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Chapter 116
“Today, it’s just you and me going on a picnic, Jaelin. How does that sound?”
“A picnic? I like that.”
At the mention of a picnic, Jaelin quickly sat up from the blanket. Without even having breakfast, she held her mother’s hand and stepped out of the house.
Not only that morning, but she hadn’t eaten anything since the previous evening either. The thin porridge she had at lunch was her last meal.
Her empty stomach cried out for food. Though her stomach growled, Jaelin didn’t say a word to her mother.
Even without speaking, her mother would have already heard the noises from Jaelin’s stomach.
Whenever Jaelin said she was hungry, her mother always apologized, saying she was sorry. But Jaelin hated seeing her mother apologize to her.
So she endured her hunger and walked on bravely.
Jaelin held her mother’s hand as they walked all the way out to the fields beyond the castle.
It was spring.
Flowers and grass bloomed everywhere. Her mother said they were going on a picnic, but in reality, they had come to the fields outside the castle to gather food.
While her mother foraged for wild spring vegetables, Jaelin sat under a tree within view of her mother, clutching her empty stomach and reading an intermediate runes textbook.
The textbook was full of things she couldn’t understand. Still, reading the intermediate runes textbook was the only form of entertainment Jaelin could indulge in at the time.
Though she couldn’t grasp the meaning of the words, simply reading allowed the contents to gradually settle in her mind.
Turning page after page, Jaelin finally reached the last page of the book. There, she found a note left by her father:
“Magic design exists solely for the sake of humanity. Magic that harms humans must never appear in this world.”
Jaelin read the sentence several times, trying to understand it. She could read the words, but at seven years old, comprehending the meaning was difficult. After reading it over and over, the meaning might have eluded her, but the sentence lodged itself firmly in her mind.
When she closed the book to return to the first page, a long shadow fell over it.
“Mom?”
It seemed her mother had finished what she was doing.
The young Jaelin smiled and looked up. But the person standing before her wasn’t her mother. A stranger in a hooded cloak stood in front of her.
The hood of the woman’s cloak cast a deep shadow. Jaelin couldn’t see the face of the person standing before her.
All she could see from her seated position were the delicate hands peeking out from beneath the cloak.
Several rings set with beautiful jewels adorned her flawless fingers.
One ring, with a dark red gem matching the cloak’s color, caught Jaelin’s eye. Its design was similar to a picture she had seen in a fairy tale book belonging to her neighbor, Sara.
Sara had pointed at the picture and called it a “lion.”
The ring, shaped like a lion’s head in painful agony, gleamed with a pair of blood-colored dark red gems.
“Hello?”
It was a clear, melodious voice—the most beautiful Jaelin had ever heard.
The lion-head ring somehow seemed grotesque and eerie, and Jaelin felt that such a voice didn’t quite match the person wearing it.
“Who are you?”
Jaelin asked, eyes wide.
At that moment, a loud rumbling sounded from her stomach. Normally, she wouldn’t have paid attention, but the person was standing right in front of her now.
Blushing, Jaelin crossed her arms over her stomach, hoping it might muffle the sound a little.
“Oh my. Are you hungry?”
With a tone of concern, Jaelin nodded.
“I only have this right now.”
The woman pulled a small container from her arms, opened it, and held it out in front of Jaelin. The container was full of round, brightly colored candies, fragrant with sweetness.
Jaelin swallowed nervously and glanced at the woman.
“It’s alright. Go ahead and eat.”
As Jaelin reached for the container, her mother—who had noticed the stranger from afar—ran up and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
Jaelin couldn’t reach the candy.
The young Jaelin didn’t realize it, but her mother immediately recognized that the woman was of high status.
The cloak was made of luxurious material, and the woman had knights accompanying her.
When in the presence of nobility, one must behave cautiously. If they offended a cruel noble, who knows what might happen.
Moreover, the knights were armed. These people could easily kill a powerless mother and daughter without hesitation.
Fearing that Jaelin might do something to upset the woman, her mother swallowed nervously and bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. My daughter is young and ignorant; she doesn’t know anything. Please forgive us this once.”
“It’s alright. Your daughter hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“Then… what is it you need…?”
“I have a small favor to ask.”
Jaelin’s mother shook her head frantically.
“We are not people of importance who can fulfill the requests of someone of high status.”
“It’s not difficult. You can do it. I’ll pay handsomely for your help.”
Jaelin’s stomach growled loudly again.
“With that money, you can have a full meal tonight.”
Her mother couldn’t ignore her hungry daughter.
“What is it you want me to do?”
“Are there guests at the castle right now?”
Jaelin’s mother nodded. She hadn’t seen it herself, but as someone helping a noble household, she had overheard rumors.
“Yes. I heard that a distinguished person is visiting.”
“That person is my benefactor. You just need to deliver something to my benefactor.”
A faint smile curved the woman’s lips beneath the shadow of the hood.
“No… Mom… don’t go, Mom!”
Jaelin woke with a scream, eyes wide open, her whole body drenched in cold sweat.
She had had that dream again. Ever since encountering that person, nightmares had stolen her sleep.
Her mother’s final face in the dream haunted her eyes.
Unable to sleep due to the nightmares, she tried to avoid dreaming, and when she finally managed to fall asleep, the events of that day inevitably reappeared in her dreams.
Jaelin curled up under the blanket, trembling. Inside the covers, she felt safe. Here, that person couldn’t find her.
She didn’t know how much time had passed. She hadn’t gone to lectures, hadn’t eaten, and had barely spoken. She just waited, holding her breath.
She thought it would get better. If she became a better person than that day, if she gained the courage to fight monsters, she thought she could confront that person.
But she still couldn’t do anything.
She felt pathetic. It had been a long time ago. She was no longer the child she had been.
Her body had grown, her skills had improved.
Yet why, even now, did she still falter and retreat, unable to speak properly like that day? Why could she only struggle in trembling, aching sorrow?
She couldn’t bear her weak self. She felt trapped in this quagmire forever.
Three days had passed since the Crown Princess visited the academy.
As soon as etiquette classes ended, students crowded around Adrian.
They all knew Adrian’s foul temper and hesitated to speak, watching cautiously. One brave student finally stepped forward.
“Um… Your Highness.”
Hearing the title, Adrian rubbed his forehead, troubled.
Normally, students who would have ignored him now acted differently because of what had happened three days ago when the Crown Princess visited.
‘Why would someone who is so wary of me trying to seize power reveal that I’m the prince?’
Adrian recalled the events after his audience with the Crown Princess.
News of her visit had students waiting outside the audience chamber, hoping to catch a glimpse and see her off.
When the audience ended and the Crown Princess appeared, she waved to the gathered students.
Just as everyone expected her to leave, she suddenly stopped in front of Adrian and smiled up at him.
Adrian’s lips, however, remained stiff. His attire was as disheveled as usual.
The Crown Princess straightened his tie and smoothed his shirt wrinkles. The unexpected gesture stirred whispers among the students.
Adrian had been one of the key people who closed the dimensional portal, minimizing the damage. Students guessed that she might have something she hadn’t said during the audience. But her actions were unusual.
Her actions were gentle and intimate for mere encouragement—too casual for the Crown Princess of the Empire and its citizens.
In a soft, friendly voice, she spoke:
“Isn’t it proper for a prince of the Empire, seated in such a high position, to set an example, Kaiser?”
The students immediately fell silent.
The Crown Princess wouldn’t be playing a trivial prank. That meant Adrian was the one and only prince of the Empire—the Kaiser.
Everyone stared at him in shock, while Adrian quietly sighed, closing his eyes.
