"Are you okay, Tia?"

  My grandfather asked, brushing off my clothes that Perez was holding.

  "I’m fine, Grandpa. This kid here is my friend……"

  "Perez Brivachau Durelli."

  Perez’s shoulder flinched a little.

  However, the cold-hearted grandfather’s gaze only looked at him up and down, as if evaluating an object.

  "Grandpa?"

  It was my first time seeing such a figure, so I carefully called my grandfather.

  "Yes, this kid is the Second Prince. You can tell even when you meet him while walking outside the palace."

  "Why?"

  The grandfather replied without taking his frown from Perez.

  "You guy, you resemble the Late Emperor very much. I think you are not Jovanes, but the Late Emperor’s child."7

  Perez’ eyes shook at the words.

  "Did no one tell you?"

  When Grandpa asked, he nodded a little.

  "Hey. Your mother would have seen the Late Emperor, and Jovanes wouldn’t have wanted to remember his father."

  "The Emperor’s Majesty wasn’t good with the Late Emperor Majesty, Grandpa?"

  "I don’t know."

  Grandpa said with a big smile.

  "I’m still not sure Jovanes didn’t poison his father."

  It’s a whole trash family?1

  I thought Lombardy was a mess, but the Imperial Family too.

  At least, Viese waited quietly for his father to die in old age.

  When I was still silent, my grandfather looked at me and quickly spoke.

  "Of course, it’s not something our Tia cares about. Forget what grandfather said."

  "Yes, Grandpa."

  I replied quickly like a good granddaughter who listens well.

  "Yes, yes. And you…… …… ."

  Grandpa’s gaze turned back to Perez.

  It was better than before, but it was still somewhere cold.

  "Are you living alone in this separate palace now?"

  Nod.

  "No maid or nanny?"

  Nod nod.

  "Seeing that you haven’t starved to death yet, what you eat is something someone sometimes brings?"

  Nod.

  "Is it possible for the Emperor’s son to be dumb without speaking? Someone should know how to answer in proper words!"

  Grandpa screamed. Then Perez, with his shoulders shrugged, hid behind my back.

  "That guy……!"

  Grandpa also reached out to grab Perez’s back, as if he didn’t like it.

  But for some reason, my grandfather stopped.

  I jumped in the gap and laughed while grabbed grandfather’s hand.

  "Grandpa! Go inside and talk! My leg hurts…… ."

  In fact, it wasn’t my legs that would hurt just because I was standing this far, but I trembled.

  "How about you, Grandpa?"

  "Grandfather talks a little with this guy and then goes in."

  Grandpa’s expression was determined.

  If I insisted on staying here, I felt like he would pick up Perez again and put him in the wagon.

  First of all, now is the time to listen to my grandfather.

  I have no choice but to turn my back and head to the separate palace.

  My grandfather said to Perez who still looked at me.

  "She is your saviors who have carried me so hard! Look pretty well!"1

  Sweet.

  Florentia enters the palace, and the old door is closed.

  Lulak looked down at the Second Prince in front of him.

  Deliberately did not hide the sharp and heavy momentum.

  When Lulak was like this, even a healthy adult couldn’t raise his head easily.

  But Perez was different.

  His bright red eyes were looking straight up at Lulak.

  Like a white porcelain mask, the face without change was filled with sharp alertness.

  It was completely different from when Florentia was next to him.

  A little while ago, when Lulak reached out his hand, he even put it in his eyes for a while.

  "That’s pretty good."

  Hearing the voice of his granddaughter and seeing him rushing out and listening to her words, Lulak thought he was a petty puppy that lost his mother.

  Now Lulak sees him as a very clever bum.4

  Lulak laughed.

  "I thought that only the appearance resembles the Late Emperor, but your personality is also very good."

  The young Perez was evaluating Lulak.

  Seeing the appearance of a forgotten Prince with a poor body who would stop breathing just by reaching out and twisting his neck.

  A lonely person who won’t cry even if he dies.

  Such appearance is very sharp like the spearhead.

  Even though the Late Emperor was a human who failed to protect his family, as an Emperor who ruled the Empire, he succeeded in doing his job.

  And, ironically, that’s what made Lulak’s anger subside a little.

  Lulak wanted to pretend didn’t know and just let him die. But couldn’t……

  "Do you want to live?"

  Lulak asked Perez.

  "If I say a word, ’I want’. What should I do? Would you like to save me?"

  Perez was clenching his small fist.

  Bloody gaze was gleaming toward Lulak, who mocked with his life.

  Red eyes, it was called ruby, which came in as a gift by accident.

  At the moment, Lulak imagined how Rabini Angenas gnawed her teeth while looking at Perez, and he felt better.

  In fact, that alone was enough reason for Perez to remain alive.

  "Yes, I decided. I will save you."

  Lulak smiled while rubbing his beard.

  "You’re lucky that your presence makes the Empress very unbearable."

  Perez was not happy.

  Rather, he spoke in a voice full of hostility.

  "Florentia doesn’t resemble you at all."

  "What? Hahaha!"

  Lulak broke his back and burst into a big laughter.

  "Yeah, that’s very fortunate. Isn’t it? My granddaughter doesn’t look like me, so there’s not a single dirt on it."

  Then the smile disappeared from Lulak’s face in an instant.

  And warned him.

  "So don’t think of sticking to my granddaughter. You’re not the one for her. Do you understand?"30

  Lulak remembered Perez’ eyes while looking at Florentia.

  It wasn’t just a child’s pure friendship.

  It was a kind of fire that if a little time passed and they grow up, it would quickly ripen and set fire.1

  Although Perez was a descendant of the Emperor he was not that important.

  For Lombardy, being a member of the Imperial Family was rather a factor of deduction.

  Perez didn’t answer, but Lulak didn’t need an answer either.

  As of today, from now on, Perez’s desire to live is as big as Lulak’s possession.

  "If you try to get too close to my granddaughter, you might not know whether you were a dog or a criminal, I could pull the collar in you."

  Lastly, Lulak, who looked at Perez, turned to find his granddaughter.

  "Where are you, Florentia!"

  Opening the door of the separate Palace and shouting out loud, the pleasant voice seemed like a completely different person.

  * * *

  While Perez and my grandfather were having a conversation, I was looking around inside the Palace.

  Like a building inside the Imperial Palace, it was large and spacious, but the unmanaged Palace was empty.

  I carefully stepped on the stone steps up to the second floor.

  It was broken here and there, so I had to be careful with my steps.

  Of course, no one would have been able to light the lights in time, so I can only see the only room with the door open on the other side of the dark corridor.

  "Wow, really……"

  When I opened the door to the bedroom, I lost something to say.

  My prediction that I thought it would be messy and dirty because a child lived alone without the care of an adult was completely wrong.

  I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been.

  Perez’s bedroom was empty.

  It was all about a large bed, simple furniture, and stacked books.

  Except for the old utensils placed in front of the fireplace, there was no trace of people living in this room.

  There weren’t any of those common ornaments or anything that look valuable.

  There was no way that the treasures of the Palace that a child was lives alone without an owner will remain.

  "Ah."

  Except for the two things I found while sitting on the bed.

  It was a wooden sword on the side of his bed and a bottle of medicine I gave.

  The two items were placed in a circle on top of the blanket.

  At that time, I heard my grandfather’s voice.

  "Where are you, Florentia!"

  "I’m here!"

  I quickly ran down the stairs.

  Fortunately, Perez looked fine with no wounds.

  Then it is.

  My grandfather isn’t bad enough to get angry with a poor kid like that.

  When I jumped and stood in front of him, my grandfather bent his back slightly, keeping eye level, and said.

  "Grandfather has a place to go for a moment, so wait here. I’ll leave one knight outside, so don’t worry."

  A knight with a slightly familiar face held the bag I had brought in his hand and bowed.

  "Yes, Grandpa!"

  "Huh huh, kids……"

  Grandpa finally stroked my head and went outside.

  Lombardy’s carriage, who was waiting, picked up grandfather and started running along the forest path.

  I waved my hand and asked Perez, who was standing next to me.

  "What did you talk with my grandfather?"

  "……nothing."

  "You’ve been out for quite a while. What did you talking about?"

  "I didn’t say anything."

  So, did you get scolded by my grandfather?

  Well, it wouldn’t have been much.

  As I closed my curiosity, I reached out a hand to Perez.

  He looked at me meaningfully.

  "Let’s go, because I brought this and that to give you."

  The way up the stairs is quite difficult.

  If this skinny guy fell by mistake, he might get seriously injured.

  In that sense, I stretched out my hand.

  Perez, who blinked slowly once, held my hand, perhaps because he was slow in everything.

  I started to climb the stairs first, holding the hand that was gently grabbing me tightly.

  I wondered if he didn’t like holding hands with me, but fortunately, he was quietly following my step, step by step.

  And when I got to the bedroom, Perez was holding my hand tighter.

  * * *

  Jovanes walked through the halls of the Imperial Palace with a stiff face.

  It was a step full of impatience.

  When he arrived at the office, the servant standing in front of him quickly opened the door.

  The sky tinged with the red sun was just rising, and the sunlight shone deeply into the office through the open window.

  And there was a man who received the light intact and greeted Jovanes.

  "It’s been a long time, Your Majesty."

  It was Lulak Lombardy, sitting and drinking tea as if it were his own office.

  Glossary

  ___________________________________________

  [1] ’Konggaru-Jiban (콩가루 집안)’ - ’Soybean flour family’ : a broken family, a disrupted family.

  [2] ’Dong-A-Jul (동아줄)’ - Dong-A Rope, from Korean fairy tale that a rope comes down from the sky and rescues the sister and brother who ran away from the tiger. Here, the Dong-A-Jul is like ’a helping hand in a moment of crisisor savior’.