YWPWYLFDM 44

Chapter 44

At first, she hadn’t been so sure. When she was asked to keep an eye on Byron, Cloud, and their group—just in case the daughter they had lost long ago might be among them—she thought it unlikely.

And she was asked, with the utmost insistence, to keep it secret, since the child could be in danger.

“…But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the informant His Highness the Crown Prince met would turn out to be Aila.”

Riding her proud steed as she escorted the Crown Prince’s carriage, Alexia clicked her tongue softly as she glanced at Winfred, who was dangling from the carriage window, curiously watching the scenery outside.

If only Winfred had told her the identity of his informant sooner, she could have acted much more quickly.

She could have brought word to Ophelia and Roderick—who had been waiting for news of their daughter for ten long years—far earlier.

“…Wh-why are you looking at me like that, Sir Dexen?”

Catching Alexia’s sharp gaze, Winfred asked nervously.

“It’s nothing, Your Highness. But it’s dangerous—please don’t lean out of the window.”

Alexia’s voice softened as if she had never glared at him at all. Winfred, crestfallen, quietly agreed and sat back down inside the carriage.

In the end, it wasn’t as if Winfred had hidden the truth with malicious intent. He only wanted to protect Aila’s secret.

The Crown Prince’s carriage rolled slowly through the city streets and soon arrived at the Duke of Weissenhafen’s mansion. They had only visited recently, and yet here they were again just a few weeks later.

Alexia had come along as an escort, though she also had business to discuss with Roderick. But Winfred seemed to be in such a hurry that the moment he stepped down from the carriage, he dashed straight into the mansion.

“…Ah! That’s right!”

But in his rush, he seemed to remember he’d left something behind. He sprinted back to the carriage, rummaged quickly inside, and retrieved an object, clutching it to his chest as he hurried back inside.

“I’ll carry it for you, Your Highness.”

“No, I’ll carry it myself.”

Even when his attendant offered to help, Winfred stubbornly hugged it to his chest as if it were something extremely precious.

Alexia wondered what he was guarding so desperately but, seeing how tightly his lips were sealed, she decided not to pry.

A short while later—

“Wow! Your belly has really grown!”

Winfred exclaimed in amazement, staring at Ophelia’s round stomach beneath her comfortable maternity dress.

Since he had neither siblings nor cousins, this was all a brand-new experience for him.

Of course, he had been alive when Aila and Bradley were born, but he was too young then to remember.

Now that he was older, he had never been close to anyone who had gone through pregnancy and childbirth. So this was the first time.

A child was inside there.

He had read books and knew how humans were born, but to actually see it with his own eyes—it left him wide-eyed with wonder.

Inside Ophelia’s belly was Aila’s little sibling.

Would it be a girl resembling Aila? Or a boy?

As Winfred stared at the round belly with a thrilled expression, a woman’s unfamiliar voice spoke up behind him.

“So this is the Crown Prince of the Empire?”

He turned and saw a tall woman dressed casually in a loose white shirt and cotton trousers.

At first, he didn’t recognize her. But then he remembered: a guest from Tamora was staying at the ducal household.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I’m Candice Eposher from the Republic of Tamora.”

“Greetings. I’ve heard you are the Chair of Tamora’s Council of Mages. I am Winfred Ulysses Vito Pelles.”

He had only come lightheartedly to visit Ophelia and Roderick, yet suddenly he found himself in what felt like a summit meeting between the Crown Prince of the Pelles Empire and the head of state of the neighboring Republic of Tamora. Winfred stiffly accepted Candice’s offered handshake.

Of course, since Emperor Hyram was still alive and well, Winfred wasn’t officially representing the Empire. Still, the meeting of a great empire’s Crown Prince and another nation’s leader was heavy with significance.

Yet his tension dissolved within a single minute. There was something strikingly familiar about Candice.

Not just familiar—she resembled someone he saw every day.

His father, Emperor Hyram.

“…No, this is worse than Father.”

With her arm slung around Ophelia’s shoulders, laughing without a shred of formality, she carried not even a gram of a ruler’s gravity.

Not that Winfred disliked it—it was simply unexpected.

Seeing her tease and joke so naturally with Ophelia, Winfred found himself smiling too.

“So, what brings you here today?” Ophelia asked warmly.

It wasn’t as though she needed a reason to visit. But since it hadn’t been long since their last meeting, she assumed there must be something important.

“…Ah. Well…”

Winfred looked around awkwardly, as though there was something he needed to say but not in front of everyone.

Sensing this, Ophelia quickly dismissed the attendants. Soon only the Duke and Duchess, Winfred, Alexia, and Candice remained in the parlor.

Still, Winfred kept his mouth shut. Perhaps the presence of Alexia and Candice troubled him.

Then Roderick spoke in a steady voice:

“If it concerns Aila, you may speak freely. Everyone here already knows of her.”

Winfred’s eyes widened. He hadn’t realized. His surprise quickly gave way to worry.

Aila had asked him to keep her secret. Was it really all right for so many people to know?

“Don’t worry,” Ophelia reassured him gently. “Both of them can be trusted.”

Candice was Ophelia’s dearest friend, and Alexia was Roderick’s most reliable comrade.

“…I see. In truth, I came because I have something I want to give you.”

Winfred pulled out a framed picture wrapped in paper—the very object he had guarded so closely in the carriage.

“What is this?” Roderick asked curiously. They had already received congratulatory gifts for the pregnancy, so this unexpected present puzzled him.

Winfred didn’t answer—he only flushed red.

“…You’ll see when you open it.”

Unable to understand his embarrassment, Roderick and Ophelia carefully unwrapped the paper together.

And then—

“…This is…”

Their eyes widened as if entranced, fixed on the picture inside the frame.

“Our Aila…?”

Roderick’s usually steady voice sounded thick, as though soaked in water. Winfred fidgeted, glancing around, then nodded.

Under the dark night sky, hair shining white like moonlight, eyes like the deep sea—cold at first glance, yet harboring warmth within.

It was Aila, painted in a flowing lace nightdress.

“…So that’s what he’s been painting in secret these days.”

As the couple gazed at the portrait with tear-filled eyes, Alexia rubbed her chin, finally understanding what had been puzzling her.

Even while burdened with Crown Prince duties and lessons, Winfred had stayed up late at night, secretly sketching. And now, he had presented such a delicate, heartfelt gift.

Their eyes on him were full of warmth and pride.

“You haven’t seen how Aila has grown,” Winfred explained shyly. “I thought you might only remember her as a two-year-old… So until she returns one day, maybe this picture can comfort you.”

He had worked on it little by little, in secret over several weeks.

Because of that warm thoughtfulness, the parlor felt like spring had come, despite the winter outside. Tears brimmed in Roderick and Ophelia’s eyes, ready to fall.

“Wow! Your Highness, you’re really good at drawing! Not quite at my level yet, of course!”

But Candice’s playful remark shattered the tender mood in an instant.

She had only meant to lighten things before Roderick and Ophelia broke down in tears, but Winfred, unaware, pouted.

He took pride in his skill, so to hear he was still far behind stung him.

“Do you draw as well, Chairwoman Eposher? Let’s see how good you are.”

“Here, look at this. Impressive, isn’t it?”

“…Is this supposed to be a drawing? Looks like a child’s doodle to me.”

“Perhaps Your Highness is just too young to appreciate true art?”

Their banter was like a comedy routine, and Roderick and Ophelia couldn’t help but burst out laughing through their tears.

Despite their age difference, Candice and Winfred bonded instantly. Before long, they were seated across from each other with easels, promising to sketch one another.

Watching the two peek and laugh over each other’s easels, Ophelia and Roderick felt their hearts lighten.

It had been so long since they felt this kind of peace.

They were happy to know Aila was alive, but not knowing where she was weighed heavily on their hearts. For the moment, though, that burden eased.

They were enjoying this warm, joyful time—when suddenly—

“Your Grace, there is something urgent I must tell you.”

Alexia tapped Roderick’s shoulder and leaned in to whisper discreetly in his ear.