Her Children (1)
‘How strange.’
Could people with completely different features still resemble one another?
Edwin found himself staring blankly at Kaiden’s eyes without realizing it.
“Well then, I suppose it’s time for me to depart.”
Kaiden met the prince’s gaze for a moment before turning away. With a simple farewell, he mounted the horse already waiting for him.
“Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness Edwin. Your Highness Emilia.”
The young king of Adamant offered the prince and princess a faint smile.
“I hope you both remain in good health.”
As he spoke, Kaiden tugged the reins, his eyes suddenly shifting toward the figure standing behind the prince.
There stood the prince’s nanny, who must have stepped out at some point.
“…I hope we can meet again soon.”
Kaiden offered a light nod along with those meaningful words.
“Goodbye, Your Majesty! Come play with Lia again!”
“Please travel safely, Your Majesty.”
At the bright voices of the young prince and princess, the corners of Kaiden’s eyes and mouth curved briefly before settling again.
And so, the first guest of the 3rd Prince’s Palace—who had left countless questions in his wake—returned to his own kingdom.
* * *
“Oh my?”
The very night Kaiden returned to Adamant.
I left Edwin, who had fallen fast asleep in his bed, and returned to my own room.
Yet several items inside had been moved slightly out of place.
‘Someone came in while I was away.’
I hadn’t entered the room once since leaving that morning, so someone must have slipped in during that time.
‘They didn’t even bother to erase their traces. Does that mean they don’t care if they’re caught?’
Frowning, I approached the desk by the window.
A black velvet box sat on top of it.
“What is this……?”
Nothing else was missing, so the intruder had clearly come only to deliver this box.
‘It’s not some kind of explosive, is it?’
One shouldn’t touch an object of unknown origin carelessly. I stared at the box for a long while before noticing the note beside it.
[A gift to commemorate our alliance.]
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
Clean and unadorned, yet with a rough texture that somehow reminded me of someone.
I had a feeling I knew exactly who had sent it.
After a moment’s hesitation, I reached for the box.
Click.
When I finally opened it, a crystal orb the size of a baby’s head gleamed inside.
The elaborate patterns etched across its smooth surface suggested it was a magical tool.
‘A communication orb?’
Communication orbs were hailed as revolutionary for allowing long-distance contact without carrier pigeons or letters, but they had the drawback of only working between paired orbs.
Because skilled mages had to inscribe magic circles into each mana stone individually, their prices were exorbitant.
Even during my time as guildmaster of the assassin order, they had been rare, high-end magical items.
‘To think he’d give something like this to the prince’s nanny.’
What if I hadn’t known what it was or how to use it? Would he really have handed it over so casually as a gift?
“Well.”
I lifted the crystal orb with one hand.
The full moon trapped within its transparent surface shone brightly.
‘Kaiden Ram.’
The young king of a newly founded nation.
The man who had shed inexplicable tears at the place where I died.
‘As expected, he’s on my mind.’
I didn’t know when I would see him again.
But since he had left me a way to contact him first, I could learn more about him in time.
About what kind of person he was, and what connection he had to my past self.
“…I’m curious.”
Just what was Kaiden Ram’s true identity?
I tightened my grip on the orb in my hand.
The moon visible between my fingers disappeared from sight.
* * *
The Ventrum Empire’s Founding Festival concluded successfully.
Though it had originally been meant to celebrate an unprecedented bountiful harvest after many years, the news that most intrigued the foreign envoys was none other than the imperial succession lineup.
‘The 3rd Prince has found his place.’
Rumors spread among the envoys that the 3rd Prince—who had been all but invisible after the fall of the Lionel Kingdom—was now earning the Emperor’s trust and aiming for the position of crown prince.
In truth, the true star of this year’s Founding Festival was none other than the 3rd Prince, Edwin.
* * *
“Oh dear, look at me. Tomorrow’s the day, and I haven’t even prepared.”
One morning, when the excitement of the Founding Festival had yet to fade, Catherine suddenly rose from her seat while sorting documents.
“What day is tomorrow?”
I looked up from braiding Emilia’s hair on the sofa in the head maid’s office.
“Ah, well……”
Catherine trailed off and glanced at Emilia.
The princess seemed uninterested in the adults’ conversation, absorbed in the fairy tale book in her hands.
“Nanny, could you come here for a moment?”
Catherine led me to the window and whispered.
“Nanny, would you accompany His Highness Edwin to the temple tomorrow?”
“The temple?”
I didn’t particularly like temples. I frowned and asked,
“Why?”
“Ah, well……”
Catherine hesitated briefly before whispering again.
“Tomorrow is the anniversary of Lady Emma Konrad’s passing. Your predecessor.”
Emma’s death anniversary.
I stared at Catherine with wide eyes.
“…The imperial family is observing her anniversary?”
“To be precise, it’s His Highness the 3rd Prince who observes it privately.”
Catherine continued with a sympathetic tone.
“The previous head maid even tried to stop that. So on the anniversary, His Highness Edwin would always go to the room Lady Konrad used and stay shut inside all day. That’s what I heard.”
She waved her hands quickly, as if realizing her mistake.
“Of course, the room she used is a different one! The room you’re staying in was originally unused. So there’s no need to feel uncomfortable……”
“Then,”
I asked in a flat voice,
“Should I take Their Highnesses to the temple tomorrow? What about permission?”
“I was told that visiting the temple doesn’t require special permission, even without a coming-of-age ceremony.”
“Understood. Then I’ll accompany Their Highnesses tomorrow.”
Catherine let out a soft exclamation at my answer.
“Ah, only His Highness Edwin will be going to the temple.”
When I furrowed my brow instead of replying, Catherine added an explanation.
“You’ve probably noticed, but Her Highness Emilia doesn’t know that Lady Konrad has passed away.”
Emilia had been only three years old when Emma died.
Far too young to understand death.
“His Highness Edwin told Her Highness Emilia that Lady Konrad had simply gone on a very long journey. So Emilia doesn’t even know how Lady Konrad passed.”
I gazed quietly at Emilia, who sat on the sofa diligently reading her fairy tale book.
Her innocent face, seemingly unaware of everything, lingered in my mind.
“So tomorrow, I’ll look after Her Highness the Princess. Please take His Highness Edwin to the temple.”
“…No.”
Catherine looked puzzled.
“Ah, then shall I accompany His Highness Edwin instead……”
“No. I’ll take both of them.”
“What? But……”
Catherine watched me with worried eyes.
“It’s fine.”
I spoke while looking at Emilia swinging her legs on the sofa.
“…Even if she doesn’t understand death, she can still say goodbye to someone who’s gone.”
* * *
The Leon Temple, located in the imperial capital.
It wasn’t far from the imperial palace.
“Welcome.”
The elderly priest with a kind face looked at us and seemed slightly surprised.
“We received word from the prince’s palace. Are you His Highness the 3rd Prince, Her Highness the 1st Princess, and Lady Brown, their two attendants?”
“That’s correct.”
The priest bowed respectfully to Edwin and Emilia after hearing my reply.
“It is an honor to meet the 3rd Prince and 1st Princess of the Empire.”
Edwin gave a slight nod, his expression unusually somber today.
“This way, please.”
We followed the priest at a slow pace.
“Nanny, is this the temple?”
Meanwhile, Emilia kept looking around in my arms.
It seemed she found her first visit to a temple fascinating.
“It’s so big and pretty!”
Her adorable voice, so unsuited to the sacred atmosphere, echoed through the stone corridor.
After walking for some time,
we emerged from the corridor, and sunlight suddenly stung my eyelids.
I instinctively frowned before slowly opening my eyes.
‘This place……’
The priest had led us to the communal cemetery behind the temple.
Many gravestones stood at regular intervals across the green lawn.
“Here we are.”
The priest wove between the stones and stopped.
Before him stood a gravestone engraved with the name ‘Emma Konrad.’
“Please take your time.”
Once the priest left, only the three of us remained before the grave.
In the awkward, heavy silence, Edwin slowly bent one knee.
He carefully placed the bouquet of white carnations he had carried all the way from the palace in front of the stone.
“…It’s been a while, Emma.”
His voice was unusually subdued.
“I’m quite late, aren’t I?”