Rhya stood up from his napping spot and stretched his joints.

“Do you want to talk about it all?” He yawned and lazily made his way towards Silas’ workbench and took a seat next to them. Silas tinkered for a few seconds more before sighing, setting the tools down.

“I really do hate our system of government. I maybe a noble myself but most of the nobility class in the Clover Kingdom is just insufferable. I guess I was no different before, but I still had disadvantages due to my family’s status. It’s gotten worse in the past few months with...your involvement.” Silas vented, staring down at the magic item they had been working on. Rhya leaned against the table on his elbow, listening to them speak.

“I’m causing you more trouble than what I’m worth.” Rhya spoke sadly. And that snapped Silas out of their daze.

“Don’t say that. I don’t like people, but you’re an exception. If I have to spend all day with stuffy nobles a couple of times a month but get to spend my life with you. It’s worth it.” Silas mumbled softly, taking Rhya’s hand both of their own. They gently kissed his hand with a slight smile.

Rhya blinked in surprise and could feel himself starting to become flustered. Silas’ had only caught him off guard a few times, and this was one of those rare moments. He normally tried to play off as being coy and unaffected, but hearing Silas say something that him touched him deeply.

He must have spaced out for a few seconds because Silas was looking up at him with concern. Before they could speak Rhya quickly pulled them into a tight hug, resting his head in the crook of Silas’  neck.

“I love you.” He croaked, blinking back tears. And it was Silas’ turn to be a shocked. They wrapped their arms around him and gently stroked his hair. Rhya talked little about his own past, but Silas understood he had gone through great suffering and needed time in order to be more open about it. So Silas held him tight until his breathing calmed itself. After a few minutes Rhya slowly lifted his head to look at them: his eyes were slightly red but he had a small smile on his face. Silas moved to cup his face with both their hands and they gave him a quick kiss

Though i don’t believe The Countess had any ill intentions, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was incredibly wrong with Count Lucio’s murder. I met the count only once, the day of his death the day of the last masquerade that was held at the palace. Though i was much younger back then, i still had not met Asra. I was living on the streets on the town struggling to get by, with no memories of my past i made my way to the palace to enough in the delights of the masquerade. I was hungry, so hungry. As shoveled the fine food into my mouth, i felt a hand on top of my head, I had looked up and nearly screamed in horror as it was The Count, smiling almost cruelly, telling me to eat as much as i like before wander off to engage with more the the guest. The whole situation left me with goosebumps and a chill.

I was gone from the palace when the murder took place. I didn’t stay long. Just long enough to fill my belly and go back to my back alley home. Though i never met the doctor(Until he broke into my home the other night), something about him murdering the Count seemed off. Not entirely truthful. Although the murder piqued my interest. I did not want to stay in that palace any longer.

As i was reminiscing about my time meeting the count, i didn’t notice that i had stumbled into town- well i think it was town but nothing looked familiar. The buildings were run down, i wandered the streets until i game across small apartment buildings that reminded me of my time living on the streets,i turned my head and immediately covered my mouth and stopped my breathing. In the center of these buildings was a small waterfall leading down into a stream surrounded the streets. The only issue was the water was red. It had been a long since i’ve seen the waters like these, did The Countess know? Water like this could lead to Red Plague symptoms and the kingdom definetly did not need this right now. With my mouth still covered i ran into the nearest alley way to get away from the stuff.

As i walked down the alley a side door sung open and out walked out- no one other than the good doctor. My eyes grew wide and i stumbled backwards, away from him until the back of my knees hit something and i was thrown backwards into a barrel and yelped loudly. I was now staring at the stars- wondering how the hell the all could have happened to me: palaces, murderers, death. It was all new to me but it felt so familiar-

“That was quite the fall, are you alright?” The doctor’s smooth voice spoke, he smiled down at me before realizing who i was, at this moment his eyes also went wide. We started at each other for a few moments, eyes wide before he spoke.

“The...the shopkeep?” He looked confused but still extended his hand to me, i grasped it and he lifted me out of the barrel. I stumbled forward and into his chest. He was a very tall and I….was not. He was warm and smelled vaguely of alcohol. He took a step backwards and steadied us both, hand hands on either side of my shoulders. After gaining my footing i noticed the contents of my bag has spilled out, i cursed under my breath and began to pick up my possessions