Chapter 69

It was a terrible wound unsuited for a child’s arm. Seeing the bruises covering the child’s entire arm, I didn’t know what to say.

My frozen expression must have frightened the child, as the crying grew louder.

“Waaah… hic!”

I had no choice but to cover the child’s mouth.

Pitifully trembling golden eyelashes and purple eyes. Clothes that showed quality despite being dirty.

I could guess the identity of the child hiding in the bushes.

‘Prince Michael.’

I had read in the original story that when he was young, he often hid from people’s eyes. But I never expected him to be hiding in the bushes of an annex far from the main palace.

“What do I do with this?”

After checking that no one was around, I sighed.

Michael’s small body trembled at the sound of my sigh.

“I’ll let you go if you stop crying.”

The golden crown of his head nodded up and down rapidly at my words. As soon as I released my hand, the child who had been quiet grabbed my collar and pushed me back.

The child who instantly knocked me down grabbed my throat.

This naturally threatening posture was completely different from before. When I looked up, I could see Michael’s purple eyes burning calmly.

“Who are you?”

“A bad person who pulled the hair of a crying child.”

“For what purpose did you…”

“I’m sorry for startling you. Though you were already crying, it seems.”

I wasn’t scared at all despite having my vital point, my neck, exposed. That was because I could feel through our touching hands that Michael was afraid.

Though he managed to subdue me, he was still crying. Tears flowing from his face fell one after another onto my cheek as I lay there.

The desperate look in his eyes touched my emotions.

“I won’t hurt you. I was just taking a walk.”

“I know you’re saying that, but you’re also a spy sent by my mother.”

“I’m six years old. Have you ever seen a spy as young as me?”

At my words, turmoil spread across Michael’s large eyes. After hesitating awkwardly, he asked me with a suspicious expression.

“Are you really not a bad person?”

“No.”

Believing me just because I said no—he’s still young after all.

I looked over Michael’s appearance with fresh eyes. Rosy cheeks plump with baby fat and transparent purple eyes exuding loveliness.

He probably wasn’t much different in age from those two, but he had a much more childlike appearance than Lucas or Tristan.

I slowly reached my hand toward Michael’s eyes.

As I wiped away the tears flowing from his eyes with my fingertips, Michael’s small frame shuddered greatly. Blinking his eyes, he surrendered to my touch.

‘He’s like a tamed cat.’

And one that has longed for human touch for a long time.

“I’m neither a bad person nor someone who will hurt you. I’m just a person with nothing to do.”

“Mother said a person with nothing to do is a pathetic person.”

“Yes. Hello. I’m a pathetic person.”

“You don’t seem dangerous.”

Having reached his conclusion, he removed his hands from my neck and backed away. As I raised my upper body, Michael’s small palm was extended before my eyes.

“Take it.”

I didn’t want to take it, remembering the arm that was full of bruises. After getting up by myself, I gently stroked the hair of his sulky face.

The golden hair wrapped softly around my fingers.

‘It’s straight but so fluffy.’

I was reminded of Heishar’s golden hair, which had a glamorous feel due to its curliness. Even the same blonde hair could feel different.

“So why were you crying?”

Michael, who had been quietly accepting my touch, suddenly frowned.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I was just planning to stay here for a little while before going back.”

His face was not at all bright as he spoke of returning.

I recalled the information I had read about Michael in the original story.

[Michael thought of himself as someone empty. Perhaps because he had only learned how to give up what he wanted.

“As a child, I could only meet a limited number of people, and they were my mother’s people who watched over me.”

He wanted to experience talking to others and becoming friends.]

It must be suffocating.

Just the fact that he had sneaked all the way here without being detected showed how suffocated he felt. What should one do if their only sanctuary is a place they don’t want to return to?

‘It must be incredibly painful.’

I knew that Michael would find salvation in the distant future. Yet, I felt the desire to comfort him, even if just for a moment.

Juno had said that one should extend a hand to a crying child.

“What if you don’t go back?”

At my calmly posed question, Michael jumped up. He shook his head, denying my words.

“Mother said that should absolutely never be done!”

“Are you your mother?”

“N…no?”

“I’m asking for your opinion. What do you want to do?”

“My, my opinion?”

As if he had received an unexpected question, Michael couldn’t answer right away. I waited for him to come up with his own answer.

In reality, I couldn’t hide him from the imperial palace forever.

‘Just a short rest, perhaps.’

Having frequented the imperial palace once, I knew several passages. I could provide a place to rest where no one would find him for a few hours.

“…I.”

“Yes.”

“…I don’t want to go back.”

“Alright. Then let’s go.”

I grabbed Michael’s wrist and headed toward a secluded place.

He followed obediently, though bewildered. I was about to scold him for his lack of caution but stopped. I thought that perhaps Michael was just that exhausted.

‘I’m not unfamiliar with the feeling of wanting to escape.’

It would only be a very brief encounter from childhood. This much help wouldn’t affect the original story.

I had to hurry if I wanted to return before Lucas woke up.

***

Upon arriving at the place I had taken him to, Michael quietly marveled.

Familiar with the view from the spire, I shrugged my shoulders. This was a prime spot I used to visit frequently when I was Kashian.

“I had no idea such a view existed in the imperial palace.”

“This place was closed off before.”

I heard it used to be a tower for imprisoning criminals in the past.

They tried to demolish and rebuild it several times, but eventually gave up. It was because of the ghost incidents in the tower.

And those ghost incidents were caused by me and my comrades in disguise when I was Kashian.

“Master Kashian! Did you see those guys running away with their tails between their legs?”

“With this, our secret place is protected.”

“We can’t give up this view with beer, you know.”

“Isn’t this the only quiet place in the noisy imperial palace!”

The precious comrades to whom I had entrusted my life decreased one by one. When all the wars finally ended, I was the only one left on top of the spire.

The view seen alone wasn’t as beautiful as before, so I resolved never to come up here again.

“Yet here I am again.”

“Have you been here many times before?”

“No. I haven’t. I decided to pretend I hadn’t.”

“Then let’s say this is the first time you’ve come here with me. I’ll do the same.”

I met Michael’s eyes at his unexpected words. He’s smart enough to know that I’ve been here before, but it was kind of him to play along.

Come to think of it, he didn’t complain at all during the climb up here.

“Tell me your name.”

“Liat.”

Michael repeated my name several times and then smiled.

His eyes, still showing traces of tears, crinkled prettily. When he wasn’t smiling, I thought he resembled a fussy cat. But when he smiled, he looked like the happiest retriever in the world.

He extended both arms to me with a somewhat sorrowful expression.

“Now do as you please.”

“Do what?”

“If you’re not sent by my mother, then you must be sent by forces trying to harm me. Do as you wish.”

This kid, really!

So that’s what he was thinking when he didn’t seem suspicious.

If he wasn’t innocently believing me, that was an even bigger problem. It meant he followed me, knowing it was dangerous. Holding back my anger, I asked Michael.

“Do you want to die?”

To think I would ask the question I always received from the Grand Duke.

Michael thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

“Then why did you follow me if you thought it was dangerous?”

“You asked for my opinion. I did what I wanted to do.”

“What if you get kidnapped?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

As I pressed the issue, Michael leaned against the railing. I instinctively ran and hugged his waist at the dangerous action.

Michael looked at the scenery while standing firmly on his legs. As his sleeves fluttered in the wind, the bruises that had been hidden were briefly revealed.

His following voice seemed to have a hint of crying.

“I don’t know anything. Why I have to endure this pain.”

“…”

“Why I can’t run away. Why I must become Emperor.”

“Michael.”

“And why you, whom I met today for the first time, know me and are helping me.”

His thoughtful eyes, unlike those of a child, pierced through me. I had thought of him as just a child because I first saw him crying.

‘He was a genius, wasn’t he?’

If Lucas was a genius with the sword and Tristan with magic, then the male lead Michael, was an outstanding strategist.

Michael, who tilted his head back behind the railing, spoke softly.

“You don’t have to answer. I know from your actions just now that you don’t intend to kill me.”

“You’re clever.”

Michael was as cunning as Tristan.

Realizing that he had no intention of dying, I tried to release Michael’s waist. As he stepped away from the railing, Michael held my hand.

He intertwined his fingers with mine, just as he had when climbing up here.

“Now that I know your name, we’re friends. Right?”

“I don’t particularly remember hearing your introduction.”

“Michael Krohats. My favorite candy is apple-flavored, and I don’t like the texture of overcooked vegetables…”

“I get it. That’s enough.”

I was just going for a walk, and now it looks like I’ve picked up another burden. Thinking about having to explain this to Lucas and Tristan later gave me a headache.

How would those two react if I told them I’d become friendly with a member of the imperial family?

“Later, don’t act like you know me when you see me again.”

“Can I see you again?”

An invisible tail seemed to be wagging rapidly behind Michael.

With that expression, it seemed like I absolutely shouldn’t say no. Succumbing to the psychological pressure, I had no choice but to set up another meeting with him.

Having achieved his goal, Michael smiled innocently with a happy face.