Chapter 15: The First Encounter

Liam had been born wearing a crown. He hadn’t asked for it, but he was the sole heir to the rare and precious blood of Cherott. The throne had always been his by design.

As a child, that truth brought him no joy. He simply envied the other children who could cling to their parents’ legs, begging for attention.

“You are one who must rule. You must never show weakness to anyone, not even to me, your father. Be ever watchful. Ever suspicious. Do not create anything precious. For that is what will one day strike you down.”

But such thoughts didn’t last long. Power and authority soon proved far superior to fleeting affection.

The former Emperor, Johannus, was a cruel and deeply paranoid man. And he was immensely pleased that Liam took after him.

His words had not been wrong. Liam grew up colder and more arrogant than anyone else. No one could rule over him. Liam was born to command, not to be commanded. The Cherott blood running through his veins was potent and noble.

“As I thought, not a flicker in your eyes.”

Liam had watched countless nobles kneel and be beheaded at his father’s side. Blood ran like rivers across the ground, and flesh burst like oil in a hot pan. None of it stirred anything in him.

Johannus had laughed heartily at his son’s impassive face.

Unlike the emperor, Empress Lillian was gentle by nature. A princess from a small neighboring kingdom, she was a quiet, soft-hearted woman. She had wanted Liam to grow up like any ordinary child. But Liam had not grown up as she wished. He couldn’t and didn’t want to.

Brilliance was always accompanied by shadow. At any moment, someone might aim a blade at his life. More than once, poison had been slipped into his meals.

Her naïve hopes had never touched Liam’s heart. If anything, they were bothersome. But even in the face of his cold indifference, Lillian hadn’t let go of her futile ideals.

She sent him popular toys among the nobles, hosted small gatherings with boys his age. Yet none of them dared approach Liam, let alone meet his eyes.

“Hey! Black-haired big brother!”

Liam looked down at the tiny figure who had boldly stepped into his path. She was so small and harmless that even his instinctive killing intent felt out of place.

“Can you help me? I promised my dad I wouldn’t get into trouble, but…”

Her silver hair shimmered in the sunlight. Her clear sky-blue eyes shone like crystalline ice. Her snow-white skin made her look like a spirit from some winter myth.

She was stuck in a blooming rosevine, her hair ornament tangled. Tears welled up in her large eyes.

Liam watched her like a hunter eyeing a rabbit caught in a snare. She fidgeted and tugged at the tangled vine, clearly trying her best.

Whether she realized she was only making it worse or not, she was determined. Sniffling, trying to keep her tears from falling, her wide-open eyes made quite the sight.

A silver-haired girl, wandering the palace freely. A familiar figure surfaced in Liam’s mind.

“If she has silver hair… Is she Duke Okarman’s daughter?”

“Oh? You know my dad?”

So it was. Liam adjusted his initial impression of Eden from an annoying brat to something slightly less bothersome.

Duke Okarman, his swordsmanship teacher, was one of the few people Liam held in high regard.nWith a slightly more generous heart, he decided to keep watching the small girl struggle. He had planned to visit the Duke at the training hall anyway.

He hadn’t intended to go just yet, but it was on his agenda. It was a bother, yes, but for the Duke’s sake, he’d show some leniency. Not because he was concerned about the kid in front of him.

“Ow.”

She’d scratched her cheek on a rose thorn. A thin red line marred her pale skin. Liam felt a wave of inexplicable irritation.

“Idiot.”

He strode over and effortlessly freed the ornament from the vine.

Eden, amazed that he’d done in seconds what she hadn’t managed even with sweat beading on her brow, stared back and forth between Liam and the ribbon. She grinned, her nose and eyes red from crying, looking exactly like a baby rabbit.

“Follow me. I was on my way to see the Duke anyway.”

Her head tilted at his offhand remark.

“I didn’t come to see my dad.”

“What?”

“I’m going to see Her Majesty the Empress. Dad doesn’t like me being around when he’s training.”

When Liam frowned and glared, she flinched, startled, it seemed, but didn’t look away. As if she were certain he wouldn’t harm her. That unsettled Liam.

Even his wet nurse feared him. But this tiny girl, so fragile she might crumble like a cookie, was…

Was it that her family line made her bold, or was her sense of danger simply broken?

“Do you know where to go? If you tell me, I’ll go by myself. I’m five, you know.”

She proudly held up five fingers, and Liam leaned toward the second theory. Her innocent face all but promised trouble if left alone. That red scratch on her cheek irritated him.

“Be quiet. Just follow me.”

He heard her small, hurried footsteps behind him. She had to nearly jog to keep up, so he occasionally slowed down to match her pace.

“How old are you?”

“…”

“My name’s Edenastie!”

“…”

“What’s your name?”

“…”

“Why did you come to the palace?”

“…”

Despite the silence, Eden chattered on, undeterred. Her excitement seemed oblivious to Liam’s disapproving glares. She was utterly clueless. The only child of a Duke, and yet she had no wariness toward others. Liam’s gaze sharpened.

“Oh my, Liam! You brought Edenastie with you.”

The Empress beamed as she saw the two of them together. For some reason, Liam’s ears turned red.

After that, he often found himself watching Eden and his mother from a distance. The two, like mother and daughter, seemed more like a real family than he ever had. And each time, Eden would spot him. Even from afar, even when he’d hidden his presence, she’d somehow sense his gaze.

She had no awareness, yet somehow always noticed him. Liam found that infuriating. Whenever her clear eyes found him, they would widen in surprise, then melt into a bright smile.

When she pressed a finger to her lips, telling him to hush, Liam would find himself scratching all over. His chest felt oddly ticklish.

After learning Liam was the Crown Prince, Eden had briefly started acting more formally. It didn’t last. Within a few days, the casual ‘big brother’ and informal speech disappeared.

Your Highness.

Liam wasn’t sure why the change, perfectly appropriate though it was, left him feeling oddly deflated. A faint wrinkle formed across his nose.

“Why don’t you smile, Your Highness?”

That small, fragile creature had slipped into the cracks of Liam’s heart without effort.

He grew used to strolling through the gardens together. He grew used to adjusting his pace for her short legs, and to stealing glances at her pink lips that chattered nonstop whether or not he answered.

“There’s nothing to smile about.”

“If you smile, you’ll find something to smile about. That’s what my nanny said.”

“Tch. You just keep smiling then.”

Despite his scolding, Eden beamed like it meant nothing.

Eden was like an untouched field of snow. A single rose blooming on that pure, unspoiled land. A white blemish in Liam’s world of darkness – Edenastie.

“You’re prettiest when you smile, Your Highness.”

The girl, beaming as she held out her hand, sparkled in the fading sunlight like the last golden ray of day.

Liam quietly swallowed the words rising in his throat: You too… are least annoying when you smile.

As he cautiously took her tiny hand, a thought crossed his mind.

That this girl, just this one, should stay like this forever. A little foolish, untouched by the cruel and wicked things of the world. A dream too much for even him to wish for, yet for Eden, he hoped it might simply be reality.

* * *

“Who dared…”

Clatter.

A scorched silver teaspoon clattered against the glass table, the sharp sound echoing through the palace courtyard. It shattered the illusion of Liam’s seemingly peaceful life, revealing it for the blade’s edge it truly was.

The tea party had been arranged for just the Empress and Eden. Had Eden not picked up the silver spoon to stir her tea, had Liam not happened to pass by at that exact moment…

Rage boiled in his chest, far greater than when poison had been discovered in his cup.

Unlike Liam, who had been trained to build a tolerance since childhood, both the Empress and Eden were vulnerable to even small doses. For six-year-old Eden, it could have been fatal.

He looked to where Eden trembled in the Empress’s arms. His blood ran cold.

Scanning the scene, he spotted a court lady shaking more violently than the others. A familiar, bitter scent clung faintly to her, one he knew too well from countless poisons.

Liam drew his sword and held it to the court lady’s throat.

“Who’s behind this?”

“M-my lord… I don’t… I don’t know, I– Aaaagh!”

Blood spurted from one of her ears as she shrieked and shook her head violently.

Without hesitation, Liam pressed his blade to her other ear and whispered, “I asked who’s behind it. Stop wasting my time. If your ears can’t hear, they’re useless. One more chance. Speak.”

The name of a Count spilled from her lips in a broken voice. Liam, having gotten what he wanted, turned without pause.

“Ah…”

And there they were, Eden’s wide blue eyes, stricken with terror. The eyes that always saw him so clearly now trembled, tears streaming down her cheeks.

‘Don’t cry. Don’t look at me like that. Don’t be afraid of me.’

Unspoken words sat bitter on his tongue.

Liam’s hand had reached toward her unconsciously. But he froze.

Eden was shaking. She slowly turned away and buried her face in the Empress’s arms. His heart dropped to the ground like a stone.

‘Of course. For a child like you, this must have been horrifying.’

Liam understood her. But he also knew she would never understand him. That truth chilled him to his core.

He hastily pulled his hand back and turned away. It was as if he’d awoken from a dream. His life returned to what it had always been, unbroken darkness.

Then, one day, war broke out.

Cherott, the Black Dragon of the continent, and Rodenberg, the Golden Lion, two empires that had long split the continent and never known peace.

Their rivalry, fanned to its peak under Johannus’s reign, exploded when Rodenberg launched a surprise attack on a northern fortress. Thus began the most brutal war in the continent’s history.

For Liam, the war was a political boon. An external threat united the internal factions, allowing him to solidify his position as heir. But for Eden, it was a tragedy.

Duke Okarman, who had led the vanguard in the early battles, was killed in action.

Eden remained in the palace under Lillian’s care. At some point, a shadow fell over her pale face. She still offered Liam a soft smile when they met, but the child who used to chatter endlessly beside him was gone.

The distance between them widened, step by step. And as Eden grew less bright, Liam felt something stirring within him.

Regret. That he would never again see the girl who had smiled so easily, so foolishly, in ignorance. And a strange sense of relief. As if, perhaps, she was starting to resemble him.