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It was snowing. In the warmth of Deon's manor, the dining room was heated up to a comfortable temperature, and the view from the window could almost be considered cozy. Deon would consider taking a nap right here and then—if it weren’t for the sound and view of old men running and throwing snowballs at each other outside.
Deon had planned on spending the season alone, having been given a rare break by the emperor, but a group of unwanted guests had arrived at his doorstep.
The Lofty Knights were currently yelling and fighting in the snow, Deon not letting them inside with the excuse of them needing to burn some of their energy before entering, to which the men understood as, “Cap- Count Hardt is letting us play in the snow!” It took no further convincing for them to go wild in his front yard, away from Deon.
Thankfully, they weren't the only ones who appeared. Lien Reiner made sure to come along to babysit them, while an unexpected guest tagged along—the warrior, Cassius.
He was in the area and decided to drop by. Deon didn’t know when they'd gotten close enough to just drop by without prior notice, but his presence wasn’t too bad compared to the boisterous men playing outside in the snow.
Cassius was helping himself to the cake the Lofty Knights had brought, saying they couldn’t show up empty-handed. The Lofty Knights had brought spoons instead of forks, too, and while Deon could bring someone to get them forks, the Lofty Knights had looked sad when it was brought up by Lien. Not wanting to deal with an adult tantrum, Deon let them keep their spoons.
He wondered if the cake would taste any good if they already made such a mistake. He could admit that at least the visuals looked good. However, the longer he looked, the more a fork seemed like the better choice as the strawberries would make it hard to scoop without either having to grab the entire piece or by forcefully cutting into it and potentially making it fly off the plate.
Cassius picking the strawberries and plopping them into his mouth caught Deon's eye. 'Do people usually eat the strawberries off the top before eating the rest of the cake?'
“Would you like a bite?”
Deon was caught staring.
Cassius held a spoon with cake on it.
Deon Hardt had been raised sheltered, literally. He was kept inside the mansion until he got forcefully enrolled into the Eight-Year War. He knew noble etiquette, but he didn’t know anything about how soldiers acted with each other—the Lofty Knights being the only thing to compare it to, but Deon knew they were anything but normal.
Was it normal to have someone feed you? Was it normal to eat when someone tries to feed you? He had seen the Lofty Knights playfully try to feed him, but he had always rejected them, and again, he couldn’t use them for comparison unless he knew what was already normal or not.
Cassius was patiently waiting for him to answer. Whatever, he’ll go for it.
Cassius moved the spoon as Deon closed his eyes, opening his mouth.
“Oh.”
An uneasy feeling settled in Deon's stomach. That sound couldn’t have meant anything good.
Deon sneaked a peek.
Cassius had the spoon near his own mouth. “Did you want me to feed you?”
Blood rushed to Deon’s cheeks. ‘Kill me! Just kill me now!’
He’s never been this embarrassed in his life.
'Gahhhhh! Wahhhhh!' While Deon was internally screaming, Cassius had faced the spoon to Deon instead.
Deon stared, his mouth open for a different reason now.
“Say ah…” Cassius opened his mouth as he placed one hand under the other in case any of the cake would fall off.
‘What a nice guy.’ Deon was touched. Cassius was willing to ignore the slight misunderstanding and even helped him save face in the end. It honestly helped put his emotions to ease a bit.
Deon closed his eyes and moved forward, feeling touched or not, he still wanted to get this moment over with.
But he really should've kept his eyes open this time as he felt something cold hit his nose. He frowned.
‘I missed.’
While one would think he was frowning from anger, he was instead frowning from embarrassment, his lips unable to stop from pulling down.
The silence was killing him.
Deon opened his eyes, dreading what he’ll see.
Cassius held a hand in front of his mouth as if he were trying to hide his amusement but ultimately failed as Deon’s dumbfounded look made him laugh harder.
Deon had seen Cassius smile and given off some huffs of laughter here and there, but he’s never seen him laugh like this before. He didn’t know whether to be insulted or not.
Cassius seemed to take mercy on him as he wiped the frosting off his nose. “I’m sorry, Sir Hardt. I didn’t mean to laugh at you.”
It didn’t sound all too convincing when his words were filled with trembling laughter.
Deon frowned even more, but he couldn't bring himself to get truly mad at the bright smile in front of him.
But that wouldn't stop him from getting revenge. Without much thought, he wiped some frosting off the cake and onto Cassius’ cheek.
It was Cassius’ turn to look dumbfounded.
“Pfft.”
Cassius blinked.
“You’re right. This is funny.”
'Is this how people my age interact with each other? This isn't so bad.' Deon smiled.
Cassius’ eyes sparkled, instantly reaching for more cake, but this time with his hands.
'Huh?'
What was a playful frosting moment ended up becoming a small cake fight as Cassius tried to get more cake on Deon’s face while Deon was straining to get away from him, his arms outstretched, craning his neck as far away as possible. It was proving difficult as the warrior was noticeably using more force than a normal human being would. All so he can get cake on his face.
‘Nevermind, he’s just a brat!’
Well, if you can't beat them, join them. Deon grabbed whatever cake he could get into his hand, while Cassius pushed forward.
Lien had come back from outside, tapping the forefoot of her boots to clean off the snow. “Lord Hardt, I–”
Cassius and Deon had cake in their hair, clothes, and hands—cake everywhere but in their mouths. Not to mention, their hair was disheveled and their clothes were rumpled. Surprisingly, the cake didn't land on the table or on any of their surroundings.
Lien was flabbergasted. She clearly didn’t know how to approach this or if she was allowed to reprimand them.
It was the first time Count Hardt had looked his age. And while she didn’t know Cassius that well, she can say the same for him.
“Please clean up after you are done, Lord Hardt, Warrior.” It was nice to see them having fun, but they should still clean up after themselves.
Deon coughed, not able to look her in the eye. “We’ll make sure we do, Captain Lien…”
After they cleaned the chunks of cake off themselves, Lien gave them another slice of cake before running after the Lofty Knights causing a ruckus outside.
“Ah…” Cassius held a spoonful of cake up.
“I’m not going to fall for that a second time,” Deon said with a deadpan expression.
Cassius didn’t even do it on purpose the first time, but Deon didn’t want another repeat of missing the spoon again.
“I won’t miss.” Cassius laughed, hand still out, waiting for him to eat it. “I promise.”
Deon was still curious about the taste. He kept his eyes open as he leaned in, keeping an eye out for Cassius and the spoon.
One bite was all it took for Deon’s eyes to sparkle. The cream was soft and the vibrant flavor of strawberry hit his craving for sweetness in just the right way. He didn’t expect much from the cake the Lofty Knights brought over, but knowing them, the reason why it tasted good was because Lien had been in charge of the cake.
Deon was ready to eat another bite when Cassius went to eat next, with the same spoon.
Deon’s mouth was still hanging open before he could close it.
Cassius looked at him with a tilt of his head before making a sound of realization. "Ah."
Deon wasn’t sure if he could ever get used to this guy.