Chapter 4
She runs into the person she least wants to run into.
She was stumped.
As soon as their eyes met, she froze, and she didn’t have time to run away or say hello. It was the same with the crown prince.
“Uh, uh.”
Unlike she, who recognized him instantly, the crown prince was confused.
He scratched his cheeks as if he didn’t know who was here, and she wondered how she could get out of this place casually.
‘I don’t think it’s snack time yet.’
It looked like he was thirsty from running around and came this way.
She wishes he’d just go away.
Just as she was hoping desperately, she heard a voice that betrayed her expectations.
“What are you doing here?”
“Uh…”
She couldn’t say she was killing time.
She stuttered and blinked at him, at a loss for words, and he shook his head.
“Are you a friend of mine?”
“Uh, well. Uh.”
“Why are you here instead of playing?”
Don’t you see? That’s a bully.
Still, she couldn’t ignore his body’s questions, so she couldn’t help but answer.
She had an invincible excuse.
“I can’t play because I’m too weak.”
“What?”
“I collapse if I run even a little bit.”
“What? Really?”
The crown prince looked at her with a look of utter incomprehension. He didn’t believe her.
Neither did she.
Why would the crown prince suddenly be interested in her?
It was as overwhelming as the president of the company taking an interest in her, a new employee.
She was thinking, “I hope he’ll be convinced and go away.” That’s what she was thinking.
“Are you really falling down?”
“What?”
The crown prince said, looking incredulous.
“A real person falls down from running, aren’t you lying?”
Surprisingly, such a rubbish body is mine.
She nodded nonchalantly, and the crown prince’s expression became strange.
“Try it.”
“…?”
What did I just hear?
“Try it!”
He’s trying to kill me?
“You said you weren’t lying.”
“Yeah, I’m not…,”
These eyes, they were dangerous.
These eyes, dangerous, full of curiosity. They say curiosity kills the cat. She never thought it would be her.
“I’m going to collapse.”
She didn’t want to go down, but it was no use. This was a child, and a crown prince.
She was speechless.
“Hoo…”
She never forgets this grudge, this sparkle in his eyes.
If we’re going to do it, let’s do it quickly.
It’s a beautiful day to fall down.
She stood up, and the cute dress the maids had made her was wrinkled. Not that she cared.
The crown prince saw her.
And she jumped.
‘Oh, my rubbish body.’
Her head was spinning from how far she ran. She felt dizzy and stopped.
Her whole body felt weak.
The classic near-fainting state.
She ran a little bit, but her body didn’t betray her expectations.
‘You stupid body…’
As my vision faded, She saw people rushing towards her.
Even the crown prince, his eyes wide with panic.
Just like that, she collapsed.
***
Pession Allermann.
The son of Emperor Edward and Empress Ageni, heir to the great Albrechtian Empire.
A rare genius who had already felt the auras at the tender age of seven, he was the perfect heir to the throne, excelling in his studies, including imperial studies.
Now, something has happened to the seemingly untouchable Crown Prince of Pession that has caused him great embarrassment.
‘What the hell is going on?’
Pession was currently in a very confused state. It was all because of what had happened in the afternoon.
Pession was very excited today.
It was the only day of the week when his friends were going to be initiated.
‘New games to play!’
As usual, he was having fun playing knight with his friends.
“Graham, I need water! …?”
Pession’s usual servant, Graham, was nowhere to be seen.
He would be back in a few minutes, but he was thirsty, so Pession decided to go inside the palace to get some water.
“I’m going to get some water, but you guys can play for a while.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Pession took a shortcut and moved quickly, leaving the twins to follow.
‘I’ll get in trouble if I do this.’
His teachers chastised him for being so fast and sticking to the paths, but there were no adults around, so he made a beeline through the bush to his heart’s content.
‘Uh, who’s there?’
He asked, as he was led through the bushes by a small popchuck.
He made eye contact with someone.
“…!”
It was a little girl with silky platinum hair tied up in a cute red ribbon, her eyes bright pink and reminiscent of cherry blossoms.
‘Uh, who was that?’
Pession was taken aback.
It was embarrassing to make eye contact at a moment like this, but he couldn’t remember the other person’s name.
‘The face, I recognize it, but… why can’t I remember it?’
Pession felt sorry for himself as he remembered his mother’s voice telling him that he should always be kind to all children.
It must have been one of her friends, but he couldn’t remember the name.
Pession wondered.
Why was she here alone?
“What are you doing here?”
“Uh…”
The other person pursed her lips and avoided eye contact, looking very embarrassed.
She seemed to be embarrassed by the situation.
‘Because I’m the crown prince.’
Fortunately, Pession was a very good child who was self-aware as a crown prince, so he gave the girl unwanted attention.
And the dialogue that ensued.
“What? Really?”
Pession couldn’t believe that a person could fall down from running.
It didn’t make sense.
What kind of person collapses from running?
Is that human?
“A real person falls down from running? Are you lying?”
The girl said she collapsed in a heap. It didn’t seem like she was lying. But Pession couldn’t believe it.
For the record, Pession had a very strong body. And a recognised swordsmanship genius.
Not surprisingly, he had the stamina of steel to run fifty laps around the barracks and not collapse. Not to mention, everyone around him is healthy.
Even the Empress’s mare, the most fragile of the shafts, didn’t collapse after a short run.
The girl’s words were hardly believable, but Pession was curious.
He wanted to check it out.
Not realizing how dangerous it would be.
“Try it!”
Naturally, the girl seemed reluctant. Pession thought she must be lying. Although the girl didn’t look like she would lie…
‘Oh, no, there’s no such person in the world. She’s exaggerating!’
He was being lighthearted.
“I’m really falling down.”
The girl muttered in frustration, but soon ran, and…
“Huh?”
She really fell down.
“… No way.”
A new world.
Pession was in for a huge shock.
Bam!
Crown Prince Pession, at the age of seven, was confronted with an incredible truth.
There were real people in the world who collapsed from running.
***
Pession rushed to Arellin’s aid, catching her body before it hit the floor.
A servant found him while Pession was still dazed, and the Duke of Halbern was immediately contacted.
Arellin returned to the ducal residence ahead of schedule. No wonder the imperial physician followed.
All had gone well, but for some reason, the events of the day were not going away from Pession’s mind.
“Rion.”
“Huh?”
Taking advantage of a short break after class, Pession went to visit his brother. Now five years old, Therion was very frail, even by Pession’s standards.
Even more so than the Empress.
So.
“Rion. Run.”
“Huh?”
Therion cocked his head at the halting words.
“Run?”
“Run, whatever.”
“What’s wrong, brother?”
“I’m just curious. Run.”
Therion ran, as if he had no choice but to follow Pession’s urging. Pession caught up to him and asked him a series of questions.
“How are you feeling? Are you dizzy? Are you about to fall down?”
“No. I’m not dizzy. Just tired.”
Pession looked at Therion, who was breathing heavily.
“Really? You don’t think you’re going to collapse?”
“No, I don’t. What’s wrong with you, big brother?”
His brother was being weird today. When Therion gave him a confused look, Pession clapped his hands as if he’d been waiting for it.
“That’s right! You’re not dizzy, are you? I’m not weird after all!”
“Are you crazy?”
Pession was too preoccupied to pay attention to Therion’s genuine concern for his mental state.
Rather, he turned to the palace servants, his handmaiden, and the griam who stood by his side every day.
“Why in the world would you do such an outrageous thing, Your Highness?”
Graham asked gravely.
The crown prince’s sudden excursion had had the palace maids chattering noisily within half a day, and he felt compelled to clarify.
“Eh? Eh, it’s…”
So far, about fifty people have tried it, and no one has collapsed.
The fact that no one had complained of dizziness gave Pession a strange feeling.
What was that thing in the daytime?
Was it an illusion, a dream?
Or was it something special to him?
But how could a real person collapse just from running!
The crown prince’s confusion was so palpable that Graham almost lost it.
‘So all the commotion during the day was caused by His Royal Highness…!’
Eventually, the news reached Empress Ageni’s ears.
“Apologize immediately and come to me.”
Empress Ageni’s frosty command came down on the scolded Pession.
“If you are not forgiven, there will be no crown prince’s snacks for a while.”
No, my snacks!
* * *
Thus arrived the Duke of Halbern.
But.
“I apologize, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Unfortunately, I’m afraid you’ll have to return as you are.”
Pession was in a crisis on his arrival at the ducal residence.
