What the hell is all that d@mn curse. She hated her father, Duke Alberton, who recklessly muttered about curses and plotted insidious things behind the scenes.
‘There’s nothing wrong with the two. It’s my father who did something wrong, and someone behind him. ……And maybe that someone is the Emperor or the Crown Prince.’
Grace let out a long sigh as if to relieve her upset heart, and spoke affectionately to Leon in her arms.
“… … It’s okay, Leon. No one will say anything bad to the Duke and you anymore.”
“Really?”
“Of course! What did those people say that looking at your eyes and face makes you go crazy? But Leon, do I look weird right now? Do you think I’m crazy?”
“… … Oh no!”
“Right? They say that because they don’t know what they are talking about.”
When Grace straightforwardly said it, Leon was overwhelmed by the momentum and suddenly nodded his head.
Grace was able to understand Leon like that. Leon would have lived almost his entire life believing that there was a curse in Arthur and his eyes, but it was natural that he could not understand and accept it at once even if he said this now.
So from now on, she has to show herself through her actions. Vowing to more actively uncover the truth behind Duke Alberton, Grace caressed Leon’s masked cheek.
“So Leon, you can do whatever you want about wearing a mask or taking it off. If you feel comfortable wearing a mask, you can keep wearing it, or if you feel uncomfortable wearing a mask, you can take it off anytime.”
“……b-, but what the adults would say…….”
“If someone else curses you and says something to you, ask them back, ‘How do you know when you haven’t experienced it?’ But if that person says something else, then just call me.”
“… … My sister-in-law?”
“Yes. Then I’ll chastise those people. How dare they hurt our precious Confucius, and stand still after that? So you can trust me and do whatever you want, Leon.”
Grace said proudly, pinching Leon’s plump cheek with her fingers. Perhaps her words were pleasant to hear, so Leon burst into laughter, even though his cheeks were pinched.
Grace kissed the corner of Leon’s wide smile and added, looking at Leon’s clear Odd Eye, hidden behind a small black mask.
“Don’t forget, Leon, I’m always on your side.”
“… … Sister-in-law.”
“So don’t be intimidated or frightened by what other people say. They’re cowards who don’t know anything anyway, so there’s no need to be hurt by what they say. Got it?”
“… … Yes!”
To Grace’s words, Leon, who seemed to have only just gained confidence, replied loudly. Seeing that, Grace smiled cutely and patted Leon gently on the head.
In fact, those words were cheesy and embarrassing enough to make her feel embarrassed to even say them herself. But if Leon could live with a little more confidence, she could say as much embarrassing things as this.
Arthur looked at Grace like that, wrapped his arms over her shoulder, and said to Leon, who was in her arms.
“In that sense, Leon. Why don’t you show your unmasked face now?”
“…Arthur!”
“Yes, alright!”
Grace was surprised by Arthur’s sudden suggestion and called Arthur’s name, but for a moment, Grace frowned slightly at Leon’s reply that he was willing to do so.
The original intention was to mean that the child no longer had to be intimidated by other people’s words, but this seemed to have led the child to take off his mask.
However, Leon’s face as he unwrapped the mask’s seams looked very happy, and Grace immediately smiled helplessly. Yeah, whatever it was, if Leon is happy, she would be happy too.
Eventually, the moment the mask that was covering Leon’s small face fell on the child’s chest, Grace let out an exclamation.
“Oh, my!”
Leon’s face revealed under the mask looked like a miniature version of Arthur.
The blue and red Odd Eye just like Arthur’s, and the unrivalled nose, were the same as Arthur’s.
The only differences were that unlike Arthur’s stiff mouth, which looked cold when he didn’t smile, Leon’s lips were cutely raised like a kitten’s, and the shape of his chin was softer.
[T/N: Hmm hmm… So, Leon is a cute chibi version of Arthur. (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))]
Grace said to Leon, sincerely admiring his more charming and cuter appearance than she had ever imagined.
“… … After a few years, Leon will have no choice but to cover it up.”
“What? Why?”
“Because of Leon what if my daughters send me a letter complaining that they are lovesick?”
“… … Uhhhaha… … .”
“Madam, I think you are worrying too much.”
“I’m not too worried. If he grows up like this, all the young girls in the Empire, or even on this continent, will send you a letter because they want to marry Leon. Don’t regret seeing the letters for marriage piled up in the office then, Arthur.”
Grace gave Leon a big, flabby speech, and hugged him tightly.
Then Leon, in Grace’s arms, burst into laughter again, and Arthur, who was frowning mischievously at Grace’s remarks, laughed softly at the sight of the two.
It was such a warm morning at Felix Castle that she wondered if she can be this happy.
Everything in this Empire existed for him.
It had to exist for him. And he had to have everything. Not only power and wealth, but also a strong body and a smooth destiny without adversity.
It was an absolute proposition from the time the Crown Prince Eugenius Clive of this Empire was born.
Even in order to protect the ‘proposition’, it was so the case that countless lies were created and innocent lives were killed and sacrificed.
───※ ·❆· ※───
The veil of darkness that had covered the whole world was lifted, and the sun was rising little by little at the blue dawn.
Owen, the one and only prince of this empire, woke up early from his bed. After that, Owen took off the robe he was wearing and changed into a pure white uniform under the care of his old servant and nanny. Then soon he put on a black robe on himself that they offered.
The figure that covered the whole body was more like a hermit wizard or monk rather than a crown prince. Owen grabbed the hood of his robe and lowered it, covering his entire face, and said to the old attendant standing next to him.
“Where are they now?”
“… … It and Duke Alberton have already arrived here in the secret chamber of the Crown Prince’s Palace from an hour ago, waiting for Your Majesty to come down after the preparations.”
“Oh, I see. I’ll go straight down.”
Upon hearing the servant’s report, Owen replied bluntly and left the bedroom immediately. Then he left the long hallway from the bedroom and turned the corner to the left, soon passed the wall with countless doors and arrived at the end of the hallway.
Owen stopped in front of a room, blocked on all sides, without doors or windows, and looked around for a moment. After that, confirming that there was no one but the old servant and nanny who had accompanied him, he pushed the seemingly empty wall with his palm.
Then the wall was pushed back like a sponge, and soon a long-secret staircase appeared in front of Owen.
He stood in front of it and winked at his two companions, and the old servant and nanny bowed to show respect.
It was a sign that no one should know that Owen had gone through here. Owen, greeted by them, climbed down the dark stairs alone.
Tak, tak.
Owen, relying solely on the torch on the wall, quickly descended the long, winding stairs leading underground.
Eventually, at the end of the stairs, Owen vigorously opened a black stone door in front of him.
“Here you are, Your Highness.”
Soon, Duke Alberton, who had arrived in advance, greeted Owen.
Owen bowed arrogantly to Duke Alberton, who was polite enough to appear subservient, with an air of humility, and then looked around.
A thick wall of rough, thick stones blocking all sides, a torch placed on the wall at regular intervals, a small bed and table in the centre, and a long sword placed on the table.
He spoke to Duke Alberton, who was approaching him before he knew it, with a swear word in his mind as nothing had changed since the first time he had held the d@mn bloody ceremony.
“… … The sacrifice? Can we do the ceremony right away?”
“Yes, Your Highness. We are already fully prepared.”
To Owen’s words, Duke Alberton replied with a mean grin, and then snapped his fingers to make a sound.
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After that, in the dark, dozens of soldiers, dragging a woman in a white dress, walked in front of Owen and Duke Alberton.
In her dazzling white dress, like a new bride, she was tied with a rope and her eyes were dimly relaxed. Owen looked insensibly at her expressionless face as if she were drunk on a dangerous drug.