[IHTTMBW] Chapter 11

The only one with ulterior motives here is me.

That young tyrant seems like his heart is all fluffy now.

From what I’ve read briefly in the books, he became a tyrant because of the pain of betrayal.

Does this mean that nothing of the sort happened before he was ten?

As I contemplated this, I saw the pair of red eyes looking at me and nodded.

“Yeah, Myrthi knows how you feel. Hehe.”

Then I squeezed his hand.

Euphil’s face turned slightly red at my words, just like a child his age would. That was adorable.

I felt a lump in my throat.

Since I woke up from my sleep, I haven’t felt let down spending time with him.

That is until this moment, which I described as a walk, when he declared he was sending me back. It was a very itchy feeling.

He escorted me past the ranunculus flowers in the garden with the white wooden chair. No matter how many times I come here, I cannot seem to memorise the way when I’m with him. It was probably because he walked in a straight line, taking excessively simple routes.

“Now go.”

“Okay!”

Once we parted like that, I would stand there and wave my hands at Euphil’s back. Even if he didn’t look back for a long time, he would look back at least once with a frown, urging me to go home.

‘Isn’t he pretty considerate?’

As I thought to myself, I couldn’t help but wonder again today how that ten-year-old boy would turn into a tyrant.

A somewhat grumpy but kind ten-year-old boy.

Something that will turn him into a tyrant. Why is that boy trying so hard to act so mature?

Mulling over these thoughts, I returned to my palace again and nodded off to sleep in bed.

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The palace of Prince Euphil was one of three palaces in the royal palace, each belonging to a prince or Princess.

Above Euphil was the eldest prince, and below him was a princess—in other words, me.

There used to be another grown princess, but she married an aristocrat and left the palace long ago. Let’s say she’s living my ideal life.

But Euphil wipes out the entire family, including the Princess who had left the palace. I’m going to have to cancel what I said about her life being my ideal life.

I guess the only way is to coax young Euphil into growing up as his younger sister and then running away.

His palace was well managed if my palace could be described as something between a maze and a forest.

Water flowed from the harp held by a muse whose hair had been plated gold. The garden tree had been trimmed into the shape of an instrument—the scenery in which no weeds could be spotted anywhere.

On the other hand, my palace?

I can have so much fun and stay fit playing ‘jump over the weed.’

So nice.

That’s probably why quite a few people were visiting his palace.

“Don’t worry. No one is paying attention to you.”

I stuck close to him, holding his hand tight out of my nervousness about the strangers.

That’s how he tried to comfort me. I guess it is better than nothing.

“Myrthi…… has a lot of friends.”

“Really, who?”

“Euphil, Valk, and Puffy.”

“Valk? Who’s Puffy?”

“Puffy’s my teddy bear. Valk is someone I don’t know.”

How would I describe the guard captain? I ended up writing Valk, who brings me lots of firewood, as someone I didn’t know. If he disagrees with my description, he can show up in front of me with firewood right now.

After that, Valk still brought me a lot of firewood but didn’t come to see me; perhaps his conscience wouldn’t let him. Instead, raspberry pies were occasionally sent in, but Ante had been eating all of those.

Damn it.

“How can your friend be someone you don’t……”

As he was about to refute me, he froze up. His eyes were fixated in a single direction.

‘What is it?’

I drew close to his face and followed his sight to find a group of men. Judging from their fine clothing, they seemed to be nobles.

“Valk? Misters?”

The word mister unfroze his body, and he let out a snicker. He seemed to find my words funny.

Soon, his red eyes had sunk deep. I did not know what it was that was swaying inside his eyes.

He told me in a hushed voice who the people were.

“The Duke, Premier, Minister of Military, who is also the queen’s younger brother.”

“Yeah?”

“And……”

“And?”

“The King.”

My body also froze up upon hearing his words.

The mister with the most majestic clothing looked toward us with eyes as cold as ice.

Euphil let out a calm laugh. It was such a cold laugh in a voice that I had never heard from him since I had met him that I felt a chill going through my bones.

“Yes, it’s the person who abandoned us.”

That was the first time I had seen my father.

A solemn man with glistening silver hair and green eyes.

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