* * *
Ever since meeting the Empress, it felt a little awkward to face Harca.
Still, I hadn’t visited him in a few days, so once night fell, I naturally made my way toward him, skillfully avoiding the lax guards along the way.
But Harca was nowhere to be found.
The imperial banquet was coming up soon, so security must be tight… Where could he have gone?
It was the grand social event held every year.
Officially, it was about fostering unity among nobles, but in reality, it was a night of drinking, idle amusement, and ultimately, depravity and decadence.
Earlier that morning, I’d received a letter from House Descartes saying that, by His Majesty’s order, my one and only “older brother” — who had been away from the capital — would also be attending the banquet.
To be honest, my brother and I were worse than strangers.
Even when I was kidnapped and tortured by various nobles time and again, he’d simply used me as a bargaining chip for the benefit of the family.
If that’s not heartless, I don’t know what is…
Still, since he’s coming, I guess I should at least say hello.
But Harca… where the hell is he?
As I stepped into a place devoid of warmth, the chill in the air was like walking into an abandoned house — eerily cold.
“Harca?”
Not here either.
Suddenly, I recalled the first time I met Harca.
There’s a saying — ominous hunches are always right…
What if he was being abused again in that same place where we first met?
Without another thought, I rushed toward the Third Prince’s palace.
My steps quickened, breath rising to my throat. This damn weak body has never once been helpful in my entire life.
The solid tower within the Third Prince’s quarters — the place I first encountered Harca.
I’d only recently learned that the tower was used by the Empress and her loyal mages from the Magic Tower for their experiments.
When I finally reached that small tower, I paused to catch my breath and tried to peek through the window to see who might be inside.
Of course — as I feared — the window had been blocked from the inside with a wooden board.
Not a single sound came from within.
The silence was unnervingly complete.
Maybe no one was inside.
The Empress and her attendants were definitely gone.
If they were here, they’d be too busy pouring their twisted emotions onto Harca.
From the look of things, Harca wasn’t here either…
Just as I turned to leave—
“…Ugh…”
A faint sound came from within.
I clamped my hand over my mouth and cautiously approached.
It was a groan I knew all too well — Harca’s voice.
But why was I so afraid to open the door?
Thankfully, the security was as lax as ever, and the door opened easily.
Creeeak.
The metallic groan of the door scraped against my nerves. I froze.
What I saw inside was horrifying beyond words.
Like livestock, his limbs were bound, his breath shallow — a wretched sight that made me cover my mouth with both hands and stop breathing.
“H-Harca…”
At the sound of his name, Harca instinctively raised his head to look at me.
But his eyes didn’t hold despair or agony.
Instead, they were more alive than I’d ever seen them before.
“Harca!”
I rushed to him, trembling hands reaching to touch the restraints on his arms.
“How… how could they…”
I never imagined it would get this bad.
Even in the original story, it was said he was mocked, scorned, and abused — but it never described him in such a brutal state.
Was the Imperial Palace always this rotten beneath its peaceful facade?
Outwardly, they’re filming a romance — and inside, it’s a horror show.
I thought that kind of grotesque truth — like rot blooming beneath a beautiful story — only existed in cruel fairy tales.
What crime could possibly justify tormenting a 14-year-old boy like this?
Tears welled up in my eyes and started falling helplessly.
I looked around for a key to his restraints, but there was none.
They must’ve taken it with them.
“I told you to stop getting involved…”
His voice, laced with annoyance, reached my ears.
“…”
Harca looked at me with an unbothered expression.
Though his tone was cold, his eyes were locked directly onto mine.
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“It would be a lie to say it doesn’t. But… it’s bearable.”
“Really?”
I leaned in close, worried.
My pretty, delicate features filled his vision, and I saw a slight tremor in Harca’s pupils.
Unaware of his reaction, I stared seriously at his wounds.
“I should disinfect and treat them…”
But I knew I couldn’t leave any visible signs of treatment.
“…”
I grabbed a towel nearby, dampened it, and began wiping the blood from his body.
I was planning to use the painkillers I always carried because of Harca.
His limbs were so tightly bound he couldn’t even resist.
He simply stared at me — intently.
“…Why do you keep coming? What’s your goal?”
“There isn’t one. I just… want to help you.”
“There’s nothing you can gain by winning my favor.”
“…”
“Still too naive to tell the difference between reality and fantasy, huh.”
Harca tilted his head, puzzled. The chains rattled as his body shifted.
“…You and I are only a year apart, you know?”
“You haven’t even manifested yet. You come here, covered in someone else’s pheromones.
You should worry about yourself more than me.”
“What?”
Pheromones…?
What was he talking about?
Did he mean Alpha pheromones?
My eyes widened, blinking in confusion, as my thoughts ran deep.
Harca had no reason to lie.
If he said pheromones were on me, then they were.
At this point in time, there was only one person who could’ve left Alpha pheromones on me.
No way…
As my mind spiraled, Harca cut in sharply.
“Either way, hanging around the Crown Prince and the Third Prince won’t help you.
Coming to me won’t change anything.”
Like I don’t know that?
I frowned instinctively, and for a moment, a faint smile tugged at Harca’s lips.
“You’re really mean, Harca. You know the truth. You know I didn’t come here for that reason.”
Harca stared at me in silence, then asked in a low voice—
“Then why did you come?”
“…”
My crimson eyes wavered slightly.
It would’ve been easy to say, “Because I felt sorry for you” — but Harca’s gaze was sharp enough to freeze me.
I hesitated.
“Can’t even answer?”
Seeing my flustered expression, Harca let out a sigh and looked away, his face indifferent again.
I bit down on my red lips and muttered:
“You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
“Who knows. Maybe I’m just being honest.”
Still, he seemed less hostile now than before.
“Take some painkillers. You’ll feel much better.”
On that cold, silent night — in what should’ve been the coldest place of all — a faint warmth began to bloom.
“I don’t understand this part.”
“This one is…”
Day by day, Anakin grew closer to the Crown Prince.
After lessons ended, the two boys would often study together on a beautiful outdoor terrace.
As they spent more time together outside of class, casual physical contact naturally increased.
And each time, memories of that previous embrace would surface out of nowhere—leaving Anakin flustered more than a few times.
“Huh?”
One day, Anakin caught sight of a familiar face—a servant he’d often seen at the Second Prince’s palace.
Hanging from the servant’s pocket was a distinctively shaped key, and without thinking, Anakin called out to him.
“Hey, you there.”
“…Yes?”
The servant looked startled by the sudden call, but hesitantly stepped closer to Anakin.
“Could you give me that key?”
“Ah, this is…”
Anakin was sure it was the key that could unlock Harca’s restraints.
He had memorized the shape from seeing it several times before.
“Can’t you? I’ll give it back later.”
As he pressed the servant, he felt the Crown Prince, who’d been quietly reading next to him, throw a subtle glance at the servant.
It almost felt like: ‘Just give it to him already…’
He probably looked like a bratty kid throwing a tantrum—but wasn’t that kind of unreasonable demand a child’s privilege?
“Y-you’ll definitely return it, right…?”
Still glancing nervously at the Crown Prince, the servant finally handed the key over.
Well, considering his position, the servant probably wouldn’t risk telling the Empress that the key had been taken from him.
Anakin’s goal was simply to give Harca a brief moment of relief—he could return the key later.
Slipping the key into his pocket, Anakin smiled in satisfaction.
“I’ve never seen you so happy about something you got.”
Anakin turned his head at the voice.
The Crown Prince had lifted his eyes from his book and was now watching him intently.
“I thought you weren’t the type to care about material things… Is there something you want?”
He said it like he’d give him anything if asked.
“No, um… I just… liked keys when I was younger…”
‘That’s your excuse?’
Even Anakin found it pathetic.
The Crown Prince tilted his head slightly, amused.
“Hmm… Then, who are you going to the banquet with tomorrow?”
Anakin stopped nibbling on his cookie and looked at the Crown Prince.
He hadn’t even thought about choosing a partner.
And then—an uneasy thought crossed his mind.
‘…Don’t tell me this guy wants to go with me?’
* * *
