~Chapter 21~
“Huh? No, Lady Relshiz wasn’t there.”
At some point, Leona realized that Rayester’s attention had drifted elsewhere.
Feeling a little hurt, she looked down.
“More importantly, Your Highness, you promised to call me Leona. I’m sad you didn’t.”
A faint look of boredom flickered in Rayester’s eyes.
Suppressing his weariness so it wouldn’t show, he smiled.
“Do you like it when I call your name?”
Under the shade of the flowers, Rayester slowly leaned toward her.
“If it were me, I think I’d like this even more.”
“Your Highness…”
Their lips were just about to touch—when suddenly, Rayester froze.
“Why…?”
“Shh.”
He pushed Leona away quietly.
Only then did she sense someone nearby, and her face instantly turned pale.
Panicking, the lady stepped back a few times.
“I-I’ll see you again later…!”
“That way.”
Lady Adelique quickly disappeared down the garden path he pointed to.
Left alone, Rayester turned his head toward the place where he had sensed something.
“Who’s there?”
He still heard movement, but no one answered.
Did he hear wrong?
He carefully checked beyond the bushes—and his eyes widened slightly.
A child?
Squatting low on the neatly trimmed grass was a little girl.
She looked like a frightened rabbit, cautiously eyeing her surroundings.
Her long ash-brown hair was tied in a single ponytail down her back, but strands were sticking out wildly, as if she’d been running around a lot.
Is she a guest of someone visiting the outer palace?
Rayester quietly watched her small back for a while.
Once he was sure the child wasn’t paying any attention to him, he relaxed.
Not because he was worried about the secret meeting being discovered, but because it just wouldn’t feel right, emotionally, to be seen like that.
Still, she’s been hiding there for a while. Did she get lost?
He deliberately made noise as he stepped over the flowerbed.
The girl flinched and finally turned to look at him.
Her eyes were a clear light green.
“What are you doing here, kid?”
“Shh!”
Before he could even finish his sentence, the girl pressed a small finger to her lips.
She shrugged her shoulders and glanced around anxiously, as if someone was chasing her.
“Don’t make noise! The demon and the lion will come catch me…!”
What was she talking about?
As he blinked in confusion, the girl continued scanning the area nervously.
Wondering if something was really out there, Rayester looked too— but there were only blooming flowers and garden trees. Nothing else.
“Hide quickly!”
The girl suddenly grabbed his pants and pulled.
Caught off guard, he bent down on one knee, careful not to dirty his clothes.
Hmm.
Rayester felt strange.
He hadn’t hidden like this since the night someone tried to assassinate him as a child.
It was confusing, but oddly… a little exciting.
“Are you playing hide and seek?”
“This isn’t a game. It’s real.”
Real situation, huh.
He corrected himself in his head as he looked down at the girl’s round head.
She had leaves and dried grass stuck to her hair—she must’ve run all over the garden.
Clearly, she had a vivid imagination and a mischievous streak.
She looked kind of familiar… but no one came to mind right away.
He thought someone should’ve been watching her.
Rayester decided that if he found the child’s guardian, he’d scold them properly.
Just then, the girl looked up at him as if she realized something.
“…But who are you?”
“Took you long enough to ask.”
Realizing she was talking to a stranger, the girl slowly backed away.
Rayester gave a playful smile.
“Who do you think I am?”
At his question, the child’s eyes wavered nervously.
Oh no… this is bad. I wasn’t supposed to get caught…!
The cute intruder in the garden—Shiz—was now in full panic.
She hadn’t planned on coming outside from the beginning.
Shiz had been sitting quietly on the lab chair, just like she was told, waiting for Relshiz to return.
“You’ll be safe in here,” she had said.
But as time passed, the scary monster story Relshiz told her started popping into her head again.
“The demon… and the lion…”
Her imagination ran wild.
In her mind, the demon and lion had merged into one monster—with two heads, six eyes, and eight legs.
Sniff.
“I wanted to see the prince and princess…”
Shiz lowered her head with a pout, looking like she was about to cry.
After being alone for a while longer, the fear started to fade, replaced by boredom.
When she peeked outside the window, the sky was sparkling and clear. Birds were chirping and flitting about.
Shiz had been admiring the grand palace and its fancy architecture in the distance, but suddenly she started worrying about Relshiz, who still hadn’t come back.
‘Is future Relshiz unnie okay?’
What if the demon and the lion had eaten her?
Shiz’s small cheeks turned pale.
She clearly remembered how Relshiz’s hands had been trembling before she left the lab.
‘What if she got caught by the demon and can’t come back?’
Growing more anxious by the minute, Shiz started pacing around the lab.
She pressed her ear against the door to check if Relshiz was returning, but it was completely silent outside.
Relshiz might be a royal magician, but Shiz, who knew her well, couldn’t help but worry.
‘She was so slow even when we played tag. She always just stays at home. She’s so clueless, she didn’t even notice when I hid in her bag.’
No friends, only enemies all around her.
Zero survival skills or smartness.
‘If unnie really got caught by the demon…’
After thinking hard, Shiz made up her mind.
“I have to save her!”
With a brave face, Shiz looked around the room.
Just then, she spotted a pointer stick lying on the blackboard shelf—it was the perfect length.
She picked it up and swung it like a sword. It was just right.
She felt like a hero from an old story.
A hero!
Her eyes sparkled.
‘If I show up like a cool hero and save her, future Relshiz unnie will be so surprised!’
She imagined Relshiz in danger, gasping and exclaiming, “Wow, Shiz, you’re amazing!” and falling to her knees in admiration.
Shiz’s mouth spread into a wide grin.
‘Hehe, maybe she’ll even buy me five bags of candy!’
Full of excitement, little Shiz walked over to the window.
‘If I go out the door, I might run into someone…’
So she pulled a chair over, climbed up to the window, and easily unlocked it.
The locking spell that Relshiz had carefully placed did absolutely nothing.
Luckily, the Head Magician’s lab was on the first floor.
The windowsill wasn’t too high—just the right height for a six-year-old to jump from.
And little Shiz had enough courage to climb on top of closets.
This height was nothing.
Without hesitation, Shiz jumped out the window.
“Ugh!”
She stumbled a bit but landed safely.
She quickly looked around and whispered:
“Unnie, I’m coming to save you!”
And just like that, Shiz—no, the hero—set off on her quest to rescue Relshiz…
“Who do you think I am?”
But how did it end up like this?!
Shiz scooted backward and buried herself in the bushes.
She’d been so focused on watching out for demons or lions that she completely forgot to be careful around actual people.
“There might be bugs in there, you know.”
“Eek!”
Startled, Shiz popped out from the bush, then quickly dove back in and covered her face with her tiny hands.
The stranger laughed out loud.
Peeking through her fingers, Shiz looked up at him.
Wavy golden hair, eyes like morning and night skies, a handsome face, a ticklish voice that sounded like a song.
And very fancy clothes.
Just from looking, she could tell—this was no ordinary person!
Cautious and wary, Shiz asked,
“…Are you… a prince?”
