“Good morning, Lady Ria!”
“Serin unni…? Wait, what are you wearing?!”
I took a step back when I saw Serin unni wearing the same outfit that Garnet always wore.
Garnet, who had walked up behind me, added an explanation.
“She volunteered to become a maid. Normally, that position is limited to daughters of at least lower nobles, but we made an exception for her.”
“I still have a lot to learn, but I’ll do my best, Ria. Same with the other kids.”
Serin unni’s face as she added, “Because it’s a new life you gave us with your own hands,” overlapped with the young, innocent version of her from the past in my memory.
“Unni….”
Fortunately, none of the children from the orphanage, except for Rayola, were recognized by anyone, so living in the capital was possible.
Most of the young children, including infants, were placed in a Laes-affiliated orphanage for care.
The Laes Orphanage prioritized the children’s happiness and worked hard to find them good guardians.
In the future, they’d also be eligible for the Laes Scholarship Program, which would help them pursue their dreams.
While most of the kids chose to go to the Laes Orphanage, some decided to stay in the duke’s residence.
“Ria noona!”
“Ben? Why are you coming out of the kitchen?”
Shrimp, the head chef, answered in Ben’s place as he followed him out.
“Last night, he tasted the shrimp pizza I made and insisted on becoming my apprentice.”
He proudly smoothed out his mosquito-coil-shaped curled mustache.
“Yup, that’s right! Everything I dreamed of is here—the abundance of ingredients, the best shrimp… I mean, the best teacher!”
Ben had always handled meals for everyone back at the orphanage, joyfully cooking with the kids without ever complaining.
It must’ve been hard to feed us just with potatoes, but he managed it well. I was proud of him.
“I hope your dream of becoming a chef comes true.”
“It’s all thanks to you, noona. When you and Luca escaped at first…”
Did he resent us? We called them family, and yet we were the only ones who ran away…
“We all knew. We believed you two would come back for us. Though we didn’t expect you to return in less than a week!”
Ben grinned brightly.
“What you did to Miss Rayola yesterday was awesome. I couldn’t see it well since the knight covered my eyes, but we won, right?”
I ruffled Ben’s hair. The kids had been through so much, yet they were strong.
“By the way, where’s Luca hyung?”
“Oh, Luca? He’s… not here right now.”
I laughed awkwardly.
“Why? You miss him?”
“Well, it’s just… it feels weird not seeing him by your side.”
At Ben’s words, my smile froze.
Someone who seems out of place when not by your side—that was Luca.
I thought I’d be fine. I thought I’d feel relieved.
But I already missed that kid.
“So anyway, Ria, what I did to those guys was—Ria? Are you listening?”
“Huh? Oh! Yes, I’m listening!”
Snapped out of my thoughts, I quickly responded to Miller.
“You really cut those scary beasts Cablos sent in half? That’s amazing!”
“I didn’t cut them in half… I’ll try though.”
Miller looked a little down. Oh, was that not what he was talking about?
“Ha ha… Actually, I’m just worried about Luca.”
I chuckled awkwardly.
“He might not seem like it, but he’s really soft-hearted and kind. I wonder how he’s holding up in the imperial palace… You get it, right? Like a worried older sister?”
“Soft-hearted… kind?”
Miller’s face stiffened, clearly remembering his card war with Luca.
That kid had a bit of a tsundere streak, and his awkwardness with strangers had caused misunderstandings.
Hopefully, things would clear up between them eventually.
While quietly cutting his steak, my father finally spoke.
“His Highness met with the Emperor yesterday. After being reinstated as crown prince, he began imperial studies.”
“Imperial studies?”
“There’s a lot to catch up on after two years of absence. It seems they decided it was better to accelerate his succession.”
In the original story, after Luca was rescued with Senia’s help, he resumed his role and began imperial training.
The rulers of the Grepin Empire had to undergo harsh education, and Luca was no exception.
Thanks to his quick learning, Luca completed his studies in six months and faced the final trial: “Lord of the Battlefield.”
The “Lord of the Battlefield” was the last exam for the crown prince, and as the name implied, Luca would lead troops in war.
Given the vast influence of the Grepin Empire, rebel forces were constantly scheming.
Kingdoms like Selon, which were nearly on par with Grepin in national power, feigned loyalty while secretly plotting rebellion.
Of course, the imperial family was aware and already had just cause to initiate war before they were attacked.
The assassination of a Grepin envoy in the Selon Kingdom was a key incident they were holding onto—waiting for the right moment to unleash.
In the original, Luca leads the army right after the envoy incident.
Selon wasn’t a weak nation and was more than sufficient to test the crown prince’s abilities.
Unfortunately, several other kingdoms began siding with Selon, and at fifteen, Luca ended up in what could only be called a continental war.
By age seventeen, after fighting endlessly, he began to gain the upper hand. But just then, he was caught in a puppet curse and nearly lost everything—until Senia helped him break free.
It was a war so intense that even the Emperor had been unsure of the outcome. In the end, Grepin emerged as a true empire, and the young crown prince became a war hero—a living legend.
After the Emperor, who suffered from chronic illness, passed away, Luca ascended the throne at eighteen.
He used information Senia revealed to him on the battlefield to bring judgment upon the culprits behind his childhood kidnapping—the concubines and the Duke of Cablos.
But because Senia dearly loved the Duke, Luca spared him. Senia went on to reform her villainous father.
[I’ll step back now. Cablos swears to live as honestly as those Laes do-gooders. But you must protect Senia from those concubines and crazy witches. Otherwise… well, your highness knows what I’m capable of.]
Thinking back on the original story, the Duke of Cablos had been a super popular “daughter-crazy” character. But does redemption mean forgiveness?
Considering how all my past suffering stemmed from his faction’s actions… it made me bitter and angry.
Still, even if this twisted world gave Senia her happy ending, someone like me—just an ordinary citizen—had no say in it.
Just as tears of frustration began to well up—
“I’m heading to the imperial palace today. If you want, I can pass along a message.”
The imperial palace? Oh, so he goes there often now?
“Then… I don’t have much to say. Just ask if he’s doing well, if he’s not sick, if he’s sleeping okay.”
But that didn’t feel like enough.
“Oh, and if he’s eating properly, if anyone’s bullying him, how palace life is, and also…”
Pfft—
“You really do sound like his guardian. That rude crown prince being treated like this… I’m starting to envy him.”
Miller chuckled.
“He’s still a kid. He can’t even sleep if I don’t hold his hand. I really worry about him.”
Snap—
‘Huh? What was that?’
The sound came from the Duke’s hand.
Was that knife really so brittle it turned to powder?
“I’ll be sure to pass along your message.”
For some reason, the Duke smiled with a chilling grin.
At the same time, Luca flinched and looked over his shoulder.
He even grabbed the sword placed next to him in preparation for the ninth assassin—but the room was empty.
‘To hide one’s presence like this… This is no ordinary person.’
Luca rose, staying alert.
He didn’t know it was Duke Laes’s killing intent that he had sensed, so he kept his sword ready until a real assassin came.
Knock knock—
“Your Highness, I’m coming in.”
His teacher Hazel entered the room.
“Good morning—AAAH!! Blood! What is that? Green blood?! That’s disgusting!”
Hazel screamed when he saw the ninth assassin hanging from the terrace railing like dried fish.
The monsters controlled by Duke Cablos could even disguise themselves as humans.
Just then, a massive black eagle swooped from the sky and snatched the monster away.
Luca had always wondered how to dispose of the bodies after taking care of assassins.
But since these monsters didn’t speak human language, interrogating them was useless.
After spotting a massive eagle flying around the palace one day, he decided to leave them like that for pickup.
Hazel nearly fainted again seeing the bald eagle cleaning service™ in action.
“KYAAA!!”
“You’re noisy. Let’s begin the lesson.”
Luca covered his ears and scolded him.
A few minutes later, once Hazel calmed down, the imperial lessons began.
“Amazing. Your Highness’s level now is even higher than it was two years ago.”
Hazel said, impressed after Luca passed all his tests.
“There were rumors that you’d become an idiot after going missing for two years, but clearly the idiots are the ones outside.”
Hazel, a prodigy from the Imperial Academy and its likely future head, was notorious for his blunt speech.
“At this rate, the ‘Lord of the Battlefield’ exam isn’t far off. You should focus more on swordsmanship than academics.”
“I intend to.”
Hazel removed his gold glasses and asked:
“May I ask why you’re in such a rush? Is it because of the infamous Lady Laes?”
At his question, Luca momentarily stiffened before composing himself and replying with a bored expression.
“Think whatever you like. I’ll be heading to the training ground.”
He stood up.
His red eyes were filled with heavy thoughts. Even though it had only been a few days, Luca already missed Ria deeply.
He was shocked to realize how weak he was, and it worried him.
Until everything settled down, he wouldn’t be able to see Ria as often.
Thankfully, she seemed to still be wearing the necklace. He could sense her aura from the magestone bracelet tied to his wrist.
The warmth and softness of her presence stirred his heart.
And at the training grounds, he encountered an unexpected figure.
“…Duke Laes?”
