"......."

When he passed out, there was a time when he woke up for a moment and told me not to leave. I thought he had forgotten, but he remembered it clearly.

"Ancia, don't make me nervous."

Blake cried like a child, while holding my hand and looked straight into my eyes.

"Don't even think of running away."

"Your Highness."

"It hurts me every time you move away from me. Don't you see that?"

I remembered the day Blake gave me a rose last year. The first time I slept with Diana instead of him, too, he fell sick. Blake also collapsed when I left for Tenlarn Palace.

But I was not the heir of light. I couldn't help him.

"Ancia, call me Blake."

"Your Highness."

"I woke up because you called me Blake when I was sick."

Blake's hands wrapped around my face, and I looked straight at him.

He did not just lose his chubby cheeks. He had also grown a lot ...I suddenly realized that Blake had grown up a lot in three years.

"Ancia, come on."

"...Blake."

I ended up calling his name.

***

I stared blankly at the stone plate I had recovered from the pond of the Crown Prince's Palace.

Philip betrayed the Goddess of Light, welcoming Laontel Bellacian as his Empress instead. The angry Goddess of Light cursed his descendants.

But Diana lifted Blake's curse with the power of light from the Bellacian House.

In other words, when Phillip betrayed the Goddess and chose another woman, the Goddess gave the woman the power to remove the curse.

Something was weird here. There seemed to be another hidden truth. But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find the answer.

Anyway, I got to find out the identity of this stone plate thanks to Tenlarn Palace. This stone plate was used to record the history of the Zelcan Empire. The stone plates all looked similar, and so did the letters carved on them.

Phillip would've kept a record of history even after he moved the capital, but at some point, all the stone plates disappeared, and only a few remained.

There were only a few characters that were still recognizable on it. What on earth did it say? What happened after he moved the capital?

I dusted the worn out stone plates.

Afterall, it could be a clue that has something to do with Blake's curse.

"Your Highness, were you here?"

The door opened and Eunhan came in.

"Yes, I've been looking at the stone. I re-read Zelcan's history book, but there was no book about Tancinol or Phillip's true deeds at the time. How could he deceive the world like this?"

"Did you really read all those books?"

He asked, looking at the books piled up on my desk.

"Yes."

"...Your Highness is the best."

"I just double-checked what I read before."

I hurriedly waved my hands when I was complimented so suddenly.

"I was only able to read ancient languages because I am a polyglot."

"You're not just great at reading."

Eunhan smiled softly.

"There was a record of only simple historical facts. But you saw it and quickly inferred the situation. You also noticed that Phillip was the one who actually erected the stone plate that was in the middle of the Tenlarn Palace. It's not something just anyone can do. You're very young, so it's amazing."

Actually, I wasn't that young, but I laughed it off.

"Hahahaha. Do I act like an old woman? I hear that a lot."

"Oh, no! That's not what I meant. Regardless of your age, you're still great. It's just I'm not good at talking. I'm sorry."

Eunhan immediately bowed his head.

"The clothes look good on you."

He was wearing an unusual beige suit.

"His Majesty gave it to me as a gift. I feel a little awkward wearing this."

He kept fiddling with the buttons in embarrassment.

I could see that he wanted to take it off and go back to his original black clothes.

"You look so much better!"

"R-really?"

"Yes."

"That's great."

He smiled shyly.

In the original story, Eunhan died this year.

When Tenstheon attempted to transfer Blake's curse to himself, Eunhan desperately tried to stop him but failed to do so.

Eunhan then went into the Duke's home with his bloodstained body to kill Richard.

Surrounded by countless knights, he still managed to leave a fatal wound on Richard's body.

But now he had thrown away his life as a shadow and come out.

There was still a little time left before the events in the novel take place, but I thought that neither Tenstheon nor Eunhan would walk down the original path that was set for them.

How nice would it be if the tragedy in the original story didn't repeat?

"Can I ask you a question, Eunhan?"

"Sure."

"Why did you suddenly decide to come out?"

He looked straight at me with a gentle smile.

"I made up my mind after seeing you."

"Me?"

"Yes, I felt ashamed of myself when I saw you doing your best for the Crown Prince."

Eunhan spoke calmly.

"I've been trying to stay hidden. I said that I'm loyal to His Majesty, but in the end, I only relied on him. When His Majesty needed me, I couldn't even use my magic properly. So I was afraid. Without magic, I'd be worthless."

"We don't keep you around because of your magic. Don't have such a thought."

"No, I wanted to be more helpful to my master. From now on, I will stand by his side and protect him. I'll also become a strong supporter of you and the Crown Prince."

There was a proud gaze in his eyes. The originally gloomy Eunhan disappeared and a wonderful young man with a bright future stood in front of me instead.

"I feel reassured even now."

"No, it's not enough yet."

It was excessive modesty coming from a man of immense power who had taken down all of Duke Cassil's knights and fatally stabbed Richard.

Eunhan was embarrassed, but suddenly, his eyes turned fierce and he pulled me by my arm.

"Eunhan...?"

"Your Highness, it's dangerous."

He pulled out a sword and pulled me behind him. Then, a white light began to shoot out from where I was just standing.

"What's that?"

"I can feel the power of Dragons. Someone who was sent to get rid of me is at the window. Your Highness, please run away."

They already sent an assassin?

Eunhan had not yet made his existence public. He usually stayed at the Crown Prince's Palace, and when he went to the Emperor's Palace, he'd hide himself and move carefully. Except for the people of the Crown Prince, not many people knew of his existence.

"Eunhan, you're in danger too! Let's go together."

"They came for me. I have to take care of it."

During our short conversations, the light quickly grew and became a huge sphere. Then, the intense light spread and filled the space before disappearing in an instant.

"Your Highness, get out of here!"

*

*bold indicates a different language.

A clear voice rang out at the same time as Eunhan's urgent cry. The language was different from the Imperial language.

The light receded and a person stood there.

Pale skin, white hair, and eyes that shone as beautifully as jewels, paired with pure white clothes. She didn't look like a normal person, but a little girl with a mysterious atmosphere, like a princess in a story.

Just who was it? No matter how much I thought about it, this person had never appeared in the original.

.....this person wasn't a woman?!

*TL note : the person calls Eunhan hyung which is usually used by male to call their brother.

He stood still on the spot and called Eunhan with a bright smile that was full of joy.

I relaxed. Eunhan also lowered his sword, but his expression was scary.

When Eunhan asked with a confused face, the boy called Baekhan smiled broadly.

He stretched his hand forward and strode carefully, as he looked straight at Eunhan.

Then, he got caught by the leg of the chair and stumbled. Eunhan had been staring straight at Baekhan. He approached him quickly and grabbed him when he saw him stumble.