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Chapter : 4
“Rieeeeen!!!”
The next morning, the moment I arrived at the mansion with Driel, I was tackled barefoot by a dark-skinned, voluptuous beauty and pulled into a suffocating hug.
“My goodness, how long has it been?!”
Sierra was a fire spirit contractor, my dearest friend, who had left the Tower about a year and a half ago to establish a merchant guild and had been operating out of the Empire ever since.
After showering my cheeks with kisses, Sierra suddenly paused and looked at the child clinging to my back.
“Oh my, and who’s this little one?”
“…I picked him up on the way.”
“Hm~ Well, let’s go inside first. Do you have any idea how much I was looking forward to you coming? We’re going to go out and have fun every single day.”
Perhaps intimidated by the unfamiliar Sierra, Driel clung tightly to my waist from the moment we stepped into the mansion and showed no sign of letting go.
Sierra, who had always been excitable to begin with, practically bounced around all day as she gave me a tour of the mansion.
Driel must have been tired; while I was briefly looking over the clothes Sierra had bought for me, he fell fast asleep on the bed.
After tucking a blanket over him, I went out to the garden terrace with Sierra and sat down in a chair.
“So, what’s with the kid?”
She sounded genuinely curious. At her immediate question, I shrugged.
“I don’t know. I haven’t known him long either.”
“Really?”
I told her about the small, everyday things that had happened at the Tower while she was gone.
I wasn’t especially talkative, but around the people from the Tower, I felt much more at ease.
“Be honest—Alex cried, didn’t he?”
“Huh? Ah, yeah. He barged into my room this morning with puffy eyes.”
“I knew it. But, you know…”
Sierra took a long swig of wine, wiped the playful look from her face, and asked in a serious tone,
“…Are you really planning to propose to the Second Prince?”
I nodded.
“Isn’t that the only way for a spirit contractor to enter a power struggle without drawing suspicion?”
“…That’s true, but… I’m not absolutely against it, but you do know what kind of person the Second Prince is, right…?”
Sierra looked at me uneasily.
“Roughly? I know he’s at odds with the Crown Prince—something about their mothers.”
“…Have you met him before?”
“Once? He never shows up at banquets, so I hadn’t run into him there… I helped out briefly during a monster subjugation once. He probably doesn’t even remember me.”
“…Have you ever talked to him?”
“I just helped him out of a dangerous situation and left. I only found out later that he was a prince… Why?”
Sierra was excitable, but she wasn’t usually this persistent. Puzzled, I watched her mash her cake with a fork across from me.
“Haa… I mean…”
With a deep sigh, Sierra shared what she knew about the prince.
Unlike the Crown Prince, who at least had a rational side, the Second Prince was said to have the temperament of a ferocious beast.
If something displeased him, blood was often spilled.
Even so, the reason he could maintain power equal to the Crown Prince’s was because he controlled the military and was no poor strategist himself.
“Still… are you sure? Honestly, I don’t want you getting dragged into the palace’s internal conflicts. Can’t you just end things…? You’re strong now, too.”
I snorted softly and shook my head.
The Crown Prince—rational?
If that man wanted something, he wouldn’t stop at bloodshed; he’d even gouge out people’s eyes. Yes, rational—so long as it benefited him.
But he was also undeniably dangerous. Given his personality, there was no way he hadn’t used underhanded methods against his enemies. If the Second Prince had fought him on equal footing all this time, then he was certainly no fragile man.
The image of the Crown Prince’s nauseating face resurfaced, and I ground my teeth.
Watching me quietly, Sierra let out another sigh and changed the subject.
“Fine, do whatever you want. Anyway, the capital’s been really unsettled lately.”
I rested my chin in my hand.
“Why?”
“The Second Prince’s side. Apparently, the Third Prince has gone missing. You know—when the Second Prince was away subjugating monsters, it seems the Crown Prince’s faction might have taken him. Their mothers are different, but everyone knows how much the Second Prince dotes on the Third Prince.”
“So the Third Prince really means a lot to him.”
Sierra nodded.
“He’s even deployed his personal guards to search the capital. If the kid’s in the forest, it’s dangerous because of monsters.”
Someone the Second Prince truly cherished…
“…How old was the Third Prince again?”
“Eight. Definitely… too young to get dragged into palace power struggles.”
About Driel’s age.
“Hyung…”
After dinner with Sierra, I returned to my room and sat by the bed, wiping away the sweat from Driel as he muttered in his sleep.
“I miss you…”
A single tear rolled down from the corner of his eye, looking painfully pitiful.
If he said it even in his sleep, then no matter how much he pretended otherwise, he truly must miss his brother and family.
Why, exactly, was this child being chased?
I couldn’t really relate to missing family in my current state, but Driel was still at an age where he should be growing up in their embrace. Without a word, I took a towel and wiped his flushed face.
“Big sister!”
I opened my eyes.
The haggard look from yesterday was gone; instead, a child with sparkling eyes was staring at me.
“…Driel?”
I must have fallen asleep while tending to him.
Pressing at my stiff eyelids, I got up from the bed.
If the child was already awake, the sun must be high in the sky.
“Big sister, this…!”
The child standing in front of me fidgeted, then suddenly held something out with both hands he’d been hiding behind his back.
“Th-the garden… the flowers were pretty, so… please take them!”
I stared blankly at the wildflowers he was holding like a boy making a clumsy confession, then chuckled and brushed the dirt off his clothes.
“…Thank you.”
His chubby cheeks flushed red.
Knock, knock.
As I gently stroked his silver hair, a knock sounded. Unlike yesterday’s casual outfit, Sierra peeked through the door in an elaborate dress adorned with jewelry.
She scrunched up her face, looking close to tears.
“Rieeen…”
“…?”
“I’ve got something urgent at the guild, so I don’t think I can be with you today. What should I do?”
So that was it.
“Go.”
“Mm… If you get bored, there’s a festival in the streets before the Founding Day banquet. Go check it out! I won’t be late!”
Grumbling about the terrible timing, Sierra climbed into her carriage. As I watched her leave, I glanced down and flinched.
“…Driel?”
Driel was clinging to my waist, gazing up at me with sparkling eyes.
“…?”
“…Fe…sti…”
He chewed on his lip, his face turning red as he lowered his head.
“What?”
“…The festival…”
I laughed softly.
“You want to go?”
The child nodded faintly.
Wearing the hood of the robe I’d given him, Driel went outside and eagerly examined every single stall, fascinated by everything.
Holding the cotton candy I’d bought him, he scurried around until he suddenly stopped.
Then he looked at me with a pitiful expression.
Driel was staring at a booth where you could win prizes by throwing darts.
There was no way the first-place prize—a horse—had caught his eye…
“…A doll?”
He flinched.
A teddy bear was hanging as the third-place prize.
“Hehe.”
Driel beamed as he hugged the fluffy teddy bear I won for him.
Of course, like all such games, there was a trick—the board shifted slightly—but even accounting for that, the darts were fairly easy.
After buying him the grilled chicken skewers he’d been eyeing, we returned to the mansion as the sun set and the sky grew dark.
“…Big sister.”
As we were about to head up to our rooms, the child tugged at my clothes.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you… for taking me to the festival. It was my first time… going around and having fun with someone like that.”
His sparkling violet eyes told me he meant it.
I smiled faintly and nodded.
It wasn’t something I’d planned, but I was curious.
Who was this child? How had he lived, to thank someone for an ordinary day?
What kind of story did he have?
But…
I shook my head.
There was no need to pry into something he didn’t want to talk about. He’d be staying here until he found his family—one day, he’d tell me himself.
Watching Driel fall asleep the moment he lay down, exhausted, I turned off the light and left the room.
Sierra gulped down wine that sloshed like blood.
“Rien, it’s right around the corner now.”
“Yeah.”
The Founding Day banquet, coming soon.
Under dim lighting, I drank the crimson wine that looked like blood.
“The prince will appear at the banquet in the evening. Let’s go around that time. I booked a salon for tomorrow, so let’s shop for a dress to wear.”
The Second Prince normally never attended banquets, but this time, the emperor had ordered his participation to reward him for subjugating monsters.
Going directly to the imperial family would draw too much attention, so meeting him naturally at the banquet was the only sure chance.
I would never, ever watch the Crown Prince become emperor and live grandly with Arienne and the Duke of Aicienne family, even if it killed me.
The only person fiercely contending with the Crown Prince for the throne—the swordmaster Second Prince, Lihar von Lupium.
There was also the Third Prince, but he was too young and under the Second Prince’s protection, so he was eliminated from contention from the start.
Publicly, I would attend the Founding Day banquet with Sierra, head of the Agnes Grand Guild, offer the Second Prince my support, and, as a spirit contractor, propose a contract marriage to naturally involve myself.
As a prince, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to reject a spirit contractor’s power over romantic ideals.
And even if he did refuse, if necessary, I’d threaten him to seize my chance for revenge.
As I drank my wine—
“E-excuse me…!”
Sierra and I both turned our heads.
Between the open door stood Driel, clutching his doll tightly, biting his lip until it turned white.
“Please… please take me to the banquet too…!”
