Chapter 70
Because the spire was close to the annex, I was able to return to the annex before Lucas woke up. I drew pictures beside the sleeping Lucas.
His peaceful sleeping face made my drawing urge bubble up.
“Little one! I’m here!”
I gave a look at Tristan, who entered the annex with great energy. Seeing Lucas deeply asleep, Tristan’s footsteps grew quieter.
Lowering his voice, Tristan tiptoed closer and asked.
“Little one. Why is brother sleeping in a place like this? When there’s a bed available.”
“He probably didn’t want to fall asleep alone in an unfamiliar room.”
“I can understand that.”
Tristan pulled on my shoulder as I sat beside Lucas. I collapsed sideways with my head landing on Tristan’s lap.
Resting his elbow on the backrest, he stroked my hair.
“Why am I being laid down?”
“You wouldn’t want to fall asleep alone in an unfamiliar room, right?”
“That was about Lucas.”
“Brother has you beside him. So you should have me beside you.”
His tone suggested it was as obvious as a mathematical proposition. I understood it was his way of being considerate, so I adjusted to a more comfortable position according to his wishes.
A languidly relaxed expression with slightly upturned lips. Looking at him like this, he truly resembled a fox.
A red fox that gets lonely easily, while being assertive and stubborn.
“What have you been doing outside all this time, Tristan?”
After confirming no one else was listening, he put his lips to my ear. The breath touching my earlobe tickled.
His jewel-like purple eyes curved into circles.
“Exploring places I shouldn’t go.”
“Such as?”
“The Empress’s bedroom?”
I couldn’t hide my shock, having imagined at most secret passages or treasure vaults. It felt like my drowsiness instantly cleared away.
Tristan grinned as he observed my surprised face.
“Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the bedroom.”
“Phew. You scared me.”
“I was hiding in the ceiling right above the Empress’s bedroom.”
This crazy mid-boss kid!
If he had been caught, even the Grand Duke might not have been able to protect him. The Empress’s power was at its peak because she had given birth to the Prince, who was known to possess the power of the Divine Beast.
It was an action beyond bold, bordering on recklessness. For the first time in a while, I felt the desire to yell at someone.
“Fine. Why did you go there?”
“I was just curious. How the woman who killed my mother lives.”
Tristan knew who had tried to kill the Grand Duchess and the young Grand Princess, even the mastermind behind it.
If that was his reason for infiltrating, perhaps I shouldn’t interfere. Despite wanting to be angry, my heated feelings calmed down.
Tristan shared with me what he had seen and heard.
“When I went, the bedroom was full of people. The Empress’s expression was terribly bad.”
“Tristan. That’s a place you shouldn’t go.”
“Just listen to the rest. I heard some incredible news.”
“What did you hear?”
Tristan pressed his lips tightly and wiggled his finger. The gesture of tapping my cheek was endearing.
“If you want to hear it, say ‘I missed you, big brother.'”
Really, what’s wrong with this family?
Beyond annoyance, I felt a bit irritated. I tried my hardest not to remember the Grand Duke’s antics with the doll.
This was a game where the more I was agitated, the more disadvantageous it was for me. I relaxed my voice and quickly recited.
“I missed you. Big brother.”
“Yes. Me too.”
With the tips of his ears slightly reddened, he ruffled my hair. This behavior, too, seemed to have been learned from the Grand Duke.
When I gave him a look to continue speaking, Tristan cleared his throat.
“From what I heard, the Prince has disappeared! Isn’t that incredible news?”
He still hasn’t gone back?
Before parting at the spire, Michael had said he would return soon. Considering Michael’s description in the original story, it was natural.
A boy raised as a prince who knew no other way of life.
‘Weak to responsibility and duty.’
It was written that the emotion he felt after losing everything to the Grand Duke’s rebellion was relief. He would have been much happier living freely like that.
Michael chose to fight a battle with no chance of winning due to his sense of responsibility. I recalled the promise we made just before parting.
“Next time, let’s meet at this spire again. I like it here.”
“What time?”
“We don’t need to set a time. Since you promised to meet me, I’ll wait.”
“You’re really clever.”
He meant he would come out frequently until he met me at the spire again.
I should have ignored his crying and left him alone. I shouldn’t have interfered. It would be almost impossible to visit the spire again while avoiding Tristan and Lucas’s eyes.
Tristan pinched my cheek, clearly demanding attention.
“Little one, you’re less surprised than I expected.”
“I am surprised.”
“Hmm. Maybe it’s a story you’re not interested in. After all, you’ve never seen that Prince.”
I met and talked with him 30 minutes ago. Interpreting my silence as confirmation, he continued.
“If you meet him at the ball, don’t even exchange words with him. Got it?”
“I don’t want to support Tristan’s words, but I agree.”
Lucas added with a voice just awakened from sleep.
“If I see you with that guy… I might kill him.”
Lucas was a budding rebel no less than the Grand Duke. Especially in how openly he spoke about killing the Prince in the imperial palace.
Could I get through the ball without any trouble with these kids?
“This is hopeless.”
It would be fortunate if they didn’t cause any incidents.
My desire to give up on being a debutante and go home grew stronger. It seemed almost impossible for things to pass without incident.
***
Michael couldn’t understand when people said he was born with many things. Rather, he had never possessed anything.
The teacher of imperial studies urged him to abandon desire.
“An emperor must not have personal greed. Your body must reign above all people.”
“Why is that reigning?”
“Everyone will follow Your Highness’s words, isn’t that reigning?”
Isn’t “reigning” a word that should be used only when one sits by one’s own will? In reality, his will and ideology were all about to be devoured by the empire’s mythology.
A being who deceives everyone by not being born with the power of the Divine Beast.
“Is deceiving people truly meaningful?”
<There’s no need to worry. Leave everything to your mother.>
The blood of the Divine Beast, unwillingly injected, made his intelligence superior to his peers. Michael knew well what people around him expected.
Even if he fulfilled what his mother wanted, he could never live as “himself.”
He knew he shouldn’t express dissatisfaction with this fact. He had heard that outside, there were children dying of starvation without food for tomorrow.
Knowing it was wrong, Michael envied them. To be able to move forward on two legs to wherever they wanted, escaping the cage that was the imperial palace.
That day was a bit strange.
Usually, he had to wear clothes with tight sleeves, conscious of the gazes around him. But the maids offered clothes with flowing sleeves.
The new maid probably didn’t know his situation well. He wore the new clothes without complaint.
Afterwards, he was heading to his scheduled etiquette lesson.
Near the classroom, a servant prostrated before him.
“Your Highness! A dispute has broken out among nobles nearby. Please send knights to help!”
“We must escort Prince Michael.”
“The nobles are of such high rank that we cannot stop them. Please, I beg you.”
“Go.”
Despite his permission, the guard knights hesitated. His mother’s people wouldn’t listen to him. But it was daytime and they were “outside.”
They couldn’t continue to ignore the Prince’s words in such a place.
“Please, help us.”
“Go help them now.”
The knights left after asking him to wait. As he waited for the knights to return, he looked up at the sky under the pouring sunlight.
The weather was too good that day, and that was all.
‘I want to escape.’
What should have ended as a thought led to action that day. Even running desperately, the vast imperial palace seemed endless. When his strength gave out, he hid in the bushes.
There was nowhere to go.
As the brief escape ended, he burst into tears at the despair that followed. Focused on swallowing his sobs, he didn’t notice someone approaching.
“What’s this?”
He showed a pathetic sight to a child younger than himself.
“I’m asking for your opinion. What do you want to do?”
“My, my opinion?”
If someone else had seen him crying, they would have scolded him. But the child didn’t mock his tears.
As if it were natural, the child asked for “his thoughts,” not the Prince’s. Treating him like an old friend despite never having met before.
Gifting him a view of a place he couldn’t go to, a sight he couldn’t see.
“I’m saying this because there’s another kid who’s also hung up on friends, but life is meant to be lived alone.”
“Are you lecturing me right now?”
“Yes. Kids with high positions like you should be more independent. I mean don’t bother me.”
“You seem a bit too casual.”
People appointed by his mother tried to control him. Others showed reverence toward him, known to possess the power of the Divine Beast.
The attitude of the child called Liat was unlike any of them.
A doctor who was expelled from the palace for taking his side instead of his mother’s had told him.
“Someday, Your Highness will have a spouse who opens their heart to you.”
One shouldn’t make hasty judgments about a person met only once.
Michael steadied his heart that was wavering from the brief encounter. Since they had promised to meet again, there would be opportunities to explore in the future.
Seeing that Liat knew he was the Prince, Liat must have some ulterior motive. If Liat turned out to be a spy as initially suspected, he would treat her accordingly.
‘I’ll send her away myself.’
If his mother found out, there was a high chance she wouldn’t die comfortably.
He used his own intelligence to visit that spire every day. However, despite the long wait, the child who had become his friend never kept the promise.
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