If he was just here to replace Neiri, he’d soon be back where he came from. While his resemblance to Zetak had caught my eye, there was no reason to pay any further attention to him if he wasn’t really him. The man, still watching me closely, finally spoke.

“Neiri mentioned that you always spend time out here in the garden. Is there a reason for that?”

“You talk too much. Refrain from unnecessary remarks.”

“I ask because it is necessary. Until Neiri returns, I’ll be the one to look after you, Your Highness. Is there a special reason you’re always out here?”

His deep, resonant voice was calm and gentle. In a way, it felt as if he was trying to reassure me, but there was also a hint of subtle arrogance in it, as if he was trying to persuade me to say what he wanted to hear. And yet, strangely, it didn’t bother me. Why am I out here? I looked at the empty chair across from me. There was no real reason to answer him, but the words slipped out. Perhaps it was because his presence reminded me of Zetak.

“…Tea.”

I muttered the word, as if talking to myself. Someone to share tea with. That’s what it meant. Even though he’d been the one to ask, he didn’t speak for a long time. He stood beside me, staring silently at the empty chair in front of me.

“Tea.”

“Is there anything else you’d like?”

“Why do you ask me that?”

The man didn’t answer, and I didn’t press him for an answer, so I remained silent. The garden, empty of people, was quiet. Occasionally a breeze blew through, adding a touch of eeriness to the atmosphere. The sun was setting, and darkness had completely taken over. Under the faint moonlight, the garden took on an almost serene and picturesque quality.

When he returns, it might be nice to come here at this time. It could be a unique experience. But it wouldn’t be today. Just as I was about to go back inside, someone appeared at the entrance to the garden and walked towards me.

“I was afraid I’d come too late, but thank goodness you’re still here.”

Bapharos smiled faintly and sat down across from me. If he had come to find me, it could only mean that it had something to do with Karial. I gestured for the man to leave and he moved away from the table. However, he continued to stare at me, which was incredibly rude. Normally, when you are told to leave, you turn around or stand with your back to me.

Bapharos looked at the man, but didn’t seem particularly concerned. Instead, he reached into his cloak and pulled out something – a coin-sized recording stone. He placed it on the table and slid it towards me.

“Let me get straight to the point. Karial is dead.”

“She’s dead?” 

“I recorded her last moments on this stone. I thought it best to show it to you. I instructed them to document it before disposing of the body.”

“It seems the terms of our agreement have changed. I didn’t ask for proof of her death. My request was that you keep her alive until Zetak returns.”

Bapharos sighed, as if to say there was no other choice.

“I don’t particularly like it when a deal ends messy like this… but there’s nothing we can do now that she’s dead. Just so you know, it wasn’t suicide. As you requested, she was treated at the appropriate level. Even though it was the mines, it wasn’t so unbearable that someone would consider suicide.

Why then? I stared at the stone. I was curious, but I didn’t feel the urge to play with it. Seeing that I was silent, Bapharos spoke instead.

“It was an accident.”

“……”

“Even with the treatment, we had rendered one of her legs useless. It’s only natural that her movements were sluggish. While she was working, a falling stone hit her. She couldn’t get out of the way in time and was hit. Unfortunately, it hit her head and she died instantly before there was even a chance to treat her.

Instant death. For all the atrocities she had committed, it felt like too clean an end. Even if she had suffered through seven years of hard labour, was that enough? Would Zetak be satisfied?

“Had she shown any signs of remorse?”

Had she ever sought forgiveness, even in her thoughts, for what she had done to Zetak? Had she reflected on her sins, even in private? Bapharos glanced at the record stone and muttered.

“Who knows?”

“With her tongue cut out, she couldn’t speak, so we’ll never know what she was thinking. But the warden contacted me a few times. They complained that her gaze was getting more and more frightening, that she was giving them the creeps… They even begged me to take her out of their care, asking how much longer they had to keep her.”

Judging by this, she hasn’t changed. Bapharos muttered to himself.

“If she never repented, then from her point of view she might have died feeling deeply wronged. Thinking, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong. Why am I suffering?'”

There was no way of knowing for sure now that she was gone.

“No matter how much of an accident it was, the fact remains that I couldn’t grant your request. I wouldn’t exactly call it compensation, but if you ever get into trouble, let me know. I’ll sort it out for you.”

He spoke casually, but the meaning behind his words was far from light. To offer to solve a problem once, no matter what the circumstances, was essentially to grant immunity for a single transgression. An immunity pass from the future Emperor. It was something that could one day prove invaluable – not to me, but to Zetak.

“Give it to him instead of me.”

Living in the palace with the body of a monster, Zetak was bound to get into trouble at least once. He would need it far more than I would. Bapharos stared at me for a moment before smiling.

“Still the same. Well, I’ll give him that. Regardless, the Recording Stone is yours now. Whether you show it to him or handle it yourself, it’s up to you.”

Bapharos turned and left immediately after speaking. Judging by his quick steps, he seemed busy even at this late hour. That made sense. Father had reportedly given him a considerable amount of work to do. He probably even sacrificed his sleep to keep up. Perhaps my future would have looked like this.

If I hadn’t been given a premonition, I might have ended up living a similarly hectic life – spending my days on pre-determined tasks, only to meet my end at Zetak’s hands, just as I had seen in that future. I slipped the recording stone into my pocket. I intended to give it to him when he returned. Whether he saw it or not would be his choice.

“The wind is cold. You should go inside now.”

Before I noticed, the man had approached and was helping me to my feet, holding my arm. He brushed my shoulder lightly for a moment before stepping back. Was it because I looked cold? Even if he was of noble descent, it was unacceptable for a servant to touch a member of the royal family without permission.

I wanted to say something to him, but when our eyes met, I stopped myself. I couldn’t quite explain why, but I didn’t feel like arguing with him. Or maybe I knew the reason – because in some inexplicable way I saw Zetak in him.

The colour of his hair wasn’t the same as Zetak’s. At first glance it looked black, but on closer inspection there was a faint blue tinge to it. It wasn’t really black, but more like a deep navy blue. Its eyes were different too, and there were no scales to be seen.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that they resembled each other in some way. Was it the eyes? The features? Or perhaps the aura? As I stared at him, he looked down at me with a slightly irritated expression.

“Has it always been like this?” 

The sudden question was so out of the blue that I couldn’t make out his intention. Sensing that I didn’t understand, he spoke again. 

“Always like this… No, never mind. Forget it.” 

He seemed to be about to say something, but stopped himself and closed his mouth. Perhaps he had decided not to share, for he turned his head to avoid my gaze. I didn’t feel like prying, so I turned away. As I left the garden and began to walk, he followed quietly. 

“Why did you become a servant?” 

Even as I asked, I wasn’t sure why I cared. He was just a servant, filling in for Neiri. In a few days – maybe even tomorrow – he’d probably return to his original position, someone who had nothing to do with me. But for some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about him. 

“I have someone I need to meet.”

His answer stopped me in my tracks. Even his reason for entering the palace was similar to Zetak’s. When I turned to look at him, his face was expressionless. For a moment I wondered if he was Zetak. But I quickly dismissed the idea. If he was Zetak, he wouldn’t pretend not to know me.

“More importantly, will you be drinking tea in the garden again tomorrow?”

“Probably.”

“You don’t meet anyone. Do you just sit there all day staring at the empty seat opposite you? Does a prince really have so little to do?”

“Watch your words. If you’d said that to another prince, you’d be punished by now.”

“Then why don’t you punish me, Your Highness?”

Why don’t I? I knew the answer. I was aware that, for reasons I couldn’t quite explain, I was letting his rudeness slide. But there was no need to give him such an answer.

“You dared to lay your hands on a royal body and spoke words to my face that deserved punishment. And yet you let it go.”

“If you understand, then from now on restrain your…”