Chapter 05
In the glass vial, green and red liquids swirled together, glowing.
Just like the emperor’s greedy desire to somehow get his hands on the great sorcerer.
Does he treat his own children as mere tools for his desires?
They are all the same. The emperor, the empress, and the people who abused the child.
Reina silently gazed at the light.
“Your Majesty.”
“Speak.”
“I will not drink it.”
A warm room decorated with wooden furniture and several plants.
Kevenriac sat at a desk where the sunlight streamed in.
The vases placed on the windowsill were in the most visible position.
“Your Highness, are you happy to be clean now?”
Early this morning.
It seemed like just another ordinary night passing by.
Just a little more, and I’ll be able to go back.
Though it’s harder than usual after being beaten and having to take a bath.
Still, compared to the good things that happened the day before, this felt like nothing.
The child gazed at the moon reflected in the cold bathwater.
She remembered the smile of Reina, who had kindly smiled at him.
Then, it happened.
“P-Please, save me…”
An unbelievable thing occurred.
In this unreal situation, Kevenriac couldn’t take his eyes off Reina, who was walking toward him.
As she moved, the surrounding noise seemed to fade away.
Reina did what Kevenriac thought he would have to do someday as the monster he was.
Reina cried while standing beside the bath, looking at him.
Silent tears streamed from her eyes, which resembled the calm moon.
Kevenriac recognized that what he was feeling was sadness, but that was all.
He wished she wouldn’t cry.
But he didn’t know how to stop her from doing so.
Reina, holding him as he didn’t know what to do, whispered to him.
“I’ll make sure of it.”
He didn’t know what she meant by that, but somehow, it felt like anything Reina did would be right.
Kevenriac followed Reina out of the palace.
The place they arrived at was where Kevenriac was now — Reina’s room.
They slept together in the same bed and had breakfast together.
Then Reina said she had things to do and left the room.
Left alone in the room, Kevenriac felt incredibly happy.
‘The flowers I gave…’
The flowers I placed in the basket were in Reina’s room. And they weren’t thrown away—they were beautifully arranged in a vase.
Kevenriac, kneeling with both his knees and palms on the desk, stared at the flowers on the windowsill.
Near his palace, there was a tree that bloomed with flowers in the shade of early winter. The only place in the imperial palace where the sun never shone throughout the year was the Fourth Prince’s palace, so the tree bloomed there every year.
Kevenriac counted the years as he looked at the flowers.
The flowers, white and blooming in the dark, seemed to represent something noble.
So he simply admired them. He was afraid that if the monster-like hands of his touched them, the flowers would wither instantly.
When he picked the flowers to give to Reina, he carefully held the flower stem with his hands wrapped in cloth.
‘Will I be able to give Reina flowers again next year?’
Kevenriac withdrew his outstretched hand from the flowers.
If the flowers were damaged by the touch of a monster’s hand, Reina would be sad.
Knock knock.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Kevenriac quickly turned his head, startled.
His reaction was mixed, both wariness toward the visitor and hope that it might be Reina.
“…?”
Kevenriac stared at the closed door.
No one ever asked for his permission to enter his room in the palace, so he expected the door to open soon. However, after waiting for a while, the door still didn’t open.
Knock knock.
Instead, the sound of the door being knocked again echoed.
Why isn’t it opening?
‘Is the door stuck?’
Maybe Reina couldn’t open the door and was asking for help.
Kevenriac quickly jumped off the desk and walked toward the door.
He carefully turned the doorknob and opened the door from the inside.
“Fourth Prince.”
A stranger’s voice. And behind him, there were adults.
Startled, Kevenriac froze with his hand still on the doorknob.
The man, who appeared to be of high status, looked down at the child with a stern expression.
That afternoon, Kevenriac’s life became unusually noisy.
Strangers arrived at Reina’s room.
“Fourth Prince, His Majesty the Emperor has sent us.”
The man, who seemed of high rank, bowed to Kevenriac and showed respect.
Saying he was sent by the Emperor, he began directing the servants who had come with him to clean the Fourth Prince’s palace.
The dirty things were thrown away, and clean, expensive items were brought into the palace.
The furniture and bedding were replaced, and the once musty palace now had a refreshing atmosphere.
The once hideous outer walls were now freshly painted, and the garden trees that had grown wildly were neatly trimmed.
Everything had changed in just a few hours.
“His Majesty also instructed that attention be given to the Prince’s appearance.”
The changes applied to Kevenriac as well.
A warm bath was waiting for him.
“……”
“Your Highness, it’s not scary.”
A maid gently reassured Kevenriac, who was frozen in place. The child slowly placed one foot into the tub, guided by the maid’s hand.
As the water touched his toes, the warmth of the bath startled Kevenriac, and he quickly ran out of the bathroom.
“……!”
“Ah! P-Prince! Please come back!”
Just then, Kevenriac collided with Reina, who had come to the palace.
“Oh dear. Be careful.”
“……Reina!”
Upon recognizing who he had bumped into, Kevenriac’s face brightened.
Reina alternated between looking at the open bathroom and Kevenriac, who had a cloth wrapped around his waist, before gently patting his head.
“It seems you were taking a bath. How about we have a meal together once you’re done?”
“……!”
Kevenriac’s eyes sparkled.
He nodded eagerly and then rushed back into the bathroom.
‘Little kitten…’
Reina watched the child cautiously climb into the tub, then moved away. She needed some time alone to think.
It was about the conversation she had with the emperor earlier that morning.
‘In the memory of Reina Hart, the effect of the binding potion was to offer the heart of the one who drank it to the master they pledged loyalty to.’
So, the emperor had demanded loyalty from Reina with her heart as collateral.
‘Where does he get the audacity?’
Although Reina decided it was best not to completely sever ties with the emperor, she had no intention of accepting such an unreasonable demand like a fool.
Instead of accepting the emperor’s proposal, Reina decided to play her own card.
“12 years from now, though I hope it doesn’t come to this, Your Majesty will pass away.”
“……What are you saying?”
The smile vanished from the emperor’s face, replaced with a grim expression.
“You don’t have to believe me, but I know when, where, and how Your Majesty will die.”
“Reina Hart, are you threatening to assassinate me? How dare you!”
“It won’t be me who does the killing.”
Reina looked at the emperor with an expression full of anger.
“If Your Majesty desires my loyalty, then do not force anything upon me. If you do, I will protect you on the day I saw,” Reina said.
In the original story, Kevenriac ends up assassinating his father, the emperor. However, Reina had no intention of turning the child into a tyrant.
‘I will not raise him to be a villain. So, you should not die by his sword.’
She would protect him on that day, but beyond that, she could not make any promises.
The emperor narrowed his eyes at Reina’s words.
Reina’s prophetic abilities were not something to be dismissed lightly. Her foresight, as a great magician, was well-known even within the empire.
“…Are you asking for the life of the emperor in exchange for the fourth prince?”
“If you offer it, I will not refuse.”
In the heavy silence, the emperor seemed to weigh his options—whether to step back, as Reina suggested, or to use the fourth prince to pressure her further.
‘Who told you to threaten someone with a child?’
After a moment, the emperor, seeming to have made a decision, told Reina to return.
As she stood to leave, she spoke again.
“The reward you promised, I ask that it be used to improve the treatment of the Fourth Prince, to the same level as Your Majesty’s other children.”
‘It seems you have no intention of giving me the position of tutor as a reward. I’ll take it as payment for your life instead,’ Reina thought, though she kept the words to herself. The emperor had likely realized this, as just before she left, she heard the sound of him grinding his teeth.
‘I thought he would ignore it since he was so upset,’ Reina thought as she watched the emperor quickly send his servants. It seemed the idea of death had truly shaken him.
Reina smiled slightly as she looked down the now-clean hallway. She basked in the sunlight on the terrace, then took a leisurely walk around the palace.
When she entered the dining room, she found Kevenriac sitting at the table, waiting for her.
“Your Highness?”
Reina was surprised to see how much the child had changed. His once messy hair, which had fallen down to his nose, had been neatly cut. With his clean appearance and royal attire, he looked quite refined.
His blue eyes, visible under his dark hair, sparkled when he saw Reina.
“Reina!”
Reina pulled out the chair opposite him and spoke.
“Wow, who is this?”
“I-I…”
Was he not recognizing her? Kevenriac flustered and pressed his hand down on his bangs, as if trying to emphasize his previous messy hair to her.
How cute. Reina smiled warmly.
“I’m just joking. You think I wouldn’t recognize you? You’ve become so handsome!”
It wasn’t just flattery—Kevenriac truly looked handsome after his makeover. It seemed there was some truth to the saying in the novel that the second empress had only passed on beauty.
Reina looked at the awkward child, who was fidgeting with his utensils, feeling a sense of contentment.
“Your Highness, Lord Hart. The meal is ready,” the servant said, and the table was filled with deliciously glistening dishes.
Reina carefully cut the meat into appropriate pieces and placed it on Kevenriac’s plate.
“Use your fork to eat.”
“Yes.”
It was a consideration for Kevenriac, who might have never had a meal like this before. Reina had imagined he might eat like a beast, using his hands, but thankfully, the child awkwardly used the fork to bring food to his mouth.
‘Maybe now I can eat too,’ Reina thought, glancing at the table.
Kevenriac was probably enjoying his meal, and there were no transparent windows or distractions. It seemed like she could finally enjoy a peaceful meal.
‘How long has it been since I’ve eaten without guilt?’
With a light heart, she was about to pick up a golden-brown wing when
[The child ate a sand-mixed rice ball.]
Cough.
Reina let out a small cough.
Why are you doing this to me?
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
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