Today was one of those days...
The Duke stayed inside his room the entire time, which meant that I stayed completely inside mine.
I didn't go out to the garden, I didn't read near the windows, and I didn't even wander the halls like I usually did.
Coincidences were dangerous, and my goal was incredibly simple: avoid my father at all costs!
Still, staying cooped up in a single room all day was starting to drive me insane as I lay flat on my bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
'...I'm so bored.'
Then, a sudden thought crossed my mind. I remembered my secret place.
It was a small clearing hidden deep within the garden, tucked safely behind thick trees and overgrown bushes.
No servants ever went there, not even the gardener. It was the exact spot where I practiced my magic every single night because it was far enough away that no one could sense my mana.
Even Estrella didn't know the place existed.
Since my father was currently staying at the annex, I couldn't risk using my mana openly.
If he noticed even the slightest fluctuation of magic in the air, everything would be over for me. But reading? Reading books was perfectly safe.
I carefully grabbed a few heavy books from my shelf and slipped out of my room, making sure absolutely no one saw me leave.
The deeper parts of the garden were incredibly quiet and shaded by tall, ancient trees. The leaves rustled softly in the wind as I passed through a narrow, hidden path that I had memorized by heart and then finally, I reached it... my hidden place.
I sat down comfortably against a thick tree trunk, let out a slow breath, and opened a book. It was completely peaceful well... least, for now.
***
The quiet scratching of a quill echoed softly through the master office.
The Duke of Nocte sat at his desk with his eyes fixed on the parchment before him, his lines of reports stacked neatly to one side.
According to the statements written on the documents, monster activity along the northern border had increased yet again.
"There was another raid near the eastern watchtower," his aide, Aldred, reported calmly.
"Thankfully, there were no civilian casualties, but the structural damage to the tower was significant."
The Duke didn't stop writing. "The beasts are becoming bolder. Increase the patrol rotations immediately and double the night watch."
"Yes, my lord."
"And what about the mines?" Arthur asked.
Aldred hesitated for a brief moment, looking down at his notes.
"The diamond mines remain operational, but the excavation speed has slowed down significantly and the deeper veins are proving to be highly unstable. If we push the miners any further without proper structural reinforcement, collapses are going to be inevitable."
The Duke paused his writing, setting the quill down.
"Then halt the expansion. Stability takes absolute priority over profit, so we will just have to find another way to make that sector work."
"Yes, my lord."
Silence returned to the room, the Duke leaned back slightly in his chair, his gaze drifting out the large glass window. That was when he caught a flash of movement down below.
A small figure, clearly a young child, was slipping quietly through the garden paths, glancing around nervously before running deep into the cover of the trees.
The Duke frowned. "...Aldred. Who is that child?"
Aldred followed his master's gaze out the window, and his face instantly stiffened.
"My lord... that is your son."
The Duke said nothing, he simply observed the distant child in absolute silence.
Short silver hair swayed as the boy ran, the strands completely covering his eyes. Under the bright sunlight, the color of the hair shifted strangely, the pure silver fading into a faint olive green right at the edges.
A strange, heavy knot twisted tightly inside Arthur's chest. Suddenly, a distant voice echoed clearly in his memory, sounding incredibly soft and warm.
"If it is a boy," she had said in the past, one of her hands resting gently on her pregnant belly as she smiled up at him,
"what do you think of this name—"
"My lord?"
The Duke blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. Aldred was looking down at him with a look of genuine concern.
"...It is nothing," the Duke said shortly, turning his face away from the window as he stood up from his desk. "I will take a walk outside. Do not follow me."
"My lord—"
"That was an order."
Aldred bowed his head deeply. "Yes, my lord."
The Duke exited the office, his heavy footsteps echoing loudly through the quiet, empty hallway, his mind felt incredibly distant and disordered.
* Tak tak
As he walked, yet another memory surfaced in his mind, the sound of his late wife calling out his name and laughing softly slipping through his thoughts like a ghost he could never quite catch.
"...Hmph."
He clenched his fist tightly, without even realizing it, his steps began to slow down.
The Duke walked through the estate without a clear destination in mind. His boots pressed softly against the dirt path as he passed rows of flowers in full bloom.
The air was calm and gentle, far too gentle for someone like him. He hadn't stepped into this specific part of the garden in years.
This place used to belong entirely to her.
She loved this garden more than any other place in the entire estate.
She used to spend hours coming out to this abandoned spot with her sleeves rolled up, dirt smeared on her hands, humming softly as she planted the flowers herself.
She always used to say that flowers bloomed much better when they were grown with true care.
The Duke slowed his pace until he came to a complete stop. His eyes fell on a single, blooming flower growing near the edge of the path, sitting alone in a small patch of soil.
His eyes went wide. "...That is impossible."
The flower was shaped like a mountain laurel, its delicate petals forming small, elegant clusters.
But unlike an ordinary laurel, its colors shimmered faintly in the shade, looking as if it had been touched by real magic.
The pale ivory petals glowed with a soft, silver hue, and thin veins of faint green light ran right through them.
In the world of Aetheria, this flower was known as Kalmia.
It was an incredibly rare species, and Arthur didn't even think it was possible for it to grow in this soil.
It only bloomed under very specific, mysterious conditions, and though many scholars had tried to find its origins, nobody had ever been able to cultivate it.
His late wife had been the only person who ever managed to grow it here, and he had always wondered how she did it.
"How..." he muttered, his gaze sharpening. "Gardener!"
An old man tending to some bushes nearby nearly jumped out of his skin. "Y-Yes, my lord!" the gardener hurried over, bowing as low as he could.
The Duke pointed a stern finger toward the shimmering flower. "Did you plant that?"
The gardener froze, turning pale. "...N-No, my lord."
"Then who did?" Arthur demanded, his eyes narrowing.
The gardener swallowed hard, cold sweat forming on his brow. "It... it was the young master, my lord," he stammered out.
"He enjoys spending his time gardening. One day, those flowers simply appeared out of nowhere, and he has been tending to them entirely by himself."
An absolute silence fell over the path.
"...The young master?" the Duke repeated slowly.
"Yes, my lord. I truly do not know where he found the seeds, and I do not even recognize the species of the flower. I only make sure the surrounding soil remains healthy for him."
The Duke stared at the old gardener for a long moment, his expression darkening with a mixture of confusion and grief. "...You may go."
The gardener bowed repeatedly in relief. "Th-Thank you, my lord." Only after the Duke turned away did the old man finally let out a shaky breath.
Arthur clenched his jaw tightly. "Why..." he muttered under his breath, his mood turning completely sour.
"Why did it have to be that child?"
He turned sharply and walked away, his pace much faster now. Yet, his footsteps did not lead him back toward the safety of the manor. Lost in his own thoughts, drowned in old memories of shared laughter and gentle scoldings, he kept walking deeper into the estate.
The garden eventually began to thin out, and the trees grew much taller. Before he even realized it, the neatly trimmed paths were entirely gone.
"...Tch." The Duke stopped, finally becoming aware of his surroundings.
He was standing in a small forest. He frowned, fully intending to turn right back around, but then his eyes caught something in an open clearing up ahead.
Sunlight filtered beautifully through the leaves, illuminating a single, small figure lying perfectly still beneath a large tree.
It was a child who has silver hair was spread out against the green grass.
The Duke's breath caught in his throat. "...What?"
He stood there completely unmoving, staring at the young boy who should not have been anywhere near this dangerous forest.
Arthur took a few cautious steps forward, stopping just a few feet away from the sleeping form. The child lay beneath the tree fast asleep, his silver bangs falling over his face to hide his eyes, his small chest rising and falling in calm, steady breaths.
Then, the Duke noticed the objects resting beside the boy. "...Books?"
He bent down and picked one up, his brows furrowing deeply as he read the title.
[Military History and Strategic Theories of the Northern Kingdoms.]
This was not a picture book. This was not something meant for young children, let alone a mere toddler who could barely walk.
"...Absurd," Arthur whispered.
A child reading something this advanced was entirely impossible.
Before he could examine the pages any further, the child stirred, a small twitch ran through the boy's body.
The Duke instantly stiffened, holding his breath.
Slowly, the child's eyes opened, and their gazes met.
"..."
Time seemed to completely freeze in the clearing. Violet eyes stared right back up at him, clear and crystalline, reflecting the sunlight like polished gems.
The boy's expression was incredibly stoic, with absolutely no emotion showing in his eyes, but there was a clear tinge of sharp awareness in them.
The facial features were familiar. Far too familiar.
"...Those eyes..." the Duke murmured to himself.
They were shaped exactly like his own, sharp and piercing, but the color was not blue. It was a deep, vibrant violet. It was the exact shade of violet his late wife once possessed.
The Duke stood there frozen, his mind going completely blank as he looked at his son.
***
...Why?
' Why is he standing here?!'
My heart slammed violently against my chest, a sudden wave of panic hitting me.
' Of all the places in this estate, I hid myself deep in this forest. How did he even find it?!'
The Duke, my father, was standing right in front of me, staring down at my face.
' Calm down... I need to think.'
But he was just staring. Why was he just standing there staring at me?!
'Did he see the books? Oh crap. Okay, think... think of something, anything.'
My mind raced through my options.
'My first option is to just close my eyes and pretend to be asleep again. No... that's stupid, it's too late because he already saw me looking right at him.
Second option, start crying like a normal child would... I can't do it, my body literally won't let me. Option three... run.'
Yes, running was much better that was it.
Before my brain could argue any further, my body made the decision for me. I scrambled to my feet as fast as my small limbs could manage, and I bolted out of the clearing.
The Duke moved entirely without thinking. His large hand reached out into the empty air.
"...Wait—"
It was too late, the boy was already running away, his small legs moving much faster than they had any right to.
He slipped past the dense trees and completely vanished into the deeper paths of the garden.
The Duke froze in place, his hand remained suspended in the air for a brief moment before he slowly lowered it back to his side.
"...Tch."
Something brushed against his boot. He looked down and saw a heavy book lying in the grass. It was the one the child had been reading just moments before.
Arthur bent down and picked it up, staring at the cover in complete silence.
[Military History and Strategic Theories of the Northern Kingdoms.]
His grip on the leather cover tightened slightly. "A child... actually reading this?"
He turned his head, looking in the exact direction the boy had fled, but the rustling of the leaves had already faded into total silence the boy was gone.
The Duke exhaled slowly, his expression returning to its usual unreadable mask.
"...So you run from me," he murmured quietly.
His gaze lingered on the empty path for a few seconds longer before he looked back down at the book in his hand. For the first time in three long years, a strange, unexplainable feeling stirred deep inside his chest.
***
I didn't stop running until I was safely back inside my bedroom.
I slammed the heavy door shut behind me and leaned my back against it, panting heavily for air.
...Haaah... haaaah...
Even though I had been training my body little by little while studying my magic, I was still just a child. Worse, this newborn body had been incredibly weak since birth, and my lungs burned fiercely while my legs felt completely like jelly.
I slid down the wood of the door and sat flat on the floor, pressing a hand against my racing chest.
That was too close... Way too close.
I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart before finally standing up to lock the door. Only then did I let out a long sigh of relief.
"...Why was he even out there?"
That forest was supposed to be completely hidden, my absolute secret spot where no one ever bothered to go.
And yet, of all the people in this world, he was the one who found it. My entire plan of avoiding my father had just completely shattered.
I crawled onto my bed and sat there, staring blankly at the wall as my muscles ached from the sprint.
'Maybe I should just never go outside ever again,' I thought.
'Yeah, that's it. No more going into the gardens, no more visiting my secret place, and absolutely no exploring as long as he is staying here. I'll just stay inside this room forever.'
It was a perfect plan, I nodded to myself, completely satisfied.
A few hours passed quietly. Just as I was finally starting to relax and let my guard down, a sudden, loud knock echoed through the room.
*Knock. Knock.
I instantly stiffened, my posture freezing. ...Dinner? At this time of day, it was usually just Estrella bringing my food tray.
I straightened my clothes and waited. The heavy door slowly opened, and Estrella stepped inside, but the moment I saw her face, I knew something was wrong.
She wasn't holding a food tray at all. Her hands were completely empty, and her expression looked incredibly tense and nervous.
"Young Master..." she said carefully, her voice dropping into a whisper. "His Grace has requested your presence. He wishes to have dinner with you tonight."
...
...
No. No, no, no, no!
'My perfect plan to stay inside this room completely failed!'
I screamed internally, absolute dread washing over me.
***
The heavy oak door felt like a wall keeping out a storm, but now it was open.
"I will help you change into your nice clothes, Young Master,"
Estrella said, her voice shaking a little as she nervously smoothed down her apron.
"His Grace does not like to be kept waiting, especially for dinner."
I stood by the edge of my bed, my small fingers tightening against my trousers. My mind was completely blank as I tried to figure out what was going on.
'Why now? Why a sudden dinner after three years of leaving me alone in this place?'
As Estrella guided me out of my bedroom, every step down the long, quiet hallway of the annex felt heavy.
The air grew a bit colder as we got closer to the dining room.
I could smell the roasted meat and hot food, but it did not make the nervous knot in my stomach go away.
When the guards opened the doors, the size of the dining room made me feel very small.
A large lamp hung from the high ceiling, casting soft light over a long table with a clean white tablecloth.
Sitting at the very end of the table was the Duke of Nocte. He had already taken off his dusty traveling cloak and was wearing a sharp black coat.
His silver hair caught the light, but his blue eyes looked dark as he stared down at a stack of paperwork resting beside his glass.
Estrella pulled out a large wooden chair at the opposite end of the long table, carefully helping me climb up onto the cushion.
The distance between us was huge it felt like he had placed me as far away as possible just to show how separate we were.
The moment I sat down, the heavy doors closed behind, leaving the two of us in complete silence.
My father did not look up from his papers right away. The sound of his pen scratching against the paper filled the quiet room.
I kept my hands folded neatly in my lap, keeping my face completely blank. I refused to let him see that I was panicked inside.
"You run fast for a child who looks weak," he said smoothly. He did not even raise his eyes from his work, but his deep voice cut right through the quiet room.
I stayed perfectly still and did not make a sound.
He finally set his pen down with a small click and leaned back in his chair. His sharp blue eyes locked right onto my face, staring at me with a heavy, searching look.
"When I picked up the book you dropped in the forest, I expected a child's story, not an advanced book about northern military strategy. Who taught you how to read that?"
I just stared back at him, making my violet eyes look completely blank, like an ordinary child who did not understand what was happening.
His brow furrowed, looking a bit annoyed that I did not respond at all. "I am talking to you answer me."
The silence between us stretched on, getting heavier.
He stared at my small frame, waiting for me to stutter, flinch, or start crying, but I did not move a single muscle in my face.
As the minutes passed without a word, the annoyance on his face slowly changed into a quiet, deep confusion.
He took a slow sip from his glass, his eyes never leaving mine, trying to understand the blank wall I had put up.
"The gardener told me you are the one taking care of the flowers outside," he murmured, his voice softening a little as he set his glass down.
"Those flowers have not grown in this annex since the day your mother died. Nobody else has ever been able to grow them, yet a three-year-old child managed to make them bloom in a patch of bad dirt."
He paused, taking a slow, heavy breath as he looked at me.
"Where did you find the seeds?" he asked, his voice firm but no longer angry.
I did not say anything. Instead, I reached out with a small hand, picked up my fork, and quietly took a bite of food from my plate. I chewed slowly and swallowed without making a sound, completely ignoring his question.
'Just keep acting like this,' I thought to myself, keeping my eyes on my plate.
'If he thinks I am just a strange, silent kid, he will leave this annex sooner and go back to his main mansion.'
His blue eyes grew darker as he watched my quiet, mechanical movements. He leaned forward, placing his large hands flat on the table. He looked at me closely, his eyes tracking every small breath I took, trying to find any sign of fear or hidden emotion. But there was nothing. My face was completely empty.
Deep down, Arthur felt a strange, uncomfortable tug of worry. A three-year-old child should be crying, talking, or at least throwing a tantrum when confronted by the Duke of the North.
But this boy just sat there, completely silent, eating his food like a little doll. It was not normal, and it made an unexplainable anxiety stir in his chest.
"Are you truly unable to speak?" he asked. His voice was quiet now, lacking its usual harsh edge, almost as if he were asking himself rather than me.
My face remained as still as stone.
He watched me for a few more moments, searching for any flicker of life or childish fear in my violet eyes
"Tomorrow," he said flatly, his hand resting on the door handle, "a physician will come to examine your throat. I will find out exactly what is wrong with you."
The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me completely alone in the large, empty dining room.
I slowly put my fork down, a huge wave of tiredness washing over my small body as I stared at the empty doorway.
' A physician...' I thought, a bitter feeling rising in my chest as I realized my quiet life in the isolated annex was officially over.
'This is really bad.'