Gardenia Of Blooming D.e.s.i.r.e

"Are you in love with me?"

Ramuja's heartbeat stopped for a second as his body started trembling uncontrollably. He knew that Young Lord would ask this, but when the moment really happened, the fear of uncertainty numbed his brain.

He tried to pull back and made a distance with Young Lord, but a soft hand suddenly gripped his neck. There was no power in it, and he could break out easily. But there was unprecedented aura exuded from Young Lord's eyes. His eyes had turned golden, and he exuded powerful suppressing aura that made him weak in his knees, trembling out of fear and fascination involuntarily.

Aster repeated his question, "Are you in love with me?"

Ramuja stared at that pair of golden pupils that seemed to sap all his strength.

'If I say yes, what would you do to me, Young Lord?'

'If I say no, would you kill me? I don't mind, since my life and death is in your hand but...'

'But I cannot lie, I do love you. I am a slave that fell in love with his own master, it's like a blasphemy.'

'You came to my dream every night, I was constantly reminded about how I couldn't accompany you to the golden palace. I was afraid that something would happen to you, Young Lord.'

Ramuja remembered about Merry and her family who waited for him in that small house. He never liked Merry romantically, in fact, he always treated her more like a little sister.

'If I say that I do love him, what would happen...'

'But there is no way back anymore, he already knows my feeling, he just needs the word coming from my mouth...'

Ramuja had made a decision and he stared at his master's eyes deeply. There was no more doubt in his eyes.

"Young Lord, this servant... no," Ramuja paused, he shook his head and corrected his words, "Aster, I..."

"I love you, my gaze never leave you and my longing is always about you, your breath is my wish and your happiness is my greatest reward. Aster, I love you."

Ramuja closed his eyes, took a deep breath and opened it. He already told Young Lord about this feeling, he shall face anything that might happen after this. Whether he would die or not, it was in the hand of Young Lord.

***

Aster felt like there was a lightning travelling around his body, constantly discharged on every spot of his nerve system. This feeling made him numb and he even periodically lost his consciousness for few seconds.

'He loves me...'

'He loves me...'

'He loves me, he loves me, he loves me...'

'He loves me, he loves me, he loves me, he loves me, he loves me...'

Aster's golden pupils seemed to have flickered. Suddenly, It shone brightly, as if there was a blinding light inside his eyes. Ramuja felt something was wrong, his body gradually lost all of his power as he couldn't avoid Young Lord's eyes. There seemed to be something that made him dazed and he couldn't think of anything but to stare at that bright golden eyes.

"Ramuja, by the Oath of Camellia, I, Aster Di Arlingdon will--"

TAP!

A silhouette suddenly emerged and tapped Aster's nape with his finger. There was a very thin needle pierced Aster's skin. Ramuja shook his head, he regained his consciousness after a while, then proceed to reacted violently to the scene in front of him.

He rushed to Jain who just sedated Aster and tried to punch him with his strength that came out of nowhere. Jain evaded the reckless punches effortlessly and then did one quick punch in Ramuja's shoulder that paralyzed him completely.

Ramuja growled, "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCHING HIM!"

Jain gave him a sarcastic side-glance and scoffed, "I'm here to save Young Lord from making a terrible mistake, since he almost marked you."

Jain carried Aster and gave Ramuja another glance, "You should know that Young Lord's life is much bigger than a sex slave. He has his own destiny to fulfill, ruining all his opportunity for a slave like you is not worth it."

With that, Jain vanished with Young Lord. Ramuja snarled and cursed, but his body was really paralyzed for fifteen minutes. After he could move again, he ran to Young Lord's room, but the door guards blocked him.

"I--I'm Young Lord's personal slave! He needs my assistance!"

"Young Lord's official servant said that Young Lord didn't feel well, he said no one is allowed to disturb him."

Ramuja was still terrified by the thought of Aster being unconscious, beside, his master was about to say something before Jain sedated him. Ramuja waited for two hours, but the guards didn't seem to budge, he returned to the workers hut. His mind was in chaos and there was something that constantly disturbed his mind after he stared at Young Lord's shining golden eyes.

Ramuja tried to close his eyes, but there was a yellow flash that kept flickering in his mind even if he tried to close his eyes.

'Young Lord... Young Lord...'

***

It was midnight, Aster opened his eyes slowly, the golden pupils had returned normal to a golden circle. Aster observed his surrounding and found that he was in his room. His mind slowly recovered from what happened before he passed out.

'I am meeting my servant...'

'Ramuja... Ramuja... he loves me...'

Aster's golden circle flickered suddenly, but it returned back normal immediately when there was a silhouette appeared in front of him. Jain kneeled deep, "This subordinate watches over Young Lord."

Aster stared at Jain and frowned displeasingly, "What did you do?"

"This subordinate sedated Young Lord with my expertise," Jain replied truthfully.

"I said, what did you do!" Aster raised his voice, "I told you to deliver the letter to Esther in Dionde City! Why are you still here, and how dare you disturb my privacy with my servant!"

Aster took a flower vase near him and threw it on Jain until it shattered, however, Jain didn't budge, "Young Lord, this subordinate is trying to protect Young Lord. Do you remember, that you almost recited the sacred Oath of Camellia to your slave?"

"What?" Aster didn't remember anything after his servant said that he loves him. He didn't even remember about reciting such sacred oath.

People who recited the oath will be bound by fate that they will sacrifice everything for their spouse. If Oath of Gardenia was about a pure love, Oath of Camellia was about a sacrifice for someone you love. It was very sacred and no one in Golden Camellia dared to joke about it.

"Young Lord, no matter how fond you are to that slave, please reconsider your decision. You are the honored Young Master of Grand Duchy Stormhill. You are still the relative of Golden Camellia Royal family. Such title is your destiny, your task in this Grand Duchy. You bear heavy responsibilities on your shoulder."

Aster was also unsure on what just happened. He did like Ramuja so much, but to recite the Oath of Camellia was out of his mind. Not even his parents ever recited the Oath of Camellia seriously to each other.

Because nobody knew what would happen if someday, you had to sacrifice everything to someone you recited the oath with.

'Did I almost recited the oath to him?'

"B--but, how could it be?! No way I would recite that to anyone!'

Jain was right. Aster remembered about his parents, his people, his mission, and many things, including Ramuja, his dearest servant. They were all, in the end, going to be his responsibility.

'I still have plenty of responsibilities, including him.'

'How could I protect him if I lost everything?'

'But still, he boldly declared his love to me... it's amazing...'

Sensing that Aster's eyes started flickering again, Jain immediately interrupted, "Young Lord, please remember that having a relationship with a slave would be harmful to Young Lord and the slave. Grand Duchy's reputation will also be ruined. This subordinate believes that Young Lord acknowledges which matter has the most priority over everything."

"Yes, I know. My responsibility to carry the Grand Duchy's name far outweighs other things," Aster nodded, "It must be because of my muddled mind, thank you for reminding me."

"This subordinate naturally devotes himself to Young Lord, this subordinate will always protect Young Lord from any harm," Jain said sincerely.

"You asked your disciple to send my letter?" Aster asked.

"Yes, Young Lord. This subordinate is worried about you, thus, I couldn't leave you alone here."

Aster smiled, "It's past midnight already, you may return tomorrow morning."

"This subordinate understands," Jain nodded and disappeared.

After his servant left, his golden circle flickered a bit. Aster chuckled.

'My priority for Grand Duchy is indeed the most important because of my status as the Young Master of Grand Duchy Stormhill.'

'However, I do have different priority in my heart.'

'It's just... I couldn't admit it directly, because what Jain said was true. It would be a big disaster to his Grand Duchy if the other nobles know about this.'

Aster imagined the bold expression of his servant when he confessed, Aster's cheeks reddened and he smiled, "If you want my answer, I will say that I love you too, but you know that my position isn't suitable for love."

"My position would only hurt us if we are together now. Thus, you must wait until I can control the situation," he talked to the air. 

'But it would be cruel to leave you hanging, so, I will be giving you an answer that will bind you with me until we are officially together, because I love you too, my sweet servant,' Aster said in his heart, there was a flash of yellow light in his eyes as Aster saw his reflection on the mirror.