The autumn rains dragged on endlessly. Cedric sat by the warm hearth, watching the rain beating against the window, until the soft tapping of Shisha’s fingers on the table drew his attention to her.

“Why aren’t you eating today, Your Highness? Is it because of that letter again?”

As the monsoon continued, the delays to Anita’s correspondence grew longer and longer. Restless and irritable, Cedric often complained about this. In truth, the weather easily hindered letter delivery; the heavier and longer the rains, the later the letters arrived.

“That’s part of it, but not only that…”

“Your Highness, is something troubling you? Please, tell me what it is.”

When Cedric trailed off, she reached out, taking his hand with careful warmth. He didn’t pull away. Instead, he looked straight at her and spoke quietly.

“Shisha.”

“……”

“About Father and Mother… Is there something going on between them that I don’t know about?”

“What do you mean, Your Highness? Their Majesties are simply busy, that’s all—”

“That’s a lie.”

Whenever it rained this hard, Cedric found himself thinking about his parents’ arguments and the quiet, uneasy distance that had grown between them. He was sure there were people who knew the reason why. Yet nobody ever told him the truth.

“I know everyone’s hiding something from me.”

“……”

“It’s probably one of those things adults think only they should know.”

Shisha’s eyes trembled with conflict as she looked at him. She parted her lips as if she were about to speak, but Cedric suddenly realized that he didn’t want to hear it. Not from her. Something inside him told him that whatever she said would be irrevocable. Once he heard it, there would be no going back.

Feigning composure, he climbed down from his chair.

“Never mind. It’s better I don’t know. It’s between the two of them. They’ll have to fix it themselves.”

“Your Highness.”

Shisha called, catching his shoulder just as he tried to leave. Her grip was firm, too firm and Cedric, startled, turned to face her.

The expression on her face was one he had never seen before cold, almost severe.

“…A man is a man, and a woman is a woman. According to the teachings of the Goddess, that difference is absolute.”

“……”

“I’m saying this because I’m a woman, Your Highness. The Goddess teaches that women must find salvation through obedience, patience, and submission. That is the duty we are given in this world. If we defy it…”

“……”

“…it brings ruin.”

Cedric frowned. The sudden change in her tone and choice of words made him feel deeply uncomfortable. Although she hadn’t mentioned the emperor or empress by name, he knew who she was talking about. It was his mother.

He felt a hot surge in his chest. He slapped her hand away, the sharp sound echoing in the quiet room.

“Shisha, what are you saying? I don’t care about that!”

“……”

“Don’t ever say things like that again. It’s unpleasant. I don’t want to hear it.”

Her hand reddened where he had struck it, but Cedric refused to look at it. Biting his lip, he turned and stormed out of the room.

Thud.

The door closed sharply, and the crown prince was gone. Shisha stared at it for a long moment before slowly rising to her feet and murmuring,

“But, Your Highness… this is the order the Goddess has laid upon the world.”

··· ✦ ···

Cedric ignored her completely for almost three days. When she spoke to him, he pretended not to hear her. When she stood before him, he acted as if she were invisible. Yet, no matter how he behaved, Shisha remained as gentle as ever, tending to him with her usual care and patience.

“What are you doing, Shisha?”

In the end, Cedric was the first to give in. Worn out after days of inner turmoil, he finally went to find her. Shisha, who had been kneeling in prayer, turned towards him at the sound of his voice.

“Your Highness. Have you forgiven me now?”

She greeted him with her usual serene smile, which only deepened Cedric’s guilt. He shuffled closer, uneasy, and glanced furtively at her hand. Thankfully, there was no redness left on her skin.

“I don’t know. Anyway, I asked what you were doing.”

“I was offering a prayer to the Goddess.”

Cedric sighed with relief, but frowned slightly as he followed her gaze to the small statue on the desk. Made of crystal, it was clear and luminous, refracting light into colors that changed with each angle. Even to someone who didn’t believe, it looked divine beautiful and almost sacred.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

“……What were you praying for? Your children?”

Instead of answering, he spoke of her lost children with caution. Shisha rarely mentioned them only that both had been frail and had died of illness before she came to the capital.

“Of course, I always pray for them. But this prayer was a little different.”

“……”

“I prayed for you, Your Highness. For His Majesty, and for Laxion.”

For the Goddess’s devotees, a prayer for the Empire was nothing unusual. Yet Cedric found it strange that she had mentioned him and the Emperor, but not the Empress.

“My prayer isn’t finished yet. Would you like to join me, Your Highness?”

“Well, just this once, I suppose.”

Any lingering doubt he had about someone he trusted so deeply faded quickly. Cedric didn’t believe in the Goddess, but he thought saying a single prayer couldn’t hurt.

Following Shisha’s lead, he clasped his hands together and closed his eyes, unaware of how intently she was watching him.

··· ✦ ···

There had been an attempt on the Empress’s life. It was the inevitable result of the deepening political divide.

“Those vile people… How dare they try to harm my mother? They should all be wiped out!”

For the first time since ascending the throne, Emperor Charles ordered a brutal purge. Anyone connected to the assassination, regardless of their rank or status, was arrested, tortured and executed in public.

Like his father, Cedric was consumed by anger. Following the attempted assassination, security around the Empress was increased, making it almost impossible for Cedric to see her. Even worse, the incident destroyed the fragile warmth that had begun to return to their relationship.

‘They were finally getting along again… and now this?’

However, the Empress openly opposed the Emperor’s decision. Although she had herself been the target, she condemned the cruelty of the t*rture and executions.

Holding the composition that his tutor had praised so highly, Cedric kept his head bowed. It was supposed to be a happy day, a rare opportunity to dine with both his parents. He had planned to show them his work.

“Don’t be too sad, Your Highness. I’ll stay by your side.”

“…Thank you, Shisha.”

It was Shisha who comforted him, and Cedric, unable to hold back, wept in her arms. She brushed away his tears, her fingers tender against his skin, before asking quietly.

“Do you wish to be with Her Majesty the Empress?”

“Of course. Isn’t that obvious?”

Cedric gave her a puzzled look — why would she ask such a thing? — but answered without hesitation. That should have been the end of it, yet Shisha pressed on.

“…Why?”

“What?”

“Why do you wish so much to be with the Empress? Her Majesty hardly ever spares you a glance.”

“What do you mean, why? She’s my mother. My only one.”

“……”

“Isn’t it natural to want to be with her?”

Cedric felt a strange, heavy sensation in his chest that he couldn’t quite explain. He gently pulled away from Shisha’s embrace. She let him go without protest, lowering her gaze and nodding faintly.

“Your mother… she’s your only one. Yes, Your Highness, you’re right.”

··· ✦ ···

Anita’s letter still hadn’t arrived. Cedric had read her last letter so many times that the edges were beginning to fray. His expression fell as he noticed the corners crumbling between his fingers.

“…At this rate, it’ll wear away completely.”

He carefully replaced the letter in its envelope, pressing down on the royal seal of Callithea with both thumbs, before tucking it into a small box containing his most cherished possessions.

Glancing at the calendar, he saw that a date had been marked with a star. It was a very special day.

“Shisha, come to think of it… Mother’s birthday is soon, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What should I give her? Something ordinary won’t do.”

His father and the palace staff were responsible for preparing the banquet. However, Cedric wanted to prepare something himself, something personal. Jewelry? A long letter? Freshly picked flowers? But they all seemed too plain and predictable.

“What about a surprise gift?”

Shisha suggested softly.

“A surprise?”

The unexpected idea made him blink. Shisha smiled faintly, her tone gentle as she invoked a familiar name.

“Like in the Crown Princess’s letter. I recall Her Highness mentioned being delighted by a surprise gift.”

“That’s right! Anita said her brother once gave her a little white rabbit as a surprise. But wait, Shisha—did I ever show you her letter?”

“…You speak of her so often, Your Highness.”

“Well, that’s true. I always tell you about Anita.”

Cedric grinned, drumming his fingers lightly on the desk.

“All right, a surprise gift… What would make Mother happy, I wonder?”

As he mused, Shisha adjusted the prince’s coat draped over a chair and said casually, her tone light but deliberate,

“How about a fig tart? Her Majesty enjoys figs just as much as you do.”

“Isn’t that too obvious? There are so many things far tastier than that.”

“A special fig tart.”

“A special fig tart…?”

Cedric’s attention was immediately caught by the word ‘special’. His eyes lit up as he turned towards her. Shisha smiled and stepped closer, her silver-blonde hair brushing his shoulder. Leaning in, she whispered in his ear as though sharing a secret.

“What if you were to make the tart yourself, Your Highness? A tart baked with your own hands and care would surely touch Her Majesty deeply.”

It was the kind of idea that would sound wonderfully convincing to a child. Cedric’s face lit up and he clapped his hands together in delight.

“That’s a great idea, Shisha!”