Chapter 5
After leaving the forest, Captain Phillips went straight to the palace of the Second Prince.
“Your Highness.”
“Well? How did it go?”
The man spoke in a cold voice.
He had honey-blond hair and bright green eyes. He was Arsene de Alexio, the Second Prince of the empire.
At Arsene’s sharp tone, Phillips quickly bowed low.
“The mission is complete.”
“Do you have proof?”
“It’s all taken care of. Everyone thinks the First Prince has simply gone missing.”
“Good. Well done.”
Arsene spoke lazily.
After a brief silence, he looked at Phillips and said,
“I’ll make sure your service is well rewarded. Wait at home—you’ll receive a big reward soon.”
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Phillips replied loudly and left the palace with a light heart.
Arsene stared out the window, watching him leave.
So foolish.
With a smirk, he raised his hand and gave a small wave.
A servant appeared from the shadows and bowed deeply.
“What shall we do?”
“Take care of him. No traces.”
“Yes, sir.”
The servant answered and quietly left.
Arsene had never planned to let Phillips live.
People always betray, eventually.
No matter how loyal they seem, you never know when they might stab you in the back.
So Arsene decided to eliminate him—without a shred of guilt.
If Phillips suddenly disappeared, his subordinates would be too afraid to speak.
They’d know that saying the wrong thing meant death.
Phillips would become a perfect example.
Everything was going exactly as Arsene planned. Surely, even the heavens were on his side.
* * *
Soon after, a meeting was called when news of Lowengrin’s disappearance reached the palace.
During the emergency meeting, Arsene shouted with passion,
“We must form a search party and find my brother as soon as possible!”
The Emperor, sitting at the head of the table, held his head in frustration.
The announcement of Lowengrin as the crown prince was only a week away, and now he had suddenly vanished.
If they couldn’t find him, Arsene would naturally become the next crown prince.
“Father, I’ll find my brother. Please trust me with this task.”
“…Arsene.”
The Emperor stared deeply at Arsene, but Arsene didn’t avoid his gaze.
After a moment of painful silence, the Emperor finally spoke.
“Three months.”
“…!”
Arsene’s face lit up.
The Emperor, with a serious expression, said,
“I’ll give you three months. You must find him.”
“Yes, I will not disappoint you.”
Arsene bowed deeply, a wide smile on his face.
After all, Lowengrin was already dead.
He would simply pretend to search for him, then later present a badly damaged corpse of someone with a similar build.
If the face was too disfigured, no one would know the difference.
If people knew Lowengrin was alive, the empire would be turned upside down to find him—but Arsene had no idea.
* * *
After the meeting, the nobles who supported Lowengrin whispered among themselves, eyeing Arsene with suspicion.
“What is he thinking…”
“We suspect him, but there’s no proof—it’s frustrating.”
“We should form our own search team to investigate.”
They had no intention of letting Arsene control everything.
On the surface, Lowengrin and Arsene looked like friendly brothers, but the truth was far different.
Arsene had always felt inferior to Lowengrin.
Even though Lowengrin was better in every way, Arsene believed he only became crown prince because he was the first-born.
So, Arsene had carefully plotted his brother’s downfall for a long time.
He had bribed the maids in Lowengrin’s palace and quietly planted his own spies.
* * *
“Ha… hahaha… hahahaha!”
When Arsene returned to his palace, he finally burst into loud laughter he had been holding in.
He had worked so hard to act serious and worried—it had been exhausting.
The suspicious looks from the nobles annoyed him, but it didn’t matter. Once he became crown prince, he’d kick them all out anyway.
“Brother, please don’t hate me too much.”
The smile on Arsene’s face never faded.
* * *
Meanwhile, the man (Lowengrin) still hadn’t regained consciousness.
It had already been five days since he arrived at Joo-hee’s house, but there were no signs of him waking up.
And today, Joo-hee had to go down to the village to sell herbs.
But Joo-hee couldn’t leave easily and hesitated at the door.
“Joo-hee, what’s wrong?” Mel asked.
“It’s nothing. Just… if anything happens, come to me right away.”
“Got it! Don’t worry!” Mel thumped her little chest and replied confidently.
Joo-hee actually felt even more anxious seeing Mel act so bold, but she didn’t show it—she knew Mel would get upset if she noticed.
Just then, she heard a howl—Lu had arrived.
“Okay, I’m heading out now, Mel.”
“Okay! Take care!”
Mel flew outside and waved both hands.
Joo-hee thought to herself that she should come back as soon as possible.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Mel—but something didn’t feel right.
She climbed onto Lu’s back and rode toward the village, leaving Mel alone in the quiet house with the man.
“I wanted to go too…” Mel muttered sadly.
She really liked being with Joo-hee. Even if Joo-hee didn’t always show it, she cared for Mel a lot.
Mel felt special because of that.
Though Lu seemed to be getting more attention lately, it didn’t bother her too much.
“Joo-hee asked me to do this!” Mel reminded herself.
She firmly promised to do her best and kept watch over the man.
But he still hadn’t woken up.
Thinking it was about time, Mel started talking to him.
“Wake up! How long are you going to sleep? Joo-hee has to sleep on the floor because of you—wake up already!”
Of course, he couldn’t hear her, but the man frowned and groaned.
“Wake up! Wake—up!”
Mel flew up to his ear and started yelling loudly.
She repeated it many, many times—and finally, the man’s eyelids trembled slightly.
Even though she had been yelling for him to wake up, Mel got startled when he actually began to respond and quickly flew away.
“Ah! What! What! Eek!”
But nothing happened. The man didn’t open his eyes.
Mel cautiously flew back and checked his face.
“Hmm? Maybe not? Is he still sleeping?”
But just then—the man’s eyes opened wide, revealing light green pupils.
“Eek! He’s awake! He’s awake!”
Panicking, Mel shot out through the half-open window.
She was flying to tell Joo-hee, who was down in the village.
The man just lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling.
His mind was completely blank.
He knew something had happened, but he couldn’t remember anything.
Meanwhile, Mel rushed through the village.
“Joo-hee! Where are you? It’s urgent!”
She flew through the crowd, desperately looking for her.
Finally, Mel found her inside the herbalist’s shop.
“…Mel?” Joo-hee looked surprised to see her suddenly.
Luckily, she had already finished her errands.
“Joo-hee, he’s awake!”
“Huh?”
“The man’s eyes suddenly popped open like this!” Mel squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them dramatically to mimic him.
Joo-hee turned to the herbalist and said,
“Grandpa, I’ll see you next time.”
“Alright, take care.”
She bowed politely and hurried out of the shop.
At the village entrance, Lu was already waiting for her.
“Let’s go, Lu.”
Joo-hee whispered quietly into Lu’s ear.
With a huff, Lu began to run.
Mel fluttered around her excitedly.
“It was so scary when his eyes just popped open like that! But you asked me to watch him, so I held it in and came right away!”
“Good job.”
“Hehe, you can count on me next time too!”
Pleased by the praise, Mel smiled brightly.
* * *
When they reached the house, it was too quiet.
“Are you sure he’s awake?”
“I’m telling the truth! I never lie!”
And indeed, Mel had never lied before.
Still unsure, Joo-hee carefully stepped inside.
Just like Mel said—the man was awake.
He was sitting up, staring blankly into the distance.
Joo-hee knocked gently on the door frame.
The man slowly turned his head toward her.
“Are you awake now?”
“…Yes.”
He nodded his head.
Joo-hee walked closer to him, carefully observing his condition.
Aside from the fact that his clothes were soaked in blood, he seemed okay.
As she sat down on the small chair beside the bed, the man spoke.
“Where am I?”
“…Just outside Melina Forest.”
His sudden question startled her, but she answered calmly.
The man tilted his head in confusion and asked again,
“Why am I here?”
“What?”
Surprised by the unexpected question, Joo-hee widened her eyes. The man looked down, his expression turning gloomy.
“…I don’t remember anything.”
