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– Chapter 4 –

That morning as well, Yuric hurriedly ate his breakfast, anxiously waiting for Rinea to finish hers and get up from the table.

Lately, Yuric’s entire life revolved around Rinea.

He followed her to the library, walked with her, talked with her, and ate with her. Though they had to sleep separately, even before bed Yuric would ponder what to say the next day to get a reaction from her.

Finally, when Rinea stood up from the table after finishing her meal, Yuric quickly got to his feet as well.

Since Rinea’s seat was closer to the door, Yuric always had to run after her as she headed to the library.

But that day, Rinea was standing at the door.

“…Uh.”

Yuric awkwardly met her gaze as she stared silently at him.

“…Aren’t you going to the library?”

“I am.”

“…Then what are you doing standing there?”

“I was waiting for Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

She tilted her head slightly.

“Was that too forward of me? Should I not do it?”

“No! No, it’s fine, let’s go, let’s go.”

Yuric took the lead toward the library.

The other children, who had been playing, watched them with gloomy eyes.

“This sucks. These days he only plays with her.”

Someone muttered. Immediately, everyone else joined in, voicing their complaints.

“Yeah. What are we then? He doesn’t even look at us.”

“That girl came in last, but now she’s the Crown Prince’s closest companion. It’s so annoying.”

“My mom is one of the Empress’s ladies-in-waiting, and she always asks me, ‘What did you do with the Crown Prince today? What did you two talk about? Does he seem to like you?’ Ugh.”

“Hey. You say something too. You’re the only one who’s even remotely close with that girl.”

The child who was reluctantly finishing her meal and standing up became the target. She hesitated, but then, with some resolve, opened her mouth.

“I have nothing to say.”

“What? You little bootlicker for the House of Shuhebers.”

“You haven’t been beaten lately, huh? You’re forgetting your place.”

As the other kids started to close in, the girl flinched and shouted.

“If you guys keep doing this, I’ll tell Rinea everything!”

That one sentence made them freeze. Taking the opportunity, she bolted from the dining hall.

“Damn it….”

One of the kids swore under her breath.

“There’s nothing we can do. In the end, it’s all about what the Crown Prince wants, and all he cares about is her.”

“So annoying. Things would be fun again if she were just gone.”

“Yeah. If she were gone…”

Everyone hated Rinea, but no one had a clear plan.

“Let’s just wait and see. We’re not letting this slide.”

They all ground their teeth the same way.

Unaware of any of this, Rinea was slowly opening her heart to Yuric.

At first, he was just annoying. But little by little, she found herself looking forward to mornings when she would see him. For the first time in her life, she looked forward to the next day when going to bed at night.

It was a strange feeling—but a good one.

A night that made her excited for the morning. A morning that made her hopeful for the day.

Rinea was livelier than usual. That morning, she had washed up and was heading to the dining room for breakfast.

“Rinea.”

Someone called her from around the corner in the hallway. When she turned, a child was beckoning frantically.

“Come here. Hurry.”

Rinea looked puzzled and wary but walked over anyway. The girl quickly pulled her into an empty hallway and sighed deeply.

“Hey, are you okay these days?”

“Yeah… I’m fine. Why did you call me?”

“Well, it’s just that… Ugh.”

The girl scratched her head in frustration.

“The others have been acting weird. They’ve been talking bad about you, and it seems like they’re planning something. I mean—I didn’t! They told me to badmouth you, but I didn’t.”

“Okay, I get it.”

“Did you really? I’m telling you, you’re in danger. Be careful. And don’t tell anyone I said this.”

Rinea nodded, still confused. She had no one to talk to about this anyway.

That day, just like any other, she had breakfast, went to the library with Yuric, and took a walk together. But even though she tried to be cautious, nothing happened. In fact, Yuric seemed to be more concerned about her.

“What’s wrong? You keep looking around.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Come to think of it, you’re kind of weird.”

Rinea flinched.

“The other day, in the garden, I was going to talk to you, but you were staring into space and mumbling something. So I didn’t.”

“When… was that?”

“Two days ago. And four days ago. And a week ago.”

Rinea’s face turned pale. She was no longer a six-year-old child, and she knew she had to hide what she heard as much as possible. Ever since that incident when she was six, she had never told anyone what she heard. It was a deep-rooted guilt.

But Yuric was looking at her seriously.

“Is something bothering you? Is someone bullying you again?”

“N-No, it’s not that….”

“Then what is it? Do you have a secret or something? You can tell me. I’m good at keeping secrets.”

The way he said, “You can tell me,” was so sweet.

Rinea gulped. Her heart was pounding. Yuric was still looking at her with sincere eyes.

Maybe this person—

Maybe he would understand. Maybe he would believe me.

“Your… Highness.”

“Yeah?”

“I…”

Rinea swallowed again, then began hesitantly.

“I hear things that aren’t human. They’re not dangerous. I’ve heard them since I was a baby, and I’ve become close with them. I talk with them about everything. That’s how I am.”

An awkward silence followed.

Why isn’t he saying anything? Rinea looked at Yuric’s surprised face, trying to calm her nervous heart.

“…Uh…”

Yuric slowly opened his mouth.

“…Umm… okay. Sure… I see…”

He averted his eyes. Why?

He covered his mouth with his hand, like he was troubled. Why?

“It’s true. I’m not lying. I’m not crazy. I…”

“Y-Yeah. I get it… Let’s talk more next time, okay?”

Yuric quickly walked away. He couldn’t hide his panic.

Rinea stood alone in the garden, blankly watching his retreating figure.

Why?

No, he didn’t call me crazy. He didn’t mock me. That should be enough.

Why?

Why won’t you accept it?

Or maybe—it was never something anyone else could accept in the first place.

I see. This is something no one else can understand.

I’ve made a fool of myself again.

Rinea lowered her head.

Maybe this would drive Yuric away from her. She didn’t want that, but she couldn’t control how he would react.

The next day, Yuric left the palace early to attend a national ceremonial event.

As soon as he was gone, the children surrounded Rinea as she made her way to the library.

“Hey, you crazy bitch.”

The word, spat out casually, was vicious. Rinea frowned.

“Move.”

“You freaked out when we called you a liar, but turns out you are a lying crazy bitch.”

There was unmistakable malice in their tone.

One of them shoved Rinea. She stumbled back and looked up.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“You told the Crown Prince nonsense, didn’t you?”

Her heart sank.

“I can hear things that aren’t human~ They’re my friends~”

“I talk to them about everything~ Wow, you’re actually crazy.”

How.

Why?

Why was her deepest secret being butchered on their tongues?

“Look at her—she’s gonna cry.”

“Go ahead and cry. What, you think you’re in a duke’s mansion? Think there’s a nanny here to comfort a crazy bitch like you?”

Rinea’s body trembled uncontrollably. Her throat felt tight—she couldn’t speak.

“Why… how… do you know?”

“Obviously because the Crown Prince told us. You know what he said? That he’s so disgusted by a crazy bitch like you, he doesn’t want to be around you anymore.”

“He tried to be nice because he felt sorry for you, but then you started spouting nonsense and scared the hell out of him. He said not to come near him again. He doesn’t even want to see your face.”

Thinking back, Yuric’s behavior yesterday wasn’t hesitant acceptance—it was someone trying to figure out how to avoid a lunatic.

“She’s crying! She’s crying!”

“Even crazy bitches cry, huh?”

She couldn’t hear the taunts. Couldn’t feel the hair-pulling or shoves anymore.

She had trusted him. And he had thrown her away. That was all she could think about.

Rinea shoved the children away and started running. As she did, their mocking voices chased her.

“Hey! Go tattle to your little friends, okay? Tell them we bullied you!”

“Cry to your mommy and daddy too! If you’re gonna hang yourself, do it at home, not here—don’t dirty the place!”

Their howls of laughter rang behind her.

Who’s really the crazy one here?

<Rinea.>
<Rinea, don’t cry.>

“Stop! Just leave me alone!”

Rinea shook her head wildly. Even the spirits’ voices stopped.

She sat on the back steps of the palace and cried for a long time. Even when the tears stopped, she sat there blankly.

That night, it rained. Rinea sat under the pouring sky, unmoving, even as thunder and lightning crashed above.

Have you ever thought the branching lightning looked like tree branches?

The spirits told her that when lightning strikes, new “friends” are born. They look like butterflies, they said. You can’t see them, but she wanted to.

Thinking about all the things she wanted to say to Yuric, Rinea curled up her soaked, cold body. She didn’t want to see anyone anymore. She no longer looked forward to tomorrow.

She wanted to die.

Rinea was eventually found by a servant doing early morning cleaning. By then, her body was burning with fever and the illness quickly worsened.

The doctor diagnosed her with pneumonia. Even after ten days, her fever hadn’t broken. The imperial palace decided she needed to recuperate at home and issued an order for her to leave the palace.