Chapter 51: The Emperor’s Forgotten Portrait

“Angel, then… can I call you Matthias now?”

It was impersonation without permission, but surely the real Matthias, who had loved playing prince-and-princess games, would understand. Convincing himself of that, Fria nodded.

“If that is what Prince Leon wishes.”

Having received permission, the child carefully repeated the name of the angel he had just learned.

“Matthias, you won’t tell Father that I cried, right?”

“Of course not.”

Leon nodded happily, then looked at Fria again with shining eyes.

“Matthias, will you come see me again next time?”

There was plenty of time to move around during the day, but too much risk of being seen. If he wanted freedom, it had to be under the cover of darkness.

If the emperor happened to be away again like tonight, Fria wanted to come see this adorable little prince once more too. Before returning to the Swallow Palace, perhaps there would be at least one more chance.

“I can’t promise exactly when, but I’ll make time to come see you again.”

“Really? Angels don’t lie, right?”

Feeling a stab of guilt at the child’s innocent trust, Fria still nodded firmly.

“Prince Leon, should we become friends? Secret friends.”

“Friends?”

“Right. Not just ordinary friends either, best friends. Though I already have someone in the number one spot, so I can only offer you number two. Would number two be acceptable, Your Highness?”

At the mention of being second place, Leon seemed mildly offended. After a moment of deep contemplation, the child suddenly made up his mind and dashed deeper into the room.

Climbing onto a chair, he reached above the fireplace and retrieved a decorative sword.

When he returned, Leon solemnly ordered Fria onto one knee.

“I, Leon, warrior of the great Empire, hereby appoint thee, angel, as my secret friend. Matthias, do you swear to uphold loyalty and never betray our promise?”

The child’s seriousness, holding up a blunt decorative sword as if it were real, made Fria’s lips twitch.

Suppressing his laughter with effort, Fria answered in an exaggeratedly solemn voice.

“Before Prince Leon, I swear that no matter the circumstance, I shall remain loyal and never betray my promise to Your Highness.”

Leon tapped the flat side of the sword twice against Fria’s shoulder.

Lowering his head respectfully, Fria then lifted the child’s tiny hand and pressed a ceremonial kiss against the back of it.

It was nothing more than a childish game, yet Fria’s own heart raced as he reenacted scenes he had only ever read about in books.

Once the clumsy imitation of a knighting ceremony was over, Fria pulled Leon into his arms.

The child’s warm, soft body swayed gently against his chest as Fria stroked the back of his smooth, chestnut-like head over and over.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Leon whispered into Fria’s ear.

“But Matthias… who’s number one? Is it my father?”

Remembering Byron’s sly grin, the poor man currently confined to house arrest because of him, Fria smiled awkwardly.

“Don’t forget that from now on, you belong to me first. I may not look it, but I’ve never once been treated like second place in my life.”

Fria felt a little guilty for hiding the truth, but at least he had protected Byron’s position as best friend number one.

As adorable and lovable as Prince Leon was, a promise was still a promise.

“That’s a secret. We’re all secret friends, after all.”

“Oh. Right.”

Blocked by the strict rules of secret friendship, Leon nodded reluctantly.

“So you can’t tell anyone you saw me. Understood?”

“Okay.”

It was time to go.

The distant banquet music still drifted through the palace, but the moon had clearly moved across the sky.

“You have to come back and see me again, alright?”

Climbing back onto the rooftop, Fria lowered himself once more to look at Leon.

The child waved enthusiastically with a radiant smile.

“Your Highness, are you still awake? I’m coming in.”

Hearing a voice from outside, Leon startled violently and spun around just as the nursemaid opened the inner chamber door.

“It’s past your bedtime, Your Highness.”

Spotting the decorative sword rolling across the floor, the nursemaid picked it up and returned it to its place.

She had raised the young imperial grandson with her own hands since infancy and loved him like her own child. Apparently, after insisting on sleeping alone tonight, he had spent the evening playing knight by himself.

After tidying the scattered objects around the room, she tucked Leon back into bed.

Perhaps from all the running around during his make-believe knighting ceremony, the child’s cheeks were still flushed pink with excitement.

“Nanny, you know…”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Sorry. It’s a secret, so I can’t tell you.”

As Leon grew older, he had become increasingly stubborn. And now he had apparently developed adorable little secrets he refused to share even with her.

Still, he remained a child who could only fall asleep while being gently patted.

Watching him smile secretly to himself beneath the blankets, the nursemaid smiled fondly too.

****

After hurriedly washing his hands and feet, Fria soaked the nightclothes that carried traces of his rooftop adventure in water.

Thankfully, there was a spare set.

The moment Fria lay down in bed, the hidden wall opened and the emperor returned.

Pretending to be asleep, Fria listened carefully.

He heard the window being shut. Footsteps entering and leaving the bath chamber. Then footsteps approaching the bed.

The satin blanket lifted, and the mattress dipped beneath another person’s weight.

Silence settled over the room.

Slowly opening his eyes, Fria looked at the emperor lying beside him.

The candles had been extinguished, but the moonlight was bright enough for him to study Owen’s face in detail.

Thick black hair.

Dense dark eyelashes.

Sharp brows slanting upward, giving him an even colder expression.

A straight nose.

Firmly closed lips.

Only under moonlight like this could Fria stare freely and fearlessly at the face of the beautiful young emperor.

Looking now, he resembled Leon even more.

‘Had the emperor once been as innocent and pure as his nephew?’

For a moment, Fria found himself wishing he could travel back in time and meet the young Owen.

Then suddenly…

‘Ah. That sketch.’

On the first day he had come to this attic room, he had discovered a drawing of the emperor as a child hidden inside a book.

The memory surfaced sharply, and with it came an overwhelming urge to see it again.

Making sure Owen was deeply asleep, Fria quietly slipped out of bed.

Though the moonlight was bright, it didn’t quite reach the bookshelves lining the wall.

Carefully, he lit a candle and placed it on the floor.

It had definitely been hidden inside a book on the lowest shelf.

One by one, Fria stacked books on the ground while searching frantically until at last he pulled out an old fairy tale book.

Growing impatient, he shook the book upside down…

Thunk.

Something fell from between the pages.

“Ah!”

Just as Fria reached for it eagerly, another hand moved faster and snatched the paper away.

“What exactly are you doing?”

When had he woken up?

A deep crease formed between Owen’s brows as he unfolded the paper.

Swallowing hard, Fria slowly backed away.

“Stay still.”

‘…Yes.’

As if he had any choice.

Once again reduced to a criminal awaiting judgment, Fria obediently sat down.

He had first awakened when he felt a hand waving in front of his closed eyes.

Though pretending to sleep, Owen sensed movement nearby and realized the consort was checking whether he had truly fallen asleep.

Keeping his eyes shut, Owen quietly observed him.

After slipping from the bed, the consort headed toward the bookshelf.

The moonlight clearly illuminated every movement as he struck flint to light a candle.

Owen had initially wondered what bizarre thing his consort was doing in the middle of the night.

But the man spent such a long time searching through books that Owen became intrigued instead.

He already knew his consort enjoyed reading, after all, he had requested access to the library.

Still, Owen hadn’t expected someone so obsessed with books that he would wake in the middle of the night to search for one.

What exactly was he looking for?

Curious, Owen finally rose from bed and approached the shelves.

Watching the oblivious consort frantically searching through books, Owen thought once again that this troublesome consort required an unbelievable amount of attention.

So it wasn’t a book he wanted after all.

The moment Fria brightened at the sight of the fallen paper, Owen reached for it first.

“…”

It was a fragment of memories so old that even Owen himself had forgotten them.

As the folded paper opened, revealing the charcoal sketch of his childhood, Owen’s expression wavered.

A beloved remnant from long ago.

A portrait drawn by his older brother Arthur during those innocent days of youth.

“Why do you have this…?”

At the frost creeping into Owen’s voice, Fria instinctively began backing away while still seated.

What excuse could he possibly make for this?

“How did you even know this was here?”

He didn’t know who had drawn it, but one thing was obvious:

It was precious to the emperor.

Back pressed against the cabinet behind him, Fria finally blurted out in a trembling voice,

“Your Majesty, I wanted a picture of you!”

At the utterly unexpected answer, Owen narrowed his eyes.

“You wanted a picture of me?”

‘Ridiculous.’

Portraits of the emperor existed everywhere throughout the palace.

“I-I wanted to know… even the parts of Your Majesty’s childhood that I never knew about… I wanted to know everything.”

‘I want to know you.’

‘Every part of you.’

‘What kind of excuse was that?’

Fria wanted to punch himself in the mouth.

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