Chapter 49
“Your Highness! You can’t even solve something this basic? Your concentration has been far too lax lately.”
“…Forgive me, sir.”
“This will not do. Your recent attitude toward your lessons is unacceptable. I’ll have to report this to His Majesty.”
Though the tutor scolded him harshly, Said kept his head bowed and showed no reaction.
That only fueled the tutor’s anger.
“It seems impossible to continue today’s lesson. We’ll stop here.”
“…”
“Your Highness, allow me a word as your instructor. You are destined to one day lead this empire. But if you continue to be negligent in your studies and fail to take responsibility for your duties, how can the people possibly place their trust in you?”
“…”
“Every word I say is only out of concern for Your Highness, so please take it to heart. I shall leave for now. In the next lesson, I expect to see a changed attitude. Until then.”
Bang.
The tutor left the room, but Said didn’t move.
Ever since returning from Ciela’s orphanage, he had been like this—barely eating, unable to focus on his lessons.
Several tutors had already stormed out in anger, but Said didn’t so much as flinch.
The shock of being rejected by Ciela, whom he had trusted, was too great. His tears kept threatening to spill over.
Bang!
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a roar fell upon his small frame.
“Foolish child.”
At the familiar voice, Said flinched and slowly lifted his head.
The Emperor was glaring down at him with icy eyes.
“Father…”
“Don’t call me that. I have no son like you.”
“…!”
At the cold dismissal, treating him like a stranger, Said’s pupils trembled.
“You can’t even handle your lessons properly, and now I receive reports about you? Useless. Pathetic. If I had known something like you would be born, I’d have thrown you away long ago. I can’t even stand the sight of you. Get out of my sight.”
“Hhhk…”
Said couldn’t endure the cruel words any longer and bolted from the room. Behind him came the sound of the Emperor clicking his tongue.
‘I was never meant to exist in this world.’
Said ran, crying, but no one reached out to him. They only pretended not to see from a distance.
Escaping the palace, he slipped into the forest where he always hid, crouching down.
The Emperor’s words and the way the courtiers averted their eyes flashed through his mind.
‘I don’t want to stay here anymore…’
He wanted to flee the suffocating palace. But he had nowhere to go.
Well—there was one place.
‘But if I go, Ciela will hate it. She’ll just push me away again with that cold face…’
The thought made fresh tears stream down.
Ssshh.
The sky darkened, and rain began to pour.
Said was soon drenched, but he couldn’t go anywhere. The palace was too cold, and the outside world too unfamiliar.
He lifted his head. Now that he thought about it, this was where he first met Ciela.
—“Of course. I’m really glad I met you.”
Suddenly, her words came back to him.
At that time, he had been so happy. No one had ever said such a thing to him before. Everyone only flattered him as the prince. No one ever treated him sincerely.
That was why he couldn’t give Ciela up. The warmth she gave him had been so comforting—and he longed for it again.
‘Just one more time. Even if she told me not to come… just once more…’
He staggered to his feet and, wavering, began to walk toward the only warmth he knew.
I stood at the window of the director’s office, watching the rain fall.
‘It’s coming down pretty hard.’
Judging by the thick clouds, it wasn’t just a passing shower. It would likely pour until nightfall.
‘I’m worried about Cloen.’
Cloen was like a puppy. If he couldn’t play outside for even a day, his boundless energy became unmanageable.
‘I remember once he tried playing outside in the rain.’
I had been horrified to see him climbing a slick jungle gym in the downpour. Only after I shouted at him did he reluctantly come down.
Now the weather was colder—if he got drenched again, he’d surely catch a cold.
‘I really am worried.’
I left the office to check whether Cloen was staying put in his room.
Just as I was about to climb to the second floor, Edi came running in from outside.
“Director!”
“Edi? Why are you coming in from outside? You’ll get soaked in the rain.”
“I used an umbrella, so I’m fine. But more importantly…”
What she said next froze my expression, and I immediately rushed outside.
Panting, I hurried to the front gate.
“…Said.”
At my voice, the three children who had been fidgeting anxiously ran up to me.
“Director!”
“How long… has he been like that?”
“We don’t know. We were coming in because of the rain, and we found him there… But it seems like he’s been there for a long time.”
“…Ha.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, I walked toward the gate.
“Said.”
At the sound of his name, the boy flinched behind the bars.
How long had he been crouching there? He was soaked from head to toe.
“What are you doing here? I told you—”
“I know. I know you don’t want me coming here. But I had nowhere else to go… I’m really sorry…”
“…”
His voice trembled, worn down by who knows how long in the rain.
Not only his voice—his arms, hugging his knees, were shaking, the faint sound of teeth chattering escaping him.
“Director…”
The children came closer. I looked down at them.
“He’ll definitely get a fever if he stays like that.”
“Y-yeah. It’s not like you to abandon a sick kid.”
“Director…”
One by one, they pleaded with me. They all wanted me to help Said.
Not like me? They didn’t understand.
It wasn’t that my heart was unmoved. But Said was royalty—and that made him dangerous.
‘How could I possibly explain this?’
I sighed deeply. I couldn’t ignore the children’s pleas without explanation.
Reluctantly, I opened the gate.
“Said.”
He lifted his trembling eyes toward me. My feelings were tangled as I spoke.
“Come inside.”
“Ciela, I really—”
“I know. I’m not blaming you. But you can’t stay out there any longer. You’ll get really sick.”
He looked at me with wavering eyes, then slowly rose to his feet.
At that moment, a round shadow fell over his head.
Startled, he looked up to see Ren smiling, holding an umbrella over him.
“Let’s go in together, Said.”
At that, Said burst into sobs.
“Here, have some cocoa. It’ll warm you up.”
I handed him the mug, and Said cautiously took a sip. His eyes widened.
“It’s delicious! Ciela, it’s really delicious…!”
“It’s hot, so drink it slowly. I can make more if you’d like.”
“Mmhm! Okay!”
He promised, but quickly gulped it down anyway.
The sight reminded me of someone else. I glanced at Hoyeon. When he tilted his head at my look, I only smiled, saying it was nothing.
‘But really—what happened to him?’
I watched Said, now finishing his cocoa and licking his lips.
We couldn’t just leave him in wet clothes, so I had dried his hair as best I could and changed him into Cloen’s spare clothes. Cloen had even brought the outfit himself. By then, Jack had also come down from upstairs.
“It was amazing! Next time, I’ll invite you all to the palace to return the favor!”
“…Sure.”
Of course, that would never happen—for me or the children.
More importantly—
“Said, why were you sitting there in the rain like that?”
He froze at my words, stealing a glance at me. The children and I watched quietly.
After a pause, Said finally opened his mouth.
“They said… I should never have been born.”
The children all flinched.
Their faces darkened, but Said didn’t notice. He went on.
“They said I’m useless. That I should just disappear. But I had nowhere to go. I don’t even have anyone I can call a friend… So… even though you told me not to come, I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry…”
Holding the still-warm cocoa in his hands, Said hung his head.
I looked at him with pity. For such a young child, his father’s cruel words were too heavy to bear.
I knew all too well the feeling of being abandoned by family. That’s why it hurt me even more to see him like this.
‘But Said could be a threat to Jack.’
Even if he didn’t mean to be, anything he saw or heard could make its way back to the Emperor.
That was why I’d been trying to push him away. But then—
“Then why don’t you come live here?”
“…What?”
Both Said and I turned toward Ren at once.
