CH 14

At first, it was a sense of duty.

“Vileon Byers, as of today, you are in my care. I’ll be seeing you once a week for book discussions. Take care.”

A red brick fence stood tall. Ivy vines climb the wall, but the owner of the mansion can’t even poke his head over the fence.

No, I stand corrected. That’s the wrong word. The girl sitting in the window, basking in the sun, lives in this mansion, but she is not its owner. Not even a single book in the library belongs to her. There is nothing in this mansion that she can own.

Odette Rose. The empty-shelled princess.

She can’t even be called a princess for now, as the Emperor has kept her hidden from public view.

Only when the Emperor has made it official will Odette be able to leave the gates of the manor.

And no one knows when that will be.

It could be decades from now. Even after I die, make sure Odette continues to stay outside the palace. If the emperor were to leave this legacy and close his eyes, then she has no choice but to grow old here forever.

Vileon’s eyes lingered on the thick lap blanket.

The weather had warmed up, and Odette was basking in the sun now, so why would she need such a thick winter blanket?

It seems the rumours of the Princess’ illness were true.

“Appointing an heir from the Count Byers family… He really likes to play politics.”

A girl, barely taller than Vileon himself, giggled. Her voice was thin and fragile. But the words were as sharp as shards of broken glass.

“Didn’t Her Majesty call the young lord separately? After being assigned as my companion.”

“You may call me Vileon if you wish.”

“How dare I.”

Odette turned her head to stare at Vileon. Her brilliant red-rose eyes were proof that she was a direct descendant of the imperial family.

“How dare I call the promising heir to a prestigious noble family by name, when I’m still… nothing.”

“What if I ask you to?”

“Then I’ll beg your pardon and call you Byers.”

Cold and commanding didn’t suit Odette. It felt more like a threat. The word arrogance flashed through Vileon’s mind.

“Byers.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

Vileon stared at Odette’s small shoulders, then spoke.

“Yes, I was summoned by the Empress, and then by the First, Second, and Third Princesses.”

“I can only imagine what they told you. I’m sure they told you to report on my movements, but not to inform their own husbands or any other wives.”

“Yes.”

“And what did you say?”

A straight, rosy gaze flew to Vileon. Vileon answered matter-of-factly.

“What you just said, that others have done the same.”

“…You really said that?”

“Yes.”

Vileon continued in a calm tone.

“I can’t give the same report five times, and in case you’ve all forgotten, the Imperial Academy curriculum is daunting to keep up with, even for the most senior enrollees.”

“You didn’t say that… did you?”

“Oh, of course I didn’t say that.”

Vileon smiled slightly.

“I replied that what His Majesty the Emperor has entrusted me with is nothing more than the kind of book discussions that commoner children have at school, so you won’t find much of interest in hearing the report. St best, you’ll just be listening to 〈Little Red Riding Hood〉.”

Odette’s expression changed strangely. She is twelve years old. Twelve years old who, in the opinion of the experts sent by the Emperor, would excel if she were to enter the Imperial Academy immediately.

And the story of 〈Little Red Riding Hood〉 visiting her grandmother was something that could only be told to a seven-year-old.

By mentioning 〈Little Red Riding Hood,〉 Vileon reassured the ladies of the court.

Whether Odette is smart or not, he plans to pass the time by telling her fairy tales.

The Empress and the other ladies of the court, unsure whether to believe this or not, let Vileon go free. Then they set to work to keep each other in check.

The Inner Court was working exactly as the Emperor intended.

Checks and balances.

The Emperor, with rosy eyes like Odette’s, had been manipulating those around him since he was a crown prince. The faction surrounding the empress and her three princesses is no exception.

Unfortunately, his ability to govern is only so-so. Vileon wishes the Emperor would show as much interest in state affairs as he does in power struggles.

Is that too much to ask of a sixteen-year-old who hasn’t even been knighted yet?

The Emperor must have thought highly of this aspect of Vileon. No doubt he would have a position for him as soon as he graduated from the Academy.

“You have a good way with words, Byers. You know how to get yourself out of trouble.”

“Thank you.”

“I thought you looked too much like a sailor, but now I realise you’re a bit of a fox…”

Look here, Lady. Is it right to judge someone based on their appearance, even if they are standing in front of you? But Vileon had nothing to say because he was quietly scrutinizing Odette himself.

She was skinny. She wouldn’t be a poor eater, but does she have a short mouth?

“Well, the truth of that answer remains to be seen.”

He saw no reason to deceive Odette, because she was powerless.

The mansion’s employees are hand-picked by the Emperor’s brother, and they only see to it that Odette eats and sleeps.

They memorised everything she eats, everything she wears, everything she says and does, and report back to their real employer.

No matter how brilliant Odette was, she was a chess piece in the Emperor’s palm as long as she was tied to this mansion.

“If you have no further questions… shall we now discuss 〈Little Red Riding Hood〉?”

Vileon pulled a thin book from his chest.

Are you really going to discuss fairy tales with me? Odette frowned. It was the look of a wounded pride. She looked like a normal twelve-year-old again.

She opened a book with no title on the cover and her eyes narrowed. Up close, the rose-coloured eyes were much clearer and sharper than any of the Emperor’s other bloodlines Vileon knew.

“This, really this… You want me to read it?”

She sounded surprised. He lets go of the horse abruptly.1

“Is it a trap?”

Odette was immediately wary, and rightly so, for what Vileon had handed her was a book called Fundamentals of Imperial Studies.

Officially, only the crown prince was allowed to learn its contents.

“It is his will.”

“…”

And so Vileon continued to meet with Odette once a week. The girl was remarkably intelligent, and in some ways, worryingly naive.

His heart sank at times.

I was basically sent by the Emperor, your father, to imprison you here.

You shouldn’t be exposing yourself to me like that. You should be protecting yourself more.

When you laugh like that, it makes me laugh, too. When you look out the window with that heart-stopping look on your face, I can’t help but wonder if the horse comrade who comes by once a week won’t come because it’s raining…

“I can’t stop thinking about you.”

It was a relationship born of duty. Yet Vileon was unable to control his natural affectionate nature, and gradually drew the proud princess deeper and deeper into his heart.

“Lord Byers, would you be willing to be my dance partner?”

Odette, now sixteen years old, asked, a little embarrassed.

“My dance teacher says my turns are terrible.”

Vileon’s ears picked up on Odette’s unspoken words: she would be entering the palace in a week as the Fourth Princess.

The long-anticipated moment has arrived, but Odette is not too agitated. “That’s good,” she said to Vileon as he told the story. That was all she said.

Then she practised on her own until her feet gave out.

My proud and stubborn Princess.

He willingly gave up his time to help Odette practice. He even stopped by the mansion again late at night to give her an ointment, in case she didn’t want to show her wounded foot.

“This will help cool the fever. I hope you’ll put it on and go to sleep, given my good behaviour in riding off on horseback alone at this hour.”

“You don’t have to do that… My feet doesn’t hurt.”

Lies. When Odette took off her shoes during the break, he saw that the tips of her silk stockings were red. By now, the mere touch of water would sting.

“Then pretend it’s massage cream and apply it.”

“I’ll take it because the lord gives it to me… Anyway, he’s like a mother bird, and even if I try to push him too hard, he’ll feel bad and won’t know what to do.”

What he handed her was actually a special ointment made by a doctor who was only in charge of the imperial couple.

Vileon Byers had been able to get his hands on it because he was the Emperor’s trusted Chancellor.

Vileon spoke of the ointment he had worked so hard to obtain as if it were an ordinary item, lest Odette should be too proud to accept it.

The horse that returned was the mother bird2.

Vileon swallowed a bitter laugh.

A mother bird.

Certainly not a phrase you want to hear from your companion.

Normally, people don’t whisper their love to a man like a mother bird. You don’t kiss the mother bird. You certainly wouldn’t marry a mother bird.

“You’re already behind on your work because of me, so why bother… Now I have to go back to the palace and work overtime. Don’t do this in the future. Of course, in the future, I’ll still be at the palace…”

You find it difficult to say thank you, so you grumble unnecessarily.

It’s not your fault that you can’t say it. Odette Rose was never given much of a chance to share her warmth in the first place.

Your mother was killed in front of her young daughter, and you were taken blindfolded and imprisoned in this mansion before you had a chance to grieve her death.

If the people around you had been kind to you, you might have felt more free to thank them.

But I am concerned.

The Imperial Palace is the place where you have to say things you don’t mean, and I’m afraid you’ll get into a lot of trouble because of your temper.

“Your Highness.”

Vileon said quietly.

“In a week’s time, I suppose I’ll be able to call you that.”

“…Yes. Finally.”

“I know you’re not worried, but I’ll tell you anyway, so you don’t have to be. I’m sure the High Council will be on your side no matter what.”

Suddenly, Odette’s eyes widened, like in an optical illusion only seen by the desperate.

“Mother bird.”

Odette’s agitation was fleeting,

“Yes, a mother bird.”

That was enough for Vileon. It was all he could do to ease his bitter discouragement.

Friend. Helper. Loyal.

Those are the words that define Vileon Byers to her. That’s good enough. That’s not bad.

Odette didn’t want him as a companion, and he couldn’t just push his feelings on her. That wasn’t Vileon’s way.

Part of him was curious. He wondered what it would be like to show his feelings for someone he liked without filter.

It was probably a happiness he wasn’t allowed in this life.