IBVM 06

Chapter 06

Kashion ruffled his hair. His gaze lingered on the book Daison had thrown.
A book filled with things Kashion already knew.

Kashion was no fool. In fact, he was exceptionally intelligent. He rarely forgot anything he saw, and he understood things quickly.
Even the book Daison had “graciously” brought him had long since been memorized.

Kashion wore the mask of a fool, the guise of a docile rabbit, to survive. The fools were Daison and the queen, who had been deceived by his act.
At first, he had enjoyed watching Daison fall for it, but now he was tired.

“This has been going on for three years already.”

Three years ago, Violetta, the late queen and Kashion’s biological mother, had died.
At that time, Kashion was living outside the palace because she had been deposed before giving birth to him.

“Come into the palace.”

At the king’s single command, Kashion was forced inside.
He had tried to resist, but the arrogant King Karman would never heed the words of an eight-year-old.
Kashion was dragged into the royal palace like an animal led to the slaughter, trapped within its walls.

Even upon entering, he did not expect his father’s love. He only hoped for the faintest semblance of pity, as one might feel for an orphaned animal.
But within a week of entering, his hope was thoroughly crushed.
Kashion realized in seven days that he had been abandoned in the palace.

At a young age, he had to comprehend a world governed by power and the cruelty of a father who had cast out his mother.

‘Still, it’s better than outside.’

The life of a deposed queen was not easy, and the life of a prince born only after such deposition was no less difficult.
With even his protective mother gone, had he remained outside alone, he might have suffered worse.
Kashion clung to that faint hope, forcing himself to survive.

But even that hope, that sense of positivity, gradually faded.
His lonely circumstances gnawed at him relentlessly.
To survive, Kashion learned to live like a plant—quietly, silently, merely breathing.

One day, while he was quietly hiding in the palace, Daison appeared.
Daison, the first prince, Kashion’s half-brother born through the body of a maid while Violetta was queen.
Violetta, unable to bear a child until Daison’s birth, had been expelled from the palace.

From Kashion’s perspective, Daison was a chillingly detestable person.

Yet Kashion could neither confront Daison nor push him away.
Behind Daison stood the current queen, Julia.
She claimed that Daison was the legitimate and sole heir to the throne. Most palace officials agreed with her.

‘Even if I fight, I’ll just die.’

Remembering his mother’s dying wish to survive, Kashion flattened himself before Daison.

Daison liked seeing Kashion weak and naive. He would assign tasks and, pretending to console Kashion when he failed, would crush Kashion’s pride while showing off his own skill.
Kashion endured this for three long years.

“You wretch.”

Even a light poke with a finger could make curses spill from Kashion’s lips. His mind was filled with anger, sometimes so dizzying it made his head spin.

“I won’t forgive you. I’ll make sure even the god Helva of Justice and Ruin won’t grant you salvation.”

Harsh words spilled forth, the air around Kashion vibrating with tension.
He thought,

‘Should I poison Daison’s drink?’

Among the overgrown grass in the neglected garden were poisonous herbs. Making a toxin would be nothing.

‘If I offer it with a humble smile, maybe he’ll take a sip…’

Just to watch Daison collapse on the floor, struggling and flailing, would be enough…

“Survive no matter what. Live and be happy for me, for your mother’s sake, Kashion.”

But his mother’s final words still bound him. Kashion let his shoulders sag, abandoning his flimsy revenge plans.
He was too exhausted even to keep his eyes open. Quietly, he closed them.

Then, the door creaked open.

‘…Could it be Daison back already?’

His patience for today was gone.
Rubbing his throbbing temples, Kashion lifted his head—and was startled by an unfamiliar figure.

“Hello, Your Highness Kashion!”

A bright, energetic greeting reached him.
The person opening the door was unfamiliar.
A pretty girl with blonde hair and green eyes. Beside her was another girl with brown hair tied high, but Kashion’s eyes fixed only on the blonde.

“This room is lovely. May I sit here?”

Kashion blinked slowly, trying to recall if he had ever met this green-eyed child.
No matter how he searched his memory, it was a first. While he studied her, the girl looked around his room as if it were her own.

Who was she?

Kashion tensed, lifting his eyebrows. He did not feel good; his body felt off.
He wanted to punish her for barging into the prince’s room, but Daison was not the only one he had to deceive.

“The palace has eyes in the walls and ears in the ceiling,”

His mother’s advice came to mind.
Perhaps this was someone Daison had sent to check on him.

“Wh-who are you? And h-how did you get in?”

Kashion retracted his survival instincts, blinking his large eyes and playing the fool. A well-practiced act.

“Goodness! You’re quite the actor!”

But the girl saw through him.
The large, round eyes Kashion had made, pretending to be innocent, shrank. Suspiciousness replaced the pretense of purity.

“Do you know what I just heard outside?”

Realizing he’d been seen through, Kashion shut his mouth. Silence was the best defense.
But the girl seemed not to want an answer, speaking on her own.

“You wretch.”

A curse came naturally from her delicate lips, making Kashion flinch.

“What was it… the soul of goddess Helva…”

She’d heard everything. Pretending to be a fool now meant nothing. Kashion straightened his hunched shoulders and leaned lazily against the sofa.

“I won’t forgive you. I’ll make sure even the god Helva of Justice and Ruin won’t grant you salvation.”

Kashion completed the sentence the girl had left unfinished.

“Oh, yes! Not original, but poetic. Why don’t you write a poem? You seem talented.”

The girl smiled brightly and continued.

“Who are you?”

Kashion no longer stammered. His eyes sharpened, his previously innocent face now sharp but filled with depth.

The girl extended her hand. Kashion looked down at the slightly larger, fair hand.

“Hello, Your Highness. I’m Diana Viola Irenberg, heir of the Irenberg dukedom. And you may consider me the lifeline you must grasp to survive.”

“Wh-who are you? And h-how did you get in?”

Kashion stammered again, playing the fool upon seeing me.
Such a cute little thing.
Had I not overheard her shouting outside, I might have fallen for Kashion’s act. It was convincing, matching his outward appearance.

Kashion looked fragile, almost ready to break, with large teary eyes and shallow breaths.
His suffering was unfortunate, but it helped him convincingly play his character.

I considered letting him continue, amused by his performance, but it would be a waste of time.
It was easy to draw out his true nature. A few returned curses were enough.
Smart Kashion could not fool me; he revealed his true self immediately.

“Lady Irenberg… or should I call you Miss Irenberg? Ahem… damn! What brings you here?”

He tried to dominate the situation by teasing, but his body did not comply.
Though his eyes were fierce, his body bent weakly with each cough, looking pitiful.

“We need some ventilation. Janice, open the window, please.”

The musty smell in the room had been bothering me since I entered.
When Janice opened the window, bright sunlight poured in. I finished inspecting Kashion’s room.

‘Not bad. This is a palace room, and yet the sunlight is nice.’

Messy though it was, the design of the palace was sound.

Having inspected the room, it was now time to look at Kashion.
His skin was rough, lips chapped. Sallow, gaunt, with protruding cheekbones.
He looked ill, but more than that, neglected.
‘Dark circles… he probably doesn’t sleep properly.’

I understood his irritable attitude. Any person constantly tormented, poorly cared for, and unwell would inevitably grow bitter.

“What are you looking at?”

Kashion said bluntly. Despite his pain, he sat upright, showing hostility—impressive.
He was not a forsaken kitten, but a wolf hiding a vicious nature beneath a cat’s disguise.

‘He’s the type that requires a lot of handling.’

I needed to ease the tension without awkwardness. What should I say first?

“Miss, shall I bring out the snacks and tea?”

Good Janice! Nothing brings people together like food.
I nodded. Janice quickly fetched pretty plates and arranged sweet-smelling pastries on them.
We paired it with tea brewed from imported leaves—simple but elegant.
I’m glad I brought it just in case.

“Did you poison it?”

But my expectation of softening the mood was mistaken. Kashion was crooked from the start.

Where do you even start teaching a bad-tempered child?