A Guest in the Third Prince's Palace (4)
“…Where was it?”
In response to Kaiden’s question, Oliver kept his head bowed as he answered.
“It’s at a lakeside not far from the imperial palace.”
“A lakeside?”
“The place Your Lordship once visited before.”
Oliver hesitated briefly before adding an explanation.
“The reed field where Your Highness went to search for that woman’s remains. Near there.”
For an instant, a murderous glint flashed across Kaiden’s face.
He seemed to be pondering something with a terrifying expression, then spoke again.
“Prepare to head out once the sun sets.”
Thud.
Kaiden set the water bottle he’d been holding down on the side table.
“This time, I will definitely track down the Angel.”
“My lord.”
“What?”
“If the woman you’re searching for has truly been resurrected and is living somewhere, wouldn’t finding her be enough?”
Oliver continued with a perplexed look.
“Why are you trying to capture the Angel as well?”
“Angel” was the euphemism for the leader of the continent’s most infamous assassin guild, Angel’s Breath.
“Do you truly believe the one who killed the woman Your Highness seeks is the ‘Angel’?”
“Yes.”
“But wasn’t the woman you’re looking for once an ‘Angel’ herself? I heard she was skilled enough to be called the strongest in the organization’s history.”
Oliver frowned, unable to understand.
“What reason would there be to kill someone like that? Did she commit those acts because she wanted to become an Angel?”
“The reason doesn’t matter.”
Kaiden cast a piercing gaze out the window.
“What matters is that the damned bastard killed my angel.”
My angel.
Oliver inwardly cringed at the cringeworthy phrase that had slipped from his lord’s lips.
Just what is that woman to him?
It was utterly bizarre that the man before him had ever crossed paths with the female leader of an assassin guild.
But the strangest part is…
His lord was still harboring a one-sided love for a woman he had met only once, twelve years ago.
At first, he refused to believe she was dead and wandered the continent searching for her.
Oliver recalled the sight of his lord from a year ago, roaming the continent like a madman.
And then he even turned to strange black magic.
The moment he conquered the Lionel Kingdom, instead of focusing on stabilizing the realm, he had scoured the land for the dead woman’s remains and the items she once used.
All because a dark mage had told him that to resurrect someone through black magic, one needed that person’s remains and objects connected to them.
“My lord.”
Oliver asked, his voice heavy with genuine confusion.
“Just what was that woman to you?”
If it was merely a woman he had a crush on, there seemed no reason for such obsession.
“What could she possibly be that…”
“She is the person who gave me everything.”
Oliver’s eyes widened at his lord’s reply.
“…And therefore, the person I wanted to share everything I possess with.”
The fragrance of summer drifted in through the open window.
Kaiden continued staring outside.
“Without that woman, my life holds no meaning whatsoever.”
Step. Step.
Early morning in the Third Prince’s Palace.
The sound of someone’s footsteps echoed down the corridor.
“Hmm.”
Kaiden, King of Adamant, strolled slowly through the Third Prince’s Palace with his hands clasped behind his back.
He was briefly surprised by the palace’s unexpectedly grand scale, but the moment passed quickly.
He stopped before a portrait hanging in one of the reception rooms.
“…So this is where it was.”
It was a massive portrait that dominated an entire wall.
The subject was an exquisitely pure and beautiful woman with golden hair and golden eyes.
Her snow-white skin paired perfectly with the pink dress she wore.
At that moment, he sensed a presence nearby.
“Hm?”
A bundle of golden fur was peeking halfway through the gap in the door.
Kaiden unconsciously furrowed his brow, then relaxed his expression.
He had realized it wasn’t a bundle of golden fur, but the First Princess Emilia, whom he had seen yesterday.
“Huuung…”
First Princess Emilia was hiding behind the door, only half of her tiny face visible.
The child watched Kaiden with eyes brimming with curiosity.
Certainly.
Kaiden quietly observed her in return.
She resembles her.
Perhaps because the princess was also wearing a pink dress today, she looked remarkably like Empress Edith in the portrait.
So much so that one might think this was what the empress had looked like as a child.
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
Kaiden offered a friendly greeting.
But the young princess simply stared at him intently from behind the door instead of responding.
“……”
“……”
It had become an unintentional standoff.
Kaiden felt a flicker of panic inside.
What does she want?
He had abundant experience from the battlefield, yet zero experience handling small children.
Just as he was wondering how to break the impasse, it happened.
Tap tap tap.
The princess, who had been silently watching, suddenly darted out from behind the door and thrust forward whatever she held in both hands.
“This!”
Kaiden, who had instinctively tensed into a defensive stance, blinked at the object in her hands.
“A… book?”
“Yeah, it’s Ria’s!”
The princess lifted the large book high above her head with her thin arms.
Her vivid blue eyes now sparkled so intensely it was almost overwhelming.
“Ria worked really hard to read this! It’s a heroic tale!”
Kaiden’s face stiffened as he looked at the ornate cover.
It was a fairy tale about him that had been banned in the Adamant Kingdom.
I’m certain I prohibited both its publication and distribution.
Calling it a fairy tale was generous; it was little more than a novel written by a delusional patient who had deified him.
Though usually they call it an epic of heroic deeds.
Was she still too young to remember such terms?
Kaiden looked down at Emilia, who barely reached his knees.
“The knight in the heroic tale defeats monsters every single day and always wins? And he’s so incredibly handsome that all the princesses adore him!”
“I see.”
“Yeah! But the knight doesn’t like anyone! So he goes back to his hometown, builds a country, and becomes king!”
“I see.”
Hearing his own story—even an exaggerated version—coming from the young princess’s mouth made his face grow strangely warm.
“Hey, mister, you’re the King of Adamant, right?”
Mister.
He wasn’t even married yet, but had he already reached the age to be called that?
Kaiden briefly denied the unbelievable reality before accepting it.
From the eyes of a child as young as the princess, he supposed he could look like a “mister.”
“Your Majesty, you look just like the Knight King in this book!”
“…Do I?”
“Yeah!”
Emilia opened the book with her small hands and pointed firmly at one of the illustrations.
“Black hair and golden eyes! Exactly like Your Majesty!”
“Haha, I see.”
“And Your Majesty is handsome just like the Knight King!”
There wasn’t a man alive who disliked being called handsome.
Even when the compliment came from a young child with imperfect pronunciation.
“This is the greatest honor.”
Kaiden knelt on one knee to meet Emilia’s eyes.
“It’s the most generous and pleasant compliment I’ve received in a long time.”
The child gazed at Kaiden’s face, now level with her own, then hugged the fairy tale book tightly.
“Really?”
“Yes, I mean it.”
“Then if Ria asks you to be friends, will you be my friend?”
Kaiden smiled gently at the young princess’s adorable request.
“Of course, Your Highness.”
“Reallyyy? Thank you! Ria didn’t have any friends and really wanted one!”
No friends? Why not?
For such a cute and sweet young princess to have no friends at all—something had clearly gone very wrong.
As expected, the rumor that they’ve been neglected since the Lionel Kingdom fell must be true.
Kaiden’s expression darkened for a moment.
But the instant his eyes met the princess’s again, he smiled brightly.
“Princess Emilia.”
“Yeah?”
“Was there something you wanted to do with your first-ever friend?”
“Something I want to do?”
“Yes. Have you thought of any games or activities you’d like to try now that you have a friend? Or if there’s a toy you’d like as a gift, you can tell me…”
Friend. Games. Toys.
The words Emilia loved came pouring out one after another.
“Then, then!”
Emilia’s cheeks flushed rose as she raised her voice excitedly.
“Let’s play horsey!”
“Horsey… ride?”
The phrasing sounded somehow ominous.
When Kaiden narrowed his eyes slightly, Emilia grabbed his fingers with both hands and shook them.
“Yeah! It’s the game where His Majesty the King becomes a horse and carries Ria while crawling on all fours!”
“…Your Highness.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve thought of an even more fun game. How about we play that one first?”
“A more fun one?”
Emilia kept tilting her head, clearly skeptical that anything could be more enjoyable than the horseback game.
“What is i—”
Before the princess could finish speaking, Kaiden wrapped one arm around her, stood up, and lifted her onto his shoulders.
“Kyaaaaa!”
Emilia shrieked and clutched Kaiden’s hair tightly.
“It’s high! So highhh!”
The small child stomped her feet in pure delight.
She seemed utterly thrilled by this brand-new perspective.
“It’s fun! So fun!”
Kaiden let out a quiet sigh of relief at Emilia’s enthusiastic reaction.
Even Oliver’s pointless chatter proves useful sometimes.
It had been worth remembering his adjutant’s comment that children went wild for shoulder rides.
Had he not known that information, he might have suffered the utter humiliation of crawling on all fours in the heart of the imperial palace.
“Kyaaang!”
Kaiden gently held Emilia’s legs so she wouldn’t fall from his shoulders as he moved this way and that.
“Hihyahaaak!”
A strange, purely joyful laugh.
Listening to it, Kaiden found himself smiling without realizing it.
“…E-Emilia?”
At that moment, Third Prince Edwin appeared at the entrance to the reception room.
The prince stared at his sister riding on the King of Adamant’s shoulders with a stunned expression.