[Richard is nothing if not a well-guarded labyrinth of secrets. The deeper one went the easier it was to lose the sight of the truth, getting only lost in the abyss of the lies and deceits. And it would be foolish to assume that this arrangement with Silco was not just one bricks on those walls. But that was just the world where Richard came from. If one wanted to survive and succeed in the royal court they needed to know how conceal themselves in web of lies and schemes.

He had thought that Silco could understand that.

Richard blinks his eyes open at the question, staring at the white wall of the shower as he parces the answer together in his mind. There was no simple answer to it. Lover could mean anything from chosen suitor to illicit affair and between. Richard himself had ever had one lover in his life and even that arrangement had been special and unusual in every possible way. But he had watched his brother and his associates to stumble from bed to another, entertaining a new lover every night. No, this was nothing like that either.

Richard pulls his head back and cranes his neck up, his mismatching eyes peering into almost identical one. He then raises both of his hands to cup Silco's face, drawing the man closer.]

We continue to confide in each other, finding solace and comfort in both body and mind. I chase away your solitude and you do mine. [It might not be the most coherent or specific answer. But it is the only one he has. Richard is not naive enough to expect anything more from this liaison of theirs, unable to believe that the other could hold genuine affection or love towards him outside of their moments of intimacy. Good. That meant that he was free from having to weight his own heart. They were just two beasts locked in a cage, licking each other's wounds.]

And once she does what happens next? Will your protection over me and my secret expire along with your silence?