{ Chapter 28 }
Because of his sharp tone, even the child flinched and looked down.
“…Too harsh,” Reyester regretted briefly.
But then, Shiz lifted her head—her eyes neither shaken nor hurt.
“Looks don’t matter! Mom said, What’s in your heart is what’s important!”
“…”
“So it’s okay if it’s ugly. I made it with all my heart!”
Reyester’s blue eyes wavered like crashing waves.
Suddenly, distant memories from his childhood came rushing back—like a storm.
***
“My son, Reyester. You must always be perfect and beautiful.”
Reyester’s biological mother, the former queen, was intelligent and beautiful—but very sick.
Knowing her time was short, she became obsessed with protecting her only son.
“After I die, your father will bring that woman, Kalera, in as the new queen. You must never show weakness. Never…!”
There was no love between the king and queen—only a political agreement.
That’s why she expected to be replaced like a worn-out tool and knew her son would be left in danger.
The queen, fearing for the young prince, became stricter.
“Stand straight, Reyester. Be perfect!”
Reyester learned early that tears and whining were useless.
Under his mother’s strict training, the prince was shaped to be flawless and unbreakable.
Even on her deathbed, she kept repeating it:
“Be perfect. Or the enemies will tear you apart.”
She was right.
Less than a month after her funeral, the king married again—just as she had predicted.
The new queen brought a young daughter, and everyone whispered she was the king’s illegitimate child.
Whether she wanted to protect her daughter or gain power, the new queen constantly kept Reyester in check—even to the point of threatening his life.
Poison, accidents, assassination attempts.
“You were right, Mother.”
On the night Reyester nearly died at the hands of a nanny, he realized: To survive, he had to be even stronger. He had to be perfect.
So he became like that.
He hid all his weaknesses and polished his strengths.
He only surrounded himself with things of value—including people. Only flawless talents stayed at his side—anyone useless was discarded. Like a collector choosing the finest jewels.
Gradually, Reyester built his position as crown prince.
Because of his birth and appearance, it wasn’t hard. With fake smiles and polite words, people acted like they’d give him anything.
That’s how he had lived—until today.
As the strongest heir, the noble prince.
Collecting others’ hearts like trophies, while never offering up his own.
Perfectly.
So, a child’s words shouldn’t mean anything to him. They should’ve been empty. Meaningless.
But even knowing that—Reyester felt a strange sense of loss.
“You must’ve had a good mother.”
Maybe it was because he’d never had something like that.
He gently touched the flower ring with his fingertips. The soft, delicate feeling made him uneasy.
Shiz, watching him, suddenly held her breath.
“Fairy…?”
When the child looked worried, Reyester quickly changed his expression.
Like an actor playing a gentleman, he gave an exaggerated bow and smiled.
“Thank you, little lady. I’ll treasure it.”
“Okay…”
Then Shiz realized how much time had passed. She froze.
‘My sister’s going to be here soon!’
If she didn’t return to the lab before her adult self arrived, she’d get caught sneaking out.
‘I—I have to go back before I get caught…’
She looked around nervously—but before she could say anything, Reyester spoke first.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yeah, I have to go to my mom…”
“I see.”
Before Shiz could react, Reyester scooped her up like a doll.
“As thanks for the gift, I’ll escort you to your mother. Consider it an honor.”
“Eeeek!”
“Where should we go?”
Shiz panicked inside. This was bad!
Before she could stop him, Reyester had already started walking.
“I—I can go alone!”
“Really? But what should I do? I don’t think I can find the way back by myself. Look how big this place is.”
“You’re an adult!”
“Yeah? So what? Is it weird for adults to get lost?”
“It’s—it’s weird! So weird—!”
Denied and confused, Shiz’s eyes began to spin.
And then—
Footsteps.
Someone was approaching from a distance. Shiz and Reyester turned toward the sound at the same time.
“Sabin?”
“Your Highness.”
The aide, with a very serious expression, spoke quietly.
“There’s no child listed in today’s visitor registry.”
“…What?”
Their gazes slowly turned to Shiz.
“Then who is this child…?”
Shiz completely froze.
***
Meanwhile…
The window was open.
Wide open.
Wide enough for a six-year-old to climb through.
“…No way.”
I dropped what I was holding and started frantically searching the lab.
Under the desk, in the drawers, behind the shelves—
“Shiz? Shiz, are you hiding? You’re just playing a trick, right? You’re still here, right?”
No answer.
It was too quiet. Way too quiet.
“Don’t joke around. I’m not in the mood!”
Still no response.
My blood ran cold.
I rushed to the open window and looked outside.
The grass in the flowerbed below… was pressed down. Like someone had stepped on it.
‘No no no no no!’
She’s gone. She really climbed out through here.
This little troublemaker!
I jumped out the window and landed outside.
I had only been gone for about two hours.
There was no way that little ball of curiosity would still be quietly playing nearby.
Immediately, I used a tracking spell. As I waved my hand, a faint glow appeared over the grass, and soon it took the shape of small footprints—Shiz’s footprints.
And where were they headed…?
“The garden!”
There’s a beautifully maintained garden in the outer palace. It’s close to my lab and probably looked fun to a kid.
I started running after the trail of Shiz’s footprints.
‘You are so in trouble when I find you!’
The wind whipped past my face as I ran.
***
By the time I reached the garden, sweat was dripping down my neck.
“Huff… Huff…”
Ugh, my stamina is the worst. Shiz can run around all day without getting tired—when did I become so weak?
Without even fixing my messy hair, I stepped into the garden.
The outer palace garden was beautiful, filled with blooming flowers. But I had no time to enjoy it.
‘Where are you, you little rascal?!’
I kept following the scattered footprints, and before I knew it, I had made it deep into the garden.
“Shiz, are you here?”
Even now, I didn’t see a trace of her.
The footprints went through thick grass, circled around trees… they just kept going.
“Ugh, just how much did she run around?”
As I tried to catch my breath, I suddenly heard movement nearby.
“Shiz?”
Without thinking, I ran toward the sound.
Maybe I was rushing too much. As I pushed through the bushes, my foot caught on something.
“Aaaack!”
And just like that, I tripped and fell hard. A sharp pain shot through my arms and knees.
“Owww… That hurts…”
I winced in pain, eyes shut tightly—but when I opened them again, I saw a pair of shoes standing right in front of me.
“Gasp—M-mom?!”
I looked up in shock—and froze like a statue.
‘What… am I looking at right now?’
Warm spring sunlight poured down around us.
The smell of dirt and grass rose from the ground. Flower petals swirled in the soft breeze.
And not far from me stood a stunning blonde man, calmly standing in the spring wind.
It looked like something straight out of a romance novel… But for me, it felt more like a horror-thriller scene.
“…”
I couldn’t even bow. I just stared at the child in his arms.
Tremble tremble tremble…
Our eyes met—and Shiz started shaking like a scared little kitten in winter.
