms.

Surrounded by his embrace, I realised the stark difference in our physique. Closing my eyes in his arms, I waited for his answer.

“Will you…”

Amor murmured before taking a deep breath.

“Will you marry me?”

What left his lips was a thick sweet voice I had never heard from him before. Still, I widened my eyes again and spoke.

“Hold on, brother.”

I slipped myself out of his arms before asking.

“What do you mean?”

The confession was great. The kisses were all great too. But weren’t we going too fast? I guess I still had my modern way of thinking. No, it was clear that even those born and raised in the Empire would be equally as shocked at his proposal.

“Brother, you know we’re siblings, right?”

“I know that we’re not really siblings.”

“No… How did you… Nevermind, more importantly.”

As I continued stammering in shock, Amor seemed to have regained his composure. Before I realised it, he returned to his usual expression before looking at me as if he found this interesting.

“I’ve already talked about this with Julian. No, more like, we made a deal.”

“You mean, our brother, the 2nd Prince.”

“Right. I told him that if we can get married, I would support him. I’m officially known to be a neutral party anyway. Also…”

Just as he mentioned, Amor was publicly known to be an ill-stricken prince who hadn’t declared his support for either the 1st Prince or the 2nd Prince. He had remained neutral.

“Because if we manage to get married publicly, he would have a reason to protect you as well.”

“What about the fact that we’re supposed to be siblings?”

Lifting his hand, Amor held my cheek before smiling.

“Consanguineous marriages have existed in the Empire for a long time. Whether it be for politics or for maintaining the blood of templars.”

No, I already kind of knew that. But still, those had been special cases. It seemed like Amor wanted to marry me to bring me strength. I wondered if that was really necessary.

“You’re supporting the 2nd Prince too, anyway. Right? I’m just inserting myself into the picture too. He wouldn’t be able to get rid of both the last Templar of Plants and another Heir to the Lord of the Gods.”

“Why would you place those conditions?”

With a soft smile, Amor kissed the back of my neck with our fingers still interlaced. At the same time, a blush coloured his ears as if to prove that he was not used to doing such things. I must have looked strange as I stared at his reddening face. I was sure of it. I had never once thought he was cute before.

“To make sure you don’t get abandoned even if I asked him for help.”

I nodded slowly.

“Ah. I see. You mean as a political tool?’

He must have been thinking about what almost happened between Ahasia and Dane. A fake marriage. But in their case, we had planned for when they were going to break it and we thought of a reason and justification for the annulment of their engagement. But I didn’t think there was anything like that with Amor?

“Don’t we just have to announce the marriage before letting things take its course?”

After staring at me for a moment, Amor then averted his gaze.

“Brother, don’t tell me…”

Did he propose to me without thinking about the future? That was unexpected of him. When he noticed me staring at him, Amor turned his head away.

“I just wanted to get his approval first.”

But I spotted his red ear peeking out from his hair. Thrown off by how transparent he was, though this side of him felt new and unfamiliar, I didn’t hate it. In spite of myself, I chuckled.

“You were planning on thinking about the details later on, right? That’s not like you, brother.”

“How can I be myself in front of you?”

With one of his eyebrows raised, he stared at me.

“When I see you, I lose all reason.”

His serious expression rendered me speechless. As I listened to him quietly, I realised how I shouldn’t take the meaning behind the words Amor spoke today lightly. It was only then did I let go of his hand and slowly retreated.

It felt like too much had happened for me to take in at once. And just when I thought I had gotten a hang of things. It seemed like I had talked about a lot of things while he was still unconscious earlier. No, what did I just say to an unconscious person?

“Where are you going?”

“… It seems like I’ll be busy for a while.”

Something crept up my ankle before capturing it. Staring at me, he murmured.

“So late?”

“I just thought of something.”

Without me noticing, a gust of wind blew through the doors to the terrace that were wide open. The curtains flapped loudly. Perhaps Amor was staring at the same thing as I was.

“The moon’s bright.”

I recalled a passage from a novel. Saying ‘The moon is pretty’ on a night when the moon was bright could also be considered a confession.

“Ah.”

When I turned my head slowly, I realised that what Amor had been staring at was me all along.

“Yeah. I can barely open my eyes.”

Still staring at me, Amor muttered. He then got up from his spot. For a moment, I felt like my body floated in the air as he hugged me. Where were we going? I could only stare at Amor with my eyes widened. Despite the fact that he had been unconscious just a moment ago, Amor walked with long strides.

“Please put me down. I’ll walk on my own. Yeah?”

“I can’t hear you.”

A princess carry. It was not a position unfamiliar to me since I had been hugged like this countless times before by Lord Ray but how could I not be uncomfortable when a patient was doing the same? Turning away from the voice shouting at him to let me go, Amor slowly headed for the terrace.

“Seriously…”

Glancing at the ground, I let out a gasp of awe. Interestingly enough, flowers were blooming with every step he walked.

“Wow, brother. Flowers are blooming.”

With my eyes widened, I muttered unconsciously as a gust of warm wind brushed against the top of my head. From the gentle tremors, he seemed to be laughing. One step left purple flowers while the other made red flower buds of unknown origins appear. Not only were flowers blooming, there were also vines with budding leaves and small trees while some plants crept up towards the ceiling, using the walls as support.

The sight of plants chasing after his steps reminded me of a painting with all the colours of life in full bloom against a plain of green.

“Are you cold?”

When we finally arrived at the terrace, he placed me atop the railing. He then looked up to face me. The railing was low enough that our faces were almost at equal height. We would have probably bene a lot closer if I lowered my back.