Inside the carriage heading to Rosenta, Kinas asked, “Have you found that person?”
Kinas also knew a thing or two about the curse of Inovis. He had heard some things from Enoch during his carefree days, and he had also learned some things while keeping vigil over Letina’s deathbed.
Enoch shook his head. He still had not found the girl.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried. During his teenage years, when he still had hope, he searched for her every year during the New Year’s festival. It was the only time he was allowed to leave his exile.
However, there were no results. Letina had said that fate would lead him to her, but Enoch now thought she had omitted some important details. At that time, she wasn’t in her right mind. That was more than understandable.
It didn’t matter anymore. Enoch looked out at the scenery through the window. He no longer sought to confirm the girl’s existence.
It wasn’t because he didn’t want her anymore. The girl was blooming radiantly every day. He couldn’t dare to ignore her.
Enoch had simply decided not to be greedy anymore.
Kinas stared at the young man looking out the window with calm eyes before asking, “How’s your body? Any signs of fever returning?”
He asked this knowing that Enoch had lost his sense of taste due to a fever. Enoch silently shook his head. The fever that had struck him at eighteen had not returned since.
But if it were to return once more, it would surely be the last time. Enoch sensed this but remained silent. It didn’t matter what happened.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
When they arrived in Rosenta, he witnessed an unbelievable sight.
Seeing a man at the forefront of the welcoming party, Enoch doubted his own eyes. With long black hair cascading down and adorned with colorful jewels, the man resembled the girl who appeared in his dreams at night.
“What’s wrong?”
Noticing the stiff expression of his companion, Kinas asked. Enoch instinctively denied it. “I’m fine.”
“But that man…”
“He’s the Crown Prince of Rosenta. If you’re thinking of getting close to him, forget it. His personality is quite unpleasant.”
Kinas said this, but later, Enoch found that the Crown Prince’s personality was similar to Kinas in many ways.
The Crown Prince greeted them with a smiling face. He explained various things about the palace in a moderately friendly tone and soft manner.
However, Enoch didn’t pay close attention to what he was saying. At that moment, he was preoccupied with entirely different thoughts.
It was understandable, as the Crown Prince truly resembled the girl he had seen in his dreams.
Of course, he wasn’t as lovely or beautiful as her, but his refined features and sharp eyes mirrored what Enoch had seen every night.
If that person were a woman, really—
Just as he thought that, the Crown Prince spoke.
“The princess is unwell today and cannot attend the banquet.”
Enoch paused at those words.
“…Is there a princess?”
The Crown Prince seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden question but still responded with a smile.
“Yes. She is a very lovely girl who just turned eighteen this year.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
That night, Enoch had difficulty falling asleep.
Though he had no concrete evidence, he thought that the princess of Rosenta might be the girl who had occupied his dreams.
It seemed the ages matched as well. The princess was said to be three years younger than him, and the girl in his dreams still looked youthful, even as he had become a young man.
Moreover, those eyes.
Enoch recalled the Crown Prince’s green eyes, which shone with a light similar to what he knew. It was said to be a characteristic of the Rosenta royal family, along with their black hair.
The more he considered it, the more all the conditions aligned perfectly. Was it really fate guiding him? He had once dismissed such talk as nonsense, but at this point, it was worth pondering. Everything seemed too coincidental.
Though he had searched for that girl for so long, Enoch couldn’t accept this coincidence with joy.
He had never been given anything for free. Everything came with a cost. He had lost as much as he had gained and had given as much as he had received.
And now he had nothing left to pay.
It would have been better if he hadn’t found out. So that he would never have to worry about losing her. Enoch repeated that to himself all night. It was the cowardice of someone who didn’t have the courage to face anything.
Starting the next day, he made excuses about not feeling well and withdrew from all his engagements. He didn’t want to risk seeing the princess and recognizing her face.
Kinas left him alone in his room for three days, but on the fourth day, he came in with a frown.
“They said you could go anywhere in the palace gardens, so at least take a walk. Stop smoking those herbs. Is this really how you want to spend your time here?”
Not wanting to hear those words, Enoch turned away, and Kinas gestured to the attendants who had followed him in. They were the same ones who had come with him from Nasant, and they quickly opened the window at his command.
Enoch grimaced at the smoke escaping so swiftly. However, Kinas didn’t even blink and did something even more extreme.
“Bring me water.”
After receiving a glass of water from an attendant, he poured it directly into the brazier.
With a sizzling sound, the flames were extinguished. Enoch turned away, painfully watching the dying embers of the brazier and his brother, who had been bothering him since morning.
Kinas spoke calmly, without hiding his annoyance. “Since you never listen to me, what else can I do?”
As if it were only natural, he returned the empty glass to the attendant and turned away.
“Well then, I’ll be off. You should do something constructive today.”
Enoch looked at his brother’s departing back with a bewildered expression.
Still lying in bed, he slowly blinked his eyes and gestured to the empty air. The window, which had been open, closed with a thud.
The brazier followed suit. With a snap of his fingers, he reignited the flames as before and turned back to lie down. The attendants sensing his mood quietly withdrew.
One of them would probably go to Kinas and report what had just happened. Enoch knew this well but didn’t bother to silence them. After all, the one who’s going to be frustrated is not him.
Kinas returned before that afternoon, and this time he outright took the brazier away.
In front of Kinas, Enoch lit the herbs with his bare hands. Suddenly, cold water splashed onto his face. It was Kinas who had thrown it.
Instead of drying off the water and lighting new herbs, Enoch stood up. He carelessly brushed the dripping water from his hair and staggered toward the open door.
Kinas was horrified to see him, drenched and in a wrinkled shirt, trying to leave the room.
“Where do you think you’re going looking like that?”
Enoch didn’t answer. He didn’t want to talk to his brother, who was always interfering with his business.
He probably wouldn’t live for many more years, but Kinas had made it impossible for him to even control his own life.
Feeling like he had escaped his bothersome brother’s sight, Enoch pulled out the herbs he had hidden in his sleeve.
He used his fingertips to dry the herb, which was already soaked. However, some of it turned to ash and fell apart.
Enoch grimaced at the unintended result. This was the problem with magic. When emotions ran high, it was hard to control.
However, he didn’t fail twice. He safely dried more than half of the herb and put it back on his sleeve. He also roughly shook off the water from his clothes and hair.
Having finished his task, he found himself with nowhere to go, so Enoch paused for a moment and looked around.
He was standing in a corridor that was open on all sides. On either side were gardens and buildings stretched out in front and behind, making it a very open space.
Behind him was Kinas, and in front of him there were people, but Kinas wasn’t there.
And he was in a state that was embarrassing to show to others. After a brief moment of thought, Enoch turned left. He planned to take a walk and return when Kinas wouldn’t be around.
Although it wasn’t a walk he was eager to take, the scenery he saw was all beautiful. Enoch slowly passed between the golden sculptures. Large, colorful flowers bloomed among them, though he didn’t know their varieties.
The trees of the southern region were in full bloom, while the palace’s trees were bursting with white and red flowers.
Perhaps it was because it was the south.
As he passed by the brightly colored flowering trees, Enoch thought. He had never lived in the southern region, but he knew it was warmer than the places he had lived before.
Walking without any plans reminded Enoch of his childhood. He recalled the palace in Nasant, where he spent his youth.
After ascending to the throne, Kinas had renovated much of the place. The abandoned gardens were planted with flowers, and proper angel statues replaced the broken ones. The western tower, where he had once been trapped, had been torn down, and the emperor’s palace underwent extensive repairs.
The only thing Kinas hadn’t touched was the palace where he had lived as the fourth prince.
“You’ve always had strange tastes. You only like dead things.”
The empress, Melinox, had said that. His sister-in-law, who was five years older, had added, “Well, that’s part of what makes you cute.”
Hearing that, Enoch held back a wave of nausea for the first time in a while. Still, he had more patience now than he did as a child, so it didn’t show.
In any case, those were unpleasant memories. Shaking his head, Enoch turned back. By now, Kinas would have disappeared, and he wanted to return to his routine.
And then he was taken aback.
“…Where is this?”
Where am I?
Standing among fragrant and vibrant flowering trees and beautiful sculptures, Enoch belatedly realized his situation.
He was lost.
