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nwoof! woof!

n“Ahhhh!”

nBlin jumped up and biting the maid’s arm with its sharp teeth.

n“Blin!”

nBlin put the sleeve of the maid and ran after Theor.

nTheor ran away.

nBehind him, he heard the maid screaming, but he ran without looking back.

nHe ran frantically along the winding stone path of the garden.

nHe didn’t even know where he was going.

nAll he had to do was run away and hide.

nTheor ran for a long time.

nAt first, he was in front and Blin followed, but at some point, Blin ran ahead, and Theor himself was following Blin.

nAfter running for a while, Blin stopped.

nTheor who ran out of breath also paused for a moment.

n“Blin… huff… huff… are you looking for flowers?”

nThe place where Blin stopped was a flower bed where yellow flowers grew tall.

nA place where tall yellow petals line up like waves.

nIt was a flower bed of Tokar.

nBlin tried to enter the flower bed.

n“Blin, don’t!”

nTheor grabbed Blin’s neck with both arms and prevented it from entering the flower bed.

n“Theor?”

nA familiar voice came from behind.

nKaizen was standing at the entrance of the road leading to the flower bed.

n“Your Majesty!”

nTheor ran and hung on Kaizen’s legs.

n“Theor?”

nKaizen was on the way to the annex to meet Astelle.

nHe hasn’t seen Astelle for a few days since he last visited.

nWhile he was contemplating whether he should visit her, he got an answer from Astelle.

nShe said thank you for sending the dresses and jewelry.

nAstelle apologized that she was late to thank him because she was too busy organizing the gift he had sent.

nKaizen received the letter and plucked up his courage, so he headed to the annex to meet Astelle.

nWhen he walking towards the annex, he saw a child running around.

nTheor was the only child to run around here like that.

nTheor, who had been running for a while, broke the road toward the flower bed.

nSo Kaizen also came to the flower bed.

nKaizen looked down at Theor’s frightened face, then asked.

n“Why are you here alone?”

nAstelle never left Theor alone.

nShe always had a maid by his side to keep an eye on him.

nAlthough she was asking the maid to keep an eye on Theor in case something went wrong or an accident, in Kaizen’s point of view, she protected Theor so thoroughly.

nBut now, Theor hugged Kaizen’s legs.

nHis little face was wet with sweat and tears.

n“I was in the garden, and the maid tried to catch me.”

n“Catch what?”

n“She tried to get me!”

nTheor explained to Kaizen what had just happened.

nThe words of a five-year-old child were a bit confusing, but Theor did a good job of explaining it for his age.

nHe went into detail without omitting key points.

nKaizen quickly grasped the situation.

nHe was playing in the garden, and the maid who cared for him had disappeared, and then a strange maid appeared to catch him, then he had run away.

n“Have you really never seen that maid before?”

nKaizen asked if it was possible that she was the maid whom Astelle had sent to bring Theor, but he wondered if Theor had misunderstood and he had run away, so he asked to confirm.

nTheor answered with all his heart.

n“Really! It’s the first time I’ve seen her.”

n“……”

nIf this was real, it was serious.

nHow dare you try to kidnap a child from the palace where the emperor is staying?

n‘Why are you trying to take this little boy?’

nKaizen looked down at Theor.

nTheor was trembling with fear.

n“Theor.”

nKaizen gently held the shuddering little child.

n“It’s fine now. Do not worry.”

nTheor looked up at Kaizen, crying, and buried his face in his arms.

nThe child’s body was small and fragile.

nKaizen patted Theor’s back with his clumsy hand as he walked slowly.

nA small sniff could be heard in his arms. Kaizen patted Theor on the back, comforting him tenderly.

n“It’s okay. Nothing to be afraid of. With me, no one can catch you.”

nHis body, which had been trembling, gradually found stability.

nKaizen brought up another topic to distract him

n“When I go to the capital, I will go to the zoo and show you a real live bear.”

n“Really?”

nTheor raised his face at the word bear.

n“Yeah. Let’s go to the park in the square and buy some toys in the shopping mall.”

nAlthough he had never raised children, he worked hard to come up with things that children would love.

nHe’ll have to get his attention on anything so he’ll break free from his fears.

n“Go to a place that sells sweets, buy candy canes, and see a play at the theater…”

nTheor asked in surprise.

n“A play? Does anyone in the capital do plays?”

n“Yeah, there are several theaters. Do you like a play?”

nTheor recalled a play he had seen with Astelle a few months ago.

nWhen a traveling troupe came to the village where they lived, Astelle took Theor to see a play every day.

nTheor fell in love with the first play he had ever seen.

nAfter the play, Astelle asked the head of the troupe to take Theor backstage.

nWhen he entered the preparation room made by pitching a tent, the actors were dressing up and changing clothes.

nTheor was a little shocked to learn that the prince and princess he saw on stage were actually fakes made by actors.

nBut after hearing his mother’s explanation, Theor quickly understood what a play was.

nThe two went to the theater a few more times after that.

nTheor became very fond of theater.

n“Yes! I like plays. It’s fun.”

n“If you want, I will show you a performance in the Grand Theater.”

n“What is a grand theater?”

n“It’s a big theater in the capital.”

nTheor listened to Kaizen and nodded his head.

nAfter seeing an actual play, he played a play with his mother at home.

nHe initially did simple fairy tales and later began practicing other plays.

nIt was a play in which his mother becomes Aunt Astelle.

nTheor was realizing that he shouldn’t call his mother in front of others.

nHis mother said it was all just a play, but it was clear to him that she had some other reason for doing this play.

n“Our Theor is so clever.”

nWith that thought, his grandfather just smiled sadly and stroked Theor’s head.

n“Okay. This is very important. So you should listen carefully to what your mother has to say.”

n“Yes, Grandpa.”

nTheor no longer had any doubts and practiced the play diligently.

nAs his mother told him, he called her Aunt Astelle.

n“I think we’ve arrived.”

nThey’ve arrived at the annex.

nKaizen took Theor down.

n“Don’t tell your aunt what you said to me.”

nAstelle didn’t want to stay long in the capital.

nEven when Kaizen advised that this child be raised in the capital, she flatly refused.

nShe would be more worried if she knew what happened to Theor.

n“Then it’s a secret?”

n“Do you know what the secret is?”

n“Yes. I know.”

n“Really?”

nTheor answered in a witty voice.

n“Mhm. The secret is that you shouldn’t tell anyone.”

nTheor recalled a memory his grandfather once told him of the secret.

n“A secret should never be told to other people. If someone tells you it’s a secret, no matter what, you shouldn’t tell anyone else, got it?”

n“Yes, Grandpa.”

nSince then, Theor has not told anyone that Astelle is his mother.

nBecause a secret is something that must to be hidden.

nJust like he has to hide his eye color in front of others.

nA satisfied smile appeared on Kaizen’s lips.

nHe ruffled Theor’s fine hair with his hands.

n“Cute boy.”

n***

nHannah was cleaning the room after helping Astelle with the dress she was going to wear to the ball.

nTheor hasn’t come back yet, even though she had put all the clothes boxes in order and finished cleaning them.

n“Theor is late.”

nAstelle murmured anxiously.

nHannah got up.

n“I will send the maid to bring Young Master.”

n“Okay.”

nThen one of the maids rushed to her.

nShe was the maid who accompanied Theor to look after him.

n“Lady!”

nThe maid came inside and she begged Astelle for her forgiveness.

n“I’m sorry, the Young Master has disappeared.”

nIt felt like her heart was sinking at that single word.

n“What?”

n“I heard a voice calling me, so I went there for a while… in the meantime, the Young Master suddenly disappeared. Forgive me, Lady.”

n“Who called you?”

nThe maid replied with her face turned white.

n“That… I don’t know. I chased after him and there was no one there…”

nThe maid, who was taking care of Theor, heard a strange voice and left him, and then Theor disappeared.

nThere was something wrong.

nAstelle turned to Hannah.

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