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Chapter 39: The Princess Who Learned Everything

"Young Master Lishite...?"

Hearing the familiar voice behind me, I turned my head to see who it was.

"Your Majesty...?"

Standing amidst the blades of grass was Milliam.

Sir Austin was beside him.

Milliam tilted his head, then asked,

"What brings you to the garden at this late hour?"

I bowed deeply in response.

"I couldn\'t sleep, so I came out for a walk."

"I see, I see… A stroll can indeed aid in a good night\'s sleep."

Milliam seemed lost in thought for a moment, then spoke again.

"If you don\'t mind… would you care to walk with me?"

"It would be an honor."

I was about to head back to my room, but…

Well, it didn\'t matter.

Lying down wouldn\'t magically make me sleepy.

As I nodded, Milliam smiled faintly and began to walk slowly.

I quietly followed behind him.

-Whoosh…

The gentle rustling of the wind filled the silence.

Walking through the garden bathed in blue starlight was quite an atmospheric experience.

"What do you think? Magnificent, isn\'t it?"

Milliam, who was walking ahead, looked back at me and asked.

I was silently taking in the night scenery.

"Indeed, it is."

"Chuckle… It\'s one of the prides of this palace!"

Milliam laughed heartily at my response and stopped in the middle of the garden.

I also stopped a few steps behind him.

-Swoosh…

The bushes swayed in unison with the wind.

Flower petals danced in the breeze, releasing their sweet fragrance.

Milliam stood tall amidst the early autumn scents, enjoying the tranquility.

After a moment of silence, Milliam suddenly asked,

"Do you know something?"

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"

"I… don\'t particularly like the sun."

"Huh...?"

As I was taken aback by his sudden statement, Milliam chuckled and continued,

"It\'s not that I have any hidden meaning or anything. I mean it literally."

"But… why would the Sun of the Empire say such a thing…?"

"Ha ha, is it strange?"

Milliam let out his characteristic laughter a few more times, then pointed his index finger at the night sky.

"You see… the sun is too bright."

"How can you call that a flaw?"

"A shining sun… it swallows everything around it with its brilliant radiance. The light of the stars in the sky, the cool night air, the peaceful silence, everything."

Milliam gazed at the moon in the night sky with a wistful expression.

I remained silent, not wanting to disturb his contemplation.

"The sun is destined to live alone."

But the moon was different.

Its gentle moonlight coexisted with countless stars.

Milliam lowered his gaze and looked at me.

"I wanted to be like the moon… because people can\'t live alone."

There was a time when I admired the uniqueness of the sun.

But after ascending to the position of the sun, I realized that even if I became a lofty and solitary light, I would only disappear beyond the horizon alone when evening came.

"People are like a night sky… They need people to live with and a certain amount of darkness around them."

"......"

He was clearly talking to me, but it felt more like a soliloquy.

The Sun\'s lament, filled with bitterness and regret, echoed softly in the tranquil atmosphere.

\'Come to think of it, Milliam… was said to have been a lonely person who lived in his own world.\'

After the Empress, his only love, passed away at an early age…

He changed his ways according to her last wishes and started to care for those around him…

Recalling those stories, the air surrounding Milliam seemed particularly lonely.

Milliam smiled enigmatically and said,

"Take good care of those around you… You need to fix all the things you\'ve messed up."

Because if you wait any longer, it might be too late.

With those parting words, Milliam chuckled to himself and resumed walking.

"I guess I can\'t hide my age… I\'ve become a rambling old man."

"You are still in good spirits, Your Majesty."

"Chuckle… I\'ll be heading back now. See you tomorrow."

After a simple farewell, Milliam left with Sir Austin, who had been silently following us.

I stood under the night sky where the sun had disappeared.

I was quietly replaying our conversation in my mind.

"People can\'t live alone, huh…"

I couldn\'t quite grasp the meaning of those words, having spent most of my previous life alone.

But somehow, I felt that he was right.

"......"

I was left alone in the starlit garden.

The cool night air urged me to delve deeper into my thoughts.

Just as my sinking heart was about to reach the bottom of the abyss…

"Huff… Huff… Raiden…!"

Someone called out from behind me again.

It was a familiar voice.

A graceful yet delicate voice.

The only difference was that it was laced with heavy breaths.

Surprised, I turned around to see who it was.

"......"

The first thing that caught my eye was beautiful, flowing platinum blonde hair.

Mystical, shimmering blue eyes.

And pale, white skin that seemed even more ethereal under the moonlight.

I took in the picturesque scene before me and spoke the girl\'s name.

"Your Highness…?"

"Huff… Huff…"

It was Lucy.

She was approaching me with heavy breaths, her steps hurried.

Her clothes were wrinkled in places, as if she had been running.

"Your Highness, what brings you here at this hour?"

I asked, flustered by her sudden appearance. Lucy frowned and glared at me.

Her clear blue eyes reflected my image like a mirror.

I flinched and took a step back as our eyes met.

Those blue eyes reminded me of the fear and wariness I had seen in her at the carriage station.

"Raiden…"

Her expression contorted at my reaction.

Or rather, it crumpled into a look of distress.

I stood there frozen, unsure of what to do, wondering what had gotten into her.

"Your Highness…?"

"......"

Lucy didn\'t respond to my call.

She simply stared at me, catching her unsteady breath.

She was trembling.

Her lips twitched slightly.

Her eyes, filled with a mixture of emotions, were fixed on me.

There were even faint tear stains on her cheeks.

-Tap…

Lucy, who had been staring intently at me, began to walk towards me, one step at a time.

Her voice, laced with an unknown emotion, trembled as she murmured,

"Raiden… You… You…"

"Huh...?"

She was muttering something I couldn\'t understand.

Lucy stopped right in front of me and clenched her fists. Then…

"You… You…"

"Your Highness…? What\'s wrong…?"

"You idiot…!"

"Oof…?!"

She lunged at me, headbutting me in the chest.

What the…

What was that all about?

I fell back as Lucy collided with me, thinking to myself.

***

A few hours earlier.

After the conversation in the audience chamber.

Lucy was sitting on her bed in her room.

Unlike her body, which was resting comfortably, her mind was a battlefield.

She held her throbbing forehead and muttered to herself,

"What… what did that mean…?"

The conversation between Milliam and Raiden kept replaying in her head.

-Wouldn\'t that be natural? … The Seekers, and the Cult… They are my mother\'s enemies.

-You\'ve changed so much… I heard you\'ve even stopped your awkward delinquent act.

-Yes, that is correct.

-How does it feel? To shed that mask?

-…It wasn\'t as refreshing as I thought it would be. I lost too much in the process.

Lucy frowned at their cryptic conversation.

It sounded like there was a backstory she didn\'t know about.

And the fact that Raiden\'s condition was so bad that he needed to take the infamous Deathweed was something she had never heard of.

Only a handful of people within the Imperial family knew about Lady Lishite\'s tragedy.

Naturally, Lucy, who was unaware of Raiden\'s story, could only ponder the mystery.

"Ugh…!"

Unable to bear the turmoil in her heart, Lucy abruptly got up from the bed.

She stepped onto the floor and murmured,

"I should ask my brother… He seemed to know something."

Recalling Seon\'s ambiguous gaze towards Raiden, Lucy left her room.

She headed straight for the Crown Prince\'s chambers.

-Knock, knock, knock…

"Brother…? Are you free right now…?"

-Lucy? What brings you here at this hour…? Ah, come in.

Seon was surprised by his younger sister\'s sudden visit, but he welcomed her warmly.

His desk was cluttered with documents as if he had been in the middle of work.

Lucy felt a pang of guilt, wondering if she was interrupting him, but she stepped inside nonetheless.

"So… what brings you here at this late hour, Your Highness?"

"…I have something to ask."

"It must be urgent if you came all the way here… What is it?"

"Well… back in the audience chamber…"

Lucy began to lay out the questions that had been swirling in her mind.

Seon listened to his sister\'s story in silence.

At first glance, he seemed relaxed, but the fact that he had stopped moving his pen betrayed his inner turmoil.

"…So I was wondering if there was something I didn\'t know…"

"......"

"I thought maybe you would know…"

Lucy fidgeted with her fingers as if gauging his reaction.

Seon rolled his eyes for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

"Ha… I knew this day would come."

"Brother, you do know something, don\'t you…?"

"I do, but I\'m not sure if it\'s right for you to hear it from me…"

"Please… tell me, brother."

Lucy looked at Seon with pleading eyes.

Seon remained silent, as if contemplating, then scratched the back of his head.

"…Well, the fact that Father and Young Master Lishite brought up the topic means… it\'s alright for you to know about it too."

"So…?"

"Alright, I\'ll tell you. About the \'tragedy\' that befell the Lishite family, which has been kept strictly confidential."

.

.

.

"Huff… Huff…"

Lucy ran.

Immediately after hearing Seon\'s story, she bolted out of the room.

She ran through the palace, frantically searching.

-Your Highness…?! Where are you going at this late hour…?

-Your Highness…?

She heard the voices of maids along the way, but she ignored them and kept running.

Only one name occupied Lucy\'s mind.

-Lucy… We owe him a great debt.

-In a way, Young Master Lishite was sacrificed for the well-being of the Imperial family…

-I can\'t even begin to imagine how he must have felt pushing away those he cared about.

Raiden Lishite.

The boy she had resented so much.

The foolish friend who tried to shoulder everything alone.

And… the loyal knight who had never betrayed her.

She had to see him.

"Raiden…!"

Lucy ran to Raiden\'s room, but he wasn\'t there.

She bit her lip in frustration.

\'No…\'

He can\'t disappear.

I just found out the truth.

I finally understand your sorrow, your pain, your loneliness.

She wiped her teary eyes and continued searching for him.

After some time…

Lucy finally found Raiden in the garden behind the palace.

He was blending in with the darkened bushes.

His jet black hair, swaying in the wind, framed his blue eyes.

"Huff… Huff… Raiden…!"

"Your Highness…?"

The boy turned around at her call.

Lucy caught her breath as she approached him.

"Your Highness, what brings you here at this hour?"

Raiden asked calmly.

Lucy frowned.

She was angry.

How could he look so at ease?

When he was suffering so much inside.

Why was he pretending to be fine?

A wave of unknown anger and resentment welled up inside her.

"......"

But those feelings were washed away by his reaction.

Raiden flinched and took a step back when their eyes met.

Lucy felt her heart clench.

"Raiden…"

Her lips trembled, and her chest tightened.

His vulnerable appearance seemed so sad and pitiful to her now that she knew everything.

With blurred vision, she walked towards him.

What should she say?

There were so many things she wanted to say.

But all that came out were incoherent murmurs.

"Raiden… You… You…"

Countless sentences formed and dissolved in her mouth.

The words in her mind clashed, connected, shattered, and separated again.

In the end, she couldn\'t say anything.

She could only…

"You idiot…!"

…burst into tears and threw herself at him.

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