“Calm down, please calm down, Your Highness!”
Thud.
That evening. I was in the guest room of the mansion, reading the daily newspaper and trying to sort out the current situation.
The heavy sound of footsteps was followed by the door being flung open.
A man, seething with anger, barged into the room without even a courtesy knock.
His eyes were already glazed over, and it was immediately clear that he had no patience left.
“You’re the one who did that to Amon, aren’t you? Yeah, that magic target I’ve seen around. That bastard.”
“Your Highness, you need to calm down. If you keep this up—”
The third son of the Ehrenheit family.
Aiden Ehrenheit.
A tall, well-built man with jet-black hair tied back, his face twisted in rage as he grabbed me by the collar.
Unlike his younger brother Amon, who was known for his magical prowess, Aiden had been trained in physical enhancement and was famously reclusive, rarely leaving his office.
But the way he was gripping my collar and glaring at me now was far from the image of the composed man I had imagined.
Having heard that I had insulted his revered older brother to his face, he had lost all reason and spoke with a voice trembling with fury.
“How dare you… what kind of trick did you pull on my brother…!?”
“Your Highness…”
The servant beside him, trying to calm him down, looked pitiful.
Seeing such a pathetic sight, I let out a deep sigh.
“You should let go.”
Before I could even finish speaking, he roughly yanked me up by the collar.
My feet barely left the ground, and the collar of my shirt tightened around my neck, making it hard to breathe.
Tension filled the room.
But contrary to Aiden’s expectations, Yujin wasn’t startled or afraid.
Instead, he raised his head calmly, a subtle smile playing on his lips.
“…”
“This is amusing. So, using force to communicate is your family’s way, huh? Still the same as ever.”
“You are insolent…! Don’t mistake me for being as merciful as my brother!”
“How about you listen for a moment? Hear about how your brother treated me, and why all this happened.”
His gaze didn’t waver.
His calm tone seemed to crack Aiden’s demeanor.
Yujin’s composed voice echoed through the room, starkly contrasting with Aiden’s ragged breathing.
“Don’t make me laugh!”
Though Aiden showed no sign of releasing his grip, Yujin leisurely raised his hand and grasped Aiden’s arm.
“That’s enough. It’s best for both of us to end this here.”
Yujin didn’t seem to exert much force, but a firm strength could be felt from his fingertips.
As his hand tightly gripped Aiden’s wrist, the younger man’s expression twisted slightly.
Slowly but surely, Yujin freed his collar from Aiden’s grasp.
The motion was as natural as moving a heavy object.
Aiden instinctively tried to pull his wrist free, but the grip was too strong.
It felt as if a snake had coiled around his wrist, applying precise pressure.
“What… what is this?”
Yujin let out a short sigh and began to peel Aiden’s fingers off one by one, as if lifting light stones.
Aiden could only stare blankly as his hand was forcibly removed.
He tried to resist, but strangely, his grip loosened against his will.
It took only a few seconds for Yujin to completely free himself.
He then calmly straightened his collar, brushing off the dust as if the earlier confrontation was nothing significant.
…
Yuria stood quietly, holding the daily newspaper, lost in thought.
Her love was deep and heavy.
It bordered on obsession, never letting Yujin go for even a moment.
But conversely, it also meant she could see nothing but him.
Because of these feelings, Yuria had been troubled for a while.
Yuria was adored for her mastery of both magic and swordsmanship.
But perhaps because of that.
She was not loved by her family.
Before she turned ten, she had already surpassed her older brother Amon in magical prowess, astonishing even her professors.
The same was true for everyone else.
Yuria, who wasn’t particularly talkative, came off as arrogant to others, naturally drawing envy and jealousy.
But as she grew older, Yuria began to notice that people treated her differently.
So she worked even harder.
To gain recognition, to prove that she wasn’t arrogant.
But the situation showed no signs of improving, and instead, she only drew more jealousy.
One day, she was even called an arrogant brat.
Still, Yuria didn’t give up.
Looking back at that time, she was just a lonely girl ostracized by her family.
Nothing more, nothing less.
And it wasn’t just that.
Yuria had nowhere to return to if she failed.
Youngae, who is already branded as arrogant.
The only path left for Yuria was a lonely wandering.
Naturally, having never received proper love from her parents, she became increasingly overwhelmed by her emotions, and each day became harder to endure.
And so, Yuria grew more and more exhausted.
She would often cry while trying her best.
“…?”
The tears that came for no apparent reason were bewildering.
But the days she spent crying only increased over time.
Whenever she saw others living harmoniously, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything properly.
Seeing her own reflection, left alone in the full-length mirror, only made it worse.
During those times, Yuria would think of ways to mend the fractured relationships.
But it didn’t take long for her long efforts to crumble into nothingness.
As time passed, around the time of the eldest brother’s birthday party, Yuria thought that if she made the Ehrenheit family’s prized gloves herself, maybe they would finally appreciate her.
So, three months prior, she began working in the office, spending entire days crafting the gloves.
Giving gloves directly to someone held great significance.
It symbolized a genuine desire to improve the relationship.
She even wrote heartfelt letters, and with a naive hope that this time she could reconcile with her brothers, she approached them with a smile, having not slept the night before.
“I… I made these gloves myself. Will you accept them…?”
Though there were some clumsy traces, the effort was evident.
But all she received in return was ridicule.
Thud.
“What’s this? These cheap gloves.”
With insulting words and a disdainful look, the gloves were thrown to the ground.
Amon, who had been watching with glee, burst into laughter.
“Ha, hahaha! Even the so-called genius girl has her limits. All that arrogance, and this is what you come up with.”
“…”
“Get out of here. Don’t ruin the mood at your brother’s birthday party.”
Seeing the gloves she had worked so hard on, the decorations she had painstakingly finished, being torn apart before her eyes, Yuria couldn’t hold back her tears and ran away.
The thought that her heartfelt gesture had been rejected made her head spin.
“I hate this… I hate it…! Why, why is it only me…?”
No one accepted her.
Running and running, she eventually found herself sitting on a chair, crying bitterly.
Swallowing her tears, she even thought of running away.
The long loneliness and the mental pressure from her brothers were too much for her to bear.
But just as she was about to act on those thoughts, she met a man.
“Why are you crying?”
“……Sniff, it’s none of your business…”
“Come on, don’t be like that. Here, wipe your tears.”
“…”
Naturally, Yuria was wary of the man she had just met.
Having been betrayed too many times, she couldn’t easily trust anyone.
But the man’s actions surprised her multiple times.
“You’ll ruin your pretty face. Here, wipe it.”
“…”
“Or should I wipe it for you?”
He carefully took out a clean handkerchief and gently wiped Yuria’s tears.
And with a kindness that seemed almost excessive for a stranger, he comforted her.
Desperate for someone to be by her side, she accepted his kindness, though she didn’t let go of her suspicions about him.
Because he was a commoner.
It was hard to understand why he was being so kind to her, as it didn’t seem like he was after money or anything valuable.
Even when she offered to teach him magic, he firmly declined, saying he had no talent for it.
But the wounds and mistrust in young Yuria’s heart began to slowly fade away.
“Are you okay…? That must hurt. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
He taught her kindness.
One day, when Yuria had hurt her hand, he didn’t scorn her for not hiding the injury.
He simply treated her with familiarity, always staying by her side.
It was the same after that.
Even though she didn’t offer him any rewards, he continued to show her excessive kindness and attention.
At some point… Yuria began to eagerly look forward to the days she would meet him.
Since that day, the conversation from last night kept lingering in her mind, and a strange emotion began to bloom.
She could almost feel his warm touch and scent from when he had taken care of her.
“…!!”
Yuria shook her head, startled by her own thoughts.
But she could feel her face turning red.
That day, while admiring the beautiful six-pointed star, Yuria found herself asking him a question.
“Why… why are you so kind to me?”
A curiosity she had held since their first meeting.
His answer was simple and clear.
“Because I love you?”
“…!!”
That day, for the first time, Yuria’s composure broke in front of a man.
Her face burning, she also felt a strange, unfamiliar emotion that she was wary of.
Whoosh, heat rose to her face… and her body felt like it was floating.
Though she was bewildered by the unfamiliar emotion, it felt too good to reject.
She tried to calm her rapidly beating heart, but it didn’t work.
From that day on, Yuria learned about love.
And that she had found a small companion.
That must have been it.
The reason she began to crave his attention so uncharacteristically.