NOVEL NEXT Chapter 86
Callen called out cautiously.
“Um, Eciel.”
A pair of green eyes, in a shade he was very familiar with, innocently turned toward him.
“Why?”
“… I think I might be lost.”
The girl tilted her head in curiosity.
“Isn’t this Your Highness’s house?”
The maze garden attached to the crown prince’s palace wasn’t exactly something one could call his
Instead of pointing that out, Callen hesitated for a moment before confessing.
“Well… Lucrezia knows the way, but I haven’t memorized it yet.”
Contrary to his concerns, the second daughter of Duke Chelsiers did not reprimand him.
She simply nodded and walked further ahead.
“… Eciel?”
“You said that Lady Cezenne knows the way, right? Since she’s
“No, it’s not that I want to rest….”
We’re lost.
The crown prince couldn’t bring himself to repeat those words.
Ordinarily, a swarm of attendants and knights would have been trailing after him, so being lost wouldn’t have been a significant issue.
However, the maze garden in the crown prince’s palace was designed for the young crown prince, meaning the walls of the maze were still quite low.
Tall adult attendants would have been visible even from outside the maze.
So, Callen insisted he knew the way and sent them outside the garden.
At the time, it had seemed like a wise decision.
… now, he knew it wasn’t.
As the boy hesitated to walk further, the girl leading the way stopped with a puzzled look.
“Um, Eciel….”
The young crown prince hesitated.
He felt he should apologize for getting them lost, but he had been taught that a crown prince’s apology should never be given lightly, under any circumstances.
These conflicting thoughts clogged Callen’s throat.
But Eciel, without a moment’s doubt, asked.
“Are you worried about being lost?”
“What? … something like that.”
“There’s no need to worry. My dad will come find me.”
Callen blinked.
The small girl fished for something hanging from a thin cord around her neck and pulled out a ring.
“As long as I have this, my dad can always find me, no matter where I am.”
Bright, dazzling green eyes.
The girl spoke casually and cheerfully.
“And if my dad is too busy, Claire will come find us.”
Only then did Callen realize something.
The reason the girl remained so calm, even though they were lost, was not because she failed to grasp the situation.
It was because she understood it perfectly.
She knew there were people capable and determined enough to search every corner of the earth to find her.
So, what was there to fear?
Callen, feeling somewhat reassured, added gently.
“Before Duke Chelsiers or the young duke find us, the people who came with Lucrezia and me will probably locate us first.”
The girl looked slightly displeased at that.
“Are you close to her, Your Highness Crown Prince?”
“… do you mean Lucrezia?”
Eciel nodded vigorously.
But Callen, unsure of how to answer, hesitated again.
In his and Lucrezia’s limited social circle, they could be considered close, but…
“Well, not as close as you are with the young duke, Eciel.”
To Eciel, who had an exceptionally close bond with her father and twin sister, it would seem like a shallow friendship.
At his awkward response, Eciel’s innocent green eyes widened.
“Do you want to be like me and Claire with her?”
Like twins born on the same day? With Astariol?
Callen instinctively about to reply that such a thing was impossible but stopped himself.
“… I’m not sure.”
Even to his own ears, his voice sounded uncertain and deflated.
The girl stared at him for a moment before abruptly grabbing his wrist and leading him forward.
“Eciel?”
“Hold on. Now’s not the time to play tag.”
She plopped down carelessly on a nearby bench, patting the space beside her.
Was that an invitation to sit?
Callen, feeling slightly overwhelmed, obediently sat down next to her.
Only then did the girl, who had been intently watching him, let go of his wrist with a bright smile.
Callen couldn’t help but feel a bit tense. He’d been taught to be more cautious when someone smiled.
The voice of the girl, as warm as spring sunlight, melted away the tension and wariness as it approached.
“You know, Your Highness. We were all invited here to be your friends, weren’t we? Isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“Then that means Your Highness want to be friends with us too, don’t you?”
“… yes.”
He had no other words to offer.
Despite having received formal lessons in speech and learned far more than his peers.
He found himself stammering like a fool, murmuring, “Yes, yes…” several times.
The young girl, a relative he had met for the first time this year, spoke again with a bright, clear voice.
“I’ll be Your Highness’s friend. Will you be my friend too?”
“… pardon?”
Callen couldn’t immediately grasp what she had said.
And while he was still struggling to respond, the Princess of Chelsiers took it upon herself to grab his hand again, shaking it vigorously.
“There, now we’re friends, so no holding back — answer honestly.”
“Pardon?”
“Why is it that you want to get close to Lucrezia in particular? And why are you so kind to Artair? Are you not interested in me or Claire?”
Callen felt his mind spinning.
Yet even in his daze, he tried his best to respond.
“Uh… well, I hold a fair amount of goodwill toward you and the young duke as well, but… pardon me, could you repeat that?”
“Why do you want to befriend Lucrezia? You know, don’t you, that she’s not particularly interested in being friends with us?”
The crown prince lowered his gaze slightly.
“… I’m not sure myself. It’s probably silly from your perspective, but…”
A brief silence.
Eciel fidgeted with her hand, searching out her ring finger.
She intertwined her smallest finger with his, pressing down gently. The warmth of her touch seeped into his heart.
“I promise I won’t laugh.”
And that voice—
It was so bright and cheerful that it dispelled the faint shadow on the boy’s face, leaving him with a faint smile.
With a soft and faint smile, the young crown prince whispered.
“It’s just… I know I’m lonely, but it seems like she doesn’t even realize she’s lonely.”
“…”
“Princess Chelsiers has a dear sister, and your parents, the duke and duchess, treasure you greatly… of course, I also have Their Majesties, but…”
Callen fell silent for a moment.
Lucrezia was truly alone.
Duke Cezenne wasn’t the sort of person who cherished others, and Lucrezia’s parents grew to resent the duke so much that they turned their envy onto their own daughter.
How could he possibly explain this?
Even if it was a widely known rumor, it wasn’t something to be discussed lightly.
This time, however, Eciel didn’t press him for details.
Nodding once, she asked more cautiously than before.
“Then, what about Artair? Does he look lonely too?”
“Uh, no. He’s… hm. Did it seem like I was being particularly kind to him?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“I’m not a fool, Your Highness. If anyone else acted the way he does toward you, they’d never be invited back.”
Ah, so it was obvious.
Callen resigned himself slightly and answered.
“Well… if he stops coming, no one else will attend this gathering anymore. I’d rather have one more person here.”
“Oh, really? Claire didn’t say anything like that.”
The girl’s fair and innocent face showed confusion, curiosity, and a lack of understanding.
But Callen offered no further explanation and kept his lips tightly shut.
And so, someone else answered Eciel’s question.
“His Majesty intends to abolish the Great Council. So even if the son of Marquis Levantas stops attending, there’s no reason to invite anyone new.”
Lucrezia.
The two children, who had nearly identical green eyes and platinum hair, jumped to their feet in surprise, like startled birds, the moment they saw Lucrezia suddenly appear from beyond the green maze.
And then—
“Your Highness, we have to run! Which way? Tell us which way!”
“I don’t know! Left, for now!”
The sight of them fleeing in exaggerated earnestness was reminiscent of mice escaping a cat.
Lucrezia tilted her head slowly, pondering.
… wouldn’t it have been more efficient for them to run in separate directions?
Were they running away to be caught?
Or… left?
In an unhurried and indifferent tone, Lucrezia murmured.
“Oh dear. That’s a dead end.”
Of course, it wasn’t loud enough for Eciel or Callen to hear.
Though she had initially shirked responsibility, having rejoined the game, she intended to play it properly.
Lucrezia set off again, slowly and leisurely.
She felt a small thrill at the thought of cornering the trembling children in the dead end.
Ah, was this why others enjoyed such a silly game? To experience the predator’s satisfaction in capturing fleeing prey?
Even as her thoughts wandered into such unfounded theories, a part of Lucrezia’s mind remained calculating.
The emperor intended to abolish the Great Council.
Thus, even if the Marquis of Levantas’s son stopped attending, no new child would be invited.
‘Inviting someone new would mean their family agrees to participate in the council.’
In a situation where even the existing members were being driven out, why bring in someone new?
As she leisurely pursued the children who had dashed off, Lucrezia belatedly clicked her tongue.
“It’s such a bother to explain things twice. They should’ve just listened to the end before running.”
Her remark, which disregarded the basic premise of the game of tag, drifted aimlessly through the maze, mixing with dust and settling among the leaves.