“This is your first time in the palace, isn’t it? I’ve never seen you before.”

“Yes.”

“Come often from now on. If you become my playmate, you can come whenever you want.” 

At the mention of ‘playmate’, Akan glanced at Robellia’s box of cards. Since cards were a toy that required a partner, the princess must already have plenty of playmates. Although Akan didn’t find Robellia particularly difficult or uncomfortable to be around, he couldn’t become her playmate – after all, they were returning to their estate tomorrow. 

“My father said we’re going back to the estate soon…” 

“Why? Is it far?” 

“It’s about four days from the capital.”

“That far? Then why not stay in the capital? Shall I ask Duke Roxas?” 

Akan knew that if the princess officially asked him to be her playmate, it would put Duke Roxas in a very difficult position. His father had repeatedly stressed the dangers of getting too close to members of the royal family, so he was sure that his father would never agree. The idea of Akan becoming the princess’s playmate was impossible from the start. But that didn’t mean it would be easy for him to refuse. 

“Well, lords are supposed to stay on their estates.”

“But all the other nobles live here.”

“My father believes that an estate must be run personally.”

“I see…” 

Robellia’s face darkened after the exchange. Akan wondered if he had been rude to the princess. What if she thought he was impertinent and got angry? Perhaps he should have left the refusal to his father and simply said it was an honour for now. 

But Robellia, her lips pressed tightly together, didn’t look angry. Instead, she looked lonely. Akan understood that feeling – the fundamental loneliness that remained even when one received special treatment as the son of a lord. The Imperial Palace, magnificent and beautiful as it was to someone visiting for the first time, was probably just an ordinary backdrop to someone who lived there every day. 

“I’ll ask my father when we can visit the palace again, and when we do, I’ll make sure I go with him.”

He made a promise he couldn’t keep, or at least one that would take years to fulfil. It wasn’t a lie. To be accepted by the Emperor as his father’s heir, he would inevitably return one day. 

“Really? Then write to me. I’ll write back.” 

“Yes, I will. Absolutely.” 

Once again, Robellia smiled so brightly that it seemed to light up the entire reception room. If the princess really was writing to him, then exchanging letters would be no problem. Akan wanted to share with Robellia the kind of beauty she could never see in the palace – vast fields of wheat just before harvest, or flocks of sheep gently climbing a hill. 

Robellia’s lively chatter and high-pitched laughter were like a gentle tickle in Akan’s ears. The princess’s servants were kind and polite, and the trays of delicious snacks were delightful. But these things weren’t particularly remarkable. For Akan, this visit to the palace would forever remain the memory of a princess whose smile was as warm and comforting as the gentle spring sunlight. 

Time passed too quickly. As the sky turned red with the setting sun, his father came to fetch him. Judging by his somewhat sombre expression, the audience with the emperor hadn’t gone well. 

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

“Duke Roxas?”

“Yes. I hope my son hasn’t disrespected you in any way, Your Highness.” 

“Not at all. I had a great time with Akan.” 

“I see.”

Duke Roxas smiled with concern at the unexpected behaviour of the princess before him. The princess before him was nothing more than a young and innocent girl. 

Moments ago, he had endured a barrage of insults from the Emperor. The Crown Prince, mocking him with comments about his wife’s death, hardly seemed human. It wasn’t just them – many of the royals Duke Roxas knew were no different. 

But the little girl sitting across from his son was still untouched by the corruption of her lineage. One day, she would likely be used as a pawn in the royal family’s power play, unaware of her fate. As Duke Roxas imagined her future, a cloud of darkness settled over his heart. 

“Well, it seems we must take our leave now.”

“So soon?” 

The princess, who seemed to have taken a liking to Akan, looked down at once. Could they really have become friends in just half a day? The Duke, who couldn’t tell his young son to be polite but keep his distance, found himself in a difficult position. 

“Father, I’ll finish this round first so as not to offend Her Highness.”

It seemed that the princess wasn’t the only one who had opened her heart. Duke Roxas smiled as he saw his son with a stack of colourful cards in front of him and stepped back. 

While his father was busy talking to the head maid, Akan turned his attention back to Robellia. She was bent over the floor, studying the cards carefully. The first card she turned showed a man with a long nose. Akan knew where the matching card was, but he watched her quietly instead. 

Robellia seemed confused about which cards she had already turned over. She pursed her small lips in slight frustration, puffed out her already round cheeks with air, and kept fiddling with the edge of the wrong card. Her clear blue-violet eyes reflected the colourful cards, resembling a mysterious lake filled with vibrant fish. 

Her golden eyelashes, casting a gentle shadow on the edge of the ‘lake’, fluttered slightly. Soon it was no longer the cards that were reflected in her eyes, but Akan himself. Her small lips curved into a tender smile. Akan didn’t realise that, like a pair of matching cards, his own face unconsciously reflected the same smile. 

Robellia eventually flipped the wrong card again. Akan pretended to think for a moment before deliberately flipping a wrong card himself, allowing Robellia to take her turn. In the end, the game ended with a trivial victory for the princess. 

“You won the last round as well, Your Highness.”

“You’re not just letting me win, are you?” 

“Of course not. I’m sure I’ll win next time.”

Akan, trying to calm a disappointed Robellia, discreetly slipped one of the cards from the pile in front of him into his pocket. The boy didn’t understand how serious a crime it was to take something from the Imperial Palace. He simply thought that if Robellia noticed the missing card later, she would be reminded to send him a letter. Then he could pretend it was a mistake and return the card with his reply.

Robellia followed Akan as he left the reception room with his father, her hand gripping his sleeve tightly, making his steps feel heavy. 

“You have to write to me, okay?” 

“I will.”

Every time Akan turned to look back, Robellia was standing in the same place, waving at him. Did the princess show this kind of affection to every visitor? Perhaps if another child visited the palace tomorrow, she would forget him completely and never bother to write a letter. 

Akan remained silent, glancing back and forth. Duke Roxas, noticing his son’s unusually sombre expression despite the seemingly pleasant time spent in the princess’s quarters, felt a twinge of concern. Perhaps Akan had heard something unpleasant from the princess, though he hadn’t shown it.

It wasn’t until the carriage carrying them had passed through the castle gates that Akan finally spoke.

“Father, is it really necessary for us to return to the estate?”

“Do you want to live in the capital?” 

Surprised by the unexpected question, Duke Roxas met his son’s gaze. Akan, with a slightly sulky expression, looked at his father for a moment before turning his eyes to the window, as if to avoid his gaze. 

Another stretch of silence. Akan, who had never been one to throw tantrums when he was growing up, now seemed reluctant to return to the quiet estate after catching a glimpse of the wider world. Duke Roxas himself had been considering a return to the central political stage, but his young son had always been his primary concern in making such a decision. 

As the Duke hesitated, unsure how to explain the complexities of politics to a child, Akan unexpectedly broke the silence. 

“What if I became the princess’s playmate?” 

“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?” 

“No reason.”

Fidgeting with his hand in his pocket, Akan continued to stare out of the window. His eyes were on the street, but the scenery didn’t register in his mind. 

His fingertips brushed the thick texture of the map in his pocket. Surely a noble princess like Robellia wouldn’t bother looking for a lost card – she’d just buy a new deck. In the mountain of decks she had, a single incomplete deck could simply be thrown away. As these thoughts crossed his mind, a wave of sadness slowly crept over him. 

Was it early adolescence? Duke Roxas felt that Akan’s words shouldn’t be dismissed as childish whims. 

“Hmm… I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but you must not be swayed by the splendour of the palace alone.”

“It’s not that… it’s just… the princess…” 

For some reason, Akan found it difficult to articulate his feelings. The fragmented thoughts swirling in his mind seemed strange when he tried to put them into words. Sorting through the jumble in his head, he settled on the simplest explanation. 

“She seemed lonely.” 

“Akan.” 

Duke Roxas placed a firm hand on Akan’s shoulder, straightening his posture. Had he known it would come to this, he might have found an excuse to leave his son on the estate. Regret, though belated, weighed heavily on him now. 

“The princess may be young and innocent, and even I can see that, but she is still a member of the royal family.” 

Akan didn’t understand his father’s concern. With his limited understanding of politics and power, Robellia seemed like an ordinary girl whose father happened to be the Emperor. 

Duke Roxas had always taught Akan to look at any situation objectively, without prejudice. But in this case, that very lesson seemed to have backfired. The Duke decided to speak more openly, as a father rather than a teacher. 

“The closer you get, the less those around you will leave you alone. Until you’re mature enough to distinguish between good and bad intentions, I’d rather you stay away from the capital and the palace.” 

Akan wanted to ask when that time would come – when he’d be allowed to say all the words that swirled in his mind without restraint. 

“Then… is it all right if I write letters? I promised…” 

“Go ahead. And a visit from time to time wouldn’t be so bad either.” 

Duke Roxas assumed that the innocent promise between the boy and the girl would fade after a few exchanged letters, as such things often did. 

But the promise was never kept. 

One moonlit night, imperial guards stormed the estate where the Roxas family were staying. 

“Nothing will happen. Just wait a little longer.”

But even his promise was not kept. A few days after being locked in the mansion, Akan was informed of his father’s execution. 

“Father… is dead?” 

When the boy tried to resist, the soldiers overpowered him effortlessly. His noble status had already been stripped from him, and he was now a slave. They had no qualms about treating him roughly. That very night, Akan was taken into the possession of the imperial family and sold to his next owner. 

In the bedroom of the estate that Duke Roxas had rented, only a single abandoned playing card remained.