***
Sez returned safely.
Nobody saw her, and she tried her best to act like nothing happened as if she had been sound asleep in her bed the entire time.
She tossed and turned for a while, however, for all the lousy mess she went through.
‘Who is Eton, really?’
‘And why is he in Lisette’s quarters?’
Her curiosity only continued to grow once it was born.
Sez recalled Eton’s red eyes.
“But Eton is much taller than my brother and their hair color is different too.”
Deep bittersweet navy.
It looked similar at first glance, but Eton’s hair was actually lighter than Rayton’s black hair.
Also, he seemed to be older.
Not by much, but…
Sez assumed he’d be in his early to mid-twenties at most.
They had the same eye color, but it felt totally different.
While Rayton’s eyes still held traces of youth, Eton was a full-blown adult.
Both possessed a similar cold and calm manner, but Eton felt sharper.
…And they were both handsome, Sez had to give them that.
“Is he really some kind of a prisoner?”
He’d denied it and Sez truly had no idea.
The princess pondered for a long time before coming up with a pretty plausible theory.
Number one, Eton could use magic.
Number two, he said that he’d always been there.
Sez’s theory was that Eton was a runaway mage who once belonged to Den Helder.
Besides, Eton said that Lisette’s quarters were originally a temple, before being rebuilt when the Emperor was still a prince.
Sez had no idea about the context, but Eton being a mage could explain how he knew both the structure and history of the palace so well.
He even seemed to know the loophole, which Rayton said nobody knew.
The empire of Den Helder served its Emperor rather than gods.
Harraice I, the first emperor and one of Sez’s great ancestors.
People served him as a god, as the story of him defeating a nameless evil god was spread far and wide.
Of course, there were mages referred to as the children of God in Den Helder, too.
They belonged to the Imperial Temple and served Harraice I.
The Emperor’s followers had their own reasons for wanting mages to work in the temple.
They wanted to show everyone that even the children of God served Harraice I, not their religions.
Mages, however, sometimes escaped from the palace.
The deserters would say that the empire kept an inhumanely short leash on them.
Firstly, when a child with magical affinity was born, they had to be registered to a list immediately.
Once the child reached adulthood, their ability was evaluated and those who performed satisfactorily were brought to the palace.
Their name would remain on the list forever, regardless of whether they entered the palace or not.
Once they married and had children, the names of their children were also registered since magical affinity was usually in their bloodline.
This practice has been around for a very long time.
“But do we have to be so…
strict?
Are the other kingdoms like that too?”
Sez was a little suspicious.
However, there was no one for her to ask and she knew nothing of that field.
Suddenly something crossed Sez’s mind.
It was a book that Rayton once read.
<The Mages of The Den Helder Empire>
‘Yes!
I need to look for that book…’
Such a book would contain all the information about the mages of the past.
Maybe she could find out a thing or two about Eton as well.
She couldn’t ask anyone about Eton now, she’d already paid the price for being a blabbermouth.
Sez had no choice but to find out for herself.
‘But will my brother let me borrow his book?
If he doesn’t, I’ll have to ransack the whole library…’
Sez fell asleep, worrying about little things like that.
***
Runa came to her room just before dawn, medicine in hand.
“Good morning, Runa!
I don’t need to drink that!”
Sez greeted Runa and kept chirping on.
“I’m all better now!”
‘So, you don’t have to worry.’
That’s what she wanted to say.
Runa was overjoyed.
She hugged Sez and even shed tears.
“How did you get better in just one day?
You are so brave, Your Royal Highness!”
Sez didn’t know what to say, so she just smiled innocently.
Rayton also arrived not long after sunrise.
“Brother!”
As soon as Rayton entered, Sez jumped up from her bed and ran over to him.
“I’m all better now!
I don’t have to take any medicine.”
“……”
“I can open my mouth wide now!
Wanna see?
Wanna see?”
Rayton frowned as his sister started to make an ‘ahhh-‘ sound.
“That’s enough, shut your mouth.”
“But I mean it…”
“I said enough.”
Sez pouted a little.
She just wanted to assure him that she was fine.
She finally stopped sulking and stared at Rayton.
Come to think of it, Rayton ran all the way here while carrying her yesterday.
It wasn’t exactly a short distance.
He had also stayed by her side while Runa was preparing the medicine.
And this morning, he’d come to see her at sunrise.
That was much earlier than usual!
Somehow Sez felt warmth in her heart.
It was the first time that someone, except for Runa, had worried about her.
Everyone else in the palace, including Yerna, wouldn’t give a damn if Sez was sick or caught some morbid disease.
She trusted her past experiences.
And none other than Rayton had given a damn about her!
“What are you looking at?” Rayton was unsettled.
“Nothing, I’m just looking at you.”
“I don’t like the way you’re staring at me, shove off!”
Instead of shoving off, Sez began to grin.
Even when Rayton frowned deeply, it didn’t scare her that much.
“Brother.”
“What.”
“You’re worried, right?”
“What?”
“That’s why you carried me all the way here and came to visit me this early.
You’re worried!”
“I’m not.”
Rayton spoke firmly, but that only made Sez smile even wider.
Rayton didn’t seem to like that smile.
“I told you I’m not.”
“Hehe!”
“You id….
no…”
“What?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
‘Liar!
I heard what you said.’
He was about to call her an idiot.
Sez didn’t care if he called her an idiot or not.
It wasn’t exactly enjoyable, but it was much better than Berne and Lilien’s ‘little shit’ or ‘filthy bitch’.
She didn’t say that though, as it was fun to watch Rayton fidgeting.
“…Anyway.”
Rayton finally broke the long silence.
“I’m glad I don’t have to see your stupid….
no, damn it.”
“Stupid?”
“I’m glad…
you are…
okay.”
Rayton barely squeezed that out.
“…Damn it.”
Rayton looked disgusted by the kind words that just came out of his mouth, but Sez smiled brightly.
“Your Royal Highness.”
Runa came back just in time and greeted Rayton politely.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to have breakfast with Princess Sez?
The meal is already prepared.”
***
Runa seemed to have discarded her prejudice toward him, but she was still worried that Yerna would find out about Sez and Rayton’s relationship.
Perhaps that’s why she said she’d leave the two of them alone and wait in the hallway so they could enjoy their meal comfortably.
Of course, Sez knew that it meant Runa was going to stand guard to see if Yerna was coming.
Sez tried to persuade Runa, but she was persistent.
Sez had to agree in the end.
“I’m sorry, Runa… for bothering you like this.”
“It’s nothing, Your Royal Highness.
Just go inside and eat.”
So, now Sez could have a meal alone with Rayton.
She never would have imagined such a thing in her past, having breakfast with Rayton in her room.
It seemed like Runa put a lot of effort into the dishes today.
The soup was thicker, the meat was cut a little bigger, and the setting was elaborate too.
However, that was only by Sez’s standards, and the actual quality of the food itself was not great.
It wasn’t even comparable to what she’d eaten at Lisette’s place.
Runa also was bothered by it and apologized to Rayton for the shabbiness of the food.
Sez felt guilty, too.
She wouldn’t be surprised if Rayton didn’t even touch the food.
However, to their surprise, Rayton ate without a word of complaint.
He looked at Sez, who was embarrassed and ate the food alone
“Tutoring will resume tomorrow.”
Rayton sipped his coffee.
“Great.
I thought so.
Runa was so worried.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, she cried a lot yesterday, too.”
Sez was very talkative today.
She knew that she was rambling but she couldn’t help it.
She had gotten all excited knowing that Rayton was worried about her and that they’d finally gotten closer.
It also didn’t help that Rayton was actually the first human being to listen to her besides Runa.
“Runa is such a worrywart, sometimes.
One time, I fell down and scratched my knee.
Runa cried as she asked me how much it hurt, but I was fine really.
It didn’t even bleed that much.”
“.…..”
“Oh, and check this out too!
When I was…
yes, I was seven years old.
I caught a cold so I had to lie down and rest for a few days, but Runa got freaked out and scolded the physician.
She was asking why I wasn’t getting better, and if it was fatal!”
“…….”
“You saw for yourself yesterday.
Anyways, I’m embarrassed.
Sure, I’m thankful but…”
“It’s better to have someone worry too much than to be sick and have no one notice.”
“…Huh?”
“I don’t even know why you think it’s embarrassing.
I don’t have anyone who acts like that toward me.”
Only then did Sez bite her lip, realizing she had been unintentionally bragging.
“…But there will be.”
Sez stayed quiet for a moment, choosing her words carefully.
“What?”
“I’ll make a fuss.”
“…….”
“It’ll be so big that you won’t be able to stop me no matter how hard you try.”
Rayton was silent for a moment.
Had she made a mistake?
Well, she wasn’t lying at least.
Rayton also had a hard time carrying sick, or rather struck by magic out of blue, Sez on his back.
Sez was well aware of her conscience, so she was willing to help Rayton if he was ever in the same position as her.
“I rarely get sick.”
“Huh?”
“You won’t have a chance to make a fuss about it, so quit dreaming.”
‘Oh, whatever.
Why does he have to be so mean about everything?’
Sez sipped her milk and murmured little white lies, coming out with things like “it’s good that you’re healthy,” or “I envy you.”
Blah, blah, blah…
Then she raised her head when an idea suddenly came to mind.
“Your injuries…
are they okay?”
“What injuries?”
“You know…
you got wounded with me, before.”
Sez remembered the vibrant bruise painted across Rayton’s stomach, which she had caked with salve and wrapped in a bandage.
“Did the bruise get any better?”
“It disappeared a while ago.”
“Your shoulders, too?”
Rayton didn’t say a word, but Sez saw his brows twitching.
He was quiet for a long time before answering in a low tone.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Why?
But…”
“That wasn’t a wound.”
‘Then what is it?’
Sez raised her eyebrows in curiosity.
Then she looked at Rayton’s left shoulder.
“Then why are you wearing a bandage?”
“Dunno.”
Rayton dealt with all her questions shortly.
“Don’t look at me like that, it doesn’t hurt anyway.”
“…….”
“It’s not like it’s something you should worry about.”
She still had many questions but Rayton wasn’t the type to answer them.
‘Well, he doesn’t show that he’s hurt even when he is.’
Or maybe he was just embarrassed.
Sez decided to change the subject.
“Oh, right.
Brother, you know the book you were reading last time.
The Mages of The Den Helder Empire?”
“Why.”
“Could you lend me that book…?”
“Why do you need that?”
Rayton frowned slightly.
“I’m just a little interested…
can’t I borrow it?”
Sez tried to read his mood.
‘What if he says no?
Then I’ll have to ransack both libraries…’
“Sure, why not.”
“Really?”
Sez’s face lit up.
Rayton stared at Sez, who looked happy as can be.
“But I don’t have it right now, I left it back in the room a couple of days ago.”
“Oh, that’s fine!
I’ll just bring that…”
Sex stopped as Rayton stood up from his seat.
“I’m about to visit my mother anyway.
I’ll give it to your maid.
You, stay here.”
‘Well…’
Sez was worried.
It was still very early, noon at most.
If Rayton left like this, Sez had to sit here and waste time until tomorrow’s tutoring session.
That was almost a full day since they weren’t going to study today either.
If she followed Rayton, she might be able to do something different with him today.
They could take a walk together or have a chat like just now.
She decided not to waste the opportunity.
Besides, she was bored, too.
“Can I come with you, brother?”
Sez had made up her mind as she asked carefully.
“I won’t bother you!”
She added that on hastily.
Rayton was silent for a moment before he nodded.
***
When Sez said she’d visit Lisette’s quarters, Runa looked worried again.
It was almost noon, so Runa was worried that Sez might run into others in the castle, such as Berne or Lilien.
Sez was optimistic.
Berne must be in tutoring around this time and Lilien always woke up in the afternoon since she had trouble getting up early.
She didn’t have to worry about Owsen either, as he’d be busy organizing the mistresses’ afternoon teatime, which Yerna would also be attending.
Also, Sez would take the shortcut, the loophole Rayton told her about.
Sez had never seen anyone else while using that route.
Of course, Sez would made a different choice if she knew she was wrong.
She’d just choose to be stuck in her own palace.
But alas, Sez didn’t know that, so she went out with Rayton.