As a military doctor, I had memorized the codes of all the major organizations listed in the directory, not just the Medical Association.
It was essential information for the job, and I had memorized it so thoroughly that I could recite it even if I woke up in the middle of the night.
‘Hah, back then, I wanted to cry so much that I would’ve gone through three handkerchiefs.’
But after my regression, this turned out to be one of the most useful things.
After making sure Hyperion was well-informed, I returned to Isaac, who was looking at me with a suspicious gaze.
Isaac grabbed my hand tightly and asked,
“Polaris, do you want some cotton candy?”
He was quick to treat me like a child if I let my guard down.
“The biggest one, please.”
“Sure.”
But there was no harm in accepting such things. I didn’t particularly like sweet stuff, but I played along with Isaac because I appreciated that he cared.
“Oh! Let’s get one for Rion, too!”
“M-my own?”
“Yup, I’ll even ask Isaac’s dad to get you the second biggest one just for you.”
I don’t have any money; I’m only six years old.
I smiled cheekily at Hyperion, who was wide-eyed in surprise.
***
Hyperion Pharus didn’t have a happy life.
To be more accurate, it was a life where he had never learned what the concept of ‘happiness’ meant.
His mother, who had been a maid for the Pharus family, was executed after being accused of seducing a member of the 6th family shortly after Hyperion was born.
But just because he was born, that didn’t mean he was accepted into the family. Despite having Pharus blood running through his veins, he was an unwanted illegitimate child—Hyperion Pharus.
Still, because he had half of the family’s blood, they couldn’t get rid of him. He was destined to be a visionary with great powers in the future, and he was born with distinct golden hair and eyes that seemed to hint at his potential.
As the family’s powers weakened, the color of their golden hair and eyes faded, but they couldn’t easily dispose of Hyperion. Ironically, the reason was not guilt but the symbolism the child carried.
If they decided to accept him, they should have treated him well. But the hearts of people are fickle.
The fact that he was born with only half the family’s blood didn’t make him seem precious to them. The Pharus family raised him in hiding, and he endured endless harsh words and mistreatment.
His older brothers were especially cruel, and the head of the Pharus family, his father, turned a blind eye. Little Hyperion came to believe that all of this was his fault.
Having never experienced love, the boy took his family’s words at face value.
He didn’t even realize that this was painful, as the air around him had always been like this from the moment he was born.
‘Weird.’
He first began to feel that this world, which had always been familiar to him, was somehow painful after collapsing in the orchard. His brothers had told him they had prepared a gift to celebrate their joining the Navy.
Having never received a birthday present in his life, Hyperion couldn’t refuse their goodwill. He had always longed for the recognition of the Pharus family.
If he had known that he would be abandoned, he wouldn’t have followed them so readily.
But would he really have refused? Even if he had known their true intentions, there was a good chance Hyperion wouldn’t have been able to decline.
Acceptance—whatever treatment he received—was something ingrained in him.
“…Ah.”
And that train of thought stopped abruptly there.
“It’s sticky.”
It was because of the cotton candy Isaac had bought him earlier. The fluffy candy could be eaten by tearing off pieces with his hands, but it left his fingers sticky.
Hyperion finally realized that he was hurt and sad. Yet, it didn’t feel like an overwhelming sorrow. It was probably because his hands were sticky from the sugar.
The cotton candy was sweet and tasty, and Isaac was the first person to treat him so kindly.
The face of the child with hair reminiscent of the clear emerald sea naturally came to mind.
It was hard to understand why spending just a day, such a short time, brought him so much comfort.
Only after thinking about Polaris was Hyperion able to enter the room with slightly lighter steps.
Even though he was a Pharus, since he had joined the Navy, he had to start from the lowest rank like any other recruit. Fortunately, as a member of the “Pharus” family, he was at least given a private room.
Once he confirmed the door was completely closed, Hyperion pulled out the insignia he had hidden under the floor.
Just as Polaris- Lala had said, those who had searched his body had even taken away the small amount of cotton candy he had saved to eat later. If they had found the insignia, they would have confiscated it immediately, and he might have even faced interrogation.
Hyperion quickly stuffed the insignia back into a corner of his bag and opened the window, gazing up at the night sky where the sun had already set.
Lala was a strange child. What was so strange? Everything.
Even though it was the first time Hyperion had seen Lala, from the moment he opened his eyes, he felt a tightness in his chest, as if something precious he must not lose was far away from him—a cold, piercing emotion.
“How could a child be this unbelievably beautiful?”
But the words the child spoke were truly surprising. It wasn’t just because she used the word “unbelievably.” Hyperion had never heard anyone call him beautiful before.
The symbol of Pharus that Hyperion carried was something to be proud of, but the fact that an illegitimate child held it was a sore spot for his siblings. Every time they saw him, they would hit him on the head and hurl insults, calling him hideous. Because of this, Hyperion had come to believe he was ugly.
The child awkwardly rubbed his own cheek with his hand.
“…Really, is this alright?”
Even though he had only just met this child, what she said felt more trustworthy than anything he had heard before.
His heart was drawn to her. He trusted the child named Polaris.
As he leaned against the windowsill and got lost in thought, a bird, its wings flapping, flew toward where Hyperion stood, carrying the colors of the night sky.
“Ah.”
Hyperion immediately recognized it as the magical letter from Lala. The bird-shaped letter had approached him, and as he carefully grabbed it, the silhouette of the bird dispersed and disappeared.
Instead, a small envelope, similar in size to a medicine bottle, was left in Hyperion’s hand.
“What does this say?”
A pretty, transparent, jade-colored liquid swirled inside the bottle, with a tag attached to its neck, swaying slightly.
[Take one teaspoon, three times a day.]
“……….”
[If you run out of it, contact me. I’ll send more if I can before then. It will be tough, but hang in there.]
The handwriting was peculiar, pressed down firmly. It wasn’t round like a child’s nor neat. Hyperion thought he had seen this handwriting somewhere before.
“Ah, I remember.”
It was the standard handwriting used within the Navy—formal, devoid of any human touch… the kind commonly seen at naval bases. Others might say it was unlikely, but Hyperion felt that Lala’s handwriting resembled the formal Navy script he had only seen a few times.
“Can I… can I write a reply?”
Although it was a newly assigned room, at least proper writing tools were provided. Hyperion dipped the pen generously into the ink and began writing in crooked letters.
‘Is this right?’
Since Hyperion only began his education after the decision was made to send him to the Navy from Pharus, he wasn’t very skilled with difficult characters.
Even though he struggled with his first letter, Hyperion couldn’t stop writing.
He was so absorbed in composing the reply that he didn’t notice that the tightly shut door had been slightly opened.
“………”
A large man, who didn’t quite fit with the image of a sailor, was peeking through the crack in the door, watching Hyperion.
“Captain, I’m sorry I’m late….”
“Shh.”
Nereus, holding a finger to his lips, silenced Isaac, who had entered the room in full Navy uniform, and continued to quietly watch Hyperion.
‘At least I’m less worried now.’
It was immediately clear that Hyperion wasn’t in a favorable position within the Navy. The fact that he was abandoned despite being from Pharus told Nereus enough, and since he knew a bit about noble society, it didn’t take him long to figure out that Hyperion was an illegitimate child.
Nereus had debated whether or not to include Hyperion in Caelum’s ranks, but Hyperion was still a Pharus.
Taking someone from the 6th family would essentially invite Pharus to make them a prime target.
After closing the door without making a sound, Nereus asked,
“Do you think it’s the father or the brothers?”
“Pardon?”
Isaac, surprised by the sudden question, soon seemed to understand and answered with a calmer expression.
“Probably the brothers. For the current head, it doesn’t matter who among the Pharus becomes the Admiral, as long as it’s someone from Pharus.”
“Right, and it would be even better if that someone were from our side.”
The position of Admiral was one reserved for Pharus. Although it seemed like an honorary title, Pharus, being endowed with great powers, was often sent on dangerous missions.
As their power had waned, the Admirals of Pharus had increasingly short lifespans, and as a result, the Pharus people started to avoid taking the Admiral’s seat.
Thus, the position of Admiral was occupied by those who were not the direct heirs, and the honor associated with it was something Pharus claimed as a whole. It was actually more advantageous to have someone other than a legitimate child in that seat.
‘But that’s not something the eldest or second son of Pharus would understand at their age.’
After all, from an outside perspective, the position of Admiral in the Navy of the Western Continent appeared prestigious. For young children, it would feel like something valuable was being taken from them.
‘Even if we hadn’t rescued him, it’s likely he would’ve been saved in a precarious moment.’
Nonetheless, Nereus couldn’t help but feel drawn to Hyperion. He had a soft spot for children.
‘I’m glad Lala is taking care of him….’
Nereus knew exactly why his daughter had asked him to buy the magical letter bird. Scratching the back of his head, he walked down the hallway with Isaac.
“You brought the key, right?”
“Yes, just as the Captain instructed.”
“What? It’s exactly as that little golden-haired kid said.”
Perhaps it was because Nereus had subtly extracted some information from Hyperion during the meal that he felt a slight pang of guilt.
Combining the information gathered from Hyperion with what he already knew, Nereus had infiltrated deep into enemy territory right at this moment.
Grabbing the key Isaac handed him, Nereus let out a small laugh, which quickly disappeared as his face returned to its usual neutral expression.
“Captain, so what should we do about Polaris?”
“What do you mean, ‘what should we do’?”
They were heading towards the main archives of the Navy’s 13th Division. Despite Isaac’s question, Nereus nonchalantly began opening drawer after drawer.
“You know what I mean.”
“…Oh, here it is.”
Pulling out documents meant for an important meeting later that month, Nereus grinned, while Isaac stared at him with a cold, expressionless gaze. Nereus’s face shifted to a cold, heavy expression that he had never once shown in front of Polaris.
“Just keep quiet.”
“……….”
“The kid seems to want to keep something hidden. Let’s not pry.”
Ever since Polaris had woken up after being sick, everyone on the ship could sense that something was off. However, on Nereus’s orders, they all pretended not to notice.
“Just because you’re family doesn’t mean you need to know every secret.”
“But…”
“It’s the captain’s order, Isaac.”
Even Nereus didn’t know exactly what Polaris was hiding. But whenever Polaris lied, trying to conceal something, it caused an inexplicable ache in Nereus’s chest.
He would have preferred it if the kid acted a bit more recklessly. After all, Nereus didn’t want a well-behaved, obedient child.
“I wonder who that kid takes after.”
Nereus laughed again, showing the carefree, goofy face that Polaris knew so well.
***
“Did he get it?”
I rested my chin on the windowsill and sighed. Of course, he would’ve received it, but would he really believe me?
‘I’ve only known him for a day.’
I hope he believes me. My intentions were truly sincere. I rested my cheek on the windowsill and slowly closed my eyes.
Being in the Navy was a noble profession, serving the world. But to be someone worthy of such a position, one needed a lot of training and education.
Giving up unnecessary desires, exercising restraint in excessive judgments, avoiding any kind of luxury, and above all, becoming a useful person….
“That’s not wrong….”
After receiving more rigorous training for ten years, I know it’s not wrong.
Not at all.
But then, why am I worried that Hyperion might be in pain during his training?
‘I really don’t know.’
It was truly a mystery.
