CH 10

*******

Yulif’s return seemed to be delayed. A white face protruded from the narrow gap.

‘There’s nobody there, right?’

Canaren’s ears twitched as she looked around carefully. The sensitive hearing of the Hwira people could hear even the smallest sound from afar.

There was no sound of footsteps or shouts of another’s presence. After checking several times, Canaren cautiously came out.

Yulif, who left, told her to wait for him to come back soon, but he did not come back even after a long time. The window was firmly locked, so the only things that could help her pass time was a pen and paper.

After jotting down a few of her pointless notes, Canaren turned the doorknob. As she saw the door slowly open, hope and courage that had been shattered welled up within her for a moment.

Knowing what’s nearby would help her escape.

Aside from believing or relying on Yulif, she wanted to do the best she could if there was anything she could do.

‘Is this the main palace?’

The main palace had a very different atmosphere from the detached palace where she was confined. Perhaps because of the dark and dull colored wallpaper and floor, it had a heavier and more profound look.

Canaren slowly walked down the hallway, marking the path in her eyes and mind.

It was just around the corner. She could feel a presence.

“What do I do…?”

A young voice was heard.

Canaren hurriedly hid behind the wall, then moved her eyes out to look in the direction the sound was coming from.

He was an elegant looking boy. Dark brown hair was loosely tied with a single ribbon, and his clothes were old fashioned but neat. The child, who seemed about 10 years old, was looking at the statue with anxious eyes, his upright posture gave off a sense of dignity. Canaren’s gaze naturally followed the child to the statue.

‘Handkerchief?’

“Aw…”

The handkerchief that was caught on the statue’s finger fluttered. The child shifted his feet, inhaled, and jumped on the spot. But his stature was so small that he couldn’t even reach the fingertips. The child cried.

Canaren’s ears perked up. The only ones in this area were just the child and her. Seeing the child’s desperate expression, she couldn’t help but feel that she couldn’t pretend she didn’t know.

‘Let’s help him.’

Canaren took a step out into the open. She was afraid that the child would be surprised if she appeared suddenly.

Suddenly, the child looked at her with his eyes wide open. His purple eyes shone strangely.

Canaren felt a strange sense of déjà vu from meeting the child for the first time. He seemed familiar for some reason. She thought he looked like someone.

As she tilted her head, she alternately pointed to her handkerchief and herself.

“…You want to help?”

“Yes!”

The child’s face, who seemed as if would burst into tears at any moment, brightened. But there was a problem. Looking closely, the statue was much larger than she thought. Even if she stretched out her arms, it was insufficient. The boy watched Canaren jumping up and down, but she narrowly missed it.

“It would be better to call the servant. It would be a big deal if we knock over the statue.”

The child spoke in a grown-up tone.

‘It shouldn’t be visible to others.’

Canaren shook her head. She spread her wings without hesitation.

“Wow…”

The child unconsciously admired it.

Two pairs of white wings suddenly sprouted from the woman’s back. Feathers flying in the sky. Then she flew up gently and carefully pulled out the handkerchief. A very majestic scene was unfolding right before his eyes.

The child, who was looking at Canaren as if possessed, was awakened by the soft touch of her hand. The handkerchief he had been looking for was returned. As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw Canaren was smiling down at him.

At that moment, a light coming through the window shone on her. She was like an angel, with a sparkling halo on her white wings.

“Oh… Thank you.”

A reflection of herself was reflected in the child’s large eyes. “Oh,” Canaren made a short sound. She knew the reason for the familiarity of the child’s face.

It was in the eyes of the child.

He didn’t have his eyebrows raised slightly upwards like Yulif’s, but he looked a lot like him.

‘Is he his son?’

She never thought that there could be a child like the twins, Yulif and Deltinus. It was because in the first place, Deltinus was out of her thoughts.

Besides, the air flowing around the child was very gentle and warm. The child had no resemblance to Deltinus at all.

Canren folded her wings and took a step closer.

What was his name, how old was he, and how could she get out of the Imperial Palace. She had a pile of things she wanted to ask, but she couldn’t ask because she didn’t have a voice.

She wished she had a pen and paper.

She could only smile in embarrassment, so the child spoke up first.

“Thank you so much for your help. But are you lost?”

The young, clear voice and polite tone matched him strangely well.

She wasn’t lost, but there was no reason to refuse if the child told her the exit.

Canaren nodded her head quickly. She then pointed at her neck and mouth and crossed her fingers to make a ‘X’. It was her effort to convey her own situation in her own way.

Fortunately, the child was intelligent and noticed her meaning and nodded. But soon it became a serious expression.

“It’s hard for you to speak… Wouldn’t it be better to find someone who knows you?”

“Ah.”

She understands the child’s desire to help her, but it was a bad thing for her to meet other people. She didn’t know it would be so frustrating that she couldn’t speak.

As she was contemplating what to do, Canaren’s eyes twinkled.

Ah-hah! She proudly held out was Yulif’s pocket watch. The stuff he gave her to use at times like this!

“Are you acquainted with my uncle?”

The child asked in a more exasperated voice.

Uncle?

Canaren heard her say and looked back at her child. It was then that she remembered that Yulif was not the only one with these eyes.

Then… This child.

“Canaren?”

They both turned to the direction the sound was coming from at the same time.

Yulif was walking towards the two of them.

“Uncle!”

The child grabbed his handkerchief and approached Yulif.

Yulif was his second favorite person right after his mother. Not his father, Deltinus.

To the child, Deltinus was nothing more than a vicious emperor, not his father.

It wasn’t that Deltinus poured out abusive speech or acted harshly to him like he did to his servants and the empress. Strangely enough, Deltinus was a cynical but generally playful father to Lucian.

However, the child grew up watching his mother violently harbor fear and resentment towards Deltinus.

Naturally, the child’s attention began to turn to Yulif. The child longed for Yulif, who was strong, silent, and always stood up to solve difficult tasks without hesitating.

“Uncle! Have you been here for a long time!”

“Yes, my lord. How are you? I should have greeted you first, I’m sorry.”

“No, Uncle, when did you come to the capital? What’s going on in the detached palace? Are you practicing magic again this time? How long are you staying?”

“You can ask slowly, one by one. And, Your Majesty, call me Duke Rubius. His Majesty will scold you if he knows.”

“…It’s fine, His Majesty isn’t here.”

“There is no place in the Imperial Palace that His Majesty’s eyes cannot reach.”

Yulif’s answer was firm. Doing this wasn’t for himself, but for this poor child.

Deltinus hated to affirm Yulif as a royal family member, whether in public or in private.

The child, who had lowered his head in gloom, quickly returned with a bright face and looked at Yulif.

Canaren, who was next to the child, suddenly stood next to Yulif. It was as natural as if it had been like this from the beginning.

“Who is she?”

“Her name is Canaren. Canaren, this is His Highness the Crown Prince, Lucian.”

She knew it. Canaren bowed low and greeted him politely. In that moment, Canaren’s hair ran down and her obscured ears perked up in display. Lucian’s gaze was focused on the pointy ears and feathers, which looked very different from those of humans.

Yulif, noticing that fact, slid swiftly in front of Canaren.

“Thanks for helping Canaren. She is not familiar with the Imperial Palace. You must be busy, so we will leave now.”

“Uncle! Can’t she accompany me all the way? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, and I’m feeling sad.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t go to the private palace…”

Yulif, who was about to refuse him at once, stopped when Canaren pulled his arm. With her desperate gestures and glances, she told him she wanted to go with Lucian.

There was no way that a sweet woman like Canaren would pass by pretending not to see a child who was down.

A brief sigh escaped Yulif’s mouth.

“If you address me as ‘Duke’, I will.”

“Yes! Un, er– Duke.”

“Then let’s go up to the first floor together.”

Lucian, who smiled broadly, leaned closer to Yulif’s side. With Yulif in the middle, the three of them started walking side by side in the hallway.

Lucian secretly glanced at Yulif and Canaren.

To the child, the two looked like a princess and a knight from a fairy tale. The princess, Canaren, with her mysterious appearance, and her dignified knight, Yulif, who protects her.

Yulif’s watch, which Canaren had, enriched Lucian’s imagination. He had never even heard of Yulif personally giving a present to anyone.

A similar scene appeared in the fairy tale he read just last night. In the fairy tale, the princess confessed her heart to her knight by giving him a pair of earrings she liked.

Lucian was imagining Yulif and Canaren exchanging watches, unaware that Yulif was looking at him.

“We are here.”

Yulif, who had reached the first floor, stopped walking.

Lucian, who lived in the main palace with Deltinus, used to visit the empress, who lived in a separate palace,  several times a day.

Lucian shrugged his shoulders and entered the left path leading to the separate palace. He was pitiful and cute, like a dog being chased away by his master.

Yulif skillfully blocked Canaren, who kept pushing her body forward to see Lucian, against his wide back.

“I hope to see you again before you return to the estate, Un– er… Duke.”

“I will tell His Majesty. Please send my regards to the Empress as well.”

“Yes! Mama will be happy too. Miss Canaren, it was a short time, but it was fun. Thank you so much for your help. I’ll be sure to repay you later…”

“We must say good-bye.”

Lucian, young and innocent, had no idea that Yulif had intentionally interrupted him.

Unable to speak, Canaren simply waved her hand towards Lucian.

Lucian looked back at the two of them once every three steps. In the end, Yulif took the angelic Canaren and went up the stairs again.

“Don’t go out on your own again.”

Yulif admonished Canaren in a low voice.

She had ignored his advice to wait in a safe room, so it was only natural for a reprimand to come.

‘Is he very angry?’ Canaren glanced at Yulif. His tight lips and deep eyes were as indifferent as usual.

She shrugged her shoulders. Thanks to the bright and cute Lucian, she forgot her plight for a moment.

Before Yulif returned, she was going to go back to the room.

If it was discovered by Deltinus instead of Yulif… She would have suffered a terrible thing that she could not even imagine.

Canaren shook her body as if she felt a chill. And nodded her head.

With the quiet Yulif, the air between the two of them subsided. The silence felt heavier as Lucian, who had been chattering until now, disappeared.

“What did you do with the Crown Prince?”

“Ah…”

It was frustrating that words could not come out. She clearly knew it in her head, but when it connected with her mouth it did not mix with her voice.

‘His handkerchief flew to a high place and he couldn’t reach it.’ Why is it so hard to tell a fact that is nothing?

After meeting Lucian, the moody feelings subsided.

Was there anything she could do properly in the Imperial Palace? At least, answering simple questions.

“It’s okay if you can’t answer.”

“……?”

‘Then why did you ask?’

Yulif added as Canaren’s eyes were filled with questions.

“I asked out of curiosity. You look happy.”

Yulif said with his voice still low and with little intonation, yet it sounded softer.

Somehow, the tips of her fingers tickled.

Canaren clasped her hands. Yulif was very friendly at times like this, but when he turned around, he returned with a cool expression.

If Deltinus was a dangerous person who one did not know when or where he would explode, Yulif was a person one had no idea what he was thinking of.

It would be nice if he could talk like the day they had first met at the lake.

The two arrived in front of Yulif’s room, it was past the statue that had taken Lucian’s handkerchief.

Yulif opened the door and let Canaren in first.

“Come here for a moment.”

“Oh!”

Canaren, guided by Yulif’s hand, sat down on the bed.

Yulif took her shoes off her feet. Her swollen feet were exposed.

Canaren twisted her ankle to and fro in surprise, but she couldn’t escape Yulif’s grip.

She threw a pair of shoes over her bare feet in a hurry to come out. Her tiny feet were slightly smaller than Yulif’s hands. Her feet, which were unfamiliar with shoes because she had always lived in a forest, were swollen. Even the shoes the maids brought were all slightly smaller than her feet. It was intentionally done by Deltenius to prevent her from walking properly.

“Why did you hold it in?”

“…Hm.”

It was nothing compared to the wounds she had suffered from Deltinus. She endured it because it was tolerable, and although it was painful, it wasn’t extremely painful.

She was more ashamed to show her scarred bare feet to Yulif than to be sick.

Moreover, when Yulif’s hot hand touched her bare skin, an unbearable tingling sensation spread.

“I didn’t think about the shoes. I’m sorry.”

Canaren shook her head. It really was a wound that was nothing. But Yulif did not answer, furrowing his brows. It was an expression of anger, of something that he didn’t like.

「It’s okay…」

The Hwira language came out of Canaren’s mouth, who was at a loss. Unlike the Imperial language, she was able to speak Hwira naturally. But anyway, it seemed like he didn’t understand.

“You only say it’s okay when you’re really not okay with it.”

Canaren looked at Yulif with surprised eyes. No way!

「Do you know Hwira?」