Chapter 642: The Start of Everything
The Imperial couple, rulers of the empire that dominated the only surviving hypercluster, could not get over the fact that such a thing had actually happened to their extremely level-headed son.
"Xavier, seriously?!"
To be fair, Emperor Xavian was just as shocked to realize that he himself had played a tiny part in Xavier’s offer of responsibility, the very one that had landed all of them in this situation.
In all their years alive, aside from seeing him deal with a blunder such as this, today was truly the first time they had seen the personification of ice comfort someone like that.
It wasn’t that Xavier had never comforted people before.
He had, in his own way. But his usual definition of comfort meant being present. And for Xavier, that was already a monumental gesture.
When he was a boy, comfort simply meant allowing the Empress to stay in his room overnight, while still following his rigid schedule to the letter.
They had not expected this version of their son—the one who wiped away tears, patted gently, and hugged tightly while whispering words they didn’t even know existed in his vocabulary.
For one, when Xavier was younger, he was perfectly fine with receiving kisses, hugs, and pats. But actually giving them? Not a chance.
And yet here he was.
The operative and even Marshal Julian felt they might have to close their eyes, just in case the prince suddenly realized what he was doing and decided to take their eyeballs out for witnessing such a scene.
But Xavier couldn’t care less about who was watching. To him, this was far more important than whether or not he looked like an alien creature to the others in the room.
Because when those tears fell, Xavier felt like he was being stabbed.
For a brief, terrifying moment, he had been lost, uncertain of what was happening. But as he held his trembling chipmunk, he eventually realized what had gone wrong.
Admittedly, it had sounded fine in his head before. But now, hearing Luca’s voice break as he described how they had entered into an agreement only after both parties felt responsible for each other... Xavier understood exactly where those tears were coming from.
Luca’s cheeks were still flushed pink, his golden eyes glassy from crying, and every other word came out with a soft hiccup. He looked for all the world like an innocent child confessing to having stolen sweets, rather than recounting something that had altered the course of their lives.
"I-it happened... after we faced this ancient arachnid," he began, sniffling and clutching at his sleeve. "I managed to pull us out at the last minute, but, um, to do that, I had to whack Xavier out cold because he was... he was prepared to sacrifice himself!"
The room froze.
While the listeners expected an uncanny or rocky start, they didn’t expect one quite that rocky.
Luca’s hiccup broke the silence. "I only hit him hard enough to knock him out, I swear! But then, while I was trying to stabilize his condition... w-we had a misunderstanding."
His blush deepened, and he quickly ducked his head, deciding it was much safer not to elaborate on how he’d tried and almost failed to revive Xavier with XXX. And well, the prince could only be thankful for being spared this time.
"When Xavier woke up, he immediately mentioned... taking responsibility for me. Which I... misunderstood."
The operative made a strangled sound.
Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose, half mortified, half resigned, because he really did.
But Luca, oblivious to their states, continued pitifully, "At first, Xavier only said he’d talk to me and my father, but I thought... it would be better to have a guarantee."
Luca rubbed his hands together anxiously, hiccupping again. "I-I’m sorry. At that time, I was really scared about the damage. Like, the damages to Xavier’s mecha... and the school mecha... and the giant egg on his head..."
The Emperor choked. The Empress’s eyes bulged. And Marshal Julian seriously tried his best not to imagine his normally put-together nephew.
In all this, Sid could still remember the horrors of the past, and yet now he could look back favorably at it because it seemed like being hit in the head was his master’s fortune.
And Xavier?
The moment Luca mentioned the "giant egg" on his forehead that he himself hadn’t even known about back then, the Crown Prince of Solaris—stoic, cold, and feared across the empire—started laughing.
Not just a small chuckle, but an uncontrollable, shoulders-shaking, tears-in-his-eyes laugh.
Everyone else was struck speechless.
It had to be a hallucination, right?
Actually, maybe the whole thing was one big shared hallucination, like an attack by a mutated beast with the ability to make them hear such laughter.
But Xavier could not stop. He laughed and laughed, because somehow, in all of Luca’s innocent, pitiful rambling, he found the most beautiful truth—his little chipmunk had hit him, saved him, and then worried about paying damages.
And that was the start of everything.
Luca didn’t understand why Xavier was suddenly like that, laughing so hard that his shoulders shook. But when the prince finally managed to reel himself in, what remained on his face was a grin so wide it nearly startled everyone in the room.
It wasn’t the stern Crown Prince expression they were used to.
No, this was something boyish, mischievous even, and the sight made Luca blink up at him in shock.
Because of their position—Luca perched on Xavier’s lap—he had to turn partly to look up, while Xavier only had to tilt his gaze down. For a moment, golden eyes met azure, and the little chipmunk swore his heart gave a painful thump.
That same boyish face softened as Xavier reached up, thumb brushing away a tear clinging to the side of his wife’s eye.
"Luca," he said, voice low and warm, "I’m really sorry for proposing on the ground, without even kneeling properly."
Luca’s eyes went wide, his lips parting in disbelief. He had not expected that.
Xavier’s expression was radiant, happier than anyone had seen him, no regrets written anywhere in the lines of his face.
"There are so many more things I should apologize for about that day," Xavier went on. "Not having fireworks. Not having our families around. Not even doing it with more acceptable clothing. But like I told you before, it isn’t right to apologize for things we don’t mean."
He leaned in closer, his grin softening into something almost reverent. "And it would be impossible for me to apologize for something I’m so thankful for."
Luca’s ears burned crimson. He hiccuped lightly, still fragile from his earlier tears, and tried to glance away, but Xavier didn’t let him.
"Mother was right about choices," Xavier continued. "And I’m eternally grateful you chose for us instead."
"H-huh?" Luca blinked up at him, stunned again.
Xavier’s smile gentled further, fondness wrapping around his words. "You probably don’t know. But they do."
He tilted his head toward the Emperor, the Empress, the Marshal, and even the poor operative, who all stared back in stunned silence.
"I actually make bad choices."
The grin that followed was boyish and almost smug, and then, to everyone’s disbelief, the Crown Prince of Solaris licked his lip like someone admitting to a harmless crime that amused him far too much.
The onlookers stared up at him in unison, feeling they would miss something if they even blinked.
No one had expected Xavier to look like this.
Least of all Luca.
"What do you mean?" asked the teary-eyed chipmunk who blinked up at him in confusion.
Xavier’s grin softened, his tone turning steady. "See, I make great choices for the Empire as a prince. But I’m the worst at making choices for myself. If there are greater gains to be had from sacrifice, then I’ll do it."
Luca tilted his head, still not understanding, but Xavier continued anyway.
"But in a time when I was making the correct call for the Empire and the bad call for myself, you chose an unconventional path of knocking me out instead."
Luca flushed red, ears twitching as he remembered how he’d kidnapped his classmate, but Xavier’s expression stayed warm.
"Then, when given the choice of what to do with a stranger, you chose to save me even when it came with risk."
Xavier’s smile widened, boyish and amused. "But just as expected, you’re special. Not only did you choose to do all that, but even when I had a giant egg on my forehead and was definitely not as good-looking as you’d like, you still chose to agree."
The Emperor coughed into his fist while the Empress pressed a hand to her mouth.
Luca’s eyes prickled because he was hearing words he didn’t really expect to hear when he was just concerned about belatedly realizing that, in reality, Xavier lost his ability to choose for himself because he felt responsible for Luca. But this?
"What’s more," Xavier went on, his voice gentling further, "when I said I’d be responsible for you, you chose to believe I could do it, even when moments ago I’d been ready to sacrifice myself. Sure, you were probably thinking about penalties and a whole different set of responsibilities, but when I was paralyzed and helpless and chose self-sacrifice, you made a far better choice."
Luca’s lips trembled. The Empress gripped her husband’s arm tightly, as if steadying herself against the weight of the moment.
Xavier leaned closer, azure eyes unwavering. "So I know there are so many things that could’ve been done differently. But my love, your choices back then gave me all the choices I have now. And it’s only because of your choice that I can continue choosing you—choosing us."
His smile softened, every word steady and certain. "So believe me when I tell you that I’m just so glad to be chosen by you."
For a heartbeat, the world around them blurred.
He had read it in books, seen it all drawn out, but it apparently wasn’t enough to describe it.
That moment.
That moment Xavier’s words struck so hard that his azure eyes seemed to tremble with light, and the air between them felt as though it popped with invisible sparks.
Luca couldn’t really hear the gasps from the others. He couldn’t see their stunned faces.
All of a sudden, it was as if he were elsewhere, standing in a space where there was only Xavier.
The man who didn’t just know how to repair his heart.
Like always, Xavier would take it, mend it, polish it, and return it whole.
Returned full.
Returned loved.
Ah, loved.
The word echoed inside him, certain and clear.
Just like Luca was now sure that he really loved him too.