~Chapter 26~
“Ha ha, I knew it!”
The season had already turned, and the flowers in the outer palace garden were beginning to shrink. As if by silent agreement, the crown prince and his aide both slowed their steps.
“The flowers are falling early this year.”
“The weather warmed up faster than usual. Since they bloomed early, they’re falling early too. What a shame.”
With light conversation, the two made their way to a gazebo tucked in one corner of the garden.
And there, they found a child.
Reyester and Sabin’s eyes widened at the same time.
“That child is…”
At that moment, the girl who had been spinning around turned to face them. Her bright green eyes grew round with surprise. It was a face Reyester had seen before.
“Shiz?”
“Huh!“
The moment her name was called, the girl gasped with all the air in her lungs.
***
Earlier that day, Shiz had intended to stay quietly in the lab just as Relshiz told her.
Because I promised big sis!
She had read the picture book Relshiz left her and doodled on a few blank sheets of paper.
“Hngh, I’m bored. Maybe I should’ve stayed home and played with Kitty.”
She’d been excited to come to the palace, but with nowhere to go, boredom quickly set in.
“I wanna go out. I wonder if the fairy I met last time is doing well…”
Just as she murmured weakly while staring out the window, a white cat with a familiar face popped out from the distant flowerbed.
Wow, looks just like my Kitty.
Shiz blinked. Then suddenly her face went pale as she jumped to her feet.
“Wait—it’s not just like Kitty—it is Kitty!”
She must’ve followed me and big sis out! Aaah!
Shiz screamed internally.
Big sis said if you sneak into the palace, you go to jail! What if Kitty gets arrested?!
Panic rising, she quietly opened the window.
“Kitty, hey, you’re a good girl, right? Come here…”
But the cat didn’t even glance her way and walked off ignoring her.
“Uhhh—?”
Torn between indecision, Shiz finally climbed out the window after her.
“Kitty, stop! You’ll go to jail—!”
The white cat moved with the confidence of someone who knew the palace well, avoiding every area where people might be.
Shiz scrambled after her, huffing, and before she knew it, she had arrived at the outer palace garden.
Gasp—that’s where I met the fairy!
Deep in the garden, the cat finally stopped and began to groom itself, as if its job was done.
“Gotcha!”
Shiz clutched the cat Victoriously and finally looked around.
A fresh breeze carried the scent of grass into the distance. Sunlight streamed through the leaves, glittering like stardust.
“…Kitty, did you bring me here? Is it okay to play?”
The cat gave no answer, only swishing its tail.
Shiz’s eyes brightened.
“Then maybe I’ll just play a little…?”
She crouched low like a spy on a secret mission and checked her surroundings.
Alright, no one’s here!
Convinced the area was clear, she immediately began hopping around.
“Waaaah!”
The royal garden was vast, filled with dazzling flowers in every direction. To Shiz, who had spent her life inside an orphanage, everything looked magical and new.
One tiny part of her still felt a bit guilty about breaking her promise to Relshiz…
But! As long as I don’t get caught, it’s fine!
Her last successful adventure had made her bold.
Humming to herself, Shiz roamed the garden freely.
It was a gentle, warm day.
With each breeze, flower petals danced with joy. A white butterfly spun in midair, and a yellow-feathered bird chirped a sweet song from a tree branch.
Shiz loved everything about this place. It was so wonderful, she thought she might want to live here forever.
“Is the fairy not here today…?”
The first time they met, she had been too startled to appreciate it. But now, she missed his gentle voice and kind smile.
He even tied my hair better than big sis does…
Hopeful, Shiz wandered here and there, but the golden-haired fairy was nowhere to be found.
“Aww, guess he’s not here.”
She walked on, a little disappointed, until she came to a large tree.
“Wow…”
Her mouth fell open without her realizing it.
Beneath the tree stood a lovely white stone gazebo. Elegant chairs were arranged in a circle inside, and in the center stood a well-kept golden statue of an angel sparkling in the sun.
Drawn like a butterfly to flame, Shiz stepped toward the statue.
“It’s so pretty! Just like a princess!”
Her imagination ballooned like bread rising in an oven.
The white gazebo turned into a magnificent ballroom, and the angel statue became a beautiful princess.
Thinking of the dances she had seen in fairy tale books, Shiz grasped her dress and began to spin in place.
If she had been a hero slaying monsters the last time she was here, today she was a lady invited to a royal ball.
“Hmm-hmm~”
Her dance was clumsy and rough—she had never learned proper steps or etiquette—but none of that mattered to Shiz.
She was happier than she had ever been.
Things she had never even dreamed of in the orphanage were happening to her, day after day.
I wonder if I’ll get to come back to the palace again?
It was, perhaps, a mistake—getting so completely swept up in her imaginary ball.
“Shiz?”
Just as she spun around in a twirl, Shiz spotted a familiar face not far off and gasped.
It’s the fairy from last time!
Her joy lasted only a moment. Then she noticed the unfamiliar woman standing beside Reyester, and froze in place.
W-who’s that lady with the glasses…? I’ve never seen her before!
While Shiz fidgeted nervously, unsure what to do, Reyester and Sabin began walking over. In a panic, Shiz let her hair fall forward to cover her face.
But unaware of her reasons, Reyester stepped closer and gently brushed her hair aside again.
Shiz’s expression crumpled as she bowed her head.
“Out exploring on your own again today?”
“Y-yeah. But I’m about to leave now.”
“Why? It doesn’t look like you’ve been here long. Stay and play a bit more.”
Sabin, who had been quietly watching the scene unfold, felt utterly bewildered.
She’d seen plenty of people clinging to the Crown Prince before—but this was the first time she’d seen the Crown Prince clinging to someone else.
“I just came to find Kitty. I found her, so I’m going now.”
“Kitty?”
Looking puzzled, Reyester followed the direction Shiz pointed—toward a cat stretched out lazily in a nearby patch of grass.
Sabin recognized it before he did.
“Isn’t that the cat Your Highness keeps?”
“…Looks like it.”
Perhaps sensing she was the topic of conversation, the cat stretched slowly and strolled over to Shiz, rubbing against her with affection.
The two adults, who were well aware of the cat’s notoriously fickle temperament, watched the scene unfold with stunned expressions.
“Just who is this little lady…?”
Sabin’s question drew a faint smile from Reyester.
“I guess you could call her my little warrior. Met her not too long ago.”
“Pardon?”
“She’s the one I ran into here before. Her name’s Shiz.”
“Lady Shiz, then.”
Shiz who? In Sabin’s head, the noble registry flipped through like pages in a breeze.
The outer palace was relatively relaxed about visitors, but it was still the royal palace. Unless under special circumstances, visitor passes were typically issued to nobles only.
But just ‘Shiz’ with no surname?
Reyester wasn’t offering much in the way of explanations, which left Sabin’s thoughts tangled.
“I don’t see a guardian nearby. No attendants, either…”
“She was alone last time, too.”
“Being inside the palace makes it less dangerous, sure—but it’s still not safe for a child to be wandering around alone.”
“I agree.”
While the two conversed, Shiz slowly began to back away.
She was clearly trying to sneak off again—but Reyester was faster.
“Looks like I’ll have to look after her.”
“Y-You’ll what…? Pardon?”
“Wait for me outside, Sabin. I’ll spend a little time here with our little warrior.”
What is with that ‘warrior’ thing anyway?
Sabin didn’t quite understand what was going on—but she did realize something: the Crown Prince’s mood had noticeably improved since earlier.
When things didn’t go Reyester’s way, he had some… troubling habits.
Typically, it meant hosting an extravagant party, drinking himself under the table, and hook up with random people at the end of the night.
And who was left to clean up the mess? Me… every time…
Sabin’s eyes shimmered with tears as she recalled those difficult days.
So from her perspective as his aide, this change—his anger subsiding—was cause for celebration.
The only problem was…
He’s replaced one bad habit with another.
Sabin was one of the very few people who knew why Reyester was unusually kind to children.
It all traced back to his half-sister, Dallen.
