A thousand thoughts swirled aimlessly through my head, only to disappear again.
Among them was the thought of being executed as a traitor for the crime of assassinating the crown prince.
With my eyes closed, covering my mouth with my hand to stifle my sobs, it was none other than the crown prince himself, who had put me in this state, that saved me.
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, Dame Emblem, and Sir Gray.”
The crown prince apologized to us while stumbling, trying to get up from the ground.
He still looked as fragile as he did when I saw him as a child, like he could collapse at any moment.
‘Why does he look even more like a corpse now?’
I had seen the crown prince a few times at imperial events, but ever since the brief encounter during our childhood, he had always given the impression of being frail, though not as corpse-like as today.
However, the crown prince before me today was in such a state that it wouldn’t have been surprising if someone had told me he would die tomorrow.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
Enoch, who seemed to share my thoughts, hurriedly stood up and supported the crown prince.
Following Enoch, I also rose to my feet and helped support the prince from the other side.
“Thank you, thank you so much…”
The crown prince began to sob as we helped him.
Could it be that I stepped on him and broke his bones?
Though I didn’t step on him that hard, given the crown prince’s current state, even a slight touch might have caused a bone to break.
“Please, sit down for a moment.”
“No, no, it’s fine…”
The crown prince, insisting that he didn’t deserve to sit comfortably, attempted to lie back down on the floor.
Both Enoch and I panicked and stopped him from doing so.
“Why are you acting like this?”
The crown prince looked at me intently, his golden eyes trembling aimlessly, as deep pain flashed through them.
“I should have been the one to die…”
“Pardon?”
“Hm…”
Tears that had welled up in the crown prince’s eyes began to fall, rolling down his cheeks.
Then he bent forward, letting out loud, sorrowful sobs.
“Ah, ugh, ugh…”
His sobbing was so pitiful that we couldn’t even touch him.
Watching a grown man break down in front of me was incredibly difficult.
Especially in a society like this, where revealing one’s emotions is considered a weakness.
In this noble society, the crown prince stood at the very top of the pyramid.
For him to collapse like this in front of Enoch and me must mean that he was writhing in immense pain.
“……..”
“……..”
Enoch and I exchanged glances in silence.
If the crown prince had been like this for quite some time, then it made sense why he now resembled a corpse.
“Have you eaten anything?”
“I’m not worthy of eating, ugh, heuk… I’m not!”
“Have you been sleeping well?”
“Whenever I close my eyes, the thoughts come back. I’m not even worthy of sleeping…”
Oh dear, this really isn’t looking good.
The crown prince’s state was truly precarious, mumbling that he should have died, as if he were possessed by some ghost.
“Please stay here for a moment. I need to speak with Enoch.”
Quietly, I led Enoch out of the drawing room. Enoch followed me without protest, carefully closing the door behind us.
There was no one in the hallway outside. Even the head servant who had guided us earlier was nowhere to be seen.
Though I confirmed that there was no one else around, I whispered to Enoch, as the location made me cautious.
“Since you’re close with the crown prince, you must have seen him frequently. When did he start acting like this?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen him like this. The last time I saw him, he had regained much of his health and was even able to exercise…”
Enoch trailed off, furrowing his brow in thought.
“Why did you stop talking? Then when did he start deteriorating like this?”
“Cherrya, is it true that Duke Emblem has returned?”
“What? Has the rumor already spread?”
“It’s not a rumor. I guessed as much after seeing the condition of my grandfather.”
“Why is that?”
“Did he say anything to you?”
In response to Enoch’s question, I shook my head. My grandfather had been the same as always since his return, only overseeing my swordsmanship training.
The only things he had said were about how delicious the food was in certain places and how beautiful the scenery was in others – travel stories, basically.
“Nothing?”
“There’s definitely something going on, but it’s hard to piece together without all the information.”
“You seem to know something. Why don’t you tell me?”
Enoch stared at me for a moment before shaking his head.
“I’ll tell you when I’m sure. This is just my guess, and I don’t want to speak carelessly.”
“…Well, whatever. So, we still don’t know why the crown prince is like this?”
“Yeah.”
“Haaa, then what should we do?”
The problem returned to square one. We had to figure out why he was acting this way to know how to console him.
Just as Enoch and I were holding and releasing the door to the drawing room repeatedly, unable to find a solution, we heard a voice.
“Chamberlain, what are you doing letting our guests stand around like this?”
“I apologize, Your Majesty.”
Before we knew it, the emperor had appeared behind us with the chamberlain.
“……! We greet His Majesty, the Emperor of the Lutinas Empire.”
“We greet Your Majesty.”
Startled, Enoch and I quickly knelt on one knee.
The emperor gently patted both of our shoulders, signaling for us to stand.
“Haha, I didn’t expect to be greeted here.”
Encountering the emperor without any notice made my heart pound wildly.
“I apologize, Your Majesty.”
Luckily, my voice didn’t tremble.
“Dame Cherrya Emblem, you seem to resemble Melsia more and more as time goes by. For a moment, I thought you were Melsia and considered running away.”
“Excuse me? Why would you run away…?”
“Haha. We’ll talk about the rest while seated.”
The emperor cut me off gently and gave a nod to the steward, who opened the door to the drawing room.
‘The crown prince must still be crying in there.’
Following the emperor into the drawing room, I saw the crown prince approaching us after noticing the emperor’s presence.
“Your Majesty.”
“Oh, you’re here. How’s your health today?”
“I rested well and feel much better.”
“Good. Have you eaten?”
“Yes, I have.”
I stood frozen at the entrance to the drawing room, blankly watching the conversation between the emperor and the crown prince.
The crown prince, who had been sobbing earlier as if the world were ending, was now smiling.
As if he had never cried, the crown prince was wearing a fresh smile, making him seem nothing like the corpse-like figure from before.
Now, standing in front of me was a man with a charming air of frailty, like a prince from a fairy tale, with a story to tell.
“Ah, Dame Cherrya Emblem and Sir Enoch Gray, you’re here too. I’ve been waiting for you.”
The crown prince was now acting as if he had never met me and Enoch just a short while ago.
“……….”
I quietly glanced at Enoch.
“………”
He, too, looked back at me without a word.
‘What’s going on?’
‘I have no idea.’
‘Then what do you know?’
‘What about you? Do you know anything?’
It was only today that we realized we could communicate with just our eyes.
