Chapter 6

Faced with the harsh realities of life, her girlish dreams often remained just that—dreams. Ethea tried to dismiss these feelings as a natural part of growing up.  

“I don’t know if it’s just teenage angst or if life is supposed to be this suffocating, but there are so many times I want to leave everything behind. At least in my heart.”  

Lyle turned to look at her.  

A strong gust of wind blew across the hill, causing Ethea’s long hair to fall across her face from under her hood. Lyle reached out with his long fingers to brush the hair away. His golden eyes shone with a serious intensity as he spoke.  

“Then why don’t we go somewhere far away together?”  

“What are you saying? Don’t say things like that with such a serious face. You’re scaring me.”  

“I’m serious.”  

“Lyle…”  

“Think about it. As you know, thanks to these eyes I inherited from a distant ancestor, I have the power of exorcism. I don’t know the full extent of my abilities yet, but I won’t starve to death wherever I go. Trust me, and let’s leave together.”  

Ethea shook her head.  

“That’s ridiculous. Get a grip. We’re only sixteen.”  

“My mind has never been clearer. Listen, when Drenai founded the Hillus Empire, he was only twenty years old. Before that, he fought off monsters with nothing but his bare hands. If he could do it, then I’m not that young. Neither are you.”  

“That’s just a legend…”  

“It’s a legend, but the fact that the Empire was founded because of him is real, isn’t it?”  

The wind grew harsher, and Lyle’s emotions seemed to sharpen with it.  

He confessed that he no longer had any attachment to the palace. He was tired of the endless hatred and rivalry among those who shared his blood. He admitted that he had a friend who was a mage, and he thought that if he, that mage, and Ethea left together, they might be okay. He spoke at length.  

Ethea listened, but she couldn’t help thinking that his ideas were unrealistic. Her own situation was just as stifling, but that didn’t mean she could simply run away.  

Her goal was to stay with her father, Javir, until she became an adult and could afford to visit her mother. Unfortunately, unlike Lyle, Ethea lacked the boldness to act on such grand ideas.  

After listening to his long speech, Ethea felt a bit disheartened.  

“Um, Lyle, I need to stay with my father…”  

Perhaps sensing her hesitation, Lyle suddenly shook his head.  

“No, you don’t have to say anything more.”  

“…”  

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It must’ve been too sudden. I was being impulsive.”  

As the wind began to die down, he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked up at the sky. The fleeting thoughts that had momentarily occupied his mind seemed to vanish with the breeze.  

Ethea patted him on the back.  

“Yeah. No matter how hard it gets, let’s endure it for now. I’ll do the same. Maybe we’ll grow to like where we are. There are probably more things we can do here than we think. And as we keep trying, we’ll grow stronger. So, so…”  

They started walking down the hill. Ethea kept talking, watching Lyle’s expression.  

“There are plenty of reasons to leave, but there are still reasons to stay. This Empire’s capital is known for having the best sweets in the world. You love sweets as much as I do, don’t you? What would we eat if we left? And that’s not all. Ordinary people like me, who don’t have special powers, would face nothing but hardship the moment we left the safety of the capital. Even if someone has powers, my mom once told me that having power is like being a magnet for all sorts of trouble. Let’s not make our lives harder, okay?”  

Lyle suddenly burst into laughter. Ethea turned to look at him, puzzled.  

At that moment, he grabbed her hand, lifted it, and kissed the back of it. The breeze was cool, but her hand felt as if it had been burned. The way he looked at her with half-lidded eyes made her heart flutter like the scent of flowers.  

“Did you know?”  

“Know what…?”  

Ethea, half-dazed, barely managed to respond.  

“I like it when you ramble like that. Honestly, I don’t hear a word you’re saying, but… Haha!”  

“What?! You’re not listening to me? Should I shout it right into your ear? Huh?”  

“Go ahead, if you think you can.”  

The serious mood vanished as if it had never been there.  

He playfully ran down the hill, leaving her behind. With his long strides, he was difficult to catch. Huffing and puffing, Ethea struggled to keep up.  

“Lyle! Stop right there! Hey!”  

“Ethea is a snail! A turtle!”  

Even as she ran, a sense of frustration lingered in her chest.  

It was the realization that she couldn’t truly help Lyle. All she could offer him were words of encouragement, dressed up as hopeful platitudes.  

＊ ＊ ＊  

The carriage heading to the palace stopped at the rear gate, not the main gate.  

Ethea felt relieved that it was the rear gate. She didn’t want to be subjected to the stares of the many royal guards at the main gate. If she were unlucky, she might even run into Javir. That was the one thing she had to avoid!  

However, someone was already waiting for Ethea at the rear gate. At first glance, it was clear he was a mage. He was slender, with a pure and gentle appearance, around the same age as her. His face was adorned with a broad smile, though it seemed somewhat tense.  

He greeted her politely.  

“Good day!”  

“Ah, hello. And you are…?”  

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Parazia.”  

Lady Parazia?  

Ethea found it strange to be addressed as “Lady” by someone who appeared to be of high status.  

“I am Seisil Lint, His Majesty’s close friend and the master of the Mage Tower.”  

As far as she knew, the master of the Mage Tower had changed after Lyle’s reign began. It was said that he was the son of the previous master, but she had never seen his face, so she wasn’t sure. She had heard he was young, but she didn’t expect him to be her age.  

“From here, I will guide you to His Majesty. Please follow me. Haha!”  

His laughter sounded awkward.  

‘What is this? Why is the master of the Mage Tower, someone so powerful, guiding a commoner like me to the Emperor and addressing me as “Lady”…?’  

Her puzzlement didn’t last long. Suddenly, a faint memory surfaced.  

Before Gin was born, back when she was still close to Lyle, she had heard something. Lyle had mentioned that there was a boy around his age in the palace who was a mage and the only one he could play with. Although most of those memories had faded, Ethea still retained a faintly positive impression of that boy. Could that mage have grown up to become the master of the Mage Tower?  

Moreover, wasn’t the master of the Mage Tower an even more powerful figure than Javir, the head of the Alchemy Association? Ethea couldn’t understand why such a formidable man was being so excessively kind to her.  

“Um… Lord Lint.”  

“Please, don’t call me Lint. I’d feel hurt. Just call me Seisil, warmly, by my name. It would put me at ease. Haha!”  

He was a man who talked and laughed far too much. It was absurd that he was asking her to call him by his name when they had just met.  

“Did His Majesty instruct you to guide me?”  

She was sure it was Lyle’s doing. Otherwise, there was no way such a noble figure would serve as a mere guide for a visitor to the palace.  

That’s what Ethea thought, but Seisil shook his head.  

“No, not at all. His Majesty doesn’t usually care what I do. He trusts me the most, after all. Haha! I just wanted to do this. If His Majesty’s most important guest is coming, isn’t it only right for his closest friend to guide her?”  

He spoke at length, but it still didn’t seem genuine.  

In any case, Ethea felt burdened and nervous. To her, Lyle had long since turned from a friend into the worst kind of scoundrel, but he was still the Emperor, which created a significant distance in terms of status. Not to mention, the vastness of the palace was intimidating, and the soldiers chanting the Emperor’s name with thunderous voices during training made her feel even more out of place.