The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 19.1
Leslun’s shoulders twitched ever so slightly. Still, he hoped it had gone unnoticed outside of Kailos’s line of sight.
“What can I do, when my appearance overflows with charm even in the eyes of commoners? You’ll just have to admit it.”
Leslun bit his lip tightly. He couldn’t escape from the Crown Prince.
“It feels like I’ve stepped into an unreal world.”
Instead of correcting the strange misunderstanding, he let slip his genuine feelings about the place.
“You said you didn’t know, and yet now you reveal it.”
His tone sounded no different from usual, but without realizing it, Leslun was being swayed. All his effort to answer cautiously had been for nothing—he had ended up exposing his true thoughts.
“That’s why I like it here.”
There was a faint trace of delight in Kailos’s voice. To Leslun, it sounded like a confession. That this stagnant space was preferable to reality. His breath caught slightly in surprise.
“Unreal, yet beautiful. Just like you—throwing yourself in to protect people who aren’t even your real family.”
Kailos’s offhand remark pierced Leslun’s heart like a blade.
He had even found out that Leslun’s parents weren’t his birth parents. Of course, if Count Robert Camilo knew, then surely the Crown Prince would as well—but hearing it from his own mouth carried a disturbing weight.
“You ought to appreciate the charm of this place more…”
At that moment—
Unfamiliar footsteps disturbed the quiet, orderly garden.
Kailos set down his teacup, and Leslun turned his head as well. Approaching was the Empress, clad in a violet dress, with a young boy at her side.
It was their first time meeting, but Leslun recognized him immediately.
Prince Cassian, the Second Prince.
In the original story, he was the younger brother Kailos loathed—and the protagonist of the tale.
Unconsciously, Leslun glanced at Kailos’s face. Though his outward calm remained, there was a sense of the faintest crack beneath the surface.
“I greet Your Majesty, the Empress.”
As even the handmaid holding the pot and Leslun himself offered formal courtesy, the Empress’s gaze turned to Kailos.
“So you were here. The garden is peaceful, though not easy to find.”
Her voice was gentle, but Kailos’s hand holding the teacup froze.
“This is a place to rest, not to hide. I did not expect anyone to come looking.”
The implication—that she would have no reason to seek him out—was plain. The Empress laughed lightly.
“The Imperial heir must always remain in sight. That way, no one feels uneasy.”
Kailos set down his cup and turned his eyes away.
“I know my place well. But I do not live for those who might feel uneasy.”
At his side, Cassian quietly raised his head. The Empress laid a hand on her son’s shoulder and spoke.
“Please refrain from speaking like that before your younger brother. Such words may cause needless misunderstanding.”
“Did you come here to advise me?”
The once serene air of the garden chilled abruptly.
“The licorice flowers in the garden were beautiful today. Cassian wished to see them himself, so I brought him here.”
“Among all the flowers in the Imperial Garden, licorice is the most useless. Its only trait is that it refuses to die.”
Kailos’s response was cold. But he added one final line.
“And things that do not die cannot be ignored.”
The Empress’s smile wavered slightly. Without another word, she swept past Kailos.
Trailing behind, Cassian hesitated before opening his wide eyes cautiously toward his elder brother.
“…Hello, brother.”
For a long moment, there was no answer. The soft call of birds filled the air, broken only by the sound of a teacup being set down.
“Yes. Be on your way.”
Kailos’s voice was devoid of all emotion. Cassian flinched. Their relationship was far too frigid to be called brotherly. A nursemaid came forward, whispering to Cassian that they should leave quickly.
Cassian reluctantly obeyed, casting glances at Kailos as he walked away.
Not far off, preparations for another table could be heard—the bustle almost deliberate in how it disturbed the earlier tranquility. Leslun glanced at Kailos nervously.
“You needn’t look at me like that.”
Kailos raised his cup again, as if wholly uninterested. The faint crack from earlier had vanished; he was back to his usual self.
“Or perhaps… you now feel the urge to serve me with even greater devotion?”
“How could I dare to…”
“Why not? I would have liked that.”
Leslun faltered, unable to answer, watching the Crown Prince’s perfectly expressionless face. At that moment, Cassian’s voice drifted over from nearby, soft with childish excitement.
“Mother, this is delicious.”
“Eat plenty, my dear. How about this one?”
“It’s sweet.”
Happy laughter rang out.
It no longer felt like the garden Kailos had once loved.
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