The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

Chapter 746: BROTHERS’ HEART-TO-HEART TALK (II)

HEARING that, Cynric couldn’t help but laugh. Because it was just so like Wulfric to say something like that. ”If it were that easy, I would not be having this problem right now.”

Wulfric gave him a sideways look. ”The only problem here is you thinking too much.”

”Have we really made up? Why are you coming at me like this?” Cynric replied with mock outrage.

Wulfric only rolled his eyes at him, which made Cynric laugh.

”But seriously, things between me and Valentine are not that simple,” Cynric said, sounding more serious now. ”What we have started as a transaction. His face is just my type, so I invited him to the palace, very discreetly, mind you. I still have a reputation to protect, after all. He would sleep with me, and I give him some gifts now and then. Tell me, can a relationship like that ever be real?”

Wulfric let out a short laugh. ”Sleeping with you would hardly be a chore for that guy. Even if you paid him only pennies, he would still do it happily.”

He could still picture how that man looked at Cynric whenever his brother was not watching. At first, he did not think anything of it. He just assumed Valentine had some issues with his eyes. But after falling in love with Aster himself, he finally understood that ’look’. It was the look of a man in love.

”What I am trying to say is, no matter how your relationship started, in the end, it would be the two of you who would decide how it would end,” he continued. ”Just look at me and Aster. When we first met, Aster hated my guts. He even acted like some weak fool just so I would lose interest in him. But alas, it did not work. I probably already fell for him the first moment I laid my eyes on him. That is why I am working on myself, so I could be worthy of him. I changed, well not really the fundamentals, I am still probably an asshole. But I changed in the things that truly mattered. At least when it came to Aster.” He turned to his brother once again. ”You could do it too. If you think Valentine Davis is the one.”

Cynric blinked, not expecting such a long and thoughtful statement from Wulfric. He certainly had not expected to hear his brother talk about love. It really drove home just how completely whipped Wulfric was for Astrid Townsend.

His mind, however, focused on two things Wulfric had said. That the end of his relationship with Valentine could only be decided by the two of them. And that if he truly believed Valentine was worth it, he could change too, just like Wulfric had.

But could he truly?

”Or if you only think of him as some playmate on the bed with, then I will not say anything else,” Wulfric added.

Cynric went completely still for a second. Then a loud, surprised laugh burst out of him. He laughed because the idea was so far from the truth it was almost funny.

Yes, he did not know exactly when it had started, but he had not thought of Valentine as just a ’bed playmate’ for a long time now. The connection they shared went far beyond the physical part of their relationship. Now that his mind was clearer and his heart felt more at peace, he could finally admit that truth to himself.

Since the two of them met, Valentine had always been there for him. He never really thought deeply about it, but now that he did, he suddenly noticed things he never had. Valentine was the one who listened to him complain about imperial duties without getting bored.

He was the one who made him laugh after a difficult day with a stupid joke or a funny story from a film set. He was the person who remembered small things Cynric liked and would surprise him with them. He never asked for public recognition or used their connection for his career. He was just always there, a steady and private comfort in Cynric’s isolated life as the emperor.

Cynric had always taken everything Valentine did for him in stride. He never thought too deeply about it. Because if he did, it would bring up feelings he was not sure he was ready to face. But was he ready now? He still was not completely sure. But admitting all of this to himself was already a step forward. It might be just a small step, but at least after taking that first step, he could finally start moving toward something.

”But if you’re really not sure,” Wulfric continued when Cynric remained silent. ”Don’t see him for a month. See if you feel differently without him by your side. If you don’t miss him, if your life feels the same, then maybe it really was just physical. But if his absence leaves a hole... then you have your answer.”

Cynric chuckled again when he heard that. ”Would it really be that simple?”

”It is that simple,” Wulfric said with a shrug, and then added with a smirk. ”Unless you decide to complicate it.”

Cynric shook his head. ”You are a jerk, you know that?”

”I do,” Wulfric said with a knowing grin. ”But if you are going to follow my advice, please tell your lover-boy that you banning him from the palace for a month has nothing to do with me. Who knows if that guy would take it out on Aster. And you know that if he did, I would have no choice but to retaliate, right? Let us not let it reach that point. So, be straight with him. The kind where there will be no misunderstanding left. Good communication would be the best start if you are planning to make whatever you have with him real.”

Cynric pondered that and winced a bit, thinking about how Valentine might actually do something like that. But his mind focused again on one thing. On the last part Wulfric had said. If he wanted his relationship with Valentine to be real, then they needed to have good communication.