Chapter 16
Still, the Second Prince, Allen, was a little better.
Whenever there was a banquet, Allen had a strange habit.
He would line up champagne glasses like dominoes and build towers.
He stacked small glasses on top of each other, then slammed his forehead on the table and made them fall perfectly into place.
Sometimes, he even drank all of it and threw up rainbow-colored vomit on the hall floor.
Even then, he showed no apology.
Even the maids would click their tongues in disbelief.
People often called him a fool.
Sometimes, the nanny would sigh sadly to Arpessian.
“Prince Allen is not foolish. He just doesn’t know what is right or wrong… It’s sad that people call him that.”
Arpessian asked,
“What was Brother Allen like when he was young?”
“Very smart. Everyone said he would become someone great… Ah, please forget I said that.”
Whenever she talked about Allen, she looked around nervously, even though no one else was there.
Arpessian didn’t understand why.
He didn’t feel uncomfortable living alone with the nanny in the palace.
There was a small garden, and life was not too bad.
His daily life was simple—eat, sleep, and look out the window.
From the window, he always saw knights carrying swords.
They looked very cool.
At first, it was just a sudden thought.
“I want to try holding a sword too.”
He was six years old.
The nanny turned pale after hearing that.
She thought about it for several days.
In the end, she gathered courage and asked Emperor Pero directly.
“Your Majesty, it seems the Third Prince is interested in learning basic skills.”
But the answer was cold.
“He is not the Crown Prince, yet you ask for education? That is too greedy.”
That was all.
His eyes were full of contempt.
Even though Emperor Pero himself was born from a maid and never received proper education, he treated Arpessian the same way—
no, even worse.
A few days later, the nanny was called by the Empress.
When she came back the next day, her eyes were red.
Her face looked pale, as if she had been tortured all night.
She held Arpessian and cried in a broken voice.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness… I couldn’t even give you the chance to learn the sword…”
“It’s okay. I didn’t want to learn that much.”
That was the first lie Arpessian ever told.
The nanny answered firmly,
“No. It should be the opposite.”
She held his head tightly and said with a swollen face,
“You must be able to protect yourself in this palace. To do that, you must learn.”
“Father won’t allow it.”
“I will find a way. You must survive.”
The nanny secretly looked for someone who could teach him swordsmanship.
When she realized that was impossible, she brought him books instead.
It didn’t matter if he didn’t learn from a person.
Young Arpessian was simply excited to learn something.
He read the books over and over again—
until Emperor Pero found out.
“How dare you break the rules! You lowly woman!”
“Your Majesty! Arpessian is also a prince! He carries your blood!”
“I only need Arzen. The rest are useless!”
Arpessian knelt beside the nanny.
The Emperor’s loud voice filled the room, and he was terrified.
The nanny held his trembling hand tightly and shouted,
“What has he done wrong for Your Majesty to treat him like this? Do you want him to live like a fool forever?”
“Look at Prince Allen. How wise he is.”
Hearing the Emperor call someone who couldn’t even read “wise,” the nanny fell silent.
The Emperor did not change his mind.
“You dared to raise a threat against me. That is no different from treason.”
“Your Majesty!”
“Execution.”
The nanny was dragged away, calling his name in a broken voice.
But Arpessian could do nothing.
The Emperor then looked at him.
“You said you wanted to learn the sword?”
The only person Arpessian truly remembered in his life was the nanny.
No one ever told him about his mother.
Watching his only family being dragged away was a great terror for six-year-old Arpessian.
He fell flat on the ground—
just like the nanny did.
“N-no. I only said it out of curiosity.”
“What did you learn?”
“I learned nothing.”
The Emperor stared at him sharply.
His red hair, like dried roses, meant nothing unless he was the Crown Prince.
The Emperor’s green eyes met Arpessian’s golden eyes.
“You look just like me. It’s unpleasant.”
Arpessian didn’t fully understand what that meant.
Maybe because Allen behaved obediently, the Emperor showed even more hostility toward Arpessian.
The Emperor spoke coldly,
“What did the nanny teach you?”
Arpessian had learned a little, but he shook his head on purpose.
“Can you read?”
“I was never taught.”
Only then did the Emperor smile in satisfaction.
◆◆◆
Arpessian had received many formal invitations to royal events.
But in reality, he could never attend.
They were only formalities.
The “foolish prince” was expected to stay quietly in his palace.
Arpessian lay on his bed and covered his eyes with his arm.
Then, the memory of the coronation became clear again.
“I’ll be waiting…”
He remembered Helicia saying that many times.
The coronation was one of the few special memories where he left the palace.
Even that was not by the Emperor’s choice.
Usually, people were sent in pairs to other countries.
But because Emperor Pero was drunk and unavailable, Arpessian was sent as a substitute.
It was very lucky.
The moment he saw that small child blocking his way—
he thought he had to help her.
“Everyone who protected me has died.”
“That child will probably die too.”
He didn’t want to lose another person who tried to protect him.
But for the first time—
his expectation was wrong.
That moment felt unusually bright and white.
The nanny who once protected him was gone forever.
But that child was different.
That’s why he wanted to see her again.
Arpessian pinched his cheek.
“Ouch.”
So it wasn’t a dream.
He remembered Helicia’s big, clear eyes.
Unlike his sharp appearance, her round eyes looked pure.
“She must be disappointed…”
She had told him so many times to come to the banquet.
But he couldn’t tell her the truth.
“What if she regrets saving me?”
Maybe he would never see her again.
He rarely left this place.
He was just staring at the clock—
when suddenly—
CRASH!
The window shattered loudly.
“Is it an attack?”
The nanny had told him to always be careful.
Even though she was gone, he remembered that.
Arpessian quickly lowered his body and looked for a place to hide.
He grabbed the sword he had hidden under the bed.
Even if he wasn’t skilled, it was better than nothing.
Then—
thud
Someone grabbed onto the window.
“My room is on the third floor…”
Slowly, he raised his head—
And there she was.
Helicia, shining under the moonlight.
Her golden hair fluttered in the wind.
Her robe moved like wings.
It looked as if a god had sent him an angel.
