6
Could he possibly be growing flowers that emit fragrances that make young children faint when they smell them? If that’s the case, I’m worried about Persis too. After opening my eyes again, I immediately encountered the Duke, so I didn’t have a chance to check on Persis.
“Is Your Highness alright?”
“Is the prince important right now?”
I never expected the Duke to reveal his rebellious feelings toward the imperial family in front of me. Since I knew the original work, I knew he was planning to bring down the imperial family, but no one knew of the Duke’s ambitions.
Even the people who would become his right-hand men couldn’t fully grasp the Duke’s heart. That Duke casually called Persis just ‘prince’ without honorifics. This incident was that big a deal to him.
“If I collapsed, surely Your Highness also…”
“He’s fine. He returned to the palace very healthily.”
He said he’d stay one more day. It seems he returned to the palace urgently because of today’s accident. Given Persis’s personality, he probably didn’t go quietly. He likely clung to my hand crying and wailing. I was truly fortunate not to see that sight as soon as I woke up.
My head still hurt, and if I had been with Persis, I might have really fallen ill. Thinking it was a blessing in disguise, I faced the Duke.
The Duke staring at me intently looked, in a way, like a father worried about me rather than about the garden. However, I could guarantee there wasn’t an ounce of concern for me within him.
Because, as I’ve mentioned repeatedly, I know the original work. That meant I knew his future as well.
The Duke reaches for the power of demons to overturn the world. And to achieve his goal, he sacrifices Andelion Crusay as an offering. He’s a ruthless father who uses even his son. There was no way such a person would have feelings of caring for his son.
Even if he did, it would be to protect his future sacrifice. Since realizing my past life, I understood my position all too well. I had to survive under him while holding my breath. For the sake of that person I would meet later. And if possible, stopping his plans was my other goal.
“Why did you enter the garden?”
“I was curious.”
“Then you should have asked me.”
“If I said I wanted to enter, would you have let me?”
When I asked, the Duke closed his mouth. I knew he would. It wasn’t a place I could enter just because I wanted to. So I entered secretly. It was an opportunity that might never come again, but I foolishly wasted it. Who would have thought I’d lose consciousness there?
Even if I entered later while avoiding the Duke’s gaze, there was no guarantee the same thing wouldn’t happen. At this rate, preventing the Duke’s plans in advance might be impossible forever.
“Why did I collapse?”
“They said there was nothing wrong with your body. You might have suddenly gotten tired.”
That’s nonsense. Didn’t I take naps all day because of Persis? If my body was tired, it meant my body had become that weak.
I must have lost consciousness because of something in the garden. The Duke, who knew every corner of the garden, couldn’t have been unaware of this. I expected as much, but the more I learned, the more this man had to hide. Where on earth should I start investigating from?
I should first look for other ways to enter the garden.
“Don’t you have something to say? Are you planning to make me a father who can’t even properly educate his child?”
His words scolding me flew like blade edges. I thought it was too harsh for words directed at his seven-year-old son. But he was originally this kind of person. It couldn’t be helped.
I hadn’t expected anything from the Duke anyway. In a way, it was a very Duke-like thing to say. Didn’t it mean his own dignity was more important than his son? Looking straight at his face, I said what he wanted to hear.
“I’m sorry. I won’t let this happen again.”
It was quite a mature statement for a seven-year-old. But didn’t the original Andelion also grow up like this? Since there were no descriptions of him being tearful when young or having a timid personality, I surmised that the original Andelion probably also appeared as a precocious child like me.
However, unlike me who was a real adult, that small child’s heart must have rotted away. I recalled Andelion’s appearance, unable to live a proper daily life. Even such an Andelion became happy by that person’s side. That person was truly amazing.
If that person was the hope of this game, then the man before my eyes was despair itself. The Duke harbored only one desire – to place everything in this world under his feet – and used and manipulated everyone in the world as his limbs.
Could I really stop Duke Crusay?
Even in the game, it wasn’t specified exactly how he would gain power. His rebellion was like a fixed event that had to happen. If this game had been an RPG it might have been different, but since it was a romance simulation, the content about him was merely touched upon in passing.
The further I went, the more hopeless it became. Without realizing it, I hung my head low and bit my lips. If only I were a little stronger and cleverer, I might have found some way even in this situation. If only I resembled even half of that person who never backed down from any situation.
Along with my head sunk low, the emotions that had settled below showed no signs of rising.
“…If you really want it, you may enter.”
“Pardon?”
Not understanding what I had heard for a moment, I looked up at him with a question. The Duke, with his body half-turned, threw words at me while maintaining his cold gaze.
“However, on the condition that you accompany me.”
After saying that, the Duke left the room without even hearing my response of understanding. My eyes blinked slowly, wondering what this was about. What nonsense was this? I never expected words about being allowed to enter the garden to come from none other than the Duke’s mouth.
Could he have moved what he had hidden in the garden somewhere else? That’s why he said that. As expected, he’s a thorough man.
“The Duke was very worried.”
Kara, who had been standing beside me, sat on the bed and casually spoke while tidying my hair.
Only then could I understand the Duke’s intentions. He was definitely planning to use this incident to improve his reputation. While also subtly conveying to the imperial family, who would hear this news, that there was nothing special in the garden. He really is a meticulous man.
“Yes. I see.”
So I should pretend to be fooled too. Nodding my head, I rubbed my face against Kara’s cold palm. Then Kara’s face darkened.
It seemed she was the one who had actually been worried. Anyone could see her skin had darkened from worry and concern. I felt sorry for causing her so much trouble.
Pressing my body a little closer to her, I leaned my face against her firm arm.
“I’m okay.”
“I was startled.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
This was also a first for me. To experience something I hadn’t even gone through in my previous life at such a young age. Fainting was much more difficult than I thought. I wasn’t particularly weak physically, so why did that happen? That voice I heard at the end was also somehow concerning.
“Did Your Highness return safely?”
“Sigh, is our little young master worried about His Highness even at a time like this?”
Perhaps because I had entrusted my body to her, her tone had relaxed considerably. The address “our little young master” that only came out when she was in a good mood also appeared.
Every time Kara called me that, my small heart pounded and raced. I really felt like I had become a young child. Of course, I was still a child who hadn’t fully grown up, but mentally I had been an adult for a long time.
“He must have been very surprised.”
“We were surprised too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why is that the young master’s fault? Please don’t say you’re sorry.”
I felt Kara’s gentle touch stroking my head. I had slept all day and briefly lost consciousness, but my eyelids were gradually closing.
The face of Persis, who would be stamping his feet even after going to the palace because I suddenly collapsed, wouldn’t leave my mind. I would go to the palace again within this week, so I could console him then. He would probably cling to my side with tears in those big eyes and not leave.
Somehow thinking that the next schedule would be quite tiring, I sought sleep in Kara’s embrace.
* * *
My expectations seemed to have been quite spectacularly wrong.
As soon as I arrived at the palace, I was truly tired. It was such a tiring affair that my small head throbbed.
The palace employee blocking my path, frowning heavily, informed me in a tone as if doing me a final favor.
“His Highness said he does not wish to meet the young master.”
As soon as I heard it, a deflated sigh was about to burst out. He doesn’t want to meet me. I couldn’t believe that Persis, of all people, had said such a thing.
Wasn’t he the child who would wake up at night crying and throwing tantrums saying he wanted to see me, then rush to our house as soon as dawn broke? I never expected that same Persis would turn me away overnight, saying he didn’t want to see me.
Actually, it wouldn’t have mattered if he pushed me away. Children’s hearts change in an instant anyway. However, originally Andelion wouldn’t step down from his position as Persis’s playmate for several more years. I had to follow the original story’s flow as much as possible.
If Persis, having experienced different events, became different from the original, it would be a disaster. When there wasn’t enough room for improvement, I didn’t want to create the possibility of things getting worse.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
