Gardenia of Blooming Desire

Aster took a deep breath and exhaled in relief. Surprisingly, he didn't hate Gaum at all. Sure, he was brazen and could be obnoxious sometimes, but his demeanor had its own charm.

It's just that, Aster hated it whenever Gaum touched him indecently or flirted, even though he was sure that Gaum was joking most of the time. Aster had researched about this man, Gaum was a known playboy in Dionde. He lived in the city of Dionde for one year already, and his informant reported that Gaum had had dozens of affairs, mostly physical affair with middle class and upper class women.

It wasn't really a surprise for Aster, Gaum was the second prince of vassal kingdom, even though the kingdom struggled from time to time, but it was still quite wealthy. Supported with his devilishly handsome smirk, raven hair, and his extraordinary charm, it was quite clear that he could get the ladies around him.

Thus, Aster didn't really bother with Gaum's antics of flirting and touching, since he knew Gaum didn't really mean it. The most important thing was to grab his tail, so he would follow his order later on.

'He didn't need to act like that in front of me though. I'm not inviting him here to flirt and joke vulgarly.'

'Maybe I could match him with a maiden. He is charming already, I'm sure he doesn't mind to have a conversation with one of Grand Duchy's vassal houses' noble lady.'

Aster slumped on the sofa, he was really tired and his face was feverish. Gaum's method of flirting and complimenting was too much for him to handle. He couldn't listen to such thing while keeping the straight face.

'How could he say things like 'marriage', 'soul mate', 'sweet heart' to a colleague? As if it is a light words. They all have it's own meaning!'

'And giving me the rare Gardenia of Blooming Desire. What a maniac!'

Aster kept the gardenia in the box in order to preserve its appearance. Since he predicted that Gaum would beg for him to return the gardenia in case he wanted to propose to his real love.

'Should I laugh at him if that actually happen?' Aster chuckled lightly.

"Jain, give me that box with that gardenia in it," Aster ordered.

"Yes, Young Lord." Jain took the jewelry box and handed it to Aster. The gardenia was safe inside the box, even cushioned with cotton. It was too precious to be treated carelessly.

Aster took out the gardenia and fiddled with its petal. The flower was already preserved, thus it would keep its luster forever as long as it was treated gently. The gardenia still had its vibrant color of pink and white on the edge of each petal. It was very beautiful.

'I wonder if Ramuja likes Gardenia of Blooming Desire...' Aster giggled and continued caressing the gardenia.

"Young Lord, may this servant know why do you look so happy just now?" Jain approached Aster. He was actually ready to kill that man called Gaum because of his indecency, but his master forbid him.

"Hm? No, nothing," Aster laughed again. He started imagining if Ramuja gave him this kind of gardenia or him giving the gardenia.

Aster couldn't help but getting blushed again.

"Young Lord, this servant wonders... why do you release that man called Gaum? He touched you indecently, with your order, I could eliminate him and no one would ever know his corpse."

"What? No!" Aster responded immediately, "He is very important! You shall not and never harm him, do you understand?"

"Yes, this servant understands. Pardon this servant's impudence for questioning Young Lord," Jain kneeled in front of Aster.

"It's okay, but you shouldn't execute an action without my order," Aster huffed. He patted Jain's head gently.

Jain was in his early thirties, with clean appearance and tall posture. But in front of Aster, he nodded and enjoyed the pat from his master.

'Maybe Ramuja will also try to search one Gardenia like this and give it to me like what he did with the sunflower...'

When Aster was still playing with the gardenia, he subconsciously glanced at Ramuja who casted his eyes down. His expression looked grieving, as if he just spectate series of painful events.

Actually, since the moment Gaum entered his room, he glanced at Ramuja subtlety. But Aster did it many times that he actually lost count. He found himself craving for Ramuja more and more.

Whenever Gaum flirted with him, his eyes immediately replaced Gaum with Ramuja. He fantasized that Ramuja was the one who flirted with him in Gaum's position. He was afraid that he would be unable to hide his disgust if he imagined Gaum instead of Ramuja.

'I--I wouldn't mind if Ramuja k-kiss me....'

'Ahhh! Imagining something so vulgar is not good for my heart, really!'

'What am I? How did I become a girl in romance novel! Aster, calm yourself!'

Aster closed his eyes and took deep breaths. He opened his eyes and the golden circle in his pupil seemed to dilate.

"R--Ramuja, come here," Aster called him. Ramuja approached cautiously. He still lowered his head, dared not looking at his master.

"Yes... Young Lord."

"Well, what do you think about this Gardenia of Blooming Desire, beautiful isn't it?" Aster opened Ramuja's palm and handed the gardenia to him.

"You should feel it, it's very soft and beautiful. It's um... rare too. You might found one if you're really lucky and um... you... can give it to someone you like," Aster explained awkwardly.

Aster heard no answer from Ramuja. He was baffled by Ramuja's blank expression. He didn't even try to caress the flower. The gardenia was just in his palm, unmoving.

"Hm? What do you think?" Aster raised his eyebrows. He heard no answer. Ramuja was dead still like a statue. "Ramuja?"

"Yes... it looks beautiful... like you, Young Lord...' Ramuja replied weakly.

"I--I don't need to hear you bootlicking!" Aster blushed immediately. He gripped the hem of his shirt out of nervousness.

"I... said the truth... Young Lord's beauty is unreal... like this flower..."

"Wha--!"

"You're really fascinating..." Ramuja's expression was still the same, he looked desolate, yet his voice had a trace of longing.

Aster's face was getting unbelievably red, even more than when Gaum flirted continuously. He ran to the bathroom and washed his face. He needed to reduce the heat.

"R--Ramuja! You are dismissed for today! You can leave!" Aster ordered from the bathroom. He didn't even dare to show himself in front of Ramuja right now. His mind was full of wild fantasy.

'He called me without honorific, but with 'You'. H--How brave!'

Aster held his palpitating chest. His heartbeat sounded like a loud drum.

'Am I crazy now? I almost died by happiness just because Ramuja called me without honorific!'