As Ray’s voice trailed off and his expression turned wistful, he looked unrealistically beautiful.
Was that what the baby angels in holy paintings looked like?
Honestly, I was momentarily entranced. Maybe because he was so pretty, I couldn’t help but feel more concerned.
‘How could a bodyguard do something like that?’
What gain could come from such a senseless act?
‘Wait—what?’
As I silently cursed the audacious attackers, a sudden thought made my eyes tremble.
There was no benefit for the bodyguards in harming Ray.
Hurting him wouldn’t make his wealth theirs, and guards who betray their master are sentenced to death.
It was all loss, no gain.
‘But what if someone else, not them, gains from it?’
What if Ray, the one they pretended to serve, wasn’t their true master… and someone else was?
“Gasp!”
A chill spread to my fingertips from the thought that surfaced in my mind.
Before it could solidify, I screamed inwardly and tried to erase it.
‘This has nothing to do with me. I don’t want to be involved.’
Ray was my savior, and I pitied him—but I had a gut feeling that getting involved in this would be disastrous.
Not just for me, but for my entire family.
So I tried to take a step back…
“I have no idea why they attacked me. I’m… the fourth prince, with barely any claim to the throne.”
Ugh!
That look on his face pierced my conscience.
I may not be a knight, but as the daughter of a noble knight family with a proper order of knights, I’d grown up hearing I should protect my lord and the weak…
Ray was young and vulnerable.
And he was directly related to the emperor.
So yes, helping him was clearly the right thing to do…
‘But if the attackers are likely his own royal family…’
Exactly.
The only people who would benefit from Ray’s downfall were them.
Those who could take his place as the true master of the guards.
‘No way… could his own siblings…?’
As far as I knew, except for one princess born of a concubine, all the other princes were children of the empress.
The princess, being born of a concubine, had little chance at succession.
Besides, the concubine…
‘She’s not ambitious.’
Same with the princess.
She seemed like a normal woman of the times who just wanted to marry well and live comfortably.
She had no reason to bribe Ray’s guards.
Which meant the only real suspects were Ray’s full siblings.
‘Not all families are like mine, but still…’
I imagined: What if my eldest or second brother, jealous of me for being the only beloved daughter, resorted to treachery?
Betrayal aside, that would just be too heartbreaking.
“Terrible.”
People.
Honestly, I wanted to curse them more strongly, but I hadn’t completely lost my senses.
Insulting the royal family wasn’t something you could excuse as childish folly.
Ah, what should I do?
I knew I shouldn’t get involved, but I couldn’t help myself.
I wanted to help Ray.
What’s a throne, really, that a child has to endure such terrifying things?
But getting involved in royal succession issues wasn’t something that would end with just me.
At a minimum, my family, at worst, even our extended relatives, could be dragged in.
And the worst possible outcome of that?
I bit my lip.
My heart kept leaning one way, but my reason forcibly shut my mouth.
You could get caught up in any other fight—but not one over the throne.
At best, you become a close aide to the next emperor.
At worst, your entire family line is destroyed.
While my heart and mind battled fiercely, Ray looked at me with a lonely smile.
It was a face that said he felt more sorry to me, who couldn’t say no.
“I know it’s not right for someone like me to come meet someone like Seiana… My position is too unstable…”
“I… have no friends. No one I can trust… But Seiana helped me even though she didn’t know anything… Maybe that’s why I wanted to rely on you.”
“I’m sorry. I must have been a burden…”
His smile looked like it could shatter at any moment.
Come to think of it, I remembered that in my previous life, I’d only seen Ray once.
And even then, not as royalty—just by chance, in passing.
Other than the emperor and empress, royal family members rarely showed themselves, but Ray—the fourth prince—was even more secluded.
While running our merchant house, I’d met other royals a few times while delivering goods, but never the fourth prince.
If we had met before, I wouldn’t have searched for him so desperately.
My head burned.
I hated the emperor—he couldn’t even manage his own household.
Sure, I was an outsider and could afford to act cold.
But how could he treat his own son like this?
Maybe because my head was burning, my eyes started to heat up too.
When I came to, I had already grabbed Ray’s hand tightly.
“No! You’re not a burden at all!”
Maybe my head was still hot, but even my reason didn’t object this time.
If everyone else was going to treat such a sweet, beautiful child like that, then just give him to me!
‘If it were my child, if he were part of my family, I’d treasure him so much.’
Everyone failed to recognize a treasure…
So I vowed to do what they couldn’t.
To help him feel so loved that he wouldn’t flinch or run away when touched by others.
“Really?”
Ray asked cautiously, as if trying to believe it.
The darkness that had clouded his face lifted, replaced by a faint glimmer of hope.
I reaffirmed my promise.
“Yes! If it gets too hard, you can lean on me!”
I’m sorry, Mom and Dad.
But I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing, not as a fellow human being.
Maybe I was being rash, but I had no regrets.
No—I wouldn’t have any.
To show my resolve, I gripped Ray’s hand even tighter.
He smiled softly.
Though he was clearly just a child in front of me, the image of the older Ray from my past life flashed through my mind, making my cheeks flush.
I’d never seen the older Ray’s face clearly before, but I had a feeling he must have been handsome.
‘What am I even thinking… about a kid…’
Feeling embarrassed by the strange thoughts I had about such an innocent child, I turned my gaze away—only for Ray’s hand, held in mine, to tremble slightly.
“Was I holding too tightly, and it hurt?”
I thought that might be the case and tried to let go of her hand, but that wasn’t what Ray wanted.
Ray’s fingers slipped between mine, and before I knew it, she had laced our fingers tightly together.
I flinched in surprise.
It wasn’t the first time I’d held hands like this—I’d done it playfully with family before—but doing this with someone of the opposite sex, and especially a stranger, was a first for me.
Pedro, that jerk, always said this kind of sweet stuff was annoying and never did it once.
“Uh……”
Now even the tips of my ears were burning.
I felt strange, wondering if it was okay for an adult to feel this way about something so innocent.
It made me uncomfortable, so I tried to pull my hand away…
“Thank you, Seiana. Thank you…”
Ray looked straight at me as if I were the only person in the world.
In her eyes, I could see my reflection perfectly, with not a single gap between us, which made me even more embarrassed than before.
She probably meant it all sincerely, with no hidden motives.
‘But why… why does it feel like I’m being courted?’
It was probably because I had no immunity to men.
I knew I was pretty, but still, I had never been popular.
That may sound contradictory, but it was true—I had never once been confessed to.
That’s why I was confused.
A kid, courting me?
Ridiculous!
I really needed to build some resistance to men so I wouldn’t have these silly thoughts.
It’s not like Ray could read my mind, and yet I felt ashamed for even thinking like this about her.
Whether it was because time had passed, or because my mind had wandered to something else, I slowly regained my composure as the heat in my head began to cool.
Now that I think about it…
Wait—am I still holding hands?!
Gah!
And on top of that, I spoke informally again!
Again!
Once might be a mistake, but twice is no longer a mistake.
I was being a real fool.
“S-sorry!”
Panicking, I hurried to pull my hand away—but Ray was faster.
She tightened her grip on our interlocked fingers, lifted our hands, and rubbed the back of my hand against her cheek.
“Don’t.”
“Eh…?”
“I don’t want you to treat me like that, Seiana.”
“Ugh.”
“I don’t want to feel like you’re drifting away.”
As I hesitated, torn by her pleading expression, Ray’s eyebrows drooped and she asked, “I really like holding hands with you… Seiana, do you not like it?”
Her eyes brimmed with tears, and I had to close mine tightly.
How could anyone say no after seeing that face?
I had no choice but to compromise.
“…Then, when it’s just the two of us, I’ll speak comfortably.”
At that, Ray smiled sweetly, like a satisfied cat.
***
“Oh no! In my rush to escape, I left the most important thing behind—Lovey!”
As if possessed, the Count, his two sons, and even the Countess had all fled, leaving Seiana behind with Raymund.
And so the two ended up meeting.
By the time the Count returned home in a fluster, it was already too late.
“You ran away?”
Hearing the Count’s words, Seiana was taken aback—but not nearly as much as the Count himself.
What could they have done in that short amount of time to end up holding hands?
“What do you think you’re doing, some strange man holding my daughter’s—ugh!”
In the middle of his rant, the Count felt a sudden tightness in his chest and looked away.
He couldn’t bring himself to look directly.
Not seeing her helped ease his fear a little.
The fear of espers would flare up the moment you made eye contact and recognized their presence.
That’s why most of those working in the royal palace would drop to their knees and bow their heads to the ground like slaves when that fear struck—until the esper passed by.