~Chapter 4~
Mischievous older brothers remained the same, even after growing up.
Skipping stones at a person stranded in the middle of the lake.
Fifteen years ago, when Antonio was seven, he went through the exact same thing. Back then, he had truly almost died. But going through it again as an adult was just absurd.
“No one’s dying today.”
Antonio scoffed. None of those three were even a threat anymore.
Throwing stones at someone peacefully cooling off in the lake? They were definitely aging without maturing.
Lying lazily on a velvet sofa, Antonio thought about the girl he saw at the lake.
‘She said she’s from the Kingdom of Iote… Must be a princess of Ruby Palace, where all the hostages are gathered. She must’ve mistaken me for a newly arrived hostage prince.’
In the princess’s large eyes was a vague kind of sympathy. As if saying, “Your fate is cruel too.”
He had never in his life been looked at like that, so it all felt unfamiliar.
“She’s probably in no better situation herself. Maybe she’s just ridiculously nosy.”
Antonio stretched his long arm toward the marble side table. His hand caught a small note.
That princess had come running back to grab something she’d forgotten. She’d taken the item and disappeared so quickly that he couldn’t even get a good look at what it was…
But it had been thick and rectangular—probably a book. Where the item had been, this neatly folded note had been left.
Antonio unfolded the note.
“Please come to the Evening Primrose Garden at 9 tonight. I will be waiting for you.”
The handwriting was polite and neat.
Antonio’s thick eyebrows lifted briefly.
He pulled the bell cord beside him. The attendant assigned to him today, Evan, quickly entered.
“Where exactly is the Evening Primrose Garden? It’s been so long since I’ve been in the palace, I can’t remember.”
“Huh? Why do you ask about that place…”
For some reason, Evan looked flustered.
Antonio stood and handed him the note.
“A girl left this.”
The wall clock pointed to 8:30. Evan read the note and his face instantly paled.
“Y-Your Highness… If I may be so bold… I believe this is… a request for a secret rendezvous.”
“A secret rendezvous? And what makes you so sure of that?”
Antonio asked in a low voice.
Evan pulled a handkerchief from his inner pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The new master had something about him—an air that overwhelmed just with a look.
“Well, you see… It’s about the location… That garden is usually where, uh… lovers in the palace… they meet at night for… secret… affairs… it’s an unspoken tradition…”
Evan mumbled nervously, unsure if it was appropriate to say something so explicit in front of someone he’d just met today.
“So, it’s essentially agreed upon as a place for lovers to sneak off together?”
Antonio grasped the implication immediately, and Evan nodded, scratching the back of his head.
But Antonio shook his head. He wasn’t convinced by Evan’s interpretation just yet.
“I doubt it. I’ve never seen her before.”
“Well, Your Highness is so strikingly handsome… Perhaps she fell for you at first sight? She could’ve been watching your arrival this morning, waiting for the right moment to approach.”
Evan rattled off his theory, eyes darting around. He had witnessed female palace attendants swooning like cult followers when Antonio arrived at the main gate on horseback.
Hmm…
Antonio studied the second hand of the wall clock as he replayed the events from six hours ago in his mind.
She was a bold woman.
He hadn’t expected her to be bold in that way, though.
‘…She did scan my body with a rather intense gaze.’
When she checked to see if he was injured, she had carefully inspected his face and various parts of his body. Her eyes had lingered on his broad, muscular shoulders and chest longer than anywhere else.
“Will you go, Your Highness?”
“We’ll see.”
Antonio glanced out the window indifferently. A crescent moon faintly lit the windowsill.
He had no intention of indulging in some reckless flirtation with a woman he’d just met.
Especially if rescuing him by the lake had been some sort of trap.
Still, making a woman wait out late at night was a bit rude.
‘It’s better to reject her face-to-face so she won’t get clingy.’
There were also some things he wanted to ask the princess.
‘That “initiation” Carlos and his gang talk about… I want to know more. Something about beating up the new hostage princes.’
More than anything else…
That woman seemed… to control birds.
While the crown prince and his brothers were busy skipping stones, Antonio had been enjoying the lake peacefully.
Then she appeared—darting behind a tree near the lake, clearly observing everything. She had moved like a rabbit, sneaky and fast.
At some point, birds had gathered around her—and suddenly launched a synchronized attack on the princes. It was too precise to be a coincidence.
‘If she can truly communicate with birds… maybe I’ll understand why my father summoned me so suddenly.’
The emperor had reportedly received a divine oracle from the temple just before calling back his youngest son.
The national religion of Tristum revered the owl as a symbol of wisdom. Temples traditionally kept—or rather, worshipped—an owl or two.
Oracles were traditionally delivered in the presence of owls, believed to be divine messengers.
Maybe he should try letting that princess face off with an owl. Smuggling one out of the temple would take time, but it might be worth it.
Antonio didn’t ponder for long.
Antonio took an oil lamp and headed toward the Evening Primrose Garden. He firmly sent Evan away, despite the servant’s insistence on escorting him.
It was a quiet summer night filled with the soft chorus of crickets. As he strolled along the dewy grass and breathed in the scent of fresh greens, the princess’s image became clearer in his mind.
The way she had dashed out from behind the trees and dove into the lake… like a kingfisher.
Her eyes, during that brief moment of contact…
A faint jade green—like delicately glazed porcelain from the East.
Now that he remembered her eye color, the rest of her image came into focus.
Her cheeks, dewy with water, looked like freshly washed peaches. Her hair was a pale brown, like a ripe wheat field. Drops of lake water clung to her chin and dripped onto her chest.
Her thin blouse had been drenched, clinging to her skin. The curves subtly revealed beneath it had looked as creamy as whipped cream…
Damn it. What was he even thinking?
Antonio ran a hand through his bangs, shaking off the lewd thoughts.
“This must be it.”
He immediately understood why the Evening Primrose Garden was used for secret rendezvous. It was a maze-like area surrounded by dense vines. Scattered among them were yellow, bell-shaped evening primroses shyly blooming.
It wasn’t far from the palace ballroom either—and had many blind spots. Perfect for sneaky lovers.
‘Is she really waiting inside?’
Bathed in moonlight, the stone path shimmered pale white as Antonio entered the garden. The path inside spiraled inward, like walking into a snail’s shell.
“Ahem. Hmm.”
Suddenly, someone coughed.
Antonio froze and focused. Someone was on the other side of the vine wall leading to the inner courtyard. But the cough was rough and hoarse—completely different from the princess’s voice. Something felt off.
Should he go in?
He pulled a pocket watch from his coat. 8:45. Still 15 minutes before the promised time.
“Phew. I need to practice. Practice. Ahem… L-Lady Josephine…”
Definitely a man’s voice.
Probably the same person who had just coughed.
And the name he had just said… wasn’t that the princess’s name?
…Was she already here?
Wait—did she invite another man too?
Antonio silenced his footsteps and approached the inner part of the garden. Then, he quietly peeked through the vines.
