The disappearance of witches from the world was a monumental event.

Upon hearing the news that the terrifying and dreadful beings, who had lived unseen among humans, preying upon them and causing harm, had been completely eradicated, those who initially refused to believe it eventually marveled and cheered as the truth spread through the accounts of eyewitnesses.

Furthermore, the people could not contain their awe at the Prince’s actions in achieving this unbelievable feat. Streets overflowed with poems and songs praising the hero who had accomplished one unprecedented marvel after another.

When the Prince returned to the capital from Heilen, the city was in a festive uproar. Crowds lined every street, welcoming the returning Prince with cheers as if receiving a triumphant general. The procession, showering petals and sounding trumpets, stretched all the way from the outskirts of the capital to the main gates of the royal palace.

It was a procession that made it blatantly clear who held the greatest power and popularity in the nation.

While everyone raised their voices in jubilation to welcome the Prince, those who rejoiced the loudest at his return were the direct members of the royal family.

“The curse placed upon the royal family has been lifted”—this was the ostensible reason, but in reality, that was merely a secondary matter. To the royals, who had previously forged contracts with wizards to fall into a deep sleep during the new moon to escape the curse’s agony, the curse was not a pressing daily issue. Rather than that, by creating the momentum to sever the long-standing chain of the curse, the Prince had vastly solidified the royal authority and the foundation of the royal family’s power. Moreover, the emergence of an unparalleled hero from within the direct royal bloodline was a joyous occasion for the royal family, as it won the hearts of the people and kept the influence of the nobility in check.

The King was immensely delighted by the achievements of his son and heir. He laid paths of flowers throughout the palace and held a grand banquet for a full week starting from the day the Prince returned. Night after night, nobles and royals gathered at the palace, and the days of praising and honoring the Prince continued for seven days.

And then came the seventh day, the final day of the banquet.

Rewards from the King were bestowed upon those who had made great contributions to this endeavor.

Sitting in the very center of the innermost part of the banquet hall with a deeply satisfied and proud expression, the King called out the first name. Naturally, it was the Prince himself.

“Come closer, my son.”

The Prince was already seated closest to the King, but because the table was so vast, there was still some distance between them. As the King gestured for him to close even that gap, the Prince stood without a word and approached his father.

“What reward would be fitting to bestow upon the Prince, who has accomplished such a monumental task for our royal family and our nation?”

“I am deeply honored. Your words of praise are grace enough; I desire nothing more.”

The Prince replied calmly. The King nodded with a benevolent smile and spoke solemnly.

“Under the grace of the gods, I bless you: you shall come to possess everything you desire in this land.”

“Your Majesty’s grace is immeasurable.”

Fiefdoms, titles, wealth, and glory—the Prince already possessed them all. No matter what physical reward was granted, it would only seem shallow in comparison to his great deed. Therefore, the blessing that he would one day inherit everything was the most fitting and magnificent reward for him.

The Prince took the seat beside the King as directed, and Isaac stood by the pillar behind him, watching the Prince. Normally, when a master changes seats, his escort moves to stand directly behind him. However, no one other than the King’s personal Royal Guard was allowed to stand behind the King. Thus, Isaac simply took one step to the side from where he originally stood.

Until now, he had only been looking at the Prince’s back, but from this angle, he could see the Prince’s side profile. Isaac thought to himself that this was actually quite nice.

He already knew the Prince was handsome, but seeing his distinct features illuminated under the brilliant lights of the grand banquet hall made him look even more beautiful. The flawless shadows cast across his face made him look exactly like a masterpiece of a sculpture.

He really is handsome. Most members of the royal family are considered beauties, but sitting next to him, they all fade into the background. Even the Grand Duke, who was famous for being a top-tier beauty in his youth, couldn’t hold a candle to him……

Just as Isaac was thinking this, he made direct eye contact with the Grand Duke, who turned his head toward Isaac as if he had heard his thoughts. Isaac quickly hid his panic and looked away, pretending nothing happened. The Grand Duke, furrowing his brow slightly as he stared at Isaac, eventually turned his head back.

Normally, Isaac should have been sent straight to prison upon returning to the capital, facing charges of treason and desertion from the Grand Duke’s territory, along with being a suspect in Lord Leon’s assassination. In fact, the moment Isaac had returned and unpacked his belongings in the annex of the Blue Shadow Palace, investigators sent by the Grand Duke had stormed in. However, as they were dragging Isaac out, they ran into the Prince in front of the annex, and the investigators were forced to return empty-handed. Whatever secret conversation took place between the Prince and the Grand Duke afterward remained unknown, but the Grand Duke never came looking for Isaac again.

Isaac guessed that the matter was settled with the Prince handing over a piece of territory that the Grand Duke had long been eyeing. Originally, the Grand Duke might have harbored far more greed, but after hearing how the Prince had practically flipped the capital upside down and ruthlessly purged the Roberni faction right before this, it seemed the Grand Duke had decided to back off.

It was a safe assumption; the Prince had been audacious enough to summon border soldiers and sweep away the Roberni faction in one fell swoop. Given his already infamous temperament, the Grand Duke likely judged that there was no telling what the Prince might do if provoked.

“……”

In truth, since everyone knew who really killed Lord Leon and Isaac had been unavoidably framed, there was no reason for him to feel guilty toward the Grand Duke. ‘Still, whenever we suddenly make eye contact like that, my heart can’t help but skip a beat……’ thought Isaac, as he desperately avoided the Grand Duke’s gaze.

The next person he made eye contact with was a Royal Guardsman standing by the opposite pillar, gripping a spear. And the moment the guard’s eyes met Isaac’s, he flinched and immediately averted his gaze, as if he had just seen a disgusting bug. Watching him, Isaac bitterly closed his mouth.

It was Hoden. A colleague who had shared a room with Isaac, a friend he had spent a long time with in the Royal Guard. Just two or three months ago, right before Isaac left for Heilen, they had shared drinks and giggled over casual jokes.

But now, Hoden and the other colleagues who had been at those drinking sessions, were all showing similar reactions. Without fail, whenever they made eye contact with Isaac, they awkwardly looked away. Even when passing by, they didn’t offer a greeting, and if Isaac greeted them first, they merely cast an uncomfortable glance and walked right past. Some even openly glared at him with blatant displeasure or offense.

Only a few, like Simon or Brick, who Isaac had once thought felt almost like actual brothers, managed a brief greeting, but that was it. Even they didn’t want to speak with Isaac for long.

It was all because the rumor that Isaac was a witch had reached the capital.

‘He was a witch all along, completely deceiving us. He was probably sucking our vitality or summoning bad luck without us even knowing. Come to think of it, whenever there were fights or accidents in the unit, who knows if that witch was behind them.’

Even knowing full well that Isaac was sitting not far away, one of his former Guard colleagues had harshly spat out those very words. Hearing it clearly, Isaac understood why they shunned him.

He thought it made sense.

Wasn’t that exactly why, despite spending all that time in the Royal Guard, he had never told anyone he was a half-witch? It was a rare human indeed who would gladly tolerate and accept the fact that someone they knew was actually a witch.……However.

“——.”

Picking up a pebble the size of a fingernail rolling on the stone floor, Isaac flicked it fiercely toward the opposite side. It flew and struck dead center on the temple of Hoden, who was still avoiding his gaze.

It wasn’t enough to draw blood, but it definitely hit hard enough to leave a bruise. Hoden grabbed his temple and let out a small yelp, “ACK!” A few people turned to look with strange expressions, but thankfully, the sound wasn’t too loud.

Eyes wide, Hoden checked what had hit him, and then his gaze followed the trajectory of the stone—landing on Isaac. The moment their eyes met, Isaac glared at him fiercely and mouthed the words.

‘You bastard. Even so, you’re getting married and didn’t say a single word to me?’

Hoden must have read the shape of his lips moving precisely, syllable by syllable. As Hoden stared back, his eyebrows twitching in flustered surprise, Isaac mouthed again.

‘It’s late, but congratulations on your marriage, you bastard.’

That was the end of it. Isaac turned his gaze away, and shortly after, Hoden, who had been watching Isaac with a complicated look, also quietly turned his head.

That was enough. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t sad or bitter about his former colleagues suddenly acting so distant, but if this was how it was, there was nothing he could do.

Regardless, Isaac had delivered the message he wanted to convey. To an old friend who had gotten married while Isaac was away from the capital.

Even to the other colleagues he had once been close with, Isaac would steadfastly mutter, “At least say hello, man,” handing out scoldings every time they passed by and steadily ignored him. He only received scowls in return, with no verbal replies, but that was fine. For now, it was enough that he got to say what he wanted to say.

“I’ll be leaving soon anyway, so……”

Isaac mumbled to himself. A sigh unexpectedly rose, and he quietly let it out.

The capital, which had welcomed the Prince with massive celebrations and fierce cheers, had become an unbearably harsh place for Isaac. To them, Isaac had transformed into a witch, but for Isaac, everything in his world had transformed. He would have preferred it if complete strangers looked at him weirdly and avoided him; having people he had known affectionately for a long time coldly distance themselves was truly a miserable experience. He had braced himself for it, but he hadn’t expected it to drain his spirit and sap his energy quite this much.

“They’re certainly helping me cut off all lingering attachments to the human world before the Great New Moon.”

Isaac muttered alone and took a deep breath.

There was only a little over a fortnight left until the Great New Moon. The nightmarish evening at the witches’ Great Banquet felt like just yesterday, but time was flying like an arrow.

‘Will time flow this quickly when I cross over to the other side? I hope it does. So I can quickly forget these sad and regrettable memories.’

……No, but part of me doesn’t want to forget, either.

Just as Isaac was thinking this and looking at the Prince; the Prince, who had been sitting with his usual languid, bored expression despite the banquet being in his honor, suddenly turned his head toward Isaac. Their eyes met.

Isaac, who had been staring blankly, flinched and reflexively looked away—before quickly looking back at the Prince. He noticed the Prince almost raising an eyebrow, and Isaac secretly breathed a sigh of relief. There had already been several occasions where he unconsciously looked away upon making eye contact, only to be harshly interrogated by the Prince later. Especially now, since the Prince wasn’t in a particularly good mood, Isaac knew he had to be careful.

The Prince had been in a foul mood lately. To be precise, it had been this way ever since the day of the massive witch purge, but Isaac had no idea why.

The witches had been completely wiped out just as the Prince had long desired, the aftermath was being handled smoothly, and the people who used to whisper insults about the Prince in the shadows had entirely vanished. Despite all this, the Prince’s mood had remained consistently bad from the moment they left Heilen until they arrived here in the capital.

‘……Is there something bothering you?’

Isaac had been the first to ask him that.

It was a few days before they left Heilen, during a dinner with several top-ranking border officers, amidst the busy days of cleaning up after the witch hunt.

As they all ate together with the Prince, who was always expressionless and spoke little, making it hard to tell if he was in a good or bad mood, Isaac kept tilting his head as he watched him. He seems to be in a strangely bad mood, Isaac thought, before abruptly blurting out the question.

For a moment, the dinner table fell silent. The men glanced at Isaac, then at the Prince. The Prince slowly set down the glass of water he had been drinking, his eyes fixed silently on Isaac. After a brief silence, Rihan looked at the Prince’s face, which looked no different than usual, and spoke up.

‘Everything is proceeding flawlessly, what could possibly…..?’

Hearing the words tossed between Isaac and the Prince, Isaac, somewhat flustered for having spoken so abruptly, answered.

‘No…… it’s just that you were drinking your water much slower than usual… You tend to do that when you’re not in a good mood, Your Highness.’

‘And you sprinkled a tiny bit more salt on your food today, and your movements while eating are just slightly slower than usual,’ Isaac mumbled, adding to his explanation. Rihan raised his eyebrows. He glanced at the Prince as if this was something he had never even considered. The other men did the same. Then,

‘I didn’t think he was drinking slower than usual……’

‘Sometimes you just drink slowly while eating, do you have to scrutinize every little thing?’

‘Your Highness, is there something weighing on your mind?’

While the men spoke in tones of surprise, Rihan asked the Prince as if to confirm. Slowly stroking the glass he had set down, the Prince, who had been staring intently at Isaac, finally opened his mouth.

‘I was not aware of it myself.’

‘See? I told you it was nothing,’ the men immediately waved their hands and brushed it off as soon as the Prince answered. Isaac just tilted his head and scratched his neck.

Was it just my imagination? To be fair, having followed closely behind the Prince and observed the progress of their affairs, everything was being handled exceptionally well. There was no reason for the Prince to be in a bad mood. Furthermore, even if there was a reason, he was fundamentally a man with almost no emotional fluctuations. If something displeased him, he would simply eliminate it and be done with it.

‘Ah well, I must have been mistaken. As long as he’s not in a bad mood, that’s all that matters.’ Isaac had thought, ready to drop the matter……

『But why is Mr. Moisture constantly angry these days?』

From the head of the bed, where Isaac was buried deep in the mattress, sprawling like a corpse, a cat suddenly spoke up while watching the Prince’s back as he walked toward the bathroom.

It felt like they had started quite late in the evening, yet dawn was already breaking again…… Exhausted to the point where he didn’t even want to think, Isaac, who had been staring blankly out the window, only shifted his eyes to look at the cat pressing firmly on his cheek with its front paws.

‘Why is he angry……’

As Isaac barely mumbled the words in a heavily hoarse voice, the cat sitting at his feet chimed in. 『He’s angry, you know?』 The cat sitting on the chair cushion added, 『He’s mad, right? Why is he mad?』

『That bad-mood aura has been creeping out of him for days now. What’s wrong with him? Did you hit him?』

‘……If I hit him, do you think I’d still be alive right now……’

Isaac tossed his exhausted, corpse-like body over. Lying on his side and raising only his upper body, Isaac pushed his face toward the cat at the head of the bed.

‘But he really is in a bad mood, right?’

『Yeah. Super bad. Unbelievably bad.』

Right. He knew it. Isaac stared intently into the cat’s black eyes before collapsing back onto the bed.

He had felt it for days now. It wasn’t overtly obvious, but his eyes were noticeably colder, and his expression was icy. He only spoke the bare minimum words required. Because of this, when Isaac subtly mentioned it to Rihan, Rihan had observed the Prince carefully for a long time, looking deeply troubled, before finally saying, ‘I don’t really see it. He’s always been like this.’

If Rihan, who had served by the Prince’s side at the border for a long time, said that, then maybe it really was just his imagination. But just as Isaac was tilting his head in doubt, the Prince, without even looking up from his book, had spoken coldly: ‘Witch. Don’t dawdle and keep your place. Rihan, go out and see to your work.’ That was when Isaac was completely certain. Rihan quickly composed himself and left, and Isaac stepped back to stand exactly three paces behind the Prince, solidifying his thought: He definitely is in a bad mood. Usually, when the Prince was reading, he wouldn’t even care if the people around him spent the whole day doing nothing until he closed the final page. Let alone when Isaac was just chatting quietly.

Lately, though, it felt like Isaac would receive a freezing glare just for standing four steps behind the Prince instead of three…… No, wait, it’s just a nominal guard duty anyway, what’s the difference between three steps and four?

And it was the same at night.

After numerous nights passing this way, Isaac had developed a certain knack for it. After doing it again and again, when the hour grew late, Isaac would cling tightly to the Prince’s body, his face drenched in sweat and tears, looking as if he were dying. He would cry and whisper, begging him to spare him, saying he felt like he was going to die. If he repeatedly kissed the Prince’s cheeks or lips while pleading, the Prince would usually wrap up the night’s activities.

However, recently, despite being swamped with work all day, this man – whose stamina was truly monstrous – insisted on sharing his vitality with Isaac every night. He would hold onto Isaac until very late – or rather, very early in the morning – and now, no matter how much Isaac begged for his life or pleaded while kissing him, the Prince wouldn’t even pretend to listen. As if there wasn’t an ounce of compassion left in him, there were many days where the Prince pushed him ruthlessly until Isaac genuinely passed out, refusing to pull away from his body.

Tonight, he had somehow managed to endure without passing out, but……

‘Is he mad at me……?’

『Did you hit him?』

『He hit him, he hit him. Look at him, Mr. Moisture’s mad because he got hit by Manbang-ie.』

‘I told you I didn’t hit him! If anyone got hit, it’d be me getting hit by him!’

Isaac suddenly sat up, shouting in a low burst at the gossiping cats. But his lower back throbbed so painfully it felt like it might snap, and with an “Ugh,” he collapsed back down.

At that moment, the Prince emerged from the bathroom. Glancing briefly at Isaac and the three cats, the Prince tossed the towel he had been using to dry his wet hair and walked toward the table.

‘You little black witches. Be grateful your lives are spared, and stay quiet and behave until you return to your land on the Great New Moon.’

The Prince spoke as he poured a drink into a glass. The cats, blinking their round eyes, made a fuss: 『WHAT DID WE DO? WHAT DID WE DO?』, 『HIT HIM! LET MR. MOISTURE TAKE A HIT!』 But the moment the Prince turned around with his glass, they fell silent in an instant.

Leaning against the headboard, Isaac moistened his throat with a drink and stared blankly back at the Prince, who was watching him. ‘What should I do?’ he thought, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck before asking:

‘Why are you in a bad mood?’

The Prince raised an eyebrow. It looked as if he was asking back, ‘Me?’

‘You seem to be in a bad mood.’

Isaac carefully observed the Prince. Wiping his body roughly with a towel right after getting out of the water; swirling his glass slowly; his head tilting ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly, to the left when looking at someone. These were all things the Prince did when his mood was foul. Aside from those, there were various other subtle signs.

Staring intently at Isaac as he listed these observations, the Prince suddenly turned his head away for a brief moment…… ‘I think he’s slightly annoyed right now because I hit the nail on the head.’

‘You seem to know habits of mine that even I am unaware of.’

The Prince’s voice had sunk even lower. ‘Ah. This is a bit dangerous. I think he’s actually angry.’

‘Indeed, perhaps because you are a witch, you are quick-witted. There are times when it seems you know me better than I know myself. Even the parts I didn’t know.’

The Prince set his glass down and walked toward Isaac. With water droplets still falling from his hair, the heavy sound of his approaching footsteps felt threatening.

‘Yes, as you say, I have not been in a good mood lately. Why don’t you try and guess the reason? I don’t even know myself, so I’ve been constantly thinking about it.’

‘——.’

‘Everything is proceeding flawlessly. The outline for how to handle future matters is already established. Except for one thing.’

The Prince stopped in front of Isaac. Sitting on the bed, Isaac looked up at the Prince, who was staring down at him intensely. The Prince’s eyes, which had been lost in thought as they scrutinized every detail of Isaac’s face, suddenly narrowed faintly. 

‘Yes, since you seem to know me so well, tell me. What do you think I will do with you?’

The low voice was rough. The thought briefly crossed Isaac’s mind that perhaps this was part of the reason why the Prince’s mood had been so foul all along.

Staring at the Prince, Isaac lowered his gaze.

‘What to do with me. Now that the witch hunt was over, what would he do with Isaac, one of the very few witches remaining?’

At first, he naturally thought the Prince would kill him once everything was over. However, it was now said that the few remaining witches, who could be counted on two hands, would all cross over to the Land of the Dark Moon and never return. With witches disappearing from the human world, the witch hunts had also ceased.

The Prince was not the type to go out of his way to hunt down and kill a mere handful of witches who were only hiding until the Great New Moon to leave anyway. But Isaac was a witch standing right in front of the Prince’s eyes. Would he kill this last witch? Or.

‘…… If you are going to let the last witches remaining in the human world cross over to the Land of the Dark Moon during this Great New Moon,’

When Isaac paused briefly mid-sentence, the Prince’s eyebrow twitched. It seemed he had already figured out what Isaac was going to say next.

‘…… Then couldn’t you just send me over to that side as well?’

Isaac finished his sentence and looked up at the Prince. The Prince was staring down at him, expressionless. Isaac couldn’t tell what the Prince was thinking as he bored into him with a gaze completely devoid of emotion. Only the cats nearby suddenly puffed up the fur on their backs and scrambled off the bed in a flash.

‘Go to the land of witches…..?’

‘…….Because I cannot become a human.’

Isaac muttered like a sigh.

He had wanted to become a human. Not a half-blood, not a pureblood witch, but a complete human. But now, that was impossible. If so, to break the curse on the royal family, he had no choice but to leave this place.

After letting out a quiet sigh directed at his feet, Isaac raised his eyes—but then flinched mid-motion. The Prince was glaring at him. With a gaze so freezing it felt like it could stop a heart.

‘……No, well…… if you absolutely must kill me……’

Frozen under that terrifying stare, Isaac unconsciously shrank back a step. The words, ‘Then kill me,’ couldn’t quite leave his mouth, causing him to mumble and trail off.

At that moment, the Prince reached out. His hand roughly grabbed the back of Isaac’s neck. Wincing at the pain and furrowing his brow, Isaac stopped breathing as the Prince shoved his face right in front of his.

‘If I absolutely must kill you…..?’

‘——.’

‘Then you’d run away. To the Land of the Dark Moon.’

Whispering as if spitting the words out, knowing full well this wasn’t a man who would simply agree to die quietly, the Prince’s lips twisted. His strong hand pulled Isaac even closer.

‘Whichever it is—whether I decide to kill you, or not,’ The Prince murmured lowly. ‘It will not go the way you want it to.’

The Prince growled roughly, like a beast enraged to the top of its head. At the same time, the Prince bit down on Isaac’s lips and pressed his body over his. The cool body, fresh from the cold water, instantly grew swelteringly hot, and the night that Isaac thought was surely over began anew. Far rougher and more merciless than before.

Tormented beneath the Prince once again until dawn broke, Isaac realized something profoundly and anew. The obvious fact that when the Prince looked to be in a bad mood, one had to be extremely careful with every single word.

“…… So, in other words, why on earth has his mood been so bad all this time…… I just…….”

Isaac sighed and muttered to himself. The Prince, who had been watching Isaac with consistently cold, sunken eyes, finally withdrew his gaze and turned his head only when the King beside him initiated a conversation. But even as he spoke with the King – his own father – that chilling, expressionless mask never left the Prince’s face.

Even if it’s his nature to be expressionless, it would be nice if his mood improved a little.

Isaac looked gloomily at the Prince, who hadn’t changed from that state since returning to the capital from Heilen.

Only a fortnight remained until the Great New Moon. As long as the Prince didn’t strike his neck before then, Isaac intended to board the Crescent Moon-Silver Boat, and he absolutely had to. That meant there were only 15 days left to see him.

‘I wanted to spend this remaining fortnight comfortably and on good terms with him.’

If the final memories he left behind were only of him looking constantly displeased, Isaac felt his steps away from here would be incredibly heavy.

Just as Isaac exhaled a breath as heavy as those steps would be……

“Very well. Then I must personally reward the guardsman who assisted Kyan and rendered great service in this matter. Where is he?”

The King, having finished a brief conversation with the Prince, looked around the hall and spoke.

At the banquet, rewards were being distributed to those who had contributed to the witch hunt in Heilen. A few individuals who had made particularly significant contributions, such as Rihan, had already received massive monetary rewards and status elevations, and had stepped aside. Now, as the reward ceremony was gradually drawing to a close, the King had brought up that guardsman.

At first, Isaac didn’t even realize the King was talking about him. He was merely lost in the piercing blue eyes of the Prince, whose gaze was fixed on him. They truly are a beautiful color, no matter how many times I look at them. He is such a beautiful person, Isaac was idly thinking.

“Isaac.”

The Prince called his name. Startled as to why the Prince would suddenly call his name in a place like this, Isaac then realized the eyes of the room were gathering on him and quickly looked around. And then—he grasped the situation.

“Ah, yes, there you are. Splendid. Come closer.”

As Isaac dazedly took a step forward; the King, following the crowd’s gaze to find Isaac, smiled benevolently and waved his hand. As the people parted to clear a path, Isaac walked forward and knelt bewilderedly before the King.

A reward from the King.

He understood it in his head, but it didn’t feel real. It was hard to believe that he, a mere rank-and-file guard, was directly receiving a reward from the King, right in the center of this dazzling banquet.

Yet, even amidst this, what made him realize this wasn’t a dream were the faint whispers echoing around him: “They say he’s a witch……”, “That’s the one.” The curiosity and hostility in the gazes piercing his body dragged Isaac back to reality.

“I am told you were of great assistance in helping Kyan accomplish this task. I wish to bestow upon you a reward to honor your efforts. What is it that you desire?”

The King’s voice rang out from above.

This was the moment he had so desperately waited for. The moment to finally obtain what he had agonized over for so long to possess. Suddenly, his heart pounded violently.

Perhaps because of that, his throat felt blocked; the words simply would not come out. Perhaps his nervousness was blatantly obvious, for he saw the Queen, seated beside the King, quietly turn her head and share a smile with the Princess.

His face grew hot, but unable to even fan himself under the weight of countless stares, Isaac broke into a cold sweat and struggled to speak. It was incredibly flustering that the words just wouldn’t form.

“Since long ago, he has been intensely curious about Your Majesty’s royal treasury.”

At that moment, the Prince spoke. The eyes of the room shifted to the Prince, and the King looked at him in surprise. Blinking as if trying to remember a time when the Prince had ever spoken on someone else’s behalf.

“He once told me that he would love to see the countless treasures housed there, and if possible, to possess just one of them.”

Isaac looked at the Prince, who was casting a glance at him. The Prince closed his mouth as if that was all he had to say, and the King, who had been nodding as he listened to the Prince’s words, turned his gaze back to Isaac. He smiled kindly and nodded his head.

“Will that suffice? Very well. Let us see what it is you covet. It will be a good excuse for me to tour the treasury for the first time in a long while.”