She was quite a likable child.
In the months prior, Karla had paraded Risideon through every official gathering she could find, flaunting him to her heart’s content.
By making it known that even Arachrene had been brought to its knees, she had drawn the nobility’s support firmly to her side.
“I have kept my promise, Risideon.”
So long as he — the eldest grandson of Arachrene — remained at her side, she had sworn not to lay a hand on the Arachrene heirs.
It was under that condition that Karla had obtained him.
“Still, since the Young Duke has called for you, a brief visit wouldn’t be unwelcome. You may go.”
“Yes. Your Imperial Majesty.”
The Young Duke of Arachrene had surely sent that letter intending for Risideon to return for good — but Karla had no intention of letting him go so easily.
The Young Duke seems to be in quite a hurry. Agreeing to attend Adrian’s celebration banquet, of all things.
Not that she minded. Whatever happened, Adrian would be the one drawing attention.
For the sake of the son who would one day sit upon the imperial throne, Karla was prepared to do whatever was necessary.
She rose from her chair and crossed the room with measured, deliberate steps.
Coming to stand before Risideon, she spoke with a warmth that never quite reached her eyes.
“I will give you ten days.”
“…”
“Do not forget that for the past four years, I have watched over your family’s safety.”
“I am grateful for your grace.”
Risideon bowed his head as he answered.
Karla’s crimson lips curved upward into a slow, satisfied arc.
“Then off you go. Isn’t it nearly time for Adrian’s swordsmanship lesson?”
“Yes. I will take my leave.”
With the Empress’s permission granted, Risideon stepped out of the palace. The suffocating tightness in his chest eased, little by little, with each step he took.
Drawing in a lungful of clean air, he reached into his coat and retrieved the letter he had been carrying there.
It was written in handwriting he had longed to see again.
A letter he had waited and waited for — one telling him he could finally come home.
But when the letter had actually arrived, Risideon’s heart had lurched.
For the first time, he found himself wondering whether he truly had the right to return.
The family he had wanted so desperately to go back to…
Already entangled with the Empress, Risideon had become, whether he willed it or not, publicly known as Karla’s man. There was no escaping that.
Just imagining how the people of his family might look at him was enough to make everything go dark before his eyes.
“Risideon — until I return, you are responsible for protecting your siblings. You can do that, can’t you?”
Risideon slowly closed his eyes.
⁂
Midnight.
Riersha crept forward on the tips of her toes.
A shudder ran through her in the dim, deserted corridor.
Phew. I almost actually fell asleep.
She had been nodding off in drowsy little bursts, and by the time she’d startled back to full wakefulness, it was already midnight.
But the question was — how was she supposed to get any further from here?
Riersha had no idea how to suppress the sound of her own footsteps. Knowing herself, she’d be caught before she’d gone even a few paces.
What do I do.
Ricador was waiting for her outside.
She was just turning back toward her room in helpless resignation when a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.
“Over here.”
“Eek — Ricador—!”
“Shh. Quiet.”
Ricador pressed one finger to his lips right in front of her face, warning her with his eyes.
Riersha quickly slapped both hands over her mouth.
There were guards stationed at various points throughout the corridor, watching over the annex. Any sound of movement would bring someone running.
She shot him a look that demanded to know how on earth he had gotten in here. Ricador responded with a casual shrug, as if it were nothing worth mentioning.
Then he took her hand and started forward with long, confident strides.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
“Mmph!”
In one fluid motion, Ricador tucked Riersha under his arm and whisked her out through one of the annex windows at startling speed.
Riersha kept her face scrunched up in distress and fought down the lurching sensation in her stomach.
“Bear with it a little longer. At your walking pace, we’d be caught before we even got close to the forest.”
“Okay.”
Riersha gave a small nod.
She lost track of how long she endured the dizzying ride before the entrance to the Forest of Monsters finally came into view.
She saw it every day — and yet, having been away from it for only a handful of days, the forest looked somehow unfamiliar to her.
“No need to be scared. I clear this forest regularly.”
“…Mm.”
“Nothing like last time is going to come out. No monsters.”
Riersha swallowed dryly.
The fact that she had to willingly step into the Forest of Monsters made her feet stubbornly refuse to move.
But then —
“I wike fwee stuff.”
“…What?”
Ricador stared at her, completely thrown, as if he’d misheard.
Free stuff. Out of nowhere.
Did she even know what that meant?
Riersha’s eyes glittered in the darkness, bright as little stars.
“You said don’t take fings for fwee. But that’s good, wight?”
“…”
“I’m gonna take fings for fwee.”
Ricador had absolutely no idea where to even begin with this conversation.
Something about the way she hung there under his arm and delivered that declaration with such grave seriousness — it pricked at his conscience in a way he couldn’t quite explain.
He set Riersha down on the ground and let out a quiet sigh, opening his mouth to say something.
But Riersha was already walking into the forest, as if she’d only been waiting for her feet to touch the ground.
“Hey — hey! Walk with me!”
“Shhhh. What if someone hears!”
“…Who’s going to come all the way out here.”
Ricador grumbled but dropped his voice to barely a murmur.
The two of them entered the forest side by side. Riersha glanced around with uneasy eyes.
“Somefing feels even creepier than before.”
“That’s just your imagination. I told you, no monsters.”
According to the ancient texts passed down through generations of the Arachrene family, Ricador’s ability was called Obliteration — the power to incinerate anything living until it was reduced to nothing but ash, erased entirely from this world.
Having never once been threatened by a monster in his life, Ricador was completely confident.
If he had judged it dangerous, he never would have brought Riersha here to begin with.
“So nofing bad will happen?”
“Of course not. I’ll protect you, so stop worrying.”
Ricador answered with a self-satisfied tilt of his chin.
At those words, Riersha relaxed and let out the breath she’d been holding.
“When you say it like that, I feel so safe I don’t fink I’ll even be able to use my ability.”
“…What are you even saying. You little squirt.”
The tips of Ricador’s ears burned red. Flustered, he roughly messed up his silver hair and let out an entirely unnecessary cough.
This was nothing special — something anyone could do — and yet somehow it made him feel inexplicably like he had just done something remarkable.
Saying something so embarrassingly sincere without the slightest hesitation. Riersha was definitely a strange one.
He covered his embarrassment by pretending to look elsewhere, then threw in a perfunctory warning.
“If you fail this time, I’m not bringing you out here again. So don’t get too comfortable.”
“…”
“Riersha?”
He’d expected a pouty retort at the very least.
Ricador turned his head toward where she’d been standing.
His mouth went still.
His startled red eyes swept frantically around him.
“…Riersha, where are you?”
The spot where Riersha had been standing was empty. He’d looked away for only a moment — and she had vanished without a trace.
Ricador’s heart plummeted.
He scanned the area rapidly, reaching out with his mana to sense her presence — but it was useless.
“Why… why can’t I feel anything?”
She had to be close. She couldn’t have gotten far on those little legs.
His mind told him that, but keeping his composure was proving impossible.
Because Riersha’s presence had disappeared in a way that felt deeply, unsettlingly wrong.
Now that he thought about it — he had experienced something like this once before.
It was the time Riersha’s ability had manifested.
The moment his Obliteration had touched the soap bubble trapping the monster, his power had been completely neutralized. If the bubble hadn’t run out of sustaining force and burst on its own, Ricador would have been unable to incinerate the monster at all.
At the time, he’d thought nothing of it.
He hadn’t imagined it would become this significant a variable…
The color drained entirely from Ricador’s face.
“That kid… don’t tell me…”
It felt as though Riersha’s ability had activated — somewhere nearby, just beyond his reach.
⁂
“Huh? Ricador — oppa?”
Riersha had been walking further in when she finally noticed how quiet everything had become.
She turned around. Ricador, who she’d assumed was right behind her, was nowhere to be seen.
The moment she registered that she was alone, Riersha went very still, then began turning in slow, panicked circles.
The forest at this hour of night was so dark she could barely make out what was in front of her.
“Ricador… oppa…?”
She called for him in a small, cautious voice, her feet rooted to the spot.
“O — oppa, stop playing games. I don’t wike this. You said you’d protect me.”
Riersha’s voice trembled and wavered in the dark.
