Chapter 33
Although I wasn’t that old, I couldn’t help but reflect on the life I had lived so far.
My family had abandoned me, and my friends had stood by me with smiles, pretending to be supportive. The employees whom I thought were loyal, who I had treated kindly, enjoyed seeing me thrown out.
It was a nobleman, Aiden, who had no previous connections to me, a former slave, who was the one to help me.
Trust was betrayed, and new opportunities appeared in the most unexpected places. Life is indeed a funny thing.
“That was a productive time…”
The Crown Prince remained silent for a moment, looking at me. His blue eyes deepened under the shadow, making his gaze appear more intense.
I had always found this man difficult to understand.
There was always something about him that seemed mysterious, and he never revealed his true feelings.
At one time, I had found that quality intriguing, but now, it felt as though he was as deceitful as a snake.
“What do you plan to do now?” he asked.
“…”
What was he trying to say? I squinted my eyes, and he smiled leisurely.
“Do you intend to take revenge on the family that abandoned you? Perhaps you want to recover the memories you lost.”
“…Why do you ask? Are you trying to mock me again?”
“I hope you’ll think that I’m just concerned about you,” he replied.
“Concerned? Concerned? Ha!”
This time, a hollow laugh escaped me. How could he lie so calmly?
“So you’re mocking me again. You’re as cruel as ever. I have no interest in talking further. I’ll leave now.”
After a brief farewell, I turned to leave, but as I was about to walk away, he spoke again, his voice trailing behind me.
“Do you still have nightmares?”
“…”
“Seems like you do.”
A small sigh escaped him.
“I’ve always disliked you,” he continued.
As I slightly turned, the Crown Prince spoke again, looking directly at me.
“You’ve become so weak, I could break you with the slightest push.”
“…”
“Compared to back then, you’re not so bad now. Your gaze has improved a lot.”
He came closer. Our distance shrank with just a single step, and his noble eyes became even clearer.
“If you want revenge, I can help.”
“Please stop.”
“If you want to recover your memories… well, I can’t help directly, but I’ll support you in whatever way I can.”
“I said stop. No matter what you say, you have no right to treat me this way.”
The Crown Prince ignored my words and continued as if it were his right.
“If you had looked at me with the same eyes back then, things would have been different. Everything that has happened to you is your own fault.”
I clenched my fists to stop myself from slapping him. My knuckles cracked with a loud noise.
“The most difficult part of all this is that I was disappointed in myself. I realized how terribly bad I am at judging people.”
The Crown Prince’s eyebrow lifted slightly, and I caught my breath, continuing to speak.
“I didn’t know my family could be so cruel. I never imagined that a friend I trusted so much would be so pathetic… I never even dreamed that the man I loved could be such a vile person. Only after being completely alone did I see their true nature.”
“…”
“I was disappointed in myself for loving them. They weren’t people worth loving.”
“…”
The Crown Prince’s gaze wavered, and his lips moved, but he didn’t say anything.
“I can take revenge without your help. I don’t need your support to recover my memories. So, if you want to show pity, show it to those who truly need it.”
After saying that, I turned and began to walk away.
The old, shabby inn didn’t bother me anymore. I had accepted my situation, and I no longer felt embarrassed.
Neither my lifeless form nor the cheap clothes I wore mattered.
I would start from the bottom here, but I knew that one day, we would meet again at the top. Everything was just a matter of time.
But… how did he know?
“I never told the Crown Prince about my nightmares…”
Click.
As the door to the inn closed behind me, a sudden question struck me. It felt like I had missed something important.
But what was it? I couldn’t figure it out.
“Ugh.”
For a moment, my head felt like it was about to explode. I couldn’t breathe properly.
The pain was so intense that I lost strength in my body. My legs wobbled, and I bumped into the wall with my shoulder.
I clutched my head with trembling hands.
What is the cause of these periodic headaches? They weren’t a disease, but they tortured me like one. I was curious about when they had started.
My mind couldn’t delve deeper into the thoughts. Slowly, the pain subsided, and I focused only on catching my breath.
“Ahhh!”
The scream of a young girl echoed in my ears.
With the child’s scream, my consciousness began to fade.
Just as my vision darkened and my awareness slipped away, I heard something I had never heard before.
“Uncle!”
With those words, my consciousness sank beneath the surface.
The Crown Prince, after parting ways with Selena, met up with his attendant, Peterson, and had a meal at a nearby restaurant.
Peterson felt uneasy about the Crown Prince having to eat hard bread and old milk, but the Crown Prince ate without complaint.
“Oh, by the way, I saw Duke Calypso nearby.”
“The Duke?”
“Yes. He came out for some personal matter, but I suspect that’s a lie. I think he’s just worried and was looking around since Your Highness is about to inspect things.”
“That sounds like something he’d do.”
“He was acting like he was a true noble now that he’s been elevated to a Duke. What a presumptuous man.”
The Crown Prince didn’t respond to Peterson’s words. Not because he disagreed, but because he was too disgusted with his attendant’s crudeness.
“A slave, no matter how much he accomplished on the battlefield, will always be crass. His vile language and dirty blood will never change.”
Peterson, thinking the Crown Prince agreed with him, continued talking.
“I still don’t understand why he was given the title of Duke. Normally, those who rise in rank only get a Barony.”
Listening to Peterson’s complaints, the Crown Prince sighed.
Although he despised Peterson’s crudeness, he kept him as a servant for one reason: he knew his place.
No matter how much nonsense he spoke, Peterson always carried out his orders without fail, and never revealed confidential matters even under threat.
In a noble society where everyone was constantly scheming, it was rare to find someone who was quiet and did their job.
But today, the Crown Prince found it hard to ignore Peterson’s words.
“Selena, every time I see her, it’s the same.”
Like a grain of sand in his shoe or a needle in his mouth, she had a way of making him uncomfortable.
Even though she had done nothing wrong, the Crown Prince found her presence unsettling.
“By the way, Shion Estarion is going to accompany you for the inspection starting tonight.”
“Shion?”
“Yes. I thought he’d be too busy with family matters, but it looks like he’s going to take care of this task after all.”
The Crown Prince thought about Shion Estarion, the eldest son of the Estarion family.
He had no resemblance to Selena in terms of appearance, aside from having blonde hair and green eyes.
“How could she have done something so terrible that she was cast out of her family?”
Peterson glanced at the Crown Prince and began speaking, trying to get some information about Selena, who had once been engaged to the Crown Prince.
Selena was considered the epitome of nobility in society. Peterson had seen her several times.
She was graceful, humble, well-educated, and exuded an air of nobility.
In both appearance and personality, she was flawless, and Peterson considered her the perfect match for a queen.
So, if she was cast out of her family, she must have done something terrible.
“Peterson, it’s better not to involve yourself in matters that don’t concern you.”
“…Understood.”
The fact that Selena was taken to the Inquisition was still a secret known to only a few.
The Crown Prince had no intention of revealing it.
She had been cleared of any connection to black magic.
“By the way, about the second daughter of the Count’s family, the one named Sienna. His Majesty wants you to be engaged to her. Are you really going to do that?”
Peterson blinked with curiosity. The Crown Prince chuckled softly.
This crude servant was obsessed with gossip.
While it was indeed important, since the engagement involved a royal family member, to the Crown Prince, it was nothing more than idle chatter.
The Crown Prince was already prepared to use marriage as a strategic tool to gain power.
“She’s a flaw in my plan.”
“Excuse me?”
“This whole situation wasn’t something I planned.”
The Crown Prince sighed deeply, a mix of frustration and irritation in his voice.
Realizing this, Peterson understood that the Crown Prince was in a very sensitive state.
