[BL]The Hero and his Party Won't Let Me Go-Chapter 154: Ch : Responsibility

"All done?"

The guard asked Baron Conner, and the Baron nodded.

He did not know what happened to him, but the Baron suddenly felt like he had a purpose in his life. And it was to carry out the goddess’s order to send Shuu to the temple and have the Emperor choose his daughter as his companion.

But to do that, he would need more help. Bending the hero’s arm to get him to do what was needed would not be easy.

The first thing the Baron would need were allies. And thankfully, he knew where he needed to go to get some.

’Duke Inferno and the other nobles are utterly devoted to the goddess. I should go there and have a small talk with them.’

__________

Dinner was tense that day. The absence of Lady Elysia was evident, and the only one who seemed unaware of what happened was Lady Canarie.

The oblivious lady looked around with curiosity before she blinked cutely and asked the question.

"Excuse me, but does anyone know where Lady Elysia is? I have not seen her for some time now..."

There was a tense silence that followed that question. Everyone looked at each other, wondering how to answer her question.

In the end, Princess Danielle answered her.

"Lady Elysia...had somewhere to go. She won’t be joining us from now on."

Lady Canarie looked surprised by this, but she quickly went back to her normal self, almost as if nothing had happened at all.

Dinner finished in silence, and Shuu headed back to his room with Caelis and Rin. He had not gone too far when he felt a presence suddenly appearing behind him.

He tensed and pulled the kids behind him, but when he turned around, he found Lady Canarie reaching for him with an innocent expression on her face.

She looked just as startled as he was at this sudden action, and her face flushed with a stutter.

"I-I...this is not what I...actually, I have a favor to ask of you, Companion Shuu. Won’t you hear me out?"

She asked in a subdued voice, but her eyes kept looking at the kids hiding behind Shuu with a keen interest.

He did not like the attention Lady Canarie was giving the kids. But at the same time, he knew that he had no grounds to stop her either.

Shuu had yet to say it out loud, but he had come to terms with the fact that he liked (if not loved) Emperor Kaiden enough to envision a future together with him. He had even been ready to accept things and perhaps marry the Emperor.

But the change in the goddess’s will had left him shaken.

He had told others that he had no desire to leave Kaiden until Kaiden decided to get rid of Shuu himself. But it was hard to keep to his words when everything around him wanted to separate the pair.

It would all be too easy to let go and-

"Companion Shuu, please listen to my request. I know it might be hard for you to grant, but it is because of the goddess’s will..."

And there it was again-the cursed word that dedicated Shuu’s life ever since he was born.

Still, he could not allow himself to get lost in his thoughts once more, so he dragged himself out and gave Lady Canarie a soft smile.

"What favor do you want me to grant? I am afraid that I won’t be able to help you much, but I will try my best to help out as much as I can."

Shuu promised with a smile, and Lady Canarie wasted no time in speaking.

"I just want you to allow me to meet with Prince Caelis and Prince Rin. I know it might be too much to ask, but as their future stepmother, I would like to get along with them. Won’t you help me out?"

Lady Canarie reached out and grabbed Shuu’s hands before he could stop her or pull back.

Her cold touch made Shuu immediately pull his hands back, and Lady Canarie gave him a startled look at the rudeness of his actions.

But Shuu kept his eyes on her, and he did not move. His calm outward appearance hid the panic he felt inside his mind at that news.

’Get along? Why does she want to get along with the kids? And that confidence...? Why is Lady Canarie so confident that she will become Kaiden’s wife...not that I doubt the prophecy and all...but I don’t like it. The thought of it all hurts...’

Breathing felt a little harder, and Shuu tried to control himself, but a hitch left his mouth.

Lady Canarie’s easy-going expression did not help the situation either, and she kept looking at Shuu in an expectant way, waiting for him to agree.

But Shuu did not agree with her. He did not want to help her in any way, be it now or later.

"I am sorry, but I cannot help you with this. Both Caelis and Rin are young, and the most important thing in their life is stability."

Shuu reminded the female in front of him, and Lady Canarie’s smile did not fade away. But she did look just a little bit annoyed by his words.

Before she could say anything more, Shuu decided to turn around and leave.

It did feel like he was running away, but that did not matter to him as much as keeping his sanity.

His head was throbbing, and everything inside him told him that he needed to run.

"Hey, this is not right. No matter how much you want to avoid it, the prophecy needs to be followed for the sake of Emperor Kaiden and this world. Ignoring it won’t help anyone out..."

Lady Canarie was right. Ignoring the prophecy won’t help anyone out...least of all Shuu.

And yet, he could not bring himself to accept that prophecy, no matter what. Otherwise, he felt like he would go mad.

The world felt bleak and crushing. Shuu found it hard to breathe, and he let out a chuckle at that fact.

’Ah, what a familiar feeling. Some things...just never change.’