CHAPTER 84………………………….
“……!”
In that instant, my face flushed red.
I was the imperial princess.
Of course, I wasn’t born a princess, nor had I grown up as one.
But from the moment I decided to return to the Imperial Palace for Aslan’s sake, I had to think and act as a princess—and beyond that, as an emperor.
The emperor’s duty is to protect the Empire.
To protect the people.
Yet I had tried to abandon that duty far too easily—
as if this were just a game, pretending to be cool about losing this round.
I was ashamed.
From the moment I realized that Duke Lloyd was mentally unstable, I’d looked down on him without meaning to—
and even hated him for letting Liona die.
But in truth, I was far more pathetic than he was.
Why had I only ever thought about myself?
I no longer tried to stop the duke. Instead—
“……Fine. I’m going too.”
As expected, Lloyd flatly rejected my offer and tried to mount his horse.
“Your Highness need not assist. Please move to a safe location.”
“Duke.”
I grabbed his wrist and stopped him.
Startled by the sudden touch, he flinched and turned to look at me.
I asked,
“Do you really think that bucket’s enough? Take more.”
“W-wait, Your Highness.”
Ignoring his awkward resistance, I led Lloyd to fetch more buckets.
The miners’ shelter near the mine entrance was already scorching hot,
so I decided to carry as many buckets as possible to a spot where the fire hadn’t yet spread.
While tying the buckets to the horse, I apologized.
“I’m sorry—for saying we should just give up so easily. I’m the princess, after all.”
“……As a princess, Your Highness must see the forest rather than the trees.”
“But if we can save both the trees and the forest, no matter how hard it is, that’s the path we should take.”
If I wanted to protect Aslan, I first had to become a beloved princess—
so beloved that no one would ever dare touch Aslan.
So I had to handle this situation perfectly.
Just as I resolved myself—
“……Huh?”
A bright light burst from both sides of my ears.
No, to be exact, it came from my earrings.
The cat’s-eye earrings—
the ones I’d been wearing to prick at the duke’s conscience—
were glowing.
It was a light that couldn’t possibly occur naturally.
Startled, I dropped the bucket and covered my ears with both hands.
“Wh-what is this?!”
“Your Highness, why is it glowing—!”
“I don’t know! You’re the one who gave them to me!”
Why was this happening? Was cat’s-eye supposed to be luminous?
I’d never heard of a gemstone that glowed like this,
and no mere jewel could shine this brightly.
We didn’t even notice the flames closing in around us.
Was this what it would feel like to have the sun hanging from both ears?
I thought I’d go blind.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I yelled—
“Enough already! We have to go put out the fire—!”
My voice echoed through the forest.
And then, to my astonishment, the light faded.
I felt a little silly for shouting at earrings that didn’t have ears,
but at least the light had stopped.
My blurred vision gradually cleared.
‘Now we just have to get out of here…!’
But at that moment, Lloyd’s eyes widened in alarm as he looked past me—then he sprinted toward me.
“Your Highness, look out!”
“Ah!”
He suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me backward.
The force sent Lloyd tumbling down, and I fell on top of him.
I didn’t even have time to ask what he was doing—
Crash!
A massive, burning tree trunk fell right where I’d been standing.
“Are you all right?”
“Th-thanks to you…”
I was alive, but things didn’t look good.
When I looked around, we were surrounded by fire.
‘We’re doomed. Can we even get out alive?’
The horses had already fled.
The problem wasn’t extinguishing the fire anymore—it was whether we’d survive it.
Because of that cursed earring going berserk,
I’d missed my chance to escape.
No matter where I looked, there was no way out.
The thought of dying here made my legs give out; I couldn’t stand.
“Aslan…”
I couldn’t die here—for Aslan’s sake.
If Lloyd and I died, Aslan and Ayla would lose their ordinary lives.
‘Please… let me live, so I can protect their everyday world…!’
I didn’t even know who I was praying to.
And then—
Drip.
“Ah—cold.”
Something fell on my forehead.
I wiped it with my hand. A raindrop.
From the blood-red sky above the flames,
one drop, then another.
It wasn’t my imagination—
small drops kept falling.
“Rain?”
I looked up.
Through the burning leaves, I could clearly see it.
Out of the once-clear sky, black storm clouds were rolling in—
as if every dark cloud in the world had gathered here.
Whoooosh!
Thick sheets of rain poured down like arrows.
* * *
“Lady Ayla, Young Master Aslan—please remain inside the East Castle until their Graces return. If you need anything, tell us.”
Meanwhile, the children, not understanding what was going on, found themselves practically confined inside Ayla’s East Castle.
Every door—to the hall, the sitting room, the bedrooms, even the one to the room they were in now—
was guarded by knights and maids.
There was no way to relax, even if they were told to rest.
Nothing like this had ever happened before.
With intimidating adults blocking the doors, the children trembled anxiously.
“Where’s Mom?”
“And Fath—Father?”
“Their Graces are occupied right now. We’ll inform them as soon as they return.”
“Oh…”
Aslan looked visibly upset, but Ayla accepted it, though reluctantly.
Ayla had long noticed that the more she insisted on her own way,
the more relieved Lloyd seemed to be.
But now wasn’t the time for that.
Thank goodness she’d honed her intuition back at the orphanage, she thought,
as she tried to calm Aslan.
“Come on, Aslan. Let’s wait together.”
“But…”
“That way, Mom—uh, Mother—can relax and come back sooner.”
“…Okay.”
Aslan wanted his mother to return quickly too,
so he gave up his stubborn complaints and sat quietly beside Ayla.
Yet everywhere they went, people’s eyes followed them.
Even if they hid in the bathroom,
if five minutes passed without a sound, the maids would knock on the door.
Everything about this place felt strange.
‘Mom said this was the safest place…’
But it didn’t feel safe at all.
They might’ve endured it if it truly felt safe,
but anyone could tell the air here was heavy with tension.
After someone came to visit, both Lloyd and Minerva had disappeared.
They suddenly ran out—
and not long after, a massive wildfire broke out.
And now, this.
Thick, black smoke was still rising outside the window.
Could they have gone there?
‘Did Mom go to that fire…?’
What if she doesn’t come back?
Aslan curled up in the corner, wrapping himself in the curtain,
staring out the window with trembling shoulders.
Watching him, Ayla tossed aside the book she wasn’t really reading
and rushed over.
“Aslan, are you okay?”
“Mom…”
As soon as he was in Ayla’s arms, Aslan’s voice broke into sobs.
‘He’s never been like this before…’
Was he that scared of what was happening?
Ayla knew what was going on outside, too.
The black smoke rising from the Millennium Tree Forest was visible even from the East Castle.
She also suspected Lloyd had gone there—and she was worried.
But Aslan looked even more frightened,
so she gathered her courage and turned to the guards by the door.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, Lady Ayla?”
“As you can see, Aslan’s very uncomfortable.
I’m sorry, but could you please leave the bedroom?”
Her voice was firm—
so firm that no one would’ve thought it came from gentle little Ayla.
