I. The Beginning

Titus had always been a very beautiful person, and would often capture the eyes and hearts of many. The maiden's long fair hair and bright pale skin, both of which seemed to glow with radiance in the sunlight, have brought forth both feelings of lust and envy. Titus could walk past a group of males of the same age and get whistled at, occasionally getting complimented for the maiden's looks, while on the other hand, the ladies would simply watch Titus with sly and narrow eyes, muttering silent curses under their breaths as if they held an indirect grudge against Titus.

Even so, Titus had also always been a reserved boy, usually a very quiet person who only seemed to respond to both compliments and insults with a smile. Whether it was fake or not, nobody really knew for sure, but his smile was one of his greatest aspects and his strengths, so no one was really bothered by it. Not many people were aware of this, but the truth was that Titus was actually a boy. Of course, his long hair, large eyes, and various other effeminate features deemed it almost impossible, which was why Titus chose not to tell anyone about his true gender after all. Being born a beauty with brains, the Alexius family was truly proud and thankful to the gods for this wonderful gift to a poor household, but of course the happiness didn't last very long.

Shortly after Titus had turned 15, news about Titus being a boy spread suddenly around town, like a forest fire. Soon, almost every resident from said town and neighbouring households came forth to capture the poor boy, blinded with their thinking that it was a 'sin' to have a male born so beautiful, and that Titus was an 'abomination' to the logic of their gods. Many men and women have been deceived by Titus alone, and they wanted to make sure he felt the same way they did, as well. His parents fought hard to protect their beloved, but alas, they were far too poor and weak, and were eventually brushed aside and labelled as pests as their son was forcefully being escorted to the palace.

When the Empress of that time saw Titus, she merely gave a satisfied gesture, and ordered to have him placed in a small room in the tower. Afterwards, she sent out a notice to the town and other parts of the empire, saying that she had executed the boy. Naturally, the poor, narrow-minded souls that were her followers roared and cheered in success, suspecting nothing of their Empress. They imagined the Alexius family to be distraught, but since the incident, they seem to have disappeared without a trace. So while everyone was happy and went back to living their normal lives (though some were heartbroken over the death of a beautiful being), Titus lived on secretly in the palace, confined in the small room which served to him as a temporary home. Or was it?

The room he lived in was incredibly small, which was unsurprising, for he lived at the top of the tower. There was only a bed - big enough for just one child, a desk, followed by a stool, a bookshelf filled with novels and documentaries about the outside world, and a small lamp that sat on the desk. A door and a small, squarish window were present, but they were to be closed and locked at all times to prevent Titus from escaping. Sometimes one of the Empress' trusty knights would walk up to Titus' room himself to deliver him a meal or two, and that was honestly Titus' only connection to the outside world. There was nothing else.

Despite all this, Titus - being the good-natured person that he was - still remained calm about the incidents and agreed to live on in this room as if he had always been living like this since the day he was born. He made no questions, gave no answers, and simply remained silent while he slowly killed time in his room; such was the boring life of Titus Alexius, but he didn't mind it one bit. The same smile remained on his face even after the crisis, and although this sometimes caused the Empress to worry, she decided not to have anything to do with him for a while.

Meanwhile, at a place several miles away from the Empire, lay the homeland of the grand Heliohapt kingdom. King and young nobles spent most of their days in love and luxury, always getting drunk whenever they got the opportunity, and the like. Living the desired lives of many, they chose to look down on people they deemed inferior, and continued to live their lives in comfort. There was only one young noble who refused to think the same.

And that was Sphintus Carmen. The extraordinary young man who had a knack for herbs and healing. Of course, he was no different from his fellow royals, most of the time, but there was also something else about him that made him so bizarre.

Sphintus was always looking for change. He wasn't conservative, like the rest of his spoiled lot, and he was the kind who got bored very easily. After having spent several nights with the fine ladies of Heliohapt, it was no surprise that he would eventually possess a craving for a foreigner. Of course, the others were against this idea, but Sphintus didn't care; he was a man now, or rather, a matured young adult, and he believed that he could get whatever he wanted, as long as he put his mind to it.

And so, with such a positive mindset, Sphintus followed the rumours that mentioned the beautiful young maiden who had been executed by the Empress of Laem, and he decided that he should go there and confirm the rumours himself. If the maiden really was dead, then he supposed he wouldn't mind keeping himself entertained with the Empress instead.

But if the rumours were fake, and he was able to find evidence that this beautiful young maiden was, in fact, still alive, then he would make no hesitation to use all his power to search for her, to entwine his hands with hers for as long as they could, to stare deep into her emerald eyes until the thought of separation seemed unbearable to him. Of course, all these fantasies were merely just lust, but a man could dream, and this man wanted to make his dreams a reality.