Letina clung to the Emperor as if she lived solely to suffer. Enoch made countless efforts to change her heart, but he failed each time. It was only natural since it was clear which side she loved more.
As he continued to fail, he couldn’t help but feel increasingly disappointed in his mother. While some said that as time passed, one would come to understand their parents, he found that the older he got, the less he understood her.
Letina was an incredibly powerful magician. Unlike him, who had yet to manifest any magical abilities, she could end droughts and prevent heavy snowfall with just a wave of her hand.
There was no one else on earth capable of such feats.
But that was not all Letina possessed. Her family, the Inovis Duchy, was wealthy and steeped in history. The reason the Emperor could remain in power despite consecutive failures was that Letina brought wealth from her family.
Yet, what did she gain in return for all that devotion? Enoch thought it was deeply unfair.
And as much as he resented that unfairness, he found it frustrating how his mother accepted everything without complaint.
If he were her, he would not live like that. At the age of thirteen, Enoch blocked her path and pleaded, Mother, His Majesty does not love you; he does not even look at you.
“Why do you devote yourself to him so much?”
Such actions were possible because he still loved her at that time.
However, Letina did not look at her son, who was standing in her way with a face on the verge of tears.
Instead, she absentmindedly embraced the boy who resembled her and whispered, “My son, you do not understand yet.”
At that moment, her skin and hair exuded a sweet scent, reminiscent of apple wine. Enoch didn’t know the name of that scent until later.
That day, Letina passed by her son, who couldn’t even question what he needed to understand, as she made her way to the Emperor’s palace, where she loitered daily.
Of course, that day was not the last. After that, Enoch continued to stand in her way, and each time, she passed him by with her characteristic indifferent yet gentle expression.
Watching her back as she didn’t even glance back, Enoch thought, Do you think I do not understand? Me?
No, that wasn’t true. He understood a lot. At that time, Enoch believed he was seeing everything objectively. At least he believed he was more so than Letina.
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Around that time, strange rumors circulated in the palace.
It was said that the Empress had lost her mind from loneliness and had given her heart to one of her stepsons.
Enoch heard this from his half sister, Bertina.
The girl with red hair and black eyes was two years younger than him, just eleven that year, and having lived outside the palace until the previous year, she was rougher and more straightforward than their other siblings.
Enoch often fought with her, but they also saw each other frequently since she was the only one of a similar age in the palace.
The girl would frequently raise her hands to hit him and spoke in a way that was quite annoying, yet she was the only one who welcomed him. Perhaps she was just as lonely.
In the palace, which was filled with red and brown hues, his silver hair stood out, so they always met in secret.
That day, Bertina called Enoch to a neglected garden and, upon seeing him, immediately asked, “Hey, did you know?”
Enoch frowned at her tone, which seemed more suited to a street urchin than royalty, and replied,
“What?”
“You know, it’s said that the empress is crazy about one of the princes these days.”
But that’s not you. Bertina said, digging at the ground with the toe of her shoe. The muddy earth stained her blue silk shoe.
Enoch had never heard such a thing before. He asked, “What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know? My sister told me that the Empress has been calling a certain prince to the palace a lot lately. They say he’s much older than us—almost as old as my sister.”
Bertina referred to the first princess, Iliad, as her sister and was quite fond of her. Even though Iliad didn’t get along closely with their other siblings, she treated Bertina kindly.
Enoch didn’t like Iliad very much, but he was sometimes envious of Bertina. There were many princes and princesses in the palace, but apart from Bertina, none of them welcomed him.
But to think that Letina was calling a prince as old as Iliad to the palace.
Iliad was twenty-five this year, and there were four princes her age. After a moment of thought, Enoch shook his head.
“Mother wouldn’t do that.”
Just as only the Emperor could make Letina lonely in the world, he was also the only person she could care about.
Knowing this, Enoch denied her words, but Bertina seemed to think he simply didn’t believe her, pouting and turning away.
“If you don’t want to believe it, then don’t. I took a big risk to tell you a secret my sister shared with me.”
“It’s not that I don’t believe it; it’s that it’s impossible. Can you imagine Mother paying attention to anyone other than His Majesty?”
His explanation was unusually gentle because Bertina was practically the only person he could talk to in the palace.
However, the already stubborn girl turned his words against him.
“Well, the Empress doesn’t even look at her own son.”
“Hey, you—”
“Enough. I have nothing to say to an idiot like you.”
You stupid child. With that, Bertina turned her back and left the abandoned garden. Enoch stared at the girl’s retreating figure, still walking like a street urchin. In disbelief, he murmured to himself. Who really is the stupid one here?
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However, the anxieties of a thirteen-year-old often overshadowed reason, and while Enoch believed he was right, he couldn’t completely disregard Bertina’s words.
In the end, he resolved to secretly visit the Empress’s quarters.
He didn’t have anything specific to do there, nor did he have a clear goal in mind to verify.
Still, he procured some simple clothes that would fit him. A cloak to cover his unusual hair was a bonus.
Sneaking out of the palace wasn’t difficult. After leaving a note saying he’d be gone to the river, he simply climbed out of a window. He was naturally good at physical activities, and the palace attendants, indifferent to their master, would honor his request without question.
Dressed in the clothes he had gathered, Enoch walked toward the Empress’s quarters. His palace and Letina’s were connected by a small forest, and passing through it allowed him to travel between the two without encountering any guards.
Of course, not just anyone could enter the forest.
The forest was reserved only for the Empress, her direct descendants, and those she granted permission to.
It was said that knights used to patrol the area to enforce this rule, but after Letina became Empress, the knights were dismissed. No one dared venture into the forest, which was now maintained by Letina’s magic.
Walking through the forest without hesitation, Enoch thought to himself. Who would his mother have given her heart to? In her eyes, there is only one person.
It must be just a baseless rumor. A stepson?
Although the Emperor had many children, Enoch was the only one born to Letina.
And yet, she was so indifferent to him that if he didn’t seek her out, he wouldn’t even catch a glimpse of her.
There’s no way she would care about anyone else. Enoch wanted to believe that, but the lack of trust between mother and son made it hard to be sure.
In the end, he quickened his pace. Despite having no concrete plan, he felt a growing sense of urgency.
But he didn’t make it to Letina’s quarters that day.
The reason was simple: he ran into her along the way.
As Enoch hurried through the forest, he heard the sound of rustling and came to a stop. Two figures were walking toward him.
One was Letina, with hair just like his, and the other was a man with red hair.
Letina, her hair adorned with jewels and loose around her shoulders, was smiling at her companion. She was dressed in a bright blue outfit, adorned with shimmering gold decorations that gleamed.
Such grandeur was familiar. Letina always dressed up when visiting the Emperor’s quarters. She wore large jewels and draped herself in soft, fine fabrics.
But the happiness on her face was unfamiliar, and Enoch stood frozen, too stunned to think about hiding. He simply stared at the scene before him.
In his daze, it was impossible for them not to notice him. Letina, noticing her son standing ahead of them, gasped softly. Oh my.
“What are you doing here?”
That was exactly what he wanted to ask her. Forgetting his own appearance, Enoch stammered, “Mother, what are ‘you’ doing here?”
The next realization that dawned on him was that this forest also connected to his own palace.
Enoch’s eyes widened as he thought that Letina might be coming to see him.
“Mother, could it be—”
But before he could finish, Letina answered him.
“I was just out for a walk.”
Oh.
At that moment, Enoch realized how he had foolishly jumped to conclusions, and his face flushed with embarrassment.
Of course. There was no way Mother would be coming to see me.
As he lowered his eyes, his face still red, Letina approached him, her steps light as if she were dancing.
She quickly closed the distance between them and asked, “Were you out for a walk too? If so, it must be fate that we met like this. Shall we introduce ourselves?”
And then she added cheerfully, “This is your older brother, the Fourth Prince.”
