Chapter : 19
“No!”
Etern instinctively trembled, her small shoulders shaking.
They would have to face each other in the Empress’s palace for days to come—and now he was saying they would even tour the vast imperial palace together?
“If there’s a place the young lord particularly wants to see, I can have a servant accompany you,” she said.
“I’d rather visit with the princess than with a servant…”
For a moment, chills ran down her spine. Zigkart was staring at her quietly, his expression faintly dejected.
“…Would that be difficult?”
“Not so much difficult as—”
Why am I so bad at lying?
She let out an involuntary sigh. She even felt like banging her own head. The moment she trailed off, the advantage had already shifted to Zigkart.
After a brief pause, Etern fell into thought.
‘Seriously, what does he even know? It’s uncomfortable, sure, but it’s not like he’ll live here forever. What’s so hard about treating him well while he’s here? Besides…’
Whether or not it would actually happen, and whatever the reason might be, he had at least brought her a clue about her mother, hadn’t he?
‘Let’s just call it repaying a debt.’
Etern nodded and extended her small hand toward Zigkart.
“Alright, Young Lord. Let’s go together.”
Since Zigkart said he wanted to look around the imperial archives first, Etern led him to the annex on the left side of the central palace.
As they walked through the long corridor, their small footsteps echoed tap-tap against the marble floor. Behind them, the distant footsteps of attendants followed like a faint echo.
Despite saying he wanted to see the palace, Zigkart didn’t seem particularly interested in the surroundings. He only occasionally glanced outside when Etern pointed at the gardens and explained them, but he didn’t ask any questions himself.
Etern found his sudden silence after leaving the Empress’s palace a bit strange.
‘He seemed like he’d keep talking, but he’s quiet.’
A breeze drifted in from afar, rustling the leaves of a zelkova tree. Sunlight filtered through the branches, scattering shimmering dots of light across the corridor floor.
“The Princess seems uncomfortable with me.”
Zigkart, stepping absentmindedly on the light spots on the floor, suddenly spoke. Etern looked at him in surprise, then glanced back at the attendants following at a distance before replying.
“You can speak casually. They can’t hear you from back there.”
At her words, Zigkart glanced back as if to confirm, then suddenly lifted one foot and hopped across the tiled floor like he was crossing stepping stones.
“That’s not an answer.”
Etern frowned slightly at the back of his head. What a sharp, annoying kid.
“If it wasn’t your first time meeting me, it would be weirder if you weren’t uncomfortable.”
“But you still didn’t refuse to guide me?”
Zigkart balanced on one foot, turning halfway to face her.
Only then did Etern notice that his toes were landing precisely on each glowing light spot. It seemed he had been playing some kind of game.
‘He really is just a kid.’
Suppressing a small laugh, Etern shrugged.
“It’s not that I’m uncomfortable because it’s you.”
Zigkart’s eyes widened at her casual lie. His expression was hard to read—childish in his teasing, yet unreadable in its depth. Whether he believed her or not was unclear.
“Then why?”
“Well…”
She hesitated, then cleared her throat.
“I don’t have friends. I’ve never really talked with kids my age. So… yeah. That’s it.”
“A lame excuse.”
Etern, who had thought that was a decent—and honest—answer, widened her eyes.
“It’s not an excuse.”
Zigkart snorted.
“You’re the imperial princess the Emperor dotes on. Are you seriously telling me no one ever gave you a friend? At least you must have people to talk to.”
Etern puffed up her cheeks slightly.
He wasn’t entirely wrong. But it wasn’t entirely a lie either.
Being the Emperor’s son or daughter was complicated and lonely.
When princes or princesses reached a certain age, the Emperor or Empress would select children to serve as companions.
Naturally, they had to be from noble families, about the same age or within a year or two of the royal child.
They would be evaluated in front of scholars, etiquette instructors, governesses, and the Empress’s attendants—only those deemed suitable would be chosen as playmates allowed to enter the palace.
‘It’s not like I ever had the chance to get close to anyone.’
Until they formally entered high society, those selected children were the only possible friends or classmates.
If they happened to form bonds, that was fortunate—but such cases were rare.
It wasn’t about forming emotional connections, but about learning political relationships.
As for Etern, she had never even had that much.
The Empress, who was supposed to oversee it all, was asleep, and Emperor Wintier did not trust anyone.
So Etern had always been alone. Even as the Emperor’s daughter who could have anything she wanted, she could not escape loneliness.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
At Zigkart’s voice, Etern snapped out of it and looked around without realizing she had stopped walking.
“I don’t have anyone to talk to. No friends either. It’s not like I can just go out and make friends, right? My father….”
“….”
“He doesn’t seem like he has the time to think about things like that yet.”
Silence fell between them. Even the wind passing through the branches seemed to hold its breath.
‘What is this?’
Etern felt as though the quiet wind had slipped into her and was stirring around inside her. It was an unfamiliar sensation.
If someone had been there—Dora, or anyone—she might have thrown herself into their arms and cried like a child.
She was lonely. For the first time since returning from death, loneliness pressed into her bones.
“How about me?”
Etern’s tearful eyes, glistening with moisture, looked straight at Zigkart.
A clear tear slipped down her peach-colored cheek like a bead.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean me as your friend. I’m not lacking in either age or status.”
“What…?”
Etern let out a dry laugh and stepped back, wiping her eyes with her fist.
“You have to go back home. What nonsense are you talking about?”
Zigkart rolled his eyes and shrugged. Looking at him like that, he seemed less like a young noble and more like an ordinary boy anywhere.
“Well, I ran away anyway. Whether I go back tomorrow or in a year, it’s basically the same, isn’t it?”
