***
[You little shit!]
At first, Eton didn’t mean to interrupt.
To begin with, he was just an innocent bystander while Lilien beat up Sez.
He guessed that Sez’s life in the palace was a bit rocky.
Strange, though, why would everyone bully the girl so harshly?
In Eton’s eyes, Lillien and Sez were no different.
Both were royals of the Den Helder Empire, their blonde hair and blue eyes were proof of it.
Of course, that cheeky child had a wild secret, but Eton doubted that anyone other than him knew that.
Anyway, Eton thought Sez would drench herself in tears and apologize to her sister.
He didn’t know the context, but it was the wisest thing to do if no one was there to help her.
Eton had seen many people make that choice in those kinds of situations.
[Die?
For what reason?!
What have we done to deserve all of this?!]
But alas, she did not.
It was quite unexpected.
Eton chuckled as he watched the girl huffing and puffing.
A cheeky and funny kid that girl was.
[Your days are numbered!
Once my brother becomes emperor, you two will be the first to go six feet under!]
‘Two?
Ah, she must be talking about Rayton…’
Eton had been wondering about the guy too.
A black-haired mutant who was born into a palace full of golden-haired angels, and treated got like a pariah…
Eton, however, did not trust Sez fully.
The legend itself was very different from the truth in the first place.
Of course, it was suspicious, but Eton didn’t take it seriously.
To him, Rayton was nothing but the epitome of misfortune.
That poor child happened to be born with black hair and red eyes into the imperial family, where such a distorted legend was handed down.
A child bearing a name of which the original meaning had been forgotten.
Not so long after the mayhem ensued, a dark-haired guy ran in.
Seeing that his hair was black, Eton knew that it was him.
Rayton.
He watched Rayton throw Lilien to the side and reach his hand out to Sez.
[Don’t think this will go unnoticed!]
Lilien yelled.
Eton had a vague understanding of the situation.
It looked like Rayton and Sez were treated quite poorly in the palace and that spoiled brat was in a much higher position.
‘What a wicked bitch, though…’
Just as he was thinking that Rayton suddenly got all up in the girl’s face.
Judging by the girl’s pale complexion, it seemed like Rayton had cursed or threatened her.
‘Or maybe both.’
Eton burst into laughter without realizing it.
One of the two abused children finally dared to fight back and the other one came to support her…
they were truly cheeky kids.
They knew exactly what would happen if they rebelled like that.
‘I can’t help but adore a child with grit.’
Eton liked those kinds of children.
So, he cut in.
[Ahhhhh!]
Soon, Lilien shrieked, and Eton looked at Sez.
Sez was giving him a look as if to say ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing?’.
‘Why?
I helped you!
Don’t say you didn’t like it.’
At that moment Rayton toward Eton.
Eton finally saw his face.
The dry sound of tapping fingers rang out through the empty room.
It was one of his old habits.
Whenever he was worried about something, or lost in thought, Eton did that without realizing it.
The cursed one with black hair and red eyes…
Eton reflected on what Sez had told him.
Then, he stared out of the window with his own red eyes.
The palace went silent after the mess subsided.
Just like nothing had happened.
However, Rayton’s face as he looked toward the window, was still vivid in his mind.
‘I see traces…’
Eton muttered to himself.
It wasn’t only about his appearance.
Of course, Eton and Rayton looked alike, but that wasn’t the only reason Eton was worried.
‘I see traces…
of her.’
Rayton’s red eyes looked exactly like his, but Eton could see a woman in his face.
A woman who was still burned into his after all these years.
If she and Eton had a child, it would look exactly like Rayton.
‘No, it’s just a coincidence…’
Eton soon shook his head.
There just couldn’t be any child who looked like him.
Besides, an infinite amount of time had passed by now.
‘But what about his name?’
‘Is that a coincidence too?’
‘Why does a child who looks so similar to us have that name?’
Eton bit his lip as he looked out of the window.
The crystal-clear window reflected his red eyes.
They were chillingly similar to Rayton’s.
***
Soon enough, chaos ensued.
First of all, was the situation with Lilien.
The magical fire wasn’t easy to put out no matter how hard her ladies-in-waiting tried.
Lilien’s hair rapidly turned into a pile of ash while every panicked.
It was truly a spectacular sight.
Amidst all of the chaos, Lilien didn’t forget to yell at Rayton.
“Put it out!
I said put it out, you cursed bastard!”
Prissy, elegant Lilien was cursing in front of the palace staff like a lowborn wench.
She seemed to believe that Rayton was behind the magical fire.
Rayton and Sez couldn’t escape the scene since Lilien was acting like a lunatic and kept trying to pin it on them.
Rayton was silent for a moment before he suddenly grabbed her by the collar and dragged her over to the fountain.
Splash!
Rayton threw Lilien into the fountain without any hesitation.
Burned and drenched, Lilien looked even more hideous than Sez now.
If anyone had to guess who the monster in the legend was, they’d probably choose her.
Everyone froze at the terrifying scene.
Sez was no different.
“What the hell are you doing, you bastard?!”
Lilien yelled with tears in her eyes.
Rayton’s answer was outstanding.
“You asked me to put it out.”
Lilien quite literally went into a frenzy.
Sez was a little scared, too.
It was the first time that Lilien had freaked out so badly.
She already was a crazy bitch normally, what would she do after all that?
Rayton, of course, didn’t care at all.
He turned his back to the scene and walked over to Sez as something came to his mind.
He looked around and finally located the book.
It was the book that Sez had asked to borrow.
<The Mages of The Den Helder Empire.>
‘Seriously?
You thought of that in the middle of this situation?’
Sez didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Rayton shook the dirt off the book and handed it to Sez.
“Let’s go now.”
Sez took the book in one hand and held Raytan’s hand in the other.
She was just…
scared.
Lilien wouldn’t let this go, and Yerna would her about her relationship with Rayton, too.
‘Then I’ll get whacked again, just like last time…’
The thing that worried Sez the most was what would happen to Rayton.
Sez only hoped that Rayton would not get into trouble because of her.
However, Rayton looked peaceful, like he had no idea what Sez was worrying about.
“That book, it’s really boring…
don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
Sez returned to her room with a shadowy face.
She was worried to death.
‘Yulia must have heard what happened by now.
Maybe the Emperor did too… what should I do?’
Sez’s shoulders dropped.
“Brother…”
Sez carefully called out to Rayton.
“What?”
“I’m sorry.
I shouldn’t have…”
“Shouldn’t have what?”
“You got involved because you were trying to help me.
You’ll get into big trouble for this…”
“…….”
“If I hadn’t followed you…
no, if I just took the beating and didn’t talk back, things wouldn’t have turned out like this…”
Of course, it was Eton who set Lilien’s hair on fire, nevertheless, none of this would have happened if it weren’t for Sez.
Sez regretted that she didn’t listen to Runa and followed Rayton out.
She lowered her head, guilty as ever.
“But if you didn’t fight back, you wouldn’t be able to come to tutoring tomorrow.”
“What?”
“And you might have ended up getting aphasia, like before.”
Sez tilted her head.
‘What’s all this about?’
“I’m going to teach you speech in our next class.
So, I don’t want you to get aphasia again.”
“…….”
“And you said you hoped that we could study and eat cake together next time, didn’t you?”
Sez was dumbfounded.
It would not have been surprising if Rayton had scolded her harshly…
saying things like “it was all on you,” “why did you drag me into this?” or “I should have ignored what my mother said and ditched you earlier.”
As far as Sez knew, Rayton had never fought back like this, no matter how harshly he was bullied.
He usually just sat, unresponsive.
Even if he was mad at Bern’s words during their last run-in, the situation was different this time.
If it weren’t for Sez, Rayton wouldn’t have been involved in the first place.
Yet, he didn’t blame her.
Not just that, he…
Sez held the book Rayton gave her tight.
She had to fight back tears.
“So, stop being an idi…
no, I mean stop talking nonsense-”
Rayton stopped as Runa rushed in, her face white as snow.
“Y-your Royal Highnesses…”
Sez’s gut told her something was wrong the moment she saw Runa’s face.
Something big and bad…
and she hated the fact that her gut was right.
“Mistress Yulia…
told me she wants you to answer for what happened…
both of you…”
Yulia Lyran was the mother of Bern and Lilien.
She also hated Rayton and Lisette and thought that Yerna and Sez were dirty lowborn.
Sez’s clear blue eyes trembled in fear.