**Janus’s Side**
When I woke up, I was assaulted by the worst headache I have ever had so far. After I had gathered enough of my senses, I noticed a weird smell in the air. Did I have a wet dream last night? I lifted the covers only to find Nothing to explain the remanent Thoughts in my head. I pursued them only to find... Ruby.
I had a wet dream about her.
Suddenly, I almost welcomed the new Mission I got to escort the Priest. It would occupy me for at least two to three months.
If I had to meet Ruby right now, I may not even be able to look her in the eyes.
I collected my scattered clothes, my eyes lingering on my shirt. A button was missing, and no matter how I looked, I couldn’t find it in the room. I will need to ask a maid for a new one.
When I arrived at the training field, a few men were already sweating under the morning sun when Jack and William approached me.
“And Janus, how was your Evening? I heard you drank till Midnight.” I must really have shit luck for meeting Jack so early in the morning. As always, William stood silently next to Jack, swinging his sword up and down. It must be over two months since I last heard him talk.
“Please don’t remind me my head is killing me.” Even the morning sun hurt my eyes, making me want to puke.
“Then why don’t you let Ruby take care of it? It’s still pretty empty. Most of the other drunkards are still comatose.” That would be a good proposal any other day; even Ruby told me she uses magic to cure her hangovers. But…
“I don’t want to bother Ruby with just that.” I still don’t feel like talking to her. The dream I had last night was still fresh in my mind.
However, my red-faced deflection must have caught Jack’s eye. Before I could react, Jack grabbed my left arm and William the right. I tried to free myself with no luck. The two had me in a deadlock grip and wouldn’t take no for an answer. They just dragged me away from the Training field despite my Protest.
“What are you doing? Let me go!”
But the twins just shared a knowing grin, and Jack declared,
“Nope, you are going to go there right now.”
**Ruby’s Side**
When I began my Day at the clinic, my head was still full of thoughts about last night. What if he remembers? What if someone saw me sneaking out or kissing him in the hallway? I couldn’t calm down. Thankfully, no one was in the clinic today. No one was ill, and no one was injured. There was little to do each morning. Ever since, all the disfigured or disabled have been healed, except for minor cases, especially today when most were still fast asleep.
So, today, I had Nothing to do besides cleaning and torturing myself with doubt and fear until unexpectedly, Rika arrived. Sometimes, it felt like she would always come when I was troubled, only to drive me mad. She burst through the door with a loud bang, and the doorknob dented the adjacent wall, causing gray dust to flow on top of a long-overflown ashtray.
“Hey, Ruby! It’s still hushed this morning, isn’t it?” I couldn’t help but fumble by the unexpected loud noise, and my broom clattered to the ground. Rika looked at me amused, putting her finger on her cheek and asked,
“Are you okay? Aren’t I supposed to be the clumsy one?” Sigh, maybe I should see this as a welcome distraction from yesterday. But of course, Rika didn’t agree.
“Ye-Yeah, I just couldn’t sleep last night.”
“Well, that’s a first. Even when you drink a lot, you are fine the next Day.” It seems my resistance to alcohol hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“It’s nothing,” I said.
But then Rika’s eyes landed on my neck. And what she saw made her inhale in excitement. “Uuh, who is the lucky Guy.”
“What, what are you talking about?” How did she know? Panic overcame me, and my face turned pale.
“Come on, I can tell just by looking at you.” Rika teased before pointing at my left neck. “There is a Hickey on the left side of your neck.”
“This is nothing,” and I hastily put my hand on my neck to heal the bruising.
“Haha, the other side.” My hand wanders to the right side of my neck, finding the irritated skin. I throw her a deadly stare, but she continues asking playfully, elongating her words as if singing a song, “Sooo, whoooo iiiiiiis iiiiiiit? Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiis iiiiiiiit Janus?"
“No, and stop guessing. It was a one-time thing, and that’s it.” I have never made a less convincing lie in my entire Life. But thankfully, it worked, or Rika just played along. However, her following statement immediately filled me with dread.
“Okay, okay, I will find out eventually.”
“Ugh, just promise me not to spread stupid rumors.” I was annoyed by Rika, but she still couldn’t stop asking.
“So, did it feel good or...”.
“RIKA! Shut up!” for the first time, I yelled at her.
After my outburst, silence followed. Rika looked at me with worry.
“Ruby, I’m sorry I didn’t know I didn’t think…” tears started to well up in her eyes.
“It’s alright, just stop reminding me. And stop with that look. It’s not like I was raped or anything. I just regret it and would rather forget about it.”
Shortly after, Rika left, but not without apologizing at least four more times. It seems I couldn’t fully convince her that I wasn’t raped. After all, In the case of sex, most would assume the man wanted it and that only men commit rape. No one would suspect me. But what if they found out. Would they be angry? Would they even care?
I hope I will never find the answer to this question.
**Janus Side**
“Just let me go already,” I begged my brothers.
“No chance. This is too much fun.” Ugh, why does Jack have to be so annoying all the time? And why is William joining in? He was always the voice of reason, reigning his chaotic twin back in.
“William, please, why are you, of all the people doing this?” I asked franticly.
“I think you and Ruby fit well together.” I’m astonished. For two months, I haven’t heard a single word, and now I hear a complete sentence only to stab me in the back.
While I pleaded, we got closer and closer to the clinic. We could already hear someone arguing in the clinic, and William and Jack halted. The door was slightly open.
“What, what are you talking about?” Ruby asked someone in a very embarrassed voice.
“Come on, I can tell just by looking at you. There is a Hickey on the left side of your neck.” This was Rika, right? But what is she talking about?
“This, this is nothing.” If possible, Ruby sounded even more embarrassed than before.
“Haha, the Other Side. So, who is it? Is it Janus?” It felt like my heart stopped for a second. Why was I Rika’s first guess, and why was I so… Happy? After all, it’s not like it really happened. Do I feel like this is because of the dream?
“No, and stop guessing. It was a one-time thing, and that’s it.”
Jack and William looked at me, but I paid them no mind. The color drained from my face. Ruby already had a partner. I couldn’t believe it. She was always so shy.
I should have been able to, but I couldn’t hear the rest of their Conversation. Jack and William let go of me in awkward silence.
I turned around and left.
I couldn’t believe it. Ruby had a lover. She used to give all the men around her the cold shoulder. And there were quite a few. Not only was Ruby the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, but she was also very compassionate. Many Soldiers, servants, and civilians turn their heads when she walks by.
But Ruby has never initiated any kind of Contact from her side. Some rejected men even wondered if she preferred women and had begun spreading nasty rumors about her and Rika out of spite. But I knew better. Ruby simply didn’t like all the attention and had never been inappropriate towards Rika or any other Woman. It looked like Ruby simply wasn’t interested in sex at all.
At least, this was what I had been led to believe. Now, I couldn’t help but think about who it was. No men other than Otto, me, and Benjamin are close to her. Benjamin is just 15. On the other hand, Otto has not been in any relationship since coming to Rose Dorn. But Otto was a widower still wearing a sun necklace underneath his clothes and a memento from his last wife, which I glimpsed during his lessons.
Most of the rumors, however, were about Ruby and me. After I had been told to marry by my father, I had asked the other men about the Rumors. And there were a lot. Even a few Maids were paying close attention to Ruby’s “health” and whether she was Pregnant.
I was appalled by these Rumors. But how do you kill an idea? Unhappy with the lack of clear solutions to the rumors, I finally decided to have a drink. That was when Ruby approached me, and we started talking. I still can’t remember much. Only Ruby supported me until we reached my room. Thankfully, as far as I have heard, no one saw that, or it would already be the cause of even more Rumors.
I don’t like all these Rumors, and before my father told me to marry, I had never even entertained the Idea. But ever since then, I caught myself wishing it could be Ruby. She isn’t a noble, and we have only known each other for six months. And even though I know this, I still wish it could have been her. I hate to agree with the Rumors, but they were at least half right.
I Love Ruby.
But now I don’t know what to do. I want to go to Ruby and ask who it is, but I’m too afraid. I want to stand up to my father and ask for Ruby’s hand anyway, but I’m a coward. And worst of all, Tomorrow I must go and escort that Damm Whimp of a Priest back. Weirdly, facing Bandits and Mercenaries seemed much more straightforward than going after Ruby for an answer or confronting my father. But because of the Mission, Ruby would, at worst, spend 2 to 3 Months with her Lover. Convincing her after that long sounded impossible.
I had to return with the Priest as fast as possible.
With this Resolution in my head, I prepared for Tomorrow.