IWTGHFW CHAPTER 54

Episode 54

The Imperial Crown Prince Rozen checked the communication that had arrived from the Kingdom of Aint and ensured no one could enter his office. After making sure the soundproofing was perfect, he connected the call with a trembling heart.

A beautiful young man with jet-black hair and crimson eyes appeared above the comms device. Rozen’s eyes rounded in delight.
“Missy! Are you alright? Have you been doing well?”
— Yes. I’ve been doing well.
“That’s a relief. If anyone treats you badly, tell me. I’ll march in with troops right away—”
— Brother, do you happen to know someone named Sir Narein?
“Narein? Why him?”

Rozen, who had been glancing around the comms device as if checking the unseen surroundings behind his beloved younger brother, frowned at the mention of a familiar name from his pretty sibling’s lips.
He already didn’t have a good impression of those knights lately—what was it this time?

— His Majesty the King here has something to say to you. Here, Your Majesty.
“What? Missy, are you ending the call alr— Ah, it’s been a while, Your Majesty.”
— No need to keep up formalities. I already know you’re an overindulgent brother from your conversation just now.
“I’m not overindulgent with the King, so don’t worry. What do you want?”

The face of a blue-haired woman appeared on the comms in place of Missy. Rozen almost told her to get her face out of the way and hand back his younger brother, but thankfully, his reason as Crown Prince kept him from speaking it aloud.

— I’d like you to meet Sir Narein.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
— He should be in prison anyway, so sneak him out for a bit. You’re the Crown Prince—surely you can manage that much.
“This is absurd…”
— Have you found any lead on my son?

…Damn.

When she put it like that, Rozen had no comeback. Lead? He hadn’t even found a single strand of the prince’s hair. He knew now by what route he had disappeared, but it wasn’t like he could go around announcing, “The Emperor here bought your son as a slave.”

Biting his lip, Rozen said he would think about it, but the other side insisted they’d take that as a promise, not just a consideration. Having said all she wanted, she told him to contact her again when possible and disappeared.

And in her place, Missy’s face appeared again.
— I think it’s because you resemble her son a lot.
“What? But that guy is a barba— Never mind that. Resemble him?”
— Sir Narein has blue hair and blue eyes as well.

Well, in terms of appearance, that guy did suit the sea-colored Aint more than the barbarian tribes. Even Yen had suspected him of being an Aint spy.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Missy, Rozen ended the call. Staring at the now-disconnected comms device, he called out to Yen outside.
“Make sure the underground prison guards are away from their posts tonight.”

Narein had already guessed something was going to happen that night when the guards left their posts. Sure enough, late into the night, two masked men arrived in the underground prison, their suspicious attire practically reeking of mischief.

They unlocked Narein’s cell and tightly wrapped his face with a black cloth they’d brought.

As his vision was suddenly cut off, Narein shook his head sharply to adjust, but then a faint, distant scent wafted toward him. And just like that, his consciousness faded away.

“Mm…”

Blink. Blink. Narein slowly lifted his eyelids, blinking several times to adjust to the sudden brightness. Once his eyes got used to it, he looked around.

“…The sea?”

He was standing alone in a place surrounded by water on all sides.
No—upon closer look, there was a man leaning against a rock, nodding off. Narein considered waking him immediately, but decided to inspect the surroundings first.

After circling the small rocky island, he realized there was no way to escape. There was a bridge in the back, but the way was blocked, and no nearby islands were close enough to swim to.

This is a warp array.

Returning to where he started, Narein saw the floor covered with a dense, intricate magic circle. In this age, such complexity could only mean a warp array. But this wasn’t the Empire’s warp zone—the Imperial warp zone was beneath the palace, and certainly not surrounded by ocean.

So he’d been sent to another country. But by who? And why?

“Oh? You’re awake?”

The man leaning on the rock rubbed his eyes and stood up. Slender build, the faint smell of ink—definitely an administrative type, not a knight.

Narein eyed him warily, but the man smiled disarmingly.
“I’m a friend of Ail’s. Uh… I was told if I said that, you’d let your guard down, but…”

At the name “Ail,” Narein immediately grabbed a sharp rock nearby and aimed it at the man’s head. The man, suddenly under threat, raised both hands in surrender.

In a chilling voice, Narein asked,
“How do you know Ail?”
“Well, we’re friends… Uh, could you maybe put that down?”

The man—Parcel—gently pushed away the rock that looked ready to smash into his skull and sighed deeply.

He’d been thrilled to make a like-minded friend, only to have that friend tie him up and run off. And now, after the king himself introduced him to a new “friend,” this one woke up and immediately threatened him. Life was hard.

Narein, uninterested in Parcel’s grievances, fell into thought.
Surrounded by sea. A warp zone in the middle of the ocean. A stranger who knew Ail.

The Kingdom of Aint.

There was only one answer. But that didn’t explain the more important question: Why am I here?

Still holding the rock, Narein asked,
“Who brought me to Aint?”
“That would be me, child.”

The voice was too high to be Parcel’s. Narein slowly stepped around him, still in a threatening stance, toward the source of the voice.

Waves of flowing hair. Eyes the color of a frigid winter sea.
A woman who looked exactly like him stood there. Narein’s gaze narrowed.

Ilra’s feelings, as she looked at Narein, were not as calm as her outward expression. Her heart was pounding wildly, but she kept her composure.

From portraits, she’d simply thought he looked like her son, so she’d wanted to see him. She hadn’t thought he truly was her son, nor had she expected it. He was an Imperial knight—surely his identity had been verified long ago.

But now, standing before Narein, she felt an inexplicable certainty.

This is my son.

It wasn’t logic—it was a mother’s intuition. But she didn’t say that to him. Instead, she explained that she was the Queen of Aint and that she had borrowed the Crown Prince’s power for this brief meeting.

She had the certainty, but no way to prove it yet. She wasn’t going to rush. She’d been searching for ten years—she needed undeniable proof before bringing him back.

Clink, clink—the sound of dishes colliding.

I sat across from Ron as he ate. Thanks to his monstrous regeneration, most of his injuries had healed, and he could handle nearly all daily activities again.

A few days ago, just sitting up was all he could manage.

It was impressive. No wonder he could be the Imperial Knight Commander with a body like that.

Sensing my gaze, Ron looked up and met my eyes.
“Why do you keep staring?”
“No reason.”
“What, can’t get enough of how handsome I am?”

…Okay, I’ll admit he’s handsome. But it’s annoying when someone knows it.

I pouted deliberately and stabbed my steak with a fork. Ron chuckled under his breath.
“By the way, I heard Narein might be the prince of Aint?”
“There’s no proof yet. That’s just what Aint is claiming. We’ll have to do a paternity test and investigate.”
“What happens if he really is a prince?”
“What do you mean, ‘what happens’? Things get complicated. We’d have to figure out how he ended up in the north in the first place. Still, I hope he is.”
“Why?”
“Because then Narin can live.”

I said it casually, but it was a big deal. If Narein was indeed Aint’s lost prince, no matter how much he’d tried to kill Ron, he couldn’t be executed.

In fact, forget a trial—he’d just be sent straight to Aint. Continental law stated that a noble committing a crime abroad could be extradited to their home country, and even the Emperor’s faction couldn’t oppose that.

Ron’s expression darkened at my answer. I worried he might be upset that I was hoping for the safety of someone who’d tried to kill him.

But after a moment’s frown, he said,
“You’re right. In that case, it’s better if he is a prince.”
“You’re not upset?”
“Hmm? About what? Oh, because he’d go back to Aint? Well, it’d be a bit of a waste. He’s got talent.”

He’d completely misunderstood my meaning. As Ron muttered, “Yeah, that would be a bit of a waste,” I couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

He was such a simple man. Pure and bright—just looking at him felt cleansing.

When he asked why I was laughing, I waved it off. From the look on his face, he’d already erased—or at least diminished—the fact that Narein had tried to kill him.

I killed his family, so of course he’d try to kill me. That seemed to be his straightforward logic.

Still… it’s better to be careful. From now on, I’d think twice before bringing up Narein around him.