The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

***

A faint sound came from the windowsill of the otherwise quiet study.

There sat Blue, the cat who had arrived earlier, lifting one paw and shaking its head. Soon, a black shadow descended from the window, folding its wings as it landed.

It was the guardian beast that had come from a foreign land with Prince Tarensiu. At the hawk’s wingbeat, Blue flinched and raised its tail.

[Where have you been this time? Your feathers smell of blood today.]

[Hunting.]

[There aren’t any rats here.]

[The palace is wide.]

[So you’ve been crossing into other people’s territory. You must be here to keep watch.]

The hawk flicked its wing once and tapped Blue on the forehead. Blue rolled backward with its head thrown back.

[I set the boundaries.]

Their exchanges were always like this. Blue would speak ten words, and the hawk would reply with one.

And yet, strangely enough, they seemed to know each other’s rhythms very well.

Suddenly, Blue stared at the hawk.

[What name did you receive?]

It was an abrupt question, bluntly thrown out.

[Why do you ask?]

[You must have a master you’ve chosen. That person must have given you a name, no?]

It was a conversation no one else could hear. If anyone could, they would have been astonished.

A guardian beast receives its name the moment it chooses its master. Until then, it either remains nameless or uses an alias.

And there was one secret among guardian beasts: if one chose a master in advance, even an alias became its true name.

[I have none.]

[Bold of you to act like that when you’ve come all this way.]

Blue, who already knew that the hawk had chosen a master, teased with feigned indifference.

[…Silber.]

At Silber’s short answer, Blue reacted as though it had expected nothing less.

[Hmph. I still think Leslun suits my name better.]

As though it had lost interest, Blue turned its head away. Silber, meanwhile, briefly glanced at the schedule lying on Leslun’s desk.

[The human is not here.]

Realizing that Silber was looking for Leslun, Blue smacked its front paw against the floor.

[You can eat every rat in the palace, but not Leslun!]

[Duty.]

Blue twitched its nose irritably, lashed its tail once, and leapt out the window. Silber quietly watched Blue’s departure before fixing its gaze back on the window frame.

The hawk kept aiming for Leslun, yet that foolish Crown Prince still hadn’t managed to seize him.

[If he keeps stalling, perhaps I should let someone else in.]

Leslun might be the only one who could change the Crown Prince’s fate, but Kailos was not the only bloodline of the Emperor.

Perhaps it was time to pay him a visit.

***

When the bell rang, noise surged through the hallway like a wave. Students clutching books poured down the stairs, and Leslun quietly slipped his book into his bag.

Today was the one day when class ended before lunch. Just as he was about to head straight for the Imperial Palace, someone blocked his path.

It was Lady Miroi.

Like water parting, the other students stepped aside to give her way. Unable to go anywhere, Leslun found himself standing in front of her.

“Shall we have lunch together?”

Miroi spoke first, her tone refined. The longer they spoke, the lighter and more cheerful her voice became.

Leslun’s eyes wavered. He had planned to return straight to the palace today.

“I haven’t informed His Highness.”

“Does that matter?”

“It’s just that…”

He had told Kail he would come back right after class. Just thinking that Kail might end up waiting again, like the first day, made Leslun uneasy.

“I can tell the Crown Prince myself, can’t I?”

Seeing his hesitation, Lady Miroi offered a solution herself. She seemed ready to send word right away if Leslun said it was fine.

As more onlookers gathered, Leslun bowed his head.

“I will follow.”

He could not leave the lady in an awkward position any longer.

“Wait.”

A man appeared—one he hadn’t seen earlier since he didn’t share today’s classes. His very presence overwhelmed the hallway. It was Prince Tarensiu.

“I’ll join you.”

Both Lady Miroi and Leslun turned their heads to look at him, standing naturally at their side. Though they had all attended different classes today, there was something strange about the three of them gathering like this.