ASTRID felt his heart skip hearing those words. The way Wulfric said it, so sincere and without any hint of hesitation, caught him off guard. With his cheeks warming, he still looked at Wulfric with a pointed expression. "Don’t think you’re getting off the hook just because you said something romantic. You still need to call Leland."

Wulfric gave him a sheepish smile, the kind that made him look like a charming boy next door. "And here I thought I could charm my way out of it."

Astrid let out a small laugh, finding Wulfric oddly adorable. He reached up and pinched his cheek. "Go on. Call him now, Wulf."

"Yeah, yeah, I will," Wulfric said. Then, before Aster could say another word, he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. He pulled back with a grin, and when Aster blinked in surprise, Wulfric found the look on his face so adorable that he almost wanted to kiss him again. But he stopped himself and just opened his Terminal and called Leland.

After Astrid got over his initial surprise, he resisted the urge to pinch Wulfric’s cheek again. Instead, he just looked over the Terminal screen. Wulfric’s call had already connected and a figure appeared on the screen. The man on the other end had blue-gray hair swept back in a neat style, sharp dark green eyes framed by gold rimmed glasses, and a severe expression that suggested he had little patience for mistakes.

It’s Leland, Wulfric’s lieutenant.

"Your Highness, I take it you made it to the capital safely," Leland said, his voice dry as dust.

"Ah, yeah," Wulfric said with an awkward laugh. "Look, Leland, I’m sorry I just left without telling you. I know it was wrong, and I swear I won’t do it again. But I made sure I finished all my work first and I made sure I left when there wasn’t anything critical going on at the base. So there’s really no big deal about me being gone for a couple of days. I leave the day after tomorrow, and will fly back as fast as I can."

Leland raised an eyebrow. Hearing the prince apologize was certainly unexpected. He never said sorry for the trouble he had caused before, because he didn’t believe he had done anything wrong. This apology would have sounded better if the prince had not followed it with a list of justifications for his departure. Yes, he had finished his work. Yes, there was nothing critical going on at the base right now. But having the prince run off without a single guard was still a headache for Leland.

But unlike before, when he had pulled the same kind of stunt and disappeared for days without a word, at least now he seemed to realize that what he was doing was irresponsible. Or at least, that was what Leland wanted to believe. He had a feeling, though, that this sudden development of a conscience had less to do with the prince and more to do with someone else.

"Just try to travel back safely, Your Highness," he said with a sigh. "And if Mr. Townsend happens to be nearby, may I have a word with him?"

Wulfric opened his mouth to ask why, but before he could, Aster moved to stand beside him, their arms brushing against each other. The sudden contact made him snap his mouth shut, his attention immediately zeroing in on where their arms touched.

"Hello, Lieutenant Brewer," Astrid said with a warm smile. "It’s been a while."

Wulfric’s head turned toward Aster, a flicker of curiosity crossing his face. What did he mean by ’it’s been a while’? Had they met before without him knowing? And why was Aster smiling so warmly at Leland? He was not jealous. Definitely not. Just... curious.

Leland smiled back. "I think at this point, you can just call me Leland."

"Then you’ll have to call me Astrid," Astrid replied with an easy smile.

Wulfric’s head swiveled between the two of them like he was watching a tennis match. Why were they smiling at each other like that? He was just curious. Naturally curious. He was not jealous. Not at all. He was simply observing the situation. Like a concerned bystander. A completely unbothered, very not jealous bystander.

Even from lightyears away, Leland could feel the weight of a glare boring into him through the screen. He glanced to the side and found the prince staring daggers at him. He was not oblivious enough to miss the reason why. The sight was almost amusing. To think there would come a day when he would see the stubborn, hardheaded prince actually jealous. He had to bite back a smirk at that.

He turned his gaze back to Astrid. It was all because of him. Every single change in the prince, all the growth and improvement, could be traced back to this young man. Thankfully, every single one of those changes had been for the better.

He should probably say what he had to say before the prince convulsed from jealousy from where he stood. "Thank you, Astrid. For being in His Highness’s life. For being such a positive influence on him. And if it’s not too much to ask, I hope you won’t leave him. Unless, of course, His Highness does something worth leaving him for."

Astrid was surprised by the gratitude and the request. Just by that, it was obvious how much Wulfric meant to Leland, despite all the headaches the prince must have given him over the years. He appreciated that. He was glad Wulfric had someone like Leland by his side, someone who could be the voice of reason when needed. Wulfric definitely needed a grounding presence like that.

"Of course, Leland," Astrid said with a sincere smile.

Wulfric’s ’curiosity’ had already vanished the moment Leland made that request. Even his glare, which he hadn’t even realized he was doing, had softened into a pleased smile as he looked at his lieutenant. Sure enough, Leland understood him. To get that kind of promise out of Aster was almost as good as a promise of marriage. He conveniently ignored the part about ’unless he did something worth leaving him for.’ Because he was confident he never would.

Maybe he should give Leland a vacation once he returned to Alluna.

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