The mornings in Tildyen were cool and dark. In Maneregia, the sun rose early at dawn. That’s why many people in the capital slept with thick blackout curtains. Of course, most rooms in Tildyen Rock also had blackout curtains, but that was primarily for insulation to block the cold air seeping in.
“Ugh…”
Despite sleeping with a thick cotton blanket pulled up to the top of his head, Anya naturally had a low body temperature. It might take quite a long time to adapt to the North’s environment, where even the air was cold.
Having been assigned the weighty task of wedding preparations, the boy couldn’t afford to dawdle despite being abandoned in this new environment. When he placed his bare feet on the gray stone floor, a chill ran through his entire body. Anya shivered from the spine-tingling cold.
To clear his foggy mind, he pulled back the thick curtains. It was still dark outside. Nevertheless, he could see lights on in the distance. It was the training ground.
Even in this dark morning, the knights of Tildyen did not neglect their training. Anya steeled his weakening resolve.
He carefully lit the wall lamp and sat on the bedside chair. A blanket would have been nice, but he couldn’t find one. Yet he didn’t want to pull down his bedding to cover himself, as he didn’t want the people here to perceive him as childish.
Instead, he hugged the robe he had worn and picked up a pen. After thinking for a long while with his chin resting on his hand, he still couldn’t write anything down. A sigh escaped from the boy’s small lips.
“Clothing… Yes, f-first we n-need clothing.”
Anya vaguely recalled attending the weddings of imperial princesses in Maneregia. Of course, even then, he had only watched from a corner, jumping up and down with his underdeveloped height to catch glimpses from the sidelines.
Though it was a memory from long ago, he could still easily recall one scene that had been powerfully imprinted in his mind. It was the splendid attire worn by the princess and her husband. Anya closed his eyes and tried his best to remember that scene as vividly as possible.
The white and blue lush flower buds, the trustworthy voice of the officiant, the harmony played by the musicians, the people responding with applause.
Even while making groaning sounds, Anya diligently and quickly wrote something down on the parchment.
“Hmm…”
So focused was he that he didn’t notice that morning sunlight was now streaming in, nor that a maid had entered the room with a basin of washing water and a tray with a simple breakfast.
Staring blankly at what was practically the first breakfast he had ever received, Anya offered his thanks with reddened ears. The maid gave an awkward smile at being thanked by the person who was to be the lord’s consort.
Freshly baked bread with apricot jam, thinly sliced cheese, half a ripe apple, a soft-boiled egg with a moist yolk, and fresh goat’s milk were neatly arranged on a wooden tray. It was certainly a humble meal compared to the imperial palace.
‘Noble lords are picky eaters and terribly haughty. That prince lord is cut from the same cloth… he could well be ill-tempered. Blood will tell, won’t it? What if he throws the tray back at me?’
Earlier at dawn in the kitchen, the maids had been busily preparing meals for Tildyen Rock while whispering for quite some time. Half were curses, half were worries. They likely couldn’t have predicted that it would be the first time in the young consort’s life to receive so many food items at once.
Anya ate his meal hastily with an expression of deep gratitude, occasionally startled by footsteps, forcing him to thump his chest.
“What kind of clothing do you mean specifically?”
The time of judgment had arrived. Anya stood stiffly like a child about to be punished, watching Gregos’s expression. The old butler’s brow furrowed slightly.
“And I’m sorry, but flowers are difficult to obtain in Tildyen. Especially in this winter, we can’t even see a small leaf.”
Gregos placed the parchment back on the bedside table as if there was no need to examine it further. Although no hint of reproach could be read on his face, Anya felt deflated, his neck flushed bright red.
The thought that he had been exposed as a half-wit, an idiot, made him feel endlessly small.
“You must have been very tired from the journey. I didn’t think of that.”
At the butler’s apology, Anya felt even more flustered. He wanted to hide in a mousehole right then and there.
“If Your Highness wishes, I will take care of the preparations myself.”
Ah…
His clear hazelnut eyes, which had been rolling around, lost their strength. Anya was expressing his disappointment with his entire body. Nevertheless, the boy could judge his own situation more objectively than anyone.
“Yes… p-please do.”
After all, Anya Claicer had no ability, no spirit, no talent whatsoever.
What followed was predictable. As if he had returned to the imperial palace, he was alone again. In fact, it was more miserable here than at the palace. At the palace, being alone in a vast space was tolerable. But this place was crueler in some ways. The thought of being alone despite so many people around made his loneliness feel even greater.
When the sun had fully risen, he could see the gray castle that he hadn’t seen yesterday evening. Anya sat on the windowsill and looked at the castle wall and tower across from him.
A cool winter mist hung heavily in the air.
“I’m starving to death.”
“Do you have a beggar in your stomach? Young lad. You’ll become a pig that way. If that happens, you’ll be expelled from the knighthood. With a sluggish body like that, you’d have nothing to say if someone slits your throat someday.”
“Are you done talking? Now? My running is much faster than Lord Karen’s, so what kind of dog-bone sophistry is this?”
“Stop it, you two. My ears are hurting.”
Just then, familiar faces were passing by outside. Sisou and Karen were running away and chasing each other, making squawking noises, but they looked strangely happy. Behind them, Lorea was gently smiling while shaking his head. Behind them, Riario and Evernight were walking along, engaged in conversation.
Even without explicitly expressing loyalty oaths or pledges, a strong bond was visible among them.
At that moment, Evernight raised his gaze and looked at the bedroom where Anya was. Under that deep, impassive gaze, Anya let out a hiccup. Ah… has the butler already reported my stupidity?
The beast-like man’s gaze seemed ready to shout reproaches at him at any moment. Just like his brothers. Because their gazes were similar.
‘Cute little brother, if you don’t want to die, crawl under my legs.’
His brothers never made empty threats. They were people who could actually whip him on the spot. Many noble lords and ladies were gathered there, but Anya silently bent his knees and crawled like a naked person who knew no shame. Laughter and mockery erupted from all around.
“That prince seems to know nothing. Ah, I wish I could be that ignorant of the world too. What’s the point of our master working so hard? If the consort is extravagant, our Tildyen will soon go bankrupt. He doesn’t even look like he was raised preciously, hmph.”
“Stop that, why are you taking his stuttering so seriously?”
Oh my, hey. Just then, a group of maids passed by the door. They were moving along with small bursts of laughter.
Evernight was still looking up at Anya. Anya buried his face between his knees, avoiding Evernight’s cold gaze. Looking at him made Anya feel somehow anxious and guilty.
“Besides, not a princess but a prince? What’s that about? Our master will soon be one of the few dukes in the empire, and His Majesty the Emperor is really being too much.”
That afterimage lingered in Anya’s ears for a long time.
Self-esteem, forced to be eroded over years from the moment of birth, does not recover easily. The adventure-like journey he experienced while leaving Maneregia had momentarily given Anya hope and courage, but it shattered to pieces not even days after setting foot in the North.
‘It’s natural they dislike me…’
Anya voluntarily played the role of a docile doll. It felt as if an invisible force wrapping around Tildyen Rock was desperately pushing him away.
The servants were outwardly kind, but their true feelings were inscrutable, and as for Evernight and the knights… he hadn’t seen them since their arrival. Anya could only steal glances at them through the window from time to time.
Only the meals that came on time and clean clothes offered some comfort to the boy.
‘Still better than the imperial palace, Anya. What more are you asking for?’
* * *
Outside was noisy. Visitors were passing through the castle gate. A splendid carriage adorned with gold and silver, along with dozens of knights on warhorses, were galloping vigorously. Above them, the Claicer imperial family flag, embroidered with a two-headed black bird, fluttered in the wind.
They were the imperial palace guards. He recognized the familiar emblem he had always seen nearby. Anya jumped up from his seat.
Knock, knock.
Simultaneously, a knock sounded behind him. His heart sank.
“Your Highness. Visitors from the imperial palace have arrived.”
It was the first time he was leaving his room in days since coming here.
