Astel, who sat by a window while vaguely gazing at the night sky, quietly answered, “What?” to the modest knocking sound.

Once the door was open, the figure of Kaiser, who wore a black robe, entered. Wearing such a disguise, no one would suspect that he was a knight at first glance. Then, he rushed to Astel and kneeled.

“Did you discover anything?”

“I met the coachmen at the relief center. However, he’s currently bedridden. Talking to him is impossible.”

“Is that so.”

“I also examined the carriage. That was definitely the count’s carriage. There doesn’t appear to have been any problems with its maintenance. There was nothing unnatural about it. It seems to have purely been an accident.”

“…Then, what about that particular merchant?”

“It is as Lord Astel expected—here.”

Astel received the documents presented by Kaiser and confirmed there contents without any expression.

After looking through some of the papers, Astel raised his well-shaped eyebrows and lifted his mouth.

“Finally, we’ve caught him by his tail. Who would’ve thought that such a connection existed.”

“Although the business proposition in itself seems purely coincidental, that person in particular has been investing in it for a long time. The transaction may have been the final stage.”

“Even though I merely wanted to help Lorona get her revenge… This is an unexpected catch.”

Astel turned to the window again with a bitter laugh.

The beauty of the bright moon and the glitter of the stars were reminiscent of Lorona’s dignified appearance. At the same time, they were also reminiscent of his love, one which refused to wane.

At the age of twelve, Astel became involved in the battle for succession to the throne and lost his biological mother. Moreover, his own life was also targeted.

The main culprit was the group supporting the old system behind the fourth prince, his younger brother of around the same age.

He wanted to eliminate the third prince—Astel—in order to become the next emperor.

At first, Prince Rathan, the fourth prince, was on Astel’s side. However, whether he was blinded by the throne or had another purpose, Rathan one day suddenly betrayed Astel.

Rathan invited Astel, who was overwhelmed by the death of his mother, to his villa. That night, Astel was attacked by an assassin hired by Rathan.

If Kaiser hadn’t been by his side, Astel would definitely have died there. Thus, he fled to that kingdom with Kasier.

He no longer cared about his brothers. The betrayal of his younger brother, who he believed in, only cemented that.

Having to flee from his homeland for the sake of his life—Astel’s heart was shattered.

Astel lived in a small mansion on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Nirna.

To conceal his black hair and red eyes, he dyed his hair brown and wore thick glasses. He even named himself ‘Ash’ to prevent anyone else from discovering his true identity.

He rarely went out. Every day, he hid himself away within his mansion. All he did was ‘exist.’

Two years passed and Astel became 14-years-old. However, his appearance remained that of a 12-year-old’s, perhaps due to his ailed heart.

One day, when he was idling his days away, he was forcibly taken outside by Kaiser who could no longer bear the sight of his recluse lifestyle.

They went to a large hill a little away from the mansion. Out in the sun, it had been left unattended.

Colorful flowers were in full bloom under the spring sunshine.

The violet flowers were particularly beautiful. Looking at them made Astel feel as though he were sinking.

It was because looking at them reminded him of the eyes of that beautiful girl he only had a single conversation with. To her, who’d eventually become the queen of that kingdom—

“—I want to meet you.” Astel sincerely wished.

“How are you doing?”

The words he suddenly heard sounded like a convenient hallucination.

But when he turned towards the voice, there stood a girl with the same gentle, violet, eyes.

The girl had grown—but it was unmistakably her.

She was taller than Astel, whose growth had stunted at 12-years-old. With a gentle, feminine, mellowness, she was outstandingly beautiful.

Her long hair wasn’t beautiful. It was fluttering in the wind, making her look like a fairy.

“You, are…”

Astel hurriedly closed his mouth which was about to call her name.

If he did call her name, he’d be revealing his own identity.

He didn’t think there was a connection between Lorona and his own empire, but as long as she was the crown prince’s fiancée, he couldn’t reveal his identity.

Lorona curiously stared at Astel who kept silent. She was still expressionless, but her eyes seemed to have sparkled with slight surprise.

Besides her, only two middle-aged maids were present. No other adult could be seen.

Perhaps, her maids thought of Astel as a child living in the neighborhood. Without any particular caution, the maids merely said, “Lady, don’t wander off too far.”

Am I dreaming?

No matter how many times he blinked, Lorona was still standing in front of him.

She bowed her head slightly to Astel, and when he still didn’t reply, she crouched and began picking the flowers.

A small bouquet was completed by her hands.

“Uhm…”

After she had finished picking the flowers, Lorona began to look around. She seemed somewhat embarrassed.

Astel, who kept staring at her, approached her.

“What’s wrong?”

“…!”

Lorona, surprised to hear his voice, lifted her face with her eyes widening.

“…I think I might have dropped the string for holding the flowers.”

“Ah.”

Understanding what Lorona was having trouble with, Astel untied his shoelaces and offered them without hesitation.

“Then, I will give you this.”

“But, your shoes…”

“I can just walk home. Don’t you want to take your precious flowers home?”

Despite appearing somewhat at a loss, she still received the shoelaces from Astel and tied her flowers stalks to finish the small bouquet.

The bouquet of bright spring colors accentuated Lorona’s beauty.

“Thank you.”

Lorona smiled softly.

The area around her eyes and mouth slightly eased. Despite only the slight change in her facial expression, Astel quickly realized that she was smiling.

“I’m Ash. I live near here. How about you, young lady…?”

“Uhm, I’m… Lo… Lorna. I’m visiting a villa nearby. This flower field I saw from the window is just too beautiful, I couldn’t help myself.”

While using a pseudonym, Lorona narrowed her eyes. She seemed to have circumstances where she couldn’t just reveal her identity to anyone.

The same went for Astel. After reuniting for the first time in a while, he couldn’t say anything or even greet her properly.

At first, it was frustrating. But soon, they became comfortable with each other.

Using their false identities, ‘Ash’ and ‘Lorna’, the two began to spend time talking with each other.

Favorite flowers, food, the names of her favorite books—

—Due to the gentle and quiet exchanges that weren’t bound by his status or position, Astel felt healed to the point that he wanted to cry.

Before he noticed it, the sun had begun to set. Lorona was urged by her maids to return home.

At the time of their farewell, Astel was distressed by Lorona’s appearance. She kept glancing back at him many times.

---

***T/N: Aw das’ cute.

Please also consider donating to my ko-fi! It’ll greatly support me in action, no matter the amount!
https://ko-fi.com/antoinettevanessa

<Previous chapter

Next chapter>