TMDO 21

Chapter 21

Chris Side Story

Chris wanted to see another empire, so he stubbornly followed behind Lia.

Lia had come to the Dern Empire to meet her fiancé, but now she had picked up an annoying piece of baggage. She pressed a hand to her throbbing head.

“Chris, please don’t joke around. This is another empire. You can’t act the same way you did in our empire.”

“What did I do?”

Chris, who had just turned eight, asked with innocent eyes. Lia smiled softly and firmly grabbed his shoulders.

“Don’t show off. Unless you want to be abandoned in a foreign empire.”

“Ahaha, that’s scary.”

Chris slowly stepped back. If he wanted to play freely, the first thing he had to do was get away from Lia.

After arriving here, Chris had spent most of his time alone. He had suddenly joined the trip, so his schedule hadn’t been planned at all. Lia was busy going around greeting nobles of the Dern Empire without even a moment to rest, while Chris wandered around carefree, chasing rabbits in the imperial garden.

One day, as usual, he was hugging a rabbit tightly when he noticed someone unfamiliar in the palace garden.

A girl about his age was sitting on a swing tied to a tree, reading a book.

Her hair was cut neatly to her jaw, jet-black in color. Her red eyes held a cold light. She looked far too mature and noble to be a child.

She was so beautiful that Chris approached her as if enchanted, forgetting even the rabbit in his arms.

In the end, the rabbit jumped out of his embrace and ran into the bushes. The sound of it rustling through the leaves was loud.

“…?”

The girl frowned and lifted her head. Her expression was irritated, but Chris kept walking toward her.

Yet when he stood face to face with her, he couldn’t say a single word. He grew shy for no reason, hesitating awkwardly.

“Hasn’t the palace staff even learned basic manners?”

An annoyed voice came from the girl. Her red eyes felt colder than her words. Chris couldn’t speak at all. His cheeks reddened as he tightly grabbed the hem of his clothes.

Chris was wearing simple clothes like a commoner’s because he found fancy outfits bothersome, and they were now covered in dirt from chasing rabbits.

Only the Crown Princess of the Sharonde Empire had been officially announced as visiting. Even if he said he was a prince, no one would believe him.

“….”

When no reply came, the girl sighed and closed her book.

“I finally get some rest, and something strange shows up to ruin it.”

Her arrogant tone didn’t match her young age at all. Afraid she might leave, Chris hurriedly opened his mouth.

“You look like… a noble, r-right?”

The polite speech he forced out sounded awkward. The girl’s expression hardened even more.

“You don’t know who I am?”

“Um… I came from the empire next door.”

“…Are you a servant who came with the Crown Princess of the Sharonde Empire?”

Chris nodded. Only then did the girl’s expression relax. She had seemed annoyed that he didn’t recognize her, but hearing he was from another empire must have made it acceptable.

‘My face probably isn’t known to commoners from the Sharonde Empire yet.’

“Fine. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll tell you specially. My father is the most famous and outstanding man in the Dern Empire, second only to the imperial family. I’m his only daughter and heir.”

She spoke proudly. Her attitude was arrogant, but Chris was happy just that she was talking to him.

Receiving Chris’s admiring gaze, the girl smiled in satisfaction.

“When the empires unite, you’ll hear my name so often you’ll get sick of it. You should remember it now.”

Chris listened closely. A name he would never forget reached him.

“My name is Garnet.”

She was Chris’s first love.

“Garnet Rune Afrancis.”

“Don’t you have anything better to do?”

Garnet spoke with an exhausted expression as she looked at Chris, who had come to find her again as usual. It had already been a week. Chris kept finding Garnet whenever she was resting alone somewhere in the palace.

“How do you always know where I am? Did you use a magic stone or something?”

“A magic stone?”

When Chris tilted his head, Garnet gave a condescending smile.

“Oh right. Magic stones aren’t common in the Sharonde Empire yet. A lowly commoner like you wouldn’t know.”

She rummaged through her pocket and took out a gray stone. It looked no different from the stones Chris had been kicking around the garden yesterday.

He knew magic stones existed, but this was his first time seeing one. The moment he reached out to touch it, Garnet slapped his hand with a sharp sound.

“Who said you could touch it?”

“Oh, was I not allowed to?”

Chris smiled and rubbed his hand. It was red and swollen, but he didn’t seem to feel the pain at all.

“I let a few things slide, and now you’re getting ahead of yourself. Magic stones aren’t something filthy things like you can touch freely.”

Sharp words poured from Garnet’s mouth, but Chris kept smiling brightly.

Garnet frowned even more. For the past week, Chris had never once been intimidated by her harsh words. He only smiled like this every time.

She looked at him for a while, then quietly sighed.

‘Right… he’s not the type to listen no matter what I say.’

After observing him for a week, Garnet finally gave up. Not just Chris—every servant from the Sharonde Empire walked around with bright expressions like him.

Unlike the servants of the Dern Empire, who bowed the moment nobles passed by, the servants from the Sharonde Empire even greeted nobles first.

‘A commoner speaking first to a noble.’

The Sharonde Empire had to be crazy.

Garnet scolded Chris and even hit him to fix his behavior, but nothing changed. At eight years old, she was starting to get tired of it.

‘It’s not like I’ll be seeing him for long. I don’t need to suffer over this.’

Garnet held out the magic stone.

“Take it.”

Chris’s eyes widened. She had just said he couldn’t even touch it, and now she was giving it to him.

Before she could change her mind, Chris quickly accepted the magic stone. Perhaps because Garnet had been holding it, a warm feeling lingered in it.

“A magic stone that suits a fool like you perfectly.”

“What does it do?”

“It contains a spell that dumps a whole load of water on your head. If you start acting stupid, get hit with it and come to your senses.”

Chris nodded vigorously. But no matter how stupid he acted, he had no intention of using it. It was a gift from Garnet, after all.

Hugging the magic stone tightly, Chris swore to keep it forever.

“I’ll give you a gift too! Is there anything you want?”

He spoke as if he could gift her even an imperial throne.

Garnet was dumbfounded. A gift from a commoner? There was nothing she wanted, nor anything she cared to receive.

“Forget it. There’s nothing worth taking from you, except…”

Her gaze drifted, then stopped when she saw silver hair sparkling in the sunlight.

“Give me a strand of your hair.”

Hair? Without hesitation, Chris plucked out a strand and handed it to her.

Garnet stared closely at the hair she received.

“Why hair?”

Chris asked, unable to hold back his curiosity. Garnet tossed the hair to the ground and replied,

“Just because. It’s a color I’ve never seen before.”

“Want another one?”

“I don’t need it. It’s not very pretty.”

Hearing such a blunt evaluation for the first time, Chris drooped. He had expected her to like it.

“Still, it’s kind of pretty, isn’t it? It shines…”

He didn’t give up, but the answer was firm.

“I like pink.”

For the first time in his life, Chris resented his silver hair. Seeing his expression, Garnet burst into laughter.

It was the first time she had seen Chris look so dejected. His obvious disappointment felt fresh, and she laughed without even caring about noble decorum.

Chris stared blankly at her smile.

It was the second image of Garnet he would never forget.

In a dark room lit only by moonlight slipping through the curtains, Chris sat with his head bowed, crying.

He cried for a very long time. He couldn’t help it.

If he had known from the beginning, he would have done anything. Even rebellion wouldn’t have mattered.

Chris cried, blamed himself, and cursed everything. After several days passed, he finally chose to forget.

It was only a short memory. Just a childhood dream. Garnet was already gone, and only he remained.

Chris took out the magic stones he had stored in a cloth pouch. With a loud clatter, countless magic stones spilled onto the floor.

He searched through them. Among them was a magic stone that erased a person’s memories.

It was one of the stones the sages had discarded due to side effects. Chris had secretly stolen it long ago.

He had never imagined he would actually use it. He didn’t know what side effects might follow.

But Chris was half mad now. He didn’t care what the side effects were. If only he could erase his memories of her. He wanted to stop suffering while clinging to a past that could never return.

Soon, his hand grasped something. A warm energy flowed from the magic stone and wrapped around his hand.

“…”

Chris froze.

It was the magic stone Garnet had given him.

A gift from her, from his unforgettable childhood.

‘Why… why this, now of all times?’

Chris stared blankly at the stone in his hand. All magic stones looked similar, so he tried to believe he had mistaken it for another—but he couldn’t deny it. He had seen it every day. There was no way to mistake it.

Pain rose again. Tears threatened to fall, and he bit his lip tightly.

‘If you start acting stupid, get hit with a water spell and come to your senses.’

Her voice from the past spoke to him now.

Chris let out a hollow laugh. Acting stupid? Wasn’t what he was doing right now exactly that?

He closed his eyes. The magic stone, sensing his feelings, began to activate on its own.

Light leaked out through his fingers. Chris kept his eyes closed.

He expected cold water to crash down on him—but what touched his forehead was a flower.

Pink flowers fell onto his silver hair.

Chris opened his eyes. From the empty ceiling, pink petals kept falling endlessly.

“…Ha.”

He laughed. Tears soaked his cheeks, but he kept laughing.

Before he knew it, flowers had piled up all around him. The strong floral scent made his chest ache.