Chapter 40

“Looks like we’ve arrived.”  

Leopold halted his steps and smiled brightly as he turned to Euphrasia standing beside him.  

Euphrasia, who had stopped alongside him with a puzzled expression, tilted her head and scanned her surroundings.  

Leopold, unable to resist Euphrasia’s insistent suggestion, had taken her hand and led her here.  

Now, Euphrasia was half in a daze.  

It was her first time experiencing such a phenomenon—where the scenery around her shifted rapidly with every blink.  

It wasn’t just a matter of quick movement.  

With every step, she could distinctly feel a warm breeze enveloping her feet, propelling her forward.  

In an instant, they arrived at the center of an unfamiliar alley.  

The view of the streets within the alley was foreign.  

Cobwebs hung in various places, and the buildings were cracked, with winding, narrow paths stretching between them.  

The paths grew narrower as they went, piled high with filth that emitted a stench strong enough to sting the nose.  

The occasional individuals visible in the alley were sprawled out in corners, their gazes vacant as they weakly stared into the void.  

Euphrasia looked at Leopold with a confused expression.  

Leopold, however, did not seem surprised.  

Contrary to his refined upbringing, the Prince acted as though he was accustomed to such sights.  

Glancing around, Leopold shrugged his shoulders and spoke.  

“There must be a reason you insisted on following me here. Go ahead, tell me. Whatever it is, I’ll listen.”  

“How did you…?”  

“Surely, Miss Euphrasia, you didn’t follow me here for a date in the slums, did you?”  

Leopold teased, scrunching his face playfully and laughing.  

From the moment he decided to bring Euphrasia to the slums, he had anticipated that today’s outing wouldn’t go smoothly.  

He had no desire to engage in the farce of searching for a fake sister alongside his real one.  

Moreover, Leopold had sensed that Euphrasia had a specific reason for adamantly following him.  

Now that they were here, he figured he might as well listen to what she had to say.  

Feeling relaxed, Leopold scanned the area again.  

Though he had managed to shake off the soldiers tailing them, the unpleasant gazes of scattered slum dwellers at the entrance followed them.  

It would be better to find a place with no one around.  

Taking Euphrasia’s hand again, Leopold moved forward.  

A warm breeze from somewhere urged him onward.  

Leopold continued walking without pause, and the scenery around them shifted rapidly once more.  

Even while running, he could sense Euphrasia’s bewildered presence as she repeatedly turned her head this way and that.  

Much time had passed.

Only after a while—when she had somewhat acclimated to the foul stench of the slums, which initially seemed impossible to endure—did Leopold finally stop.  

Through the space they had just arrived in, Euphrasia realized that even within the slums, there were distinct differences.  

The crumbling buildings that had been sporadically visible at the entrance were now entirely absent.  

The only things visible now were a few shacks scattered sparsely, and rats crawling in the dark corners.  

Even after stopping, Euphrasia remained silent for a while, busy sorting through her chaotic thoughts.  

“How about here? In a place like this, no matter what conversation takes place, it won’t leak out.”  

Leopold willingly broke the silence first.  

From the moment they wandered through the bustling streets together to the moment he reluctantly brought her to the slums, he had resolved himself.  

No matter what Euphrasia asked, he would answer truthfully.  

Having lived a life of constant struggle and survival, Leopold had always been mindful of his every action and word, and he approached the future with caution.  

Thus, he had never rashly attempted to reveal the truth to Euphrasia.  

He had planned to wait until their bond deepened sufficiently, until he was certain she would stand firmly on his side, before telling her everything.  

‘A sudden whim. This isn’t like me.’  

Leopold swallowed a bitter smile.  

The reason for his whim was trivial.  

At the fruit stall in the commercial district, watching Euphrasia eat skewered fruits while reminiscing about Isaac had been unbearable.  

It felt like the unconditional affection she held for Isaac, her unrelated brother, was something he should have received instead.  

It was as though something that rightfully belonged to him, as her true blood relative, had been stolen.  

He knew it was a twisted form of emotional deprivation.  

But Leopold wanted to receive the familial love he had never felt from his parents through his newfound half-sister.  

Fortunately or unfortunately, her upbringing seemed to have been similar to his own.  

A life spent suppressing her presence, eating scraps of attention.  

There was no way such a life was devoid of emotional deprivation.  

The two of them were perfectly suited to fill each other’s voids.  

‘If only Duke Herrington weren’t in the picture.’  

However, there was a clear difference between them.  

Unlike Leopold, who remained utterly alone, Euphrasia had managed to form her own incomplete family.  

The longer time passed, the more uneasy he felt that he might not have a place within her circle.  

This, too, was part of the reason for his whim.  

“Prince.”  

While Leopold was lost in thought, Euphrasia was organizing her list of questions in her mind.  

‘First of all.’  

Having made up her mind, Euphrasia asked slowly.  

“Please tell me in detail about my parents.”  

She instinctively knew.  

Though she didn’t know what had prompted the Prince to suddenly change his mind, the man who had always hidden behind a layer of nonchalance was now willing to answer her questions truthfully.  

Among the things she was curious about, the topic of her parents held the most weight.  

Until recently, she hadn’t even known of their existence, which only made her more curious.  

She wanted to turn her hope—that she had once experienced unconditional love from her parents during her forgotten childhood—into certainty.  

Euphrasia’s pupils trembled faintly.  

Leopold sent her a light smile, understanding her feelings completely.  

“Before I answer, I think I need to tell you the real reason I came to the empire as part of the delegation.”  

Leopold didn’t rush.  

He had plenty of time to explain everything from the beginning, step by step.  

“There is a lost Princess in the Kingdom of Kettlin. I came here to find my sister.”  

“A lost Princess?”  

Euphrasia furrowed her brows slightly, unable to follow the sudden turn of the conversation.  

Now was the real beginning.  

After taking a moment to steady his breath, Leopold parted his lips to speak.  

Thunk, thunk.

Thunk, thunk. 

Clear footsteps, out of place in the deserted area, seeped into the air.  

The sound of steady steps walking across the uneven, rough ground of the slum alley.  

Euphrasia widened her eyes, confirming the figure approaching.  

An individual she hadn’t expected to encounter here—someone completely out of place in the slums.  

“Duke?”  

It was Duke Herrington.  

Even in shabby clothing, his overwhelming presence could not be concealed.  

Eric, who had approached her closely, was just as surprised.  

He hadn’t expected to meet her here after nearly giving up on finding her.  

Euphrasia’s expression was a mixture of excitement and tension, while Leopold, standing a few steps away, furrowed his brows slightly and parted his lips.  

Leopold, too, hadn’t anticipated meeting Duke Herrington here and now, and he was visibly flustered.  

‘I’ll have to delay my answer.’  

Continuing their earlier conversation in front of Duke Herrington was impossible.  

Quickly managing his expression, Leopold bowed his head politely to Eric.  

“Meeting you in a place like this, Duke, makes me think the empire is smaller than I imagined.”  

“Indeed, Prince. I, too, realized today just how small the empire is.”  

Eric’s smooth response carried an inexplicable sense of tension.  

Before Leopold could ponder the oddity, Eric turned his head toward the direction he had come from.  

Thud thud thud! 

Suddenly, a strong vibration shook the rough ground.  

Soon, dust rose in the distance, and multiple figures approached at full speed.  

“You’re late. Discipline must’ve slackened considerably. As soon as we’re back, it’ll be straight to intensive training.”  

Eric’s gruff voice made the approaching group of soldiers flinch and halt their steps.  

It was the Duke’s private soldiers, who had been accompanying him.  

Among them were a familiar child and an unfamiliar woman.  

“Oh? You’re…”  

“M-Madam, I’m sorry.”  

Euphrasia exclaimed, pointing her finger at the child.  

The child, upon meeting her gaze, instinctively bowed deeply and murmured.  

Why was the pickpocket who had stolen my coin pouch now with the Duke?  

Euphrasia looked to Eric with questioning eyes, demanding an explanation.  

“The pickpocket isn’t the important thing.”  

Eric, however, ignored her unspoken demand and fixed his piercing blue gaze on Leopold.  

“Prince Leopold. It seems I’ve found your lost sister.”  

A smirk tugged at Eric’s lips.  

At his words, Leopold forgot to maintain his composure and gaped.  

His gaze shifted to the center of the soldiers’ group.  

A woman stood there, holding the child’s hand, swaying as though she might collapse.  

Her long hair began to flutter in the breeze.  

The faded gray strands bore an uncanny resemblance to those of the stunned Prince of Kettlin.