I Became the Tutor of the Royal Twins

At midnight, Helios walked alone in the villa’s garden.
He had dissuaded his knights from following by telling them that he wanted to be alone.

If Raphael and Jean knew about this, they would certainly not be happy.
Even so, they wouldn’t have stopped him from doing so if they knew just how conflicted he was feeling now, and they would have overlooked this kind of deviation, too.

Even if it was a villa far from the capital, it was still maintained sternly as an imperial residence.
Guard knights still watched every nook and cranny of the place, and the entire property was even protected by a magical barrier.

So, he went on a walk for a while.

Contrary to his expectations, the stifling pressure on one side of his chest—despite the cool sea breeze—did not go away easily.

It was strange.

Ever since admitting to himself that it was him who felt regretful about Sera’s departure, the confusion that plagued his mind grew even larger in size.

Helios was flustered by the fact that he had such feelings.

Of course, he had been under the impression that these such feelings were derived from his concern for his younger siblings.

He had never doubted this supposition for all of the six months he knew her.
That she was an exceptional tutor towards Rosé and Ferre.

It was absolutely rare to find a tutor who loved her students this much.

He thought that these feelings were just of him as a guardian to his younger siblings, that it was regrettable and disappointing that the twins would lose such a great teacher.

So, he never even dreamed that these heart-wrenching feelings were mixed with some of his own.

That he was the one who wanted to hold her back, that he was the one who felt distraught at the fact that he would no longer be able to see her.

Although he tried to keep it out of his mind, he knew very well how difficult it would be to meet Sera anymore once she would leave the palace.

In the first place, the only ones keeping them bound together were Rosé and Ferre.
She never attended banquets either, so it’s practically impossible for him to meet her again in the future.

‘Is it because of the fact that it would be difficult to see her again?’

Helios was confused.
He didn’t know what feelings exactly he had for Sera.

‘Or is it because she’s been with Rosé and Ferre for so long that even I’m like a kid who’s crazily attached to his teacher?’

The very thought made him let out a laugh that sounded more like a sigh.
Even to him, it sounded like nonsense.

Now that he was reflecting on himself, he thought that his situation was no different from his younger siblings, who cried profusely after finding out that they would no longer be able to see her.

Helios continued walking, various frantic thoughts swirling through his mind.

Then, realizing where he was headed, he stopped completely in his tracks.

‘Down this path is…’

Around where Miss Sera Popo’s room was.

If he were to go a little further, he’d soon reach the annex.
It was a little far from where he was staying, but it was undoubtedly the room Sera Popo had been assigned.

‘Should I just go back?’

It was already so late at night.
Sera was most probably asleep by now.

He shouldn’t have come here, and as he was the emperor, he didn’t want to burden her with his presence further.

Miss Sera Popo was constantly conscious about that.

Unfortunately, however, his feet were rooted to the ground.

Just in case, he was under the illusion that she might be having a restless night just like him.

‘What.
Do I really think I’ll be able to meet Miss Popo?’

In the end, his two legs were driven by his emotions, and he soon headed towards where she was staying.

His breaths mixed with the calm waves of the sea in the background.

Then,

“Your… Majesty?”

A clear voice rang out.

There, like a mirage, Sera Popo was on the balcony.

As she was wearing a white one-piece dress, Helios’s breath was taken away at how pretty she was.
She was so beautiful that he couldn’t even notice the embarrassed look on her face.

 

* * *

 

Sera couldn’t sleep, so she headed for the balcony.

She thought that her conflicting thoughts would calm down if she were to see the dark blue sea and clear her mind.

Being as troubled as she was, she knew very well that it was not only because of Rosé and Ferre, but even Helios as well.

She couldn’t dare set her eyes on him, but he was always so close by that her feelings kept growing further and further, as if being fostered lovingly by his kindness.
Just like how it was today.

And perhaps because it was nearing the end of her connection to him, but the barriers and walls that she had put up around her heart to keep her feelings in check were slowly but surely weakening.

Then, when she walked through the open balcony doors, Sera couldn’t believe who she saw down below.

It was the very person who she never expected to come here at all.

“Your… Majesty?”

Sera called him with an endlessly quiet voice, like a sigh of the gentle evening air.

As she stepped closer to the balcony’s railing, she saw Helios facing her underneath the moonlight’s glow.

He was still dressed exactly the same since she last saw him in Rosé and Ferre’s bedroom.

“Miss Popo,” he responded calmly.

“What are you doing here, sire? You should be sleeping now.”

With her arms folded over the railing, Sera leaned forward dangerously.

But, at a second glance, she confirmed that it really was Helios—the same Helios who was so beautiful that you’d think he had sold his soul to the devil.

“I know.
Perhaps it’s fate…?”

Fate.

Sera quietly recited the single-syllable word, smiling giddily without realizing it.

It really was a coincidence, but he answered so ambiguously that she almost thought that he came here on purpose.

“It’s late, but why are you outside?”

His lips curved up to a smooth arc.
It was a smile so breathtaking that Sera’s heart started pounding so heavily that it just might escape from her chest.

“It’s just… I can’t sleep.”

Looking down over at Helios, who was far below, Sera whispered back.

It was a mundane answer, but Helios smiled at her once again.

“How about you, Your Majesty?”