Chapter 5
Arellin has fallen and is back!
Yesterday, the Duchy of Halbern was turned upside down by the news.
Arellin’s doctor was called in, the medical staff was summoned, and an emergency meeting of the nursery was called.
Mehen joined in, only to see the urgent paperwork.
“This is a declaration of war against the Grand Duchy of Halbern!”
“Something must have happened at the imperial palace!
“We must ask the imperial court!”
The butlers and maids raised their voices in unison. Mehen was troubled.
“Does anyone know what exactly happened?”
“It happened inside the crown prince’s palace…”
The butler, Ern, interrupted with a troubled look, omitting the afterword, but Mehen didn’t have to look hard to recognise it.
“The Imperial Ministry did not explain it properly.”
Mehen’s eyes darkened.
In his experience, anything that came from the Imperial Ministry, even to Halbern, had a high probability of imperial involvement.
Deciding to deal with the unimportant matter of the imperial court later, Mehen asked about a very pressing matter.
“My lady, is she all right?”
“Mehen, it’s just that…”
The atmosphere quickly turned sombre.
Mehen, sensing an unusual energy, shook his head.
“What happened?”
“It’s just that…”
“She did get up, but…”
The group bowed their heads, looking grim.
“She called for a celebration. She kicked us out, saying she didn’t want to see anyone.”
“…”
Mehen murmured.
***
I’m a sunfish.
I lamented, slapping my forehead as soon as I opened my eyes. Oh, this is crazy. Really.
“I really fell down.”
She only blacked out for a second, so she had a very vivid memory of what had happened during the day.
“I knew it, I really knew it, but how does a person collapse after a short run?”
There was a world of difference between knowing with her head and experiencing with her body.
“How am I supposed to live in this crazy body? I’ll bet you a hundred dollars that if I lived alone, I’d be a guest in a day.”
She feels like she is going to run away. This body? This is her? This is her? Really?
This was the perfect body to die in if there was a fire, earthquake, or flood.
She can’t do anything about it by herself.
It’s hopeless.
She was a sunfish.
“…ha.”
She desperately tried to think of something, anything, that she could still do. Something she could do even in this body.
Is there? Is there something?
All she ever did was play the piano or pick up the violin, but handling an instrument requires a certain amount of strength and stamina.
Especially the violin, which requires a lot of arm strength.
“Well, there’s nothing I can do.”
Helplessness sets in.
It was like being immersed in a deep darkness, with memories that she had barely forgotten invading my thoughts through her weakened mind.
She had felt these feelings before, but no matter how many times she felt them, they were unpleasant and horrible.
“You’re so smug, you’re so ugly.”
“Do you still think you’re a genius?”
“Is that all you were good for?”
One minute they’re patronising, the next they’re sneering.
They are jealous, envious, and revel in the downfall of others.
Why am I so glad I failed? But it’s all about other people’s stories.
What brought me down.
“You…”
was something else.
Memories she didn’t want to recall kept trying to pull her back into the past.
She stood up, wanting to get away, but the sudden movement brought a squeezing pain near her heart.
“Ugh.”
They say that when it hurts too much, you can’t even scream. She barely gulped down the pain that washed over her, muffling the sound.
A numbing sensation seeped into her, and it hurt so much to be ‘alone’.
She felt like she was standing there that day, the day my mum left me and went off on her own.
“Mum…”
She just wanted to be loved by her mum.
Knock, knock.
“Princess, it’s Uni, may I come in?”
The polite knock and sweet voice brought her back to reality.
“No, don’t come in. Get out.”
“What? But…”
“Don’t come in! Get out!”
She doesn’t want anyone to see her like this.
She doesn’t know why God is doing this to her. If she is going to die anyway, why bother with reincarnation?
‘I gave up everything…’
She had everything taken from her, she given up everything. Is that not enough?
Her eyes were hot.
Tears were about to come out.
She clenched her teeth and strained her eyes.
She didn’t want to cry.
She didn’t want to lose, not to this life, not to this god or whatever it was that had brought her back to life, as if it wanted her to cry.
It was the last shred of pride she had left.
***
“Hah…”
Exhaustion washed over him.
Mehen pressed his temples together and waited for the pounding headache to subside. The mansion was already eerily silent as he entered it in the dead of night.
Mehen twirled the fountain pen in his slender fingers.
“What’s wrong?”
Everything else was running smoothly. There was only one problem. Raising Arellin.
Mehen wrinkled his forehead.
‘I never thought raising a child would be so hard.’
He’d known it, but it was harder than he’d realized.
Mehen was an Orphan. He’d never known the love of a parent, and he was too concerned with survival to discuss love.
He was lucky enough to have met Confucius of Halbern, but to be honest, he couldn’t handle parenting.
He is not much of a nurturer.
So he enlisted the help of others…
‘Why do I feel like I’m making a bigger mess?’
He doesn’t know what the child is thinking. He doesn’t know what she wants.
His mind is in turmoil. No, he must see Arellin’s sleeping face. Mehen stood up.
Knock, knock.
“Lady.”
Mehen knocked softly, just in case she was awake at this hour of the morning.
“It’s Mehen.”
There was no sound or movement from inside. She must be sleeping. Relieved, he opened the door silently.
“Lady?”
Mehen made eye contact with Arellin, who was sitting by the window.
“Were you not asleep?”
It’s way past her bedtime, why is she awake?
Mehen’s eyes caught Arellin’s small body leaning against the window.
“You’re not sleeping, Mehen.”
“I’m…”
The child looked so small.
This is small.
What about her age? Are they usually this small? Mehen tried to think, but he didn’t know enough to know the answer.
The questioning stare snapped him out of his thoughts.
‘Come to think of it, you used to laugh a good laugh.’
He hadn’t seen Arellin smile since… Well, since when?
“Lady…”
He didn’t know what to do.
He was at a loss.
Mehren sighed deeply, his fingers twitching as if he wanted to pull the small body into a hug.
He sighed, ‘I’m just a guardian, responsible for Arellin, not a family member or anything.’
‘Let’s not be presumptuous.’
“You need to sleep. You’re not tall.”
“Do you think I’ll be alive by then?”
“…”
Mehen stammered, he should say that of course she would be alive, but he couldn’t tell any lies in front of the clear eyes looking back at him.
A deathly silence. Fortunately, Arellin broke the silence first.
“Good night. Good night, Mehen.”
Out of habit, he tried to help her climb into bed, but she moved on her own, as if she didn’t need any help. As he pulled the covers over her, a small hill formed.
He has to get back to work, and he has a lot of paperwork to do.
He couldn’t look away.
He stood there like a ghost for a while and then returned.
And the next day.
“Who’s here?”
Prince Pession has arrived in Halbern.
***
And so to the present.
It wasn’t hard for Mehen to guess one thing about the reason Arellin had fallen in the palace.
‘It was because of the crown prince.’
“The attending physician has advised absolute rest. Go home, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“I only need to see a little bit!”
“Absolutely, no.”
The tense confrontation continued unbroken.
***
Graham, the crown prince’s chamberlain, was presently feeling the sting of death.
It was all because of his master, the Crown Prince Pession.
“Take the crown prince with you, and come back with an unequivocal apology to the young lady.”
Rare artefacts and gifts were laid out, brought as apologies to carry out Empress Ageni’s solemn order.
The atmosphere was stern enough to make you wonder if it was necessary to go to such lengths over a matter of children.
But.
“The gifts are gratefully accepted, but the Imperial House will have to give a proper explanation to Halbern for this.”
The mad dog guarding Halbern made the point.
“What shall we do, Graham?”
The answer, of course, was a blank stare.
‘Of course he will. It’s Halbern.’
And Arellin, the Princess of Halbern, had a very complicated history.
Graham swallowed a sigh.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to turn back today.”
“But…”
Pession gave him a reluctant look, as if he didn’t like something.
‘Oh, no. You don’t think so, do you?’
Graham tensed. Usually when the Crown Prince was like this, something happened.
This was when he was getting anxious.
“I don’t think so. Graham. I’m going to ask for Mehen.”
“What?”
“You’re stalling for time.”
“What?”
“I’ll go see her by myself!”
“…?”
Before he could catch him, the crown prince was gone. Graham was frustrated.
“Phew. I want to quit.”
***
Pession wandered around the mansion, out of sight of the butlers and maids.
Normally, this would have been impossible, but the crown prince’s visit had drawn all eyes in his direction, and he was able to find an opening.
Besides, wasn’t Pession the youngest Swordmaster ever expected to become one?
‘Something’s not right here.’
Pession shook his head as he wandered around the mansion without guidance.
There was no warmth in the great hall. Only the cold, chilly air hung in the air.
It seemed so strange to Pession. Peshion’s world had always been warm and welcoming.
‘Why is it so big?’
Pession wondered, not sure he could find Arellin as it was.
“Mm-hmm. I wanted to apologize.”
It wasn’t necessarily because of the Empress’ orders. Pession was sorry. He wouldn’t have made her run if he’d known she was going to collapse.
“What should I do?”
Pession was at a loss.
Suddenly, Pession felt uncomfortable. Suddenly, he didn’t feel the maids and butlers.
All he could feel was…
A faint flicker that seemed to be about to go out.
What was that?
Spreading his still-unfamiliar senses wide, Pession shifted his feet as if possessed by something.
A tiny glimpse that would have passed him by at any other time, but for some reason he felt compelled to check it out.
He found a room with an open door.
Leaves rustled in the breeze, and Pession stiffened as he peeked inside.
Arellin was there.
A thud.
In the silence of that moment, Pession thought he heard the sound of something breaking.
