CH 3

The air was filled with the sounds of summer. As the sun set, it dyed the green field with a strange hue, and the air, which had been hot during the day, gradually cooled down.

Amidst this idyllic scene, in the middle of the field, Izeline and Robert sat together with their backs against the sturdy trunk of an oak tree at the edge of the small woods. They kept chatting on this tranquil summer evening.

“Twen do you live in the Armaty Mansion?” Izeline asked.

“Yes, because my mom isn’t hwome.”

Although it was a lie, Robert had to come up with a convincing explanation because he was caught leaving the Armaty Mansion. Constantly making up new excuses was not an option, especially since he was living there. Despite this, Robert’s lie seemed rather plausible.

While some maids like Monica commuted to work, many others who lacked resources in Souvry had their meals at Armaty mansion. Izeline nodded vaguely, pretending to believe his lies.

“Why were you cwying that day?” she asked, referring to their first meeting.

“….”

Robert didn’t respond and instead pulled his knees up, hugging them tightly and burying his face in them. As they conversed, his once bright eyes quickly lost their sparkle, turning bleak. Izeline wondered if she had said something unnecessary and said again, hoping to ease the tension.

“If you dwon’t want to talk about it…”

“You hwit me.”

Izeline was taken aback when she saw the slightly pained expression on Robert’s face as he looked up at her.

“I, I was just jwoking…”

“It really huwts.”

He clasped his forehead with both hands as if the pain was still lingering and let out a groan.

“Ugh.”

Izeline couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Robert’s eyes widened as he looked at her, blushing slightly. He then pretended to be in pain again, groaning theatrically.

“You’re such a fool! It won’t hurt now!”

“I-it’s true!”

Robert protested.

“Hahaha!”

After laughing while clutching their stomach and playing for some time, they continued to enjoy the warm summer evening. As the night approached, fireflies began to emerge, adding to the beauty of the tranquil field.

Time seemed to have flown by unnoticed.

Under the vast expanse of the starry sky, the sound of gentle breathing was heard from beneath the oak tree. Izeline had rested her head on Robert’s shoulder while Robert rested his head on Izeline’s. Both of them have fallen asleep, completely oblivious to the situation around them.

* * *

“Ung…”

Izeline rubbed her sleepy eyes and lifted her eyelids, taking in the familiar scenery of her room reflected in her green eyes. As she wriggled her small body to get up, she realized she wasn’t alone on the bed.

“What happened?”

Robert was sleeping soundly next to her. They were chatting in the forest, but she couldn’t recall anything after that. Gazing at Robert, who laid down beside her, she clasped her hands in front of her mouth and stared in disbelief.

It was difficult to imagine that this innocent and adorable child would become the novel’s ultimate villain.

‘Was the evil Duke Brioche the main cause?’

The novel primarily focused on the story of the male lead, Prince Arsen, and the female lead, Livny.

As a result, Robert’s childhood was only vaguely touched upon and was only written as “unfortunate.” However, by piecing together the occasional explanations, it would be something like this: The Duke of Brioche, ashamed of his son Krug’s disease, sent him to Souvri under the guise of “recuperation.”

Robert spent an unhappy and lonely time here and gradually became twisted.

Driven by an insatiable thirst for power, he would eventually become a fugitive after committing the heinous act of killing his own father, the Duke of Armanty. With his power, he managed to conquer the dark forces and set his sights on the formidable Barcan Empire.

‘…How did this little guy become so scary and powerful?’

As she gazed upon his peaceful sleeping face, Izeline couldn’t help but ponder the unimaginable future that awaited Robert. He was originally such a kind and delicate child. Was it the disdain of the people that pushed him to the edge of the cliff…?

The thought made her heart ache.

‘They’re being too harsh on him,’ she thought.

Despite her feelings, she knew that keeping a distance was for the best. But…

‘He’s just so cute.’

Poke.

Without realizing it, Izeline poked Robert’s bulging cheek with her index finger.

“Hmm.”

What was the reason?

Feeling the touch, Robert furrowed his eyebrows and woke up from his sleep.

“Oh!”

As soon as he opened his eyes, he was startled by Izeline’s face right in front of him, his eyes were so round that it looked like they were about to pop out.

“W-what!”

“What? It’s me, Izeline.”

“Why are you here…!”

“You’we in my bed.”

“B-bed?”

“Yes.”

Robert was startled by the unexpected situation, causing him to freeze for a moment. He quickly regained his composure and sat up straight with a shaken look in his eyes, as if he was a small boat caught in a stormy sea, before glancing around the unfamiliar room lit by the faint moonlight.

The delicate curtains, wooden walls, ceilings, neat dresser, and child-sized desk and chair were all foreign to him. His gaze then fell on the bed where the two of them were sitting side by side, with only one blanket and one pillow.

Whoosh!

Robert’s face flushed in an instant. Just moments ago, he had been lying next to her on the narrow bed, and now the mere thought of it made his heart race.

“What’s wrong? Awe you huwt?”

Izeline brought her hand to Robert’s forehead with a worried look on her face.

“I’m not huwt!”

Slap!

Robert unknowingly slapped away her hand. For someone who didn’t receive much affection, he was foreign to that kind of action. For a moment, Izeline looked at her hand floating awkwardly in the air before letting out a soft laugh.

Although her hand hurt, she didn’t feel too bothered by it.

“But your face and neck are really red, like a tomato.”

“….”

“Maybe we fell asleep outside,” said Izeline, scratching the back of her head.

She glanced over to Robert, who was rubbing his neck. Concerned about his well-being, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back onto the bed, much to his surprise.

“W-what awe you doing?”

He exclaimed, his face turning even redder, although Izeline didn’t seem to care as she covered him with the blanket up to his neck.

“Wait here.”

“….”

Robert clutched the blanket tightly and pulled it up to his nose, feeling a mix of confusion and embarrassment. Izeline, who came down from the bed, reached the doorknob before running out. After a moment, she returned with a bowl of water and a towel in her hand.

“Okay, I’ll be you’we nurse today,”

She opened her mouth and came to the side of the bed, dipping the towel in the water.

Squeezing the water out of the towel with her plump hands, she gently gathered Robert’s disheveled hair and lifted it up. Robert remained unusually quiet, but the cool and smooth touch of her hand on his forehead stirred a gentle wave of emotion within him.

Izeline, who had perfectly put the towel on his forehead, glanced at him with her big, round eyes and asked.

“How is it? Awe you okay?”

“Yes…”

Robert’s response was barely audible, but Izeline had no difficulty hearing his answer. She gazed with satisfaction at her handiwork while Robert averted his eyes and muttered.

“W-why do you keep stawing at me…”

“Hmm, it’s bwecause you’re pwetty.”

“Huh…?”

Startled, Robert turned his head to face Izeline. Then, she surprised him even more by pinching his cheek with her thumb and forefinger.

“It’s soft.”

She answered.

“….”

Robert would have normally protested if someone else had done that, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything. He simply stared at Izeline in a daze.

She was just an ordinary girl with auburn hair, but her eyes seemed to be shining.

“You—”

“D- don’t swmile.”

“Why?”

“I dwon’t know! It’s uwgly!”

“What?”

“I said it looks uwgly!”

“I said you’we pwetty, but why did you say that?”

Izeline became frustrated and pinched his cheeks harder with her fingers.

“It hurts! Huwts!”

“Serves you right!”

As she stuck out her tongue and retorted, Monica appeared from behind the door.

“Are you awake?”

She appeared when the children were bickering.

“Mom!”

“Izel. Do you know how surprised I was when you disappeared without a word?”

As she spoke, Monica glanced at Robert for a moment. She felt uneasy seeing the young lord’s gaze. She looked back at her daughter and continued.

“Aunt Julie found you sleeping in the forest.”

“Oh…”

“She said you visited me?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you go without telling anyone?”

“Um… that’s—”

Monica’s face was cast in shadow as she spoke, having heard a story from the maids about a girl who disappeared after peeking through a door. She suspected it was Izeline. The thought of her daughter had witnessed the Duke of Armaty slapping her was devastating, but Monica chose to ignore it and change the topic instead.

“What happened? Did you fight with the other children?”

“No, it wasn’t that. I swuddenly miss mom so much…”

“More than that…”

Izeline rambled on while Monica glanced at Robert who was lying on the bed. She was concerned about why her daughter was spending time with the young lord.

“Young mas–”

“M-my name is Lemo!” Robert suddenly sat up and yelled, his face turning pale. “I’m the maid’s son!”

“….”

Monica’s eyes widened. What kind of nonsense was that? The Duke of Armaty’s son is a maid’s child? As she glanced back and forth between Izeline and Robert, a hesitant voice was heard in her ear.

“I-I came to Armanty mansion, my mwother doesn’t know I’m hewe…”

“Don’t worry. I already told her.”

She didn’t know why, but she decided to go along with it for now.

It seemed that he was hiding his identity. Monica knew that there could be consequences for her actions later, but when she saw Robert’s sincere gaze, her resolve weakened as usual. Robert’s tense shoulders relaxed as if he had been relieved.

“R-really?”

Monica nodded with a slight smile.

‘The young master also needs a friend.’

She felt even more determined when she saw Izeline’s innocent eyes staring at her. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a friend who can be with him without any prejudice and calculation? It could have been a precious gift of childhood that will be experienced only once.

Monica smiled gently and lifted her daughter to lie down next to Robert, covering them both with a blanket.

“Tonight, young ma— can sleep here… I mean, go ahead and sleep here.”

“….”

The child didn’t answer. He didn’t want anyone to get too close to him, as he had Krug’s disease. Still, Izeline’s arm, under the blanket, stuck to him shamelessly. Of course, it could be because she didn’t know about his illness…

Despite the awkward closeness between them, it wasn’t unpleasant. When there was no response from Robert for a while, Izeline poked his side.

“Lemo.”

After coming to his senses from the poke, Robert blinked his eyes a few times and whispered softly.

“Okay.”