The Prince was currently in a hazy, semi-conscious state due to the pain, but if he were to vaguely remember this down the line, it might become a trauma.
Drinking another human’s blood wasn’t exactly a commonplace experience.
No, rather, it was a taboo act. It was enough to make someone imagine monsters like vampires or ghouls.
If it were me, I wouldn’t want to experience drinking someone else’s blood either.
‘Then… it would be better to feed it to him in a way that makes him mistake it for a potion.’
However, I wouldn’t be able to do anything about the taste.
Not only were there no ingredients insight to mask the metallic taste of blood, but no matter what I added, it would likely taste bizarre anyway.
It seemed best to simply dilute it with a moderate amount of water so it looked roughly like a potion.
I drew the dagger Enoch always carried on his person.
Bringing my hand over a small bowl, I sliced my index finger.
A thin wound opened on the skin, and bright red blood quickly welled up and trickled down.
Exactly five drops. Staring at the blood pooled at the bottom of the bowl, I mixed in some water.
Even though I wasn’t the one drinking it, my stomach churned uncomfortably.
Holding the bowl, I headed straight to the room.
Caelus was asleep, his face a mess of tears and cold sweat.
Resting his tiny head against my thigh, I gently pried his lips open.
Perhaps because he disliked a stranger’s touch while in pain, the kid furrowed his brow and clamped his mouth shut.
“Your Highness. It’s medicine.”
“…”
“Your Highness?”
I called out to him a few more times.
Finally, letting out a soft whimper, Caelus parted his lips slightly.
Ensuring his head was positioned firmly so it wouldn’t spill out the side, I carefully poured the blood… no, the medicine into his mouth.
“Ugh…”
“You must swallow it. Then you’ll feel better.”
Caelus’s mouth closed, and his throat swallowed hard.
It couldn’t have tasted pleasant, so I watched tensely, worried he might throw it up, but fortunately, he didn’t.
Following that, I fed him some actual clean water, and his face eased into a slightly more comfortable expression.
“Haa…”
Tilting my head back, I exhaled long sighs repeatedly.
What a complete ordeal this was. I could feel my back drenched in sweat.
Before long, a burning sensation flared up inside my stomach, followed by a low rumble.
The stomach pain gradually intensified to the point where my head throbbed, but it was reasonably manageable.
‘It transferred over safely…’
Along with a strange sense of pride, a wave of relief washed over me.
To think a day would come when this curse proved useful. What a relief.
Staring at Caelus’s face, which had smoothed out completely as if the pain had entirely vanished, I drifted off to sleep.
After the Empress died, Caelus’s world became a little louder.
“Do not forget that the only reason the prince is allowed to draw breath is entirely due to my mercy.”
“Your Highness, did you know? The late Empress was a thoroughly depraved woman. She was always busy holding secret trysts with a new lover every day. Perhaps Your Highness’s biological father is… ah, never mind.”
“Your Highness, could you clear away the empty dishes? If you do, I will bring out beef stew for the next meal.”
“Tsk, try to emulate the First Prince. He is supposed to be my flesh and blood, but I cannot bring myself to feel any affection for him whatsoever!”
People who wouldn’t have dared utter a single word to him, or who had kept quiet when his mother was alive, now flapped their mouths incessantly.
Caelus frequently felt the urge to plug his ears, but he endured it.
Because he was the Empress’s son and the sole legitimate heir of this empire.
Whenever those urges surfaced, Caelus simply smiled even more brightly.
In response, people would look down on him pitifully, mock him, or click their tongues.
“He’s supposed to be a prince, yet he seems to have absolutely no pride.”
Once, he even overheard a maid planted by the Imperial Consort whispering those exact words.
Even then, Caelus intentionally stared blankly at the maid and giggled.
The maid flinched in surprise, but upon seeing his innocent smile, she hurriedly excused herself, carrying a look of inward relief on her face.
If you pretend to know nothing, pretend to be foolish, and pretend to be cheerful, everyone assumes you are an idiot.
It was only natural.
The Emperor, the Imperial Consort, and their lackeys knew nothing of the real Caelus.
The Imperial Consort likely couldn’t even fathom it.
After the Empress’s death, purging all of her loyalists and replacing Caelus’s surroundings entirely with her own people was actually the real mistake.
‘They will come to regret not killing me sooner.’
Caelus often harbored such thoughts.
They were incredibly chilling words, yet they held absolutely no emotion.
They were merely brief assessments of what was to come.
The Imperial Consort desperately wanted to make her son, the First Prince, the Emperor, but in the end, the one who would ascend the throne was him—the legitimate heir.
“Do not worry, Prince. Even if your mother dies, the Emperor of this country will be you.”
From a very young age, the Empress had spoken those words to him.
She always spoke of her own death as if she knew she would eventually be framed and killed.
Then, stating that he must become a magnificent Emperor even without her, she educated Caelus more harshly than anyone else.
Because he had lived that way since birth, Caelus considered it normal.
Perhaps that was why he hadn’t felt particularly sad when his mother finally died. Except…
“Instead, if you safely become the Emperor, you must absolutely avenge this mother of yours. Understood? I only have our Prince. My most noble son in this world…”
Every night, his mother appeared in his dreams.
She was drenched in blood, yet she spoke with the same elegant demeanor she possessed in life.
“You haven’t forgotten, have you? You must become the Emperor and avenge this mother of yours.”
“Become the Emperor. And avenge this pitiful mother of yours.”
“My revenge…”
Tears of blood streamed from her brightly smiling eyes.
Finding himself in a vulnerable position with his support stripped away, Caelus quickly assessed his situation.
He didn’t know how far his mother had anticipated and prepared, but the Imperial Consort was more thorough than expected.
Before Count Bellman could even make a move, she had perfectly isolated Caelus.
In a situation like this, the boy instinctively sensed that if he became even a slight eyesore, he might truly be killed.
“Hehe…”
To survive, Caelus became a fool.
It wasn’t particularly shameful or miserable.
He knew he would eventually become the Emperor anyway, and he already knew that the path would never be smooth.
If there was one thing the boy hadn’t anticipated, it was that he would end up genuinely stuttering.
Initially, it had been a deliberate act, but from a certain point onward, he found himself truly stuttering.
And one more thing.
That he would be kidnapped from within the imperial palace.
His tightly closed eyelids trembled slightly.
Soon, they parted slowly, revealing his luminous amethyst eyes.
His gaze, which had been staring blankly into space, moved sluggishly upward.
Though he couldn’t see well, he could feel someone sleeping right beside him.
The faint sound of breathing and the sensation of the lean thigh supporting his head were vivid.
A look of confusion surfaced in his violet eyes.
