🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 07 ….
“Wait a moment. Then the reason you and His Highness don’t feel uncomfortable with each other is—”
“Because I’m not kind.”
“Wow, me? Me? Even if it’s Prince Michael, I get it—but me?”
“You said you have a niece, didn’t you? Be careful to maintain your attitude going forward.”
“I feel wronged, seriously……”
Then Jehel, with the approval documents slung over his shoulder, let out a faint laugh.
“Now that I think about it like that, everything really does feel strangely similar. Even the way you speak. And your personality too.”
“There probably wasn’t anyone else in the Magic Tower for him to observe and learn from.”
“Uh, that man who was famously the Magic Tower Master’s only disciple—wasn’t he staying in the Magic Tower too?”
“……”
“Whenever that man comes up, Your Highness always goes silent. Wait a second… don’t tell me, could it be—Kanna’s biological father—”
“Jehel. Do you still have something more to say?”
“……No, I do not.”
Jehel, who had firmly stepped all over his superior’s landmine, frowned in discomfort and turned away—only for a knock to be heard.
“Your Highness, someone has arrived from the Princess’s Palace.”
“Let them in.”
A servant entered and bowed toward Michael.
“Her Highness the Princess requests your presence urgently.”
“My aunt?”
Michael let out a sigh and stood up.
Nadia, the Emperor’s second daughter and Michael’s aunt, was, to put it simply, a strange eccentric.
It was better to go early; otherwise, trouble would pile up later.
Michael rubbed his face once and followed the servant toward the Princess’s Palace.
Princess Nadia’s Palace
Kanis was resting his chin in his hand, staring lazily out the window.
For some reason, he felt unusually drained today.
A servant cleaning up a glass beside him asked cautiously,
“Would you like to visit His Highness later?”
“What? Why?”
Kanis looked genuinely confused, as if he truly didn’t understand why he would need to.
The servant only smiled ambiguously.
From the servant’s perspective, Kanis’s low mood was because Michael wasn’t around.
Michael had been cooped up in his study all morning and half the day, likely overwhelmed by the backlog caused by their strange “play.”
Kanis, for the first time in days, had eaten alone at the large dining table—and the comfort of it was beyond words.
It was peaceful beyond belief. Nothing unnecessary happened. No tension. No shouting.
Kanis, who had been slumped like laundry hanging on a windowsill, suddenly sat upright when he noticed his coat hem.
“I should go see Michael.”
“Yes.”
The servant tried not to look like they already expected this, but Kanis had already stormed out.
To explain—Kanis had an idea the moment he noticed a loose button on his coat.
Even though Michael was the kind of person who, when Kanis once lay down in the hallway refusing to move, immediately brought pillows, blankets, sunshades, and even a card game set for a “goodnight,” and even once carried Kanis around all day because he asked to be given a piggyback ride—so much so that he even attended internal council meetings while doing so…
As Kanis thought about this, he began to question whether this was actually a good idea.
That day, all the embarrassment in the world had been suffered by Kanis alone.
But maybe this time, he could catch Michael in a difficult situation.
If Michael pricked his finger while awkwardly sewing, he was ready to tease him mercilessly.
If that didn’t work, he’d even go to the library and borrow something like “The World’s Most Effective Collection of Insults.”
Kanis’s steps quickened.
The loose button on his coat dangled as he ran.
The servant, startled by the unusually fast speed for a six-year-old, hurried after him.
At last, Kanis reached the end of the hallway and turned the corner sharply.
And there—he saw Michael.
He was walking toward the stairs, talking to someone.
Kanis waved.
“Hey! I’ve got something to say!”
Both voices stopped immediately upon seeing Kanis.
Kanis also stopped.
Michael turned toward him, raising an eyebrow in mild surprise.
“What brings you here? I’m curious what you have to say.”
The unfamiliar person beside him smiled warmly at Kanis as well.
With both their gazes fixed on him, Kanis suddenly lost his words.
They waited silently for him to speak.
“Uh… well…”
“Well?”
Michael stepped closer.
“Did something happen?”
“No? Nothing.”
Kanis stepped slightly back as he answered, and Michael knelt down to his eye level.
“Then what is it?”
“What do you mean, what?”
……If it were you, would you be able to throw off your coat and ask someone to sew a button in a situation like this?
Kanis pretended not to care, glancing sideways.
Michael was clearly on his way somewhere for work.
That guy was just doing his job properly, yet Kanis had been mentally distracted all day just because of a single bet.
It was embarrassing enough that he could never say it out loud. Of course, there wasn’t really anyone left who would listen anyway.
Michael, now serious, studied Kanis.
“Kanna. Shall we go somewhere quiet and talk?”
“…Let’s talk later tonight.”
“Kanna.”
“I’m taking a nap right now.”
At Kanis’s desperate excuse, Michael stood up reluctantly.
“Alright. Then I’ll see you in the evening.”
Michael reached out instinctively to ruffle Kanis’s hair, but Kanis turned away without realizing it.
“……”
“……”
Michael quietly withdrew his hand and walked away without comment.
Only after he disappeared from sight did Kanis sigh and shake his head.
Where did all the dignity of the Magic Tower Master go after becoming a child?
Since when did I start caring so much about people?
Kanis turned back toward the residence.
He needed to fix this situation quickly and return to the Magic Tower.
“Sir Kanna, are you upset because you can’t play with His Highness Michael every day?”
The servant asked cautiously.
“No? Not at all.”
“His Highness has been busy. If you wait a little longer—ah, Sir Kanna!”
Kanis’s pace suddenly quickened.
Though it was still no match for an adult stride, the intention was clear.
Lately, Kanis had begun sprinting more often than ever before—usually when avoiding servants.
What else could he do? He couldn’t use magic in front of people, and his current body wasn’t suited for it either…
And sometimes, he simply didn’t know what he was supposed to say.
Princess Nadia Meeting Scene
Michael entered a dim room even in the middle of the day.
Rare and valuable ancient books were scattered everywhere, and magical diagrams drawn in chalk covered the floors and walls.
It was hardly the residence of a normal princess.
Sensing his presence, a woman peeked out from the inner room and grinned.
“So you became a father? Congratulations.”
“……Aunt.”
“Just sit anywhere.”
Princess Nadia leaned her cane against the wall and limped toward the sofa before sitting down.
Her wrinkled face was thin but sharp, and her long hair fell loosely down her back.
“Why did you call me—”
“That kid. He’s not your child, is he?”
“……”
Michael’s expression stiffened.
Nadia smiled and placed a pipe in her mouth.
“I didn’t call you to interrogate that. Just wanted to check your condition.”
“My condition?”
“Yeah. You look tired, but otherwise fine. Still handsome as ever.”
Nadia was eccentric; even as family, she wasn’t the type to check in out of concern.
She exhaled smoke and finally revealed her intent.
“The Magic Tower Master hasn’t died, has he? Otherwise you wouldn’t be walking around looking like a normal human.”
“……”
“He’s missing, then. Any guesses? Dying somewhere?”
“Aunt. Please choose your words carefully.”
“Why? I’m not exactly happy about the Magic Tower Master dying either. Your grandfather might be different.”
“Do you have to refer to His Majesty so casually?”
“If I’m not treated as his daughter, what choice do I have?”
“……”
“He may be a hero, but over three hundred years, you don’t think there’s a single person who hated him? A famous figure makes a convenient target for blame.”
“Like you and His Majesty?”
Nadia’s eyes narrowed briefly, then returned to normal.
“And you—who brought the Magic Tower Master’s child into the palace?”
“Kanna knows nothing.”
“Will that stay true in the future? What if the Magic Tower Master never returns again?”
“He is my child.”
Michael looked directly at Nadia.
“I have no intention of changing that.”
