Lucid kept his word and escorted me all the way to the temple gates. After that, he vanished without a trace.

“Olivia!”

It was Sir Michael who shouted upon spotting me. In an instant, people rushed toward me.

“Where on earth have you been? They said you’d gone missing—everyone was in an uproar!”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Something urgent came to mind.”

I had no excuse, not even if I had ten mouths to speak with. But if I had turned back at that moment, this child would surely have been harmed at the hands of the foreigners.

“And who is this child?”

“Well… there are circumstances. His guardian is hospitalized right now, so… could we keep him here in the temple until his grandfather recovers?”

“That won’t be difficult, but…”

The boy looked around with wide-eyed wonder, as if it was his first time inside a temple.

“Little one, what’s your name?”

“Johan.”

“This place is safe, so don’t worry.”

I stroked the boy’s hair gently, scanning our surroundings.

“But what should I do? In my haste, I forgot to bring the medicine.”

“What are you talking about? The medicine’s already been delivered.”

“Delivered?”

“Yes, that physician you mentioned sent over a great deal of expensive herbs. Thanks to that, lives were saved.”

Ah, Galahad.

‘Why does he have to be so kind that it unsettles me? If only he were cruel enough, I could hate him freely.’

“But… there is a problem.”

“What is it?”

“The paladins, you see—when they realized you were missing…”

Sir Michael looked troubled as he glanced behind me.

When I slowly turned, a familiar face came into view.

“Sir Felix?”

“Ha… thank goodness. You’re alive.”

Felix, brushing back his sweat-dampened bangs, sheathed his sword.

“What on earth is going on here, Sir Michael?”

“Well, when we learned you had gone missing, Lord Dante…”

Ah, Lord Dante. Please.

I couldn’t help but slap my forehead.

“Sir Felix, I’m sorry. I forgot about the paladins and rushed back in a hurry…”

“Sigh, no, it’s fine. As long as you’re safe.”

“Does His Highness Edmoud know as well?”

“Fortunately, no. His Highness had only ordered me to check that the blessing ritual had concluded properly, so I stopped by briefly. But as soon as I arrived, I heard Lady Olivia had vanished.”

Felix fanned his collar against the heat. Guilt prickled in me for putting him through this.

“In any case, what matters is that you’re unharmed. You can’t imagine how worried I was—an entire village was practically torn apart while we searched for you.”

“Ah… and because of that village, there’s much I must report to His Highness.”

After all, it was Lucid who had deliberately ordered the shooting of foreigners. An emergency council would undoubtedly be convened.

“If it concerns the foreigners and His Highness Lucid, His Highness Edmund already knows.”

“No, of course that’s important too—but there’s something else. I saw a man there who used to belong to the Blackwood group.”

“Blackwood?”

Felix tilted his head.

“But they should all have been executed.”

“He seemed to be hiding. Do you remember? Back then, it was under someone’s orders that they abducted me.”

If I could find that man, I could uncover the one behind my kidnapping. And maybe—just maybe—it could bring down the Empress and place Edmund on the throne.

“But if he saw you, wouldn’t he have fled again?”

“Perhaps… but I don’t think he noticed me following him. Since His Highness Lucid evacuated all the villagers, there should be clues left behind.”

“Understood. Then let us head to the palace first.”

As I was about to follow Felix, someone tugged at the back of my clothes.

“Sis! Where are you going?”

“Johan?”

The boy clung to me, unwilling to let me go. I stroked his head once more.

“This place is safe, so you don’t have to be afraid.”

“You’ll come see me again, right?”

Was he still uneasy? His small hand trembled as it held on tight.

“Of course. I’ll come visit often. Make sure you listen to the priests.”

For some reason, my own steps felt strangely heavy as I pulled away.

“That reminds me so much of His Highness when he was that age.”

Felix, wearing a fatherly smile, glanced back. Johan had opened the temple door and was waving at me. I lifted my hand and gave him a light wave in return.

“His Highness was that small when you first met him?”

“Yes. He must have been… six years old at the time. As you know, he was raised outside the capital and didn’t have enough to eat, so he was smaller than other children his age.”

Six years old and that small? Considering how tall he is now—towering above most men—it was hard to believe.

“Now, of course, he’s grown into a terribly overbearing man… ah, that part’s a secret.”

“Of course.”

I laughed and urged Felix to go on.

“So, tell me more about His Highness back then. What kind of child was he?”

At my question, Felix’s eyes shone with nostalgia.

“Ah, truly… he was the sweetest little boy. Absolutely adorable.”

“His Highness… adorable?”

“Yes, back then, he would cry over the slightest thing and laugh just as easily. He was a truly endearing boy. My friends used to tease me whenever I said that, asking if he was really my child.”

“Sir Felix, forgive me, but may I ask your age…?”

“Me? I’m forty.”

Good heavens. What on earth did he go through in his younger years to end up with a face like that…

“And what’s with that look? I find it rather insulting.”

“You’re mistaken.”

Though Felix’s expression was uneasy, he held his tongue.

“They say it was you who saved His Highness?”

“Yes. Though at the time, I never imagined he was a prince.”

Felix smiled faintly as he recalled that day.

“He looked ragged. His clothes were of good quality, but they were out of fashion and worn thin. They hung so loosely on his slender frame that he looked as though he had picked up someone else’s discarded clothes. None of the soldiers would have thought him of imperial blood. Had I known that, I certainly wouldn’t have fired my gun.”

“What? I thought you saved him when he was being chased by assailants?”

From what Edmund had told me, Felix had rescued him after he fled from home.

“Ah, well, His Highness left out quite a lot when he recounted it to you.”

Felix let out a wry laugh.

“It wasn’t assailants who fired at him. It was me.”

At his words, I froze mid-step.

“You… fired at His Highness?”

“Yes. It was me. I aimed for his hand, doing everything I could to avoid killing him. I only wanted to stop him, not harm him. The fact that he left out the details… that was probably to protect me.”

Felix let out a sheepish laugh, the sound tinged with embarrassment.

“Please—tell me everything!”

“What?”

I clung to Felix’s hand, practically begging. Startled by my eagerness, he nonetheless nodded.

“It’s not difficult to tell. But in return, keep it secret from His Highness.”

And so, Felix began to recount the story from fifteen years ago.

💠💠💠💠💠💠💠💠💠

The Puglish were silver-haired and red-eyed.

The Imperials despised and loathed the refugees who had crossed the border into the Empire to survive because they resembled the demons described by the Temple.

This hatred resulted in a civil war.

“Sigh… There can’t be any Puglish left in the capital now. Do we really need to keep searching like this?”

Felix looked around, his expression hardening.

No matter how he thought of it, this was nothing but senseless sl*ughter.

How could the Empire possibly make progress if they killed every foreigner they saw?

No matter how he reasoned it, this wasn’t right. But he was a soldier. And for a soldier, the commands of the upper ranks were absolute.

‘God, let no  foreigner appear before me today.’

That was all Felix could hope for.

It was then that his eyes caught sight of a small boy.

Black-haired, but with eyes more vividly red than anyone’s.

A half-blood, perhaps? Or maybe he didn’t know what state the capital was in right now?

Without even bothering to hide his eyes, the boy was running frantically toward something.

“Looks like there’s nothing here after all. Why don’t we head back? It’s cold out.”

“Shall we? If the Puglish have any sense, they wouldn’t step outside Umpha’s district.”

‘Don’t let them notice you. Please, just make it back alive.’

Felix prayed as he guided his comrades in the opposite direction of the boy.

“Wait a second. I think I just saw red eyes.”

A curse slipped from Felix’s lips before he could stop it.

“What the—? A kid?”

“There are still Puglish in the capital, huh.”

“Dyeing his hair to avoid being noticed? Foolish.”

Felix sighed. He thought they had all fled long ago. Why was this child still here?

He raised his gun. If his comrades fired, they would undoubtedly shoot the boy in the head or heart.

It would be better to…

Bang—

Better that he be the one to fire.

At the place furthest from the heart. Where the chance of survival was greatest. The back of the boy’s hand.

“Is he dead?”

“He must be.”

Before the others could confirm, Felix lit a cigarette with practiced indifference.

“Go on ahead.”

It was fortunate that none of his companions smoked, save himself.

“All right. We’ll head into the city first, then.”

“Good. I’ll follow once I’ve finished this.”

Felix drew on his cigarette to steady his nerves. Only after their shadows vanished did he toss the half-smoked stick aside and hurry to the boy.

“Hey, are you all right?”

A faint sound of breathing—thank God.

“Ha… Lord above. Who would have thought that we would be forced to k*ll child.?”

No matter how I thought about it, that wasn’t right.

Even if he truly was a devil’s child—what sin could this small boy possibly have committed?

“I will save you. I swear it.”

Felix gathered the child into his arms and ran.

Fortunately, there was a physician nearby whom he knew well.

“What on earth! I told you not to bring me a foreigners!”

Though grumbling, the doctor carefully examined the boy’s wounded hand.

Just then, the child’s eyes fluttered open.