After teatime had ended, it was time for Lucas to be guided to his quarters.
The second empress, Dustia, personally escorted Lucas. The room allocated for Lucas was located on the first floor of the palace.
"From now on, you'll use this room."
Lucas' belongings were already neatly arranged in the room by Alberto.
Lucas opened his mouth slightly as he entered the room. It seemed even better than the room he had used back in his family home.
"Thank you for showing me, Second Empress Mother."
"...Lucas."
Dustia crouched down in front of Lucas to meet his eye level and gave him a warm smile.
"I've heard about the hard times you've been through. It's been difficult, hasn't it?"
"..."
"I'm not going to say you should consider this place like home, but... I'll do my best to make sure you can be as comfortable as you would be in your own home. Ash and Serenade will help as well."
"...Thank you, Second Empress."
Lucas bowed his head slightly.
"I'll also do my best."
"Let's all do our best together."
Dustia smiled casually.
Somehow, that thoughtful smile seemed really motherly.
Embarrassed, Lucas quickly stepped back and accidentally knocked over a candlestick on the desk.
"Ah...?!"
Before Lucas could catch the falling candlestick, the fallen candle hit the floor and flames were about to spread on the carpet—
Snap.
—but they didn't.
Dustia reached out and flicked her finger, and as if time rewound, the candlestick soared back into the air and neatly returned to its place on the desk.
"Uh...?"
Startled, Lucas looked at Dustia and saw a sparkling gray magical power around her.
It was as if a clock was being wound; the spiraling magic power was drawn back into her body.
"Cough, cough!"
After performing the mysterious miracle, Dustia coughed roughly. Only after her coughing had stopped did she wink at Lucas.
"Ah, I'd get in trouble if they found out I used magic... This is a secret between us, Lucas, okay?"
Dustia extended her pinky finger, and Lucas, almost unconsciously, extended his own.
Their pinkies intertwined and shook up and down.
It was a promise to keep the secret.
Smiling sweetly, Dustia gently stroked Lucas' golden hair and then waved her hand as she left the room.
"Have a good night, Lucas. If you need anything, call for Alberto."
"Yes, yes...! Sleep well!"
Dustia, who seemed to find Lucas' polite bow adorable, waved her hand and closed the door.
Lucas, who had been staring blankly at the closed door, stumbled and collapsed onto the bed.
His mind was cluttered. Everything felt awkward.
The circumstances that led him here after losing his parents, the kindness bestowed by unfamiliar faces, the cold bed covers and pillow in the winter air...
And the mysterious magic Dustia had just displayed.
Lucas turned his head to the side with a short sigh.
And spotted Ash, breathing out white mist against the window, clinging on from the outside.
"...?"
Rubbing his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things, Lucas found that he was not mistaken. It was really Ash.
The eight-year-old prince was clinging to the window of Lucas' room, shivering, and mouthing, 'Can you open this?'
"?!"
Startled, Lucas practically rolled to the window to open it for him.
Ash tumbled into the room, grinning with his cheeks flushed from the cold.
"Hello, Lucas!"
"Ah, hello... Your Highness."
Lucas, who still couldn't grasp the situation, asked in confusion.
"What brings you here at this hour...?"
Then, Ash grinned mischievously and exclaimed,
"Let's play!"
Lucas's blue eyes narrowed in bewilderment.
"Excuse me?"
"Playing with a friend at night has always been my dream! Serenade leaves the house at night, and I'm super bored all by myself!"
With that, Ash eagerly climbed back onto the windowsill and gestured outside.
"Follow me! I'll take you to my secret base!"
The young prince disappeared out the window. Lucas, flustered, hastily followed suit and emerged outside.
It was cold, even though it wasn't snowing.
Puffing out white breaths, Ash navigated the narrow stone walls of the King's Castle, ascended the outer stairs, and finally, after clambering all the way to the roof—
Entered an attic just below the castle's peak through a window.
Gasping for air, Lucas trailed behind. Ash then proudly announced, pointing to the attic's interior,
"This is my secret base!"
Secret base... was a generous term for what was a simple attic.
There were children's books, toys, and a chessboard scattered about, along with blankets, lamps, and jars filled with preserved fruits.
Ash proudly spoke to Lucas, who was blinking and looking around.
"I'll make a special exception for you to enter!"
"Th-thank you...?"
"Ah! The password is this! Remember it!"
Ash raised a small hand and knocked on the window.
Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.
"To enter my secret base, just knock like this. Got it?"
"Yes, got it..."
Lucas committed the knock pattern to memory—one knock, two knocks, one knock—although whether it could really be called a password was debatable.
Grinning ear to ear, Ash draped a blanket over Lucas's head and flipped one over himself as well.
After lighting a lamp, the young prince, now sitting cross-legged, asked,
"Okay! So what shall we play?"
And so, the two boys played through the night.
They clumsily played chess, took out preserved fruits from the jar to eat, and read fairy tales with sugar-coated fingers.
As the night deepened, the topic turned to their crushes.
Lucas said he didn't have one yet, while Ash talked nonstop about Serenade. About when she started coming to the King's Castle and playing with him...
'So that's how it is.'
When Serenade came up, Ash squirmed and wriggled. His baby-faced expression relaxed.
Even a fool would've known whom this young prince was smitten with. Lucas chuckled softly.
As they continued their late-night conversation, dawn broke. Both boys, huddled in their blankets, started dozing off.
Just then—
Bam!
The attic door swung open, and Alberto, furrowing his brows, stuck his head in.
"Your Highness, you're here again! And you've even dragged Lucas into it...!"
Ash, who had just woken up yawning, retorted,
"Alberto... I never granted you permission to enter here... Yawn."
"There's nowhere in this King's Castle that this old man can't go, Your Highness!"
"No, don't come in! This is a secret base!"
"Secret or not, from my perspective... Sigh. Please wash up and go back to your room before your Father notices!"
Alberto grabbed both boys by their waists and forcefully escorted them out.
Unfazed, Ash, who was used to Alberto's grip, looked to the side and said,
"Let's play again, Lucas!"
Lucas, who had been staring blankly at Ash, responded with a faint smile.
"...Yes, Your Highness."
Alberto ushered the two boys into their respective rooms.
Due to staying up all night playing the game, the two boys were worn out throughout the day. Dustia shook her head as she watched them, and Serenade covered her mouth to laugh.
Days like these kept passing by.
Ash was a troublemaker who planned pranks with an innocent face every day, and Lucas always had to tag along.
There was no time for negative thoughts. Lucas quickly adapted to life in the palace, laughing and getting scolded together, they became like a family.
Time flew by like an arrow—
***
Five years later.
Knock. Knock-knock. Knock.
Lucas knocked on Ash's door and then stepped inside without hesitation.
"I'm here, Your Highness. Are you all ready?"
"Ughhhh..."
Ash, standing in front of a full-length mirror, let out a strange sound.
He was dressed in an elegant black and white ceremonial robe.
The thirteen-year-old prince had grown quite a bit compared to five years ago, but he still looked like a little boy. The ceremonial robe made him look more cute than imposing.
"Hey, Lucas!"
Fumbling with his bowtie, Ash let out a yell.
"Don't I look weird?!"
"How many times do I have to tell you, Your Highness..."
Lucas, who had been watching from behind, let out a deep sigh.
"Of all the times I've seen you since I got here, today you look the most decent... No, you look the best."
Twelve-year-old Lucas was also dressed in a suit for the day. The light brown suit was a bit too big for the young boy, but considering it was hastily tailored, it fit reasonably well.
The reason the two boys were dressed so formally today was that it was the engagement ceremony of Ash and Serenade.
After checking his height, even with heels on his shoes, Ash let out a downcast sigh.
"Would Serenade like someone like me?"
"Sigh..."
Lucas involuntarily let out a sigh.
He had noticed that this young couple liked each other almost as soon as he arrived at the palace five years ago.
But neither of them realized the other's feelings, and so they hesitated, tiptoeing around each other.
Watching this painfully innocent romantic stalemate was driving him insane.
He even had to act as a messenger of love, delivering love letters between them...
'This long time of torment and humiliation is finally coming to an end.'
After five years of messing around, they finally confirmed each other's feelings! Both families have given their consent! And today, they are getting engaged!
'Why the heck an engagement, just go ahead and get married.'
Although it was a step forward, thinking that this long mess would continue until they got married gave Lucas a headache.
They were shy about even holding hands. When would they finally make a move? And he had to witness this slow-motion couple making painstaking progress...
Just thinking about it was suffocating. Lucas rubbed his forehead and shook his head.
Just kiss already! Move faster! Set up a home! Have lots of kids! Like five!
'Gasp! Kids?'
Imagining the children that would be born to Ash and Serenade, Lucas unknowingly shuddered his shoulders.
'They would be so cute.'
Being Ash's escort, it would be his duty to protect those children up close.
No, he wouldn't share that duty with anyone. No nannies needed. He would prepare the formula and rock the cradle himself.
'I should learn how to care for babies in advance.'
Vowing to request a lesson from the old maids in the palace, Lucas nodded to himself in approval.
Unaware of his escort's sinister plans, Ash let out a deep sigh as he stood on his tiptoes.
"I wish I was a little taller..."
Currently, Ash was shorter than Serenade.
Ash didn't seem to like the reality that the girl he liked was taller than him.
Lucas thought that this was just a phase and that Ash would eventually grow taller than Serenade.
But at the moment, the desire to tease outweighed the urge to console.
"You're not growing taller because you stay up all night, you know?"
"Why are you so tall, then? We've been staying up together!"
"Height is genetic, you know. Plus, I practice swordsmanship every day..."
"Ugh! Stop bragging and share some of your height!"
Ash, who had been lamenting, sighed and pulled something out of the wardrobe.
"Here, Lucas! Take this."
Puzzled, Lucas accepted the item.
"What is this...?"
"It's a sword."
It was an iron sword.
The blade was around 50cm long, shorter than the wooden sword Lucas usually used. It appeared to be specifically crafted to be carried within the Imperial Palace.
However, it was just the right size for young Lucas to wield.
Lucas opened his mouth slightly as he admired the glint of the blade. From the hilt to the blade and the scabbard, it was stunningly exquisite.
Ash shrugged awkwardly.
"I thought you should start using a real sword instead of a wooden one. I got permission from Alberto and had this custom-made in the Imperial Capital's forge. Do you like it?"
"Your Majesty..."
Moved, Lucas looked at Ash, who added,
"It'd be embarrassing for me if my bodyguard showed up with a crappy sword at our engagement ceremony... Don't you think a wooden sword lacks... visual impact?"
"...Please give me back my sentiment. Ugh."
Grumbling, Lucas slung the sword onto his belt. Though short, it looked quite impressive.
"Good, my bodyguard!"
Satisfied with Lucas's appearance, Ash slapped him on the shoulder with a determined look.
"I'm counting on you to be my squire today!"
"Yes, yes. Any special instructions?"
"Alright! Let's go!"
Ash took a deep breath and confidently stepped outside. Lucas followed closely behind.
As they moved down the hallway, servants and maids, busy attending to the engagement guests, noticed Ash and broke into applause and cheers.
Walking with a mix of modesty and confidence, Ash led the way, and Lucas followed, holding back a smile.
Finally, they arrived at the banquet area set up in the courtyard of the palace--
"Ah."
In the middle of the lush summer garden,
A stunning fifteen-year-old Serenade stood waiting.
The girl with shiny, aquatic-colored hair wore a beige dress that resembled what is commonly known as a Mermaid line.
She looked, quite literally, like a mermaid.
"Ah..."
Serenade blushed and looked away as her eyes met Ash's. Her long eyelashes cast shadows over her large, silver eyes.
"..."
Ash stood frozen, unable to take another step.
'Absolutely breathtaking.'
After closing Ash's gaping mouth, Lucas shook his head disappointingly.
Then,
'Geez.'
Wham!
He pushed Ash on the back.
"What? Wha-whoa!"
Ash stumbled into the center of the garden.
The one who steadied the wobbling Ash was Serenade. The two swayed for a moment before finally regaining balance.
And then, as if on cue, they both burst into laughter.
Laughter spread among the guests attending the engagement ceremony as well.
Seated in the banquet area were the Second Empress of Dustia, Count and Countess of Silver Winter, and various nobles, all clapping and laughing.
Only one person was crying: Alberto...
Alberto's face was stiff, as if trying to control his emotions, but tears streamed down freely.
Lucas's once-prided mustache drooped at both ends, saturated with moisture. 'What a disaster,' he thought, feeling a sting on the bridge of his nose.
'Be happy, Your Highness.'
Amidst applause and cheers, young boys and girls touched foreheads, exchanging joyful conversations.
Watching the adorable and heartwarming scene, Lucas absentmindedly scanned the audience.
And then.
He saw Fernandez standing in the guest section.
Though he hadn't seen Fernandez in five years, the seventeen-year-old had grown up so much he was almost unrecognizable. However, there was no mistaking that dark red hair and eyes, and that aura.
"...!"
As Lucas's eyes widened and his shoulders tensed, Fernandez raised his index finger to his lips.
Shush.
Fernandez's eyes, visible through his glasses, let out a thin smile. Lucas clenched his teeth without realizing it.
A small orchestra began to play. The young couple awkwardly pulled each other close and began to dance.
In the warm and dazzling sunlight, the engagement ceremony commenced.
And Lucas had to follow Fernandez's gesture, stepping into the looming shadow.