TOPWL 139

“Hahaha!”

The emperor burst into laughter—a hearty, uninhibited sound that paid no mind to decorum. Yudit sensed immediately that he had given the right answer.

“You speak better than I expected, Prince. A pity this is our first private audience.”

“I am honored.”

“I did wonder how you managed to win over the Duke… Seems your tongue played its part.”

The emperor looked at Yudit with a pleased smile.

“Very well. Let Aldrich’s crimes be pardoned.”

“…Thank you.”

Yudit bowed deeply.

“No need for such formality,” the emperor said, waving his hand.

“Tell me, do you associate with any other princes?”

His tone was one of casual curiosity. Caught off guard, Yudit hesitated, unsure how to respond. The emperor, perhaps taking his silence for an answer, smiled with his eyes creased.

“It’s fine. Relationships take time. Write to Azil now and then—he gets lonely, what with no peers in the palace.”

Strictly speaking, Yudit was not Azil’s peer in age, but he bowed again, unwilling to offend the emperor.

“Yes, I shall do so.”

“Good. Next time, let’s have some tea…”

But before the emperor could finish his sentence, he broke into a sudden fit of coughing. An old attendant rushed forward with water and a handkerchief. The cough, once it began, would not cease easily.

After some time, the emperor regained his breath and waved a hand, signaling for Yudit to take his leave. Yudit bowed once more and exited the audience chamber.

The sun was already sinking low when he stepped outside. Narrowing his eyes, Yudit looked out the window. The palace corridors were bathed in orange light, but there was no warmth to be felt. The meeting had taken more out of him than he expected. The emperor had seemed to view him favorably… yet Yudit couldn’t tell what, exactly, had earned that favor, and that uncertainty exhausted him.

As he walked back, replaying the conversation in his mind, Yudit suddenly bumped into someone. The other person stumbled as if about to fall, and Yudit instinctively reached out and grabbed their wrist.

“Are you alrigh—”

The moment he recognized the face, all color drained from Yudit’s own. It was the last person he wanted to see.

Hiore Friedrich Adanauer.

He reeked of alcohol, his condition clearly less than sober even in broad daylight.

“Where do you keep your damned eyes—”

Hiore’s head lifted—and his words cut off as he saw Yudit. A crooked, dangerous smile spread across his lips.

“Well, look who it is. Prince Yudit, the one I nearly killed. You’ve even got guards with you now?”

Cold sweat ran down Yudit’s back.

Hiore was alone, and Yudit had two guards with him—but the memory of childhood always dragged him back to a time when he’d been completely alone.

Huyan and Shane stepped in front of Yudit protectively. Hiore snarled, and his pheromones lashed out like a whip.

“Wretched little mutts, daring to stand in my way.”

For all his deplorable character, Hiore’s pheromones was not to be taken lightly.

Still, his opponents were no ordinary men. Shane was a beta, and Huyan—a dominant alpha.

“Withdraw your pheromones,” Shane said calmly.

“And if I don’t?” Hiore sneered. “You’ll strike a royal? Where was all this barking when your master was dying?”

He was baiting them on purpose—but fortunately, both men had strong tempers.

Yudit, however, was faring worse by the second. Hiore’s aura had always been overwhelming, but after Yudit’s recent manifestation, it had become toxic. His carefully restrained pheromones began to react violently, trying to break free against the alpha pressure.

Breath ragged, Yudit staggered. His knees buckled, and Huyan moved swiftly to catch him.

“Your Highness!”

Yudit gasped and looked up at Hiore.

Hiore frowned, then tilted his head slightly.

“What’s this?”

In a flash, the oppressive aura surrounding Yudit vanished—Hiore had reined it back in.

He stepped closer and sniffed.

Yudit froze, like prey before a predator.

“…You’re different.”

Hiore tilted his head again, as if deep in thought. He seemed to have realized that something had changed—Yudit had manifested anew.

Huyan stepped forward, shielding Yudit as he met Hiore’s gaze head-on.

“You…”

Hiore’s brows drew together. He stared at Huyan for a moment, then finally spoke.

“What’s a Herut envoy doing here?”

“Our paths crossed, and I now serve alongside him. Might I ask you to let this matter rest, Your Highness? The prince is clearly unwell.”

Hiore looked between the two of them, biting his lip. Even in his drunken state, he seemed to weigh the consequences of his actions.

“Fine, fine. I’ll leave it.”

He stumbled back a step, and the bottle in his hand slipped, rolling away as it clattered across the floor.

Liquor spilled out, soaking the carpet.

“Ah… what a waste.”

Hiore said it, yet he made no move to cling to the bottle. Leaning against the wall, he looked down at Yuditand spoke.

“You make bonds everywhere you go. I’m jealous of that, Your Highness.”

His tone was laced with sarcasm. He kept his distance, speaking from a few steps away, but the tremor in Yudit’s body didn’t fade. The memories etched into his flesh wouldn’t disappear so easily. Yudittried to breathe deeply, to stay calm.

“Compared to that, I’ve got nothing. No parents. No brothers.”

Though it sounded like lamentation, there was still arrogance in the way he said it. Yudit bit down on his lip.

“So? Do you pity me enough to offer your friendship?”

Hiore tilted his head to peer at Yudit’s lowered face as he spoke. It was another attempt to provoke him. But Yudit met his gaze head-on. There was a fire in his eyes so intense that Hiore flinched without meaning to.

“I will never pity Your Highness.”

“…What?”

“And so, we will never be friends.”

Yudit glared at him as he said it. Hiore blinked, staring right back.

“What makes you say that so confidently?”

“Because pity… is something only the strong can offer the weak.”

Even admitting that much—that he was weak—made Yudit’s heart pound painfully in his chest. He had certainly grown stronger. He had people around him now. But not once had he thought himself above Hiore or Reginald. He still turned into the same miserable child in front of them.

“…Ha!”

At Yudit’s words, Hiore burst into laughter. Yudit thought it might be mockery, but it wasn’t. Hiore laughed so loud the corridor rang with it—like a madman. The sound reminded him of the emperor’s laughter from earlier.

“Well, I suppose there’s at least one brother in this world who doesn’t pity me.”

Yudit’s shoulders jerked at the word brother. It was the first time Hiore had ever called him that. One brother? What did he mean? Did he mean Reginald pitied him? The new implication tangled Yudit’s thoughts into knots.

But Hiore didn’t seem inclined to say more. He turned away and walked off, still laughing like someone unhinged. Yudit stood frozen, staring at his retreating figure down the corridor.

***

He had no idea how the journey had gone. Yudith has fallen asleep in the carriage, so deeply it was as though he’d lost consciousness. When he woke, his body was drenched in sweat. He figured he’d be suffering from sore muscles tomorrow.

“Your Highness, careful…”

As Yudit climbed down from the carriage, supported by Huyan’s hand, his knees gave way and he stumbled. Huyan tried to catch him, but didn’t have the strength—Yudit slipped from his grip. Just as he was about to fall, Shane caught him from behind.

“Are you all right?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine. Sorry.”

Yudit gave a sheepish nod. When they entered the inn, warm air rushed to greet them. People sat around drinking beer, their work for the day done, while Hess moved swiftly between tables. It was a scene Yudit has grown used to—and finally, the tension drained from his limbs.

“Shall I prepare dinner?”

“No. It’s fine today. I’ll just go up and rest.”

Yudit forced a smile and climbed the stairs. He turned the key in the door and found the room dark and empty.

He must’ve gone out at dawn and hasn’t come back yet.

Yudit looked around, but everything was perfectly tidy. The temptation to collapse into that made bed was overwhelming. His whole body felt heavy, like a sponge soaked in water. He stood for a moment, staring at the bed, then shut his eyes tight and stepped into the washroom.

***

Yudit dreamed—for the first time in a long while.

In the dream, his younger self was running through the palace halls, being chased by someone. Everything around him was bathed in red. He ran with everything he had, but the distance never widened. The long carpeted hall twisted like a living thing. The flapping folds of the carpet caught his feet, and he fell.

“Get him! That little rat!”

“I got him, I got him!”

“Hold him down!”

Someone pinned him down. He couldn’t breathe. His face, smeared with tears, snot, and spit, burned with heat. He knew if he cried, he’d be beaten worse, so he didn’t even dare sob. A crushing weight choked off his air. He couldn’t breathe.

I don’t want to die.
Yudit reached into the void—and someone took his hand.

“Yudit, are you okay?”

“…Khalid.”

When he opened his eyes, he saw Khalid’s face dimly lit by a flickering candle. Yudit wrapped his arms around him without hesitation.