Chapter 10

"Sister"

Selthus, recognizing Via's figure, called out joyfully and ran over.

In a consultation room of the Knights' Corps, Via, who had been waiting for Selthus, greeted him with a broad smile and welcomed him into the room.

This was the first time Via had seen Selthus since the banquet. Although at that time, they hardly had a chance to talk alone, this was the first time since she became a concubine that they could have a leisurely conversation face to face.

"Good to see you. It's been three months, or is it four?"

In the Knights' Corps, new members were not allowed to meet their families for a while to prevent homesickness.

When she heard that the Knights' Corps had finally granted permission for a visit yesterday, Via immediately came to see Selthus.

"How are you adjusting to life here?"

"Yes."

Perhaps due to the constant competition and friction with boys of his age, Selthus's jaw had become slightly more defined, and he seemed a bit more mature.

"Your life must have changed drastically, hasn't it?"

She had heard that the trainees shared a room with four others. Considering that Selthus had hardly been around children of his own age, he was placed with older, kind, and considerate upperclassmen. However, for a boy who had lived in the Purple Jade Palace like a recluse, it must have been a harsh adjustment.

But contrary to Via's worries, Selthus smiled happily.

"Indeed, there are many things I'm not used to, but life here is enjoyable. I've even made friends for the first time since coming here."

Thinking about it, Selthus probably inherited much of Mother Zitti's personality.

Even when they were confined to the palace, he always tried to find something enjoyable and smiled constantly.

"Is there anything troubling you?"

Selthus shook his head with a smile and continued.

"Brother also visited me twice."

"Brother...? The Prince?"

Via was surprised. She thought there had been little interaction between Prince Alex and Selthus.

Perhaps he had come to check on Selthus, worried about how he was adapting to group life.

"Yes, we even had a sparring session. Brother is indeed very strong."

After answering happily, Selthus looked up at his sister mischievously.

"But I think the real purpose was you."

"Me?"

"Brother asked a lot about you. How much of a facade you put on, how you spent your time in the Purple Jade Palace, and so on."

"What did you tell him?"

"Of course, the truth, Sister."

Then, Selthus burst out laughing, unable to contain himself.

"Like the time you got sick from eating strange things in the lower town, or when you ran around the garden trying to catch a kitten and tore your dress, or when you tried to bake a pie and ended up breaking the oven because you turned the heat up too high."

"Selthus!"

Ebeck, who had been standing behind them, burst out laughing.

"Did you really do those things?"

Ebeck, of course, had noticed that the concubine he served was somewhat mischievous.

When they went out incognito, she was better at exchanging necklaces for money than he was, and she would casually eat on the go, acting much more like a commoner than he did.

Her composed and gentle smile at the banquet was almost unbelievable.

"No, I apologize."

Even as he wiped away his tears and apologized, Ebeck didn't feel like he had really apologized.

"It's fine. Your unconventional sister has the Prince smitten.

No matter how favorably I look at it, he just seems to be grinning from ear to ear when he talks about you.

The brave and manly Prince, who has even the Knights of Antole swooning, seems to have lost his way."

He said whatever he wanted.

"Enough, that's enough."

Via felt drained.

She had thought Selthus would be lonely, but it seemed he was enjoying himself in ways she didn't know about.

Ebeck, who had been watching the two with a smile, thought it would be rude to intrude on their private conversation and asked for permission to leave.

"Your Highness, it's safe within the Knights' Corps, and you two probably have a lot to talk about.

May I take my leave?"

"Yes, go ahead."

Via answered while giving Selthus a sidelong glance, but then turned to Ebeck.

"What do you plan to do?"

"It's been a while since I've been to the Knights' Corps. I thought I might spar with a spear with some of my comrades."

At that moment, Via's face changed, and she realized it herself.

"Stop it!"

" Sister?"

Surprised, Selthus grabbed Via's arm.

"Don't spar with a spear! I didn't bring you here for that..."

The image of a man she had seen earlier by chance in the Crystal Palace flashed in her mind.

A knight in his thirties, sword dripping with blood, looking pale as he stared down at a fallen body on the floor.

The scene intertwined with the image of Ebeck, bloodied and fallen.

Via reached out to Ebeck with a trembling hand, and suddenly everything went dark before her eyes.

"Sister!"

Ebeck caught Via's body as it was about to collapse onto the floor.

"Your Highness!"

Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she felt nauseous.

She was seated on a sofa, but even leaning against the backrest made her feel suffocated, and she collapsed.

"Sister, are you alright?"

She gripped Selthus's hand with a trembling hand and whispered, "I'm fine."

"Ebeck, get something to drink for Sister."

Amon noticed Ebeck running down the corridor and called out to him.

"What's wrong? Is the concubine here?"

"Deputy Amon."

Ebeck, with his hands full, turned to the voice and only nodded in acknowledgment.

"Her Highness was feeling unwell during our conversation.

She asked for something to drink, so I'm getting it from the kitchen."

Indeed, he was holding a pitcher and a glass.

"Feeling unwell?"

Amon tilted his head.

Although she had a delicate and fragile appearance, Amon knew well that Concubine Via was surprisingly robust.

"What were you talking about?"

"It wasn't really a conversation...

I thought it would be better to leave the two of them alone, so I told them I would go spar with a spear with some of my comrades.

Then she suddenly changed her expression and said I shouldn't go. She then fainted."

"...I see."

Amon nodded.

"Deputy Amon?"

"I'll take it."

Amon took the pitcher and glass from Ebeck somewhat forcefully.

"I need to talk to you for a moment. Please leave the room.

Ebeck, don't touch a spear for a while. Her Highness is afraid.

For her protection, a sword will suffice."

"Understood."

"Go spar with your comrades. Understand? You can only practice with a sword."

When Amon appeared, Concubine Via was lying on the sofa, her face pale and her eyes closed.

"Deputy Amon."

Selthus, noticing Amon, stood up and saluted. Although Selthus had a higher rank, Amon was higher in the Knights' Corps.

Amon nodded and knelt beside Concubine Via, pouring water from the pitcher into a glass and bringing it to her lips.

"Here."

Supported, Via slowly sat up and drank the water that was pressed to her lips. The slightly warm liquid slid down her throat.

After two or three sips, Via gently pushed the glass away.

Perhaps because she had been lying down for a while, her dizziness had subsided, and she no longer felt suffocated.

"I'm sorry. It seems I startled Ebeck."

Via shook her head at Amon's apology.

"Ebeck didn't know anything. It can't be helped."

From her words, Selthus realized that his sister had been having a dream about the knight he had seen earlier. He also understood that Deputy Amon knew something about his sister's situation.

"Is the knight from earlier going to get hurt with a spear?"

Seeing his sister's face cloud over again, Selthus smiled and reassured her.

"If we take away the spear, there's nothing to worry about."

Selthus, speaking in a light tone, knowing that his sister had always been afraid of blood, was relieved to see her color returning.

"You seem to be quite afraid of blood."

In response to Amon's question, Via smiled weakly.

"When I was three, I saw someone killed right in front of me. I shouldn't remember it, but the scene is etched in my mind.

Once I remember it, I can't handle it.

I feel so ashamed of myself."

Then, with a face that looked like she might cry, she looked at Selthus and pressed her forehead to his.

Selthus was already twelve. Although he felt embarrassed to be treated like this in front of a superior, he endured it as an adult.

At such times, his sister seemed as helpless and lonely as a child.

After a while, Via finally seemed to have calmed down.

"By the way, Selthus.

I heard you've been invited to the Empress's private banquet the day after tomorrow.

Since it's only for a short time, instead of coming from the distant Purple Jade Palace, the Empress has entrusted me with your attire, and you should prepare at the Crystal Palace and come directly.

Please bring your guards and come to the Crystal Palace."

"Understood."

"The Knights of Antole will also send their best to guard you. Please rest assured."

Amon added, and Via nodded calmly.

"The visiting time is already over.

We'll see each other the day after tomorrow, so please return to your quarters now."

"Yes."

Selthus looked at his sister with a bit of concern, but when he saw that she was smiling, he stood up, relieved.

He bowed to Amon and left the room.

After Selthus left, Amon was about to call Ebeck, but Via stopped him.

"Do you have something to tell me?"

Turning to Amon, Via nodded.

She had been planning to wait until evening to see Prince Alex, but if she could talk to Amon now, it would be more convenient.

She didn't want to have this conversation in the Crystal Palace.

"A while ago, a young man in his thirties visited Lady Ameri. He is her son."

"Edam, I believe. He belongs to the Midas Knights' Corps."

Amon explained that it was a knight corps affiliated with a territory, not one of the three private corps of the royal family.

"Do you know Edam well?"

Amon hesitated on how to answer and asked first.

"Do you know that Luitas and I were appointed to serve Prince Alex by the Empress's recommendation?"

Via nodded. She had heard this from Prince Alex.

"Luitas and I were probably chosen based on our family background. However, Gruuk and Lady Ameri were different. They were chosen through the Empress's connections."

"Connections?"

"The once-prosperous but now-declined Morgan family didn't have the means to join the Antole Knights' Corps.

The Empress provided the funds to have Gruuk join the corps with Prince Alex. By then, Gruuk's talent was already evident.

I heard that my late mother had served as a lady-in-waiting to Lady Tora.

Lady Ameri was the same. She was originally a lady-in-waiting to Lady Tora."

"Lady-in-waiting to the Empress. So she has a solid background."

"Yes.

However, the Prince doesn't unconditionally trust the Empress.

She is a necessary backer for him to become the Crown Prince, but with her strong desire for power, he could end up being a puppet.

Gruuk was the first to realize this.

I've heard that he worked behind the scenes to reduce the Empress's influence on Prince Alex.

He said he had to repay the favor for the investment, or he might be vulnerable to her weaknesses.

So now, Gruuk is no longer the Empress's protégé but Prince Alex's right-hand man.

However, Lady Ameri is different.

She is a woman under the Empress's influence, and her son Edam probably is too."

"Then, could Edam be connected to Lord Sezon?"

"Lord Sezon?"

Amon thought hard and shook his head.

"I don't see any connection.

If that were the case, Edam and his mother would be eliminated by the Empress."

Amon had long been aware of the Empress's ruthlessness.

"Why are you asking this?

Has Edam done something?"

"Three or four months ago, the man who killed Selthus in my dream was him."

"No way."

Amon was shocked. He muttered, "Impossible."

If Edam or his mother, the lady-in-waiting, were under Lord Sezon's influence, it would be a serious matter.

Sweat trickled down his palms. Amon unconsciously licked his lips.

He closed his eyes slowly to calm himself, took a deep breath, and stood up.

"I'll take my leave now. If this is true, it concerns the Prince's life.

I'll investigate the background of Edam and Lady Ameri as much as possible."

As he turned to leave, Via called out to him.

"Could you keep me informed of the progress? I'm worried about Selthus."

"Understood."

Amon bowed and hurried out of the room.

"Stop it! Don't kill that child!"

In the twilight, the mother's scream echoed. Stained with her husband's blood, she clung to his body, crying, and threw herself over her young daughter as a soldier raised his blade to stab the child.

"Don't kill my daughter! I'll do anything! I'll go anywhere you want!"

"Via! Via!"

She was shaken by a strong grip on her shoulder. Crying and trying to run away, Via realized she had been having a nightmare.

"Your Highness...?"

"What's wrong? Did you have another dream?"

Pulling her into his broad chest, Alex gently stroked her hair. Concerned, he looked into her eyes, and Via's tears overflowed.

"I had a scary dream."

Alex brushed the disheveled hair from her forehead and kissed her gently on the forehead.

He cradled her head with one hand and stroked her slender back with the other, trying to calm her.

"What kind of dream?"

Alex thought she had probably had another premonitory dream. Via sobbed and buried her face in Alex's chest.

"A man was being killed. His wife was crying hysterically and clinging to his body, her hair disheveled, roaring like a wild animal."

A memory she shouldn't have, yet one that would never leave her mind.

"The child, always terrified by the mad appearance of her usually gentle mother, stared blankly at her blood-soaked father lying on the ground.

Then, a soldier with a blood-dripping sword approached and tried to kill the child."

It wasn't the fear of almost being killed that terrified the child. It was the gruesome death of her father and the mother's desperate screams that frightened her.

Her world, which she had believed in, had collapsed, and for a while, she couldn't speak or laugh.

"Was the child killed too?"

"No."

Via shook her head weakly.

"The mother begged for her life desperately.

The child was saved."

"Can you identify the soldier's uniform or any insignia? If you can..."

Via shook her head.

Although he was disguised as a vagrant, both her parents knew he wasn't.

He was the emperor's guard. The mother and child were taken to the emperor.

"I can't identify anything specific."

She wanted to tell the prince that it was the emperor who had killed him.

That man had killed her father in front of her and her mother, and in exchange for her life, he had repeatedly raped her mother.

Her mother had never desired the emperor's favor.

The pain her mother endured, being called to the emperor's bed every night and having to be grateful for his favor, must have been immense.

"Don't hate, don't resent," her mother had repeatedly told her.

Now, she realized that her mother must have had to tell herself this to survive.

"Via"

Surprised by Via's renewed tears and sobs, Alex held her tightly.

"Via, what's wrong?"

Her mother had endured everything. She had tried to save her daughter from hatred, never once complaining about her suffering.

How bitter and resentful must her mother have felt, being called to the emperor's bed every night. What a painful and sad life she must have led.

"Via"

But she couldn't tell the Prince.

Her feelings swelled to the point where she wanted to scream, but she couldn't confide in the person she most wanted to understand.

She knew it would hurt him, so she had to suppress her feelings.

Alex held Via's head close to his chest, as if to protect her.

"What's wrong? What's troubling you?"

He asked repeatedly in a low