Hibis was a maid Etern had secretly reassigned to be stationed near the audience chamber, unbeknownst to her father.
Originally, Hibis had been responsible for small tasks in Etern’s quarters, but she was mute.
Etern had carefully chosen her to avoid suspicion of spying on the Emperor, and now, that very Hibis came running to her, her face pale with panic.
“Hibis, calm down and tell me what happened.”
When Etern handed her paper and a pen, Hibis exhaled sharply and hastily scribbled down words.
‘A mage defied the imperial decree. The messenger and mage’s lives are in danger.’
Before Hibis could even put down the pen, Etern dashed out of the room like a streak of lightning.
***
— CRASH!
The sound of a large vase shattering reverberated as the gathered officials instinctively shut their eyes.
Wintier stood there, glaring at the kneeling messenger before him, his icy gaze sharp enough to pierce through flesh.
“Say that again.”
The trembling messenger pressed his forehead to the floor.
“We… we found a mage.”
“And?”
“But he refused to come to the palace…”
With a sharp metallic sound, Wintier’s sword was drawn and pointed at the messenger’s neck in an instant. His lips trembled with restrained fury.
“So, did you kill him?”
“Y-Your Majesty…”
“Do you mean to tell me you left someone who dared to utter such insolence alive? Fine. Then you’ll die twice in his place.”
Wintier raised his sword to strike, and at that moment, a high-pitched scream echoed through the audience chamber, accompanied by the officials’ groans.
“Dad, stop!”
The sword, poised to strike the poor messenger, froze mid-air. Wintier looked up, and as his gaze met Etern’s, her body trembled.
“Leave.”
The cold command was clear. Etern struggled to suppress the familiar fear that surged within her.
“I won’t leave.”
“What are you all waiting for? Take the princess out of here immediately!”
The soldiers, who had been frozen in place, rushed forward. Etern dodged them and ran straight to Wintier, grabbing his sword arm.
“Let go, Etern! I will kill this fool and that insolent mage as well!”
“That man is innocent! And you can’t turn the mages into enemies! If you do, we’ll never be able to save Mother!”
Although she felt sorry for the messenger, what Etern truly wanted to prevent was the latter scenario.
Wintier trembled, torn between anger and bewilderment. His rising fury seemed unstoppable.
Yet, strangely, he found himself unable to push Etern away. Even he couldn’t understand why.
Breathing heavily through clenched teeth, Wintier finally spoke.
“…Everyone, leave. Immediately.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the officials and soldiers in the audience chamber fled like water receding from a shore.
The sword, which had been held high, lowered, and the sound of their breaths echoed in the now-empty room as though they had returned from the brink of death.
“…Dad.”
Etern gently held Wintier’s trembling hand, as if to soothe a convulsion, and spoke.
“There’s not just one mage in the world. If we search thoroughly throughout the Empire and beyond, we’ll definitely find a mage capable of helping Mother.”
“…And if we don’t?”
Etern’s eyes blinked softly. Gritting his teeth, Wintier looked up at his daughter.
From his hollow, dark eyes poured a desperate cry. Etern exhaled and cautiously leaned into Wintier’s embrace.
“We will find one, Dad. I know we will. Mother will wake up, I’m sure of it.”
Resting her forehead against her father’s chest, Etern closed her eyes. Her words were meant not only for Wintier but also to reassure herself.
“No matter what anyone says, Mother will wake up. As long as you and I don’t lose hope.”
“Hope…”
Wintier muttered as if the word were incomprehensible, his gaze lowering. He hesitated before reaching out to gently stroke Etern’s silvery hair but withdrew his hand as though he had touched fire.
A moment ago, these hands had been poised to take a life.
‘And yet, with these same hands, I’m touching my daughter…’
At that moment, Etern quickly grabbed his suspended hand and, without hesitation, placed it on her head.
“Instead of holding a sword, stroke my hair. I like you better that way, Dad.”
A heavy sigh escaped from Wintier’s slightly parted lips. But he didn’t pull his hand away from his young daughter.
Feeling the comforting touch of her father’s hand patting her head, Etern finally let out a sigh of relief. The tension she hadn’t realized she was holding released, leaving her shivering with goosebumps.
Even so, Etern thought.
‘At least I was able to stop Father. Thank goodness he listened to me.’
***
The incident in which Etern stormed into the audience chamber to save the messenger’s life spread like wildfire throughout the palace.
Everywhere she went, whispers followed her, making her ears itch incessantly.
Even strangers she had never met came to her quarters, bowing and fawning, which gave poor Dora a splitting headache.
It was obvious that they hoped to curry favor with the young princess, but Etern didn’t chase them away.
Instead, she quietly observed their thoughts and secretly relayed the names of particularly scheming individuals to Wintier.
[How do you know these things?]
Wintier doubted her words at first but was genuinely astonished.
Among the names Etern provided were several people Wintier had already marked for removal at the right time.
[Just a feeling.]
Had anyone else uttered such nonsense to Wintier, they would likely have faced execution—or come perilously close to it.
But Wintier took his young daughter’s seemingly absurd words surprisingly seriously.
[I’ll handle it. From now on, don’t let strangers into your quarters.]
[I promise. But, Dad?]
[What is it now?]
[No killing, okay? Just banish them far away. Maybe let a big dog bite them on the way.]
Playfully disguising a suggestion to leave them to their fate as a harmless joke, Etern left happily after extracting Wintier’s promise not to kill anyone.
‘Those who are of no use to Father will be dealt with this way.’
Etern stared thoughtfully out the window, lost in her musings.
‘The problem is Ziggkart. Didn’t they say he’d arrive by this evening?’
Just the thought of seeing that face again gave her a headache, but she had to meet him before he faced her father.
She needed to figure out why he had come all this way, so she could plan for what might come next.
“Is it true?”
“It is. I just heard it from one of the guards near the outskirts.”
Etern’s ears perked up at the maids’ hushed conversation.
“What are you talking about?”
The maids, who had been whispering among themselves, jumped in surprise and quickly bowed their heads.
“We apologize, Your Highness.”
“No need to apologize. I was just curious about what you were discussing.”
“Well, uh…”
One of the maids cautiously spoke up after glancing at her companions.
“It’s about the Grand Duke’s son.”
Etern’s eyes widened.
“The Grand Duke’s son?”
“Yes, there’s word that he’s really arrived at the palace alone…”
Before the maid could even finish her sentence, Etern shot to her feet and bolted outside.
“Y-Your Highness!”
The maids called out in panic as they hurried after her, but Etern had no time to wait for them.
‘This is impossible! How could he arrive so quickly?’
‘Has he already met Father?’
But more than that…
‘Did he seriously come alone? How is that even possible?’
Etern sprinted to the central palace in a flash, glancing around urgently.
But there was no one in sight. Even the soldiers were gathered far away, as if something had drawn them there.
‘Has someone already taken him somewhere? Who took him? There’s no way I can search this entire palace…!’
Just as Etern was about to run toward the cluster of soldiers in desperation, a clear voice called out from behind her.
“Excuse me.”
Her steps halted abruptly at the sound. It was as though she had an instinctive premonition. Slowly, she turned to face the owner of the voice.
Her pale green eyes grew wider and wider as they settled on the figure before her.
‘Those eyes.’
The person who called out to Etern was a boy about her age.
His red eyes sparkled more brilliantly than the finest-cut gemstones. His soft, jet-black hair framed his face neatly, and his posture was composed and proper.
“Ziggkart…”
Etern muttered. The boy raised an eyebrow slightly and tilted his head.
“I didn’t expect to meet someone who knows my name.”
Oh no. Damn it!
Etern squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip. She had given herself away first. How foolish!
The boy spoke.
“Pardon me, but are you from Randster? May I ask which noble family you belong to?”
