Chapter 4
While we were playing around, the sun started to set.
When it was time to say goodbye, I picked up the chain and returned Grey into it. He disappeared into the chain with a blue light. Carmen just stared at the scene with a blank look.
I looked up to say goodbye—but Carmen was already looking at me with a slightly flushed face.
His white cheeks had turned pink. Even after running around all day, he still looked neat, though his hair was a little messy. The sunset light made his blonde hair glow red like fire. He looked like a little sun god.
The sun god Carmen said to me,
“Chelsea, you’re so cool.”
“…”
I couldn’t say anything in response.
Even on the way home in the carriage, his words “Chelsea, you’re cool” kept echoing in my ears.
It felt like my stomach was ticklish—like a hundred feather pillows burst inside me.
I was so happy I spent the night giggling to myself.
I should work harder at summoning magic.
Next time, I’ll summon something even cooler.
When will I see Carmen again?
I waited for that day with excitement.
Back then, we only met once or twice a month.
So maybe every 15 days on average.
But just the thought of seeing Carmen made the other 14 days fun, too.
Before I entered the academy, that’s all I remember—
The time I spent with Carmen or the times I spent preparing to see him.
Once, when I was over nine years old, I started meeting Carmen without my mother.
When I was ten, we promised to spend the Foundation Day together.
In the capital, the Foundation Day festival lasts almost a whole month.
There are royal knights marching in uniforms, fancy parades, night market foods, mini events, and fireworks.
The capital, Floraon, is lively and loud during that time.
Carmen was a prince, so he was busy showing up in many places, but he promised to set aside one day for me.
We planned to watch the parade and walk around the night market. I was excited the whole month.
Finally, the day to meet Carmen arrived.
I was so excited the night before, I couldn’t even sleep.
But that was normal.
Even with sleepy eyes, I got up quickly and took a shower. Then I looked out the window…
It was raining.
“You can’t.”
Carmen’s knight replied in a firm voice.
I looked up at him with teary eyes.
“Can’t I just see him for a little bit? I was really looking forward to it.”
“We can’t let His Highness get wet. The rain makes it harder to see, which is dangerous.”
“But it’s only light rain! And it’s almost stopped!”
“Still, no. There have been some… troubling events recently.”
“Troubling events?”
I asked, annoyed.
It seemed like we wouldn’t be able to watch the parade.
And not only that—Carmen probably couldn’t even leave the palace.
The palace garden again? I was so sick of it.
Why were they acting like Carmen wasn’t a kid who should be out playing?
The knight seemed flustered by my anger and quickly changed the subject.
“You’re free to walk around here as much as you want.”
Was that supposed to make me feel better?
I was stunned.
Walk around… in this tiny indoor garden?
“Thank you, Riman.”
Just then, Carmen stepped in between us.
He even spoke politely to his knight.
Even minor nobles didn’t usually do that.
The knight bowed and stepped away.
Carmen held my hand and began walking through the garden.
Normally, I would be happily chatting, but this time I stayed quiet and just followed him.
Carmen noticed and awkwardly tried to talk to me.
“There are lots of pink magnolias blooming this spring.”
“…”
“Have you ever tried pink magnolia tea? My mom likes it. I’ll show you someday.”
“Okay.”
“…”
He kept talking about random things he usually wouldn’t mention—Flowers, the weather, stories about his younger sibling.
It felt like he was ready to name every flower in the garden just to keep talking.
Even after we ate dinner, he kept trying.
But I just sipped the tea and stayed cold.
By the time we were walking again after dessert, he had probably run out of flower names.
Finally, he gave up, sighed, and turned to me.
“Alright, Chelsea.”
He put his hand on my shoulder and stopped me.
But his eyes were looking somewhere else.
I followed his gaze and saw his knight and my nanny chatting in the distance.
Why is he looking at them?
I blinked in confusion, and Carmen leaned in and whispered.
“You said you wanted to see the Dragon’s Tower, right? I’ll take you there.”
The Dragon’s Tower?
That’s where the old ‘King’ used to live.
It’s also called the king’s chamber—because the king only slept there for his whole life.
In the empire, they called the dragon the ‘King’ because he helped found the country.
The year the Hebram Empire was founded was the same year the Magic Tower appeared.
The founding legend says the first emperor, the first magic tower lord, and the dragon were best friends.
They wanted to share magic with the world.
So the three of them built the Magic Tower, set up barriers along the borders, and spread magical power throughout the empire.
That’s how Hebram became the strongest magical country.
People in our parents’ generation thought the story was just a myth.
Until about ten years ago, when a dragon’s body was found in the Dragon’s Tower— and the empire truly lost its magic.
The chamber where the dragon lived… what kind of place could it be?
I’d never seen it, but people said it was mysterious and beautiful.
It’s the tallest building in the empire.
Many famous artists have painted it.
There’s a saying: if you make the Dragon’s Tower your first painting, you’ll succeed.
Even my grandfather once held an entire art exhibit with only paintings of the tower.
Once, Carol bragged that she went to the tower with Carmen.
I begged him to take me too, but he said no.
He said only royals could go inside.
No matter how much I begged, he refused.
But now… he was saying he would take me?
I was about to shout with joy, but Carmen raised a finger to his lips.
“Shh.”
So instead, I copied him.
“Shhh.”
We waited until no one was looking and snuck out of the garden.
I held Carmen’s hand and ran with him until the Dragon’s Tower came into view.
It was a tall, black spire that pierced the sky.
I had always seen it from far away—but this was my first time so close.
I looked at the tower in awe.
To be honest, it looked a little different than in the books or pictures.
The books said it was blue.
While I was staring, Carmen stood at the open iron gate and looked around.
“What’s wrong? Let’s go in.”
“Well, the door is usually locked at this hour…”
Maybe the guard stepped away?
Carmen mumbled as he walked inside.
I followed him, but was surprised to see another black stone door blocking our path.
It looked like solid granite—impossible to open.
But Carmen walked right up to it.
He touched the wall and pressed something.
One brick sank into the wall—and the door started to shake.
I gasped.
“A secret door…!”
“Yeah.”
The heavy door made a loud grinding sound as it opened.
It felt like something out of a storybook.
“W-Wait. Are you sure it’s okay to show me this?”
I started to worry.
This place was for royals only.
Would I be punished for learning a secret royal path?
Would they silence me to keep it hidden?
My mind raced with fear.
“It’s okay. There’s nothing special ins—”
“Oh, right. I’m going to be royalty anyway.”
I answered myself before Carmen could finish.
“I’ll be a princess someday. Right?”
I smiled and asked.
But my cheeks were a little stiff from nervousness.
Carmen looked at me and smiled softly.
“Yeah.”
He said it casually.
I stared at him in surprise.
Somehow, the dark tower suddenly felt a little brighter.
“Let’s go.”
Carmen grabbed my hand and led me inside.
Even though the tower seemed boring at first, the secret door had made me excited.
As we climbed the long stairs, I didn’t feel bored at all.
Inside, it was chilly and dark.
Thin webs like threads covered the walls like vines.
But I wasn’t scared—Carmen held my hand and kept talking.
There were even some fun magical devices.
As we walked up the stairs, torches on the wall lit up one by one.
I’d never seen magic like that before.
Carmen explained it was a type of fire magic.
After about 20 minutes, we reached a small resting spot.
There were just a few old chairs and a round table.
My legs were sore, so I sat down beside Carmen.
We rested quietly for a while.
Then Carmen suddenly stood up.
“Let’s go back.”
“What?”
I said, surprised.
But Carmen seemed surprised by my reaction.
“We saw everything, didn’t we? It’s all like this inside.
There’s a bedroom at the top, but… it’s far. Your legs will hurt.”
“Oh…”
I was a little disappointed.
But since he said so, I nodded.
This was a place only royals could enter, after all.
When we got back to the first floor and opened the stone door, we were shocked.
The iron gate we came through was now shut.
Outside, the parade was going on. But we were stuck—locked inside the Dragon’s Tower on Foundation Day.
