The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away

However, Leslun did not look at him.

“The medicine did not work well for me. And I had neither the strength nor the money to go far.”

Only after saying this did Leslun gently stroke the pages of the book.

“So I sought the world through books.”

The only way a boy could meet the world was through the written word. As he read, his heart drifted through the world.

“That is how I lived.”

He quietly gathered his books, offered a proper bow to the prince, and left the lecture hall. The Crown Prince, left alone, placed his hand on the open book.

His gaze rested on the lines, but his thoughts were somewhere else entirely.

Freedom.

Would such a thing exist for me as well?

***

He had overstepped. That was the only thought that remained.

As he replayed his own words, Leslun felt a flush of heat rise to his face.

He kept wondering what the Crown Prince might be thinking by now, and how presumptuous his words must have sounded, as if offering advice by comparing the prince’s circumstances to his own.

He was a prince of a nation, someone who had been born with great responsibilities to bear, and who had lived under a far heavier shield of protection than an outsider like him could ever imagine.

Realizing that he had spoken as if he could use himself as a measure for such a person made him suddenly feel ashamed.

“I should have just told him to take care of himself.”

At the very least, that would have left him with good memories of his time in the Empire. There was always the chance that he might encounter the Crown Prince again in the future, so he needed to act as cautiously as possible.

Perhaps this small consideration could work in his favor someday.

Leslun let out another sigh, even though it felt as though he had not had enough of them already. His steps toward the Imperial City felt heavier than usual today.

Guilt loomed over one corner of his heart. He had not been able to tell Kailos Delroi about the Crown Prince’s identity, and yet he had gone so far as to give Prince Tarensiu unsolicited advice.

Even so, if he wanted to save Robin, it would be better for the two to grow closer.

Perhaps that was why his heart felt so unbearably heavy. Before he realized it, even his walking pace had slowed.

It was when he was drowning in that endless spiral of doubt that it happened.

“Ugh.”

Suddenly, a flash of white filled his vision. The unusually harsh sunlight struck at his eyes. Leslun quickly raised the back of his hand to shield his face from the glare.

Squinting with his left eye, he tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. The sun was at its usual height for this hour, and the clouds were scattered here and there as they drifted by.

“Did the clouds just part a little?”

But it felt strange. It was as if only his right eye was being stabbed by the sunlight. As he turned his head slightly, he saw someone standing at the edge of his sight.

“Your Highness, Prince Cassian.”

“Shh.”

Prince Cassian, who had been playing by reflecting sunlight with a mirror, raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence. The light bounced off the glass and spilled across Leslun’s face.

“What brings you here, Your Highness?”

Leslun’s short and polite greeting carried a faint trace of caution.

In his head, he quickly searched for any reason why Prince Cassian might have business with him, but nothing immediately came to mind.

“I have something to show you.”

Cassian’s tone was half teasing, half commanding. His expression was stiff, as though pretending to be severe, but the corners of his mouth twitched faintly.

“Follow me.”

When he began to walk, Leslun hesitated for a moment before following. He needed to go to the Crown Prince, but Prince Cassian was also royalty. He had no right to refuse.

The palace corridor was bright with midday sunlight streaming through the tall windows. Leslun followed Cassian through the long hallway where their shadows overlapped on the floor, once again trying to make his own presence as faint as possible.

But as soon as the two of them turned the corner and disappeared from sight, two knights stepped out from behind a column on the opposite side.

The two men, clad in armor decorated with white plumes, exchanged sharp looks as they grasped the situation in an instant.

“Report this to Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Yes, sir.”

One gave the brief order, and the other bowed his head before swiftly turning to leave.

Their duty was to guard Prince Cassian like shadows and to report every single piece of information and movement concerning him to the Empress without fail.