Chapter 65
I nodded immediately.
“…You’re right.”
In my previous life—
When I was locked away alone in Longton’s laboratory…
There wasn’t even a maid to bring me food.
After Hiana appeared, Duke Longton stopped assigning me a personal maid.
The servants acted like I didn’t exist.
So I starved almost every day.
No one told me to eat.
And when I went to the kitchen, the workers stared at me as if I were a parasite.
Eventually, I just stayed in the lab.
When hunger got too overwhelming after several days,
I would shuffle down to the basement and eat stale, rock-hard bread.
“But when I’m full… I feel weird.”
Tiaan’s gaze settled on my face.
“Even after I came here, whenever I ate… my stomach hurt.”
At first, I didn’t understand why.
Only much later did I realize—
My mind simply couldn’t adapt to the sudden change in lifestyle.
Maybe right now was similar.
I held my breath, then spoke quietly.
“Your Highness… you know, I… I had a really, really long dream.”
“Hmm. What kind of dream?”
Even though it was sudden, Tiaan asked calmly.
I stared down at the grass.
“I dreamed I met a good family. I was so happy… because I finally had a family.”
“…”
“But… in that dream, that family abandoned me.
They changed, just like strangers—
and they left me alone… hurt… to die.”
Tears spilled again.
“It felt so real.
Even after I woke up, I remembered everything…
Even now, just thinking about it is scary.”
While I was talking, the candy in my mouth had completely melted.
Of course, Tiaan somehow noticed and unwrapped another one—
pushing it gently into my mouth.
Sweetness spread again.
I sniffled.
“Why does Your Highness always have food?” hic
“Me?”
“Y-yes… hic.
The first time we met too—you shared dried meat with me.”
“Ah… yeah. I did.”
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Then he plopped down beside me.
“When someone’s upset…
Being hungry makes the sadness even worse.”
I nodded hard.
“…You’re right.”
***
“After Mother passed away…
I had nightmares all the time.”
I turned to look at him.
His red eyes seemed steadier and more grounded than usual.
“I know how terrifying nightmares can be.
How sad and painful they feel.
But Annelia… Like you said, it was just a dream, wasn’t it?”
“…”
“That kind of thing won’t actually happen.
Someone abandoning you?”
His red eyes blinked slowly.
“You think that’s possible?
You’re the most lovable kid in the whole world.
Only an idiot would ever throw you away.”
My eyes widened.
Even if he meant it purely to comfort me…
His words were embarrassingly straightforward.
“W-well… not that lovable…”
“You’re basically an angel, Annelia.
Everyone at Abner loves you.
I love you too.
Grandmother cherishes you as well.”
“…”
“So if anyone ever tried to abandon someone like you—
They’d have to be half-insane.
Completely stupid.”
Tiaan gently wiped away my tears.
Then he said, in a strangely serious voice:
“It won’t ever happen.
But if someone ever dares…
I’ll take care of it myself.”
And then he smiled—softly.
“I’m pretty good with the imperial seal now.
So don’t cry, okay?”
***
Tiaan stayed silently beside me while I cried.
And once the sniffling finally calmed—
“Annelia. Here—take this.”
He held something out.
I blinked at the small box in his hand, tied with a golden ribbon.
“What is it?”
“Your birthday present.”
My eyes widened.
Right—
The note he’d left on the day of my party.
He said he’d come back to give me my gift.
“This is… that present?”
“Yeah. I prepared it for your birthday.”
He placed the box into my hands.
“Open it.”
I nodded and untied the ribbon.
Inside was a necklace—
a soft leather cord holding a polished, jet-black gemstone.
“…Wow.”
“It’s an obsidian necklace.”
“It’s so pretty!”
“It’s also an ancient artifact.”
“…What?”
I froze mid-admiration.
“They say it brings good luck.
And honestly… I think that’s true.
It definitely worked for me.”
He took the necklace and carefully fastened it around my neck.
“If you wear it, luck is supposed to follow the owner.”
I stared at him, unsure how to respond.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you anything better.
But out of everything I own… this one’s the best.”
“Y-Your Highness, I…”
“To be honest… I wanted to give you a protective relic.
Or a teleportation relic.
But those are too hard to get.”
“…”
“But I already had this lucky artifact, so I thought… why not?”
The black stone swayed gently against my chest.
“…You don’t like it?”
His voice shrank a little.
I shook my head frantically.
“No! I love it! It’s a lucky artifact!”
The reason I hesitated wasn’t because I disliked the gift.
‘This relic…’
I knew what it really was.
It was the keepsake left behind by the late Empress—Tiaan’s mother.
He gave me… his mother’s relic as a gift.
Can I really accept something like that?
After struggling internally, I finally said carefully:
“Um… Your Highness.
I think… this gift is too big for me.
I’d be happy with just sweets or a doll—”
“You were injured.”
Tiaan cut in firmly.
His expression suddenly sharpened.
“And there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again.
So having something like this makes me feel better.”
“B-but…”
“I know.
If it were purely for your protection,
A different artifact with stronger effects would’ve been better.”
I blinked wide.
“N-no! That’s not what I meant!”
“Don’t worry.
If I ever acquire stronger relics, I’ll give you those too.
But for now… I don’t have the ability to get them.”
He gently touched the necklace resting on my collarbone.
“This one… really worked for me.
More than I expected.”
He said it so seriously that I almost asked him—
“What kind of luck did it bring you?”
But he didn’t elaborate.
“And there’s one more thing.”
He glanced behind him.
“Logrio. You can come out now.”
At that name, I froze.
The bushes rustled.
And someone stepped out—
A familiar face.
“You haven’t met him officially, right?
Logrio Desert.
He used to be my mother’s personal guard.”
My jaw dropped.
Logrio approached with calm, disciplined steps —
then knelt on one knee before me.
“It is an honor to meet you, Lady Annelia.”
He lifted his head, meeting my eyes.
“You saved my life.
You have my deepest gratitude.”
I instinctively glanced at his left hand.
Without gloves, the reddish scar was visible—
serious, but healed.
“If not for the medicine you sent,
I would’ve lost my left hand.
For a left-handed knight like me…
That would’ve been a death sentence.”
“…”
“But because of you… that fate was avoided.”
His eyes trembled with sincerity.
I hurriedly looked away, overwhelmed—
then stared at Tiaan.
So when he said there was “one more thing”… He meant Logrio?
“I spoke with Duchess Abner earlier.
Logrio will stay at the mansion from now on.
He’s your personal guard now.”
“W-WHAT?!”
“The Duchess agreed happily.
She said she’d been looking for someone to assign to your protection anyway.
Sir Wendell is practically her lieutenant, so he can’t stay glued to you every hour.”
My vision spun.
Logrio shouldn’t become my guard.
He’s supposed to stay in the palace and protect Tiaan!
I panicked.
“B-But!
Surely a guard is more necessary for Your Highness than for me!”
The scheming empress,
the future second prince —
There were too many threats around him.
But Tiaan immediately shook his head.
“I have plenty of other people.
Logrio brought a whole squad with him when he returned.
And besides…”
He lifted his red eyes and looked straight at me.
“I don’t need strong guards.
Because I’ll become stronger than all of them.”
“…Your Highness?”
“And when that time comes—
I’ll be your guard.
Until then… Just wait a bit.”
My mouth fell open.
He really had no idea —
How can a crown prince become the guard… of a commoner girl?!
