* * *
There were all sorts of rumors in the Imperial Palace.
There were rumors about a garden where ghosts appeared every night, rumors that the black cat constantly seen around the palace was actually not one cat but five, and even the somewhat absurd yet strangely believable rumor that the cat was actually the Emperor’s familiar and could hear every conversation taking place around it.
But if anyone were asked what the hottest topic was right now, the answer would undoubtedly be ‘Jedrier Olson.’
Some called him ‘a pitiful person,’ while others chattered that he might become ‘a rising power.’
On a sunny day, people gathered in small groups of three or four and whispered with their voices lowered.
“I heard he’s incredibly pretty?”
“But no one’s actually seen him. Isn’t that a bit exaggerated? I feel a little bad saying this, but Count Olson isn’t exactly known for being handsome.”
“That’s true.”
There wasn’t even anyone who knew which palace Jedrier Olson was staying in.
That didn’t mean they could recklessly go poking around everywhere, though.
If they did, their heads might end up cut off by the blade called curiosity.
Their curiosity gradually grew larger and larger.
That was when someone who had been silently listening from the corner raised a hand.
But no one paid any attention.
As if they had completely forgotten there was even a person sitting there.
“I… I’ve actually seen him.”
In an instant, everyone’s gaze snapped toward him.
Perhaps because he was normally the sort of person whose presence was barely noticeable, no one could remember the man’s name.
Everyone fell silent and stared at him.
As though he enjoyed being the center of their attention, he immediately opened his mouth.
“He was with some man.”
His low, subdued voice sounded gloomy and sinister.
The people who had been chattering away only moments earlier shut their mouths.
“…Probably an attendant.”
“They looked extremely close. They were embracing each other.”
The surroundings fell silent as though someone had dumped cold water over everyone.
Even if he was a concubine who had not received even a shred of the Emperor’s attention, and even if he was the child of some illustrious noble family, once he entered the Imperial Palace, he belonged to the Emperor.
That was why the statement was far too dangerous.
Everyone seemed to realize it, because they all fell silent.
“How should I describe the way they looked at each other?”
But the person who had brought it up remained perfectly calm.
He shrugged and slowly nodded.
“Right. They looked like they were in love.”
At last, that word came out.
The faces of the people who had merely wanted to gossip to relieve the boredom of their uneventful days went deathly pale.
Everyone looked frightened, swallowing hard.
“I only said what I saw and what I felt.”
The man gave a malicious grin, as if looking forward to the bloody storm that would soon sweep through the palace.
“It’s not like I lied, is it?”
* * *
“Ha….”
His steps on the way back to the palace felt heavy.
Jedrier sighed deeply enough to make the ground sink beneath him and tightly shut his eyes.
Get a grip.
Was he planning to go back looking like something had happened with Henry?
If he returned like this, Henry would definitely question him.
Because Henry was such a kind and attentive child.
Then Jedrier would have to confess that he had gone to see the Knight Commander.
Of course, he had done it for Henry’s sake, but would our boy think of it that way too?
Maybe not.
What if he started crying because he had been hurt by someone ‘again’?
An image appeared in Jedrier’s imagination of Henry with reddened eyes, tears falling one after another down his face.
It hadn’t even happened yet, but Jedrier’s chest already ached.
He would have to tell him eventually, since it would come out someday…
But he still didn’t have the courage.
He wanted to put it off for as long as he possibly could.
Jedrier forced the corners of his mouth upward.
The palace was almost right in front of him now, so he had to manage his expression.
After taking several deep breaths, Jedrier smiled brightly and stepped into the bleak palace.
“Henry!”
But there had been no point in forcing himself into a better mood.
The palace was empty.
There was no sign of anyone at all.
“Looks like he’s not back yet.”
For some reason, the palace seemed especially empty today.
He had lived alone all this time, so why did being by himself suddenly feel strange now?
Jedrier trudged weakly back outside.
He didn’t want to stay alone in a place where Henry wasn’t.
“Sigh….”
He let out a long breath and slowly went back over everything that had happened that day.
‘It was a little strange.’
The Knight Commander’s behavior had been far from ordinary.
He seemed deeply interested in Henry, yet at the same time, he put up a wall.
As if he didn’t want to be involved anymore.
But that didn’t mean he was completely uninterested either.
He had picked apart every tiny detail and questioned Jedrier about it.
That was why it left such a bad taste in his mouth.
And hadn’t he even asked ridiculous things?
“He really did seem to remember Henry….”
Well, it would be hard to forget our boy after seeing him even once.
Jedrier, who had been crouching near the edge of the garden, stood up.
The wind brushing his cheeks had grown even colder.
He didn’t think he had been sitting there that long, but his cheeks and ears had already gone numb from the cold.
“Is Henry going to be late?”
Jedrier pulled the front of his coat closed.
He would wait just a little longer.
He didn’t know when Henry would return….
But there wasn’t much time left for him to wait for Henry like this, either.
Someday, when he looked back, there might come a time when he missed this moment.
Gloomy thoughts began flooding his mind again.
Jedrier muttered as though trying to remind himself.
“Later, we’ll grill some meat together….”
This time, he wouldn’t be stingy.
He would grill enough for Henry to eat until he was completely full.
Should he make one more dish to go with it while he was at it?
Jedrier slowly tried to remember what ingredients were left in the storeroom.
That was when—
Thud.
Something heavy fell over.
Jedrier cautiously began walking toward the sound, and then Henry came into view.
“Know your place. Know your damn place.”
“Just keep your head down like you always do. Got it?”
What the hell is this?
Before the thought had even properly crossed Jedrier’s mind, he was already running toward them with both fists clenched.
But the distance that had looked close was actually quite far, and by the time Jedrier reached the spot with his short, quick steps, the two men were already gone.
“Hey!”
He shouted at the top of his lungs, but nothing changed.
Jedrier was breathing hard with rage when he felt someone tugging on his sleeve.
He turned his head.
“Lord Jeri.”
“Henryyy….”
His voice cracked horribly.
And no wonder.
Henry’s face in front of him was covered in injuries.
His cheekbone was bruised blue, and his lip was split.
On top of that, judging by the way he was gripping one shoulder with his opposite hand, he seemed to be injured somewhere Jedrier couldn’t see as well.
“I fell.”
Henry told an obviously transparent lie.
Jedrier had literally seen him being thrown onto the ground.
And besides, Henry’s injuries weren’t from falling.
Someone had hit him.
“Henry….”
“Please don’t ask any more.”
Who would even find it in themselves to hit such a small, delicate child?
The people in the Imperial Palace had to be cold-blooded monsters without a drop of compassion in them.
Jedrier’s eyes stung.
It felt as though tears were about to burst out from frustration, sadness, and anger, so he bit down hard on his lip.
“Lord Jeri.”
“Mm.”
Don’t cry.
Let’s not cry.
As the elder, he had to set a proper example.
Henry—our boy—had clearly been beaten, so of course Jedrier had to step in.
He had to raise his voice and shout.
He had to demand, point by point, why they had done something so senseless.
And of course he had to make them apologize.
To do that, he needed to stay calm.
He knew that in his head.
But his body refused to cooperate.
“…Please don’t cry because of me.”
“I-I’m not crying.”
Jedrier sniffled and wiped away his tears.
He bit the inside of his mouth hard to keep himself from crying, but it barely helped.
“Who was it?”
Jedrier clenched his fists.
How dare they touch our boy?
Our boy was seriously kind, gentle, attentive, and considerate!
It was already infuriating enough that he had been falsely accused and driven out, and that other people misunderstood him for ridiculous reasons, but now they were hitting him too?
Just wait until I find you.
I won’t let you get away with this!
“Tell me, okay? Those two from before.”
“Lord Jeri.”
“I’ll just remember who they are, okay?”
Henry weakly shook his head.
His expression looked like that of someone carrying every sorrow in the world on his shoulders.
“…It was all my fault.”
“How could that be!”
He had been beaten to a pulp, yet he was still defending the other side.
Don’t tell me….
Jedrier took a step back.
“Were you hit because of me?”
Hadn’t those men clearly told him to ‘know his place’?
What could Henry, an attendant, possibly have done that was beyond his station?
No matter how thoroughly Jedrier searched through his mind, the only answer he could think of was ‘Jedrier.’
It was exactly the kind of thing they might say to the attendant of a powerless concubine with no backing.
“…No.”
Henry denied it, but Jedrier was convinced that everything that had happened was his fault.
No.
It definitely was his fault.
“It truly wasn’t because of you, Lord Jeri.”
“…….”
“There was only a minor disagreement.”
Sniffling, Jedrier reached out and took Henry’s hand.