Chapter 7

The book didn’t describe how Euphil’s mother, the first queen died. It was only written that she died from an illness.

So I didn’t know what he meant by silly play, but everyone here knew the silly thing here was ‘me.’ I knew that but it ached me to hear those words somehow.

Before Euphil could say anything, he glided by Euphil and me. It was at a pace so fast that the three men following him were left confounded.

“So you remember.”

Euphil said to the King who was walking away. The King stopped for a split second and then, continued away.

How desolate an atmosphere that was left behind.

It felt as if a tempest called the King had swept over me. Strange. I knew already; Ante had also relentlessly told me. But, actually facing it in real life gave me a different feeling.

‘Should I be thankful that he taught me a new feeling?’

I silently let go of Euphil’s hand and poked at the ground with the tip of my foot.

I was getting a headache trying to think what I should say. Firstly, Euphil should not think of me as silly and useless.

‘Should I say that I’m not useless?’

Or should I do my best to convince him of my use?

I had no idea what my use was exactly right now. If I knew something like this was going to happen, maybe I should have predicted the future.

I felt something grasp my hand tightly.

I turned my head sideways, my eyes wide open.

Euphil was quietly looking ahead, holding my hand and not looking at me.

“Bro……ther?”

Did Euphil just hold my hand? My hand?

What happened next surprised me even more.

He mulled something over in his mind and said out loud.

“He’s the King who wouldn’t receive the water fairy’s golden apple.”

I had no idea what he meant.

After thinking it over, I realized that he was referring to the story he had told me. Is he trying to console me? That, because he’s a foolish king who wouldn’t receive the golden apple in the fairytale, I shouldn’t worry about what he said?

I smiled with my mouth wide open. Euphil still wasn’t looking at me, his ears red. I felt a warm current coming through my chest.

I felt as if my ears were also turning red so I held his hand tight again and rubbed my face in his arm. Euphil’s ears turn even more red.

“Hehe. You’re Mirthy’s favorite.”

Euphil had a conflicting look on his face.

His careful hands slowly pushed my head away. Then, he spoke in a voice that was more filled with emotion than when he was consoling me.

“It’s my fault. It’s no good staying near me. Don’t come here looking for me anymore.”

“Huh?”

“I won’t go to your garden anymore, either.”

“Why not?”

“Nothing good will come out of being together with me.”

If I give up here, everything up until now will have been for nothing.

But other than that, I still felt sad and tears hung from the edge of my eyes. I glanced and found Euphil making a regretful frown.

“Don’t cry.”

“So I can’t see you anymore?”

Sniffles.

“We can’t anymore.”

It was like an eviction notice. He must be concerned about the King’s evaluation of him.

‘This can’t happen; if he grows up like this and revolts against the King, I’m going to die.’

Even if he consoled me, my mind was still filled with apprehension.

But that was it.

The ten year old Euphil that was dragging me along by the hand with heavy footsteps stopped at the borderline between my palace and shoved my shoulder forward.

“I’ve called the guards. They will take you away.”

“What about you?”

“I’m not going.”

“Never again?”

“That’s right.”

I didn’t know when the tears in my eyes had stained my face.

I was so tormented by his words that I grabbed his sleeve and wiped my nose with it. He didn’t say anything about it, and stood still waiting for the guard to come.

I must have dozed off as I was sniffling. I walked too much today and my young heart was scared by all the cold gazes that it had received.

I saw Euphil’s blond hair between the sunset and the hand that lifted me up as I was drifting off into sleep.

‘I thought we were friends.’

I thought that I shouldn’t have followed him around, as I fell into deep slumber.

It was time to think about Plan B.

* * *

I didn’t really have any source of information in the palace aside from Ante. I didn’t know where the Chief Guard Valk was and Ante was the person who I spent the most time face to face.

“Where are you going about wandering these days? Princess?”

Ante’s harassment became worse the more I went about wandering. Euphil couldn’t see it, but the harmless pinching that didn’t leave any marks turned more violent that it left bruises. And only on my belly, too. So that nobody could see it.

She must have felt apprehensive too. But why does that matter? The King doesn’t care about me and Euphil doesn’t want to see me anymore.

‘Coward.’

Still, it wasn’t fair to criticize Euphil. He was just a wounded ten year-old.

I remembered when I held his hand and when he held mine. It was so warm then.

While Ante was scrutinizing me, I was immersed in deep thought and finally stared at her straight in the eyes. Ante frowned, as it was rare that I looked her in the eyes.

“Are you hungry?”

“No.”

“Then, why are you looking at me?”

It was like the position of a princess and a maid was completely reversed.

But, Ante was the only person who gave me food. Right now, I wanted to know about Euphil.

“Do you know Euvil?”

“Euvil? What’s Euvil?”

“Uh…… Mirthy’s brother.”

“Prince Euphil? How do you know him?”

“Because he’s Mirthy’s brother!”

Ante’s face was gradually being contorted.

I nervously stared at her face as I continued. This time, even if she doesn’t feed me, even if she pinches me repeatedly, I had to ask.

I had to firmly establish myself as his sister and ensure that he doesn’t forget me.

I needed to know the cause to attack the problem. But, my prediction that she was going to starve me at best was a serious underestimation.

“Do you know Euphil’s mother? Ante, what’s a silly play?”

This was the trigger.

Ante’s face turned pale.

I couldn’t continue, feeling that I had touched a wrong switch.

But Ante continued the conversation.

“You met……His Majesty?”

“Y, yes, how did you know?”

“It’s because the only person who can say something like that to Prince Euphil is His Majesty.”

“Ah, I see.”

Ante slowly walked toward me.

I gulped. As her shadow covered my figure, I stood nailed to the ground and closed my eyes shut.

Instead of hitting my head or pinching my belly, she firmly grabbed my wrist. My body swayed.

“You were up to no good. Who told you that you could go see His Majesty at will?”

“N, no. I just ran into him while I was walking……”

Crying.

“I shouldn’t have just let you roam freely. Princess, you are to stay only in this room from now on.”

Then, Ante pushed me onto the small bed in which I had been sleeping. As I was helplessly pushed away, I was about to lose my temper. Before I could do anything, Ante left the room.

When I took small steps to the door and tried to open it, I could only hear clicks in the door.

She had imprisoned me.

* * *

The endless hours of boredom continued.

The letters in the books refused to be comprehended.

It was unusual. He had never found books difficult before. When he read the letters, they were effortlessly deciphered in his head and became knowledge and all he had to do was take it in.

It was since that child had appeared in front of him that this all became difficult.

The long silver hair with a tint of violet pink twirled into curls and the violet eyes that were filled with tears would struggle to hide them when faced with his stern face.

Euphil wasn’t familiar with such descriptive use of language but he knew that her face was like that of an angel in a fairytale. Perhaps that was what made it more difficult to push her away?

‘When did I start to notice her absence?’

She would constantly make efforts to come closer to him. She looked as if she was barely five.

The child’s clothes were worn down. Euphil did not know what poverty was but he knew that her clothes were shabbier than his.

Judging by the fact that she rotates only a few set of clothes, she must be as stubborn to the maid as she is to him.

The child who eats cookies with the happiest of faces and clings to him constantly saying she likes him. Because he had never been told that someone likes him, he had to try hard to conceal his embarrassment whenever he heard her words.

He wasn’t sure why he had to conceal it. He felt that for some reason, he could only stay himself if he hid it when he was in front of her.

‘She’s really not coming.’

However he told her not to come, it had already been several days. On the first day, he refrained from going to the princess palace where he habitually used to go but he had already started to head in the direction of the Princess palace garden on the second day.

‘This isn’t because I want to see her. I always came here often.’

This wasn’t a lie. The only reason he met her in the first place was because there was someone new in the princess palace where he always visited.

The Princess palace had been abandoned for a long time. He had heard rumors that a child was living in it. Honestly, he didn’t think anyone would really be inside the palace.

‘I guess it’s still quite well maintained inside for someone to live there.’

The desolate garden which looked like it hasn’t been taken care of by anyone in ages, was a great place for him to spend his time.

The garden that you might expect to find in a fairytale was like a maze that was about to turn into a forest. If he jumped up in a tree and looked at the scenery, it calmed his mind. He felt that it had much in common with him.

‘…And she got all tearful because she liked me.’

He was getting somewhat angry. Once again, he was on the tree where he met her for the first time. The wind tickled his nose.

He felt half offended and half relieved.

He was relieved because he felt that if she is with him, she would become hated by the king on top of being the abandoned princess; so he liked things as it was now.

‘If she can become close to someone other than me, she’d be able to escape this place.’

Euphil was certain that if you had to pick someone that the King hates the most in the whole palace, it would be him. He didn’t know the reason. Perhaps his mother had done something wrong?

‘Or maybe he just hates me.’

He once read from a book about someone who believed that the greatest mistake in his life was being born.

Maybe he himself should think that too. But every time he thought of something like that, he saw the little girl who told him she liked him.

‘How could she smile like an angel after being abandoned?’

There was a statue in the Princess palace. It was a statue of an angel. Even though it was half-covered by vines, he thought it to bear great resemblance to her especially her smile.

“Hmph.”

He got down from the tree with a movement like the wind. It was almost inhuman. It was as if he knew congenitally how to carry his body with such lightness.

He shook off the leaf that stuck to his blonde hair and he continued forward.

“Just once. I’ll just check if she’s sleeping well.”

Nobody asked him but he muttered into the air as he headed of in one direction.

It was the Princess palace where Mirthy lived.