Chapter 8
A low, threatening growl—the same one I’d heard yesterday—slipped out from between the Fourth Prince’s lips as he bared his fangs.
‘Does he hate me because I’m human?’
Well, I had suddenly appeared out of nowhere like a rolling stone. It wasn’t strange for him to dislike me.
Besides, he was still young. Controlling his emotions probably wasn’t easy.
On the other hand, the Third Prince, Noah, showed neither fondness nor hostility toward me—just an ambiguous attitude.
If anything, it felt closer to curiosity about a human he’d never seen before.
Unpredictable as ever, the Third Prince had been staring intently at a single spot on the table, regardless of the serious conversation going on around him.
‘Does he want that?’
As I looked at the golden, star-shaped pendant, I suddenly felt a cool temperature brush against my cheek and turned my head.
“Pick one, Yernian.”
“I don’t like gambling.”
At my firm refusal, one of Licht’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
Mir, who had been watching from the side, quickly stepped forward.
“Your Highness, this isn’t really gambling. It’s a kind of traditional game passed down in Your Highness’s kingdom.”
More precisely, it was a custom from the Kingdom of Merni—a game played at a baby’s first birthday banquet to predict their future for fun.
“A game?”
Hearing that it was a tradition from my now-destroyed homeland made the table, which had seemed bizarre just moments ago, look different.
“Yes. You simply choose the item you like the most. It’s not gambling—it’s a special game His Majesty prepared for today. He even announced that he’ll give a large reward to the nobles who correctly guess which item you’ll pick.”
…Ah.
Blinking blankly, I glanced back at Licht, who had already returned to his seat.
Leaning lazily against the armrest with his chin propped up, he was staring straight at me.
‘I don’t know how this predicts the future, but…’
At least for the effort he put in, I figured I should play along.
I slowly looked over the items laid out on the table.
One by one, the attention of the beastfolk—who had been dancing to music or chatting in groups—shifted toward me.
Having already decided what to pick, I crawled straight toward the end of the table without hesitation.
“Ah…!”
“Oh…!”
The reactions split as everyone focused on my movements.
I grabbed the golden star-shaped pendant with both hands and shook it.
“I like this!”
Noah’s widened eyes followed my movement.
Just as I was smiling inwardly at the expected reaction—
“Congratulations, Yernian. Looks like you’re going to become a saint.”
“A… saint?”
What kind of nonsense was that all of a sudden?
Licht, now reclining even more casually on his throne, curled his lips into a strange smile.
“A saint who can handle mana. I’ll be looking forward to it, Yernian.”
No, seriously—what does this pendant have to do with being a saint?!
But in the end, Licht never told me the true meaning behind the pendant I chose.
***
The birthday banquet didn’t end until well past midnight.
By the end, I had been nodding off, and I was carried back to my bedroom in my nanny’s arms.
“Your Highness, you’ve worked so hard today.”
After placing me in the cradle, my nanny and the maids began opening the gift boxes. My half-closed eyes suddenly snapped open.
“Wow…! Cute!”
Inside the box was a small, adorable teddy bear.
Alice, who had been watching me rub my face against its soft fur with a pleased smile, tidied the bed.
“A good child should go to sleep now, Princess.”
“Once again, happy birthday.”
With cheerful Alice and stoic Roen’s greetings, darkness settled over the bedroom.
Pulling a chair next to the cradle, my nanny began gently patting my back as I hugged the teddy bear.
After checking the golden pendant placed near my pillow, I closed my eyes.
I desperately wanted to fall asleep—but I still had something to do.
Soon, I sensed my nanny leaving the room.
Pretending to sleep, I recalled how Noah hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the pendant the entire time.
‘Will he come right away?’
The star-shaped pendant was beautiful and intricate—but now that escaping was no longer an option, it was nothing more than a useless ornament to me.
‘Licht said I could just toss it once I got bored anyway.’
So giving it to Noah should be fine.
Fighting off sleep, I stared at the tightly shut door.
Before long—
Click.
The door opened, followed by quiet footsteps.
“Noah.”
Seeing that I wasn’t asleep, Noah stopped at the doorway and blinked.
“…Hi.”
“Mm. Hi.”
Hesitating, Noah slowly approached my cradle.
“You’re still awake.”
“I was waiting.”
“…For me?”
“Mm. This.”
I held out the pendant toward him.
Moonlight faintly settled over the star-shaped pendant made of intertwined golden strands.
“This is…”
“You wanted it.”
Noah’s eyes widened as he recognized it.
When he hesitated to reach out, I shook it slightly in front of him.
“I’ll give it to you.”
“Why? It’s a gift my brother prepared for you.”
“I have lots of other things.”
That was true. Licht had basically handed me everything on the table as a “bribe.”
If it were before, I would’ve accepted them eagerly as escape funds—but now they felt a bit burdensome.
“Don’t you want it?”
As I began to pull it back, Noah immediately reacted.
“No. I like it.”
Relieved, I watched as Noah carefully took the pendant.
A faint spark of life appeared in his usually unfocused eyes.
With a slightly flushed expression, Noah quietly met my gaze.
“…Thank you, Yernian.”
It was the first time Noah had properly said my name.
Whenever he visited my room before, he would just silently observe me and leave.
‘He looks about five…’
There was something striking about his calm, mature demeanor—so unlike a child.
“Noah. How old are you?”
He lifted his head from examining the pendant, his eyes resembling the sky just before dawn.
“I’m three this year.”
What? He’s only two years older than me?
‘Then the youngest, the Fourth Prince, must be my age—or just a year older.’
After quickly calculating, I beamed at him.
“Let’s get along from now on.”
For a moment, Noah looked at me as if at a loss for words—then gave a small nod.
“…Me too.”
I didn’t miss his quiet reply, almost like a whisper.
‘Now that I’ve bribed him, maybe he’ll help me at least once if I’m ever in trouble.’
Unlike the Fourth Prince, Noah didn’t seem to have any particular aversion or prejudice against humans, which put me at ease.
‘At least until I grow up, the more allies I have, the better.’
Applying what I’d learned from Licht, I lay back in the cradle with a satisfied feeling.
After standing there for a while, glancing between me and the pendant, Noah turned around.
“Good night, Noah!”
His small hand paused on the doorknob, but he didn’t look back as he left.
Click.
The sound of the door closing echoed in the quiet room.
Relaxing, I turned my head to the side and let out a small sigh.
Maintaining the short, childish way of speaking was exhausting.
‘Am I doing this right?’
If I didn’t want to arouse unnecessary suspicion from Licht, I needed to be more careful with my words and behavior.
‘Judging by the situation, it seems like they brought me here to fix the crack in the spirit realm…’
But I had never properly handled mana before—I couldn’t fulfill that expectation anytime soon.
‘Still, when the time comes…’
Maybe I could negotiate a mutually beneficial arrangement.
I’d gain freedom, and the spirit realm would gain peace.
Just as my fading vision was about to go dark, another visitor appeared.
A cool presence, like summer mist, lingered around me.
“Yernian. Are you asleep?”
I seriously considered pretending to sleep—but then opened my eyes.
“…Licht!”
At my clearly annoyed whine about him disturbing my sleep, Licht let out a quiet chuckle.
He picked me up lightly and sighed.
“I forgot to tell you something important.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll be gone from the spirit realm for a while starting tomorrow.”
“How long?”
“About three years.”
…What?
Three years?!
My sleep vanished instantly as my eyes widened.
How could he drop something that huge so casually, like he was just going out for a walk?!
Licht poked my stiff cheek.
“I told Noah to handle your baths, so don’t worry. If you need anything, tell Mir or the nanny. And if Askar bothers you, you don’t have to put up with it.”
This was the first time I’d heard him speak this much at once.
Fidgeting slightly, I asked:
“…Three years?”
“Probably. Something very important came up.”
What could be so important that the head of the beastfolk would leave for three whole years?
‘Is it related to the crack in the spirit realm?’
As I hesitated, unable to respond, Licht smirked.
“That reaction’s interesting. Are you scared of being apart from me?”
“Hmph. I’m not.”
I was just… uneasy.
I couldn’t predict how his absence would affect me.
What if they came for me while he was gone?
As if reading my thoughts, Licht gently stroked my cheek.
“I’ll try to come back as soon as possible. I’ve assigned guards, so don’t worry.”
“Huh? Guards?”
“They won’t show themselves unless it’s an emergency, so don’t mind them.”
Thankfully, it seemed Licht was aware of the attackers from the nursery incident.
The tension in my body eased as I leaned my cheek against his shoulder.
“Licht.”
“What?”
The idea of unseen guards watching me felt a bit unsettling—but better than getting caught in something dangerous.
Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, I looked up at his expressionless face and smiled.
“Have a safe trip.”
For a moment, my smiling reflection flickered in his clear blue eyes.
Licht looked at me silently—then gave a dry smile.
“…Alright.”
And just like that, he left.
The next time I saw Licht again was exactly three years later.
