“Suddenly, there seems to be a change in the body with lingering effects. Both the sender and the receiver weren’t fully prepared before it happened”

Baron said, a worried look on his face.

“Your Highness. Nursing care isn’t possible here.”

Baron conveyed the reality that the cat couldn’t leave this room immediately and looked at Killian.

As soon as Baron teleported to the prince’s room, he faced Killian frozen as if time had stopped.

Until now, the prince had always seemed like a grown adult to Baron. However, Killian’s frozen appearance, bewildered by the cat not waking up, made him look almost like a nineteen-year-old, not much different from Harrid.

“Your Highness.”

Baron called the prince again.

Killian, who had been sitting with his hand on the cat’s back, looked up at Baron.

“It doesn’t seem to be in pain. Are you sure?”

When Baron asked if it was certain that the cat had slept without pain, he opened his mouth, though Baron found it difficult to be sure.

“I think so.”

“Was it a problem that could be detected by magic?”

“Of course, I can’t know with my power alone. But Your Highness also knows well that magic doesn’t harm people.”

As Killian looked at the cat again with his vacant red eyes, which felt like frozen ice, Baron cautiously added warmth to her cold body, but the cold didn’t seem to go away.

“For now, how about letting him meet Sanua Nelas again?”

Baron asked cautiously, studying his expression.

Killian, gazing down at the cat with empty red eyes, looked as quiet as darkness swallowing light.

Wasn’t he the one who seemed confident in everything before?

Driven by meticulous calculations, he had progressed forcefully in all matters, but now he seemed to have encountered an unexpected barrier and lost his words.

“I will soon bring the carriage and pick her up. It’s midnight now, so as soon as the day breaks…”

“I’ll go.”

Since only the one with magical power could use teleportation, when Baron said he would bring the carriage, Killian, with a look that reminded him of the cat’s fluffy fur, interrupted him.

Surprised by the unexpected response, Baron paused and looked at him.

The cat was just deeply asleep without pain.

Since magic doesn’t harm people, there was a high probability that the cat, without pain, had fallen asleep without any pain.

It was unnecessary to be cautious about showing the movement of pulling the carriage in the palace this midnight.

Wouldn’t the Crown Prince know about it?

But Baron realized that it would take longer for him to bring the carriage from Winston and take the cat from here.

The Crown Prince must have considered that.

“Leave before the Magic Management Department detects the magic. Oh, and one more thing.”

In the midst of Killian’s tired expression, he handed a packaged box to Baron.

“I ate what’s in here, but Reinette hasn’t woken up. Our guess is that she had nightmares after eating food from whoever gave her this.”

“!”

Surprised, Baron received the box from Killian’s hand, which had an inexplicable expression.

“Find out what’s in this food. It seems to be something other than human food.”

Thinking of Reinette, who had been desperately resisting eating her food, Killian said.

“Of course, it’s just a guess. But you should be able to distinguish it quickly.”

When Killian said so, Baron nodded in incomprehension and stepped back, holding the box in his hands.

It was said that what was inside caused nightmares.

As far as he knew, the only thing that could produce such a result was dark magic.

Baron’s lips felt unusually dry as he held the box.

“I understand, Your Highness.”

“I, too, will leave now.”

Carefully holding the cat in his arms, Killian left the room.

Baron’s figure also disappeared from the air in a flash.

* * *

Living things, everyone around him keeps leaving or moving away.

Like the words of his father, who said not to get close to anyone.

Was it a problem to dream a dream that should not be dared?

Is it wrong to engrave in my mind that sleeping together at night is actually protecting me?

The moment she thought about it, she felt pain.

He may not have known his mistake.

When he took someone to his heart, they always left him

Whether by one’s own will or others’, they couldn’t stay by his side.

Shouldn’t have thought about it.

If he hadn’t given it any meaning, such things might not have happened.

Killian’s steps down the spiral staircase gradually quickened.

Flames flickered like evil in his crimson eyes.

“…. Just open your eyes.”

He wanted to confirm that she was alive.

To be reassured, he descended the stairs with large step.

He couldn’t wait until morning.

“…”

He had filled countless hours just waiting.

To become a perfect prince among half-brothers.

He’d endured countless hours of waiting to restore his powerless mother to the throne.

And more. To confront his father, who monitored and tested him in different forms and ways.

How much more must he endure for the sake of what?

Why must his life be filled with such difficult patience?

Just for one person.

The thought that he could lose as much as he wanted and gain as much as he wanted was shattered in an instant.

A few hours later, Killian was wandering around in good condition. It seemed as if he was wondering when he got hurt. However, doing nothing and just waiting was more embarrassing for him.

“Your Highness?”

As he entered the grand hall after leaving the stairs, Gisela’s voice grabbed Killian’s ankle.

He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes frozen in a stare at Gisela unfastening Emperor Adolf’s fist.

“It’s late at night. Where are you going?”

Gisela greeted him warmly, unloading her arm from Emperor Adolf’s embrace.

When he saw Emperor Adolf walking leisurely with Gisela after finishing their night stroll, Killian stiffened his expression, conscious of the cat in his arms.

“Are you on your way out?”

“I plan to go to Crowdtown. I heard there are many things to enjoy even at night, so I thought I would take a look around.”

“Sure, it’s time for you to open your eyes to the pleasures outside, rather than being cooped up in school or the castle. That’s how you get to know the world.”

Emperor Adolf approached, patting Killian’s shoulder and bursting into laughter.

“I’m just on my way out after seeing Gisela has beautifully decorated your mother’s bedroom. It seems Gisela always works hard for Elyse’s health, as you know.”

The place where his mother mainly resided in the palace was not the palace itself but Amaville Castle to the south of the palace. There, they decorated the garden with plants good for Empress Elyse’s body and aimed to provide a comfortable place for her to rest.

Learning that Lady Gisela had decorated her mother’s bedroom while he was in Tennessee for convalescence, Killian looked at Gisela, a beautiful smile covering her sharpened features.

“You’ve done a splendid job.”

“My pleasure is increased by the fact that you are pleased with it as well, and I wonder if you know when the Empress will be arriving?”

Gisela, who was listening to the conversation between the two, asked Killian with a bright smile.

The corners of Killian’s mouth twitched upward as he stared at her, but he didn’t answer.

“…”

A moment of silence passed, chilling like the night air.

Gisela, waiting for Killian’s answer, subtly caught his gaze, which was painting a smile like a picture.

She felt that his gentle eyes embedded in the depth of his eyes were not asking about the scheduled return of the empress but peering into her true intention.

Hastily, Gisela added an explanation to avoid her intention being revealed.

“I change the flowers every other day and decorate, waiting for the Empress to come, but she doesn’t seem to come. I’m worried because she hasn’t come even though I’ve been waiting. I asked because I’m concerned about the Empress’s health.”

“I know she is getting better.”

When Killian responded with a faint smile, Lady Gisela finally relaxed, exhaling lightly. It seemed to be his misunderstanding.

Yes, Prince Killian always ate the meals she sent without leaving a single crumb on the empty plate, as reported by the servants. He also enjoyed the snacks she sneakily sent.

Gradually, her confidence wavered, and she might start to doubt everything she had believed in. Lady Gisela, enjoying the sudden good mood, spoke up.

“Oh my. Isn’t this wonderful news?”

She burst into a genuine laughter as if she had just heard the news she had sincerely awaited, looking at the emperor.

The emperor, with great admiration for her, gestured to Killian.

“Catherine is truly a warm-hearted lady, isn’t she? Unlike other consorts who distort affairs with hasty jealousy. She is very wise, and her good character is innate.”

“Although I am far from comparing to the Empress, I strive to resemble her. Your Majesty.”

“Hahaha. Being humble too. With you, my days are filled with laughter.”

As the laughter of the father echoed through the grand hall, Killian nonchalantly chewed his smile.

She, who took over his mother’s position and managed the affairs of the palace in place of the empress, was said to be humble. He initially thought she only wanted to monopolize his father’s love. However, he learned that, due to Reinette, Catherine Harmon Gisela had been putting drugs in his food.

There is probably more hidden truth behind her.

As he watched Lady Gisela, his eyes suddenly fell on a sack held by one of the servants.

The sack looked heavy, as if it were still soaked in warm blood.

“What is that?”

“Well, that.”

Emperor Adolf, noticing Killian’s gaze, turned and looked at the servant was holding.

“It’s a fox, captured for its fur. Catherine was probably surprised to see it suddenly in Amaville Castle garden.”

“Your Majesty, I thought it was a cat and I screamed. I apologize!”

Lady Gisela, with an embarrassed expression, grabbed Emperor Adolf’s arm and quickly shouted.

Thinking it was a cat, based on Lady Gisela’s words, Killian recalled the cat sleeping inside his jacket and looked down at the sack again.

The emperor, patting Lady Gisela’s waist with a joyful tone, spoke.

“Haha. She must have mistaken a baby fox for a cat and got so surprised. How timid a lady can be. It’s fortunate it’s a fox, isn’t it? If it were a cat, I would have to painfully tear it apart on the spot since its fur would be useless. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“…”

“Come to think of it, it’s a bit regrettable that those malicious creatures died long ago, and I haven’t personally slaughtered them with my own hands.”