Side Story 4

“Little one. How far are you planning to go?”  

“I’m not a little one, I’m Alisa.”  

“Alright, Alisa. How far are we going?”  

Alisa led Louis out of the palace, across the garden, and down the stairs toward the beach. Despite her short legs, she walked so diligently that sweat dripped down her face, but she didn’t slow her pace.  

Following behind them, Rayden and Alisa’s maid seemed to be enjoying their conversation, laughing and falling further behind.  

“By the way, what exactly are we looking for?”  

“Well, it’s…”  

The stairs, made from natural stone in their original form, were uneven and varied in height. When they came to a particularly high step, Alisa stopped, turned around, and held out her hand to Louis.  

When Louis, with his hands in his pockets, raised an eyebrow as if to ask what she wanted, Alisa sighed deeply and waved her outstretched hand.  

“Your hand! You have to hold my hand so I can go down.”  

When Louis hesitantly offered his hand, her small, chubby hand grabbed onto his index and middle fingers, and she carefully began descending the stairs.  

“Little one. Don’t you know who I am?”  

“I don’t. Father and Mother just said you’re an important guest.”  

Watching Alisa confidently walk down the small path toward the beach, Louis felt both amused and exasperated.  

Judging by the path, it wasn’t one typically used by royalty or nobles. Alisa, walking without hesitation, seemed quite familiar with the area.  

Though there were no more stairs, her small, chubby hand still held onto Louis’s. Bending awkwardly to match her height, Louis followed Alisa and asked,  

“By the way, what are we looking for?”  

“Proki.”  

“Proki?”  

“Yes, we need to find Proki.”  

What’s a Proki?  

Louis briefly considered scolding Alisa for casually dropping formal speech but quickly gave up.  

Their destination was the edge of the beach, where rocks were clustered together. 

Were we looking for crabs? 

Letting go of Louis’s hand, Alisa darted toward the rocks and began sticking her face into the crevices, searching for something.  

For such a tiny body, she was surprisingly adept at squeezing into the gaps between the rocks. Still, Louis worried that she might fall and hurt herself. With a small sigh, he sat down next to her.  

“P-Princess! Let me look for it. My apologies, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”  

Alisa’s maid, who had arrived late, reached out to help the princess, who was rummaging through the rocks.  

“It’s fine. I’m here, so it’s okay. By the way, what is Proki?”  

Clicking his tongue at Rayden, who couldn’t take his eyes off the maid, Louis asked.  

“Well, it’s…”  

The maid was about to answer when Alisa, lifting her head from between the rocks, answered instead.  

“It’s a gift for Mother!”  

“P-Princess! You shouldn’t say that to His Highness the Crown Prince…”  

“Huh?”  

Alisa widened her eyes, as if wondering what she had done wrong. Louis waved his hand dismissively.  

Let Bella discipline her… Ah. I shouldn’t expect that.  

Smirking with one side of his mouth, Louis decided he didn’t care what Proki was. He just wanted to find it quickly and return to the room.  

The beautiful beach barely registered in his mind; all he could think about was Vivian, who had likely finished her bath by now.  

“What does Proki look like?”  

“It’s this big, green, has big eyes, and is ugly.”  

Her explanation was very simple. Alisa eagerly gestured with her chubby, pale hands, but Louis couldn’t make sense of it.  

Well, whatever. I just need to find something that’s about that size, green, and ugly.  

Nodding, Louis left Alisa in the care of her maid and began searching the crevices between the rocks.  

“Rayden. What are you doing?”  

“Pardon?”  

“Start looking. Why are you just standing there?”  

Louis snapped at Rayden, who was standing idly by the maid and Alisa.  

“Oh, yes, yes…”  

Reluctantly tearing his gaze from the maid, Rayden approached Louis and half-heartedly began searching the rocks.  

“By the way, what are we looking for?”  

“I don’t know.”  

“How are we supposed to find something when we don’t even know what it is?”  

Rayden scowled as he lifted a large rock, only to find a crab snapping its claws at him in irritation. Louis, watching the scene indifferently, shrugged.  

“Whoa! Your Highness, be careful. It’s slippery here.”  

“Of course.”  

Rayden, grumbling, nearly slipped on the wet ground but managed to regain his balance.  

Louis, who had been giving distracted answers, glanced at Alisa, who was busy darting around and chatting with her maid. Then, he approached the water’s edge.  

The shallow, crystal-clear water revealed the sandy bottom, with tiny fish smaller than a pinky finger swimming about.  

Vivian would love this.  

Smiling faintly at the thought, Louis suddenly felt something move near the hem of his pants.  

“Ugh! Ugh!”  

Louis let out a startled cry, followed by a loud splash.  

“Y-Your Highness!”  

Rayden, who had been inching closer to the maid, jumped in surprise and ran toward Louis, plunging into the water without hesitation.  

The water was only knee-deep. Splashing noisily, Rayden quickly reached Louis and helped him to his feet.  

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”  

“Don’t make such a fuss.”  

“But your arm! Your arm is bleeding!”  

Soaked from head to toe, Louis brushed back his wet hair roughly and looked down at his arm.  

A thin red line ran along his forearm, with small beads of blood forming. It seemed he had scratched himself on something when he fell.  

Noticing Alisa approaching with a concerned expression, Louis warned Rayden not to overreact.  

Alisa, carefully walking over the rocks toward Louis, suddenly froze in place.  

“P-Proki! It’s Proki!”  

Louis followed Alisa’s tiny finger to where she was pointing.  

“That… That frog is Proki?”  

It was a large, dark green frog with blue spots. Louis’s eyebrow twitched violently.  

Alisa changed direction and approached Proki. The frog, tilting its head curiously at Louis, didn’t notice Alisa until it was too late and was promptly caught.  

“I found it! I found it!”  

Alisa, clutching Proki, jumped up and down in delight. Her maid, worried she might fall, hesitated, unsure whether to help Alisa or check on the Crown Prince.  

So Proki was that frog.  

Watching Alisa hug Proki with glee, Louis couldn’t help but see a resemblance to his cousin Bella’s mischievous younger self.  

“Your Highness, let’s return to the palace quickly. We need to take care of your wound.”  

At the mention of the wound, Alisa’s expression stiffened, and her eyes grew wide.  

“You’re hurt? Oppa?”  

Hugging Proki tightly, Alisa hesitated and slowly approached Louis.  

“Stop!”  

Louis’s firm voice startled Alisa, causing her to freeze in place. Blinking slowly, she stared at him.  

Telling the maid to take care of Alisa, Louis climbed onto a rock and distanced himself as much as possible from the little one. Water dripped from his clothes as he glanced briefly at Proki in Alisa’s arms before heading back to the palace with Rayden.  

“Louis!”  

Vivian, who had been enjoying a moment of leisure after her bath, gasped in shock upon seeing Louis drenched.  

“What on earth happened…?”  

Sensing the tension, Tia quickly left the room to fetch a towel.  

“His Highness went to the beach with Princess Alisa, and suddenly… For now, he should wash up, and we should examine the wound.”  

“A wound?”  

Vivian’s voice rose an octave.  

“It’s fine.”  

“It’s not fine!”  

Vivian grabbed his arm, examining it with worry. Louis glared at Rayden, who stood awkwardly behind him.  

Tia returned with a towel and informed them that the bathwater was ready. Taking advantage of the moment, Louis slipped out of Vivian’s grasp and escaped to the bathroom.  

He tossed his salt-soaked, damp clothes aside and sank into the warm bathwater. Looking down at his arm, Louis sighed and leaned his head back against the tub.  

It stung a little, but it wasn’t painful. The bleeding had stopped, and it was a minor scratch. But Vivian’s reaction made him feel conflicted.  

After finishing his bath, Louis moved behind the partition to change into a robe, only to be surprised by an unexpected guest.  

“H-How did you get in here…?”  

“I snuck in.”  

It was Alisa, her head hanging low. It seemed this troublemaking princess had quite a wide range of activities.

Was there no one outside?

Louis frowned, roughly towel-drying his hair as he looked down at the dejected Alisa.

Could she… be feeling sorry?

It wasn’t Alisa’s fault.

It was his own fault for being startled by the frog. And then, he recalled how he had raised his voice at Alisa when she had approached him earlier. Louis clicked his tongue at the thought.

At the sound, Alisa flinched.

Louis hung the towel over the partition and approached Alisa.

“Little Princess, what brings you here?”

“…”

“You’re not thinking that this injury is your fault, are you?”

“…”

Alisa, still unable to meet his eyes, kept her head lowered. When Louis rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm, her eyes shifted slightly to glance at the wound.

The moment she saw the injury, her violet eyes, tinged with blue, began to fill with tears.

Why… why is she crying?

Startled, Louis stood up abruptly.

“Sniff… Hic… Waaaaahhh!”

In the end, Alisa burst into tears. Opening her mouth wide, she began wailing loudly.

Her cries were so loud that Louis’ mind went completely blank in his panic.

“Don’t… don’t cry.”

“Waaaaahhh! Waaaahhh!”

The more Louis told her not to cry, the louder Alisa wailed. That’s when Louis noticed a spare towel nearby.

“Here, wipe your tears.”

“Uwaaahhh!”

Louis handed the towel to Alisa, who was crying so hard that even her nose was running, but she didn’t take it and continued sobbing.

Left with no choice, Louis used the towel to wipe Alisa’s tear-streaked face.

At that moment, the door burst open.

“Louis? What’s that sound…?”

Vivian, who had been waiting with the physician for Louis to finish his bath, entered the room.

As soon as Vivian appeared, Alisa ran to her and threw her arms around her.

“Princess Alisa?”

“Waaaahhh! Waaaahhh! O-Oppa! Waaaahhh!”

Pointing at Louis with her finger, Alisa began crying even harder.

Rayden, who had followed Vivian into the room, tried to make sense of the situation but couldn’t figure out why Princess Alisa was there or why she was crying so miserably.

The only thing he could deduce was that it somehow seemed like Louis’ fault.

Apparently, Rayden wasn’t the only one who thought so. Vivian’s gaze began to grow colder.

“Louis.”

Vivian called his name softly.

“Vivian. It’s not what you think. I can guess what you’re imagining, but it’s not that.”

“Waaaahhh!”

“This is unfair.”

“Waaaahhhhhh!”

Louis’ voice, filled with frustration, was drowned out by Alisa’s sorrowful wails, leaving him utterly defeated.