A girl approached Alecto, who had grown up suffering from emotional deficiency. At first, Alecto thought she was an angel because she was fair and pretty.
The fact that she was clumsy and ignorant also played a part in the suspicion. For angels living in the sky, the ground must be a strange place.
However, when he looked closely, she was wearing a lower maidās uniform and had no wings behind her. Above all, the temperature of the hand holding his hand and leading him was warm.
Perhaps she thought he was a noble child who came to visit the Imperial Palace to play, and she offered a gentle guide.
If she was an angel, he would ask her to take him to heaven as it was. Heaven was warm and cozy, so it was said that you will be happy to live there.
However, Alecto held her hand silently because he also liked her leading him to the exit from the imperial garden.
Alecto pretended to be a noble child and kept hanging out with her. For the first time, he skipped class and went around the imperial palace. Her name was Helena. The child called him Alec. She was the nannyās daughter. She was certainly far from being polite, but that was better.
Helena was the only one who saw Alecto as Alecto, Alecto deceived her that he wasnāt the crown prince, but that was a secondary problem. Either way, to a low-ranking maid, he was a high-ranking person who, whether as a prince or a child of a noble family, could not be approached the same.
Gradually, Alecto began to rely emotionally on Helena, He always thought of Helena. He liked the child.
The way she smiled was pretty, bright, innocent and lovely. Even if she was clumsy, she always tried. He always wanted to be with her because he was comfortable with her.
Alecto didnāt know the name of the emotion yet.
ā Yo, Your Highness, Princeā¦ā¦. Iāve been rude. Fo, forgive me.
However, one day, when he saw Helena, who hesitated to speak to āHis Highness the Crown Princeā, and looked at him as if she had been scolded, he thought he didnāt want to be distant. He didnāt want to meet her as the crown prince and a maid.
ā Donāt call meā¦.. like that.
There were so many people who called him that way in this Imperial Palace, so he hoped that only a single person, the girl in front of him, would not. He just wanted to treat them as Helena and Alec. Alecto was terrified of losing his first warmth.
ā Donāt call me like thatā¦ please
Alecto begged for the first time in his life.
He didnāt even know how to kneel, so he just put his head on Helenaās shoulder and prayed in a small voice. As soon as she lowered her gaze, he could see Helena clenching and spreading her fist as if embarrassed.
She could have blamed him for being an immature baby.
It was okay to criticize him for not being like a crown prince. If he could just hold onto this childā¦ā¦.
Helena slowly lifted Alectoās head with warm hands She said affectionately, wiping away tears that he didnāt even know were flowing.
ā Then weā¦ Are we friends?
Friend. He remembered the son of the Duke of Kazar whom he met not too long ago. When he wanted to be close to his peers, he thought he called them similarly. If it could keep them together.
Alecto nodded. From that day on, Alecto and Helena became friends.
He was already tired of having to marry a small and young-looking child. If he had to get married, it would have been nice if the other person was Helena. Alecto clicked his tongue.
When Eris and the marquis reluctantly left the palace and returned, the nanny fidgeted as usual. When asked why, she poured out words as if she had waited. He could even see madness in her eyes.
The fact that the nanny was originally Madam Antebellum, and the former crown prince and the Antebellum family, who were trapped by the marquis scheme, were executed for treason.
Even the fact that the nanny, who had Helena in her stomach, was barely able to survive at the earnest request of his mother, who was the nannyās biological friend.
ā Itās the worldās most evil family, Your Highness!
When he learned the truth, he felt dizzy. The cold treatment of his mother and nanny, the neglect of his father, and the imperial palace people who were found to have a hard timeā¦..
Only then could he notice all the reasons. However, knowing and understanding were different issues. Alecto was not convinced.
ā Fatherā¦ No, Your Majesty whyā¦ā¦
The nanny couldnāt say anything and began to cry. Alecto rubbed his face with his hands. Suddenly, he thought of that. If it werenāt for the marquis, maybe it would have been Helena who entered the palace to become his fiance.
They might have been able to walk side by side for the rest of their life without lying to her from the beginning, perhaps not as a friend.
She was āHis Highnessā fianceā and so she exerted all kinds of prestige.
Rumors, rumors, rumors. Alecto was sick of the constantly heard gossip.
He heard that she appeared at Lady Morganās debutante ball with the same dress as hers because she ignored her. Furthermore, when he heard that she took away her partner and made him her partner, he was dumbfounded.
Alecto knew that it was one of the tricks she did to attract his attention. Thatās because she shamelessly talked about it in person at the meeting after the debutante ball.
ā What does that have to do with me?
He didnāt want to make Eris happy by being angry and jealous. Alecto deliberately pretended not to know more. He thought that even the face hiding disappointment was abominable.
Above all, what he couldnāt stand was the fact that Eris had secretly harassed his own person, Helena Helena was suffering alone without telling anyone because she was soft and good by nature, and he only noticed it after seeing the nail marks left on her body by chance.
Leaving Helena behind, he raised his voice as soon as Eris entered the palace. At first, Eris pretended to be innocent, but later went there and became nervous about whether he was angry.
ā She is a lowly person who cleans the palace, Your Highness! How can you do this to me?
ā How dare you call the crown princeās little sibling lowly? What are you! (QC/N: babies that grew up by being fed with the same adultās milk, but were born from different mothers ā not real siblings, but ābosomā/āmilkā siblings.)
ā Are you putting me on the same level as that?
ā What do you mean? Itās not even fair. (T/N: he is saying Eris isnāt even worth to be put in the same place as in Helena)
When a hint of hope came across Erisā face, anger flickered across. She was so young, but she was evil like her father, and there was no such thing as affection.
ā People like you canāt keep up with Helenaās toes.
Finally, her contorted little face was refreshing. He always wanted to see that expression. The dark, ugly bare face with the mask of smiling innocently removed.
The more Eris tried, the more Alecto cared about Helena. Helena had always made him comfortable.
Family, friends, loversā¦ā¦. Helena was a being who filled everything he lacked. There was nothing more he could wish for with Helenaā¦. he thought so.
On an early summer day when the sun was good, he thought it would be nice to sit in the back garden and enjoy refreshments with Helena, he had an attendant and called her.
The chief servant visited and talked to him, saying he should go to the empress.
His body stiffened. It had been a long time since his mother called for him.
He wiped off the sweat on his hands and entered the room.
Since he canāt hate your mother, sadness and anger are endlessly focused on āobjects you can hate.ā
He could see Eris curled up in a corner far away. Even though she tried not to make a sound because she was the child of a snake, she quickly raised her body and looked that way. The face of the child who recognized him gradually brightened.
The tears were removed, but the red nose and eyes were not hidden. However, Alecto pretended they werenāt necessarily real. Because it had nothing to do with him.
ā Are you here to see me off?
ā Hurry up and get out of the palace.
ā Iāll see you again as soon as possible. Someday, Your Highness will get attached to me.
When he heard that, he unintentionally spit out his sincerity. Some truth was colder and sharper than any other insult. Thatās what he said that day.
ā I wish you hadnāt been born.
The girlās pupils got bigger. As if she had heard something she shouldnāt have heard, she blinked cluelessly. Alecto knew he made a mistake, but he didnāt know how to apologize. No, he didnāt want to apologize. Finally, tears fell out of the girlās eyes again,
ā Iām sorry. Iām sorry. I should get going nowā¦..
Eris hurriedly left the place.
Alecto went back to the empress silently and reported the progress, and lied for the first time when she asked if Eris had cried. Somehow he felt like he had to
Eris soon returned to having a smiling face. Alecto thought he was tired of it, but on the other hand, he was relieved. From that afternoon, Alecto became increasingly insensitive to the mistreatment of Eris. But he thought it was okay.
Until one day when he was informed that she was unable to enter the Imperial Palace due to an accident.