TSHL 30

Chapter 30

“Wow, this is really nice…”
When I stepped into Arwin’s tent, I stood off to one side and looked around the unfamiliar space.
It somehow felt both humble and full at the same time.
Not too small and not too large—just the right size, reminding me of an ordinary commoner’s home.

Everything one might need was there: a neatly made bed, a small bath to wash in, and a simple kitchen where one could cook.
Since he lived alone, he seemed to have set up every convenience for one person to manage things on his own.

Everywhere, Arwin’s touch was visible. Trinkets he had collected during his travels filled the interior—
a dreamcatcher gifted by an Indian tribe, a finely carved lion figurine bought from some nameless street vendor…
and, just as he’d once said he loved paintings, a few small pictures hung neatly on one wall.

“When I was wandering abroad, I used to buy paintings I liked from street artists,”
he explained softly, pointing out each item that had caught my curiosity.

Though this was a new and foreign place for me, it was clearly a space Arwin had lived in for years.
Perhaps because of that, even though it was my first time here, the place felt strangely warm and comforting.

As I finished looking around while listening to his stories, something suddenly came to mind. I turned toward him.
“Oh, right. I brought something for you, Arwin.”

I spoke as I set down a basket I had brought on the small table.
Arwin tilted his head, puzzled.
“I’ve been wondering about that since earlier. What’s in the basket?”
“What else? Food I made for you.”
“…What?”

Arwin blinked, looking dazed. Feeling slightly proud, I began to take the items out one by one.
“These are dishes I often make at home. This one’s a sandwich packed with fresh vegetables and ham,
and this is a stew with tomatoes and beef. It’s probably cold by now, but you can reheat it.”

He stared blankly at the food as I laid each thing out on the table.
“When I got your note, I thought about what might help you even a little.
Since you’re on the run, I was worried you might be hiding somewhere without proper meals…”

As I kept talking, I suddenly realized what I had just said and trailed off.
I’d accidentally mentioned that Arwin was being pursued.

From the moment he fled upon seeing Duke Hydrian, his identity as the third prince had been exposed to me.
But unless he brought it up first, I hadn’t wanted to say anything about it myself.
That was something I had promised myself before coming to see him.

Feeling both embarrassed and guilty, I couldn’t continue.
Then Arwin gave me a gentle smile.
“It’s all right.”
“…Arwin. I’m sorry. I really wanted to pretend I didn’t know, but it slipped out.”
“My identity was already revealed to you the moment I ran from the duke.”
“….”
“I actually asked to see you today because I wanted to tell you myself.
I didn’t want you to hear about who I am from someone else’s mouth.”

His voice was softer and more earnest than ever. I turned toward him.
He looked at me with a smile that matched that calm tone.
“But before that, there’s something I want to say.”
“What is it?”
“Even after you learn who I really am… I hope you’ll treat me the same as you do now.”

He met my gaze, his voice steady but his eyes uncertain.
“Promise me—promise that even when I tell you my true identity,
our friendship will stay the same.”

I saw the anxiety flickering in his eyes—the fear that I might grow distant once I knew who he truly was.
I couldn’t help but smile faintly. Maybe he still remembered the joke I’d made before.

Of course I had no intention of abandoning our friendship because of his title.
From the very beginning, I had befriended him as Arwin, not because of who he was by birth.
If he had told me from the start, maybe things would’ve been different—but now,
after we’d already become friends, his rank was just a small detail.

“…Of course, Arwin.”
I nodded firmly.
“Even if I know who you really are, I’ll still be your friend.”
“Just like now?” he asked, as if to make sure.
I looked straight at him and nodded again.
“Yes. Just like now.”

At my answer, his face broke into a radiant smile. Then he extended his hand toward me.
“Let me introduce myself properly.”
“….”
“I’m Adolph de Fontrich, third prince of the Empire.”

I looked down at his outstretched hand, then smiled and took it in mine.
“It’s nice to meet you… Adolph.”

At that moment, I couldn’t understand why my heart was beating so hard.

Adolph seemed deeply moved, as if this moment meant more to him than words could say.
He looked at me with a complicated expression that was impossible to describe.
After holding my hand for quite a while, he finally let out a small laugh.

When I gave him a questioning look, he scratched his head sheepishly.
“It’s just… thinking back on it now, it really was a crazy thing to do.”
“What was?”
“Not running away even when I knew the knights were after me.”
“….”
“Maybe I already knew this kind of moment would come.”

A situation where he’d be surrounded by knights, cornered with no escape—
and within that, the moment he’d reveal his true identity to me.

Arwin—no, Adolph—wondered if all of it had been inevitable from the start.
From the very moment he met her. From the moment he first saw her painting.
Maybe, deep down, he had always known it would lead here.

“Of course, I never imagined you’d go this far to help me,” he added with a faint smile.
His gaze drifted toward the food spread out on the table.
“These meals… thank you. I’ll never forget your kindness.”
“It’s nothing. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”
“You being here for me like this is already a gift.”

Adolph’s expression was full of genuine gratitude. He pulled out a chair and sat down,
then dragged another one closer for me.
“Come, sit here.”
“….”

He looked like he had a lot to say. I quietly sat in the chair across from him.
After a short pause, he let out a bitter smile.
“The truth is, I’m a coward. A pathetic coward who ran away because I couldn’t face reality.”
“You don’t have to tell me everything, Adolph,” I said gently,
worried that he might feel pressured to open up just to maintain our friendship.
But he shook his head.
“I’m not saying this out of obligation. I’ve just been… thinking a lot lately.”
“….”
“You’re a wise person, so I wanted to ask.
If you were in my position, what would you have done?”

He looked at me as if asking for permission to go on. I nodded.
“There are two people—A and B,” he began.
“They’re brothers. A loves B dearly and wants to live peacefully as family.
But B hates A, because their father only shows affection to A.
And that same father plans to leave everything he owns to A.”
“….”
“So what’s the best choice A can make to keep peace between them?”

He looked straight into my eyes as he asked.
It was clear who he meant—the father was the emperor,
and A and B were Adolph and his brothers.
I realized then that Adolph’s disappearance seven years ago—his decision to vanish from the palace—
had been because of his family.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that his question didn’t just apply to siblings.
It made me think of Ken.

Of the past me, who had wanted to get along with him,
and of Ken, who had come to hate his stepmother even more because of how his father protected me.

Adolph’s story felt like a question aimed at me:
If I could go back to that time, what choice would I make?

“Well… if I were A, I think I would’ve run away,” I finally said.
He turned his eyes toward me. “Why?”
“If I refused the things Father wanted to give me,
then maybe I could’ve gotten along with B.”

If I could go back, I thought, I’d become only a nominal mother to Ken.
I couldn’t have refused Diana’s dying request—
I knew I would still have taken on that promise.
But at least I could’ve decided what kind of mother I would be to him.

If I could return to that moment,
I wouldn’t have approached that child.
I wouldn’t have interfered.
I’d have been only a distant, formal mother—
one who stayed far away from his heart.

“…Seven years ago, A thought the same thing,” Adolph said quietly.
“That for peace to last, he had to disappear.”