Chapter 8

We knew how weak we are and how useless we are in this Imperial Palace.

Although it is known that we are royalty, we are illegitimate children who inherited half of the blood of Lulachel, a commoner, which nobles regarded as vulgar.

A life so insignificant that it is not enough to kill upon birth.

Except for a little bit of baby fat, a small body incomparable with the children of my age, and poor imperial language skills, the only thing I know about the system of this world is common sense.

We were of no use to the emperor.

Having illegitimate children, not even one, by his side was a choice that cost the prestige of the emperor who sat at the highest seat. That’s why we couldn’t understand this situation now.

I grabbed Argen’s hand tightly and shook with rabbit eyes. I couldn’t understand the situation so easily that I felt the blood flow back.

Under the bright chandelier, there were a lot of maids wearing better clothes than we usually wore and there were knights in golden armor guarding behind us with their swords.

“Your highnesses the prince and the princess. I’m the head maid, Ishina, of Sibiola Palace.”

Among them, a gray-haired old woman approached us and politely knelt in front of us, placing her hand on her chest and lowering her head.

‘Argen.’

‘……..’

The knights brought us to the emperor’s castle, not anywhere else. Perhaps the old lady, who introduced herself as the head maid, referred to ‘Sibiola Palace.’ as the name of the emperor’s castle.

I thought it was Lulahel, who was the only one to have a terrible ending since the knights only carefully took us to the emperor’s castle and let us go.

And it was this situation now.

When I encountered the knight with the sword a little while ago, it naturally caused my hands to sweat under the tension. Holding his hand tightly, I captured the pattern drawn on the colorful wall with my eyes.

“I’m going to serve you two in the future. I look forward to your cooperation.”

Argen and I were surprised and looked at her for a moment. As if she had waited, Ishina looked down.

‘Did she say she’s serving us now?’

‘Did I hear…. Did I hear it wrong?

‘She said she’d serve us!’

‘Did you hear that she’s serving us?’

‘That’s what it sounded like.’

‘That’s what she said.’

It’s the first time in my life that I’ve lost my mind like this. As if to soothe a nervous child in a strange place for the first time, Ishina said in a quiet voice.

At the same time, while my face was red and I was painfully breathing, she continued to say as if nothing had happened..

“You must have been surprised by the sudden situation, so I’ll help you rest first.”

Then she got up slowly and opened the door right behind her. A magnificent and dignified door that could never be seen in Derolina Castle was opened.

“It is the bedroom where you two will live in the future.”

“….. A bedroom?”

Argen muttered a little while following Isina’s words and she looked down at both of us as if she thought she should explain it properly.

It wasn’t a very good look.

“I have been ordered by His Majesty the Emperor to serve  two people who will live in Sibiola Palace.”

I really couldn’t believe it. My mouth was parched and my breath was stilled.

“I know it’s a sudden situation for the both of you, but I hope you can understand that there is no more ‘Lulahel’ in this world.”

Understand? I wondered if it listened correctly and understood it properly.

“Would you like to come in?”

It was a polite way of speaking and acting with skill. Our hearts thumped loudly at the words she uttered, showing no sign of reluctance to see us.

At Ishina’s words, she exchanged glances with Argen and stepped into the room. The maids followed us in and my shoulders flinched at the slightest sound.

‘Are we all right now?’

Argen was quiet for a long time at my question.

‘Have we ever been all right?’

‘….. Was there?’

I hesitated to reply to a sharp remark.

‘So be on your guard. Don’t trust anyone.’

‘…….’

‘You know we can only trust each other in this world, Arien.

I picked up my heart that was clouded by those words.

For us the world is……

‘Of course’

Argen and I.

‘I won’t trust anyone.’

It was just filled with other people.

******

I still don’t know why we’re in the emperor’s palace now, but there’s only one conclusion.

The emperor who could kill us right now kept Argen and I alive and even gave us a place to stay.

This was an indescribable fact and at the same time an act of arousing questions and doubts.

“Why did the emperor keep us alive?”

“I mean, poor illegitimate children…..”

While trying to speak, I stopped and coughed then buried my face in the pillow. The feeling of being pressed on the cheek was so ecstatic that it made a person listless.

“How do you feel?”

“…… It’s better than before. I thought I was going to collapse a moment ago….. Now I have a sore throat and a slight headache?”

There was no way we could compare the newly given room to the castles of Derolina, where we were abandoned.

“I knew it, you have to tell me when you’re sick…”

Argen shook his head as if he thought it was not an option even after I said it.

“You know.”

“Huh.”

“They knew I was in pain before.”

Argen furrowed his eyebrows and crawled over to this side, then laid down next to me.

“Who?”

“The knights don’t seem to know… the maids and servants who washed me…”

I don’t know what to say.

I hugged my blanket and answered him back.

“Who would care about illegitimate children?”

Argen pulled the blanket and wrapped it around his body.

“I’m sleepy, but I don’t want to sleep.”

The maids only took off our clothes, washed and dressed us, Our skin was always scratched but the sore tingling disappeared.

Now, whenever I move, I have a cool and soft cloth wrapped around my body.

“…… I think I can sleep like this.”

There were two beds, but I didn’t feel the need to use this spacious, exaggerated, playground-sized bed. Lying side by side with Argen, I was surprised by the soft bed.

“I can’t sleep.”

In fact, it was all surprising.

A carpet stroking the soles of my feet, walls that look like art works, a translucent curtains covering the bed, and luxurious items. Even the vase next to me looked valuable, so I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle it if I broke it.

“Can I really sleep?”

“Huh?”

“If I sleep like this, wouldn’t there be no tomorrow morning?”

I reached out and touched the curtains. I loved the soft touch that wrapped around my hands so I rubbed my face against it.

Argen looked at the ceiling and sympathized with my dark words. The lights were already turned off, but he continued to stare at the ceiling.

“We don’t need a room like this.”

“I don’t need all those maids.”

“Even the knights with swords.”

“I don’t need beautiful flowers and accessories.”

Argen leaped up. Then he looked down at me and I saw a red pupil shining in the dark.

“At best, Is it possible to get out of here? I had hope for a while.”

“It’s a wild dream.”

I pulled the quilt over my face. How dark and dreary the path unfolds for us, a place that is cold without warmth.

We knew better than anyone.

Born again, I gave up many things and gave up swearing, and I have been turning a blind eye to thirst.

When I was born again, I gave up a lot and gave up my greed and kept turning away from my dry thirst.

‘What’s the emperor’s purpose?’

‘Why is he keeping us alive?’

It overlapped with Argen’s inner words. I don’t really want to think about it for too long.

My body and mind have been so exhausted since last evening that I just wanted to fall into a deep slumber without thinking.

“Don’t sleep even if you’re sleepy.”

“Sleeping is the cure when you’re sick.”

Argen whispered quietly. I simply nodded my head and refuted it slightly because I knew why he said so.

“At least not today.”

I told him to come down by jokingly slapping Argen on the back, I put my weight on him and pressed to the point where it wouldn’t hurt.

“I’m sleepy because I couldn’t sleep last night.”

“I just want to sleep without thinking about anything, but…”

“I know, but I’m not sleeping tonight.”

We stayed up all night yesterday. After seeing Lulahel’s death, even if it wasn’t Lulahel, I couldn’t casually sleep after  watching someone die.

Rubbing heavy eyes, I eventually pushed Argen hard and raised my upper body.

“Do we really have to live here from now on?”

“Do you want to say that the emperor took us away?”

I pressed the reddish cheeks with both hands.

“I think it felt like picking up a lost pet.”

“Maybe?”

I bit my lips hard.

“He left us for five years, and all of a sudden?”

“Suddenly.”

“He’s never come to visit us before. He’s never called us in.”

Argen reached out his arms and wrapped it around my neck. Then he leaned over and fell down on the bed.

“Let’s not expect too much. It’s night time and the day will pass in a few hours. Let’s just remember that tomorrow will come.”

I came out of Argen’s arms.

“If tomorrow comes, today will pass and we will never go back to it again.”

“Today’s event can just flow like this.”

I was sick and my eyes kept closing, but I couldn’t sleep.

Fortunately, nothing happened until the sun came up, but it was unclear whether we could get a good night’s sleep here in the future.

******

“I’ll wash you.”

I laid in bed and didn’t move at the voice of a woman who had just knocked on the door.

She pushed in a cart while the maids behind her brought in a bunch of strange things as well.

Your Majesty sent me my knights. I’ll help you with your breakfast before I measure your clothes.”

“Your highness, please stand up. His majesty has sent you knights. I will help you with breakfast before I measure your clothes.”

Ishina said in a low tone.

It was a long speech that seemed to know what happened causing us to give up and slowly pull ourselves up.

Argen glanced at me, but I nodded saying nothing was wrong despite sweating and having a sore throat,.

“I’ll help you wash your face. This way.”

Is this originally how a maid is supposed to be? She gave me a gentle hug as I tried to get off the bed and put me on the floor.

As soon as I stood on two feet, my head shook and I was out of breath, but only Argen seemed to notice it.

‘Don’t overdo it.’

‘………’

I met again with the carpet that I stepped on last night with bare feet. Argen also came down from bed in a similar fashion and the head maid led us like last night by opening one of the many doors in the room we hadn’t been in before

“We prepared soup and soft bread for better digestion in the morning. If you want to eat anything else, we will prepare it separately, so please tell us in advance.”

It was a hospitable treatment that was too much.

Early this morning, when I stayed up all night, and Argen came to a conclusion that the emperor had decided to keep us alive, so let’s look at the situation and act.

The conclusion that Argen and I came to this early morning without sleeping was that the emperor had decided to keep us alive, so let’s observe the situation and act.

Therefore, I followed his words with the highest command here without any resistance as much as possible.

The washroom was also too luxurious. She washed my face at the washbasin where I had previously received water.

‘There’s water in my mouth.’

‘Why would you eat that?

‘But it’s delicious.’

‘… …maybe they use high-quality washing water, too.’

Although I said I could do it alone, Ishina refused and washed me and Argen’s face. The water smelled good the entire time.

After washing my face with a soft touch, a steaming breakfast was prepared.

Looking at the food, I sat at the table and tried to chew food with my mouth open, but was amazed by the taste that spread to the tip of my tongue.

I ate cold food and leftovers from Lulahel so when eating these foods, I had no choice but to have an appetite.

Despite my sore throat, I couldn’t help but drool at the food in front of me.

‘……I’m hungry.’

‘Can I just eat this?’

Of course, it was the dishes made by a chef for the emperor who was said to be strongest in the continent so if it wasn’t delicious, it would be strange.

In fact, I couldn’t even describe it as delicious. I relieved the tension by focusing on the paradise spreading in my mouth and I eagerly pushed food in.

Come to think of it, we didn’t sleep or even eat properly.

No matter who was watching or not, I was busy filling my stomach by eagerly moving my mouth once I started.

“Don’t eat it slowly. If you put it in like that you will suffer.”

Ishina stopped me in the middle and I slowed down, but in the end, I emptied the soup without leaving a drop.

Not only me, but Argen also drank water after finishing the meal, as if things were similar.

“I will help you change your clothes.”

The maids quickly cleared away the dishes and there were no traces of what we had eaten.

The maids, who had picked up the heavy looking luggage and stood by the wall, came only after we finished eating.

“Excuse me for a moment. I’d like to make clothes for both of you. Would you allow me to?”

Everyone was so polite that I couldn’t refuse. Ishina unbuttoned my pajamas, saying she would only take off my outwear for a moment, and took off Argen’s pajamas as well.

All of them hesitated to quickly take our measurements.

I wasn’t worried because I was wearing more light and thin clothes inside my outerwear, but a maid who rolled up my sleeve without a word, had a problem.