Chapter 89
Alvin bit his lip hard to stifle his sobs.
He had lived as if he were dead, never making a sound.
Even when his mother passed away, he had held the funeral alone, living quietly in the depths of the palace, suppressing his breath.
Why, why on earth.
He hadn’t asked to be born into this imperial family.
Were they saying he couldn’t even have a small happiness?
‘Happiness doesn’t suddenly come to you one day if you don’t make any effort. When I was young, I was often beaten by my older brother. But Father always said it was just the playfulness of my spirited brother and told me to endure it.’
Why?
‘No one saved me from that fear. Then I met Brother Kylus by chance, and he told me that nothing would change if I just ran away and turned a blind eye to reality out of fear. If I wanted to overcome my fear, I should face it and fight instead of running away.’
In this miserable and desperate moment, Lady Meltain’s story, which he had wanted to forget, came to mind.
‘And he was right. When my brother hit me, I fought back even if I had to bite his hand, and I developed magical abilities to protect myself. In the end, I completely defeated my brother. After that, my life changed completely. So, Your Highness, don’t run away anymore.’
Duke Dearrut’s words as well.
‘If an unavoidable moment comes, I hope you’ll take my hand. I won’t betray you.’
“…An unavoidable moment.”
Alvin clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles protruded. Even the pain from his pierced shoulder couldn’t overcome his anger. And now, he had to save the dying Butler.
“…He might be able to save you.”
Biting his lip hard, he got up and carefully embraced Butler, stepping out of the house where darkness had already fallen.
* * *
“Sigh, I can’t believe she wouldn’t tell me anything until the end.”
Under the starry night sky, Alice’s voice, full of sighs, echoed.
The cause of her deep sighs was none other than Sienna.
She had followed Sienna around all day since her early return, trying to find out about what happened with the Third Prince, but Sienna truly didn’t say anything until the end.
She dodged every question skillfully.
She even turned the tables on Alice and ended up having dinner with Kylus.
Even during dinner, Alice tried to probe subtly, but again, she gained nothing.
How impenetrable she was.
She was an iron fortress beyond an iron wall.
What could be the reason for hiding things about the Third Prince to such an extent?
It’s not like I’m someone who would harm the Third Prince.
I want to know what kind of conversations they’re having with the Third Prince too.
Feeling unnecessarily hurt, Alice flicked a rose that resembled Sienna.
“You don’t look pretty today either.”
But everywhere her eyes landed, there were roses that resembled Sienna.
After all, she was standing in the duchy’s garden.
Alice was now strolling alone in the garden.
Ah, to be precise, she wasn’t alone.
Rhonda was following her, maintaining a constant distance.
Anyway, Kylus and Sienna, who had dinner with her, were not by her side now.
The two seemed to have some important business and declined the walk.
Still, Alice was stubbornly walking alone in the garden.
It absolutely wasn’t because she was upset that the two seemed to be having important conversations without her.
She had just come out to aid digestion after eating too much dinner.
Even so, Alice’s gaze kept darting towards Kylus’s office.
What could they be talking about, leaving only me out…
“No. Don’t mind it.”
Alice lifted her head from the rose garden that reminded her of Sienna.
Then, looking at the pitch-black night sky, Kylus came to mind this time.
“…I can’t escape.”
A rose garden under the night sky.
Though the two weren’t present, it felt strangely as if she was with them.
Feeling she had chosen the wrong place, she shook her head and turned to leave the garden.
At that moment, she saw a gatekeeper hurrying towards the mansion.
The gatekeeper approached a servant with very urgent steps.
“What’s going on?”
Alice turned her head towards the castle gate.
Though it was hard to see clearly due to the distance, someone seemed to be standing outside the gate.
Who could have come at this hour?
It was quite late for guests to arrive.
Curious, Alice left the garden and approached the servant and gatekeeper.
“The Third Prince, he says…”
“The Third Prince?”
Alice’s eyes widened at the words she clearly heard as soon as she got close.
Startled by her sudden voice, the gatekeeper and servant turned their heads and hurriedly bowed.
“The greeting is fine. More importantly, did you just say the Third Prince?”
Alice waved her hand and asked the gatekeeper again.
The gatekeeper hesitated before nodding.
“Yes. He said he was the Third Prince… that he urgently needed to see the Duchess, and if we showed you this dagger, you would understand.”
The gatekeeper showed Alice a dagger.
“This is…”
It was indeed the Third Prince’s dagger. But there was blood on the handle of the dagger.
“Blood…”
“Yes, his condition didn’t look good. He was holding a dog, and blood kept coming from his body…”
The gatekeeper spoke as if uncomfortable, but Alice turned towards the castle gate before he could finish.
“My lady!”
And before anyone could stop her, she rushed towards the gate. Not only was there blood on the dagger, but he was bleeding too.
Something bad must have happened to the Third Prince.
“You, quickly inform the Duke about this.”
Rhonda spoke rapidly to the servant before closely following her.
“Gasp, my lady.”
Another gatekeeper guarding the gate was surprised to see Alice running and hurriedly bowed.
But Alice’s gaze was solely focused on the Third Prince standing outside the gate.
The Third Prince was holding a dog, his head bowed low. The clear scent of blood from beyond the large gate stimulated Alice’s senses.
“Quickly, open the gate.”
“Pardon? But, we haven’t received the Duke’s order yet…”
“I’ll take full responsibility, so open it now!”
At Alice’s loud voice, the gatekeeper quickly opened the gate.
Even during this, the Third Prince stood still with his head bowed.
“My lady, let me…”
Alice pushed away Rhonda’s arm blocking her path and stood in front of the Third Prince.
“…Your Highness.”
As Alice quietly called the Third Prince, he slowly raised his head.
In the darkness, opal-colored eyes trembled mournfully.
As Alice took another step closer, the Third Prince’s pale lips opened.
“…Duchess. Please… save… Butler…”
“Ah! Your Highness!”
The Third Prince lost consciousness right after finishing his words with difficulty.
Alice screamed and quickly caught the Third Prince’s falling body.
Thud. The Third Prince’s face buried into her shoulder.
Alice, who had instinctively embraced his back, looked down at what was wetting her hands.
“Blood…”
She saw her palms soaked in blood.
It was blood flowing from the Third Prince’s back.
What on earth happened?
Alice tried to properly support the Third Prince while calming her startled heart. There was also a dog wedged between her and the Third Prince’s body.
But before she could do anything, the Third Prince’s body that had collapsed onto her was suddenly pulled back.
Alice quickly caught the dog falling to the ground and looked up.
“Are you alright, my lady?”
There was Kylus, gripping the Third Prince’s shoulder.
“Ah… I’m fine.”
His face was hard, but Alice strangely felt relieved just by Kylus’s appearance.
Alice adjusted her hold on the dog and spoke urgently to Kylus.
“More importantly, I think we need to quickly bring His Highness inside.”
Kylus’s gaze turned to the Third Prince.
He stared at the Third Prince with an unreadable look before handing him over to Rhonda.
“…Take His Highness to the mansion.”
* * *
“His Highness has suffered a stab wound near the shoulder blade. Fortunately, it didn’t pierce deeply so there’s no damage to the heart, but he’s lost a lot of blood because the wound wasn’t properly stanched. He lost consciousness due to the blood loss as well.”
Doctor Helkin, who had examined the Third Prince, said.
“So there are no other major issues?”
“No. Apart from the stab wound, there are no other significant injuries.”
“What about this dog?”
Alice asked, pointing to the dog placed on one side of the bed where the Third Prince lay.
Helkin furrowed his brow.
“My lady, I’m not a veterinarian so I can’t give an accurate diagnosis, but… even at a glance… it seems unlikely to survive. Its pulse is very weak. It will probably die within a few hours.”
“Ah…”
“But who could have attacked His Highness? And why did he come to the duchy without even stopping the bleeding… And what about this dog? My lady, did you hear anything from His Highness before he collapsed?”
Sienna spoke in a low voice. Instead of answering, Alice approached the dog that was letting out faint whimpers.
A dying puppy, and the Third Prince who had been holding that puppy tightly.
What the Third Prince had said…
Could it be.
“…Butler?”
Alice lowered herself and spoke softly to the puppy.
As if answering her call, a very faint sound rang out.
Whine-
Indeed, this dog’s name was Butler.
Earlier, she couldn’t make a proper judgment due to the Third Prince’s critical condition, but now she understood clearly.
Why the Third Prince had hurriedly come to the duchy without even stopping the bleeding.
Save Butler.
The Third Prince had come to her to save this puppy.
While bleeding profusely.
Alice carefully stroked Butler’s brown fur.
She had no intention of just watching a small life die before her eyes. That alone was reason enough to save the puppy, but…
This puppy was also very precious to the Third Prince.
So Alice had no reason to hesitate.
Alice closed her eyes, desperately hoping that Butler would recover and survive.
