Once Upon a Time

第37章 Chapter 18

“What do you mean?” Jamil said, sitting up.

Sighing, Rohan sat up, too. He ran a hand over his face, wondering how to tell him.

He looked back at Jamil and lost his train of thought for a moment when he saw Jamil worrying his lips. They still looked kind of swollen—used—from their earlier activities. The sight was more distracting than it should have been.

This wasn’t the time to let himself be distracted.

It was time toe clean.

Averting his gaze from Jamil, Rohan began speaking.

“Tai’Lehrians are tired,” he said. “Tired of hiding, tired of ing bonding certificates and living in fear of discovery, since we’re hiding in plain sight. Over the past few decades, there appeared movements that wanted us toe clean to the Council and demand lawful status—or failing that, an independence from Calluvia.” Rohan’s lips twitched. “You could say the rebels have rebel movements now too. Those radical groups thought that enough time had passed since the rebels left Calluvia. They insisted that the Council wouldn’t consider us criminals if we came clean and proved that we weren’t dangerous. But the governor of the colony, Lord Tai’Lehr, was as conservative as his predecessors. He wasn’t convinced that approaching the Council would aplish anything besides war.”

Jamil opened his mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it and allowed Rohan to continue.

“But a few years ago, the old governor died and his son inherited the title. The new Lord Tai’Lehr agreed to listen to those radical groups and has been eventually swayed to their point of view. So for the past few years, the governor and the Tai’Lehrian Senate have been putting together a strategy for their eventual appeal to the Calluvian Council. Although their plans weren’t widely known, they weren’t exactly secret. It’s possible that the High Hronthar learned of them.” If High Hronthar learned about their plans, the monks were unlikely to be happy. Tai’Lehrians’ recognition as lawful citizens would destabilize the whole Calluvian society, shake the foundation of the High Hronthar’s power if the Bonding Law became optional. The High Hronthar obviously couldn’t allow it.

He could feel Jamil’s confusion. “But why didn’t you suspect the High Hronthar from the beginning? It seems so obvious now.”

Rohan shook his head. “Since the assassination attempts on Warrehn coincided with the start of the anti-rebel campaign on Calluvia, we obviously thought it was all Dalatteya’s work: that she was trying to finish the job she started years ago, and failing that, she wanted to discredit Warrehn’s only allies. We didn’t know that Dalatteya was just a pawn of the High Hronthar.”

A wrinkle appeared between Jamil’s elegant brows, his lips pursing. Rohan felt a fresh wave of affection. He really liked watching Jamil think. He liked watching Jamil, period. Everything about him was so elegant, exquisite, and lovely that it was difficult to look away from him. Even sitting on the bedpletely naked, Jamil exuded so much poise, Rohan felt like a brute inparison. A brute who was allowed for some reason to put his paws all over that perfection. A brute who was allowed to sully such loveliness with his cock.

“What about Prince Warrehn’s younger brother?” Jamil said.

Rohan grimaced. “He’s likely dead. When he was escaping from his would-be assassins, Warrehn was forced to give the kid to someone else so that the boy had a chance to escape, but since the little prince didn’t turn up anywhere over the last neen years, the boy must be dead. Dalatteya seemed to think so, too.”

Jamil shook his head slowly. “I still can’t believe Dalatteya is capable of murdering innocent boys...” He cocked his head to the side, thoughtful. “I presume Prince Warrehn is ready to return home? He’d better have ironclad proof that his aunt is the one trying to assassinate him, or no one will believe him. Dalatteya has excellent connections in the Council. People love her and her son, love them far more than the direct line Prince Warrehn belongs to.”

Rohan frowned. “I know. We don’t have proof that she’s the one attempting to kill Warrehn. It will be Warrehn’s word against hers.”

Catching Jamil’s strange look, Rohan said, “What?”

“You know a lot for an average rebel,” Jamil said.

Rohan suppressed a sigh. Jamil had been bound to get suspicious, sooner or later, but he would have preferred for it to be later than sooner. He wasn’t sure if Jamil would consider him a liar for not telling him the truth from the beginning.

He picked up Jamil’s hand and stroked his long fingers before bringing the hand to his mouth. He brushed his lips against Jamil’s si ring and felt Jamil tense up.

Their gazes met and held.

Rohan didn’t need to say anything. It was a gesture of fealty, used only between a lord-vassal and their monarch.

“Rohan’ngh’lavere, the governor of Tai’Lehr. At your service, Your Highness.”