Chapter 16

“Me… Why?”

Neria was startled too, her eyes widening as she asked back.

‘Right. Why, indeed…’

Aaron answered himself inside, feeling a bit hurt by her reaction.

But it was a natural refusal on her part. He understood it logically, but emotionally, it was another matter entirely. Aaron wasn’t so much embarrassed as he was hurt. He thought himself childish for feeling that way.

‘What is this, am I a little kid or something.’

Aaron clicked his tongue inwardly. Despite his self-mocking judgment, he couldn’t stop his mouth from running away with him.

“I plan to take your advice to heart, Lady Neria, so if your advice doesn’t work well, I might end up holding a bit of a grudge.”

Since he wasn’t being serious, Neria looked at him playfully, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“So you’ll blame me? If you’re going to be like that, I won’t give any advice.”

“Oh dear. Such a weak sense of responsibility, just like your weak ankles.”

Aaron spoke in a mock-dramatic tone, and Neria let out a small laugh.

He looked at her with a mischievous face. Someone who seemed unlikely to act so familiar kept forgetting the distance between them, and it felt strange yet special—she liked it.

Aaron dusted off his seat and stood up, speaking in a polite voice.

“Of course, I’m not so shameless as to take up your time, Lady Neria, so if you refuse again, I’ll withdraw respectfully. But before that, would you like to hear about the concept of a reward?”

“Go ahead.”

Aaron spoke in his remarkable, low voice.

“Free ice cream.”

“…Is there vanilla flavor?”

“Of course.”

Aaron, hiding his delight, extended his hand, and Neria took it to stand up. Their hands met, sharing a similar warmth. Her ankle no longer hurt.

***

A carriage stopped in front of the Warwick mansion.

A maid of the Warwick household looked outside and, seeing who was arriving, opened her eyes wide.

“What?! Duke Aaron?!”

Earl Warwick, who had been buried in the study reviewing the estate’s income and expenditure reports, rushed to the entrance at the butler’s urgent words, scattering confidential documents everywhere.

But the golden one—no, the Duke’s carriage—had already left.

‘I could have served a glass of vodka!’

Earl Warwick hid his disappointment. Instead, he was delighted to see Neria returning home with him.

“My proud daughter!”

Being called ‘proud daughter’ by her father was like a toggle switch. So even praise didn’t make her feel that good, but Neria forced a smile.

“Yes, Father.”

Earl Warwick bombarded her with questions. Neria answered that she’d just happened to meet the Duke in High Town, injured her ankle, and he brought her home.

Naturally, Earl Warwick had no interest in the fact that his daughter was hurt.

“Here, you received an invitation today.”

Neria pretended not to notice the seal had been tampered with as she checked the invitation. It was from a major social gathering in the capital.

It said there would be an outdoor party near the Luet River, and asked her to reply regarding attendance.

When she looked up from the invitation, Earl Warwick, who had been waiting for her to finish reading, beamed.

“Go and attend. Duke Aaron will be there.”

***

The day before the social gathering. Marie, saying it was the latest trend in the capital, placed a cloth soaked in cold toner on Neria’s face.

Lying in bed, Neria fell asleep.

As soon as she opened her eyes in her dream, she saw the dazzling Seiran royal palace. Neria had entered the palace before for the New Year’s event, but this was a part of the palace she’d never seen.

‘Where am I?’

She wondered if this was another dream with Duke Aaron, but he was nowhere in sight. Everything around her was sepia-toned, as if all the color had been drained. Neria touched her eyes thoughtfully.

‘I’m wearing a blindfold again.’

That meant this was one of those dreams—for doing naughty things.

Rolling her eyes, Neria grabbed both cheeks and cried out,

“Isn’t this way too blasphemous?!”

‘So this really was my s*xual fantasy!’ 

Well, she had joked about doing it in the sanctuary before…! Just as she was horrified, someone’s voice rang out.

“Prince!”

A woman dressed like a maid, but in finer clothes, was coming toward her. The woman didn’t seem to see Neria standing there and passed right by. Neria blinked.

Apparently, this was a part of the palace where a member of the royal family resided. But a prince? There were no princes currently living in the palace.

Some royal relatives had the nominal title of prince, but after receiving their own peerages, almost no one called them that.

When the nursemaid disappeared, Neria’s feet moved on their own, as if she knew where to go.

‘It seems I have something to do here.’

She wondered about it, but had no choice but to let her body lead.

She arrived at a dressing room filled with children’s clothes.

‘Why am I here…?’

While she was looking around, someone’s voice came from the gap in a reddish-brown wardrobe.

“Who’s there?”

Startled by the sudden noise, Neria jumped. The wardrobe rattled and opened a little more. Inside, she saw the face of a young boy.

Curious, Neria approached the wardrobe.

His black hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, probably from being inside for a while. The boy’s eyes were bright blue—the color of the Seiran royal family.

Neria felt odd that the dream’s character recognized her. And in this sepia world, he alone had color.

“Helga, I told you not to look for me.”

Apparently, the nursemaid searching for the prince was named Helga. And this boy… was the young prince Helga was looking for. Thinking he must be a rather troublesome little prince, Neria wondered what to say.

But before she could, the prince spoke.

“You’re not Helga. Who are you?”

Neria quickly came up with an idea and answered,

“I’m your imaginary friend, Prince.”

Every child has an imaginary friend. Neria had heard she had one named Bingbong when she was three or four.

“My imaginary friend? Does that mean you’re a ghost?”

The boy tilted his head.

“Sort of. My name is Neri—no, Bangbong. I’m Bingbong’s cousin.”

She thought it was a good answer, but the boy frowned.

“Ghosts don’t exist. If you’re a ghost, how did you set your coordinate reference system?”

“……”

Neria didn’t understand what he meant, but thought it was a clever rebuttal. She felt reassured that he wouldn’t be easily scammed when he grew up.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

The impatient boy pressed for a reply.

“Um, well…”

Seeing Neria’s blank expression, the boy clicked his tongue.

“You’re kind of weird. You’re wearing something strange on your face. But… you don’t seem to have bad intentions.”

Neria perked up and said,

“Ah, it’s because my eyes—the windows to my soul—are so clear and pretty.”

“No. You just look like a fool who couldn’t do anything bad.”

“Goodbye, Your Highness.”

Feeling offended, Neria almost turned to leave.

Just then, a chubby arm shot out from the wardrobe. The little prince turned his head and grabbed her skirt.

“Wait.”

Neria looked down at the small hand gripping her skirt. It was plump and tiny.

“Your Highness?”

He seemed a bit desperate.

“…Alright. I’ll believe you.”

Maybe because he was a prince, he looked embarrassed to concede, and his gaze wandered elsewhere.

“My imaginary friend… Parkbong.”

“It’s Bangbong, not Parkbong, Your Highness. Parkbong sounds scary.”

“Whatever.”

The prince grumbled. Watching him, Neria gathered her courage and opened the wardrobe door, squeezing inside. The prince asked incredulously,

“What are you doing?”

“I used to like squeezing into dark, cramped spaces when I was little. It reminds me of the old days.”

Inside the dark, stuffy wardrobe, Neria squatted beside him. At least there was a blanket, so her bottom didn’t hurt.

‘Anyway, what is this dream trying to tell me…? I can’t figure it out.’

‘Did any of the royal relatives have sons?’

Neria tried to recall the royal family tree, but she wasn’t as knowledgeable as others.

She could have just asked the boy who he was. But she thought he’d scold her for not knowing his name, so she gave up.

‘Maybe he’s a fictional character.’

The two sat quietly in the darkness, holding their breath. She could hear the boy’s breathing beside her.

Kids this age usually chatter away even without prompting.

Just as she thought that, she felt his gaze flicking toward her. It was a silent request for conversation.

Unable to resist his silent invitation and the quiet, Neria spoke.

“Do you… have any worries?”

The prince replied sharply,

“Do you think I’d have worries?”

“Of course. Who doesn’t have worries? Let’s see, it looks like you are worried about yesterday’s math homework, Your Highness. Should I teach you double-digit addition? It’s easy.”

“My eldest brother passed away. People say my second brother will become King. My second brother… he doesn’t like me. He said he’ll send me to the North.”

“So your worry… wasn’t about math problems…”

Neria mumbled awkwardly.

But something felt strange. She thought she’d heard this story somewhere before…

“I don’t want to be the Duke of the North. I don’t need a new castle. Why can’t I stay with my family?”

“Huh…?”

Neria asked hesitantly,

“By any chance, is your name Aaron Denicar, Your Highness…?”