“Y-You’ll be cursed! Definitely!”

At the word cursed, a fishy smile tugged at Arsian’s lips.

“My house was cursed to begin with.”

So I’m way too used to curses.

“Ghk......!” 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Seeing Arsian take absolutely zero damage from anything he said, the man was left speechless again. In the end, he just ground his teeth, eyes blazing with fury.

“What? That’s it?”

Arsian clicked his tongue and waved a hand dismissively.

“Mmmp!”

“Take him.”

Since it didn’t look like he had anything else to say, Arsian sealed his mouth with magic and handed him off to the soldiers standing behind him.

“Waaah!”

“Mooom! W-Waaah!”

“P-Please take me home! Waaah!”

The area was a sea of crying. Countless children who’d been dragged here to be used as sacrifices clung to the soldiers and bawled their eyes out.

Rio was like that too.

Watching them, Arsian’s gaze softened in a way that didn’t fit the situation at all. The memory of going to save Rio came back to him, sharp and fresh.

Huh?

Then his eyes stopped on one spot without him meaning to. Among the wailing children, one in particular stood out.

Unlike the others, who were terrified out of their minds, a small child sat silently in a corner.

The kid looked about ten, like they were in a world completely cut off from everything else. They didn’t react at all to the chaos around them.

“Sir Arsian.”

A moment later, a knight of House Sephra approached quickly.

“We’ve wrapped up the cleanup for the most part. We’ve confirmed all the children’s identities, and they’ll be handed over soon after being sorted by region.”

“What about that child?”

Arsian’s gaze went back to the kid from before.

The boy was still planted in the corner, not moving at all.

“Well.......”

The knight’s face tightened with discomfort as he checked. When Arsian asked what it °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° was with his eyes, the knight hurried on.

“He doesn’t speak.”

“...Is he unwell?”

The Eva Faith wouldn’t have brought a child like that. Confusion surfaced on Arsian’s face.

The children meant to be used as sacrifices were in excellent health, even if their circumstances were poor.

And of course they would be—those people intended to crawl into the children’s bodies and live in them. They would’ve made sure to take kids with no physical issues.

But he couldn’t speak?

“I’m not sure yet.......”

Maybe remembering the frustration of trying to talk to the child earlier, the knight let out another sigh.

“He won’t answer anything—where he lives, his name, any question at all....... For now, we were thinking of taking him to the capital and leaving him at an orphanage.”

“Hmm.”

Arsian had heard that sometimes people shut down and stop speaking after severe shock. Maybe it was that.

“.......”

Did the child realize they were talking about him? The kid—who hadn’t moved at all—lifted his head for the first time and looked toward Arsian.

Only then could Arsian properly see his eyes.

Dark green, like a deep forest.

“I hear the orphanages in the capital don’t have much capacity these days.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

It wasn’t only children rescued like this—children who’d nearly been offered up to the Eva Faith. There were plenty of kids who’d become orphans overnight because their parents were revealed as believers and fled.

Naturally, the orphanages were already overflowing.

Soon they’d be distributed across the empire, but still, the capital’s orphanages being in bad shape right now was a fact.

“.......”

“.......”

Arsian and the child met eyes again. After silently holding the boy’s dark green gaze for a moment, Arsian crooked a finger.

The boy slowly stood, hesitated, then walked toward him.

“I’m taking him.”

“Pardon?”

The knight’s eyes widened slightly.

“The child? Where to?”

“Home.”

“...Excuse me?”

He was going to take the child himself? To the Duke of Sephra’s estate?

He’d spent a fair amount of time with Arsian, but this was the first time he’d ever seen him show interest in someone first.

Was that child special somehow? The knight cast the boy a fresh, searching look.

“Why all of a sudden—?”

“Just because.”

A short sigh slipped from Arsian.

Honestly, he didn’t know either. Why he couldn’t ignore that child.

“Let’s go.”

Arsian glanced at the boy’s green eyes one last time, then turned and walked away first.

“.......”

The child followed carefully behind him.

Chapter. The Gift They Left Behind

“Long time no see, Lady Sorpel.”

Crown Prince Edsen leaned back at an angle in his chair and gave a casual wave.

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s been a while.”

Camilla bowed her head, polite in her own way.

Is it just me?

He looks kind of worn out.

On the surface, he was as relaxed as ever. That nasty gaze that kept sizing her up, hunting for something to nitpick, was still there too.

And yet, somehow, he looked a little tired.

Was it because of what she’d heard recently that he seemed that way?

Camilla clicked her tongue softly to herself.

“Have you eaten?”

“...What?”

“Did you have a meal?”

People need to eat properly when things are hard. And his face practically screamed that it’d been a long time since he’d done something like have a meal.

“...Ha.”

He stared at Camilla with eyes that widened slightly, and then a quiet laugh slipped out.

Only then did Camilla realize how nosy she was being, and she swore under her breath in her head.

Yeah, I know. I know.

We’re not the kind of relationship where we trade questions like that.

It was just an old, stubborn habit of hers. Even if it was someone she’d been yanking by the hair and fighting with yesterday, she couldn’t stand seeing them skip meals.

Maybe it’s because I starved so much when I was little.

She couldn’t watch someone else go hungry.

Camilla forced herself to avoid the crown prince’s gaze, which was full of amusement. She felt awkward for no reason.

“Not bad.”

“Pardon?”

Camilla’s eyes widened a little. Because instead of the usual teasing or sarcasm, something unexpected came back.

“I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve heard ordinary small talk.”

No—was it the first time?

There were plenty of people curious about who he met today or what he’d done, but it was rare for someone to care about something as trivial as this.

“It’s more moving than I expected.”

“...I guess things have been really hard lately.”

Camilla clicked her tongue again.

Watching him get uncharacteristically emotionally invested over something like that made her even more certain.

Doesn’t he seem a little... off?

A sentimental Crown Prince Edsen. Chills. Actual chills.

Camilla rubbed her arms like she had goosebumps and quickly changed the subject.

“I heard things have been noisy lately.”

“Everyone’s losing their minds because they can’t tear me apart and eat me.”

Edsen raked a hand roughly through his hair and chuckled. For a split second, the look in his eyes was packed with killing intent and irritation.

Yeah, if it were me, I’d have completely snapped too.

Honestly, politicians are hopeless. Is this really the time to split into sides and fight?

They should’ve been putting every ounce of effort into dealing with the Eva Faith remnants, and yet political warfare was still in full swing.

Of course, the fact that the three dukes had been leaving the capital so often probably played into it too. With the axis gone, everyone had no choice but to wobble and make noise.

“It’s not like you’re filming a daily K-drama......”

“Hm?”

“Nothing.”

What is this obsession with “real blood” anyway?

There was only one thing they gathered at the palace to screech about every day.

Legitimacy.

Whether the heir had the right to wear the crown or not—endless, all-day droning. It was pathetic beyond words.

Something about stripping the right of succession.

Whose right of succession? Who do you think? There was only one prince.

People led by Marquess Duriel—the father of the late Empress Javiela—were raising doubts about Crown Prince Edsen’s right to inherit the throne.

They claimed they couldn’t recognize Edsen as a prince because he was born from the emperor’s body after it had been stolen long ago.

It was a dangerous statement that even put the legitimacy of his own grandson, Prince Avihiel, on the chopping block—but the marquess barreled forward without hesitation. He just couldn’t stand the idea of Crown Prince Edsen taking the throne.

“So why did you ask to see me today?”

Edsen quickly steered the topic away, like he didn’t want to think about anything headache-inducing.

Because Camilla—who usually refused visits to the imperial palace with all kinds of excuses—had, for some reason, requested the meeting herself today.

“Well.......”

KNOCK KNOCK.

Just as Camilla was about to speak, the door opened and an older-looking attendant carefully came inside.