Looking at the lineage of the Limburg royal family, Alfred II had Empress Consort Sophie, who bore Ferdinand IV, and the deposed Emperor Albert III. Ferdinand IV, in turn, had two empresses who had Prince Jerald II and Princess Claret.
However, Jerald was never the crown prince for Ferdinand IV from the beginning. He had an older brother, Arthur, who was the true heir to the throne at birth.
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Fifteen years ago.
“Hide, hide, let your hair show.”*
[*TN: The English equivalent would be “Ready or not, here I come.”]
“…”
“Hide, hide, let your hair show.”
Young Jerald sang the song a couple of times before falling silent. After a moment, he spoke again.
“Arthur, are you hiding?”
“…”
“Shall I find you?”
The prince’s palace had many hiding places, making it the perfect location for a game of hide and seek. Thinking that Arthur had hidden, Jerald began searching each room one by one.
“Arthur, are you here?”
“…”
“Looks like you’re not here.”
No sound came from anywhere, so Jerald moved on to the next room. But even in the next room, and the one after, Arthur was nowhere to be found. After searching four rooms, Jerald muttered nervously.
“Where on earth are you?”
As much as he wanted to exclaim, “I can’t find you, nightingale,”* he couldn’t. If Jerald were to find him, Arthur had promised to give him a cool knight toy that he had always wanted.
*[TN: A rule in Korea: When a tagger gives up looking in the game, the tagger has to shout the words “I can’t find you, nightingale,” which means “I give up! I can’t find you. Show me where you are!”]
Jerald started wandering around, imagining the knight toy in his mind while searching every nook and cranny. But no matter how hard he looked, Arthur remained elusive, and young Jerald started feeling exhausted.
“Should I just give up, nightingale…”
In a defeated voice, Jerald whispered, but then, as if he couldn’t give up, he tightly clenched his small fist.
“No, not yet. I have to check just one more room.”
Jerald entered the nearest room and meticulously searched every corner until he found Arthur. But once again, there was no success. With a disappointed look on his face, Jerald muttered.
“I can’t find you, nightingale…”
“Ta-da!”
Where he had been hiding, Arthur magically appeared in front of Jerald’s eyes.
Arthur Limburg was the crown prince and Jerald’s one-year-older brother. With his shining blond hair and water-like eyes, he boasted a handsome appearance even at a young age, just like his younger brother.
“I was here!”
Startled, Jerald screamed as if he had seen a ghost, forgetting that he had lost in the game of hide and seek.
“Ah!”
“Hehe, were you surprised? Were you surprised?”
“Arthur!”
With a face that seemed astonished, as if he had seen a ghost, Jerald asked his brother.
“Where on earth were you hiding?”
“Well… I wasn’t hiding in a room.”
“Then where?”
“Over there.”
Arthur pointed behind a pillar, the farthest away from the prince’s palace. With a shocked expression, Jerald asked.
“Y,you were really hiding there?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“If it wasn’t there, would I have heard your small voice and come out?”
Arthur was right. Jerald was stunned. He shook his head and said.
“As expected, my hide-and-seek skills are still not good enough to find you.”
“Yeah. You still have a long way to go to catch up with me!”
Arthur laughed and ruffled his little brother’s hair.
“But you didn’t give up today and tried hard, so I’ll give you a present.”
“A present? What is it?”
“I can’t give you the knight toy you wanted, but…”
“Can’t give it to me…?”
“Instead, I’ll give you a toy horse. How about that?”
“Wow, I love it!”
Jerald’s expression quickly brightened, as if he had come back to life.
“I love it, love it, love it!”
With excitement, Jerald jumped around the room, and a proud smile played on Arthur’s lips.
“Now, shall we go to my room and play?”
“Yes, yes!”
Arthur held Jerald’s hand tightly, ready to run towards his room. But just as they were about to go, Arthur accidentally bumped into someone. He winced, holding his forehead where the impact had occurred.
“Ouch…”
“Are you okay, Arthur?”
“Yeah…”
“Oh no.”
At that moment, a voice came from above.
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
When they looked up, a tall man appeared. He had silvery hair resembling a full moon and captivating red eyes like burning flames. He possessed a graceful appearance and an imposing presence.
The man’s name was Albert Limburg III. He was the half-brother of Emperor Ferdinand IV and the uncle of Arthur and Jerald.
“Oh, Uncle.”
A smile formed on Arthur’s lips as he recognized the man.
“No, what brings you here?”
“I had some business nearby.”
Albert bent his knees to be at eye level with his nephews.
“And then I thought of visiting His Highness the Prince.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Albert smiled and continued.
“I have a gift for you.”
“A gift?”
“I hope you like it.”
Albert glanced at a nearby servant and gave a subtle nod. Soon, he received a small gift from the servant and handed it to Arthur.
“Here you go.”
“Wow! What is this, Uncle?”
“You’ll know once you open it.”
Without delay, Arthur opened the box. Inside was a small figurine, his favorite knight figurine. Arthur’s expression quickly brightened.
“Thank you, Uncle Albert!”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked it.”
“Uncle Albert, do you have mine?”
Jerald asked cautiously from beside him. In response, Albert turned his gaze toward Jerald. And when Jerald met Albert’s gaze, he couldn’t help but feel unsettled.
Contrary to how Albert looked at Arthur with warmth and kindness, his gaze toward Jerald was cold.
‘It’s always like this.’
Albert always showered Arthur with kindness and attention, but never once did he spare a loving glance for Jerald.
‘What did I do wrong?’
As frustration kept building up, Jerald even started questioning himself, but no matter how much he reflected on his memories, he couldn’t find anything that he had done wrong to Albert.
Jerald considered asking Albert if he disliked him, but decided against it, afraid that such a question would create a tense atmosphere in front of Arthur.
“I apologize, Your Highness. I hadn’t thought about yours.”
But there was no trace of apology in Albert’s gaze. Little Jerald, feeling deflated from the cold stare, lowered his head.
“Arthur received it, so it’s fine.”
“Jerald, you can play with me.”
“Yes, Big Brother.”
“You two seem to get along very well.”
Albert murmured with a mysterious smile.
“It’s impressive. The empress will surely be pleased.”
“Yes. Mother always says that brothers should have a good relationship. Jerald is my one and only little brother, so there’s no reason for me not to treat him well.”
“Yes, that’s good.”
Albert bowed his head without wiping the smile off his face.
“I hope you keep that in mind. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Please take care, Uncle Albert.”
Immediately, Albert turned his back to the two brothers and walked out of the prince’s palace. Jerald watched Albert’s disappearing figure with a slightly narrowed brow.
In response to Jerald’s expression, Arthur asked with a puzzled look.
“Why are you like that, Jerald?”
“Brother, no matter how much I think about it, Uncle Albert seems distant.”
“What do you mean?”
“He treats only you well and doesn’t even treat me like a nephew.”
Arthur agreed with Jerald on that point. But he tried to speak positively, afraid that Jerald might feel upset.
“Surely, deep down in his heart, he values both of us.”
“He still does it. He gives presents only to you and I don’t get anything.”
“So you’re upset about that? Will you feel better if I give you this?”
“I’m not talking about that right now.”
Jerald complained, sticking out his lower lip.
“Never mind. I don’t care much about Uncle Albert either. I won’t accept anything he gives me.”
“Cheer up, Jerald. I’ll give you this, so you can feel better.”
Arthur held Jerald’s hand with a warm smile.
“Let’s go and play. Otherwise, the sun will set.”
“…”
“All right? Jerald.”
Jerald pretended to give in and tightly held Arthur’s hand. Only then did a genuine smile appear on Arthur’s face.
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“Take my sword, huzzah! Huzzah!”
“I cannot be defeated! Charge, forward!”
The two boys were engrossed in their knight play, using their toys, for over an hour. At that moment, a voice from outside could be heard.
“Your Royal Highness, Your Royal Highness.”
“What’s going on?”
“The empress has arrived.”
“Mother!”
Both boys exclaimed simultaneously, jumping up from their seats.
A moment later, a woman dressed in a splendid golden dress appeared. She had the same golden hair as Arthur and the same deep blue eyes as Jerald. Her name was Anisha Limburg, the empress of the empire and the mother of the two boys.
At first glance, she seemed to have a somewhat cold demeanor. But as she approached her two sons with a smile, any impression of coldness melted away, leaving only a warm and affectionate atmosphere.
“My sons, you’re all gathered here.”
“Mother!”
Without hesitation, both boys ran towards Anisha. She opened her arms wide and embraced her two sons with love. Smiling, she asked Jerald in a gentle voice.
“What were you doing here, Jerald?”
“I was playing knight with Arthur!”
“You should call him ‘brother,’ Jerald.”
Anisha scolded Jerald in a stern voice.
“Have you forgotten? Even though you’re only a year apart, he is your older brother. From now on, you must always refer to him as ‘brother.’”
“Yes?”
“Arthur. Only me and your father can call the crown prince of the empire by name. Remember that.”
“Oh, yes… I will remember, Mother.”
Jerald replied in a faint voice. Anisha was always like this. Even though he was barely a year older, she strictly enforced the hierarchy between Arthur and Jerald. It was as if deviating even slightly from that was impossible to see or comprehend, like someone who couldn’t open their eyes.
Arthur, who was observing Anisha’s disciplinary action, cautiously interjected.
“Mother, I’m fine.”
“Arthur Limburg.”
But this standard didn’t just apply to Jerald.
“You are the crown prince of this empire and the next emperor. Your name should not be called carelessly by anyone except your parents. We must strictly uphold the hierarchy. That is the weight of your status. Do you understand?”
“Yes…”
At the ages of eleven and ten, it felt quite excessive to them, but Anisha remained firm. However, soon she returned to her usual kind smile and asked each boy separately.
“So, were you both having fun playing?”
“Yes. Playing with Arthur, no, with my brother is always enjoyable!”
Jerald started enthusiastically sharing stories about playing with Arthur, as if asking when he had ever felt down. Anisha looked at her son with a warm gaze. And then, a particular conversation came up.
“And he gave me his toy horse!”
Upon hearing those words, Anisha’s expression hardened once again.
