CHAPTER 09
“Your Highness, come to think of it, I…”
“You must be tired, Priest.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t you think so, Rudric?”
“Me, sir? I don’t see why I would be…”
“Seems you can’t even hear properly. That must be a sign of fatigue. That’s enough for today. Let’s go, Titi.”
The prince left the room just like that. All I gained was some eye candy.
‘But seriously, what if I really vanish?’
There was no guarantee I could go back.
‘The word “purification” itself sounds like sending off something impure.’
Can I really trust the priest with my body?
“Your Highness, what exactly happens when you’re purified?”
“I’ve heard it means cleansing the impure with divine power, but I’ve never experienced it myself, so I don’t know.”
Is there truly no way out of this novel?
“Have you ever heard of anyone coming from another world?”
“That’s a strange thing to say.”
“Well, you didn’t have to kill the mood like that.”
Ignoring my grumbles, the prince continued walking toward his room.
‘Is changing the original story my only option?’
It’s depressing enough to not have a body, and now I don’t even know how to return… I can’t help but sigh.
Should I just think of this as a few years of new experiences and try to stay positive?
“Hurry up.”
The prince, who had walked ahead, returned and reached out his hand to me. Of course, his hand didn’t touch me, only sliced through the air.
“Did you forget I’m a ghost?”
Looking surprised, the prince quickly wrapped his arms tightly around himself as if trying to hold me close.
Anyone would think I was about to snatch his hand or something.
“I’ll follow you, so just go to your room already.”
As we were walking through the corridor, footsteps echoed behind us.
A child with bright blonde hair, like sunlight melted into strands, appeared.
“Elnur hyung?”
“Little brother!”
A boy with the same green eyes as the prince ran toward him with a bright smile. He dashed across the corridor with the energy of a puppy reuniting with its owner.
“What brings you here? Did you come to see me?”
Hyung? The original novel never mentioned he had an older brother.
‘Wait a minute…’
He didn’t kill his brother and take his place or anything like that, right?
A melodramatic drama started forming in my mind.
“To meet you on such a lovely day! I’m so happy! We haven’t seen each other in a while.”
As Elnur hugged the prince tightly, the prince’s face lit up with joy.
Back in his room, he did say something about serving his hyung. So maybe there’s no ill intent.
“Your Highness, is that really your older brother? Just nod or shake your head.”
The prince, with his face squished behind his brother’s shoulder, gave a small nod.
“Did you hear that just now?”
“Hear what?”
“I thought I heard something. No? Maybe I was just too happy and imagined it.”
The child tilted his head, then burst into laughter and hugged the prince even tighter.
“Let go of me!”
“There you go again with that formal tone! I told you, you can relax when it’s just us!”
“How could I! I cannot commit such an act of disrespect. And please, please let go of me!”
The prince finally pushed Elnur away and clutched his neck. It must’ve hurt—he had hugged him really tightly.
I braced myself, expecting the prince to lash out again.
“The soon-to-be crown prince should not run in the corridors! What if someone sees you!”
“What’s wrong with the future ruler of the empire running a little? No one’s going to say anything to me.”
Seeing him more worried about his brother’s reputation than his own pain, I tossed the melodramatic drama idea out the window.
‘No way the original story left out someone the protagonist likes this much.’
My romance fantasy experience screamed a red flag.
‘This is dangerous.’
Maybe the reason the prince grew up to be so twisted was somehow related to this older brother.
I suspected that this “hyung” character must’ve died in the original timeline.
If he hadn’t died, no way would a royal not show up to national events or the founding anniversary.
First theory:
The crown prince is a sickly character and eventually steps down due to an incurable illness.
Second theory:
The prince gets greedy and harms the crown prince. But his eyes were dripping with affection—so unlikely.
Third theory:
A third party eliminates the crown prince to seize power.
Of those, the first and third seemed the most plausible.
‘Probably the third.’
While the first was possible, it felt too simple. It was likely a more complicated incident.
“Well, I’ll get going now.”
“I told you, you can be relaxed when it’s just us.”
“One must always behave properly. Even when no one is watching, it’s inappropriate to be held like that!”
The same prince who had just been yelling at the priest was now talking about proper conduct, breaking the serious mood.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
He gently pushed away Elnur’s arms and sprinted down the corridor.
He’s the one who said no running in the hallways! What a contradiction.
“Hyung is like the sun, as always.”
“Is that so?”
“Right? He’s such a great guy.”
The prince continued praising Elnur all the way back to his room.
As I followed, matching the glowing prince’s mood…
‘Ew! What the heck is that.’
I spotted a pair of cockroaches—no, a couple—clinging to each other as if fused into one in a shadowy corner of the prince’s palace.
They clung to each other like it was their honeymoon suite.
“What are you staring at…”
“Hey, hey, look at that!”
Thinking it was inappropriate for a minor to see, I stepped in front of him and tried to divert his gaze.
At the tip of my finger was a ridiculously grand cat-shaped statue.
“…Move aside.”
Damn it!
‘If you’re going to hide, do it properly!’
The couple, unable to hide their affection, had crept too far out of the shadows.
If it were the male lead from the original story, he’d have drawn his sword and asked what they were doing in his palace.
“If you didn’t want to talk, you could’ve just said so—ugh.”
“Your Highness, look at me!”
I called out to the prince just before he turned in their direction, successfully blocking his line of sight.
Now what do I say?
“Uh, um… Give me some attention too.”
“…What?”
“P-Please pay attention to me.”
The prince froze like a computer buffering—no data in or out.
“Gasp, isn’t that the prince?”
“Let’s move somewhere else.”
Move somewhere else, my foot.
The couple, finally realizing someone was there, quickly fled.
Mission complete.
“…So you had a reason for staying by my side.”
“What?”
The prince furrowed his brow, deep in thought.
“Seems you’ve misunderstood something…”
“The reason you’re so kind to me…”
He muttered, his face cycling through white, blue, and finally red.
“Hmph, this is… very troublesome.”
His shaking head and twitching mouth were completely out of sync.
What’s wrong with him?
“Let’s head back.”
Once back in the room, the prince paced like a dog needing to pee.
Annoying.
‘Kind soul that I am, I’ll play along.’
What topic would the prince like… Mockery? Insults? Fainting? Nah, not those.
“More than that, your brother is really cool.”
I finally recalled the one thing Mortius liked despite his usual denial.
“His eyes are pretty, and his way of speaking is cute! If I could, I’d kidnap him—wait, that’s a crime. Sorry.”
“Wait.”
“I said sorry. I wasn’t serious.”
“…You weren’t serious?”
“I-I mean, it’s not that your brother isn’t cool or anything…”
“…Isn’t?”
Repeating the last word to show active listening—the high-level conversation tactic.
Said to build closeness quickly, yet I felt like I was nearing the execution block.
“K-Keep calm…”
“Keep…?”
Please have mercy.
“…You said you liked me.”
“When did I say that…?”
“Indirectly, perhaps.”
Time, minute, second—WHEN?
Trying to hide my dying insides, I replied as sweetly as I could.
“There’s no way I’d say that to you.”
“…You forgot even what you just said. Utterly foolish.”
The kindness in my throat evaporated at his insult.
‘Is he jealous?’
Does he hate when his toy is played with by someone else?
Ugh, I’m wasting time thinking about this nonsense.
“Anyway, I don’t want to be purified.”
Who knows what will happen to me if I get purified.
“I don’t think I’m really dead. My body might still be out there somewhere.”
Let’s go full shameless.
The louder voice wins, after all.
“So help me find a way back into my body!”
His narrowed green eyes focused on me.
“Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
“H-Huh? I just remembered?”
The prince stroked his chin slowly.
“I promised to help you, and I do want to… but I don’t know how.”
His glittering eyes, so often mischievous, finally looked their age.
“Looks like you’ll have to stay with me for a while, Titi.”
After that, the prince kept asking where I came from, but was never satisfied with my answers.
Instead, he dismissed my story as nonsense and treated me like a fool.
“…My memory’s fuzzy.”
Mental weakness. The only excuse I had.
“I see. Got it.”
“What? No more questions?”
“You don’t seem to be lying.”
“Wow, you’ve got good intuition.”
Maybe I’d missed talking—because I kept chattering nonstop beside him.
The prince, annoyed, waved his hand trying to shoo me away.
As time passed and dusk fell—
“Quiet.”
The prince stopped talking, saying he sensed someone.
“I-It’s Seria.”
His maid entered the room.
They didn’t exchange a single word—communicating only with their eyes.
“…I see.”
The prince, looking troubled, rubbed his face and got up.
“Where are you going?”
I naturally followed him, but he stopped me with a look.
Pretending not to notice, I trailed after him, but he frowned deeply, clearly expressing his disapproval.
“You’re going to leave me alone?”
Stay in the room.
The prince even tried to speak with his eyes.
I blinked silently, which he took as agreement and left.
Click. The door locked.
“He forgets I’m a ghost way too often.”
I thought about sneaking after him, but my conscience protested, so I stayed.
Still, waiting endlessly sounded boring—so I decided to take a walk outside.
‘Maybe someone else who can see me will appear.’
I passed through the wall and stepped into the night.
