Chapter : 10
Part 1: The Reluctant Guardian
Haniel must have noticed my voice was a bit loud; she turned around with a pout, then broke into a beaming smile. I’m not actually sure if a baby swan is capable of smiling like that, but at least in my eyes, that’s how it looked.
“M-Madam. Why do you keep getting so worked up? Is something really wrong?”
“……No. It’s nothing.”
I tried to brush it off, but then something suddenly clicked. Based on everything Selene had told me so far, a tiny flicker of hope began to stir.
“Hey, so, if His Majesty pays so little attention to the Princess, he wouldn’t even notice if she went missing, right?”
“……Pardon? Why do you ask?”
“I mean, the Emperor is busy with his wars of conquest, and she hasn’t even been officially consecrated as an Imperial Princess at the temple yet. So, even if someone took her away to raise her, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal—”
“Yes. I don’t think he’d go so far as to just rip them to death.”
“…….”
“He’d probably tear them into tiny, microscopic shreds.”
Selene narrowed her eyes and shrugged as if the idea was preposterous.
“You know what kind of person His Majesty is. I heard that back when the youngest Prince was kidnapped, he caught the culprit and had him burned at the stake over the course of a whole week. He kept the flame just low enough to singe him without killing him immediately…”
“Hey, you… seriously.”
How could she tell such a story with such an innocent face? Watching Selene excitedly mimic the final moments of a scorched kidnapper, my last shred of hope vanished with a hiss.
After spinning around like a rotisserie duck for a good while, Selene finally noticed my grim expression.
“Oh, by the way, Madam. What are you going to do about that child? I looked around today in my own way, but no one seems to know anything.”
“What do you mean, ‘what am I going to do’?”
Without thinking, I pulled back the hand I had reached out to hug Haniel. My life was already miserable enough; the last thing I wanted was to get caught up in a high-profile mess.
“I have to find her owner immediately.”
……And of course, I liked the idea of becoming a smoked swan even less.
Part 2: The Crimson-Eyed Emperor
“What happened?”
Rashid’s voice sat low and chilling in the Great Hall. He didn’t even spare a glance for the Fourth Prince, Tenon, who was kneeling before him. His gaze remained noble and detached as he flipped through the dispatches from the messengers.
“……Your Majesty.”
“I asked what happened.”
Even the golden throne seemed to lose its luster in the presence of its master, the Emperor. Overwhelmed, Tenon hesitated until his second brother, Kyrel, signaled him to speak. He opened his mouth with a stammer.
“I-It seems Loam placed a hypnotic spell on the maids of the Princess’s Palace. They all remember him entering, but they remember nothing after that. Every single one of them says their head feels like it’s splitting……”
“Then cut them off.”
“…….”
“What’s the point of keeping heads attached if they can’t remember anything and only cause pain?”
Rashid lifted his cold eyes as if stating the obvious. His eyes—the reddest among the brothers, a shade close to blood—held no emotion.
“……What are you waiting for?”
How dare you, when I have spoken. Lacking even an ounce of patience, he frowned. His features were so exquisitely carved and beautiful that his scowl evoked the image of divine wrath.
“If you lot can’t do it, I shall have to do it myself.”
“Brother.”
Unable to watch any longer, Kyrel stepped in for Tenon. As the Grand Duke and the immediate younger brother of the childless Emperor, he had more standing to speak than the others. The golden cloak, worn only by those in the line of succession, fluttered at Rashid’s feet.
“Please calm yourself. Since Loam possesses such powerful magic, there was likely nothing they could have done.”
“So, you’re saying I should leave those who lost their master alive?”
“You must think of when Haniel returns. Someone will have to look after the child, and as Your Majesty well knows…… ahem.”
This time, not only Kyrel but Tenon as well bowed their heads with awkward expressions. It would have been the same for any of the other Princes.
The only girl born into an Imperial Palace teeming with nothing but men. Just looking at her from a distance made their necks and shoulders feel stiff with tension. She had such a tiny, fragile body that looked like it would break at a touch. These were brothers who would charge into battle screaming “I’ll go first!”, yet in front of that child, they would shove each other away, saying “You go.”
If there was one person who had approached the baby without hesitation……
“……I what?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I shouldn’t have said anything.
Kyrel swallowed a sigh at Rashid’s blank stare. He still couldn’t forget how his eldest brother, the Emperor, had treated the newborn child.
Flashback: The Naming
“……Your Majesty, the Empress Mother could not regain her strength after the birth…… I am deeply sorry. She was of advanced age, and the shock of the Late Emperor’s passing was too great.”
“Is that the child?”
Thump, thump.
Rashid was composed and unhesitating, not at all like a man who had just returned from the battlefield after hearing tragic news. He didn’t show great sorrow or shock regarding the deceased. With his blood-stained cloak fluttering, he walked straight toward the golden cradle.
“……B-Brother! You mustn’t!”
“Is it dead?”
He poked the baby’s cheek with a long finger that was also splattered with blood. What on earth is he doing! The horrified brothers tried to rush forward, but before they could, the baby’s red eyelids flickered.
When tears welled up in those large eyes—which took up half of her fist-sized face—as if she were about to cry, he also grimaced.
“Hmm…… it seems to be alive.”
That single sentence was the entirety of his impression of seeing his newborn sister after returning from war. Withdrawing his hand as if bored, Rashid showed no emotion.
“It’s alive, so that’s enough. I’m going back, so you handle the rest, Kyrel.”
There was no lingering attachment in his steps as he turned away, wiping his hand on a handkerchief offered by a maid. Having gone to war in place of the deceased Emperor, it was obvious where he was returning to.
Kyrel, left behind with the tiny infant, raised his voice urgently.
“P-Please at least give her a name! According to the traditions of Rohan, the eldest brother must bestow the name—”
“How annoying.”
Rashid stopped and turned his head halfway. His look was one of irritation, questioning if such a thing was even necessary, but a name was something everyone required. After frowning for a long moment, he tilted his chin.
“……Haniel. Go with that.”
Present Day
“Whew.”
Even so, how could he name her after the pet swan our mother used to raise?
Kyrel shook his head, remembering the swan that used to float in the pond of the Empress’s Palace. He hadn’t expected a divine revelation like the other brothers received, but he never imagined Rashid would be this half-hearted.
However, it was a command from the brother who had succeeded the fallen Emperor. Since it came from his mouth, it was as good as a divine oracle, and everyone had no choice but to follow it.
“……Speak. What exactly did I do?”
“Brother.”
Kyrel broke into a cold sweat at Rashid’s unexpectedly persistent reaction. In any case, he had to stop his eldest brother from beheading the maids.
“Haniel is particularly shy, so she still hasn’t adjusted and is slower to speak than other children. If even the people who look after her are changed, then that would also……”
“The child is slow to speak?”
“……You didn’t know?”
Kyrel looked up with a somewhat bewildered expression. Rashid’s brow furrowed at the slightly reproachful gaze.
“Then when will she be able to speak properly?”
“Th-that is……”
“…….”
The truth was, they were equally ignorant about a child’s development. From Rashid, who turned twenty-seven this year, to Loam, who just had his coming-of-age ceremony, they were all born in quick succession, with at most two years between them.
But after that, there was a huge gap. Even the sixth and seventh twins, who turned ten this year, were considered late-born children. So when their mother finally conceived the youngest three years ago, the embarrassment was beyond words.
What a disaster.
Their mother’s late pregnancy at over forty was worrying, but to them, it felt like a story from a foreign land. They were men who would turn their heads in awkwardness just by seeing their mother’s swollen belly, so the existence of a tiny sister was even more overwhelming.
“Um, Brother. Perhaps if we throw her or drop her like Heron or Aron, she might scream out in pain—”
“Are you insane, Tenon!”
“…….”
And you call that a solution! The Grand Duke glared at Tenon as if his eyes might pop out.
End Of Chapter : 10
