ASTRID froze. He didn't even know how to react. He was simply dumbfounded. He even thought that maybe what he just heard was just some kind of auditory hallucination. After all, how could this arrogant prince apologize to him? He even bowed his head! How could that be possible?
But after a few seconds, the prince was still standing in front of him with his head bowed. Seeing that what happened really did just happen, he suddenly felt at a loss.
Ever since he saw this guy early this morning, a lost of possible scenarios entered his mind. But out of all those scenarios, he had never included this person apologizing. That's almost like wishing for the Earth's sun to set in the east and rise in the west.
Could anyone blame him for being so skeptical?
This was the same guy who shamelessly paraded his naked body in front of him, barged into his house like he owned the place, pestered him as if it was his right to do so, and probably even thought that he never went over the line with the way he interacted with him.
Such things certainly matched all the rumors about the prince. But what the other was doing right now was the complete opposite of that.
The crazy prince who even the emperor couldn't control. The strongest person in the Empire. The youngest general. The White Wolf of Alluna. Astrid was certain that the person who had all those things said about him wouldn't so easily bow his head and apologize.
So, then, what the hell was this?
Wulfric was waiting for Aster to respond to his apology. But several seconds had already passed and yet he still hadn't heard his answer or even heard him speaking.
Was Hildred wrong? Didn't Hildred say that everything would be solved once he apologized? Then, why was Aster not responding? Maybe he really should have said the speech that he prepared. With that, maybe Aster would feel his sincerity more.
Honestly, when Hildred told him this secret method, the first thought in his mind was 'how childish'. How could a simple apology erase the hatred Aster felt for him? If an apology was enough to solve any kinds of dispute, then war wouldn't have happened. People wouldn't end up killing each other.
But then Hildred said that, sometimes, apology was what one all needed. A simple 'sorry' could easily bridge the gap between two people. Especially if the one doing the apologizing was the one who's at fault in the first place.
If he hadn't thought of a lot of things concerning Aster since meeting him again this morning, he would probably reject the idea that he did something wrong to the other. After all, for him, the things he did at Delryria was just him having fun. But that might not be the case for Aster.
As Hildred said, maybe he really thought he was just some annoying fly that he couldn't wait to get rid of. He had never been thoughtful. He had never thought of accommodating others just so he wouldn't hurt their feelings. If he wanted to do something, he would do it. If he didn't want to, then he wouldn't. That's how he lived for most of his life.
And yet, right now, for the first time in his life, he wanted to be considerate of others. No, it's not just others – just Aster. Just him. And he still couldn't fucking understand why.
No matter. The important thing right now was for Aster to forgive him. And then, maybe, just maybe, he would no longer avoid him like the plague.
He was just about to raise his head to see Aster's expression when he felt his face being held with two soft hands. Those hands abruptly raised his face making his gaze collide with a pair of dark obsidian eyes.
"Are you really the prince and not a fake? You know, the one everyone in the Empire thinks of as a lunatic?"
Wulfric felt the corner of one of his eyes twitching. Aster was looking at him with an unbelieving expression. He even looked a bit confused. As if he really couldn't understand what just happened. No matter how annoyed Wulfric felt at the moment, he still couldn't help but feel that the other was really cute right now.
He stood up straight, making the other let go of his face. And then he scoffed. "Do you think there's anyone in the Empire who's courageous enough to use this face of mine?"
Well, he had a point. – Astrid thought. There's probably no one in the Empire who would dare to impersonate this guy. But if that was the case, then the one who apologized to him earlier and even bowed his head was really the prince.
Slowly digesting that fact, Astrid was simply filled with confusion. Nothing would happen if just continued to mull over it by himself. So, why not just ask the culprit himself?
"Why is Your Highness apologizing?"
He saw the other's brows furrowed. He gritted his teeth as if he didn't want to answer his question. And then he took a deep breath and released it. The moment he did, his expression smoothened out a bit. As if he was no longer too reluctant to giving him an answer. He then looked at him straight in the eyes.
"For the way I acted when we first met at Delryria. I- I realized that I was out of line quite a number of times and that I made you feel uncomfortable. Because of that, you were forced to act the way you did just so you could get rid of me. And for that, I- I apologize."
By the end, Wulfric felt a warm heat on his face. He wasn't sure how he looked right now. But it probably wasn't remotely cool or anything like that. So, he turned his gaze away. Hoping that Aster wouldn't look at him. And just waited for his verdict.
For the second time, Astrid was once again taken aback. He was too stunned to immediately respond.
Looking at the other's slightly blushing cheeks, unbeknownst to Astrid, a genuine smile appeared on his lips.