🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 45
I jolted upright from where I had been lying weakly on the bed. Someone was throwing stones at the window of my bedroom.
At this hour, long after the sun had set, there were very few people who would dare knock on the window of a Yeats heir’s room. I leapt to my feet and rushed to the window. A small shadow was cast beneath it.
“…Kalli?”
Murmuring under my breath, I flung the window open. The shadow moved swiftly, and after a few quick leaps, the figure sprang up to the second-floor window. I staggered as I caught the child who jumped into my arms. Hastily, I cupped his cheeks and looked at him.
In just a single night, his face had grown pale and gaunt, smeared with soot. He was filthy and ragged—but he was my Calisto. A sob burst out of me as I pulled him into a tight embrace.
“Kalli!”
“…Hyung.”
“What happened? Where were you? No—never mind. It doesn’t matter. You’re alive, that’s enough. I knew you’d be okay. I knew it…”
Even as I wept uncontrollably, Calisto said nothing in my arms. When my sobbing finally subsided, he spoke in a low, sunken voice.
“I’m sorry, Hyung. Loen and the Empress were after me. Because of me, the Yeats family is in danger.”
“What are you saying? Don’t worry about that. I’ll handle everything. It’s okay now. You’re alive—that’s what matters.”
“No, Hyung.”
Calisto slipped out of my arms. His darkened eyes looked up at me. The innocence they held just yesterday was gone, replaced by something cold and distant.
“Tommy is dead. Because of me.”
“Tommy?”
It was a name I had never heard before. As I blinked in confusion, Calisto explained.
“He was a village boy who was supposed to come to the academy with me.”
“What? I heard he hadn’t arrived yet.”
“I ran into him at the estate gate on my way back from Susan’s workshop. Everyone seemed busy, so I thought I’d talk to them later. I brought him in, gave him snacks, and lent him some of my clothes I had prepared before…”
Calisto lowered his head, unable to continue—but I understood everything.
Tommy had been scheduled to arrive at the Yeats estate days later. But curious about the count’s household, he must have wandered near and caught Calisto’s attention. The assassins sent by the Empress must have mistaken the dark-haired child in Calisto’s clothes for him.
“…Kalli. It’s not your fault.”
“It is my fault. Tommy died instead of me. If I hadn’t brought him in early, none of this would have happened.”
“….”
I couldn’t find any words. I simply stroked his tear-streaked cheek. My chest felt tight, suffocating. I had never felt so helpless before.
“If I had been stronger… If I could protect everyone… no one would have gotten hurt.”
“Kalli, you’re still a child. You’re not someone who has to protect everyone—you’re someone who should be protected.”
“No, Hyung.”
Calisto slowly raised his head. His amber eyes were wet, but his young voice was firm and unyielding.
“I’ll protect them. Father, Elsie, Cliff. And you.”
“Kalli, don’t think like that right now—”
I needed to calm him down and hide him somewhere far within the territory. Just as I hurried to speak, he cut me off calmly.
“You already knew, didn’t you?”
“Knew what?”
Beyond the open window, the round moon had risen. Bathed in its brilliant light, his deep golden eyes shone beautifully.
“That I’m not Father’s son.”
“…Calisto.”
A quiet groan escaped me.
I had never thought he would already know. To me, Calisto was always a sweet, lovable child. Perhaps I had selfishly wished he would remain that way forever, a baby in my arms.
Lowering my gaze, I whispered softly.
“Yes. I knew. I’m sorry for hiding it from you.”
“I’m not blaming you. I know you were trying to protect me. But…”
Calisto stepped completely away from me. Standing against the moonlight, he no longer looked like the child he had been yesterday. He had become a boy.
“If I stay in the Yeats territory, the Empress and Loengreen will notice soon. If you keep protecting me, you’ll be in danger. I can’t lose you.”
“We can hide you… somewhere far from the estate—”
“Can you promise you won’t come see me even once?”
“….”
He was right. I would never be able to leave him alone, and if the Empress even slightly suspected me, it would only be a matter of time before his hiding place was discovered.
After a moment, I forced my lips to move.
“…I can.”
“I can’t, Hyung.”
He replied as if it were obvious. I stared at him blankly.
“What?”
“I can’t live here without seeing you. I’ll come looking for you—and put you in danger.”
“Kalli.”
“I have to go somewhere I can’t come back from, no matter how much I want to. I’ll grow stronger there, and then…”
He looked at me steadily, his amber eyes burning.
“I’ll reclaim my position—and protect you.”
“…Where are you going?”
I asked weakly, though I already felt like I knew the answer.
“I’ll enlist as a child soldier. The navy doesn’t check identities. If I change my surname and live as someone else, I can avoid the Empress’s eyes.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
In the end, things were unfolding just like the original story. I had tried so hard to prevent him from enlisting—but it was all in vain.
The navy accepted anyone without checking identity precisely because it was so dangerous. Ships were primitive, many recruits were runaway slaves or criminals, and pirates infested the seas.
Especially for child soldiers—mostly poor orphans—the conditions were brutal. They were worked mercilessly, and even if nine out of ten died, no one would care.
The novel The Emperor’s Sword vividly described the hardships Calisto would endure at sea. I had tried so hard to keep him from that fate—but it had all been for nothing. Tears welled up despite my efforts to hold them back.
“Don’t go, Kalli. Please… let’s find another way together, okay…?”
But we both knew there was no other way. Calisto shook his head silently. Tears slid down his cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Hyung. I’ll be fine.”
It had always been my role to comfort a crying Calisto. But now, he didn’t even redden his eyes. Instead, he gently wiped my tears with his small hand.
The warmth of his touch was something I didn’t want to let go of. I placed my hand over his and held it tightly. Tears streamed endlessly down my face.
“Hyung, tell me one thing honestly.”
“What is it?”
“Are you really an Alpha?”
“…What?”
The sudden, absurd question made me laugh despite everything. Through my tear-blurred vision, I saw Calisto smiling faintly too.
“You’re wondering about that right now?”
“They say you’re a dominant Alpha, but I’ve barely sensed any pheromones from you… And you’ve always been sickly—I thought it was strange.”
There was no reason to hide it anymore. I nodded.
“Yes. I was going to tell you after your manifestation, but I kept putting it off. I actually manifested as an Omega. I took an Alpha-inducing drug to avoid my engagement with Loengreen.”
“…That’s why you were always sick.”
A shadow crossed his small face. I hurried to reassure him.
“The effect isn’t permanent. Eventually, I’ll return to my original trait. Once it wears off, the side effects will get better too. It’s okay, Kalli.”
Calisto lowered his eyes quietly. Silence fell between us.
When he looked up again, he was holding a small box he had taken from his clothes. My eyes widened.
“What’s that?”
Instead of answering, he opened it.
I almost let out a laugh.
Inside was the purple diamond ring he had mentioned countless times while seriously discussing things with the Gilos siblings.
As I only smiled, Calisto quickly grew sulky.
“Why are you laughing? Do you not want it because I’m just a kid?”
It felt like my little child had returned. My heart melted instantly. I knelt on one knee and pulled him into an embrace.
His small body fit warmly in my arms. Our hearts beat loudly, out of sync.
After glancing at me nervously, Calisto spoke carefully.
“I’ll come back for you. So until then, don’t marry anyone. And when I return… then you and I…”
“Alright, alright. I’ll marry you. Is that enough?”
“…Really? You’re not just saying that to comfort me and then going to say I’m too young later?”
I burst into laughter.
In truth, no matter how old he became, I would never see the child I raised as anything romantic.
But still—
“Just come back safely. I’ll give you anything you want.”
That much, at least, was sincere.
He stayed quiet in my arms. After a long silence, he spoke softly.
“Wait for me, Hyung.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll send word somehow.”
“Alright.”
“Anessa and Kevin are coming with me. They’re waiting outside. So I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“…Okay.”
Just like in the original story, the Gilos siblings—who had failed the imperial knight exam—would go with Calisto to the navy. In the end, I couldn’t change anything.
Tears threatened to fall again. Forcing them back, I held out my hand.
“You should put the ring on me, Kalli.”
“…Okay.”
The ring slipped onto the ring finger of my left hand. It was the first time I had accepted Calisto’s proposal, after years of his tireless persistence since he was seven.
Seeing that the future hadn’t changed, Calisto would probably fall in love with Lorens someday. But until then, I wanted to be the pillar that supported his heart.
“I’ll go now.”
“Alright… be careful…”
Calisto gently pressed a kiss to my forehead. The soft, tender touch lingered for a moment before disappearing.
He leapt lightly from the window and landed on the ground below like a bird. Before I could even process how much he had grown, he glanced up at the second-floor window—then turned away.
From behind the bushes, the Gilos siblings emerged and bowed lightly toward me. I nodded back.
And I remained standing by the window, unable to move, crying for a long time—until the children’s figures became nothing more than dots and disappeared completely into the distance.
