The reunion was quick. During his stay at the Royal Academy, Rhodnes, who had been so sad that he didn’t talk to anyone, went to the library alone. Even though he was quietly reading a book in a corner, the regular Academy students who occasionally passed by were startled. This was because he was a Royal Academy student wearing a mask. The Academy was one building, but it was divided into the Royal Academy for the royal families and nobles of each country and the regular Academy for the nobles. The Royal Academy required all students to wear masks to prevent unexpected assassinations.
His mother, who was smiling affectionately, did not answer. He let out the tears he had held back even in the palace, under the portrait. He had held back a lot. He had hidden himself at the funeral and just shed tears, and he had been hiding alone at the academy, unable to concentrate on class. He did not want to go to a place where everyone was laughing and talking as if nothing had happened, forgetting about his dead mother.
“My brother said I was rude that day, so I just wanted to say hello again!”
“How can we do this without a body?”
“I told you that I saw the portrait of Her Majesty the Empress here last time. I’m going to pay my respects there.”
“Let’s just say you did it. At least pay your respects in front of the Empress’s Palace. You said you were going for a short walk, but you stayed out so late that your father would be really angry.”
“You could have just said I was lost. You wasted time because you took me to the wrong place.”
“I thought it was you! I, well... but I’ve been hearing someone crying since a while ago. Is it a ghost?”
“Stop saying such scary things!”
People's voices could be heard nearby. However, the crying that shook his chest did not stop easily like a sneeze. Rhodnes, who was trembling and sobbing, tried to get up but suddenly had this thought. In this state, he could not enter the Prince's palace or Atilchad Hall. Rhodnes felt suffocated when he imagined the gazes of the people pouring down on him. Even though he wore a mask and hid his identity, he always lived feeling naked. The mutation of the imperial family. The stain of Empress Letina.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Closer than that, a small girl's hand, as white as flour, was extended.
'That's ridiculous.'
It was Adrienne. Even though half her face was covered by a cute mask, he recognized the girl at once.
“Is the ballroom over there?”
“Adrienne, let’s just go.”
“What’s going on?”
Unlike her brother who was giving him a cold stare, Adrienne's voice was soft and affectionate. Rhodnes's mind went blank. It was because he thought that the person he most wanted to be caught in the act was the one he most wanted to be caught in.
The masks made of mana stones were precious things that could temporarily change the color of their hair and eyes if the user wanted to. It was one of the few areas where the use of mana stones was prohibited in Ronta. The Royal Academy students found these masks stuffy and uncomfortable, but Ronta liked them. The dark blue eyes were a symbol of the Ronta royal family, so he could hide his mutant appearance. It was very useful because it even helped hide the tears that flowed without warning.
“Adrienne, what are you doing here?”
As the class was ending and the thought of having to attend his mother's funeral began to sink in, Rhodnes's ears perked up at the sound of a familiar name.
“Tomorrow is the retest.”
“Ahahaha... That’s right, you failed the Elacon exam again this time? How can you fail like that every time? You would have passed even if you just got a D, but you...”
“If you’re not going to help me, then get out of here, Sophia.”
“I’d like to help, but I don’t have time. Everyone else is busy preparing for other subjects, so what should I do, Adrienne?”
Rhodnes jumped up and pulled out a book neatly placed in a row, revealing his face. Through the gaps in the book, he saw a girl in agony, clutching her shiny blond hair. Elacon textbooks were scattered haphazardly on the table. Test papers that were raining red. His heart began to pound. Elacon was one of Rhodnes’s best subjects.
“Adrienne, what are you doing here?”
As the class was ending and the thought of having to attend his mother's funeral began to sink in, Rhodnes's ears perked up at the sound of a familiar name.
“Tomorrow is the retest.”
“Ahahaha... That’s right, you failed the Elacon exam again this time? How can you fail like that every time? You would have passed even if you just got a D, but you...”
“If you’re not going to help me, then get out of here, Sophia.”
“I’d like to help, but I don’t have time. Everyone else is busy preparing for other subjects, so what should I do, Adrienne?”
Rhodnes jumped up and pulled out a book neatly placed in a row, revealing his face. Through the gaps in the book, he saw a girl in agony, clutching her shiny blond hair. Elacon textbooks were scattered haphazardly on the table. Test papers that were raining red. His heart began to pound. Elacon was one of Rhodnes’s best subjects.
While he was seriously contemplating whether to talk to her or not, time passed quickly. Then, Rhodnes quickly sat down just before their eyes met. He habitually grabbed his mask. His hands tightened as he thought of the children his age who had run away after seeing her red eyes. He unconsciously wanted to help her. At the same time, he wanted to ask her.
‘Why did you cry so sadly that day?’
When he thought about it, it was clear that the child had not cried for him on purpose that day, and that she was unaware of his own existence. The face under the mask grew hot. Ashamed, he felt that he had been fantasizing about something and pretending to be friendly.
However, even after that, Rhodnes could not stop worrying about whether or not to talk to Adrienne until the library closed.
***
The annual New Year’s masquerade ball season had come around again. It was also the last day of his mother, Empress Letina’s funeral. Bardenaldo, who had always accompanied Rhodnes to guard the body and greet the mourners, was pushed by the servants to prepare for the ball. The funeral hall, which was usually crowded, was empty. The large funeral hall set up outside the Empress’s Palace had been empty like the tide since the morning. But Rhodnes could not leave this place.
Would this Empress’s Palace ever be empty, or would another owner come in?
His heart ached as if it would burst when he imagined someone else walking through the garden his mother had walked in. Would his father and brother be completely fine?
The excited voices of people heard from afar were resentful. After seeing his mother’s body buried in the cold ground and returning, Rhodnes, who had been wandering around the Empress’s palace like a lost child, was forced to dress up by the servants who had come to find him. As a Prince, he could not miss the biggest event of the year, the New Year’s Festival. Rhodnes’s gloomy mood as he blankly received the dress-up like a doll, his nanny shook her head at the servants who were handing him a fancy mask. She could not pour oil on his already gloomy mood.
“Your Highness, I understand your sadness, but... you must still attend.”
The nanny, who was always strict, didn't seem too happy about the ball held on the last day of Empress Letina's funeral. Instead of a fancy mask, the nanny put a familiar Royal Academy mask on Rhodnes. The young lords who had not yet debuted showed off wearing the mask. The nanny escorted them to the entrance of the Prince's palace.
“Your Highness, I understand your sadness, but... you must still attend.”
The nanny, who was always strict, didn't seem too happy about the ball held on the last day of Empress Letina's funeral. Instead of a fancy mask, the nanny put a familiar Royal Academy mask on Rhodnes. The young lords who had not yet debuted showed off wearing the mask. The nanny escorted them to the entrance of the Prince's palace.
***
After dismissing all the servants and heading to Atilchad Hall, Rhodnes' footsteps turned back to the Empress's Palace. As darkness fell, the space of the dead felt like a distant other world. In the end, he wandered around the end of the corridor, unable to reach the quiet Empress' Palace or the noisy Atilchad Hall. He sat down and hugged his knees, where the portrait of Empress Letina hung.
"Mother."
"Mother."
His mother, who was smiling affectionately, did not answer. He let out the tears he had held back even in the palace, under the portrait. He had held back a lot. He had hidden himself at the funeral and just shed tears, and he had been hiding alone at the academy, unable to concentrate on class. He did not want to go to a place where everyone was laughing and talking as if nothing had happened, forgetting about his dead mother.
He might have been lucky. There was no better place to cry out loud. No one would sneak in at night on the way to the space of the dead. The cold winter wind felt like it was tearing his exposed skin apart, but Rhodnes cried for a long time.
“Rien! What did I say? The body was already in the morning...”
“Rien! What did I say? The body was already in the morning...”
“My brother said I was rude that day, so I just wanted to say hello again!”
“How can we do this without a body?”
“I told you that I saw the portrait of Her Majesty the Empress here last time. I’m going to pay my respects there.”
“Let’s just say you did it. At least pay your respects in front of the Empress’s Palace. You said you were going for a short walk, but you stayed out so late that your father would be really angry.”
“You could have just said I was lost. You wasted time because you took me to the wrong place.”
“I thought it was you! I, well... but I’ve been hearing someone crying since a while ago. Is it a ghost?”
“Stop saying such scary things!”
People's voices could be heard nearby. However, the crying that shook his chest did not stop easily like a sneeze. Rhodnes, who was trembling and sobbing, tried to get up but suddenly had this thought. In this state, he could not enter the Prince's palace or Atilchad Hall. Rhodnes felt suffocated when he imagined the gazes of the people pouring down on him. Even though he wore a mask and hid his identity, he always lived feeling naked. The mutation of the imperial family. The stain of Empress Letina.
His head was spinning. He should have eaten a little when the nanny offered him food. He had not eaten properly throughout the funeral, and he was thinning to the point that he could clearly feel it. He had to get up. He had told them not to let anyone see him crying so pitifully, as a member of the royal family.
'Who, who...'
He desperately thought that he could get up if someone held his hand, but the sound of people who had suddenly stopped came closer. A brother and sister, leaning on a small lantern, were looking down at him. And...
'Who, who...'
He desperately thought that he could get up if someone held his hand, but the sound of people who had suddenly stopped came closer. A brother and sister, leaning on a small lantern, were looking down at him. And...
“Hey, are you okay?”
Closer than that, a small girl's hand, as white as flour, was extended.
'That's ridiculous.'
It was Adrienne. Even though half her face was covered by a cute mask, he recognized the girl at once.
“Is the ballroom over there?”
“Adrienne, let’s just go.”
“What’s going on?”
Unlike her brother who was giving him a cold stare, Adrienne's voice was soft and affectionate. Rhodnes's mind went blank. It was because he thought that the person he most wanted to be caught in the act was the one he most wanted to be caught in.
“...Are you okay?”
No, he wasn't okay. He was so ashamed that he felt like crying again at just those words. The person he loved most in the world had died. But he had endured 100 days without being able to cry to his heart's content. The only people who could give him warm eyes and embrace were Bardenaldo or his father. The feeling of his most precious beings going from three to two, and the despair of not being able to share that feeling with anyone, were a reality that was too much for him, who had just turned ten.
“Can I help you?”
Are you okay? Should I help you?
No, he wasn't okay. He was so ashamed that he felt like crying again at just those words. The person he loved most in the world had died. But he had endured 100 days without being able to cry to his heart's content. The only people who could give him warm eyes and embrace were Bardenaldo or his father. The feeling of his most precious beings going from three to two, and the despair of not being able to share that feeling with anyone, were a reality that was too much for him, who had just turned ten.
“Can I help you?”
Are you okay? Should I help you?
It was nothing special. It was also the words that no one had ever said to him while he was still young and unable to accept his mother’s death. The girl’s small, white hand fluttered in front of his nose as if tempting him. At those words, Rhodnes felt as if the whole world had brightened, and at that one gesture, his heart, which had been shrinking, was comforted.
The sudden change in emotion threw him into a strange confusion. The sparkling green eyes behind the ordinary mask were shining with worry, but a new fear arose that the girl, who was not even his family, would run away in fear as she learned more about him. Rhodnes got up with all his might and ran.
'Help me. Help me, please. Someone help me...!'
It was the exact opposite of the scream in his heart.
'Help me. Help me, please. Someone help me...!'
It was the exact opposite of the scream in his heart.
***
In the end, Rhodnes had a fever that day. Feeling the cold hand of Bardenaldo, who had been by his side all night, touch his forehead and then leave, Rhodnes opened his eyes wide. The morning sunlight settled on his small face. Although he was tired from falling asleep and waking up repeatedly all night, his mind was clear.
“Your Highness, you don’t have to go to the academy today...”
"Let's go."
He had been lying down for 100 days, saying that he would not go to the academy and guard his mother's body. When he showed his determination while dragging his sick body, his nanny's eyes widened. Rhodnes, who had even easily eaten the breakfast he usually skipped, urged her nanny on.
“Give me the mask. Quickly.”
The boy's tragic face was instantly hidden by a black mask.
“Your Highness, you don’t have to go to the academy today...”
"Let's go."
He had been lying down for 100 days, saying that he would not go to the academy and guard his mother's body. When he showed his determination while dragging his sick body, his nanny's eyes widened. Rhodnes, who had even easily eaten the breakfast he usually skipped, urged her nanny on.
“Give me the mask. Quickly.”
The boy's tragic face was instantly hidden by a black mask.
***
Rhodnes continued to wait for Adrienne in the corner of the library.
'Can I help you?'
When he recalled the girl who had tried to help him with her cute hands like white petals, he felt ashamed. The one who should have helped him was the Prince, a man who would grow bigger than the girl, and himself who had almost been helped twice. Even though he thought it was a ridiculous reason, Rhodnes waited for Adrienne at the library early in the morning for several days.
'Can I help you?'
When he recalled the girl who had tried to help him with her cute hands like white petals, he felt ashamed. The one who should have helped him was the Prince, a man who would grow bigger than the girl, and himself who had almost been helped twice. Even though he thought it was a ridiculous reason, Rhodnes waited for Adrienne at the library early in the morning for several days.
One day, two days, three days... Adrienne, who had not even shown her nose for almost a week, appeared around the time the sun changed its position. As Adrienne sat down and took out her Elacon language textbook, as usual, Rhodnes quickly approached her.
Thump-.
A note he had written a long time ago was placed on top of the Elacon language textbook. A surprised face turned to him. Rodnes checked with his hand to see if the mask was properly attached to his face. Ordinary black hair. Ordinary black eyes. That’s how she would look.
Adrienne, who blinked her large eyes slowly several times, quietly opened the note without being surprised any more. When her small hands moved rustlingly, her heart and face felt like they were going to burst.
Adrienne, who blinked her large eyes slowly several times, quietly opened the note without being surprised any more. When her small hands moved rustlingly, her heart and face felt like they were going to burst.
[Elacon, can I help you?]
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