“Sir Aila, let’s talk for a moment.”
The day after the sparring match, just as I was about to fall asleep, Sir Ken came to my room. Seeing that he was wearing his duty uniform unlike me, it seemed he’d come on His Highness’s orders.
“If it’s about yesterday’s unseemly incident…”
“It’s not about that. I already know it wasn’t your fault.”
He hesitated for a moment before finally opening his mouth.
“Starting tomorrow, you’ll stand guard from evening until morning. Night guard duty is usually only assigned to those who’ve been observed for at least half a year, but it seems His Highness has taken a liking to you.”
Even Sir Ken, who would normally accept His Highness’s orders a hundred times out of a hundred without question, looked at me from head to toe with a face full of concern. Standing there deliberately with my stomach relaxed and looking stupid, I fully understood his feelings.
‘It’s normal to assign skilled people at night since there are many threats from assassins.’
Those who didn’t dare step on His Highness’s shadow during the day would use darkness as their weapon. There weren’t many who could break through the imperial palace’s security and enter the Crown Prince’s palace, but it couldn’t be said there were none. Like last time, there were days when assassins were lured in when information was needed, so knights naturally became more sensitive at night.
“Did His Highness order this directly?”
“Yes.”
Since becoming a guard knight, the only special thing that had happened was the sparring match.
‘Did he notice something strange after all?’
For that to be the case, his reaction was gentler than last time, so I wasn’t certain. But refusing that position here because it was burdensome wouldn’t be a normal reaction.
“I’ll do my best not to be a burden.”
“It seems not as bad as I was worried about.”
“Haha.”
Thinking I’d acted like Tienas again, I hurriedly opened my mouth and gave a foolish laugh, but it seemed lacking somehow.
“I, I’m overwhelmed to receive such an evaluation from the dependable and handsome Sir Ken. Uh… yes. You’re really handsome.”
When I thought about it for a moment, this wasn’t flirtation but flattery.
‘Imitating Aila is really difficult.’
After nearly three days of failure, I realized that seducing someone also required tremendous talent. Perhaps Aila wasn’t studying, which was the problem—he might have been a genius.
Still, whether my goal of appearing foolish succeeded, Sir Ken fell briefly silent. The reason Sir Ken spoke before that silence became very long was purely because he was skilled at controlling his emotions.
“Refrain from insincere compliments in the future. And don’t forget that at night, no matter what happens, you must keep silent. A human life is only one.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
Though he couldn’t dream that someone who’d obtained a second life was right before his eyes, it was quite ironic.
‘Still, I’m familiar with and confident in night guard duty.’
Even if Aila’s swordsmanship skills were lacking, he had ears sharp enough to quickly detect suspicious signs, so he could convey danger to other knights. Additionally, in situations where his life was in danger at close range, his precognition would normally react, so he wouldn’t be a hindrance.
Certainly, until the sun set, that’s how I judged it.
* * *
“Lights out.”
At the same time the bedroom door closed, the corridor’s lights were uniformly extinguished except for the minimum necessary. It didn’t take long for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, and the surroundings becoming quiet happened even faster than that.
‘I hope nothing happens.’
I tried hard not to think about my corpse being inside the bedroom. Even the small amount of permitted rest time being spent with a specter was a deeply distressing matter.
‘He’ll shake it off quickly. No. The possibility that he’s hiding other plans is higher.’
His Highness, whom I’d encountered several times recently, had become haggard and sharp, but he didn’t seem to have lost his reason. He was moving according to a plan, and his attitude toward the knights and handling of work also showed no abnormalities. Perhaps he was avoiding it a bit, but I decided to believe that.
That long night where even breathing was cautious flowed by slowly. It was about three hours after His Highness had retired to his bedchamber. A strange sound came from the bedroom that should only be silent. The first to react were the knight closest to the door and me.
“Your Highness, may we enter?”
“No!”
What came back wasn’t His Highness’s voice but Sir Ken’s. Him telling us not to enter meant something that couldn’t be shown was happening inside.
‘The sounds are getting louder—is it really okay to stay like this?’
From long experience, I knew well that following a superior’s words was the right thing to do in times like this. However, it wasn’t just me feeling anxious—all the knights had their swords drawn, only waiting to be granted entry.
Bang!
However, the door opened before permission was granted. Someone had clearly forced the door open from inside. And there was only one person capable of doing such a thing.
‘Your Highness?’
What I saw before the expected silhouette were knights trying to restrain someone with their bare hands. It was plainly visible that they couldn’t act rashly in case the person they were blocking got hurt.
And finally, the expected noble personage appeared. But that wasn’t the elegant and perfect appearance I knew well. His face before the candlelight was drenched in blood, and his eyes had no focus.
“This can’t be.”
I let out words without realizing it. Following the blood flowing down his neck, I lowered my gaze. His hands were more wretched than his neck. No matter how he’d gripped the sword, his hands were completely covered in blood, and the sword, as if still lacking blood, made a strange sound while dripping blood onto the floor.
“What on earth is this…”
At a scene I thought I’d never see, I forcibly pulled up my feet that seemed rooted to the floor and ran forward. It was the knights nearby who grabbed this parchment-like body.
“This isn’t a place for the untrained to interfere!”
Rationally, I knew those words were right. But with each step His Highness took, a path was being created with blood. And that was from wounds he’d made himself, not someone else.
“We have to stop him!”
“It’s useless, I say! If you don’t want to become a corpse, don’t step forward!”
“As long as you don’t approach within range, he won’t attack. Maintain distance and respond minimally until His Highness comes to his senses.”
Even from Sir Ken, whom I trusted, an unbelievable order was issued. I forcibly suppressed the urge to scream and shout.
“At the very least, we must take the sword from His Highness! Even if I get injured, I’ll stop him. Please let me go.”
Still, the words that burst out couldn’t be helped. Seeing that everyone except me was tense but quite calm made me feel like I was going even more insane, as it seemed this wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened.
“You’re not someone who can stop him! Moreover, he doesn’t only attack knights! The next day, he can’t even remember what happened.”
“What do you mean by that…!”
In the end, His Highness’s movement was faster than me breaking through the knights and moving forward. Though it seemed slow to the eye, the distance closed in the blink of an eye. It was a moment when all the knights’ focus was directed at His Highness.
As stinging bloodlust touched my skin, the knights’ next movements flashed by with light. I approached His Highness by slipping through the gaps of the knights who’d noticed in advance. This was a movement closer to instinct than thought.
“Dangerous! Get away if you don’t want to die!”
Sir Ken, who discovered me belatedly, tried to rush over, but the distance had already widened too much.
‘If His Highness had been in his right mind, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.’
My goal was only the sword. It was the moment I plunged into his arms thinking to somehow snatch it away.
“Tiel.”
It was a small voice that made me wonder if it was a hallucination. That faint ripple shook my heart. The voice that had torn through me completely didn’t end there.
“Tiel, answer me where you are so I can find you.”
It was a gentle voice that didn’t match his appearance of wielding death and sorrow. As if enchanted by that honey-flowing voice I’d heard when I first saw him, I answered. Words I shouldn’t say, words that were meaningless even if said.
“I’m here.”
His Highness’s wildly moving form stopped abruptly. A dim light flickered in his hazy vision. I stretched out my stiff hand and grasped the sword he was holding. His Highness, who had seemed about to swing the sword at any moment, simply opened his hand. The sword made a sharp sound as it fell to the floor.
“Tienas?”
His Highness called my name almost like the sound of wind. As if he knew nothing but that, I nodded as if drawn by something.
“Yes. That’s enough then.”
His Highness, who had been nothing but firm, collapsed weakly toward me.
“It’s enough if you’re here.”
His Highness’s eyelids, which hadn’t blinked even once, fell downward, and quiet came once again. Even if it was a quiet that pressed down on people, far from peaceful.
