The shame of the Sayus family, an oddity, a bastard, the only beta. Those were the words that described me. Some words had followed me from the moment I was born, and others attached themselves as I grew, but I didn’t particularly care. They were all true, so I accepted them as natural.
However, it was inevitable that my soul would be captivated by the one person who told me that none of these things were natural. The day I first met him, I felt my entire body melting and being molded again into a completely new form.
That day is still vivid.
“I don’t understand why the family’s authority descended upon someone unqualified.”
Darian hyung-nim looked at me as if I were quite troublesome. In the Empire, there existed an ‘authority’ separate from magic that each family possessed, and it was generally inherited by the legitimate eldest son. The Sayus family was able to maintain such great power largely thanks to this authority.
“In one week, Prince Gid will be ambushed during a hunt. However, I expect this will be for show. One of the faces among those who tried to abduct him was one of the aristocratic faction’s pawns.”
I pretended not to notice hyung-nim’s disapproving gaze and calmly reported the future I had seen yesterday. The Sayus family possessed the authority to foresee the future—in other words, prophetic ability. Among the nobles, knowing the future meant tremendous power.
Before the current Emperor, who seized strong imperial authority through war, ascended to the throne, it was openly said that one could only become Emperor by obtaining the Sayus family’s support.
“I see. I’ll prepare countermeasures and inform His Highness the Crown Prince as well. You’ll enter the palace with me today.”
That day too, I expected the customary response of “You’ve worked hard, now go,” as always, but an order I never imagined fell. Even young me, who rarely disobeyed hyung-nim’s words, could only widen my eyes and ask stupidly.
“Pardon?”
“You turned twelve last week, so it’s about time you showed your face around as a member of the Sayus family. You’ll be entering the Academy next year, so now is the right time.”
Hyung-nim made this groundbreaking statement as if it were nothing. Introducing me, a bastard, to the Crown Prince was tantamount to a declaration that he would fully accept me as a member of the family. Though I was young and stupid, I knew well that this was quite rare.
“May I… dare to do so?”
“I should give you at least one carrot so you’ll continue to perform your role well in the future.”
Hyung-nim pressed his temples firmly and looked down at me. Seeing those eyes that didn’t contain even a trace of emotion, my head dropped to the ground without me realizing it.
“Hyung-nim! Is it true you’re taking Tienas’s child to the imperial palace?”
The one who opened the door without permission was unmistakably Kaeun hyung-nim. Having recently returned home for vacation, he would contort his face and spit curses like “filthy bastard” every time he saw me. Though I had already experienced similar situations many times, honestly, he was easier to deal with than our older sister, who acted as if I was completely invisible.
“Don’t argue with something already decided.”
“Even so, hyung-nim!”
At Kaeun hyung-nim’s protest, Darian hyung-nim closed his book instead of adding more words and stood up from his seat. Kaeun hyung-nim, who had been furious, shut his mouth tight, and when Darian hyung-nim approached right before him, even his breathing seemed to stop. Even my heart pounded loudly.
“Kaeun, since when did you start talking back like this? Did you pick up bad habits at the Academy?”
“I, I’m sorry.”
Kaeun hyung-nim seemed to have much he wanted to say, but couldn’t add more words and just apologized. I stood beside him as if pleading forgiveness together. It wasn’t just to match the atmosphere—I truly felt suffocated thinking this happened because of me. I was ashamed that I only ever caused trouble for the family.
“Kaeun, leave. Tienas, go prepare to enter the palace.”
“Yes. Understood.”
As if hyung-nim had given advance notice, the servants took out the best clothes I owned and dressed me, decorating me this way and that. Even doing this, I worried whether the ‘fundamental vulgarity’ people spoke of could truly be covered. I didn’t know exactly what it meant, but it couldn’t be anything good anyway.
When I stood before the palace gates, that worry grew even larger. The Sayus residence in the capital was also famous for being magnificent, but it couldn’t compare to the imperial palace. I had to make every effort to maintain proper etiquette without looking around.
“Maintain proper posture.”
As if reading my mind clearly, Darian hyung-nim whispered quietly. Unlike me, hyung-nim crossed the palace familiarly and elegantly. Compared to him, I busily moved my extremely short legs, barely keeping up.
“Announce our audience with His Highness.”
After walking for quite a while, hyung-nim spoke to the knights before a door with elaborate gold decorations. They announced our visit in uniform voices. I stood stiffly and caught my breath. The clothes I thought were neat somehow felt shabby.
“You may enter.”
When the door opened, brilliant golden hair was the first thing that caught my eye. My heart pounded strangely.
‘They said he was incredibly beautiful, but is it really true?’
Rumors about His Highness the Crown Prince were abundant. They said he had eerily beautiful looks that seemed inhuman, and there were even several songs praising his appearance. The portraits of His Highness that circulated secretly seemed to compete over who could paint the most beautiful being, lacking any sense of reality.
‘No matter what, there can’t possibly exist such a beautiful person.’
I swallowed and waited for His Highness to turn around. He stood before the window bathed in light and slowly turned his body as if performing an elegant dance. No, he merely moved ordinarily, but that’s how it felt to me.
“You’re here.”
He approached me with his eyes curved like a crescent moon. The light created a halo behind him as if it existed solely for him. I forgot to speak and blinked. It didn’t take long to realize that the portraits I’d seen until now hadn’t exaggerated, but rather failed to properly capture His Highness’s appearance due to poor skill.
“Tienas.”
My mind returned only upon hearing hyung-nim’s small prompting.
“The, the third son of the Sayus family, Tienas, greets Your Highness.”
“My, you’re young and clever too. Darian, you don’t need to push the child so hard.”
He spoke in a voice sweet as sugar and met my eyes. When his hand approached me, I unconsciously squeezed my eyes shut. However, His Highness didn’t threaten me in any way and merely stroked my head.
“So. This child is the one who prophesies.”
“Yes.”
At the words revealing a secret only known to Darian hyung-nim and Father within the household, I turned my head sharply without realizing it.
“Don’t worry. I’m just a bit quicker to notice things than others, so I figured it out.”
The warm hand didn’t pull away and continued to pat me. At that tenderness I was feeling for the first time, tears seemed ready to burst forth.
“You’re the Sayus family’s treasure. Continue to grow precious and beautiful as you are now.”
When I looked up at His Highness as if entranced, he smiled tenderly again. I forgot to answer and had my gaze stolen by his smile. Even hyung-nim didn’t point out my such impudent attitude.
A flash crossed my mind again, and a scene of His Highness and hyung-nim conversing in a garden passed by.
“It would be even better if you visit often to keep me company. With a pretty child like you, I wouldn’t even notice time passing.”
I was neither pretty nor a child. But when he said so, I became that existence. I instinctively knew he was someone who ‘wasn’t wrong.’
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
I could feel my face reddening myself. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the moment I fell in first love.
“Right. Tienas is a bit long. May I call you Tiel?”
“Yes, yes! Your Highness.”
From that day, Tienas of the Sayus family became Tiel, the slave of Crown Prince Kairen. So it was only natural that I decided to die for him.
* * *
“You mongrel slave bastard! Where do you think this is that you dare come here! Are you crazy with a death wish?”
Being called a slave bastard was rather honorable. My master was the most noble Kairen in the world, after all. It was far better than a life drifting as a wanderer, belonging nowhere.
“I know you plan to start a war today.”
“The famous prophecy of the Sayus family! Then Kairen must have sent you here to die.”
“That can’t be.”
He thought of me as one of his chess pieces, yet even so, he didn’t consider me a piece that could be easily discarded. The one who should have originally come to this place was another knight, Aila. He was the most useless while also keeping his options open with the aristocratic faction and contemplating betrayal. The reason for not dismissing him despite knowing this was for today.
It was a position where a close guard knight of the Crown Prince would die, thereby making it certain that the cause of war lay with the Second Prince’s side—sending a life that could be spared.
“You’d like to believe that. Haven’t I told you every time? Kairen is definitely sick and tired of you. It’s only natural when you look at him with such disgusting eyes.”
“Even so, isn’t it because he needs me that he keeps me by his side?”
However, since last summer, some problem had arisen. The authority I could use dozens of times a day began to weaken. By last month, I had reached the level of not being able to use prophecy even once.
Since I could no longer prophesy, I was the most ‘useless existence’ within the guard knight order. Aila at least would have information from the aristocratic faction.
Yesterday I wrote prophecies of things that hadn’t yet happened on parchment and reported both my plan and my death. I left it in my room, so His Highness would be able to check it after the war ended.
I really didn’t want to inform my master that I was no longer useful to him, so in the end, it was a good choice. Now was the time to step down from the chessboard.
“Kairen even attached you to guard his fiancée to make you know your place, but you couldn’t understand, so he must have been frustrated. As a younger brother, I should fulfill what my elder brother desires. Dein, cut off that stupid dog’s head!”
Those words hurt a little. After all, slander mixed with truth torments people more than complete lies.
“Die!”
Swords poured down on me, and I didn’t dodge. For just a brief moment, I hoped my death was truly what he desired. Then I would have served my purpose until the very end.
