Chapter 64
The Crown Prince was at his desk, working.
Despite his young age, he was a genius who had inherited an extraordinary bloodline.
But his concentration kept slipping.
— The Lady will be here soon.
Was it because of the telepathic message from Reflek?
Eventually, Kasmahan set down his papers.
Even without words, his senses could feel the presence of a small, delicate girl approaching.
‘So vivid it’s almost… distracting.’
Kasmahan could always sense any being that entered his domain.
Not to the extent of the Child of Prophecy, perhaps, but he had survived countless assassination attempts.
There were nineteen people moving within his range of perception.
Five of them bore the aura of knights — likely her escorts.
But the Child of Prophecy herself wasn’t coming closer yet.
He couldn’t be certain, but judging by her personality, she was probably wandering through the corridors of the Crown Prince’s Palace, looking around curiously.
‘Might as well work until she gets here.’
He forced himself to read the words in front of him, but they refused to register.
His thoughts kept circling back to something else.
‘That immense power Adele displayed that day…’
His hand trembled slightly with the memory. Her power had been overwhelming.
Considering her childish appearance, small frame, and kind heart — the sort that couldn’t hate anyone — it was unbelievable.
‘How can a human being be that strong?’
In an instant, she had completely dominated them.
He had even reported it to the Duke, but her performance had been beyond belief.
He had always thought of her as someone to protect, yet in that moment — the situation had completely reversed.
Adele had protected him.
That little girl.
Where in the world did that impossible power come from?
‘A pure desire to save everyone?’
If that was it… then it was a kind of will that Kasmahan could never possess.
He didn’t feel compassion.
He had grown so numb that even his closest subordinates often said they could never read his emotions.
[Whatever it is you do… work hard — but never too hard, Your Highness.]
At that memory, Kasmahan’s eyes flickered with mixed emotions.
Those were his mother’s last words before she died.
Work hard, but not too hard.
It was contradictory, but he understood her meaning:
Never be swayed by every rise and fall; live with composure.
He had never been particularly attached to his mother, but her words had shaped his way of life.
Always calm.
Emotions kept still.
Never waste oneself emotionally.
And yet, the Child of Prophecy kept shaking that composure.
“Kan!”
He knew she was coming before she even opened the door, but he pretended not to notice as Adele entered.
“Oh, you’re here?”
Everything seemed fascinating to Adele. Maybe because it was her first time in the Imperial Palace.
“Wow, were you working?”
Kasmahan glanced at her guards, including Mikael.
Understanding his look, they bowed silently and withdrew.
Adele and Kasmahan were the only two who could be left alone together without anyone objecting.
“It’s not work,” he said, covering the documents.
Of course it was work, but he didn’t want to seem distant to someone who called him “friend.”
It was already unbelievable enough that she had used such overwhelming elemental power and woken up after only two days.
But as usual, she seemed unaware of how impossible that was.
The Child of Prophecy never realized just how precious she was.
“I thought I was bothering you. Glad I wasn’t.”
Adele smiled.
Kasmahan rubbed beneath his nose and stood up.
Being the Crown Prince, his chambers were decorated with imperial symbols:
the flag of the Haspelt Empire, portraits of his father the Emperor, and his late mother the Empress.
While Adele admired the portraits with childlike curiosity, Kasmahan’s gaze lingered on the medal pinned to her chest.
‘If this weren’t wartime, there would’ve been a grand celebration…’
Just for her.
The Imperial Palace was generous to its heroes — they would’ve held a three-day ball in her honor.
‘A national hero who’s an eight-year-old girl…’
There was no precedent for that in all of history.
[Don’t show any special treatment toward my daughter.]
The Duke had given the Crown Prince a strict order.
So, although he had wanted to shower her with praise, he held his tongue.
Kasmahan turned slightly and picked up a bundle of letters from the table.
“These — I held onto them for you. They arrived today.”
“What are they?”
“Letters from the people you rescued from the Black Market. Read them.”
Adele’s eyes widened as she accepted them, confused.
She had saved hundreds of lives. Some of the letters were from her fellow orphans from Panaso Orphanage, others from survivors she had never met.
She began reading them slowly, halting over the words but giving it her full attention.
“Oh… I did that well…?”
Her eyes blinked rapidly, unsure how to react.
Kasmahan already knew what they said — he’d read them beforehand.
Every one of them was full of gratitude and reverence for Adele.
“I’ll never forget your kindness until I die. If my husband had died that day, I would have been left a widow with five children. My Lady, you saved my family.”
“Thank you for saving my life. I don’t know what else to say. I’ll spend my second chance helping others.”
“They said you came to rescue us. All the kids at the orphanage praise you.”
But Adele seemed unable to grasp the reality of it.
“…You really did something amazing,” he said softly — meaning every word.
“I don’t really know,” she murmured.
Yet her earlobes were turning red. Embarrassed.
‘…Cute.’
The thought struck Kasmahan so suddenly that he turned his head away.
‘Cute? Did I just think she was cute?’
It wasn’t something shocking for most people — but for him, it meant something else entirely.
Not even when he saw puppies or babies — things everyone else found adorable — had he ever thought that.
Not even his own baby sister.
Adele was different.
The 1st Princess, Virus Haspelt — his sister — had died with their mother in the assassination.
She’d only been three.
And yet, even then, Kasmahan hadn’t found her cute.
He hadn’t cried at her funeral, either.
He hadn’t even felt sad.
Thanks to his exceptional social grace, people didn’t find him strange.
He wasn’t emotionless — just… selective.
But even without his mother’s dying words, Kasmahan rarely felt emotions at all. Why should he?
‘If my true self were ever revealed, Father would have me killed.’
His survival instinct was stronger than any feeling.
No one knew — but in truth, he understood their ideology.
If he hadn’t been born into the Haspelt royal family, he might have been one of them.
He might even have led them.
He knew it.
And he knew he could never be caught.
He had to always appear noble — the embodiment of virtue.
It was tiring, but not impossible.
Sometimes, when life felt dull, he entertained himself imagining how he could outdo them.
‘If I had led them, the world would’ve fallen within ten years.’
Not dragged on for centuries.
It was a dark kind of daydream, but oddly pleasant — as long as one ignored morality.
Of course, no one ever suspected a thing.
His performance was flawless, so natural that even he sometimes believed it himself.
[He’s young but deeply responsible.]
[So graceful, so noble. It feels rude to say it, but… he’s beautiful.]
[Sometimes his face looks so lonely.]
He knew his reputation well.
And he wasn’t above using it.
He’d even used his mother and sister’s deaths to gain sympathy when needed.
He knew exactly how to win people’s favor.
And right now, even Adele — the precious Child of Prophecy — stood before him completely unguarded.
She’d even sent her knights away, trusting only in his title as Crown Prince.
And yet… with Adele, things felt different.
“Kan.”
“…Hm?”
She clutched the letters to her chest, unable to let them go.
Knowing her, she’d probably hold them until she fell asleep, smiling.
A typical noble girl would be bragging about her first-class medal from the Emperor — but not Adele.
“Thanks for giving me these. But actually… I came to ask you a favor.”
“…What is it?”
Adele was beautiful.
It was obvious she would grow into a breathtaking woman one day.
But Kasmahan had never cared for beauty before.
And yet now —
Just as she had shattered something deep inside him with her immense power — her presence was dazzling.
“Release the Water Spirit.”
Adele said softly.
“When I was at the orphanage, I saw a Water Spirit locked in a cage for the first time. The person who asked me if I could hear spirits showed it to me. …That cage is still here in the palace, isn’t it?”
Adele believed he was kind.
Sharp as she was, she wasn’t wrong — the spirit was imprisoned as a living specimen for study.
He had never intended to release it. Until now.
But Kasmahan hid his thoughts and looked at her gently.
“Of course.”
He smiled faintly.
And she smiled back — bright, trusting, utterly without suspicion.
It made him feel strangely pure, too.
“Thanks, Kan. You’re always so kind.”
Straightforward.
Would she ever break?
Would her purity ever be stained?
Child of Prophecy… For someone who didn’t even believe in gods, she was something wondrous.
For now, Kasmahan was still the gentle, beautiful prince — a charisma born more from his angelic looks than from authority.
Adele stepped forward and hugged him — a gesture of gratitude. She was shorter, so he had to bend slightly.
To her, it was probably the same kind of innocent hug she gave her friend Madeleine.
Her small hands brushed the back of his neck, tickling slightly — his hair was cut short.
Friend, she called him.
She’d said it hundreds of times, but he’d never really felt anything about it before.
Now, though, he felt something new stirring.
And in that moment, one thing became clear in his mind:
In his dictionary — there was no such thing as friend.
