How the Sidekick Prince Lives Again Chapter 126

Published at 12th of July 2023 11:48:54 AM

“……”

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Unable to easily answer, Renato kept silent. When the man asked for his name after giving him the pocket watch, his chest sank as if submerged in water. His throat felt choked up again, making him unable to speak.

‘Could you please permit me your name, Your Imperial Highness?’

A nostalgic voice resounded in his head occupied by old memories. The voice that was more mature and deeper than Khalid’s right now lingered in his ears like an echo, making his mind hazy.

Feeling as if he was losing balance, Renato closed his eyes. Khalid, who kept reminding him of his past life today, was difficult to deal with.

“You can refuse if you feel uncomfortable.”

Khalid cautiously spoke when Renato’s silence grew longer. Calling each other by name was something he had been thinking about since the day of their engagement, but seeing Renato’s reaction, he regretted that he had talked about it too soon.

“I’m not uncomfortable. I’m just a little surprised……”

Renato broke the silence and shook his head, trailing off his words. Calling Khalid by name was something he had longed for since his previous life. It was also what Khalid wanted in the past.

‘The day we meet again, will you call me Khalid?’

To grant the request left with the promise of coming to pick him up, Renato repeatedly practiced calling Khalid’s name countless times, dreaming that one day they would meet again. It was the driving force that helped him endure the hopeless wait and bear with the deep longing.

It became his habit later on, but in his previous life, he never met Khalid again, nor could he call the man by name. He was killed by Maximo before that.

After his regression, when he was reunited with Khalid, he naturally didn’t dare to call the man by name. Renato was the only one that remembered his previous life. Still, he had a very small hope. Neither Louis, Luna, Trudy nor anyone else could remember the time that had vanished, but Khalid might be different.

But there was no miracle. On the day he met Khalid, who became the diplomatic ambassador, as the special protocol officer, Renato realized the man didn’t remember anything.

‘Pleased to meet you for the first time, Your Imperial Highness, Prince Renato. My name is Khalid Nur Hakan.’

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Red eyes with no particular emotions, an expressionless face, and a cold voice…… There was no delight when Khalid greeted Renato. Rather, he could feel a faint vigilance. It was a reunion after several years for Renato, but it was clearly the first meeting for Khalid.

After realizing that, Renato completely abandoned his remaining expectations and lingering feelings. And he strictly separated Khalid from his previous life and his present life. It was to avoid making mistakes in front of the man.

So for the past few months, he was always careful not to find traces of his past life in the current Khalid or overlap the man with him of the past, but today was too much for him to endure. Suppressing his surged emotions, Renato pressed his lips. Otherwise, he would cry again.

“I……”

Barely squeezing his voice, Renato looked at Khalid with trembling eyes. A bit while ago, the man explained the reason he suggested this was that he wanted them to get closer than now. However, Renato believed that his often unusual behavior toward Khalid may have had some influence on his suggestion.

Although Khalid had never said about it directly, Renato knew he had unconsciously called the man by name several times. There were scenes vaguely coming to his mind although he couldn’t exactly remember, as they all happened when he was nearly unconscious.

‘Kha, lid…… Please, please help me.’

‘I, I waited a long time, but you didn’t come, so I thought you had already forgotten, but I kept waiting…… Hic.’

‘I’m scared, it hurts, hic, you promised, Khalid……’

Renato called Khalid by name or showed familiarity when his trauma symptoms appeared and when he was under hypnosis treatment. Engulfed in the memories of his previous life, he searched for Khalid, calling him by name. It happened because he couldn’t distinguish between reality and memory.

‘I’m back, to keep my promise.’

‘Shh, don’t cry. Because we have met again now, hmm?’

‘I will continue to stay by your side.’

Khalid didn’t think Renato was strange but rather matched his words. And, as he promised Renato, he never mentioned it or revealed it.

Do you know how grateful and sorry I was?

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Renato dropped his gaze to hide his tears, his vision blurry like a fog. Then, he held back the surging cries again and managed to speak.

“I like it……”

“Really?”

Khalid was not happy with Renato’s permission. Instead, he asked back in a cautious tone. Renato’s expression was so bad that he was worried that Renato felt inclined to allow it because of himself, not because of his own will.

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

“I’m not forcing or pushing myself. Actually…… this is what I’ve wanted since a long time ago.”

Renato raised his head again and put on a strange smile as if crying. Just like his eyes filled with tears, his voice was muffled. His words contained a sorrowful truth. Calling Khalid by name was something Renato had wanted and wished for a very long time.

Huu, Renato took a deep breath and made eye contact with Khalid. The violet-colored eyes facing the red eyes filled with worries for him swayed like petals soaked in the rain.

The man in front of him did not know the promise he made. He couldn’t remember the time they spent together, nor the request he left behind. However, even as time had rewound, he was hoping from Renato the same thing as in his previous life.

In his previous and present life, Khalid was still the first to reach out to him, just like a savior.

Renato could not reject Khalid, who was the same yet a different person. So, toward the person whom he had reunited with after going back in time, he moved his lips to fulfill the promise that only he could remember.

“Kha, lid.”

“Yes.”

Khalid answered Renato as if having been waiting. The moment the unfulfilled promise in his previous life was made, a voice that was both a sigh and an exclamation came out from the small gaping lips. The trembles starting from his heart spread over his body in an instant.

“Khalid.”

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“Yes, Renato.”

When he called him again, an answer came back without fail. Renato trembled, engulfed in an indescribable emotion. The teardrop that barely formed on his moist eyelashes lightly fell.

“Oh dear……”

Khalid raised his hand in puzzlement as Renato shed tears. He didn’t want to make Renato cry, but it seemed that he kept making him cry particularly today, making him feel troubled.

“Please don’t cry.”

“Hic……”

You don’t know. How long I have been waiting for this moment, how much I wanted to keep my promise.

Renato sobbed sadly, burying his face in the palm wiping his tear-drenched cheek. Although he was happy with the promise being fulfilled, tears continued to flow as he felt sorry for Khalid in his previous life.

“Khalid, hic, Khalidd……”

Renato rubbed his tear-soaked face into Khalid’s palm and continued to call his name. Even though the hand caressing his cheek and the body temperature seeping into his skin were clear, he was afraid that this was a dream rather than reality, making him keep wanting to confirm.

“Renato……”

At a loss for what to do when Renato sorrowfully called him, Khalid wiped away his tears. Then, thinking this couldn’t continue, he got up, hugged Renato, and patted his back.

“At this rate, you will get sick tomorrow. Stop crying, alright?”

Smooch. A small kiss feathered on a corner of his hot eyes. Renato hiccupped when he felt the warmth wandering around his eyes. He wanted to stop crying, but he couldn’t.

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“Breathe slowly…… Shh, relax a bit. Can you take a deep breath? Right, like that……”

A gentle whisper tickled his damp skin. The hand that had become wet from Renato’s tears gently swept his trembling back.

“Huu, huff.”

Renato followed Khalid’s words, took a deep breath, then exhaled. After repeating that a few times, his intense emotions gradually subsided.

“I’m, sorry. I, once again……”

Having managed to stop crying, Renato sniffled and apologized. He didn’t want to look weak in front of Khalid, but he couldn’t control his emotions.

“Have you stopped crying?”

Khalid let out a small sigh of relief when Renato’s sobbing subsided. Then, he gently wiped the tear mole that had become darker than usual with his lips. Smooch, with a noise, the tears were wiped away from the moist skin. Sucking in the salty tears, the flesh glided along the tear mole, passing through the cheek flushed from the heat and pressing against the small lips smeared with tears.

“……Khalid?”

As the soft flesh rubbed against his lips and the sweet breath tickled his hot skin, Renato closed his eyes shut before reopening them. The tears welling up at the corners of his eyes trickled down, making his blurry vision a bit clearer. To his front, he could see the red eyes engulfed in strange heat.

“Renato.”

When their eyes met, Khalid slowly rubbed his lips and whispered Renato’s name. Immediately after, their lips overlapped at the same time.

“Nngh……”

Renato parted his lips, accepting the rushing heat and slowly closing his eyes. Not a practice to get used to skinship nor to show others a good relationship, this was their first kiss that was led by emotions for no reason.

At that moment, Renato realized what feeling he had for Khalid. He likes Khalid, and he loves him. Yes, he was in love with Khalid. Maybe from a long time ago, maybe even before he went back in time.

The long, drooping eyelashes trembled at his sudden realization. To Renato, love was an unfamiliar and overwhelming sentiment. Perhaps because of that, when he realized his feelings for Khalid, his fear preceded his joy. It was the beginning of an awkward and heartrending unrequited love.

Chapter end