* * *
Just as the child had expected, there were more people in the principality who did not welcome Sia than those who did.
Even though he was Encia’s son, Sia had once been a slave.
His sudden appearance made it difficult for anyone to feel pleased about his arrival.
The principality had already been filled with discussions about potential successors to the throne, and those who might have become the next Duke had Sia never shown up now saw him as a threat—something to be erased, rather than merely unwelcomed.
The nobles, who had been excited at the prospect of having a king from their own families, were no different.
As promised, Mujin stood firmly behind Sia.
She did everything in her power to ensure the current Duke accepted him and stepped forward to remove anyone who dared to speak ill of him.
And, in time, the Duke truly came to care for Sia—enough to bestow upon him the name “Hesia,” taken from the first ruler of the principality, a clear sign of his favor.
But that didn’t mean Sia—now Hesia—could bring himself to hold any affection for the principality.
No matter how much time passed, the principality never became a place he could like.
In fact, Hesia secretly wished for a legitimate successor to emerge, someone who could take his place.
Other than when he asked Mujin about Vivisian’s well-being, Hesia barely spoke at all.
Some worried for him, but most didn’t care enough to give it much thought.
Hesia was given a beautiful and grand castle, yet he was drowning in loneliness.
Three months had passed since his arrival.
After finishing his daily tasks, Hesia returned to his bedroom, which still felt foreign to him, and lay down on the bed.
“Nothing is ever easy.”
His voice was neither a laugh nor a sigh, just something in between.
He buried his face in his pillow.
Mujin tried to help—introducing him to potential friends, setting up new political alliances. Hesia knew this, acknowledged it even.
But that didn’t change the fact that he could never feel at ease in the principality.
He felt guilty seeing Mujin tirelessly running around, trying to make things better for him, yet Hesia simply couldn’t adapt.
Lying on his stomach, he stared blankly into the distance.
Things that came so easily to others felt unbearably heavy to him.
He found himself asking, more than ten times a day, whether he truly belonged here.
“I think… I finally understand why my mother ran away.”
Maybe, if all he had to do was eat well and sleep in a comfortable bed, things would be fine.
But the throne he had reclaimed—half against his will—was not a place of comfort.
It was a place where he had to stand above others.
And that was not something a child could easily bear.
Mujin told him that if he held on a little longer, things would get better.
But… would they really?
Hesia couldn’t help but doubt it.
If he were being honest, he didn’t think he would ever truly adapt to life in the principality.
Like a wary cat, he spent every day on edge.
Even in deep sleep, the unfamiliarity jolted him awake.
Like wearing clothes that didn’t fit, everything felt unbearably wrong.
Gripping the blanket tightly, his small hands trembled with the force he exerted.
His delicate fingers turned white, as if the very bones beneath his skin were pushing through.
However, if asked whether he wanted to go back, he couldn’t answer.
But if asked whether he wanted to see Vivisian, Hesia was certain he could answer without hesitation.
Yes.
He desperately missed the one who had simply been kind to him…
Hesia didn’t want the name, nor the surname Meriein that came after it.
What he wanted was simple.
Someone who would call him Hesia with warmth.
But in this vast castle, there was not a single person like that, and so Hesia could do nothing but despair.
Resting his cheek against the soft blankets, the boy slowly blinked.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, words he had never spoken to anyone in the castle—except for Mujin—slipped out along with a sigh.
“Vivi must be doing well. He’s not locked up, after all, so he must be fine.”
Mujin seemed convinced that Hesia would never see him again, but Hesia couldn’t let go of the hope that someday he would.
It was like trying to hold sand that would slip through his fingers at any moment, but even with everything he had now, there was only one thing he truly wanted.
“Vivi, we’ll meet again, right? Once I’m acknowledged as the sole heir and become the Grand Duke, I may lose my freedom, but there will be more things I can do… At the very least, I should be able to exchange letters or hear news about you.”
Muttering what was more of a wish than a statement, Hesia clenched his eyes shut. It was laughable, how much sincerity he had for someone he had only known for a few months.
But the moment he recalled that voice that had called his name so tenderly, he found himself unable to brush it off.
‘Hesia, he asked me to pass on a message to you. “You are such a kind person, so I know you’ll miss me. But one day, you will forget. So don’t worry about me—just do your best to be happy.”’
The words Vivisian had left behind through Mujin rang in his ears, as if he could hear them in Vivi’s own voice.
It almost felt like he could hear him smiling as he said, “Take care.”
Hesia’s fingertips trembled.
He bit his lip hard, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall, and scrubbed his heated eyes with the back of his hand.
The human heart is fickle.
He knew that he was surrounded by countless luxuries, that he had become someone more noble than anyone else.
And yet… he felt lonelier and more wretched than when he had lost his parents and lived as a slave.
✽ ✽ ✽
At the break of dawn, a lone figure emerged from the castle’s back gate.
A single large bag and a horse were all the belongings he carried.
With his robe pulled deep over his face, he mounted the horse without hesitation and swiftly rode away from the castle.
As he put distance between himself and the stronghold, the sky slowly brightened.
Since the highest-ranking person in the principality had granted him permission to leave, there was no one to stop him.
The one swiftly passing by the guards, who pretended not to see him, was none other than Hesia—who had just completed his coming-of-age ceremony a few days prior.
When the Grand Duke had asked if there was anything he wanted, Hesia had requested to travel.
It was a rare and precious opportunity to leave the principality, and he had barely managed to obtain it.
‘Be careful. We have many enemies, and you must always remember—if you die, an entire nation will be shaken.’
If things truly went south, it didn’t matter where—he should sell his name, the old Duke had once told him.
Gripping the reins tightly, Hesia recalled that aged face.
The Grand Duke, having once lost his only remaining blood relative, had developed a certain attachment to Hesia.
Perhaps it was because Hesia resembled his youngest daughter, who had left behind nothing but the words “You’re horrible” before disappearing.
‘You… really do look like her.’
At times, the Grand Duke would summon Hesia, sit him down, and murmur words tinged with wistful affection.
Now, trying to fathom the Grand Duke’s unfathomable heart, Hesia scanned his surroundings.
The principality, at this hour, was quiet.
The only sound was the faint clatter of horse hooves, and the air was filled with the biting cold of dawn.
When he had first arrived in the principality, he had sometimes slipped out of the castle alone with only a few secret guards.
But that had not lasted long.
As Hesia’s value became more apparent, those who sought to harm him emerged.
There was even an incident where a child selling flowers on the street suddenly lunged at him with the intent to kill.
After that, the Grand Duke forbade him from leaving unless he was accompanied by an entourage.
He was familiar with human malice, but facing direct threats to his life was new.
Even though his parents had died, his own death had always seemed like a distant thing.
But after realizing that was not the case, he had spent many sleepless nights.
The Grand Duke, seeing his distress, had even prepared multiple bedchambers for him and rotated them each night to keep him safe.
Recalling those now-distant days, Hesia let out a small laugh.
“Well, first, I should head to the Patos Desert.”
On the road to the Eris Empire, there was a desert famous for its pristine white sands.
Even now, he still dreamed of reuniting with Vivisian.
But after years of searching in vain, he had half given up.
Meeting him again would be wonderful, but… he didn’t want to be disappointed anymore.
At some point, even Mujin had lost track of Vivisian’s whereabouts, and since then, Hesia had experienced disappointment more times than he could count.
As time passed, people had come to see Hesia as the Grand Duke’s one and only heir.
But even so, he had no way of knowing how Vivisian was doing.
The last place Vivisian had been seen was the Empire, and the Empire was far—too far—from the principality.
The conditions made it nearly impossible to track someone’s whereabouts for years.
All he could do was hope that Vivisian was well.
Thinking about how he had held onto someone for years, Hesia almost laughed at himself.
The sun was rising, and people were beginning to emerge from their homes, starting their daily lives.
Passing by them, Hesia kept his expression hidden beneath the folds of his robe.
‘I’ve gotten better with time. I can’t say the same for Your Highness, but… someday, you will be okay too.’
These were the words Mujin had spoken when he had gifted Hesia a portrait of Vivisian for his twelfth birthday, after learning that he had frequent nightmares.
Even now, those words remained lodged in his heart.
* * *
