Savier blinked and watched as Sir Rylan evaded his gaze and continued driving. He did not look away; he stared at the person in the driver's seat.
From just looking at him, there was nothing unusual. This was how Sir Rylan always acted, silent and strict about his job. But when their eyes met again, and how Savier deliberately made his staring obvious, he finally noticed something off.
Sir Rylan's demeanor was not as calm, though he hid it. The hesitation was apparent in how his hands clenched at the steering wheel and occasionally fidgeted on his fingers.
Something was up.
But what is it? Savier had no clue what made Sir Rylan this way.
"Sir Rylan," he called the name in a low tone. Savier's eyes instantly noticed how the other alpha seemed to flinch at the call.
His eyes narrowed subconsciously, fingers clasped with each other. His hands were now resting on his knees as he leaned on his back. His gaze did not leave the alpha even after he focused on driving again.
This truly caught his attention and curiosity.
"Do you have something you want to say, Sir Rylan?" He kept his voice and tone casual. It was not overly friendly but not too distant either.
It would be too much to ask to be a friend; their statutes made it hard to be so, and the time they shared together was not enough to blur those lines.
"There's none, Your Highness." Sir Rylan replied, his voice steady.
Based on the voice alone, no one could discern what was wrong. Yet, Savier only sensed it all the more.
"Sir Rylan, do I look scary?" Savier asked a question, seemingly out of the blue, about the topic at hand.
"No, Your Highness." This was almost an instinctive reply; Savier did not know if he was sincere.
Still, Savier nodded. "Oh, then why are you hesitating to ask me something?" He played with both his thumbs together. Pondering when Sir Rylan first inhibited an odd reaction.
And a flash of thought came into his mind. He did not wait for the answer that he knew would lead nowhere.
In a few weeks they had been together, Savier had come to know that Sir Rylan was someone too strict with the rules. And so the distance between them had not gone closer but instead only grown.
Savier did not know why Sir Rylan was that, or maybe it was only his personality. It was not his part to pry into that matter, so he did not ask him about it.
"That book... do you like it?"
Savier noticed that Sir Rylan seemed surprised when he offered to borrow that book.
"Uh," Savier paused, weighing his words. "Or, do you not like me borrowing it for you?"
It was like how people got annoyed when someone went ahead and put words in their mouth without permission. Especially so, as an alpha, Sir Rylan might not like a dominant alpha standing over his head and making decisions for him.
That might not be the case, but Savier could not help but relate to it.
"No!" This time, his voice came out strong, so he paused, and the car slowed down. Sir Rylan repeated in the usual tone. "It isn't like that, Your Highness."
Savier did not interrupt and only listened.
"It's just... I'm confused."
Savier tilted his head. "Confused? About what?"
Rylan could not immediately answer; he chewed on his lips and looked ahead. He found it hard to actually answer, as he himself did not know what it was.
For a moment, he even doubted whether they should really be talking about this on the road. Or if this required any discussion at all. However, he was indeed confused by the crown prince's question.
"Why..." Rylan struggled to think of the right words. "Why, do that for me?"
He heard the crown prince ask again.
"Do what? Borrow the book for you?"
This time, Rylan nodded, but thinking they were not facing each other and it was rude not to say it out loud, he spoke. "Yes, Your Highness. Borrowing for me... isn't appropriate,"
Rylan did not know if those were the right words, but for him, his employer, someone he swore to protect, was far above him. The Crown Prince should not borrow something for himself, a loyal guard. No matter how small it was, his matters were not important.
For Rylan, this thinking was not flawed at all. He lived with certain rules, and the hierarchy was carved through his soul and whole being. He should be the one protecting the master and fulfilling his wishes.
In fact, Rylan was born for that purpose, to serve the master with his whole heart. And in this scenario, Savier was his master.
"Not appropriate? In what way?"
Rylan could not see the crown prince's expression and so did not witness the disbelief in his face. He only heard him vaguely scoff and thought what he said made Savier displeased.
He could not help but slightly panic inside and again stumbled in his words. If he was not driving, maybe he was already bowing to his knees in front of Savier and asking for forgiveness.
Fortunately, it was the case, or Savier might faint from surprise if his idol kneeled in from him.
"S-Sorry, Your Highness. Uhm, it's just... You don't need to care about me." Rylan spoke sincerely. He took a breath and gathered his thoughts. "What I like or... interests in don't matter. So, His Highness doesn't need to concern yourself."
Rylan's words carried one of the most fundamental views that shaped him. Throughout the years, while he has undergone education to correct some teachings from his childhood, it has never truly left him.
And so, for him, likes or interests were not important. Rylan also did not know what his likes or interests. Maybe, he did find the book interesting, but not to the point of liking it.
Rylan had never thought too much about this topic before, so he was not sure what the criteria to liking something. But, if he were asked what Savier's likes or dislikes are, he would be able to answer it in great detail. Both from the data provided by the crown prince himself and from his own observations.
Unbeknownst to Rylan, though, what he said greatly hurt Savier's feelings. It sounded like... he was deliberately distancing himself from Savier.
Mind your business.
Of course, Rylan did not directly say those words, and not the message he wanted to convey. But it was how it registered for Savier.
In Savier's ears, it was like a deafening rejection.