SLPWT 08

Chapter: 08

“Y-Your Highness…!”

The Crown Prince cried out in shock. At the sound of his voice, darkness came flooding in like a rising tide.

The wedding candles burning in the bridal chamber were snuffed out in an instant. Even the moonlight that had been filtering through the window disappeared. Pitch-black darkness, so thick that I couldn’t even see my own hands, swallowed everything around us.

I couldn’t see anything either. The ability to see through darkness belonged to Ansi, not me. Even so, this kind of darkness didn’t frighten me.

It’s kind of like the River of the Dead.

It was even darker than the black waters of the Styx, but at least it wasn’t freezing or suffocating, so in that sense, this was actually better. And yet, an unnatural fear slowly crept up my spine.

So this is a power that induces fear.

It’s only a little unpleasant for me, but an ordinary human might suffocate from terror.

I’m fine.

I stepped toward where the Crown Prince was standing and reached out. My fingertips brushed against silk. Before the startled Crown Prince could retreat, I grabbed the hem of his robe.

“Your Highness.”

“M-My lady, you’re too close. It’s dangerous.”

“Your Highness, don’t be afraid.”

“…What?”

“You’re telling me not to be afraid, but you’re the one who’s the most frightened right now.”

I looked up at him as calmly as I could. I couldn’t see him, but he could probably still see my face.

“I’m not afraid of you, Your Highness.”

I felt him flinch through the fabric I was holding. Tightening my grip before he could pull away, I continued.

“So you don’t have to be afraid either.”

“…What exactly am I supposed to be afraid of?”

“Your darkness.”

“…!”

“You said the more frightened you become, the larger the darkness grows. So you mustn’t fear it either.”

The Crown Prince said nothing.

The darkness was too dense for me to tell what expression he was wearing.

He has to calm down. Otherwise this darkness won’t shrink.

How do I comfort him?

When I had been scared, what had Mom and Dad done?

Mom had taught me how to deal with frightening things.

Dad…

He’s still just a child. I’ll try Dad’s way.

I wrapped my arms around the Crown Prince.

Since I was so much shorter than him, I couldn’t give him the warm embrace Dad used to give me. Instead, I ended up awkwardly clinging to him. Even so, I patted his back gently, just like Dad always had.

“It’s okay. There’s nothing to be scared of. Scary things, go away. Go away.”

“…”

“If you’re scared, close your eyes tightly. Close them, and say, ‘It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m not scared. I’m not scared.’ Then everything will disappear.”

“…”

“After you’ve wished it away, open your eyes. What do you see? Is there still anything scary?”

I could feel his gaze in the darkness.

The Crown Prince was looking down at me.

I quickly covered my face with both hands, then spread them apart while giving him the biggest smile I could manage.

Just like Dad used to do for me.

“Peekaboo!”

“…Pfft.”

A quiet laugh escaped him.

He laughed!

The moment I heard that laugh, the darkness slowly began to fade.

Like sunlight seeping into the shade.

The wedding candles flared back to life.

The lanterns in the corridor lit once more.

Moonlight spilled through the windows again.

The darkness gradually shrank until it was only about the size of the Crown Prince’s shadow, then stopped.

It worked. Thank goodness…

Only then, beneath the flickering candlelight, could I finally see the Crown Prince’s face.

“Wow.”

The admiration escaped me before I realized it.

Sharp eyebrows.

Perfectly sculpted features.

Jet-black hair and eyes, as black as ink, standing out against his pale skin.

How could a face that still retained traces of baby fat be this breathtakingly handsome?

He looks like an ink painting.

I stared absentmindedly until the boy, who had been gazing back at me in a daze, slowly turned red.

“…Is something strange about my face?”

“Oh, sorry. I was staring.”

Feeling embarrassed, I apologized and stepped away from him toward the bridal chamber.

Dad’s method really worked. Thanks, Dad.

If that hadn’t worked, I would have had to resort to Mom’s method—rougher, but guaranteed to be effective.

I’m glad it all worked out.

As relief washed over me, exhaustion hit me all at once.

This Vermilion Bird’s body… it’s wonderful, but it’s so heavy.

Maybe I’d pushed myself too hard just because my body felt light.

If I’d still had my original body, I would’ve collapsed long ago after a day like this.

Guess I relaxed. I’m getting sleepy…

I’d confirmed the Crown Prince wasn’t insane, and I’d calmed his darkness.

There wasn’t really anything left to worry about tonight.

Can I just go to sleep now?

Come to think of it, Ansi should’ve been here by now. Why hasn’t he come yet?

Yawning, I looked up and saw the Crown Prince still standing by the door, staring blankly at me.

“What are you doing over there? Come in.”

I rubbed one eye with one hand and beckoned to him.

The boy slowly shuffled inside, still looking dazed.

Even when he’s spacing out, he somehow still looks elegant.

Every movement he made resembled a brushstroke in a traditional ink painting.

As I admired him, he quietly shut the bridal chamber door and sat down in the far corner.

“Why are you sitting all the way over there?”

“…I fear… that you might be afraid of me.”

“I’m not scared at all. Come here… I mean, please come here.”

Only then did I realize I’d been speaking to him far too casually.

Strange.

Why hadn’t he corrected me?

I cleared my throat before pointing to the ceremonial crown on my head.

“Your Highness, could you help me take this off?”

Ansi had braided and decorated my hair so skillfully that there was no way I could undo it myself.

At my request, the Crown Prince looked utterly flustered.

“M-Men and women must observe proper boundaries. How could I possibly…!”

“I can’t undo it by myself. Besides, we’re married now.”

“…”

“Please help me, Your Highness.”

“…Very well.”

His face stiff with nervousness, the Crown Prince approached.

I quickly turned around and offered him my back.

I wanted this thing off so I could finally sleep.

As he awkwardly fumbled with the ribbons in my hair, he spoke.

“My lady… did you already know about my darkness?”

“No. I only learned about it just now.”

“Then… how were you able to remain unafraid, even inside that darkness? Could it be… that you know what this darkness truly is?”

Honestly, that caught me off guard.

Wait… does he not even know what he is?

Well… I wasn’t completely certain myself at first.

It was such an unprecedented case that I could only be sure after witnessing it firsthand.

No wonder humans couldn’t recognize it.

The Crown Prince was an Eodukseoni.

Perhaps the first human Eodukseoni in all of history.

An Eodukseoni was neither a monster nor a ghost.

It wasn’t a living creature that ate, drank, and reproduced like monsters did, nor was it a spirit driven by resentment like ghosts.

An Eodukseoni was born when the darkness between the stars in the night sky swelled until it overflowed and fell to the earth.

Its appearance depended on where that darkness landed.

If it fell upon a tree, it became a tree Eodukseoni.

If it fell upon a rabbit, it became a rabbit Eodukseoni.

If it fell upon a whale in the sea, it became a whale Eodukseoni.

Though their forms differed, they all shared the same defining traits, which was why they were collectively called Eodukseoni.

An Eodukseoni possessed four primary characteristics.

First, it extinguished nearby light.

Second, it spread darkness that inspired fear in everything around it.

Third, whenever someone feared it, it fed upon that fear, growing larger and stronger.

Fourth, all these traits became most pronounced after sunset. During the day, it appeared no different from an ordinary living creature.

Every single one of those characteristics matched the Crown Prince perfectly.

Mom used to say Eodukseoni were quiet creatures, yet far more terrifying than most monsters.

They never attacked or preyed upon other living beings.

They didn’t even need to eat.

Simply existing beneath the night sky restored their strength.

That alone was enough to sustain them.

But even if an Eodukseoni did absolutely nothing, anyone touched by its darkness would eventually be crushed by their own fear, driven insane—or die.

That’s why they’re so dangerous.

Even immortals sometimes fainted or lost their minds upon encountering an Eodukseoni.

Even celestial beings found fully grown Eodukseoni dangerous.

Only true gods were completely immune to the terror they radiated.

Even if a tiny rabbit or sparrow became an Eodukseoni, it would still be terrifying… but a human Eodukseoni…?

I’d always heard that beings with souls as powerful as humans could never become Eodukseoni.

So how had the Crown Prince become one?

As far as I knew, a human Eodukseoni had never existed before.

An unprecedented case means… unexpected problems are much more likely, and much harder to solve.

Just like me.

Should I even tell him all this?

I had no idea how much humans knew about Eodukseoni.

If they became suspicious of me, I wouldn’t have any explanation.

If I say the wrong thing, it’ll be revealing heavenly secrets.

After hesitating, I decided to evade the question.

“I don’t really know what your darkness is either, Your Highness.”

“If you don’t know, then how were you not afraid?”

“Because I could see how worried you were that I might get hurt.”

“…I was worried about you?”

“Yes. You said you didn’t want to harm me. And you warned me that being afraid would only make the darkness grow.”

“…”

“I wasn’t afraid, so I thought everything would be fine as long as you didn’t fear your own darkness.”

“Just… because of that…”

He swallowed the rest of his words as though forcing something back before speaking again with difficulty.

“You’re saying… that was enough for you to trust someone you’d only just met today… and summon that kind of courage?”

“No. I just wasn’t afraid.”

“My lady… you truly are a brave person. Even though you’re younger than I am.”

The Crown Prince looked down at me, his long eyelashes trembling ever so slightly.

I think he’s misunderstanding something.

It’s not that I trusted you and gathered my courage.

I’m the Heavenly Princess. Your power simply couldn’t affect me from the very beginning.

I even know what you really are, and I’m pretending I don’t!

Watching him look so deeply moved made my conscience ache.

How am I supposed to fix this? I should at least do something genuine for him…

Fidgeting awkwardly, an idea suddenly came to me.

“I’ll help you!”

“Huh? Help me with what?”