“—At long last, the continent laid down the roots of a single empire, and history began to take shape in ink and script. Through that rushing stream of time, people continued to love, to rejoice, and to grieve. They felt joy and anger in equal measure, basked in happiness while tasting despair. They welcomed birth, as well accepted death.”
With the final line read, I closed the book, bound in finely tanned parchment. Only then did I lift my bowed head.
Across from me, nestled deep into a sofa covered in soft rabbit fur, Prince Kaelzeno had already shut his eyes in peaceful slumber.
“…Your Highness.” I called tenderly. Sadly he didn’t stir. It seemed he had truly fallen asleep.
I let out a sigh quietly and relaxed my spine, letting my back recline just slightly. The velvet cushion behind me welcomed the shift with a gentle caress.
“Would you come each night to my chamber and read to me?”
It had been weeks since I began visiting his bedchamber every night to read to him. Several books I finished stacked higher by the day, and what once felt awkward now came as naturally as breathing.
This was a dangerous command. It violated no law, not exactly, but for an unmarried prince, one who stood at the heart of the Crown Prince’s selection, to allow a woman into his private chambers—that alone could feed a hundred tongues.
“My one and only command is… you, the fairest among the proper, the loveliest of all the so-called old-fashioned women to accept my wish.”
Despite knowing all this, I hadn’t refused. That made me the worst of all.
Why hadn’t I asked? Why did he make such a request? What if it happened again?
Questions I should have asked long ago now pressed down too late, and I was left to face the selfishness of my own silence.
I found myself studying his sleeping face, utterly untroubled. His long eyelashes casting shadows on his cheeks, the way soft and bold lines danced across his features, there was something attractive about it.
How had I ever forgotten a face like that?
And so, again and again, I painted it over the fading traces in my mind, like smudged watercolors. I was grateful for every moment I could see him in a peaceful state like this.
“…Your Highness…” His slow, steady breathing rippled softly across the vast chamber like the lapping of a calm sea. Amidst the gentle waves, a frail whisper, so weak it was barely audible, slipped, “I’ve missed you. So much.”
Words I had longed to say were finally free as I listened to the rhythm of his breathing.
Once my feet reached the outside of the side door—
Snort.
—A foreign sound heard from nearby. I stopped, heart still, breath held tight. Pressed into the wall, I drew my cloak more tightly over my head, eyes scanning the dark for movement.
Silence followed.
Had I imagined it?
I tilted my head, ready to turn down the forest path, when—whine, that strange sound again. There was no mistaking it now.
Curious, I moved carefully toward the source of the noise with waryness. And then, through the veil of caution, my eyes landed on—
“…A horse?”
—A lone horse stood there.
Not far from the prince’s wing, there was a stable. I exhaled out of relief and made a beeline to the horse. Under the moonlight, its black coat shimmered even more. It was clearly well cared for, and seemed used to human touch.
“What’s your name?”
The horse twitched its ears and flicked its tail, as if acknowledging me.
I craned my neck to look inside the stable. The stable was clean, the straw fresh. On one post hung a wooden placard: ‘Caligo’ And beneath it, in smaller script, is the owner’s name: ‘Kaelzeno’
“Caligo… So you belong to him.”
At the sound of its name, the horse dipped its head, nuzzling toward me. I raised my hand and petted its thick mane.
“Can you smell His Highness on me?”
You’ve been pampered, haven’t you? I giggled gingerly, continuing to stroke its neck.
“Who’s there?” A cold voice and a long shadow fell over me. I stood there, frozen in tracks.
I should’ve left, regret hit me like a cold slap. But there was no time. The stranger closed the distance in mere steps.
Golden eyes glinted eerily through the dark.
“State your name. What are you doing here?”
“…I…”
“Step forward.”
When I hesitated, his voice became more colder. More Precise. More Commanding. Like a blade.
Reluctantly, I curled my clammy fingertips and stepped into the moonlight.
I kept my eyes raised, afraid that lowering them might look suspicious. While I held my head high, my eyes fell upon the figure who stood in the darkness. He was tall, his expression unreadable in the dark. My gaze wavered, anxious began to eat me.
But even as I revealed myself, the man said nothing.
The silence grew thicker, unnerving, weighted.
And then he spoke again. Unlike before, his voice sounded a bit strained.
“You…”
Another pause. Then nothing. The tension became unbearable. I had to speak. I had a gut feeling that it was better to tell him the truth than a clumsy lie.
“I am Len of the Empress’ court. I came by command to visit His Highness Kaelzeno, and on the way back I seem to have taken the wrong path. I apologize for intruding where I should not have been,” I confessed. Quickly and firmly.
No reaction from him. My heart plummeted.
Had I made a mistake? If this led to trouble for the Prince…
If he were to suffer even the slightest harm because of me…
No, that couldn’t happen. I rather had to lose my head here and now.
I opened my mouth for a desperate attempt, but finally, the stranger opened his mouth.
“…Kaelzeno?”
Of all things, he latched onto the name. This wouldn’t be good.
I should’ve lied. Maybe a clumsy lie wouldn’t be bad.
Just as regret swallowed me, the man exposed himself under the moonlight.
“Are you certain?”
His hair was as black as pitch midnight, a striking contrast to his golden eyes. His movements as he tread toward me, like a panther through shadow. He struck me like a carriage hit me. It was the first time I had ever felt a person’s presence so physically. I was overwhelmed and weirdly, as I met his proud, shining eyes, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.
Had I seen eyes like his before?
“Are you certain the person you met was Prince Kaelzeno?”
“…I am mostly certain.”
Yet my memory was a foggy jar, and I couldn’t reach the pieces within.
At my reply, his piercing stare finally slid away. The moonlight cast a faint shadow across his features, something unreadable flickering there. However, I didn’t give it much thought.
“Len… was it?”
His voice dropped low, settling like dew on the earth. Holding my breath and hoping for this situation to end as soon as possible, I felt his gaze linger at the base of my neck.
I kept my head down, refusing to look.
“Yes.”
“…Come. It’s dark. I’ll escort you back to the Empress’ quarter.”
Before I could respond, he turned and walked ahead. I had no choice but to follow.
Did I get away with it?
The fact that he offered a kind gesture must mean he wouldn’t make a big deal out of this. But something about him… unsettled me. I stayed alert, eager to reach the place as quickly as possible.
A soft wind passed between us, a few steps of distance between us with the moon casting two long shadows down the path.
“May I ask how you came to enter the palace?”
His head turned slightly as he asked, then faced forward again. His tone had softened, but only just. I answered carefully, choosing words to not get caught in a lie.
“I was invited to the last festival as a dancer, and that was how I was granted the opportunity to enter the palace.”
“So you are… the rumored dancer,” he murmured more to himself than to me. He looked as if he meant to say more, but stopped himself.
That was the end of our conversation.
As we reached the Empress’ quarter, I bowed in haste.
I ignored his intense gaze and bowed respectfully until the end.
“Thank you for the escort.”
“Do you meet him often?”
“…Pardon?”
“Prince Kaelzeno, I mean.”
His brow furrowed slightly. Not accusing, but curious.
I owed him no answers.
Not to mention I didn’t even know his name nor his status.
“I’m sorry. Anything concerning His Highness is not mine to disclose.”
He raised his eyebrows at that with a small “oh” exclamation. A look of amused disbelief crossed his face.
“If it’s not rude, may I ask your name?” I bowed again, deeper this time as I was trying to appear as polite as possible. If I was to be questioned, I deserved at least to know his name.
“My name is…”
A pause.
“…Windrune.”
“….”
“I manage the royal stables.”
It didn’t suit him, I thought. I tried to imagine him feeding a horse or filing its hooves, but I couldn’t picture it. He was tall and well-built; he would have looked natural in the finest silk instead of his ordinary brown clothes.
But none of that mattered. Not to me. So I turned away.
“I’ll take my leave, then.”
But the man didn’t move from his spot until I passed through the main gate and disappeared completely inside the inner halls.
He was only there, watching.
As if there was something else he still needed to say. Or something he still needed to know.
“Mm… you’re late,” Sylvia stirred in my presence, half-awake. I pulled the blanket over her shoulders and glanced out the window, where the shadow of tree branches swayed in the night.
“I ran into someone.”
“Hmm? Who?”
“A man who lies through his teeth that he’s an equerry.”
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